Helpful Staff
There was no greater feeling in the world than reading those words.
Let's begin with the cover of Front Desk. I really like the US (Scholastic) one but I don't think the one offered here (Walker Books) in Australia will appeal to readers. I do hope I am wrong. Which cover do you like? I wish I had been in the meeting when Walker Books were discussing changing the cover. I would have argued to keep the original. My copy is the Walker one but if I was putting this book into my library I think I might print the US cover and perhaps attach it to inside of the book to show students a different view of this story. If you click the review at the end of this post you can read how Mr Schu actually cried when he saw the cover because he thought it was so perfect!
Mia has recently arrived from China with her parents, with big dreams and with very little money. After a series of horrible jobs her parents apply to manage a motel - The Calivista.
"The Topaz Inn and Lagoon Hotel were right next door and bigger, but I immediately decided I like our little motel the best. ... Our lives were about to change. We were going to become Disneyland-going people. As if things couldn't get any better, the Calivista had a pool! ... This was going to be amazing."
You have probably guessed that none of this dream comes true for Mia. The motel owner is a cruel bully who swindles the family out of the money they were promised, he bans them from using the pool and for every minute of every day some one must 'man' the front desk of the motel so there can be no family outings to anywhere least of all Disneyland.
Mia will not be defeated. She is a problem solver. She is hard working. She does make mistakes but she learns from them and is never defeated. There has to be a way to make things better for everyone but most especially for her parents who had such dreams for their new life in America.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The authentic voice of Mia still lingers with me. I love the connection (explained in the final pages) between this story and the real life experiences of the author. Having started this book one morning I raced home later in the day and continued reading it very late into the night. This is one of those books you cannot put down. There were times, as a I read, that I just want to reach out and help Mia navigate her complex life circumstances or at the very least reach out and give Mia a hug. Luckily there are some kind "weeklies" living at the motel who do offer help and understanding.
As you know I rarely rate books but I give Front Desk a score of ten out of ten. You can see Kelly Yang talking about her book here in a short Scholastic video. You can read an interview with Kelly here by Kids Book Review. You can read a text extract here and listen to Kelly Yang talk about the real life inspiration for this story.
Read some reviews here if you need more plot details :
Kirkus Star Review
Ms Yingling Reads - this is a very comprehensive review
Horn Book
Mr Schu Reads
Front Desk is testament to how a great story can grab you by the heart and never quite let go. Asian Review of Books
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