Front Desk by Kelly Yang

★★★

I love that this book's first-person narrative voice is that of a child immigrant. There are very few books that I have found with this perspective, and I think it's important for immigrant children to have such books as "mirrors", and for American-born children to have them as "windows".

I also really appreciate that this book addresses racism head-on. I think race and racism should be openly discussed among children of all ages, and this book goes a long way in helping to make these topics accessible.

That said... I was troubled by just one phrase that had an outsized impact on me. Mr. Yao, the awful motel owner who exploits the Tang family, spoke "Taiwanese-accented Mandarin". The main character Mia and her family are loving, hardworking immigrants from China, while the mean, unfair boss is an immigrant from Taiwan. Most readers would probably gloss over that distinction, but Taiwanese characters in children's books are so scarce that when I, a child of Taiwanese immigrants, read the word "Taiwanese", my heart leaped with excitement! "Omg, a Taiwanese character!" Unfortunately, that feeling quickly deteriorated as I realized, "Uhh... The one Taiwanese character... is the irredeemably ignorant, cold-hearted, racist villain?" I just don't think we have enough narrative plenitude yet that would allow me to overlook such a one-sided negative portrayal of Taiwanese people, particularly because there was no Taiwanese counter-example to Mr. Yao. Maybe I would have been less bothered if, for example, Mrs. Yao had been kind and reasonable in a way that could have balanced out Mr. Yao's evilness. Also, many readers might not know that there is a kind of tension between mainland Chinese people and Taiwanese people, on account of differences in culture, history, and politics. I don't see any point in further driving in that wedge, especially with young readers.

Growing up with immigrant parents, I know that the sacrifice, discrimination, assumptions, and stereotypes faced by immigrants are real. The author deftly portrays these struggles through Mia's battle with the model minority myth, her embarrassment over her un-stylish clothing, and Mia's mother's feelings of inadequacy regarding her poor English. But the added difficulties faced by undocumented immigrants is a whole other harrowing level, and I don't think it helps to conflate the two experiences. The picture painted of immigrants in this book - Mia's parents seemingly being paid under the table, other immigrants fleeing from loan sharks, abusive employers with illegal practices, and immigration raids - point to experiences more typical of undocumented immigrants, yet they are never referred to as "undocumented". I applaud the author for tackling such an important topic, and I wish the characters were explicitly identified as undocumented. I think the distinction is important, and when made in a children's book, could really help young readers to understand that "the illegals" they hear being vilified in the news are people like their classmates and neighbors, regular people just like them. Also, identifying characters as undocumented would help explain why Mia's Mexican friend Lupe doesn't go back to Mexico to visit her family (an undocumented immigrant who leaves the country risks not being able to return), and why Mia's parents, at the end of the book, didn't even consider going to a bank for a loan. (It's not impossible for undocumented immigrants to get a loan, but being undocumented is certainly a negative factor.)

Anyway, moving beyond immigrant-related concerns... I found Mia to be easily likable. She was driven, resourceful, and well-meaning, and she had been through so much that even when she engaged in morally questionable behavior towards the end of the book, I could understand why she did it. I appreciated, too, that Jason was a complex character who developed as we got to know him.

At first I thought the cover illustration was misleading; it makes you think that the book is going to be a light-hearted account of Mia's antics as she works the front desk of the motel. It starts to feel inaccurate when you start reading about heavy ideas such as loan sharks, scary drunks, and police officers racially profiling and mistreating black people. But then, as the book progresses, there's a lot of over-the-top problem-solving that can only fly in a children's book. The ending especially was in-the-clouds level over-the-top, it actually seemed jarring and out of place when the rest of the book seemed to at least try to be realistic.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Logans #4) by Mildred D. Taylor

★★★★★

I don't think I've ever been blown away by a book as much as I was by Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. Putting this book down, I am consumed by the enormity of what this book offers to young readers, and I actually feel indignant that my formal education never included being asked to read this book. That's how important I think this book is.

In school, we learn the broad strokes of U.S. African-American history. We learn about slavery, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and the civil rights movement. But much of the time, we learn about these topics in the abstract, and lose sight of the fact that actual people, individuals, generations of mothers and fathers and sons and daughters, actually lived through these events. White supremacy was sewn into the very fabric of American history for centuries. We can't possibly expect to make progress in racial justice now without looking at our past full in the face, acknowledging the truth, and directly addressing the institutional and systemic inequity that persist to this day. Reading this book is a good place to start.

Through the innocent eyes of 9-year-old Cassie, who is just beginning to venture outside her limited world of home and school, we see the horrors of post-slavery white supremacy in 1933. There is humiliation, indignity, and injustice. As parents, we want to protect our children and give them carefree childhoods, but the extent to which we can avoid exposing them to harsh realities is an indication of how privileged we truly are. Much of this book would be considered difficult content for young readers - frightening "night men" attacking in the night, people being burned alive - but then you are forced to realize that the events in the book are happening to young children. Though fiction, the life depicted in this novel was a reality for many people. For me, this book was so filled with tension and anxiety and suspense that it was chilling and heartbreaking to imagine living life with such a constant presence of fear.

This book is filled with well-crafted characters. Cassie is understandably angry and indignant as she witnesses acts of racism for the first time. Her 12-year-old brother Stacey is just mature enough to understand better, and it's painful to see him forced to step into the role of man at such a young age. Big Ma, in her years of experience, was resigned to the reality of racism, while Uncle Hammer had a fiery anger and needed to be held back from executing his own vigilante an-eye-for-an-eye sense of justice, which would surely put his own life in danger. Mama and Papa engaged in calm, calculated resistance as best they could, short of risking their own livelihoods and that of their neighbors. Sorrowfully, Mr. Morrison - more than any other character, to me - embodied the long-lasting effects of slavery, both literally and figuratively. And T.J. - poor T.J.! - who was just a boy, desperate for attention and acceptance when he fell victim to his own foolishness.

I appreciated, too, the characters of Jeremy and Mr. Jamison. They were brave and kind in their acts of allyship, and they - as much as the strength and dignity of the Logan family - give the reader hope that change is possible.

Holes by Louis Sachar

★★★★

Holes was on my to-read list for the longest time, but I never really felt compelled to read it based on the summary description. I don't think the blurbs do it justice; this book is just hard to describe. I finally picked it up because it was on the shelf at the library when I happened to be browsing.

So the book is fiction, set in a modern-day America, but events are too surreal for it to be considered realistic. It's quirky, kind of like dark humor, but appropriate for kids.

As much as I loved the book in the end, I'm giving it 4 stars because it took a while for me to get into it. In its defense, the story just takes a long time to set up. There's a lot of backstory to lay down as the narrative switches between Stanley's modern-day life and relevant events in the lives of his ancestors. You get the feeling that it's all related somehow, but I guess I got impatient, and kept wondering, "Where is this going?!" Rest assured, you'll be rewarded in the end, when everything comes together.

Also, I was a little put off by what I perceived as inconsistency in Mr. Pendanski's character. At first, I thought he was the one compassionate adult at Camp Green Lake, a genuine counselor who truly wanted to help the boys. It seemed completely out of character when he belittled Zero as stupid.

Mostly I like that this book is about a really good story, but I can see how someone might be especially taken with it if they come away with a good message, too. There's some racial awareness, a sense of destiny, an interconnectedness among family generations. There's a lesson about hanging in there, even when things go badly, and about being good to others, and building meaningful relationships.

A good read for kids looking for something just a little different.

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

★★★★

I saw this movie on Netflix, and I enjoyed it so much - it was fun and light and thoroughly entertaining - that I figured it was worth reading the book it was based on. I ended up picturing every character just as they were cast in the movie - Ellen with brown hair despite her being blond in the book - though I had to continually make mental corrections for Hannah's teeth. I'm a little irked that an Asian character in the book was swapped out to be black for the movie, but it's not exactly surprising given the lack of Asian representation in movies in general.

Both the movie and the book have uplifting, feel-good, body-positive messages about loving yourself and not limiting yourself to what others expect from you. As usual, the movie was a simplified version of the book.

Like many other YA books, Getting the Guy was a theme. But here we had a twist: Willowdean basically got the guy at the beginning of the book, only she realized that having him wasn't the answer; in fact, he introduced a whole new set of problems. Turns out, before she could allow herself to love or be loved, she first had to love herself.

It's typical for a YA book to emphasize the "chemistry" in a relationship, but still I felt for Mitch. I think it's possible for a person to win over someone's heart over time, and maybe that could have been the case in an alternate universe.

I was kind of disappointed in the rather abrupt ending. I was hoping for more closure regarding Willowdean's relationships with her mother, Mitch, Ellen, and Bo. I wanted to see more progress towards mutual love and understanding between Willowdean and her mom, and I wanted to see how Willowdean and Mitch would interact in class after everything that happened. How would Willowdean handle being best friends with Ellen while also giving her space to grow, separate from her? And how would she feel finally stepping out at school as Bo's girlfriend?

I am relatively new to the YA genre, and I'm such a prude that any time there's swearing or sex - which is pretty common - it's something that stands out to me. This book actually balanced out the "mature content" with some bits about church, which I liked, but I think it's unusual in YA books, at least from what I've seen so far.