Embedded Files
By Kelly Yang
By Kelly Yang
10-year old Mia Tang's parents are recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money. When they take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
320 pages
sample questions
sample questions
Where is the best hamburger Mia ever ate? Houston Space Center
What did Mia’s mother do in China for a living? She was an engineer.
How does Mia ruin her mother’s picture in the photo booth at the Houston Space Center? She jumps into the picture and gives her bunny ears.
What was Mia’s first job? Working as a waitress at the restaurant where her mom and dad worked.
How did she lose her first job? She loaded up her tray too heavy and spilled the food on customers.
From what country did Mia’s family move to the United State? From China
For what reason did Mia’s mom say they moved to the US? “It’s freer here.”
Where is Mr. Yao’s motel? Anaheim, California
What is Mr. Yao’s first name? Michael
What is Mr Yao’s son’s name? Jason
What grade is Jason going into when Mia first meets him? Fifth grade
How much money does Mr. Yao tell Mia’s parents they will make? $5/customer
What’s the name of the motel? Calivista
What are the cross streets that the Calivista Motel sits on? Coast Boulevard and Meadow Lane
What amusement park is 5 miles from the Calivista Motel? Disneyland
How many miles is it from the Calivista Motel to Disneyland? 5
Mr. Yao shows Mia and her family the buzzer when they first arrive at the motel. What does it do? Lets people in the front door.
Who is the first person who introduces himself to Mia? Hank
What room does Hank live in? Number 12
How long is the employment contract Mr Yao has Mia’s parents sign? 6 pages
What did Mr. Yao tell Mia about the pool? She can’t use it.
What kind of tea did Mia’s parents save for special occasions? Jasmine tea
What is the name of the cousin that Mia misses? Shen
What did Mia save for Shen from the airplane trip? Packets of butter
Why did Mia save packets of butter for She? Butter was expensive in China
What does Mia’s mom say when she takes a pretend picture instead of “smile!’? “Eggplant”
Who does Mia take tea to on her first day at the motel? Hank
Who lives next door to Hank? Billy Bob
The weeklies ask Mia if she wants to play what game? Monopoly
Hank describes who as having “Coal for a heart?” Mr. Yao
What’s the name of the school Mia attends? Dale Elementary School
Who is the principal at Dale Elementary? Principal Evans
How many other Chinese students attend Dale Elementary? one
What time does Mr. Stein ask for a wake-up call? 5 am
Who accidentally got Mr. Stein’s wake-up call? Mrs. Clifton
What does Mrs. Fletcher’s special notebook smell like? Chocolate
What did Mr. Lewis find in the trash can that upset him? A piece of dental floss
What is the name of the officer in charge of finding the stolen car? Officer Phillips
What did Mr. Lewis write on the comment card? “Helpful staff”
What colors are the walls in Dale Elementary? Pink and Green
What room was Mia assigned to? Room 12
Who is Mia’s teacher? Mrs. Douglas
Who did Mia know in her 5th grade class? Jason
What does Mia say her dog’s name is? Sonjay
Lupe told Mia that her parents bought her what during the summer? A trampoline
What does Mr. Yao say that her parents will have to do when the washing machine breaks? Buy a new one.
How much did buckets cost at the Home Depot? $4.99
Which room does Mia think is the nicest? She puts Uncle Ming in it. Room 1
How much money does Uncle Ming owe? $5000
What monopoly piece is Mia’s favorite? The hat
Who saved Mia from the drunk man in the hotel? Hank
Name one of Mia’s plans to make the front office safer. Install bullet proof glass, install security cameras, or make a panic button that directly calls the police department.
How much money did Mia’s parents have in their pocket when they came to America? $200
When Mr. Yao won’t install a security camera, what does Mia do instead? Creates a sign that says that there IS a security camera
What sign does Billy Bob have on his car -- even though it’s a lie? “Alarm System Installed”
Where does Uncle Li work? Hamburger place named “Ray’s Burger’s”
What does Uncle Li gets served for lunch even though he works at a hamburger place? Mayonnaise sandwich
What did Uncle Li do so he could eat a hamburger at work? Made it and threw it in the trash. After work, he’d jump into the trash to find it.
What does Mia bring home from the cafeteria for Uncle Li? Her hamburger
How long does Uncle Li stay? 3 days
What penny is Mia’s dad looking for? A 1943 copper alloy penny
According to Mia’s dad, how much is a 1943 copper alloy penny worth? $40,000
How many 1943 copper alloy pennies were made? 40
How much is a “double die” penny worth? $30
Where did Mia’s dad say they could take their first vacation? NYC
What is the name of the cable repairman? Jose
Who is the daughter of the cable repairman? Lupe
What does Mia save from her lunch to bring home to her parents? Her cookie
Why do Lupe and Mia not participate fully in PE? They don’t have insurance, and their parents are worried about them getting hurt.
In what country did Lupe live before coming to the United States? Mexico
How old was Lupe when her family moved to the United States? 3
What is the name of the school librarian? Mrs. Matthews
How much does it cost to enter the motel giveaway contest? $300
Jason tells Mrs. Douglas he isn’t “Chinese” but what? Taiwanese
To Mia, who is the perfect mom? Marge Simpson
How much is it for a room at the motel, including tax? $22.60
Whose car is stolen from the motel? Mr. Lorenz
What kind of car does Mr. Lorenz have? A Ford Thunderbird
What color is Mr. Lorenz’s car? Neon green
What does Hank grow outside his hotel room? Tomatoes
What kind of cookies does Hank have after the police officers interview him about Mr. Lorenz’s stolen car? Oreos
Where does Jason ask Mia to meet him at school to talk about something important? The auditorium
What flower was Jason holding when Mia went to the auditorium to talk to him? Dandelions
What did Mr. Yao throw at the sign the Topaz Inn people posted outside Mia’s hotel? Eggs
Where did Aunt Ling work? A nail salon
What color does Aunt Ling paint Mia’s mom’s nails? Red
Where is Aunt Ling moving? Sacramento
What do they use as a sign to show people of Mr Yao is at the hotel? The New York Yankees hat
What does Lupe enjoy drawing? Trees
What grade does Mia get on her essay? C-
What number is believed to be good luck? 8
How big is the tip the people in room 8 leave Mia? $8
How tall is Uncle Zhu? Six feet, two inches
How much do Mia’s parents pay per day for Hank?
Where is Uncle Zhu? San Diego
How much was the expensive pencil that Mia’s father bought for her with the recycling money? $5.99
What does Mia’s dad tell her to do with the pencil he buys for her? “Write down everything that happens to her.”
Uncle Fung is fired from a restaurant for using an inappropriate greeting to a customer, which he misunderstood because he thought all Americans said it to each other. What was the greeting? “Hey, baby.”
What did the weeklies dress up as for Halloween? Mummies
Who took Mia and Lupe trick-or-treating? The weeklies
Lupe tells Mia that her family celebrates what holiday that is close to Halloween? The Day of the Dead
What did Mia’s mom put in the shopping bags so they looked like they had purchased things? Toilet paper
Whom did Mia and her mother run into at the shopping mall? Jason and his mother (Mrs. Yao)
In what store did Mia and her mother see Mrs. Yao? Macy’s
Mrs. Douglas says that worker at maquiladoras in Mexico make as little as how much an hour? 50 cents
What did Jason take from Mia? The pencil her father bought her
What does Mrs Douglas propose they do with the pencil? Break it in half
When Jason tells her not to break the pencil in half, what does Mrs. Douglas decide? That it must be his.
What did Jason do to the pencil? Licked it.
Where does Mr. Yao take his family on vacation? Las Vegas
What does Mia put on Jason’s pencils? The minty, Chinese medicine that made her ears tear up
How many pool slides were at the hotel Jason’s family stayed at? 3
What is Jason’s dog’s name? Wealthy
Who rescued Mia’s mom from the robber? Hank
How much was the ER bill? $5800
How much did Mia’s family make a year? $9,000
Who comes to Mia’s family’s defense to make sure they don’t have to pay the ER bill? The doctor
In the end, how much does Mia pay for the trip to the ER? $150
How does Mia pay for the trip to the ER? From her tip jar money
Why was Hank arrested? He threw a rock at the guy who robbed the motel, and the motel charged him with assault.
What kind of jeans are left behind in the motel? Calvin Klein
What did Mia’s family eat for Thanksgiving dinner with the weeklies? Turkey sandwiches
Uncle Zhang shares a story about the Immigration officers coming to where he worked. What was the code? “Ice Fried Rice”
How much money did Uncle Zhang borrow from loan sharks? $500
Who ended up having Mr. Lorenz’s car? Mr. Lorenz
What’s a 30-day special, according to Fred? When someone reports their car got stolen and then hides it for 30 days.
Mia’s parents tell her about the Cultural Revolution. What happened? People were arrested and shipped away without knowing what laws they broke.
How does Uncle Zhang get his passport back? Mia writes a letter and pretends to be his attorney.
Mia explains that private showers were rare in China, and she’d go where in her neighborhood to take a shower? A bathhouse
What does Mia do to get the entry fee money? Sells the pennies
Who sells the pennies for Mia? Hank
How much money does Hank get for the lucky pennies? $312
Whom does Mia let read her essay “If I Owned a Motel?” Hank
Who was Mrs. Douglas’s substitute teacher? Ms. Morgan
Whom did Mia talk to and encourage them to not be mean to the substitute teacher? Jason
What did Mia say to Jason about being like his father? She told him that he didn’t “have to be your father.”
What name is on the label of the jeans? POLLY
Who saw the immigrants leave room 6 but didn’t say anything? Jason
Who is the one person Mia fees did “something out of the goodness of their heart”? The doctor
What does Mia get for writing such a great essay about coming to the United States? Two free pizzas at Pizza Hut
Whom did Mia take to Pizza Hut? Lupe and her mother
How long is the letter MIa received from Shen? 5 pages
Whom does Mia think they should ask to buy the motel? Aunt Juli
What sport did Hank participate in as a young person? Swimming
How much does Hank think Mr. Yao wants for the motel? $300,000
Which weekly contributed the most money to buy the motel? Mrs. Q
How much did Mrs. Q contribute to buy the motel? $3,000
How much did Mr. Cooper invest? $50,000
How much did Lupe’s parents invest? $10,0000
Mr. Yao said that another buyer had how much more money than Mia’s family? $50,000
On the last day of school, what does Jason give Mia? Her pencil back
The loan sharks insist on what for collateral? Mia’s dad’s passport
What does Jason tell Mia about the sale of the hotel? His dad is bluffing, and there isn’t a buyer. Mr. Yao will take less money.
What did Hank do after they bought the motel? Jumped into the pool with his clothes on.
When Mr. Yao complained about Hank jumping into the pool, what did Hank say? It’s not Mr. Yao’s pool anymore
Who jumped into the pool with Mia? Jason
Kelly Yang explains that her parents came to the United States with how much money in their pockets? $200
How many immigrants from mainland China lived in the US in 1990? 536,000
The median income in 1989 for Chinese immigrants was how much? $8000
In Which Book
IWB does a family share a hamburger?
IWB does a family live in the car during a summer?
IWB was a character’s mom an engineer when they lived in a different country?
IWB does a character and her mother take a picture in a photo booth?
IWB does a father work as an assistant fryer at a Chinese restaurant?
IWB does a character take pretend pictures to keep them in her head?
IWB does a character say “Eggplant” before taking a pretend picture?
IWB is a character described as having “coal for a heart?”
IWB does a character share that if you want a mammal to do something, you should stare at it?
IWB does a character mistakenly give the wrong room a wake-up call?
IWB does a teacher have a special notebook that smells like chocolate?
IWB does a character cut her fingers while making a key?
IWB is there a nice, older man who gives a character a popsicle when she shares what she learned at school with him?
IWB does a character lie and share with her classmates that she lives in a house with a golden retriever?
IWB do characters dump dirty towels in a bathtub and stomp on them to wash them?
IWB does a character owe a “shark” money?
IWB does a character try to pay a bill with coupons?
IWB does a character avoid sports because her family doesn’t have insurance?
IWB does a character lie to her mother that she’s tired of eating Honey Nut Cheerios because she worries about how much they cost?
IWB does a character return cans to the recycling center and get pennies for the cash to see if any of the pennies are valuable?
IWB does a character find a penny that is a “double die”?
IWB does a character wear long pants and long shirts every day because sunscreen is too expensive?
IWB is there a contest where an older couple is giving away their motel?
IWB are Black people unfairly labeled as “bad people”?
IWB is a neon green Ford Thunderbird stolen?
IWB does a character wear pants that came in a pack of six for $6.99?
IWB does a character hold a banana over her hair to see what she would look like with blond hair?
IWB does a character’s mom tell her that “Math’s all you got?”
IWB does a character’s mom tell her, “You’re a bicycle, and the other kids are cars”?
IWB does a character’s father buy her a $5.99 pencil and tell her that she’s “not a bicycle”?
IWB does a character make a list of “American Phrases and Customs” to help people understand?
IWB is a character’s family freaked out by Halloween when strangers came to their door dressed as goblins and witches?
IWB does a character explain that there are multiple tiers of candy?
IWB does a character call her friends “Top Tier?”
IWB does a character walk through a shopping mall with bags stuffed with toilet paper?
IWB do characters play a game called “Hot Seat”?
IWB do characters hide people in a motel?
IWB does a character write a letter of recommendation for another character?
IWB does a character eavesdrop on her brother’s math lessons? (Mia’s mother)
IWB does a character get a pair of Calvin Klein jeans?
IWB do characters eat turkey sandwiches for Thanksgiving dinner?
IWB is there a code phrase “Ice Fried Rice”?
IWB does a character write a letter asking people to not judge others by the color of their skin?
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