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A review by februaries
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence