[Kids 10+, Teens, Adults] The community is invited to an online talk and Q&A with Kelly Yang, author of the children's book Front Desk, based on her own experiences of emigrating to this country from China as a young girl and working the front desk of a motel to help her parents manage the property.

In 2019, Front Desk won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature. Subsequently, she has written three more books in the series: Three Keys (2021), Room to Dream (2021) and Key Player (due out Sept. 6). Her latest book, New From Here (2022), follows an Asian American boy fighting to keep his family together and standing up to racism during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.

The program's Zoom Link will be emailed upon registration and one day before the event.

Click to borrow the book as a physical book, e-book, and e-audiobook.

This book talk is part of Banned Books Week (September 18-24), an annual celebration of the right to read during which libraries, schools, and bookstores highlight the benefits of unrestricted reading and the harms of censorship.The author will talk about her experience having a book challenged, answering such questions as: How do authors find out if their books are challenged? How many times was it challenged, and who challenged it? What was her reaction and will this impact her work going forward? She'll also discuss her journey to publishing her debut novel, Front Desk, as well as her current projects and upcoming releases.

From Kirkus Reviews, starred review of Front Desk: "Debut author Yang weaves in autobiographical content while creating a feisty and empowered heroine. The supporting characters are rich in voice and context, with multiple villains and friends that achingly reveal life in America in the 1990s for persons of color and those living in poverty. Heavy themes, including extortion, fraud, and racism, are balanced with the naïve dreams and determination of a 10-year-old.... With bittersweet information on Chinese immigration to America added in an author's note, this book captures many important themes to explore individually or in the classroom. Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages."

From Booklist, starred review for Front Desk: "It's the details that sing in this novel, particularly the small moments that feel like everything when you're a kid...This book will help foster empathy for the immigrant experience for young readers, while for immigrant children, it is a much-needed and validating mirror....Deserving of shelf space in every classroom and library." 

The books in the Front Desk series, as well as "Yes, We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped this Country" are available to purchase through the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza. Receive a 20% discount if you mention you are attending the online event.

If you have questions, please call the Delaware Branch Reference Desk at 518-427-4300, ext. 2223.