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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Front Desk is the story of Mia Tang, a ten year old Chinese immigrant who often works at the front desk of the motel complex she lives in with her parents while they are hard at work cleaning the units. The book explores many of the difficulties migrant families face - poverty, lack of health insurance, loan sharks, illegal and exploitative working conditions, racism, generational conflict and more yet these were handled in way that was appropriate for the intended audience. Mia is a really likeable protagonist with determination and a good-getter attitude, someone who not only wants to help her family but who goes out of her way to help others and stand-up for what she knows to be right. The happy and heartwarming ending is a nice counter to some of the tougher themes. I loved the way this book highlights the significant positive differences children Mia’s age can make in the world. The author’s note at the end adds some valuable context and details how parts of the story are based on her own life experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Bullying
Moderate: Violence
theoceanrose's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Violence
gurnoor's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Bullying
Moderate: Police brutality and Slavery
Minor: Alcohol
megmro's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
An emotional look at the ups and downs of fifth grade as an impoverished, undocumented Chinese immigrant. The family deals with a LOT of hardships, and so do the other characters they come in contact with--other Chinese immigrants, and a wonderful black man named Hank who lives long-term at the motel.
Many of the incidents are sad, stressful, and scary:
~Mia's mom is attacked and beaten up by robbers, and the family is too poor to pay the doctor's bill when they take her to a hospital. The mom is alright, and the doctor fights for them and gets the hospital to forgive the bill, but the whole episode is upsetting and stressful.
~Mia is grabbed and shouted at by a drunk man trying to rent a room at the hotel.
~Hank is falsely accused of stealing a car, and loses his job because of it. Later, he is incorrectly arrested when he chases down the robbers who attacked Mia's mom. He ends up losing his housing because of it. Mr. Yao is super discriminatory to black people, and Mia knows it's wrong and takes action.
~The other Chinese immigrants who come to the motel have sad stories of being treated horribly. One man has been beat up by loan sharks who have threatened to kill him. Another weeps because he's ashamed to tell his mother back in China how poor he is. Another has been held basically as a slave, and has broken out, but the old boss still has his passport. Lots of stressful things like that.
~The only other Asian in school is Jason Yao, the son of Mr. Yao, the dishonest and cruel motel owner, and Mia's parents' boss. Mia sees Jason being physically bullied, and then she becomes the target of HIS bullying all year long. He's just awful to her. She is teased by everyone for being poor. Content warning: the first time she meets Jason, he's wearing "a shirt that said 'I don't give a' and then a picture of a rat and a donkey."
The GOOD stuff:
~She makes wonderful friends with a hispanic girl named Lupe. Loved the development of that friendship.
~Mia is a tenacious problem-solver. She comes up with ideas that help everyone around her. She suggests a secret signal system to let immigrants know that they can hide for a few nights at the motel. Her parents provide a safe haven for many people because of Mia. She also starts writing letters to people asking for solutions. It starts small, with thank you notes and apologies, but then she gets bolder, and writes a letter of recommendation to Hank's prospective employer. She pretends to be a lawyer and writes a letter demanding their friend's passport back. She enters contests and reaches out for help. She calls out racism and dishonesty. It's really inspiring. She is a fantastic example of strength, courage, resourcefulness, grit, integrity and persistence. She's an incredibly likable character, despite a couple frustrating screw-ups at the beginning that get her family in trouble.
~Lots of wonderful character development in the book. The relationship between Mia and her mom goes through a deep, meaningful change, too. Lots of growth.
~The ending is warm-fuzzy awesomeness.
So, lots of hardships and sadness, but otherwise clean where language/sexual content is concerned. This would be an excellent choice for a school project on immigrant experience, social justice, racism, etc. Kids will definitely learn empathy and perspective.
I would say grade 6+, just because of the hard emotions and situations dealt with in the book.
Many of the incidents are sad, stressful, and scary:
~Mia's mom is attacked and beaten up by robbers, and the family is too poor to pay the doctor's bill when they take her to a hospital. The mom is alright, and the doctor fights for them and gets the hospital to forgive the bill, but the whole episode is upsetting and stressful.
~Mia is grabbed and shouted at by a drunk man trying to rent a room at the hotel.
~Hank is falsely accused of stealing a car, and loses his job because of it. Later, he is incorrectly arrested when he chases down the robbers who attacked Mia's mom. He ends up losing his housing because of it. Mr. Yao is super discriminatory to black people, and Mia knows it's wrong and takes action.
~The other Chinese immigrants who come to the motel have sad stories of being treated horribly. One man has been beat up by loan sharks who have threatened to kill him. Another weeps because he's ashamed to tell his mother back in China how poor he is. Another has been held basically as a slave, and has broken out, but the old boss still has his passport. Lots of stressful things like that.
~The only other Asian in school is Jason Yao, the son of Mr. Yao, the dishonest and cruel motel owner, and Mia's parents' boss. Mia sees Jason being physically bullied, and then she becomes the target of HIS bullying all year long. He's just awful to her. She is teased by everyone for being poor. Content warning: the first time she meets Jason, he's wearing "a shirt that said 'I don't give a' and then a picture of a rat and a donkey."
The GOOD stuff:
~She makes wonderful friends with a hispanic girl named Lupe. Loved the development of that friendship.
~Mia is a tenacious problem-solver. She comes up with ideas that help everyone around her. She suggests a secret signal system to let immigrants know that they can hide for a few nights at the motel. Her parents provide a safe haven for many people because of Mia. She also starts writing letters to people asking for solutions. It starts small, with thank you notes and apologies, but then she gets bolder, and writes a letter of recommendation to Hank's prospective employer. She pretends to be a lawyer and writes a letter demanding their friend's passport back. She enters contests and reaches out for help. She calls out racism and dishonesty. It's really inspiring. She is a fantastic example of strength, courage, resourcefulness, grit, integrity and persistence. She's an incredibly likable character, despite a couple frustrating screw-ups at the beginning that get her family in trouble.
~Lots of wonderful character development in the book. The relationship between Mia and her mom goes through a deep, meaningful change, too. Lots of growth.
~The ending is warm-fuzzy awesomeness.
So, lots of hardships and sadness, but otherwise clean where language/sexual content is concerned. This would be an excellent choice for a school project on immigrant experience, social justice, racism, etc. Kids will definitely learn empathy and perspective.
I would say grade 6+, just because of the hard emotions and situations dealt with in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Slavery, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
maliameiireads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Violence
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Fast-paced, riveting realistic middle grade fiction informed by the author's own life as a young Chinese immigrant helping her parents manage motels. Mia is a dynamic young protagonist who discovers the power of her own voice and the power of community.
If you like Front Desk, definitely check out Finally Seen — both are wonderful middle grade stories of immigrant lives, but I think Finally Seen is the better book, showcasing the author's growth as a writer.
If you like Front Desk, definitely check out Finally Seen — both are wonderful middle grade stories of immigrant lives, but I think Finally Seen is the better book, showcasing the author's growth as a writer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Medical content, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Classism, Blood, and Sexism
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, and Cancer
Police profiling, racial bias, and harassmentbarefootsong's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A wonderful story (based on the author's own experiences growing up) about Mia Tang, who has immigrated to the US from China in the 1990s and now helps her parents manage a run-down motel in Anaheim, California. This story doesn't shy away from the realities of racism and poverty that many immigrants face, but it also has a really great cast of characters and together they build their own community. I am definitely looking forward to reading Mia's further adventures!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Bullying
Moderate: Violence
mysterymom40's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Gaslighting, Violence, and Medical trauma
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Alcohol
tea_and_starstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Violence
Minor: Police brutality
februaries's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
this is definitely in the top 3 books i have ever read in my entire existence and will for sure recommend to everyone (especially to westerners) for years to come.
kelly yang tells the story of mia and her family with such a careful but raw and honest innocence that touches the hearts of all readers. all the struggles and sacrifices that chinese immigrants (and maybe most asian/bipoc immigrants) experience when moving to a western country were laid out in an easily digestible yet very meaningful way to allow genuine understanding from both children and adult readers alike. though it somehow tackles everything with a childlike innocence (due to mia being a child), it never waters down the reality of her family’s struggles. most times, she sounds so much more practical than most kids because of her own experiences. and even just a few pages in, you can already tell that this will not be a happy-go-lucky read.
there is so, so much to learn and reflect on from this book and im certain that i’ll be thinking about everything in this for at least a few months. im giving this a 4.5 (rounded up to 5) as the end felt a little bit ambitious for me, though i still love how it ended and wouldnt have wanted it any other way.
as someone who has been living in the philippines in my entire 19 years of existence + have constantly been told that migrating to the U.S. (or any other western country) will make you very successful, i greatly appreciate this book for confirming my belief that migrating is never nearly as easy as people paint it out to be. this book shows a sad reality that a lot of immigrants face, and that migrating is not always rainbows and butterflies.
will definitely be checking out the rest of this book series and kelly yang’s other works. im so thankful that this book exists and i genuinely hope more people discover it and pick it up and recommend it to others.
kelly yang tells the story of mia and her family with such a careful but raw and honest innocence that touches the hearts of all readers. all the struggles and sacrifices that chinese immigrants (and maybe most asian/bipoc immigrants) experience when moving to a western country were laid out in an easily digestible yet very meaningful way to allow genuine understanding from both children and adult readers alike. though it somehow tackles everything with a childlike innocence (due to mia being a child), it never waters down the reality of her family’s struggles. most times, she sounds so much more practical than most kids because of her own experiences. and even just a few pages in, you can already tell that this will not be a happy-go-lucky read.
there is so, so much to learn and reflect on from this book and im certain that i’ll be thinking about everything in this for at least a few months. im giving this a 4.5 (rounded up to 5) as the end felt a little bit ambitious for me, though i still love how it ended and wouldnt have wanted it any other way.
as someone who has been living in the philippines in my entire 19 years of existence + have constantly been told that migrating to the U.S. (or any other western country) will make you very successful, i greatly appreciate this book for confirming my belief that migrating is never nearly as easy as people paint it out to be. this book shows a sad reality that a lot of immigrants face, and that migrating is not always rainbows and butterflies.
will definitely be checking out the rest of this book series and kelly yang’s other works. im so thankful that this book exists and i genuinely hope more people discover it and pick it up and recommend it to others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence