Key Player (Front Desk Series # 4) by Kelly Yang

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication date: September 6th 2022

Pages: 304

In this 4th book in the Front Desk series by Kelly Yang, we are back in the Calivista Motel in Anaheim, California. And we meet the amazing main character of the series, Mia Tang. Mia is very excited for the Women's World Soccer Cup that is playing in California very soon. And even more excited that the Chinese Women Soccer Team is playing in the finals against the USA.Mia loves to play soccer and she looks up to the brilliant players of the Chinese soccer team, players who look like her and she identifies with. But in school, she is told the oppisite; The P.E. teacher wants her off the soccer field, and lowers her grade that she needs to entry a journalism camp in San Francisco that she dreams of to attend. And people in her class are not so fond of Mia supporting the Chinese football team. As she is supposed to support the American football team, according to her classmates, she feels truly in between to camps, which she belongs to both. And then there is trouble at the hotel, as Mrs Yang, the mean former manager of the Calivista motel before Mia's parents bought it from him. He is one of the new stakeholders, and his son Jason, who manages the kitchen together with Hank, is also not happy with it, because again, his father tries to micro manage every aspect again. But then Mia finds an old diary of Mr Yang, and find out he was very different as a child. Mia's goal is to interview the Chinese soccer team when they are in California, and when tries to find out in which hotel they stay to interview them for her desired grade to enter the journalism camp. Lots of things going on again in the Calivista Motel in this new book , which is a terrific addition to the series!!

It has everything in it again that makes this series so original and outstandingly good! First of all, the main character of Mia Tang. Just like in the previous book Mia feels in between cultures when she is pointed by her classmates that she doesn't fit in the box of American or Chinese, while she is both and doesn't have to choose sides at all, this comes up specificly when the soccer cup comes up soon and America is playing against China in the finals. But, she identifies strongly with the Chinese team too because they look like her and had to fight the same battles as her.  (And as a reader, you see that Mia is strong, because she doesn't stop until she reaches her goals)With this, readers with the same race and immigration issues  and feelings can relate to this, I think its amazing how the author handles this sensitive topic into a book for young readers. Besides this, not everyone is happy that Mr Yao is returning to the motel and takes the lead again. But Mia hopes that the diary of Mr Yao when he was young makes her understand him better, together with Jason. Everything fitted perfectly into this story, it felt all into the right place without loose ends, and all the characters felt very real. I think this is another jewel in this already fantastic series!! It is a shame though that books like this are banned and can't be found in every bookstore. Because this series is one that you don't want to miss!! Another five stars for a book in this series!