From Goodreads,"Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL.
Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own.
Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.
Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common -- but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week."
Goodreads - Save Me A Seat
I will plead guilty and state that I absolutely judge books by their covers. I mean, the cover has at least something to do with the story itself, so why not go ahead and judge it just a little. I thought this book would be about two boys who become friends due to sitting at lunch together and they eventually start using the phrase, "Save me a seat." This was not the case. This book is about two boys, Joe and Ravi, who are stuck in predicaments during the first week of school. Their lives are totally different from one another, but they have a common denominator in their life: Dillon the bully. Both boys are dealing with the bully who is tormenting their lives. As the book progresses we see how their lives are starting to intertwine with each other and how they will eventually work together to outwit Dillon.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written. The authors each took a character in the book and they took turns writing back and forth. This gave each character his own unique voice in the story. I loved how this book was set up with the day progressions marked by what was on the lunch menu for the day. It really showed how this took place in a weeks span and not over the course of a month. I also loved how both students came to find themselves throughout the book and that they were able to showcase this at school through an assignment. The class was supposed to bring an item that represented them and they were supposed to write a sentence on a notecard that went along with their item. I think this is a brilliant way to get to know your students and get to know what is important or valuable to them. By the end of the book both students had found out who they were, what they stood for, and what kind of friend they wanted to be.
While this book was amazing, it did have the downfall of the teacher. I'm a teacher myself and I judged the teacher in this book hardcore. She mispronounced Ravi's name at the beginning and brushed it off like it was no big deal. I would be furious if someone mispronounced my name and didn't take the time to try to make an effort to pronounce it correctly. She could have shown a little more try in that situation. Also, she couldn't understand Ravi so she just sent him to resource. I felt like she didn't want to deal with it so she just said he had problems understanding and speaking so he could go to resource. When I get a new student I want them to be in my room for a solid week or two so that I can get to know them and how they function in my class. That is crucial time for me to see what they are capable of doing and if they are going to need additional help such as resource or if they are beyond capable and need to be in an enriched learning program. That teacher also didn't handle the bullying situation as she should have. The trend of teachers not handling bullying has been something I've seen in a LOT of books over the past few months and it is very unsettling. Authors make it seem that teachers NEVER do anything about bullying, and that isn't the case. Teachers work hard to make sure each child is safe, secure, and happy.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I thought the book was very good and interesting. It had just enough chapters that weren't too short or too long. I think middle school students would really enjoy this book.
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