A Place at the Table

A Place at the Table is a collaborative middle grade realistic fiction tale about friendship and immigration. Our two protagonists are Sara, a Pakistani American Muslim, and Elizabeth, a Jewish American whose mother emigrated from the UK. They're both starting sixth grade at the same middle school in Maryland, where Sara's mom is teaching a cooking class. Sara and Elizabeth have a lot in common. They each have two brothers and no sisters. Both of their moms are vying for US citizenship. They're both attentive to their parents' struggles and determined to fix things. At times Sara and Elizabeth feel overwhelmed and even resentful of the pressure placed on them. And both girls have ongoing questions about whether they'll ever be able to prove their families are American enough to those who define our nation in ways that will always and automatically exclude so many. A Place at the Table is a beautiful, sweet, funny, real, moving book. The authors touch on so many important themes—the relationship between anti-Semitism and racism, how readily children absorb their parents' stressors and worldviews, the experience of being parented by someone suffering with depression, the mismatch between how we perceive ourselves and how others see us, the list goes on. I'm impressed at how much ground was covered without things becoming too heavy or congested. The way these topics are addressed shows awareness about their relevance to young people, yet stays accessible and idealistic enough for the age group. In all, this is a gorgeous story that made me cry a little and made me hungry a lot. I'd recommend it for fans of [b:Front Desk 36127488 Front Desk (Front Desk, #1) Kelly Yang https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507986199l/36127488.SX50.jpg 51903030], [b:From the Desk of Zoe Washington 45169415 From the Desk of Zoe Washington Janae Marks https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560957404l/45169415.SY75.jpg 60426059], and maybe even [b:Darius the Great Is Not Okay 37506437 Darius the Great Is Not Okay (Darius The Great, #1) Adib Khorram https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520460519l/37506437.SX50.jpg 58014975].