Front Desk
by Kelly Yang
★ Top 25 book of 2018 · #17 on Best Books of 2018
Ten-year-old Mia Tang runs the front desk of a motel while her immigrant parents clean rooms, all while keeping several secrets. She hopes to become a writer, but she must also protect her family's quiet kindness toward immigrants from the owner.
Best for: Young readers who like hopeful stories about immigrant families, courage and chasing dreams
Front Desk is #17 on BookWard's Best Books of 2018, out of 59 2018 books that cleared our data bar.
What Front Desk is about
Mia Tang is ten years old, and home is a motel. Her immigrant parents clean the rooms at the Calivista while she runs the front desk and looks after the guests. The motel's owner is Mr. Yao. Mia also keeps a secret: her parents quietly let other immigrants use the empty rooms for free, and Mr. Yao would doom the Tangs if he found out.
Mia dreams of becoming a writer, though her mother would rather she stick to math, since English isn't her first language. Getting through the year will ask for courage, kindness, and plenty of hard work. Warm and hopeful, it suits young readers who like stories about family, fairness, and chasing a dream against the odds.
Front Desk on the Best Books of 2018
Front Desk came out in 2018. Of the 59 books first published in 2018 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #17 on our Best Books of 2018 list.
Why it made the list: 348 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (21 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2018 list
- My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh, #15
- Monday's Not Coming Tiffany D. Jackson, #16
- The Kiss Quotient Helen Hoang, #18
- Everything I Know About Love Dolly Alderton, #19
See all Best Books of 2018 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2017 Best Books of 2019.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 315 want to read it, 13 are reading it now and 19 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 from 21 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 58 | 55% |
| Reader love | 86 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 61 | 20% |
Questions about Front Desk
When was Front Desk published?
Front Desk by Kelly Yang was first published in 2018.
Was Front Desk one of the best books of 2018?
Front Desk is #17 on BookWard's Best Books of 2018, out of 59 2018 books that cleared our data bar. 348 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (21 ratings).
Why is Front Desk on the Best Books of 2018 list?
348 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (21 ratings).
More of the best books of 2018
- Heartstopper, Volume 1 Alice Oseman, #1
- Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, #2
- The Laws of Human Nature Robert Greene, #3
- Atomic Habits James Clear, #4
- Five Feet Apart Rachael Lippincott, #5
- Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell, #6
See the full Best Books of 2018, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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