Save Me A Seat – A book review

Save Me A Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan (2016) – A book review

Recommended for grade 4-6

I’ve had Save Me A Seat sitting in my to-be-read pile and finally picked it up. I read it in one big gulp.

I want to share with you what I loved about Save Me a Seat:

This is a perfect third culture kid novel for middle grade readers. The authors shares in alternate chapters the perspective of two fifth graders, each facing their own struggles. Ravi just moved from India with his parents and grandparents. This is his first experience in an American school. David is an American but is facing his own issues with Auditory Deficit Syndrome. Both Ravi and David are the targets of the class bully.

Even if your child’s adopted country is not India, your third culture kid will be able to relate to Ravi’s frustrations upon entering a new school and finding things are so different from what he/she is used to. I remember how perplexing and confusing it was to enter an American school in third grade, then again in eighth grade.

The themes that are explored in this book include:

1. Longing for a sense of belonging and acceptance – both Ravi and David need more than anything to be accepted and find a friends who accept them just as they are.

2. Dealing with bullies – there will always be unkind people in our lives. Learning to handle them without resorting to anger or violence or allowing them to dictate how we feel about ourselves is well explored in this novel.

3. Being proud of who you are – this is a tough one for immigrants and third culture kids. We long for acceptance and often have our fair share of being laughed at for doing things or saying things that our different. Learning to embrace those differences and

4. Not judging people by their appearance – The counselor at Ravi’s school tells Ravi: “You shouldn’t assume things about a person before you know who they really are.” Ravi assumes on the first few days of school that the class bully wants to be his friend. He quickly learns he misjudged not only the class bully, but David as well.

5. Having the courage to do the right thing – When we are hurt or feel rejected, it’s tough to do the right thing. What I loved about this book is that both Ravi and David were able to show kindness to the other despite their own struggles. Sometimes loving another person in need can be a healing ointment for our wounds.

6. Quitting is not an option – Ravi reaches a point during his first week of school where he expresses to his family tearfully his desire to stop going to school. His grandfather has a talk with him about how he himself experienced some very difficult times in his life and wanted to quit too.

What I didn’t like:

1. David was angry at his mother for an incident that happened at his school (She is a lunch monitor). His reaction to her showed a lack of love and respect for her. If you read this aloud, this could be a good topic for discussion. How could David have responded differently to his mother?

2. There was not very many positive references to female characters. I would have liked to see some strong and smart female students in the novel. The fifth grade teacher is kind, but she is often a little clueless about Ravi’s cultural heritage.

About the authors:

This novel is co-authored:

Sarah Weeks is the author of over fifty children’s books. Her award-winning novel So B. was adapted as a motion picture. Also the author of well-liked novels Pie and Honey. She lives in Nyack, New York.

Gita Varadarajan was born and raised in India, and moved to the US as an adult. She had worked with children all her life, in India, the United Arab Emirates and now in the US. She teaches second grade at Riverside Elementary School in Princeton, New Jersey. Save Me a Seat is her first novel.

Summary:

Save Me A Seat offers a unique window into several different points of view. It flows well, there is lots of dialogue. It is filled humorous and fun stories. Overall, this is a great read for third culture kids. I strongly recommend it!