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izumisano 's review for:
Three Keys
by Kelly Yang
I was utterly charmed by Front Desk. I thought the first book was cute and inspiring, letting young readers know that even though they are young, they still hold power to change their lives. This book felt more... cartoonish. I believe Mia to be plucky. We were shown this in the first novel. She is passionate and possibly leaps before she thinks in some of her actions. Sometimes this works out for the better. This time, it seemed Mia could do no wrong. I believe in empowering children and listening to their thoughts and ideas, but it is a completely different matter to give a 6th grader full control over her family's business. Mia is hiring staff, writing reports to shareholders, and making economic decisions, while her parents sit to the side dejected. It's not a matter of them listening to their daughter's ideas and possibly implementing them. Mia makes the decisions. When Hank decides to quit his job, Mia hires him. Instead of checking in with her parents, the owners and managers, he takes her word for it. It completely blew my mind. Her parents are smart, they are engineers and scientists, but we are never shown their skills. Instead they are checked out and exhausted from maintaining the motel all day.
Outside of these flaws, the social commentary in this book is worth reading. Yang voices the immigrants' journey. From trying to prove that you've made it, to imposter syndrome, to racial profiling and deportation. While it is a short book, a lot is unpacked in the narrative. As things are getting heated in this year's election, many of these issues are coming to the foreground again.
Outside of these flaws, the social commentary in this book is worth reading. Yang voices the immigrants' journey. From trying to prove that you've made it, to imposter syndrome, to racial profiling and deportation. While it is a short book, a lot is unpacked in the narrative. As things are getting heated in this year's election, many of these issues are coming to the foreground again.