---
product_id: 113978321
title: "Front Desk (Front Desk #1) (Scholastic Gold) (1)"
price: "€ 19.22"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/113978321-front-desk-front-desk-1-scholastic-gold-1
store_origin: GR
region: Greece
---

# Immigrant experience focus Powerful storytelling & social justice Award-winning novel Front Desk (Front Desk #1) (Scholastic Gold) (1)

**Price:** € 19.22
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 📖 Unlock the American Dream through the eyes of a fearless young heroine!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Front Desk (Front Desk #1) (Scholastic Gold) (1)
- **How much does it cost?** € 19.22 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/113978321-front-desk-front-desk-1-scholastic-gold-1)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Authentic Immigrant Narrative:** Dive into a heartfelt story inspired by real-life struggles and resilience.
- • **Empowering Social Justice Themes:** Explore systemic racism and community-building through the eyes of a ten-year-old protagonist.
- • **Perfect for Educators & Families:** A must-have for classrooms and parents aiming to foster empathy and cultural understanding.
- • **Relatable Slice-of-Life Storytelling:** Experience the challenges of running a motel front desk and navigating school life with humor and heart.
- • **Award-Winning Middle Grade Bestseller:** Join thousands of readers who rated it 4.8/5 and propelled it to top ranks in Asian American and social fiction.

## Overview

Front Desk (Scholastic Gold) is an award-winning middle-grade novel by Kelly Yang that tells the inspiring story of Mia, a 10-year-old Chinese immigrant managing a motel front desk. Blending humor with hard-hitting themes of immigration, racism, and resilience, this bestseller has earned a 4.8-star rating from over 5,600 readers. Perfect for educators and families, it offers a powerful, authentic perspective on the American Dream and community-building.

## Description

Four starred reviews and over ten best-of-year lists!* "Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review Front Desk joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content! Winner of the Asian / Pacific American Award for Children's Literature! Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed. Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language? It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?

Review: Loved it! - Mia is a ten-year-old Chinese immigrant. She had immigrated to California from China 2 years earlier with her parents, who were hoping for a better life. Unfortunately, the United States in the 1990s was not exactly welcoming to Chinese immigrants, and many struggled. Mia and her parents were no different. After gaining and losing several jobs and facing homelessness again, Mia's parents take a job managing a motel. Unfortunately, the motel owner - who is Taiwanese, not Chinese, as he is quick to point out - is not only overtly racist, he is also exploitive and seems almost happy to point out to Mia's parents that they could be replaced immediately when they question his actions. But Mia and her parents try to make the best of it. Mia works the front desk when at the motel, quickly learning the ropes and consistently trying to find ways to help the guests and her family. She also becomes friends with the weeklies at the motel - those guests who live at the motel and pay weekly - and they quickly become part of her growing family. At school, though, Mia struggles. She can't tell the other students - most of whom are white - that she lives in a motel. She struggles in English, though she loves writing, and she also has disagreements with her mother who thinks she should focus on math and forget about writing because "she'll never be able to write as well as the white kids" for whom English is their native language. Most of the book is a slice-of-life look at running a hotel and Mia's struggle to integrate with the other students at school. Though it may seem to some that too much goes wrong at the motel in too short a period of time, I can say from experience that this depiction is incredibly realistic. While reading it, I was having flashbacks to my own experience managing a motel and running the front desk. The news Mia and her family get in chapter 55, in particular, hit hard on the feels for me, because my husband and I went through that same situation. We didn't use the same solution that Mia and her family did, and I definitely loved the solution they came up with. Throughout the story were the letters that Mia wrote, each for a different situation. These were an added touch, helping to bring the reader back to the days of the early and mid-90s, before email was ubiquitous and text messaging was still a dream. Her struggle to put word to paper, to make sure she was using the right words and tenses, was an added dimension to the story that I didn't expect but definitely appreciated. The author's note at the end, where she discussed her own experiences was also incredibly moving, and I loved learning that much of the book's scenarios were pulled from her own experiences, while also wanting to give a hug to the child that had to experience that struggle. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, narrated by Sunny Lu, and I highly recommend it. Lu did a wonderful job with the narration, injecting just the right amount of emotion and tension into the performance. I had to force myself to stop listening so I could go to bed; had I not, I would have listened right through to the end and not getting any sleep. While I would have enjoyed the story, work the next day would not have been fun. Lol. So, long review short, I definitely recommend this book. For younger readers, I would recommend a parent read with them, as there are some tough situations that they may need/want to talk about. But overall, this is a story of hope for an immigrant family who is struggling to make a better life for themselves.
Review: A great book for all - What a great book. I bought it for my 12 year old granddaughter. A story of resilience.

## Features

- A Scholastic Gold edition of the award-winning novel about a Chinese American girl running a motel front deskExplores themes of immigration, family, and the American Dream with humor and heartA must-read for middle-grade classrooms and anyone who loves stories of resilience and community

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #4,202 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Children's Asian & Asian American Books #16 in Children's Fiction on Social Situations #148 in Children's Family Life Books (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 5,662 Reviews |

## Images

![Front Desk (Front Desk #1) (Scholastic Gold) (1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81RZD8gVVPL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved it!
*by J***. on October 18, 2022*

Mia is a ten-year-old Chinese immigrant. She had immigrated to California from China 2 years earlier with her parents, who were hoping for a better life. Unfortunately, the United States in the 1990s was not exactly welcoming to Chinese immigrants, and many struggled. Mia and her parents were no different. After gaining and losing several jobs and facing homelessness again, Mia's parents take a job managing a motel. Unfortunately, the motel owner - who is Taiwanese, not Chinese, as he is quick to point out - is not only overtly racist, he is also exploitive and seems almost happy to point out to Mia's parents that they could be replaced immediately when they question his actions. But Mia and her parents try to make the best of it. Mia works the front desk when at the motel, quickly learning the ropes and consistently trying to find ways to help the guests and her family. She also becomes friends with the weeklies at the motel - those guests who live at the motel and pay weekly - and they quickly become part of her growing family. At school, though, Mia struggles. She can't tell the other students - most of whom are white - that she lives in a motel. She struggles in English, though she loves writing, and she also has disagreements with her mother who thinks she should focus on math and forget about writing because "she'll never be able to write as well as the white kids" for whom English is their native language. Most of the book is a slice-of-life look at running a hotel and Mia's struggle to integrate with the other students at school. Though it may seem to some that too much goes wrong at the motel in too short a period of time, I can say from experience that this depiction is incredibly realistic. While reading it, I was having flashbacks to my own experience managing a motel and running the front desk. The news Mia and her family get in chapter 55, in particular, hit hard on the feels for me, because my husband and I went through that same situation. We didn't use the same solution that Mia and her family did, and I definitely loved the solution they came up with. Throughout the story were the letters that Mia wrote, each for a different situation. These were an added touch, helping to bring the reader back to the days of the early and mid-90s, before email was ubiquitous and text messaging was still a dream. Her struggle to put word to paper, to make sure she was using the right words and tenses, was an added dimension to the story that I didn't expect but definitely appreciated. The author's note at the end, where she discussed her own experiences was also incredibly moving, and I loved learning that much of the book's scenarios were pulled from her own experiences, while also wanting to give a hug to the child that had to experience that struggle. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, narrated by Sunny Lu, and I highly recommend it. Lu did a wonderful job with the narration, injecting just the right amount of emotion and tension into the performance. I had to force myself to stop listening so I could go to bed; had I not, I would have listened right through to the end and not getting any sleep. While I would have enjoyed the story, work the next day would not have been fun. Lol. So, long review short, I definitely recommend this book. For younger readers, I would recommend a parent read with them, as there are some tough situations that they may need/want to talk about. But overall, this is a story of hope for an immigrant family who is struggling to make a better life for themselves.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great book for all
*by T***E on March 16, 2026*

What a great book. I bought it for my 12 year old granddaughter. A story of resilience.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My favorite middle grade book of 2018 so far
*by S***S on September 12, 2018*

I'll never look at a motel with the same eyes again. Author Kelly Yang brings us Mia Tang, a younger version of herself, who helped her parents manage a motel in southern California in the early 1990s. Mia and her parents arrive from China with two hundred dollars, unwavering optimism, and the belief that if they work hard enough, they will achieve the American dream: a big house, a dog, and an endless supply of juicy hamburgers. After two years of backbreaking jobs and sketchy living conditions, Mia's parents rush to sign a contract to manage the Calista Motel located five miles from Disneyland. Mr. Yao, the notoriously cheap and unscrupulous motel owner, informs the Tangs that the contract allows him to make any changes and if they don't like the terms, "Just say the word. There are ten thousand immigrants who would take your job in two seconds" (p. 27). Mia quickly makes friends with the "weeklies" and assigns herself front desk duty because her parents must clean every room themselves and be available 24/7 to check in guests. Mia's moxie and sense of justice emerge as she takes on adult responsibilities with a sense of pride and unbridled enthusiasm. She makes plenty of mistakes which makes us empathize with her struggles and root for her as she tackles the english language, bullies, crime, and embarrassment about her thrift store clothes. (Keep your eyes open for the tale of the designer jeans.) Chapters are vignettes that are strung along with seamless transitions to make reading a pure pleasure. The author captures Mia's voice so authentically that the reader is instantly drawn into the story. Mia's uses the power of the written word to advocate for herself and others. Kids will fall in love with Mia and cheer her fierce determination as she navigates her way through poverty and injustice, bringing her family, the weeklies, and everyone else who want to be part of the American dream with her.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/113978321-front-desk-front-desk-1-scholastic-gold-1](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/113978321-front-desk-front-desk-1-scholastic-gold-1)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Greece*
*Store origin: GR*
*Last updated: 2026-05-26*