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Front Desk

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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.

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