Read this when
Front Desk
Ten years old, running a motel front desk, translating for your parents, and still doing your homework. 🛎️ Front Desk sees the kids who carry the family.
Who it's for
Mia runs a motel front desk at ten while her parents clean rooms for a cruel owner, so children who translate, worry about money or cover for their parents will recognize themselves instantly.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Kelly Yang's 2018 middle-grade novel, published by Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, follows Mia Tang, whose immigrant Chinese parents manage the Calivista Motel in Anaheim, California. They are housed as part of their pay but are treated unfairly by the owner, Mr. Yao. Mia runs the front desk, befriends the long-term residents, and enters an essay contest whose prize is a hotel in Vermont.
Where to find it
In print (Scholastic) and widely available in libraries, including Libby/Hoopla. An audiobook exists; check your library.
Before you start
Heads up: Racism and a beating by robbers.
Age: Ages 9+
The roots below the earth claim no rewards for making the branches fruitful.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 134
