A Place at the Table is a story told in two voices by two authors.  Elizabeth and Sara are both starting middle school and aren't ready for all the changes that this transition brings. Elizabeth is trying to keep her elementary best friend while Sara is adapting from her small Islamic school to this giant new public middle school. The two girls meet when Sara's mom begins teaching for the cooking club and Elizabeth enrolls. Both girls are going through transitions in their friendships as well as problems at home. As they struggle with these changes they realize that they are the friend that the other one needs. 

I love how both authors infuse this novel with aspects of their religion and traditions. Elizabeth is Jewish and Sara is Muslim and in this story readers will hear how both characters celebrate as well as struggle with their religious traditions. Immigration also plays an important role because both girls have mothers who are applying for citizenship. Elizabeth's mother from England and Sara's mother from Pakistan. Sara's mother faces more criticism and xenophobia than Elizabeth's and I think that this is dealt with really well in the story. Particularly how Elizabeth brings up why this is so and what she thinks about it. 

This is a wonderful story about friendship, immigration, and sharing the food that you love.  Middle grade readers will connect with the characters in this book and everyone will delight in the delicious descriptions of all of the tasty foods. I can't wait to share this book with students.

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this story told in two different voices. Sara is Pakistani-American, and her mother is teaching a South Asian cooking class after school that she attends. Elizabeth is British-American and attends the class with the hope of learning how to make better meals for her family. The girls discover that both of their mothers are preparing to take their U.S. citizenship test, and bring them together with the hope that they can help each other study and prepare. In the process, they become tentative friends who have to learn how to trust, support, and understand each other and their respective cultures, and its effect on them as individuals. 

What I loved most about this story is how Sara teaches Elizabeth what it truly means to be an ally, and what that looks like. I think that's a valuable lesson for young readers (as well as adult ones) who don't understand what that term means and how to support a friend whose race is different from their own. I also love that food is such a big part of this story, and that the girls explore how to create a culinary fusion for the international cooking contest they enter. There is a lot of excellent discussion material in this story on big topics such as race, religion and immigration, but also friendship, family, and how to make choices to be the type of person you want to be.

I will definitely be adding this to our library's collection when it comes out in May.

I was immediately hooked by the dual stories of Sara and Elizabeth. This book is so unique, each chapter told from each of the girls’ perspective by two different authors. I learned so much about Pakistani and Jewish culture and about the different issues that each girl faced in her own life. They had my heart from their first lines and I cannot wait to share their story with everyone!