ALL THE STARS!!!

Content Warnings: racism, violence/blood, emotional abuse (mother to child), bullying

Front Desk is really that book that I will recommend to pretty much anybody I see. While the target audience of the novel is middle grade, I believe that readers (or even those who are not big readers) can learn a lot from the stories that Front Desk tells. In my notes I wrote how if I ever have kids, I want them to read this book, that is how much Front Desk resonated with me. And I have cousins who are around the age of Mia, and you bet that I will be throwing this book into their hands.

Mia Tang is a real-life heroine but still human and flawed. She struck me as such a powerful character in her strength to keep her chin up through each and every day and her determination to make life better for her family, herself, and those around her. She also is incredibly smart, and I honestly could have learned a few things from her if I had read this when I was 10-years-old.

Front Desk also unapologetically shows how people of color can still be racist towards others. Set in California, the Tang’s, Mia’s parents, work under Mr. Yao who is also Chinese. Yet Mia witnesses multiple times how racist Mr. Yao is to Hank, a black man who lives as a permanent resident at the motel. A Chinese security guard from down the road also shows his racism, which Mia automatically shuts down. And that is another thing I admired about Mia: when she sees or hears any sort of racism (mostly towards black people in this book), she confronts the adults about their racism, something that not many people would be willing to do. Heck, I do not, if I was 10, that I would even recognize the racism at the speed that Mia does.

Mia made me almost cry when she helps Hank, although it means bending a few rules in the process (also an exhibit of her tremendous intelligence) as well as when her family helps out other Chinese immigrants just trying to live life day-by-day. I also almost started crying during a scene in the hospital. It proved that the world is not always horrible.

Mia and her parents emigrated from China when she was around six or so, I believe, but four years later, they are still struggling. Her parents do not want to tell their family back in China about their situation, although those family members are now quite rich (mostly due to a real estate boom). Throughout the novel, Mia finds out what her parents mean when they say that they have more freedom in America than in China.

There are many ups-and-downs–ones I was not always expecting–and Mia’s cleverness and wit kept me on my toes as a reader. All in all, Front Desk shows the importance of taking action when you see injustice, what it is like to grow up in working-class America, and the legacy of the American Dream. Another unique aspect of Front Desk is that the author grew up in a situation similar to Mia’s: Kelly Yang also lived in a motel and took charge of the front desk while her parents worked.

My eyes are not dry, but my heart is happy. I honestly do not think my review did the book justice because I was reeling the entire time I was reading Front Desk. The novel gave me a unique look into the Chinese immigration experience and the diaspora, and Kelly Yang truly proves the power of storytelling.