#kelly yang

[americangirldolltheywouldhave]

Would Mia Tang (Front Desk) have an Ivy Ling doll?

Yes!

Maybe?

Nah

Voting ended onJan 27

Ivy Ling is growing up in Chinatown of San Francisco 1974, and loves popular TV, burgers, and gymnastics. Having to go to Chinese School and help out at her grandparents’s restaurant just feels boring to her… until she starts to learn more about her history, her heritage, and how important family really is to her. But with the family reunion on the same night as her gymnastics tournament, will she be able to find a balance between everything that’s important to her?

Ivy was first released in 2007, alongside her best friend, Julie Albright.

[bestbookcover]

round 1, poll 236

click for better quality & to see the full image. sometimes they get cut off weirdly!

which cover do you like best?

Things That Disappear by Jenny Erpenbeck*

Three Keys by Kelly Yang

Voting ended onJan 14

* design by Oliver Munday

remember, you're voting for the cover, not the author or the book!

[autumngracy]

Literature recommendations for the coming days (Pt 15)

Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country - Kelly Yang

Front Desk - Kelly Yang

Three Keys (A Front Desk Novel) - Kelly Yang

Room to Dream (A Front Desk Novel) - Kelly Yang

Key Player (A Front Desk Novel) - Kelly Yang

Top Story (A Front Desk Novel) - Kelly Yang

Chef’s Secret (A Front Desk Novel) - Kelly Yang

New From Here - Kelly Yang

Finally Seen - Kelly Yang

Finally Heard - Kelly Yang

[kelcipher]

[bookaddict24-7]

RECO OF THE WEEK!

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Synopsis: 

“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?”

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Check out my review on Goodreads here.

Add this book to your TBR on Goodreads here.

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Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?

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Happy reading!

[the--art--of--reading]

book review | Parachutes

Author: Kelly Yang

Genre: YA fiction

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book has been on my TBR for quite some time. The phenomenon of "parachutes" (Asian born teenagers from wealthy families sent to study (among other things) in the US) intrigued me. What I found in this novel exceeded my expectations. Read on for the review!

I loved the two main characters and their relationship with each other. Both were flawed which made their appeal stronger and I loved how Yang skillfully developed each of their voices through the split perspective format. That thorough character development made the intertwining of their stories all the more interesting. The only drawback I found in the writing was the sometimes disorienting transitions between scenes or settings. Despite that stumbling block, this book is packed with power and emotion. Themes such as parent-child relationships, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and how wealth affects status are explored. The novel mostly centers around Dani and Claire, however, as we follow their experiences with sexual harassment. The story Yang tells is authentic and personal and reflects the stories of many. I was already aware of the prevalence of sexual harassment in our society, but seeing it through the lens of Claire and Dani helped me to better understand it and prompted ample reflection. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to read more about any of the topics covered in this book, from immigration to the Asian experience in America to female empowerment. This book is a page turner, an eye opener, and one that should not be skipped over.

*I read this as an e-book from my local library, so I couldn’t find info on the cover designers, but I do praise the designer/illustrator. I’m in love with this vector style color blocking trend in YA book covers! 

[fiction-heals]

It’s been a while since I did a reading update, here it goes~

My life took too many turns in the last two weeks so I think I’m finally settling into it now. That means I’m in the middle of lots of things and reading takes me a lot longer than it usually did (that’s what happens when work begins, sighs).

I’ve been in and off If We Were Villains for a couple months now, which made me confused about keeping track of characters and what’s going on with them. I’m about one third in (34%) and it’s finally picking up. I’m curious, very interested in it, to which side the bomb is going to drop and how bad the consequences will be :B I love the writing! It’s a good surprise, I love the theater plays aspects it has in its prose, incredibly well crafted.

Another book that’s taking me a while to get into is Book of Night by Holly Black. I’m around 50 pages into it and so far I’m not as captivated as I expected. What I like about it are the shadows. I love stories that mess with shadows, the whole concept of magical shadows, how it interferes with people’s lives… that’s the excitement in it for me. The characters for now are very, very meh :/

In the meantime I’m listening to Parachutes by Kelly Yang. As I often do, I knew nothing about it before jumping in, and it’s not going where I expected. The life of rich kids is kinda boring most of the time lol I like that it shows different characters and the difficulties they face. It’s done in a double narrative, Claire and Dani, and follows their path in school, their different lifestyles, friends, but also mutual interests. I’m 53% into the audiobook and they’re not very tight friends yet, which is… different. Idk, overall it’s a nice thing to listen to and get distracted, not a story I’m suuuuper involved in. Too much money lol

Those are my main focus right now. To the side I have two slow buddy readings going on, In Deeper Waters and Cytonic (which is in a deargod pause, I need time to process what’s going on there o_o)

I hope to get to an Italian book soon, I need to keep practicing my language skills c: I’ll see where that goes soon c;

[the-final-sentence]

It was a picture I'd been waiting a long, long time for.

Kelly Yang, from Front Desk