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Stand Up, Yumi Chung!
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One lie snowballs into a full-blown double life in this irresistible story about an aspiring stand-up comedian.
On the outside, Yumi Chung suffers from #shygirlproblems, a perm-gone-wrong, and kids calling her "Yu-MEAT" because she smells like her family's Korean barbecue restaurant. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. Her notebook is filled with ...more
On the outside, Yumi Chung suffers from #shygirlproblems, a perm-gone-wrong, and kids calling her "Yu-MEAT" because she smells like her family's Korean barbecue restaurant. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. Her notebook is filled with ...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
March 17th 2020
by Kokila
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Yes, 10-14 years would be the age group i think
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my tbr is like "pls!!! i am begging you!!!" and in response i say "no" and read random books i find on libby
also this is the 500th book i've read as marked on goodreads!!! wow ...more
also this is the 500th book i've read as marked on goodreads!!! wow ...more

Remember the funny girls. No one else seems to. Living as we do in an age when every other book published is an inspiring group biography, our children are currently steeped in the very serious nature of what makes a woman great. And being funny, quite frankly, isn’t something that tends to make the cut. Humorists have a purpose on this planet, but you’re not going to win a Nobel or a Pulitzer or even an Oscar most of the time for making someone laugh. This is why funny books written by women ar
...more

Oh, I ADORED this!!! This is such a feel-good story that's also unexpectedly laugh-out-loud funny, being who you are, and the shenanigans of accidentally living a double-life.
- Follows Yumi, a shy young Korean girl who loves stand-up comedy! When she stumbles on a comedy camp led by her idol, Jasmine Jasper, she is mistaken for another camp-goer and accidentally leads a double-life.
- This was just really funny? Even though it's aimed at a younger audience, I found myself chuckling and giggling ...more
- Follows Yumi, a shy young Korean girl who loves stand-up comedy! When she stumbles on a comedy camp led by her idol, Jasmine Jasper, she is mistaken for another camp-goer and accidentally leads a double-life.
- This was just really funny? Even though it's aimed at a younger audience, I found myself chuckling and giggling ...more

This was such a fun, heart-warming Middle Grade book. Even though Yumi Chung is super shy she dreams of being a stand up comedian. When she stumbles into a comedy summer camp and gets mistaken for a camper she doesn’t correct anyone. Now she’s secretly attending summer camp, growing her confidence, and hopefully learning how to stand up for what she wants.
I loved this book so much! Yumi was a great character. Her struggles with her parents not really listening to what she wants to do were very ...more
I loved this book so much! Yumi was a great character. Her struggles with her parents not really listening to what she wants to do were very ...more

Yumi Chung has #shygirlproblems. She also loves to tell jokes using her hairbrush as a pretend microphone after a long day of school and helping out in her family's struggling Korean BBQ restaurant. Yumi's parents sign her up for a summer tutoring class to prepare her for a scholarship exam so she can continue to attend a tony private school for free. On her way to the library to study after class, Yumi stumbles upon a new comedy club in her neighborhood. Inside is favorite comedian and a summer
...more

Trigger Warning(s): Bullying and racism.
Reading Challenge: #PondathonII
Rep: Yumi and her family are Korean American. Ginny is Korean American. Manuel is Salvadoran American. Felipe is Mexican American.
My Thoughts Before Reading: I had seen this book floating around Twitter in 2020. I love middle grade books and was so excited about this one! I have never read a book which follows an aspiring comedian.
I am happy to say that I enjoyed it!
What I Liked: The comedy aspect was so much fun! I loved rea ...more
Reading Challenge: #PondathonII
Rep: Yumi and her family are Korean American. Ginny is Korean American. Manuel is Salvadoran American. Felipe is Mexican American.
My Thoughts Before Reading: I had seen this book floating around Twitter in 2020. I love middle grade books and was so excited about this one! I have never read a book which follows an aspiring comedian.
I am happy to say that I enjoyed it!
What I Liked: The comedy aspect was so much fun! I loved rea ...more

Yumi Chung’s greatest desire is to become a stand-up comedian. But her Korean-American parents have sacrificed everything to send her to a special private school in order to get her into a top-notch university in hopes that she’ll become a lawyer or go to med school like her “perfect” older sister. While her parents face severe financial troubles at their family-owned restaurant, they are informed that Yumi can continue to attend her private school on scholarship if she scores high on an exam. S
...more

Fun story about following your dreams when your parents don't understand what the dickens you're dreaming of. I could wish that a book about a wannabe comedian was just the least bit funny.
...more

May 01, 2020
Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls)
rated it
it was ok
Shelves:
read-secular-mainstream
2 stars.
This was a fun read about Yumi, a Korean-American girl who’s parents own a Korean Barbecue restaurant. Much to the dismay of her parents, Yumi loves comedy and telling jokes. Personally, I really enjoyed seeing Yumi and her family’s Korean culture—even if it was a little strange seeing Korean words written in English (called “Romanization”) as a posed to 한글. While I wasn’t thrilled with Yumi lying and keeping things from her parents, there was a message throughout the book of going for y ...more
This was a fun read about Yumi, a Korean-American girl who’s parents own a Korean Barbecue restaurant. Much to the dismay of her parents, Yumi loves comedy and telling jokes. Personally, I really enjoyed seeing Yumi and her family’s Korean culture—even if it was a little strange seeing Korean words written in English (called “Romanization”) as a posed to 한글. While I wasn’t thrilled with Yumi lying and keeping things from her parents, there was a message throughout the book of going for y ...more

Apr 12, 2022
Kallee LaFave
added it
I really enjoyed this book it was very interesting and dramatic.

4.5 Stars
Yumi Chung has earned herself a big fan in me, because oh boy did I love this book!
I love how this story shows us that comedy, while being a form of entertainment, is really a space of vulnerability where comics share so much of their lives and use storytelling as a way of healing and making sense of their experiences. Yumi loves comedy so much, but struggles because she lacks confidence and self-belief, which is whatmakes her so determined to learn.
As the story progresses, we see that ...more
Yumi Chung has earned herself a big fan in me, because oh boy did I love this book!
I love how this story shows us that comedy, while being a form of entertainment, is really a space of vulnerability where comics share so much of their lives and use storytelling as a way of healing and making sense of their experiences. Yumi loves comedy so much, but struggles because she lacks confidence and self-belief, which is whatmakes her so determined to learn.
As the story progresses, we see that ...more

Dec 09, 2019
Abby Johnson
added it
Yumi Chung dreams of being a comedian, but that is not at all what her Korean immigrant parents have in mind for her. When she stumbled across a comedy camp meeting in her neighborhood and a girl with an Asian last name has not shown up for the first day, Yumi finds herself pretending to be "Kay" and taking her spot in the camp. Not only does she have to protect her secret identity, but she has to make sure her parents do not find out. AND she has to find the courage to take the stage and perfor
...more

Thanks to Libro.fm.fm and Penguin Random
House for the advance listening copy of this 3.17.20 release. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this story about finding your voice, which is perfect for fans of Front Desk, The First Rule of Punk, and The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora. Eleven-year-old Yumi longs to be a stand-up comedian. Her Korean parents, however, insist that she keep her attention on studying and helping out at their struggling Korean barbecue restaurant. When she stumbles upon h ...more
House for the advance listening copy of this 3.17.20 release. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this story about finding your voice, which is perfect for fans of Front Desk, The First Rule of Punk, and The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora. Eleven-year-old Yumi longs to be a stand-up comedian. Her Korean parents, however, insist that she keep her attention on studying and helping out at their struggling Korean barbecue restaurant. When she stumbles upon h ...more

A shy girl who wants to be a comedian, Yumi Chung finds herself deceiving her parents in order to make her dreams come true. Along the way she learns the importance of family and that her immigrant parents might just support her if she gave them the chance.
A heartfelt story centered on family, comedy, and being your true self; Stand Up, Yumi Chung! is one of the most hyped middle grades of 2020 and for good reason. Jessica Kim's debut has stand out characters and an impactful storyline. Yumi's p ...more
A heartfelt story centered on family, comedy, and being your true self; Stand Up, Yumi Chung! is one of the most hyped middle grades of 2020 and for good reason. Jessica Kim's debut has stand out characters and an impactful storyline. Yumi's p ...more

What a delightful book! I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Yumi Chung. As an immigrant, I could definitely relate to a lot of Yumi's relationship/observations about her parents. I think a lot of immigrant kids will, too. I loved learning a bit about stand up comedy -- tips and how tos. It's a world I don't know much about at all. And finally, I loved the play on words in the title -- Yumi doing stand up and Yumi also standing up for herself. I just adored this one so much! What fun it was!
...more

Another great book from the Korean-American community that will resonate with students everywhere who have the same familial pressures to succeed for the sake of their community and parents and where success is fairly narrowly defined as a few white collar careers.
At once poignant and humourous this is a great middle school read about satisfying both your own needs while remaining respectful to the needs of your family, finding compromises and maintaining relationships.
Thank you to libro.fm for ...more
At once poignant and humourous this is a great middle school read about satisfying both your own needs while remaining respectful to the needs of your family, finding compromises and maintaining relationships.
Thank you to libro.fm for ...more

I enjoyed this one so much. I highly recommend it. This book also gets the award for the most embarrassing moment I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot of middle school books. No spoilers but when she is found out, I was so mortified that I couldn’t read it. I had to take a few hours to mentally prepare myself for her impending humiliation.

Stand up, Yumi Chung! is a fun, uplifting, and heartwarming middle grade novel about one eleven-year-old girl’s journey to find her true self and overcome the fear of failure. It deserves nothing less than a standing ovation.
Novels & Waffles Blog・ Twitter ・ Instagram
...more
Novels & Waffles Blog・ Twitter ・ Instagram
...more

Stand Up, Yumi Chung! is a middle grade contemporary story that follows a shy, Korean- American girl who has big dreams of becoming a stand up comic. Just don't tell her parents because, as immigrants originally from Seoul, the last thing they want to spend their hard earned money on is a comedy summer camp. When Yumi gets mistaken for another camper, she decides to attend the classes in secret under another student's name.
This book is incredibly charming and I loved the familial relationships ...more
This book is incredibly charming and I loved the familial relationships ...more


Yumi Chung has #shygirlproblems. She also loves to tell jokes using her hairbrush as a pretend microphone after a long day of school and helping out in her family's struggling Korean BBQ restaurant. Yumi's parents sign her up for a summer tutoring class to prepare her for a scholarship exam so she can continue to attend a tony private school for free. On her way to the library to study after class, Yumi stumbles upon a new comedy club in her neighborhood. Inside is favorite comedian and a summer ...more

4.5. Ah, this warmed my heart and made me smile. It was exactly what I needed & if you're looking for a comfort read, I totally recommend. Yumi Chung is a normal girl in L.A., the daughter of immigrant parents who run a restaurant and encourage Yumi to become a doctor or lawyer. Yumi, however, loves stand-up comedy and can't help herself when she stumbles into a comedy camp full of kids that share her interests and a vlogger/comedian Yumi loves as their teacher. This is a story of family (loved
...more

**Read for Jordan Ford's Summer Reading Challenge 2020. Prompt 1. A book set in a campground or at a summer camp**
A middle-grade story about a Korean girl who loves stand-up comedy, an interest that does not match her well-intended immigrant parents' expectations. They are working hard at their Korean BBQ restaurant to give their daughters a better future, so the pressure for success is high. These are not helicopter/tiger parents however, there are moments of tenderness and vulnerability betwee ...more
A middle-grade story about a Korean girl who loves stand-up comedy, an interest that does not match her well-intended immigrant parents' expectations. They are working hard at their Korean BBQ restaurant to give their daughters a better future, so the pressure for success is high. These are not helicopter/tiger parents however, there are moments of tenderness and vulnerability betwee ...more

All Yumi Chung wants is to be a stand-up comedian, but her immigrant parents who have sacrificed so much so that she can attend a private school don't understand her passion. In this funny and heartwarming story, Yumi accidentally stumbles into a comedy summer camp by impersonating another student, while juggling summer studies for the SSAT, helping her parents' struggling Korean BBQ restaurant, and making new friends. She manage her different identities while learning something true about herse
...more

I LOVE this book! It’s been awhile since I’ve laughed out loud so many times during one book. It is super funny and very relatable. It will make you laugh, cry and you will find yourself super hungry for some Korean BBQ. Yumi’s internal dialogue is hilarious and although it is geared towards a much younger age group (🤫) I found myself really connecting with her. A book for all ages! I look forward to reading more from Jessica Kim.

Mar 15, 2020
Christina (A Reader of Fictions)
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobook,
finishedreviewcopy
Very cute! Sort of like American Panda but middle grade and without the romance in terms of themes. It's fun to see a book about different kinds of career aspirations for middle grade kids, and it's awesome that Yumi can be a hero without having parents who aren't present. Sometimes kids have innovative ideas adults wouldn't think of.
...more

I would very much like to thank Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim for reminding me of why I love reading after a 2-month-or-so slump.
(Seriously, I had so much fun reading this and I'd highly recommend it.) ...more
(Seriously, I had so much fun reading this and I'd highly recommend it.) ...more
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“Stop worrying about living up to other people’s expectations and pursue excellence on your own terms.”
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