GableGirl's Book Blog - Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Hi, I'm @Sunshine_Inferno, and welcome to my book blog!

Last time I reviewed Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes (you can find the review for that here:  https://www.chess.com/blog/Sunshine_Inferno/gablegirls-book-blog-six-crimson-cranes-by-elizabeth-lim ), a young adult "romantasy", as it's dubbed, but now I'm going to be reviewing something completely different: Kelly Yang's award-winning Front Desk.

This, my friends, is the definition of middle grade.

But no, it's more than that cutesy cover and synopsis. And today, we're going to be exploring that.

My rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

5 stars

"My parents told me that America would be this amazing place where we could live in a house with a dog, do whatever we want, and eat hamburgers until we were red in the face. So far, the only part we've achieved is the hamburger part, but I'm still holding out hope. And the hamburgers here are pretty good."

Mia Tang is the ten-year-old child of Chinese immigrants who came to America with $200 in their pockets. When her parents are offered well-paying jobs at the Calivista Motel by the (slightly scary) Mr. Yao, they don't hesitate. But soon, other immigrants start to come to the Calivista. People like them, who are working class and can't afford to pay to stay. So her parents start hiding immigrants at the Calivista. And the worst possibility? If Mr. Yao finds out.

Some people will laugh at me for loving the heck out of this book, which is a beautiful and heart-wrenching portrayal of working-class immigrants in the 1990s. But I digress: This is a book for people of all ages to read and enjoy. Pick it up; you might be surprised. Maybe you'll learn something. 

xoxo, 

Ella