Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Wednesday Book Review: Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Title: Front Desk
Author: Kelly Yang
Publisher: Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine
Copyright: 2018
Date read: 5/16/18


Mia Tang is 10 years old and has a job.


She is the manager at the Calivista Motel!

This job is full of danger and kindness, and along with being a 5th grader, she can be very busy! This story is about Kelly Yang's experiences as a child, she is a first generation Chinese American, and she and her parents really did manage a motel when she was a child.


Mia's parents help other Chinese immigrants when they need a place to stay.

One of the immigrants doesn't understand why he was fired, and it turns out he had said "hey baby" to a customer...this shed light on how we use language and how idioms can trip up non native speakers.






















This story also brought up some school memories and reminded me of my school experiences; and to strive to continually grow and learn as a teacher - so that my students don't feel like the "other" in the classroom either!




She talks about how the picture of a Chinese man has grossly exaggerated eyebrows, this reminded me of learning about India in the 7th grade. We watched a video about life in India, where tigers and snakes crossed the streets. Obviously, this wasn't true. In this same class, we watched another video where Chinese ate dogs. I STILL remember both vividly and thinking, there are so many facts missing! I remember thinking, how could all Chinese eat dogs?? I don't even LIKE dogs, but I wouldn't eat them! Then we watched the India video, and I realized, these aren't entirely factual and I'd need to learn more on my own! (And to question things around me!)









Mia helps her weeklies and tries to do what's right, even when it is never easy. She finds out who are the good and who are the bad by their actions and not just their appearance. Her innocence is refreshing and she truly wants to make a difference and stand up for others.













Mia talks about how it is rude not to pay for a friend, or split the bill. In my household, we still fight over who pays the bill, and one of my relatives always just gives a credit card before we even order!












I enjoyed the writing and the story behind it (about wanting to share the author's experiences with her son). I especially loved the moment with her father, and how Mia is not a bicycle.

              






I already have some kids in mind who maybe feel like the “other” in the classroom but just don’t know there’s a Lupe just like them trying to find a way onto the “good” roller coaster.




This summed up a lot of immigrant experiences for me, as I am a first generation East-Indian American. I loved Mia’s voice, letters, “edits”, and the fact that she used a dictionary and thesaurus to improve her writing!






Thanks to the Anderson's Bookshop for sharing a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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