That duality was fascinating to me and I wanted to explore it a little more through Yumi.

It was like two parts of my heart were battling one another, one influenced by my Asian-immigrant upbringing, and the other influenced by the individualistic “can-do” attitude I developed growing up in America. Thank you so much, Afoma for reading, I’m so glad that Yumi’s story resonated with you! I decided to write about the friction between Yumi and her parents because, at the time, I was struggling with my own complicated feelings about being a writer.Īs a newish writer, part of me felt like it was a silly and risky endeavor to pour so much time, effort, and money into my dream of writing a book and the other part of me couldn’t help but dream anyway. Why did you decide to write about this conflict of interests? Yumi is a budding stand-up comic whose immigrant parents would rather have focus on her academics and pursue a conventional career. I’m so grateful I got a chance to read an early copy. Hi Jessica! As you know, I LOVED Stand Up, Yumi Chung.

I spoke to Jessica about why she wrote this story, writing about financial difficulties in middle-grade books, and her path as a teacher and writer. When Yumi ends up in a comedy camp as a result of mistaken identity, she grabs the opportunity with both hands.

Yumi, the book’s young heroine wants to be a stand up comic, but her immigrant Korean parents want a different path for her. 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.Author Jessica Kim’s debut novel Stand Up, Yumi Chung is especially close to my heart. 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. 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. Her notebook is filled with mortifying memories that she's reworked into comedy gold. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. 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.

One lie snowballs into a full-blown double life in this irresistible story about an aspiring stand-up comedian.

Stand up yumi