Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.

Today we’re featuring Front Desk by Kelly Yang!  

Fifth-grader and immigrant Mia lives with her Chinese parents in a small room at the Calivista Hotel. When they arrived in America, they expected to work hard but they had no idea how difficult simply surviving might be. Her mom and dad manage the property for the cruel owner of the Calivista, Mr. Yao who has horrible business ethics. They literally work nonstop––cleaning until their fingers ache, caring for the property, and hosting the lodging guests––for very little in return other than a roof over their heads.

Mia manages the front desk, school bullies, the oppressive Mr. Yao, her mother’s frustration with Mia’s desire to become a writer, and the constant difficulties of living in poverty with a tenacious spirit that is hopeful and infectious. Despite her personal troubles, Mia makes friends with the weekly hotel guests and finds ways to support them. She’s also very clever, and even though she finds writing in English a challenge, she works incredibly hard at becoming a good writer and uses her newly found skills to help remedy injustices experienced by other immigrants. Mia is an irresistible bright light and an inspiration to us all!

This eye-opening book is such a winner in many ways, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Many of Mia’s experiences are based on the author’s childhood, and the rich emotions and details are very satisfying. When I finished FRONT DESK, I gave it a little hug. It was silly, but it was a natural reflex as I thought about all the immigrant children in the world who struggle to make sense and thrive in their new surroundings. Kelly Yang brought that experience to life in a story that is informative, empowering, and emotionally satisfying.

Favorite line: “You are not a bike.” No Mia, you aren’t. You can be anything you want to be in this life. Wise words for us all to live by.

FRONT DESK has received multiple starred reviews including from Kirkus and School Library Journal! Stop by your local bookstore when FRONT DESK publishes on May 29th and give it a hug before digging in or even better share it with a classroom in need of diverse fiction!

If that wasn’t enough convincing, listen to Kelly Yang yourself!

Kelly Yang is the founder and director of The Kelly Yang Project, an award-winning creative writing and critical reasoning program for students ages 2-17 in Hong Kong. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School. Kelly went to college at the age of 13 and is one of the youngest women to graduate from Harvard Law School at the age of 20. Kelly is also a columnist for multiple news outlets and gives great TED Talks! FRONT DESK is her wonderful middle grade debut! You can find Kelly on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Posted by Michelle Leonard.