Front Desk

Mia’s parents are hardworking immigrants who are barely making ends meet as motel managers working for an exploitative boss. Mia’s father is a gentle dreamer who collects flawed pennies that are worth more than their ordinary counterparts. He refuses to sell them even though the family needs the cash. Mia’s mother is more practical and critical than her husband. An engineer in China, she encourages Mia to develop her math skills and dismisses the girl’s interest in writing. Her one indulgence is to window shop, even though she can’t afford to buy anything. Both parents timidly accept the abuse doled out by their employer because they believe they have no other options, until Mia shows them a better alternative.

Yao is the tightfisted owner of the Calivista Motel, which Mia’s parents manage. He takes financial advantage of all his employees because he knows their opportunities are limited. While Yao underpays his workers, he lives like a king and looks down on anyone who isn’t rich. Yao tries to teach his son to be as judgmental as he is. Much to Yao’s annoyance, Jason doesn’t take easily to the hotel business. When Jason fails to manage the motel desk as efficiently as Mia, his father publicly humiliates him. Yao’s abusive behavior eventually catches up with him when he’s forced to sell the Calivista for the modest amount the Tangs are willing to pay. 

Jason is Yao’s son. He’s the same age as Mia and is also the only other Chinese student in her fifth-grade class at school. Jason initially treats Mia rudely, then confesses that he likes her. After she rejects him, his antagonistic behavior escalates, and he steals Mia’s most prized possession—a green pencil. By the end of the story, Jason’s attitude softens, and he gives Mia a vital piece of information that allows her parents to buy the motel from his father. 

Hank is a middle-aged African American man who rents a room at the Calivista on a weekly basis. As one of the weeklies, he and his friends become Mia’s extended family. He encourages her to enter the Vermont essay contest and helps the Tangs after the motel is robbed. Hank has encountered discrimination all his life and takes a passive view of the problem until Mia helps him get his life back on track by finding him a job as a security guard.