A Place at the Table by Laura Shovan, Saadia Faruqi
on August 11, 2020
ISBN: 0358116686
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Elizabeth and Maddy have been best friends forever, but when Sara joins their school and their after-school cooking club, things get a little more complicated. Sara is Pakistani, and her mother is newly teaching the cooking class. When Maddy ditches Elizabeth for someone new, Elizabeth and Sara become good friends, though not without some bumps along the way. Maddy and her family make some pretty awful and racist comments toward Sara and other Middle Eastern families, and Elizabeth feels unprepared to effectively confront Maddy. Throughout all the racial conflicts, Sara and Elizabeth are trying to come up with the winning and most original recipe for a local cooking contest. How will Elizabeth navigate the turbulent waters of racism with someone to whom she used to be very close?

This book is a quick read and will appeal to many young readers. The cooking references will delight fans of the myriad cooking shows, and the friend trouble/drama will resonate with middle grade readers everywhere. The discussion of immigration and racism is well done though the conversations feel a bit forced and unrealistic. Overall, it’s a good book, and I would recommend it for middle grade collections.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME