Front Desk

Yang, K. (2018). Front Desk (Front Desk, #1). Arthur A. Levine Books.

Summary

Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade class, the other being Mr. Yao's son, Jason.

This book can be used to teach children about not giving in to fear, being strong, and being kind even when life is hard. This book successfully captures the themes of courage, determination, empathy, and hope presented from a child’s perspective.

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From the same author:

• New From Here

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Book trailer: