Front Desk by Kelly Yang by Abigail Garcell

garcellabigail — 2024-03-05 16:25:49 UTC

Front Desk by Kelly Yang is about a young girl named Mia and her immigrant parents who work at a motel for an unkind man. Mia wants to fit in at school and to help her parents so they can stop working at the motel, but she has difficulty working at the front desk. Then, the owner of the hotel announces that he is selling the motel. Mia and her parents raise money to buy the motel and they eventually manage to buy it.

garcellabigail — 2024-03-05 20:01:08 UTC

Mia's mom finds in one of the motel rooms. The next day, she goes to school and doesn't get made fun of. They symbolize a "cure" to her unpopularity and how she could have a chance to fit in.

garcellabigail — 2024-03-05 20:13:40 UTC

Mia puts the Yankees cap on the corner of the front desk to tell the immigrants that Mr. Yao is there. The cap represents the terrible management that Mia and her parents are under, and the hope of a new rule.

garcellabigail — 2024-03-05 20:19:02 UTC

Mia's dad buys her an expensive green pencil for her to write with, which is then stolen by Jason Yao. The pencil represents the life that Mia thought she would live when she first came to America.

garcellabigail — 2024-03-06 20:43:03 UTC

Mia faces external challenges because of her socioeconomic background. The book explores themes like bravery, risk-taking and creativity as Mia makes the best of what she has and strives to help others.

garcellabigail — 2024-03-07 16:28:48 UTC

"There are some things, Mia, that no matter how hard you try, you'll never fully understand"

(Yang 187).

garcellabigail — 2024-03-07 20:27:45 UTC

In the book, Mia learns the value of hard work, creativity and determination. She meets new people and makes new friends as she rides the roller-coaster to success. She is taught about how you can make something good out of a bad situation.

garcellabigail — 2024-03-17 00:58:34 UTC

The challenges that the Tangs face are similar to the hardships that many other families face in the world. Lots of people struggle, and not all have happy endings like that of Mia and her parents.

garcellabigail — 2024-03-17 01:04:14 UTC

Mia wants to be a writer, but her mom doubts her because English is not her first language. This makes Mia sad, because she thought she was good at writing. Her mothers words stay bottled up inside of her for the rest of the the book.