Skip to main content

Front Desk

Image
By

Front Desk
Written by Kelly Yang
Arthur A. Levine Books, 2018. Fiction, 286 p.

Mia Tang came with her parents from China to the United States of America. Everyone promised it would be "The Land of Opportunity" but things don't seem to be going quite as planned. Her parents find an opportunity to manage a hotel, which means the rent is included! Maybe they really can get ahead and finally catch up on finances! Mr. Yao, the hotel owner, ends up being different than they first thought. He is mean and stingy. Her dad hardly gets any sleep and her parents can barely manage to put food on the table, but Mia does find a best friend named Lupe.

She also pursues writing, even though her mom tells her that since English is her second language she should pick a subject like Math. Mia doesn't give up. She enters an essay contest to win a hotel and comes up with a brilliant idea to help her parents get out of the poverty cycle.

Yang has crafted a middle grade fiction that delves into tough stuff some kids encounter in the real world. Immigrants, poverty, and fear are just some of the things Mia experiences, in addition to the regular school associated situations most ten-year-olds encounter.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Alice with a Why

By
Alice with a Why By Anna James New York: Penguin, 2026. Fiction. 240 pgs. In 1919, in the aftermath of the first World War, Alyce is living with her grandmother in the English countryside. Her grandmother, also named Alice, tells Alyce (with a y) stories from her childhood adventures in a wonderful land filled with white rabbits and mad hatters. Alyce doesn't really believe the silly stories, she just misses her father who was killed in the war. One day, Alyce receives a mysterious invitation to tea, and subsequently falls into a pond where she is transported to Wonderland. Her grandmother, of course, is that Alice. Alyce is prompted by the Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and March Hare to seek out the Time Being and put an end to the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon. Thus begins Alyce's adventure through Wonderland. I have a certain soft spot for the original story of Alice in Wonderland. It is one of my particular favorites and I often have a hard time reading new int...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Blood in the Water

By
Blood in the Water By Tiffany D. Jackson New York: Scholastic, 2025. Fiction. 255 pages. 12-year-old Kaylani McKinnon can't help but feel like a fish out of water. She's a Brooklyn girl spending her summer on Martha's Vineyard surrounded by wealthy family friends in their mansion. All she really wants is to stay home all summer where she her incarcerated father can easily reach her, and she can keep working to find ways to prove him innocent of fraud and embezzlement. Despite her protests, she finds herself on the island with the snooty granddaughters of her host. Soon after Kaylani's arrival, a popular teen boy is found murdered and she decides to conduct her own investigation. As she tries to discover what happened to Chadwick Cooper, Kaylani finds that not everything on Martha's Vineyard is as perfect as it appears. Thrillers for middle grade readers can be hard to find, but Tiffany D. Jackson succeeds in her first middle grade novel. A quick moving plot, tight d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Faves: Funny Animal Picture Books

By
Here is the thing, I have a kid that loves animals. And I have another kid who really likes funny books. So when it comes to reading books if I can get a book that is funny and has animals in it, there is a chance that I can get both of my kids to listen to that book. Which is a win-win for reading time at my house. Here are some great new picture books that feature animals that may also make readers chuckle. Enjoy!  Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World)  By Corey R. Tabor  New York: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2025. Picture Book.  In this book a very cranky (and crabby) crow keeps “kaw”ing at all the other animals to get them to go away. The other animals respond in various states of annoyance/offense to Crow’s response. Eventually readers see the reasoning behind Crow’s actions—which is where the chuckles will come in.  Help Me Find My Hamster!  Written by Brooke Hartman  Illustrated by Anna Süssbauer  Salem, MA: Pa...
Post a Comment
Read more