Front Desk by Kelly Yang

5/5 Stars

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?


This book was a very fun and fascinating read. Mia is a brilliant main character that shows all the pain and the hope that a lot of immigrants face. It's a very powerful story that has some amazing family dynamics and friendships and the mistakes that Mia makes throughout the book make her more real and easy to root for.

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