Save Me a Seat

by Sarah Weeks

Other authorsGita Varadarajan (Author)

Paperback, 2018

Status

Available

Call number

J4D.Wee

Publication

Scholastic Inc.

Pages

216

Description

Ravi has just moved to the United States from India and has always been at the top of his class; Joe has lived in the same town his whole life and has learning problems--but when their lives intersect in the first week of fifth grade they are brought together by a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and the need to take control of their lives.

Description

Inscribed by author on title page.

Collection

Juvenile

Barcode

7139

Language

English

Original language

English

Original publication date

2016

Physical description

216 p.; 7.6 inches

ISBN

0545846617 / 9780545846615

Lexile

780L

User reviews

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

Told from the alternating perspectives of Joe Sylvester and Ravi Suryanarayanan, two fifth-graders at Albert Einstein Elementary School in New Jersey, this engrossing middle-grade novel addresses issues of immigration and belonging, bullying and friendship, and perception and reality, when it comes

to the people around us. Newly arrived in America with his family, Ravi is horrified to find that his first day of school does not go as planned: the teacher and students have trouble understanding his accent, the students laugh at his mannerisms (standing when answering a question), and he, a boy who won academic awards back home in Bangalore, is sent to the Resource Room for extra help with English! Joe, newly bereft of companionship after his only two friends move away, is more vulnerable than ever to the bullying of Dillon Samreen, who has always made him a target, and who is the most popular boy in the school. Facing a number of challenges - Joe has APD, Auditory Processing Disorder, a neurological condition in which a person has trouble filtering background noises, and understanding instructions; he is also much larger than the other children, with a high metabolism that makes him hungry all the time - Joe makes an easy target. As Ravi works through who is and is not a possible friend in this new world, Joe must contend with Dillon's bullying, and the fact that his mother is working as a lunch monitor at his school. Do these two have more in common than they think...?

The answer to that is immediately obvious to the reader of course, but it is still a pleasure to watch Ravi and Joe work through their parallel struggles. I found Save Me a Seat quite involving, finishing it over the course of three subway rides. A debut for Gita Varadarajan, who paired with her writing teacher Sarah Weeks, a prolific children's author and an instructor at The New School, to write the story, it is my first book from either author, but hopefully not my last. I found both boys' narratives quite interesting, finding Joe the more sympathetic character overall, but Ravi the more compelling, as he is the one who grows the most. His story highlights a number of important points, all handled fairly well I thought. Ravi's instinctive feeling of solidarity with the only other student of Indian descent in the class, even though he is an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi), is challenged by the experiences he has, which teach him that sometimes the best friends can be made outside your particular identity group (however defined). His own complicity in the mistreatment of others, back home in India, also becomes apparent to him, as he finds himself taking the place of the school 'loser.' There is no better teacher than experience, as they say. Of course Joe's tale is engaging as well, but I think he doesn't have as far to come as Ravi: he already knows who Dillon Samreen is, and what his own 'place' in the school social order is. Recommended to middle-grade readers looking for tales of school, belonging, bullying, friendship, and finding yourself.

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LibraryThing member foggidawn

Two fifth-grade boys, Ravi and Joe, have the potential to be good friends, if they can see past their differences and unite against the class bully. This is the sort of book that's going to be read and loved in schools all over, and rightly so. The characters are interesting and definitely develop

over the course of the story, and the conflict in the book will keep readers engaged to see if things turn out satisfactorily in the end. As an adult reader, I felt like I could see some things coming that, perhaps, younger readers might not, but I'm not the target audience for this book. I think the kids who are the target audience will enjoy and relate to this story. I listened to the audiobook, and would recommend it.

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LibraryThing member MeganTrue

This was a really good chapter book and is definitely one that I would like to use as a read-aloud (ongoing of course). I think it does well to teach the lesson of not judging a person by their cover.

LibraryThing member kmann63

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 getting used to a new grade without his best friends. Popular and mean Dillon Samreen (another

Indian student) does his best to be a bully. As the only Indian students in the class, Ravi assumes that he and Dillon will be best friends, but Joe knows better. Joe has been dealing with Dillon's bullying for years and he sort of stands by as he sees Dillon's energy being shifted to slyly bully Ravi without him taking responsibility for it directly. This book would be a great to read aloud to a class and have discussions about kindness and accepting others. Also, it would be good to discuss what you do if a student is a bully.

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LibraryThing member deslivres5

Juvenile fiction quick read which kind of reminded me of an "after school special" from my youth. Heartwarming story told in alternating chapters from the points of view of new immigrant Ravi, who moves with his mother, father and paternal grandparents to New Jersey from Bangalore, India and Joe,

an American boy with an auditory processing disorder. The entire story unfolds during the first week of fifth grade: a new teacher, cultural misunderstandings, dealings with a bully and final resolutions. Lots of food references, both American and Indian, and two helpful glossaries round out this novel. I would recommend the e-Audiobook read by Vikas Adam and Josh Hurley, especially to hear the proper pronunciation of Ra-VI:-)

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LibraryThing member sgrame

5th grader Ravi is anxious to make a good impression at his new school in New Jersey, but quickly becomes aware he's not in India any more. Everything he does is wrong. He answers incorrectly and is not understood, so the boy who was top in his class in India, is sent to the "resource room" in

America. The kid with big feet who sits behind him, Joe Sylvester, must be really dumb as well as clumsy, because he goes to the resource room. Joe has APD and trouble remembering things, but he also is quite familiar with the bully in the class. He knows what's going on when Dillon's eyes starts to gleam like a lion about to eat a zebra. This story alternates voices of these 2 boys, day by day the first week of school. This 216 p. book shows assumptions are not always what they seem, and would make a good discussion book for gr. 4-5.

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LibraryThing member DonnaMarieMerritt

Monday through Friday. Ravi (from India) and Joe (fifth grader with auditory processing disorder) tell their stories in alternate chapters. What do we know about someone else? How often we misjudge! I loved this book for the insights into these two worlds and I know my 4th and 5th graders in my

school library will love it, too. Slight quibble? Please, please, please, authors, re-read for inconsistencies or ask a copyeditor or ARC readers to do so. Joe's dog is identified as both Mia and Mimi on page 38, Mimi on 88, Mia on 137, and both Mia and Mimi again on 165. The dog doesn't play much of a role, but still, it irks me when details aren't checked.

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LibraryThing member byroade

A good novel for middle grade readers about making friends, dealing with bullies, what it's like to emigrate to the US, what it's like to need special education. POV shifts between the two characters.

A special note that the most unrealistic thing in the book is that the special education teacher

keeps a bowl of peanut M&Ms in her room! (This would never happen in a public school today.) However, an M&M is critical to the story.

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LibraryThing member ashewert

This book tells the story of two boys that are misunderstood in their world, but always stay true to who they are even when they are bullied because of it. I loved the set-up of this book going between the two characters to tell the same story, but from different eyes as well as how it all took

place within the span of a weeks time. This book will teach students to be themselves and to never judge a book by its cover because you might be surprised what is under the surface! I also really enjoyed getting to learn more about Indian culture and will be trying out the recipe for Ravi's Naan Khatais!

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LibraryThing member DianaNewman1617

Save me a Seat is a good novel that focuses on two boys from completely different backgrounds and yet they have similarities and eventually become friends. Ravi (from India) moves to America where he is surprised to find out he is not at the top of his class anymore, and in fact he needs extra

help. Joe (in fifith grade and has a learning disorder) also needs extra help. I like how the book goes back and forth between the two boys and it was very easy to read. I do wish the boys had more of a friendship earlier on in the book, but then again that is a personal preference and life isn't that easy. The book addresses diversity, friendship, bullying, and change.

In a curricular unit I would love to use this as a classroom read for diversity and even have kids embrace their heritage and have booths set up for a multicultural fair in the school so students can talk about their identities and heritage to their other classmates. This would also be a welcome addition for ELL students.

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LibraryThing member jennybeast

Great, dual viewpoint book about starting 5th grade -- 1 kid is a recent immigrant from India, 1 kids who has all the baggage of growing up with the class. I really like the straightforward story, the boy POV, the lessons learned when moving from the top of the social ladder to the bottom, and the

way they finally get their own back regarding the bully in the classroom. Love that the authors collaborated on this one, too. Nice work.

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LibraryThing member Ms.Penniman

Retelling: The friendship tale was told from two perspectives. Ravi moved to the United States from India and was prepared to dominate his new school, just like he did back home. His expectations were dashed on the first day of school when the teacher couldn't understand his English, mispronounced

his name, and sent him to a specialist. Joe, on the other hand, had been attending Einstein Elementary for his whole school career and knew the ropes. He knew he wasn't going to be Mr. Popular, and has been the target of the class bully for some time. Each character made assumptions about the other, and about the class bully, and it's only after a series of run-ins that their assumptions were challenged, and they began to see the friend they were looking for.

Thoughts and Feelings: Ravi and Joe's assumptions about each other were challenged, but the class bully Dillan's actions are never really explored. I'm always wary when characters seem to have no redeeming qualities. I found it bold and beautiful that the author decided to explore the xenophobia in Joe's family and I was pretty impressed that Joe called his own father out.

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