WINNER, WINNER…
Immigrants, she said. Our lives are never fair. My dad nodded. We have to try, he said. We have to try and accept our fate. My parents were always going on about fate. Sometimes I wondered if this fate thing was just something adults made up to make themselves feel better, like the tooth fairy.
Summary - Mia Tang, the story’s protagonist, is a 5th grader when she begins working with her parents at the Calivista Motel just five miles from Disneyland. Front Desk details the family’s first year managing the hotel including little daily occurrences, diversity issues and the building of community at the motel.
This has been my (and my son’s!) absolute favorite family read-aloud so far this summer – and one that he was not super excited before but now he knows to just trust his Mama! Mia is an incredible character – she’s sharp as a tack, sweet, and funny. This book may have a lot of funny moments but it also touches on some hard subjects. It evoked a lot of emotion out of my son which allowed us to have some great discussions!
I highly recommend this middle grade read – I’d say 9 or 10 and up would be a perfect age . I can’t wait to continue this series (I believe there’s four or five in the series).
Find Front Desk at the publisher →
Toni Rocchetti is a copy editor helping authors strengthen their narratives, deepen character arcs, and find the story that is already in the draft. She reads 80+ books a year across literary fiction, memoir, and nonfiction — and writes about what she is learning along the way. Work with Toni →
