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. - (Baker & Taylor)

Ravi, who has just moved to America from India, and Joe, who is learning disabled, gain strength from each other as they struggle to navigate middle school, family relationships, and friendships. - (Baker & Taylor)

Two boys, one white, one Indian-American, gain strength from each other from afar as they struggle to navigate middle school, family relationships and friendships. Co-written by the award-winning author of Pie. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

A new friend could be sitting right next to you.

Sarah Weeks was born and raised in the United States. She is the author of numerous award-winning novels, including Save Me a Seat with Gita Varadarajan, Honey, Pie, So B. It, Oggie Cooder, and Oggie Cooder: Party Animal. She lives in New York and teaches in the MFA program at the New School in New York City. She can be found on the web at sarahweeks.com.
Gita Varadarajan was born and raised in India. She has worked with children all over the world, and now teaches second grade in Princeton, New Jersey. Save Me a Seat, written with Sarah Weeks, was her first novel. - (Scholastic)

Booklist Reviews

Ravi and Joe would seem at first glance to be opposites. One is from India and new at school, small and smart; the other is a native New Jersey boy, tall and suffering from auditory processing disorder—too much stimulation and noise unduly distracts him. But what Ravi and Joe have in common are caring families, moms who cook them special food, and an appreciation for the book Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis, which they are reading for class. They also share a bully, though Ravi doesn't know it yet. He thinks Dillon, an Indian American boy in his class, will automatically like him and be his friend. Joe, Ravi thinks, is slow and clumsy, and he resents it when their teacher thinks he needs remedial help like Joe. A humiliating experience brings the two together, and their mutual empathy as outsiders seems to bode well for a future friendship. The popular Weeks teams with new author Varadarajan for a book that features tandem chapters narrated alternately by Ravi and Joe. Readers will readily recognize the familiar world of school cliques and social problems, and be pleased with the story's outcome. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Used to being the top student, fifth grader Ravi ("fresh off the boat" from Bangalore) is furious when he's sent to the resource room with Joe (whose auditory processing disorder makes school challenging). Determined to prove his superiority, Ravi befriends bully Dillon, while Joe hopes to get through the day without humiliation at Dillon's hands. Short chapters alternate between Joe's and Ravi's distinctive, engaging voices. Glos.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

oe, whose auditory processing disorder makes school a challenge, has been sitting right behind bully Dillon Samreen since kindergarten. Ravi is used to being the top student at home, and he's furious when the teacher, who has trouble understanding his accent, sends him off with Joe to the resource room. Determined to show everyone his innate superiority, Ravi vows to befriend Dillon (also of Indian descent, but whom Ravi derisively calls an ABCD—American-Born Confused Desi), while Joe's goal is to make it through the day without humiliation, especially at the hands of Dillon. Told in short, pithy chapters that alternate between Joe's and Ravi's perspectives, the story covers the first week of school, with each day defined by the school lunch menu. The voices are distinctive and engaging, and Weeks and Varadarajan celebrate the small victories that make elementary school bearable. Though Dillon is an unambiguous villain, the book does an excellent job of depicting the many inadvertent antagonists who complicate the boys' lives. Two glossaries, one for Ravi's Tamil words and one for Joe's Americanisms, appear at the end, along with a pair of recipes. sarah rettger

Kirkus Reviews

A refreshing spin on a story about fitting in and overcoming obstacles features two viewpoints written by two authors. Just arrived from Bangalore, Ravi Suryanarayanan is eager to make friends at his new American school. When he spots Dillon Samreen, a popular, cool classmate with swoopy bangs and a big smile, Ravi believes the two could become great friends. Even if Dillon is an ABCD—American-Born Confused Desi—another name for U.S.-born children of Indian immigrants, Ravi believes catching Dillon's attention will take him from the lame table in the cafeteria to where the popular kids eat. Meanwhile, all white Joe Sylvester wants is not to catch the attention of Dillon Samreen. Joe is large and awkward and completely aware of how Dillon can smile at you one minute then torture you forever and ever. When Ravi, Joe, and Dillon wind up in Mrs. Beam's class, the trio are on a collision course that will end with the unlikeliest of friendships. Veteran Weeks pairs with newcomer Varadarajan for this tale told in Ravi's and Joe's alternating first-person narrations. Varadarajan's voice offers an authenticity and liveliness that perfectly pairs with Weeks' realistic, quietly poignant style. Using the daily school-lunch schedule as a structural device, the authors bring alive a humdrum, ordinary routine, making it crackle with emotion and humor. Glossaries of Hindi and American terms and two recipes round out the book. A novel treatment of a familiar situation delivered with fizz and aplomb. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus 2016 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

An immigrant boy and a long-bullied American kid learn that things aren't always as they seem in this engrossing and poignant tale from Weeks (Honey) and newcomer Varadarajan. Fifth grader Ravi was a star student back in India, but in New Jersey, his classmates can't understand his accented English, and his freshly-pressed clothes and homemade curry lunches mark him as different. For Joe, who has Auditory Processing Disorder ("My brain and noise don't get along"), school has become an ordeal, mostly because the most popular boy in class bullies him at every opportunity. Ravi and Joe's stories span a single week, with alternating narratives revealing their different perspectives of the same events. Joe's suffering is acutely felt, especially when his mother displays embarrassing gestures of affection for all to see. As Ravi's confidence slowly erodes, he begins to question who he is and where he belongs. Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will appreciate and draw strength from Ravi and Joe as they strive to find the courage to improve their lives. Ages 8–12. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (May)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 3–6—The phrase "save me a seat" is a life preserver. Four words that can make a kid feel safe in a sea of strangers. 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 acclimating to a new grade without his best friends. Popular and cunning Dillon Samreen does not miss their vulnerabilities. As the only Indian students in the class, Ravi assumes that he and Dillon will be best friends, but Joe knows better. Like Joe, readers watch the slow, drawn-out torture in silence. That feeling of helplessness will be a powerful one for students to discuss. Through their struggles, Ravi and Joe will capture the hearts of readers and inspire fans to cheer for them just as loudly as they did for Auggie from R.J. Palacio's Wonder (Knopf, 2010) and Ally from Linda Mullaly Hunt's Fish in a Tree (Penguin, 2015). Exceptional extras include glossaries and recipes from both characters. A window for some readers and a mirror for others, this noteworthy book is highly recommended for middle grade collections. VERDICT Well-developed characters and original voices in this lunchroom drama will have readers devouring the book and begging for seconds.—Beth Parmer, New Albany Elementary Library, OH