Save Me a Seat

Written by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

I read this in one sitting, I was so invested in these characters. It is the first day of 5th grade and Ravi’s first day of school in America. His family has just come from India where Ravi was a superior student and cricket athlete. Here in America, he has been stereotyped as illiterate, poor, stinky, petite, and way too proper to fit in. He is alphabetically seated in front of Joe, who has Auditory Sensitivity Disorder and often uses ear plugs, is very tall, and, although he is smart, is also very isolated and “odd.” How these boys deal with the class bully, how they look at the world, and how their differences and similarities bring them to a realization about each other, is engrossing.

Review by Terrie Bishop, Academy Park Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 4-9

Save Me a Seat
Written by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
Scholastic Press
216 pages
Release Date: May 10, 2016
A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Tags:

2016 Middle Grade Fiction, Bullying Fiction, Elementary Schools Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Gita Varadarajan, Immigrants Fiction, Immigration Fiction, India Fiction, Indian Americans Fiction, Learning Disabilities Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Sarah Weeks