Front Desk by Kelly Yang

I really enjoyed reading about Mia’s determination to win. I enjoyed that no matter what people told her, she still kept going. Mia Tang and her family are immigrants from China. They moved to America for a better life, but they ended up living in their car for two years. Then, Mia’s parents got a job managing a motel in California. The owner, Mr. Yao, is horrible to them. But there are some small victories for Mia, even if she doesn’t see them as victories. She meets Hank, one of the weeklies at the motel. At school, she meets Lupe, a Mexican girl who loves drawing trees. Lupe says she has three dogs, a trampoline, and a big house. Mia lies and says she has a dog and a big house, too, but when Lupe’s dad has to come to the motel to fix the cable, Mia and Lupe find out that they’ve both been lying, and that’s when they become best friends. When Mia enters an essay contest to win a motel in Vermont without telling her parents, Lupe and Mia drift apart a little. And Mia’s plans keep getting bigger and bigger. This book was based on a true story about the author, Kelly Yang. A sad but amazing story about immigration, friendship, and racism.