Save Me a Seat (Scholastic Gold)

by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

[jennybloom]

This alternating-voice story spans the course of a week in the lives of fifth grade students Joe and Ravi. Joe has always lived in the area, whereas Ravi has recently moved from India with his family. They are both outsiders for their own reasons, and this story is a great one for younger students to read and get in touch with their empathetic side.

About halfway through, there's an interaction between Joe and his dad, in which his dad makes a comment about immigrants just being "visitors" and gives the impression that those immigrants shouldn't be here. After that, I was really hoping for more depth and a further addressing of this comment, but nothing like that happened. So, while I did enjoy this story, I really wish there had been more conversation regarding the short discussion between Joe and his dad, which would have been a great addition to this book.