Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Release: May 29th 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine
Source: Amazon
Front Desk Synopsis:
Front Desk tells the story of 10-year-old Mia Tang. Every day, Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel while her parents clean the rooms. She’s proud of her job. She loves the guests and treats them like family. When one of the guests gets into trouble with the police, it shakes Mia to her core. Her parents, meanwhile, hide immigrants in the empty rooms at night. If the mean motel owner Mr. Yao finds out, they’ll be doomed!
Based on the author’s life, the story follows Mia — the daughter of first generation Chinese immigrants.
Review:
Watch my detailed video review of Front Desk by Kelly Yang!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2LwGu4D95E[/embedyt]
Initially when I picked up this book I thought it was going to be light hearted story because the cover looks so cute and childlike. However, this book touches on a lot of issues that people, especially immigrants face when they are not natives of that country. It takes about racism, bullying, discrimination and even though it is set in the 90s, I feel like it is still a prominent topic in society today.
Kelly Yang has done a wonderful job in this book. As the story is based off quite a few things that happened to her in real life when she was Mia’s age, I could see how passionate she was in writing his book. There are so many adventures and incidents taking place in the story touching so many key issues, but the author has still maintained it in a simple language for younger readers to also enjoy. Mia, the main character is strong and brave and doesn’t let society or her parents or anyone stop her from following her dreams and what she feels is right. She is a wonderful role model and inspiration.
Overall, this book is very empowering and tells us that no matter what our status, age, nationality etc. is we always have the power to help others and be more empathetic.
