Comedians -- Juvenile fiction. |
Korean Americans -- Juvenile fiction |
Immigrant families -- California -- Los Angeles -- Juvenile fiction. |
Korean American youth -- California -- Los Angeles -- Juvenile fiction. |
Asian Americans -- California, Southern -- Juvenile fiction. |
Middle school students -- California, Southern -- Juvenile fiction. |
Girls -- California, Southern -- Attitudes -- Juvenile fiction. |
Friendship -- Juvenile fiction |
Parent and child -- Juvenile fiction |
Comics (Persons) |
Stand-up comedians |
Families of emigrants |
Youth, Korean American |
Asian Americans -- United States |
Available:
Library | Shelf Number | Shelf Location | Status |
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Searching... Attleboro Public Library | MR KIM,J | MIDDLE READER | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Beckwith Middle School | FIC KIM | REALISTIC FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Dartmouth - Southworth | J FIC KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Elizabeth Taber Library | J MID KIM | MIDDLE READER | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Fairhaven-Millicent | YFIC KIM | YOUNG ADULT FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Fall River Main | JFIC KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Foxboro - Boyden Library | J KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Foxborough HS Media Center | FIC KIM | FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Holmes Public Library | J KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Mansfield Public Library | Y FIC KIM | YOUTH-FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Mattapoisett Free Public Library | J KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... New Bedford Bookmobile | J FIC KIM | BOOKMOBILE | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... New Bedford Free Public Library | J FIC KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... New Bedford Wilks Branch | J FIC KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Norfolk Freeman Kennedy School | F KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Norfolk Public Library | JF KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Norton Public Library | J KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Pembroke Public Library | J FIC KIM, J. | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Plympton Public Library | JF KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Somerset Public Library | Y KIM JESSICA | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Swansea Public Library | J KIM, J | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Taunton Public Library | J FIC KIM | CHILDRENS ROOM | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Westport Free Public Library | J FIC KIM | CHILDREN FICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
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 mortifying memories that she's reworked into comedy gold. All she needs is a stage and courage.
Instead of spending the summer studying her favorite YouTube comedians, Yumi is enrolled in test-prep tutoring to qualify for a private school scholarship, which will help in a time of hardship at the restaurant. One day after class, Yumi stumbles on an opportunity that will change her life: a comedy camp for kids taught by one of her favorite YouTube stars. The only problem is that the instructor and all the students think she's a girl named Kay Nakamura--and Yumi doesn't correct them.
As this case of mistaken identity unravels, Yumi must decide to stand up and reveal the truth or risk losing her dreams and disappointing everyone she cares about.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--7--Greta Jung energetically embodies 11-year-old Yumi Chung's evolution from quiet odd-girl-out to feisty stand-up-comedian-in-the-making. At her exclusive L.A. private school, Yumi is rarely noticed, except by the bully harassing her as "Yu-MEAT" (for her barbecue-scent-infused clothing from helping at her family's Koreatown restaurant) or "Top Ramen" (for the bad perms enforced by her mother). Conditioned by her genius older sister, in her second year of med school at 20, Yumi's parents expect no less achievement. As seventh grade looms, Yumi needs a scholarship (via near-perfect test score) to continue her privileged education, so her parents enroll her at an all-summer, Korean-style cram school. Bad luck, until a case of mistaken identity (a cringe-inducing all-Asians-look-alike stereotype) enables her to join a comedy camp taught by her YouTube comic idol. That's where Yumi--most ironically--becomes the true self she's been composing in her "Super-Secret Comedy Notebook." Yumi learns to stand up for her family, friends, and, most importantly, herself. Jung nimbly complements spunky Yumi with equally affecting characterizations of her immigrant parents, her not-quite-perfect sister, and her quickly growing audience. VERDICT Kim's debut gets a spot-on audio boost for even the most reluctant readers.--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Kim's well-paced debut, 11-year-old aspiring comic Yumi Chung struggles between her dreams and her Korean parents' wishes. Shy Yumi is frustrated when her mother enrolls her in test-prep tutoring to qualify for an academic scholarship at prestigious Winston Academy. But when Yumi accidentally assumes an absent camper's identity at YouTuber Jasmine Jasper's comedy camp, her summer suddenly seems promising. What follows is a balancing act of making new friends and sustaining parental expectations amid looming worries about Yumi's older sister, Yuri, and the financial state of the Chungs' restaurant. Amid fresh-feeling comic framing and contemporary conflicts about gentrification and community involvement, the narrative employs several elements that will be familiar to readers of similar titles--Yumi's strict immigrant parents compare her to other kids and expect good grades, genius Yuri is in medical school, and there's a lack of clear intergenerational communication. Yumi's friends and heroes are diverse, which feels genuine to the Los Angeles setting, and her gradual journey toward self-confidence will resonate with anyone who has had shy or awkward stages. Interspersed with entries from Yumi's Super-Secret Comedy Notebook, the engaging first-person narrative is a good first step into a rich landscape of reads about first-generation immigrant experiences. Ages 9--12. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (Mar.)
Horn Book Review
Eleven-year-old Yumi is spending the summer helping her family's struggling Korean barbecue restaurant in L.A. and studying to earn an academic scholarship to the private school where she has just spent her sixth-grade year eating lunch alone in the bathroom. Her parents plan for her future, with her father reasoning, "I am an immigrant. I have no choice to do this hard work. But you...You can work in an office or hospital and be great success one day." Yumi's passion is comedy, however, and a case of mistaken identity leads to an opportunity to take a course taught by her comedic icon, driving Yumi to fulfill her ambition. Excerpts from her "Super-Secret Comedy Notebook," awash with jokes and doodles, and believable-sounding dialogue bring readers into the life of this high-spirited, if self-conscious, protagonist. The drama of an immigrant family working together to keep a business afloat in a gentrifying neighborhood connects readers to the hard work of achieving the American dream. Kristine Techavanich May/June 2020 p.125(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Eleven-year-old Yumi Chung doesn't have anyone to sit with at lunch, but she secretly harbors dreams of becoming a comedian. Shy + Asian + Girl = Comedian? Why, yes. Yes, it does. Winston Preparatory Academy is a shy person's nightmare. Yumi hides from the beautiful girls and the bullies who call her "Yu-meat" because she smells like her parents' Korean barbecue restaurant. This summer, her parents are demanding that she go to Korean summer school, or hagwon, to get a near-perfect score on the high school entrance exambecause that is the only way to attend an elite college, like her superachiever sister, a 20-year-old med student. Yumi collects all of her fears and frustrations (and jokes) in her Super-Secret Comedy Notebook. When a case of mistaken identity allows her to attend a comedy camp taught by her YouTube idol, Yumi is too panicked to correct the problemand then it spirals out of control. With wonderful supporting characters, strong pacing, and entertaining comedy bits, debut author Kim has woven a pop song of immigrant struggle colliding with comedy and Korean barbecue. With their feet in two different cultures, readers listen in on honest conversations, full of halting English and unspoken truths painting a realistic picture of 21st-century first-generation Americansat least a Korean version. By becoming someone else, Yumi learns more about herself and her family in an authentic and hilarious way. Readers will cheer the birth of this comedian. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Yumi, 11, has plenty on her plate. She helps out at her parents' restaurant in L.A.'s Koreatown, she's taking prep classes to win a scholarship her private school offers, and almost every moment involves living up to her parents' high expectations. Yumi's passion, however, is comedy, and when she accidentally finds herself in a kids' comedy class taught by her YouTube idol, no less she decides to take full advantage. This, of course, leads to a web of lies from which Yumi tries to untangle herself with varying degrees of effort. Author Kim is juggling a lot here, but she does so with aplomb. Along with Yumi's comedy joys and woes (one of her jokes is that she's a zoo animal now because she's a ""lion cheetah""), she's dealing with the family restaurant's slow demise, her older sister's anxieties, and her desire to leave prep school for a new public school centered on the arts. Kim has taught school, and it shows, both with the spot-on dialogue and the up-to-date social media references. She also offers readers solid suggestions on building self-esteem. This will certainly remind readers of Kelly Yang's Front Desk (2018), but instead of a deus ex machina solving the family's problem, Yumi does it herself.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2019 Booklist