Oh, this is my favorite middle grade series. This one was especially sappy, but that’s okay! What a great addition to any young reader’s library. 

Key Player is the newest release in the Front Desk middle grade series. I enjoyed delving back into Mia Tang's adventures. This time it's women's soccer, discovering Mr. Yao's past, and moving to a new home in Anaheim. And we get our first LGBTQIA+ character! 🥰 

I've loved this series since the first book came out and I'm always excited for a new installment in Mia's story. This is such a fun series that also tackles serious topics like xenophobia, undocumented immigrants, and racism, sexism and consent, and classism. But it never feels too weighed-down by these heavy and difficult subjects. Kelly Yang folds these themes into the story with care and precision. 

So much of these books revolves around food as Mia's friends, Jason and Hank, run a restaurant together. I read this book while eating a delicious egg tart and it was a perfect pairing. 
While this isn't my favourite in the series, it's the way the books all complement each other that I really love.