I received this e-ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I love the premise of this book. I love the conversations around each student's decision, and I love the question itself. I think many families and classrooms will find this is the perfect prompt for a heartfelt discussion or journal entry. The poetry aspect didn't make a huge difference for me either positively or negatively.

This is quite a different work for Linda Sue Park and most thought provoking.
Suppose your home is on fire; all the people and pets are safe outside. What is the one thing you’d rescue? This was a comment a teacher posed to her teen students. Of course, she interjects, in the event of a real fire you don’t stop for things, you just get out. But let’s just suppose for now... would it be the signed program of a famous baseball player, a treasured picture, the tiny lock of hair saved from your baby brother who’s heard didn’t work right and he died, or maybe that really cool snake skeleton?

This unique book by Newbery winning medalist Linda Sue Park explores this idea through lively dialogue as the teens thoughtfully bounce ideas off each other.

The discussion is heavily illustrated with lively black and white pictures. She wrote the discussion in sijo syllabic structure which is a Korean form of poetry.

This is a very quick read with only 75 pages, but might be a fun discussion starter addition for class interaction.

Long after I am still pondering the thing I’d grab on my way out of a burning house. Interesting that I’m reading The One Thing You’d Save in late October in the height of a worldwide pandemic.
The book goes hand in hand with the season of thanksgiving.

In this novel in verse, middle school teacher Ms. Chang poses a question to her students:
What is the one thing you would save if your house caught fire?
This question brings up a lively conversation among all the students. It really brings up questions of what you value, what defines you, and how to preserve your history. The illustrations perfectly compliment the poems and show some of the items the students have chosen. This book really will bring up good discussion questions with students of all ages. It can even be used for an in class assignment. This book is very thought provoking and will have a great appeal. I highly recommend this for all kinds of readers.

This novel in verse features the Korean sijo poem structure: three lines of thirteen to seventeen syllables (there’s an author’s note that explains sijo format). The whole story is told through conversations. It would make a great prompt for student writing and classroom discussions. Highly recommended.