Save Me a Seat (Scholastic Gold)

February 22, 2016
An immigrant boy and a long-bullied American kid learn that things aren’t always as they seem in this engrossing and poignant tale from Weeks (Honey) and newcomer Varadarajan. Fifth grader Ravi was a star student back in India, but in New Jersey, his classmates can’t understand his accented English, and his freshly-pressed clothes and homemade curry lunches mark him as different. For Joe, who has Auditory Processing Disorder (“My brain and noise don’t get along”), school has become an ordeal, mostly because the most popular boy in class bullies him at every opportunity. Ravi and Joe’s stories span a single week, with alternating narratives revealing their different perspectives of the same events. Joe’s suffering is acutely felt, especially when his mother displays embarrassing gestures of affection for all to see. As Ravi’s confidence slowly erodes, he begins to question who he is and where he belongs. Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will appreciate and draw strength from Ravi and Joe as they strive to find the courage to improve their lives. Ages 8–12. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

Starred review from February 15, 2016
A refreshing spin on a story about fitting in and overcoming obstacles features two viewpoints written by two authors. Just arrived from Bangalore, Ravi Suryanarayanan is eager to make friends at his new American school. When he spots Dillon Samreen, a popular, cool classmate with swoopy bangs and a big smile, Ravi believes the two could become great friends. Even if Dillon is an ABCD--American-Born Confused Desi--another name for U.S.-born children of Indian immigrants, Ravi believes catching Dillon's attention will take him from the lame table in the cafeteria to where the popular kids eat. Meanwhile, all white Joe Sylvester wants is not to catch the attention of Dillon Samreen. Joe is large and awkward and completely aware of how Dillon can smile at you one minute then torture you forever and ever. When Ravi, Joe, and Dillon wind up in Mrs. Beam's class, the trio are on a collision course that will end with the unlikeliest of friendships. Veteran Weeks pairs with newcomer Varadarajan for this tale told in Ravi's and Joe's alternating first-person narrations. Varadarajan's voice offers an authenticity and liveliness that perfectly pairs with Weeks' realistic, quietly poignant style. Using the daily school-lunch schedule as a structural device, the authors bring alive a humdrum, ordinary routine, making it crackle with emotion and humor. Glossaries of Hindi and American terms and two recipes round out the book. A novel treatment of a familiar situation delivered with fizz and aplomb. (Fiction. 8-12)

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March 1, 2016

Gr 3-6-The phrase "save me a seat" is a life preserver. Four words that can make a kid feel safe in a sea of strangers. The story is told from two different points of view: Ravi, who just moved from India, is adjusting to his new American life, and Joe, who has long been a student at Albert Einstein Elementary and is acclimating to a new grade without his best friends. Popular and cunning Dillon Samreen does not miss their vulnerabilities. As the only Indian students in the class, Ravi assumes that he and Dillon will be best friends, but Joe knows better. Like Joe, readers watch the slow, drawn-out torture in silence. That feeling of helplessness will be a powerful one for students to discuss. Through their struggles, Ravi and Joe will capture the hearts of readers and inspire fans to cheer for them just as loudly as they did for Auggie from R.J. Palacio's Wonder (Knopf, 2010) and Ally from Linda Mullaly Hunt's Fish in a Tree (Penguin, 2015). Exceptional extras include glossaries and recipes from both characters. A window for some readers and a mirror for others, this noteworthy book is highly recommended for middle grade collections. VERDICT Well-developed characters and original voices in this lunchroom drama will have readers devouring the book and begging for seconds.-Beth Parmer, New Albany Elementary Library, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Vicky Miller - Ravi had just moved into a new school called "Albert Einstein Elementary". He makes me feel like I did when I had my first day of middle school, excited. Sense the school is called "Albert Einstein Elementary", he was expecting everyone there to be smart, and intelligent, like he was at his old school. He was far wrong on that. The school was not anything like he expected. He had been the smartest person in his class at his old school! Because of the way he did math in his old school, he found out that "Albert Einstien Elementary" does't respect the way that they did math the same way he used to. One day, he had been called up to show the answer on a math problem. No one understood any of his strategies. After he showed the answer to the problem, everyone had a very confused look on their faces, not understanding anything about what he just said. Later that day, he had gotten tripped by someone, and he turned around and asked who had done that. The BIG school bully Dillon Samreen said oh, I saw who it was, it was Joe! Joe did it. Ravi made a BIG mistake that day, because he had actually trusted Dillon. Anyone who trusts Dillon, automatically starts to be sorry. Throughout the whole book, Ravi hates Joe because he beleived that Joe actually tripped him. He was wrong. Dillon had done it. Ravi had NO idea. Joe on the other hand was a nice kid, and no one new it.

April 1, 2016
Grades 4-6 Ravi and Joe would seem at first glance to be opposites. One is from India and new at school, small and smart; the other is a native New Jersey boy, tall and suffering from auditory processing disordertoo much stimulation and noise unduly distracts him. But what Ravi and Joe have in common are caring families, moms who cook them special food, and an appreciation for the book Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis, which they are reading for class. They also share a bully, though Ravi doesn't know it yet. He thinks Dillon, an Indian American boy in his class, will automatically like him and be his friend. Joe, Ravi thinks, is slow and clumsy, and he resents it when their teacher thinks he needs remedial help like Joe. A humiliating experience brings the two together, and their mutual empathy as outsiders seems to bode well for a future friendship. The popular Weeks teams with new author Varadarajan for a book that features tandem chapters narrated alternately by Ravi and Joe. Readers will readily recognize the familiar world of school cliques and social problems, and be pleased with the story's outcome.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)