Front Desk

This is a beautiful, touching story about community, friendship, and some of the harsh realities of being an immigrant. Ten-year-old Mia Tang moves from China to America with her parents. To help them out, Mia works the front desk while they clean rooms and manage the hotel. She and her family deal with injustices at work and bullying and racism at school. Mia is a brave, strong girl who dreams about being a writer. The plot was realistic, suspenseful, and engaging. It tells an important story of the injustices that immigrants face in our country. The characters were relatable, realistic, and wonderful. I felt like I got to know them well. The moral of the story is to trust your friends, rely on your community, and never give up. Children between 8-12 years old should read the book, and it would make an excellent series. Mia reminded me of Clementine in the series by Sara Pennypacker. I think everyone should read this story and learn from the experiences of Mia’s family. This was an excellent book that made me laugh at times but was also so sad that I almost cried.