What makes her a writer 人气女作家的成长手册

于海洋

Kelly Yang was six years old when she immigrated from Hong Kong to the US. As a child， Yang worked at the front desk of the California motels her parents managed. Her experiences were often too miserable to share with classmates.

“Carrying around this secret was like carrying a big backpack， one I could never put down， except when I was in the library，” Yang says.

Although her parents said English was “the white kids language”， Yang dreamed of becoming a writer who writes novels in English. She started to write stories at the age of 12. She entered college at the age of 13 and graduated from the University of California before earning a degree at Harvard Law School. Yang gave up law to pursue her passion for writing. She worked as a columnist for the South China Morning Post before working as a novelist.

Since its publication in 2018， Front Desk has won popular praise. The middle-grade novel has earned several honors， including the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Childrens Literature.

After reading Front Desk， I wanted to ask Yang about Mia， a brave heroine who overcomes language barriers. Like Yang and Mia， I immigrated from Hong Kong to the US.

Yang encourages writers to practice their craft. “You cant win if you dont play，” she said. She added that delving into new territory with her own novel was frightening. “I was really scared of writing the book，” she said. “I wasnt sure if the reactions were going to be positive， and I wasnt sure if people were going to get it.”

Yang is glad that she was able to tell Mias story， and she hopes that she has inspired kids to follow her lead. “Write as much as you can， and constantly observe because thats whats going to make your writing shine，” she said. “Be curious about the world. Its really important for an author to be out there and to interact with people.”

Yang follows her own advice. She just announced that a sequel to Front Desk would be published next year.

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1. What does the underlined words “this secret” in the second paragraph refer to？

A. The front desk. B. The terrible experiences.

C. The dream of becoming a writer. D. The immigration to the US.

2. Whats Yangs hope now？

A. Selling more books.

B. Publishing a sequel next year.

C. Inspiring more kids to follow her lead.

D. Winning the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award.

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Sentences for writing

1. 在閱读《在前台》后，我想问Yang关于Mia的事。Mia是一个克服了语言障碍的女主人公。

After reading Front Desk， I wanted to ask Yang about Mia， a brave heroine who overcomes                 .

2. 她补充道，用她自己的小说去探索新领域是可怕的。

She added that  ______________________ new territory with her own novel was frightening.