Front Desk

Front Desk

By Yang Kelly

17 ratings 16 reviews 20 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 2 - 5n/a4.564171
Four starred reviews!

* "Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.

Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.

Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.

Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?

It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN-13: 9781338157826
ISBN-10: 1338157825
Published on 6/25/2019
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 320

Book Reviews (18)

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Thisis a good book

I like Front Desk because I'm an imagrant to. Although I am NOT from China like Mia is. I strongly recomend this book. I think you will like it to. -Vee

it is a book full of love and heat break. the front desk is a moving, heart warming story that made me cry and made me angry in some parts. The message of the story is that not all black or Asian or any culture are bad or dangerous. That is not what Mr. Yao thinks

Samantha Samantha

The book I read was Front Desk by Kelly Yang. The year this book was made in is 2019. This book was very sad but the setting was great! The story made me feel bad and happy at the same time. Mia was a normal 5th grader in China and loved school. She was happy right where she was. A little while later her parents told her they were moving to California! Her mom got a job as a waitress,and got fired right away because of Mia! Then they got a motel.The owner of the motel was a terrible man. I love the setting .I love it because it takes place in New York and New York is my favorite city because I love all the tall buildings. I also love the parks! I also very much admire Times Square. This story made me feel sad because Mia was very poor. Her mom also got terribly injured! I also felt happy because she realized that a lot of people were even more unfortunate than her. She also got the motel! The setting was super sad but the rest of the story was great! I did not know when to stop. I would recommend this book to people who don’t mind hearing about violence as this story has a little bit of it. It is a really good book! And to all the people who read it I hope you love it!

i love this book but it is just them trying to find a job and it just tells us what mays school and it,s not a book i would read like all the time but it is still a good book.

I love this book its the best i think its a rate 4/5 becouse its kinda boring at the same time as good!

This is a heartwarming and magical book. It can change the way you view things. Mila Tang has immigrated from China with her Mom and Dad. They were living in extremely hard conditions when they happened to see jobs for a motel with free rent! Mr. Yao, he seemed friendly at first however as the days went on he revealed his cold self to Mila and her family. Starting first that he would not give money for cleaning the weeklies's rooms, though he never mentioned about it. All he said was 5 dollars for each room. However the Tangs have no choice but to work there. Mila attends the front desk, where scary things happen, she accidentally let's in a drunk guest and she gets hurt, mostly on the inside. Also the Tangs are hiding immigrants in a room and if that's discovered they are doomed. Mila finds out that Jason likes her and in the end learns that he is not that bad. Mila also has a best friend Lupe and she is from mexico. She gives Mila hope and friendship and is a true loyal friend. First they have a friendship made of lies then both realize that both of them have been telling lies! So, they confess and a true heart of friendship is born! On this rollar coaster are they going to survive the twists and turns? Or are they going to get drowned? This is a must read book for sure, awesome!!!!!!!

This book is different than many other manuscripts. It tells the story of Mia, a Chinese immigrant who's parents own a motel in California. The owner, Mr. Yao, is a jerk to everyone. So Mia figures out that Mr, Yao is planning to sell the motel, so she decides to collect $300,000 to buy the motel. I recommend this book for 8+ years.