Eleven-year-old Yumi has a secret desire to be a stand-up comedian, though she is afraid to confess to her strict Korean parents the extent of her ambitions. Yumi's parents are immigrants and have worked very hard to give Yumi and her older sister all the advantages. They own and operate a Korean barbecue restaurant that has fallen on hard times. Even though money is tight, they pay to have Yumi attend a Korean tutoring program. Yumi hates the tutoring, as well as the prestigious private school she must attend. She would much rather go to the Los Angeles performing arts middle school but knows that her parents would never approve. Quite by accident/purpose Yumi wanders into a local comedy club, where one of her YouTube favorites is teaching a comedy camp for kids just her age. A case of mistaken identity leads Yumi to her new role as the latest member of the troupe, performing under the name "Kay", a registered girl who could not attend for medical reasons. Yumi makes new friends at camp who finally get her, and she longs to ditch academia and parental expectations to follow her dreams and be the person that she knows herself to be. The duplicity begins to wear her out and makes her feel guilty, yet she can't confess the truth to anyone in her life. Finally, the secret spills, Yumi tells her parents what is in her heart and accepts responsibility for her shady behavior. The results are not perfect, but they serve as a decent compromise, creating a solution that everyone can live with and saving the restaurant in the bargain.
I can't remember ever reading a middle grade book about an inspiring stand-up comedian, so this title came as a fresh surprise. With the added bonus of a modern Korean American protagonist, an underrepresented culture in children's literature, this was a book I was excited about. Yumi must learn how to follow her parent's wishes, while also staying true to herself and her passions. At first, she takes the approach common to all middle school aged kids-hide the truth and avoid confrontation. Yumi learns that this is not the best approach and feels better after she has a serious talk with her parents, apologizes to her comedy teacher, and makes up with her friends. Children of immigrants will appreciate Yumi's desire to please her parents since they have made countless scarifies for her and many kids will relate to how hard it is to live up to expectations that go against the person that you know yourself to be. I love the compromise that the author comes up with and found it to be pleasantly realistic. The climax of the novel is a Hail-Mary gesture to save the restaurant and demonstrates the importance of community and supporting small business. Yumi makes a real contribution in helping her parent's save the restaurant and is a producing member of the family. The book, though often dealing with serious issues, is predictably funny. Readers will like the stand-up bits, though they are few and far between. We don't see much of Yumi's act until the end, but we are treated to her clever musings of her world along the way. This book may give kids the courage to stand up to their parents and, possibly, work up a little stand-up routine of their own.
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