In many cultures, including my own, it isn’t quite as common to show affection with hugs and “I love yous” the way we see on TV. Many times, the “Asian mom” character is portrayed in media as strict and unrelenting but I wanted to flesh out her incredibly loving side as well. I needed her to be authentic but also multi-dimensional. It was so hard because I really wanted to nail it. I think I rewrote her at least five times. The character that I spent the most time developing was the mother. It’s no different for Yumi and her family. In this season of exploration and self-expression, kids might want to start branching out and pursue new things and sometimes parents aren’t ready for those changes. Which character was most challenging for you to write?Ībsolutely, as a mother of a middle grade reader myself, I know all too well how common it is for young people to be at odds with their parents around this age. I love Yumi, and I think young readers will really be able to relate to her wanting to make her own choices about a future career, rather than pursuing what her parents what her to do. Unable to give up on her double life, Yumi’s lies grow bigger and bigger until she must decide to stand up and reveal the truth or risk losing everything and everyone she ever cared about. But her parents are dead set on her acing her exam and winning a scholarship to the prestigious private school instead.

When a new performing arts school with a comedy program opens up, Yumi dares to hope her new life could be permanent and yearns to audition for a spot. Basically everything Yumi wishes she were in real life. While her parents think she’s at the library studying for the upcoming scholarship exam, she’s actually going to camp at the Haha Club as her alter-ego, Kay Nakamura, who is confident, popular, and pee-your-pants hilarious. When a case of mistaken identity offers Yumi a spot in comedy camp taught by the incredible Jasmine herself, Yumi leaps at the chance. Sure! Shy and quiet eleven-year-old Yumi Chung wishes she had the courage to do stand-up comedy like her YouTube idol, Jasmine Jasper, but she can’t even stand up to her academic-minded immigrant parents.

Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim