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| Mia Tang sits at the front desk of her family’s motel and checks in guests as they arrive. |
This book was introduced by my daughter’s fourth grade teacher earlier this school year. My daughter asked for it for Christmas and it was gifted to her by my mom, along with the sequel called “Three Keys.” I read it out loud (for the second time for her) before bed to my older daughter. Themes that caught the attention of my nine year old are emphasized throughout this story: 1. Struggle to fit into the world- this little girl’s struggle (Mia) is compounded by her status as an immigrant, her fluency (or lack thereof) of English and her family’s financial struggles as managers (but not owners) of a small motel near Disneyland. 2. Bullying: This is a huge problem in all schools and with all ages of kids right now. In this book Mia is actively bullied by a boy at school who happens to be the son of the owner of Mia’s motel. 3. The American dream: Mia is actively trying to get her family off of the “bad rollercoaster” as she calls it and onto the “good rollercoaster.” At age ten she understands the concept of socioeconomic status- and she can see that her family’s position as managers of a motel will never allow them to progress into any kind of status within American culture.
My daughter loved this book. We live in Southern California in an upscale neighborhood with mostly white, educated families. While her dad (my husband) is an immigrant himself, his situation is different- he is highly educated and works in a professional job with other high tech professionals. He came on a work visa because his education is relevant to our high tech industrial culture. We are largely sheltered from the reality of coming to American with no prospects for making a living, no income and no family support. But, the reality of her dad’s family situation is that most of his close family live very far away or overseas and the emotional/moral support we receive is from afar. I am sure this is the case for many families here in Southern California as we have many people come from Mexico and Asia among other places. We are a culture of immigrants.
Mia is barred by the manager of her hotel from using the pool. When the laundry machine breaks, the owner makes them pay for a new machine themselves. Mia must make snap judgments about potential clients of the motel as they walk up to her front desk. Because managing the motel is so much work, it is the ten-year-old daughter who does the check-in process. And letting just one bad person through their security layer could mean huge headaches later for everyone. (As happens when they let a drunk man into their office.) As other immigrant relatives arrive from China, they hide them in a room of the motel reserved for this purpose- and almost get caught by the manager. Intermittently, Mia has spats with the owner’s son who is in her class at school. Her saving grace is her friend Lupe and her interest in learning English and writing. Her goal is to write an essay that will allow her family to buy the motel from its current owner, Mr. Yao.
While Mia’s essay does not win the essay competition, she finds she is able to raise 300,000$ (or the cost of the motel) from investors- first her immediate family and friends in the vicinity (including the regulars at the motel). Next, she sends it to the other entrants in the essay contest- those people who wanted to win their own motel but were not chosen. From this pool of people she raises all of the money- with a small complication of having Mr. Yao raise the price of the motel when he learns they have collected the entire amount. Very briefly tempted by the risky loans of the loan sharks, the family is rescued by Mr. Yao’s son Jason (previously the bully) who reveals the secret that Mr. Yao needs to sell the motel immediately- and cannot afford to wait to find a wealthier buyer.
This book describes reality for many many immigrant families in Southern California. The interlocking of Hispanic, Asian, black and white cultures. The intersection of people living and working in the tight quarters of a motel and the challenges and rewards that those relationships bring.
I recommend this book for parents to buy/borrow for their fourth grader. It could be read by older kids as well. The age range is probably 8-12.
