Front Desk
by Kelly Yang
Front Desk by Kelly Yang is assigned in US schools at grades 3–7, with a Lexile measure of 640L. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Front Desk is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Lexile
- 640L
- Grade range
- Grades 3–7
- Difficulty for grade
- Within the grade 2–3 band (420–820L)
- Age range
- Ages 8–12
- Pages
- 286
- Reading time
- about 5h 15m (est.)
- First published
- 2018
- Genre
- Realistic Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9781338157826
Reading difficulty: At 640L, Front Desk falls within the typical 420–820L text-complexity range for 3rd grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge.
Where to find this book
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
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About this book
Ten-year-old Mia Tang runs the front desk of the motel her immigrant parents manage, hiding other immigrants in empty rooms while dreaming of becoming a writer and facing the motel's unkind owner. Kelly Yang's award-winning, semi-autobiographical novel about immigration, race, and resilience is widely assigned in grades 3-7.
Why widely assigned
This Realistic Fiction title, reads at middle-grade prose complexity, typically at grades 3–7. Written in the 2010s; pairs with curriculum units on immigration and family.
Themes
immigration · family · race · resilience
Content notes
racism
Where this book is assigned
No curriculum assignments on file yet.
Similar grade-level books
The OutsidersS.E. Hinton · 750L
The GiverLois Lowry · 760L
The Diary of a Young GirlAnne Frank · 1080L
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee · 870L
See all books like Front Desk→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Common questions
- What grade level is Front Desk?
- Front Desk is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–7, with a Lexile measure of 640L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- What is the Lexile level of Front Desk?
- Front Desk has a Lexile measure of 640L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
- How long does it take to read Front Desk?
- It takes about 5h 15m to read Front Desk (286 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 315 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- Is Front Desk hard to read for 3rd grade?
- At 640L, Front Desk falls within the typical 420–820L text-complexity range for 3rd grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
- Is Front Desk banned in schools?
- Front Desk does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- 640L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
- Grade band
- Grades 3–7 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Not yet documented in any tracked curriculum.
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.