Summary
In this story, Mia Tang, is an immigrant from China who moves to America. Mia works at a motel that her family is working at. Mia gives up her dreams of a big career to continue to help her family survive in America. During this time, Mia’s family was struggling finding a steady job, trustworthy people, and a home. Mia helps her family throughout their struggles, giving up on her own dreams to help her family. Mia continues with this life, and ends up becoming a lawyer.
Theme(s):
Change, Family, Bravery
Personal Response
In this story, I feel like as a reader, you are so empathetic to what Mia and her family are going through. Hearing about all of the struggles that Mia has to deal with is extremely sad and disheartening. This book relays a message to readers that families stick together to overcome hardships. And no matter what the hardships are, you need to remain strong and remember that things will get better with hard work and positivity.
Teaching Ideas
Using this story, I would ask students to think about Mia’s character traits throughout the story. Mia’s family is going through a hard time, however, they all remain strong, positive, and embrace all that they are given. I would create a web of how those character traits help Mia and her family overcome issues that they have been dealing with.
Recommended Reading Level
Grade 05, Grade 06, Grade 07, Grade 08
