Front Desk

Mia Tang and her parents moved to the U.S. from China two years ago, and they've moved around a lot since then, scraping by and barely making ends meet. But now they are the managers of the Calivista Motel, and Mia jumps to work the front desk. She's proud of helping her family, but when she starts school, the motel owner's son, Jason, is in her class, and Mia keeps quiet about where she lives.

She makes a friend, Lupe, and once they realize they were both lying to each other about their home lives (Lupe's dad comes to fix the cable at the motel when it breaks), their friendship deepens. Lupe explains to Mia about "the rollercoaster," how the privileged are on one track and the underprivileged are on another, and Mia is determined to show more get her family onto the other track - by winning a B&B that a couple in Vermont is giving away in an essay contest.

Mia's mother discourages her writing and encourages her to focus on math - partly because the native speakers are "cars" and Mia is a "bicycle," but also because she herself can help Mia with math, but not English. Mia persists, though, with help from Lupe and the "weeklies," a group of people who live at the hotel. A black man, Hank, is kind to Mia, and Mrs. Q lends her her dictionary/thesaurus to help with her writing.

Throughout the novel, motel owner Mr. Yao proves time and again that he is an awful person, repeatedly taking advantage of Mia's immigrant parents. They soldier on, and open their doors (secretly) to other Chinese immigrants, all of whom have stories to tell. Mia sees up close how the "American dream" has played out for her family, other Chinese immigrants, and Hank and other black Americans, but she retains her innate spirit, goodness, and creativity. She makes mistakes often but recovers, and in the end the Tang family is able to buy the motel from Mr. Yao.

Quotes

In science class at my last school, I learned that if you want a mammal to do something, you should stare at it. That's because mammals are social creatures and we're really into hierarchy. (21)

At my old school in China, there was this kind elderly man who lived near the building. Every day, he'd give me a popsicle on my way home in exchange for telling him what I learned in school that day...
...I missed Popsicle Grandpa. There was no one like that here. Here, everything had a price, even kindness. (34)

As I walked, I gave the butterflies in my stomach their usual pep talk - It's going to be okay, I'll make friends, and if I don't, I'll borrow books from the library. (38)

It was the most incredible feeling ever, knowing that something I wrote actually changed someone's life. (218)

[My cousins] were all boys, and I was the only girl, and in China, girls are kind of like spare tires. It's nice if you have one, but they're not important. Even my grandmother, who I loved and missed so much, believed this. She believed it like she believed the sky was blue. Like it was a fact. Girls were just not as useful as boys. (235) show less

Front Desk by Kelly Yang follows Mia Tang, a determined and resourceful 10-year-old girl whose parents manage the Calivista Motel. While her parents clean rooms, Mia runs the front desk, deals with guests, and hides the fact that they secretly help immigrant families in need. At school, Mia faces bullying, racism, and pressure to fit in. Despite the challenges, she dreams of becoming a writer and uses her voice to fight unfairness—both in the motel and beyond.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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My parents told me America was this amazing place where we could live in a house with a dog, do whatever we want, and eat hamburgers till we were red in the face. So far the only part we’ve achieved is the hamburger part, but I was still holding out hope. And the hamburgers here are pretty good.

WHAT'S FRONT DESK ABOUT?
I'm not sure where I got the idea—I thought I read it somewhere, but I can't find it, but I want to say the year is 1993*, and Mia Tan and her parents have been in the U.S. for some time now—having left their family, friends, and lives back in China. Now in Anaheim, they've stumbled into a decent job—her parents will manage a motel not that far from show more Disneyland and they'll get a place to live, in addition to what the owner has agreed to pay.

(we'll ignore the way he changes that agreement unilaterally and without warning).

Despite only being ten, Mia starts working the front desk—and really enjoys it—when she's not in school. She meets and befriends a group of "weeklies" (those who live in the motel). Basically, she's enjoying life. Until she has to go to school—she can't bring herself to tell anyone where her family lives, what she does when she's not in school, etc.

The novel is about Mia becoming comfortable in the U.S., helping her family stabilize themselves in their work, and connecting with a community around them. This comes from the way her parents help immigrants (of multiple nationalities), the weeklies, and other connections she makes by being her irrepressible self.

* The technology used throughout the book fits, for what it's worth.

THE MG-NESS OF IT
This is very clearly an MG novel—other than the protagonist, the characters are rarely more than an inch deep. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t like them—you just have to know going in that they’re going to have the depth of Candace Flynn.

With few exceptions (and those are very clear), these characters are supportive, encouraging, and wise—except for when they need to do something unwise/foolish for plot reasons.

It’s fine—it’s to be expected for the target audience, really. But I’ve been on a streak of some pretty deep reads lately, and it felt really light to me.

On the plus side—there’s no nuance to either the depictions of the xenophobia or racism or to the reactions to it. Yang kept that nice and clear—you help people no matter who they are? You get the white hat. You show prejudice against immigrants, Asians, Hispanics, and/or African Americans? You get the black hat—and very likely are forced to eat your just desserts. And honestly? That’s a relief—I needed something with that kind of clarity.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FRONT DESK?

Sometimes, I wondered what it would be like to have an American mom. Just for a day. I could eat all the chocolate chip cookies I wanted because American moms on TV were always baking them. Or making casseroles. Or organizing birthday parties with themes.

I'll tell you what they were not doing. They weren't pestering their kids to do more math.

Although the novel is clear about problems in America—particularly when it comes to economics, xenophobia, and racism. But it loves Americans and American ideals, and while it gets shaken—Mia and her parents cling to some version of the American dream. It’s enough to give a cynic hope.

Speaking of hope—the book is full of it. Not all of it is grounded—but, I’m not sure I care. Mia’s hope and optimism are contagious. You see it in the way she sets about everything she does, the way she changes others, and the way those who have been changed start thinking and doing. Again, it’s only the black hats who seem impervious to this—although they are sometimes compelled to change their actions.

It's sweet. It’s hopeful. It’s cheerful. It is honest about the flaws (and there are more than a few) of the protagonist/narrator, but it shows how she perseveres in light of them—and grows.

It’s really hard to find things to complain about, so I won’t. Pick it up—if not for yourself, at least for the MG reader in your life (assuming you’re fortunate to be blessed with one). show less

"Through the story of fifth-grader Mia Tang, readers experience the courage, hard work, and dreams of a young Chinese immigrant.

A small room behind the office of the Calivista Motel is home for Mia and her parents. Hired by the rich, coal-hearted Mr. Yao, the family works bone-numbing hours cleaning rooms, fixing problems, and managing the front desk. Troubles check in from every direction: at home, where her mom belittles her love of writing; at school, where bullies and lies surround her; and especially at the motel, where the family battles financial ruin. Yet along the seemingly endless roller coaster of poverty, hope appears in small places. Debut author Yang weaves in autobiographical content while creating a feisty and empowered show more heroine. The supporting characters are rich in voice and context, with multiple villains and friends that achingly reveal life in America in the 1990s for persons of color and those living in poverty. Heavy themes, including extortion, fraud, and racism, are balanced with the naïve dreams and determination of a 10-year-old. The power of Mia’s newfound skill in English pushes her to fight for her community, which has lovingly become her adopted family in this new land. With bittersweet information on Chinese immigration to America added in an author’s note, this book captures many important themes to explore individually or in the classroom.

Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages. (Historical fiction. 8-12)" A Kirkus Starred Review. www.kirkusreviews.com show less

I discovered this book thanks to NPR’s list of 100 best children’s books. How glad I am that I did! I loved this tale of Mia Tang, a 10-year-old émigré from China, who helps her parents run a run-down motel in Anaheim, Calif., in the 1990s. Author Kelly Yang drew on her own childhood in writing this wonderful story that celebrates the resiliency of immigrants while deploring the discrimination and exploitation that befall them.

I myself am the daughter of Cuban immigrants; my mother worked briefly in a sewing factory in the 1960s, getting paid under the table and probably less than a legal wage. As in Mia’s case, it’s hard seeing employers from your own community exploiting the newcomers, and I had thought that was a thing of show more the past. As for those who think Mia acts older than her age — of course she does! That’s what you have to do when you’re the English-speaking daughter of non-English-speaking parents. By the time I was 13, I was basically running my household, reading contracts for my parents, handling purchases and returns, attending my brother’s parent-teacher conferences in their stead, subscribing to the newspaper so I could tell them whom to vote for and all the rest. Mia’s maturity is the most realistic part of a very realistic — and highly recommended — book. And the ending is magical! show less

"Through the story of fifth-grader Mia Tang, readers experience the courage, hard work, and dreams of a young Chinese immigrant.

A small room behind the office of the Calivista Motel is home for Mia and her parents. Hired by the rich, coal-hearted Mr. Yao, the family works bone-numbing hours cleaning rooms, fixing problems, and managing the front desk. Troubles check in from every direction: at home, where her mom belittles her love of writing; at school, where bullies and lies surround her; and especially at the motel, where the family battles financial ruin. Yet along the seemingly endless roller coaster of poverty, hope appears in small places. Debut author Yang weaves in autobiographical content while creating a feisty and empowered show more heroine. The supporting characters are rich in voice and context, with multiple villains and friends that achingly reveal life in America in the 1990s for persons of color and those living in poverty. Heavy themes, including extortion, fraud, and racism, are balanced with the naïve dreams and determination of a 10-year-old. The power of Mia’s newfound skill in English pushes her to fight for her community, which has lovingly become her adopted family in this new land. With bittersweet information on Chinese immigration to America added in an author’s note, this book captures many important themes to explore individually or in the classroom.

Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages. (Historical fiction. 8-12)" A Kirkus Starred Review. www.kirkusreviews.com show less

Very, very close to being a five-star book for me, but there was something about the ending that my adult mind could not accept. First, that Mia managed to raise so much money so quickly from so many people was unbelievable. Second, the logistics of all those people investing in the hotel and co-owning it boggles my mind. When I think hard about it, though, it's pretty much an analog
Kickstarter/GoFundMe situation, so I don't know why I can't accept it. I suppose it just didn't feel real to me. It felt too good to be true, maybe too much like the ending of It's a Wonderful Life.

This is a children's book, though, and I wonder how many kids will find the ending unbelievable. It is super satisfying in a book filled with so much show more unfairness. You want Mia and her family and friends to succeed because they've had to put up with so much hardship and cruelty.

With the exception of the ending, I liked everything about this book. Especially:

1. The celebration of writing, especially thank you notes. Didn't this book make you want to write a thank you note to someone who's helped you? Mia uses writing to make connections with people who otherwise might just pass out of her life. She also uses writing to give herself power she wouldn't have otherwise (because she can write with authority). I love that her treasured possession is a pencil because it shows the reader how important writing is to her.

2. The relationships between the characters are realistically complex. Mia's relationships with Lupe, Jason, and her mom evolved as Mia got more information about each of them. This points to well drawn characters, thoughtful backstories, and rich interactions between the characters. Even the villain Mr. Yao gets to have a tender moment appreciating a past motel manager (who he probably treated like crap, but the point is Mr. Yao is a human being even if he's a bad one).

3. The brilliant handling of social justice themes. This book never felt overly didactic even though it offers a lot of lessons about injustice in America. It will be a great discussion starter for kids and adults. show less