Reviews with content warning for Racism - Motel Calivista

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Motel Calivista by Kelly Yang

58 reviews

purplepenning's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Fast-paced, riveting realistic middle grade fiction informed by the author's own life as a young Chinese immigrant helping her parents manage motels. Mia is a dynamic young protagonist who discovers the power of her own voice and the power of community.

If you like Front Desk, definitely check out Finally Seen — both are wonderful middle grade stories of immigrant lives, but I think Finally Seen is the better book, showcasing the author's growth as a writer.

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barefootsong's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A wonderful story (based on the author's own experiences growing up) about Mia Tang, who has immigrated to the US from China in the 1990s and now helps her parents manage a run-down motel in Anaheim, California. This story doesn't shy away from the realities of racism and poverty that many immigrants face, but it also has a really great cast of characters and together they build their own community. I am definitely looking forward to reading Mia's further adventures!

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mysterymom40's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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tea_and_starstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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februaries's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

this is definitely in the top 3 books i have ever read in my entire existence and will for sure recommend to everyone (especially to westerners) for years to come.

kelly yang tells the story of mia and her family with such a careful but raw and honest innocence that touches the hearts of all readers. all the struggles and sacrifices that chinese immigrants (and maybe most asian/bipoc immigrants) experience when moving to a western country were laid out in an easily digestible yet very meaningful way to allow genuine understanding from both children and adult readers alike. though it somehow tackles everything with a childlike innocence (due to mia being a child), it never waters down the reality of her family’s struggles. most times, she sounds so much more practical than most kids because of her own experiences. and even just a few pages in, you can already tell that this will not be a happy-go-lucky read.

there is so, so much to learn and reflect on from this book and im certain that i’ll be thinking about everything in this for at least a few months. im giving this a 4.5 (rounded up to 5) as the end felt a little bit ambitious for me, though i still love how it ended and wouldnt have wanted it any other way.

as someone who has been living in the philippines in my entire 19 years of existence + have constantly been told that migrating to the U.S. (or any other western country) will make you very successful, i greatly appreciate this book for confirming my belief that migrating is never nearly as easy as people paint it out to be. this book shows a sad reality that a lot of immigrants face, and that migrating is not always rainbows and butterflies.

will definitely be checking out the rest of this book series and kelly yang’s other works. im so thankful that this book exists and i genuinely hope more people discover it and pick it up and recommend it to others.

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