Marvelous Middle Grade Monday #MMGM Book Review: Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks

Joe has been going to the same school in New York for a long time, only now that his best friend moved, he'll be all by himself. Of course, his mother will be working in the cafeteria, but Joe isn’t happy about it. His parents tell him they need the money, and that he won’t “even know” his mom is there. Ravi and his family just moved from India, and he’s excited to start school so he can impress his teachers and classmates with how smart he is. Once the boys get to school things don’t go the way either of them expects. Joe’s year is off to a bad start, especially when he finds himself being targeted by the school’s biggest bully. His mom blowing him a kiss doesn’t help. Ravi just knows the good looking Indian boy in his class wants to be his new best friend. He will definitely save Ravi a seat at his lunch table, Ravi can just tell. But, what Ravi can’t figure out is why no one understands him; after all, he is speaking English. When Joe and Ravi end up in the same special education room, Ravi is furious. He does not belong there and when he takes a unique blue M & M from the jar, Joe believes he did it on purpose. Joe and Ravi come from different places, but they have more in common than they realize. Sometimes what brings two people together is something they never saw coming. Where will things stand at the end of the first week of school? You will want to read this realistic fiction book in one sitting to find out!

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan is a fast read. I really liked the alternating chapters switching between Ravi and Joe’s point of view. It was so interesting to see how often they thought they understood a situation or a person’s motives and how often they weren’t right at all. It made me realize that sometimes we think someone else did something mean or to hurt us and they may not have been meaning to do so. This is why it can be important to talk to others and communicate. Of course, sometimes people pretend to be nice who aren’t, but hopefully we learn to look for signs that someone isn’t being truthful. Seeing school from Ravi’s view made me think about how hard it would be to go to school in another country where traditions and expectations are different.  I really liked both Ravi and Joe and I was upset when they misread each other. Finding out how their problems were solved was one of my favorite parts of the book (no spoilers). I would recommend this book to anyone in third grade and up who likes school stories or realistic fiction. You definitely don’t want to miss this one!

Has anyone else red Save Me a Seat? Or have you read another book by Sarah Weeks or Gita Varadarajan? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!

~L

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