As Wikipedia puts it, "complexities of plot and style may leave some readers frustrated or bored." That's precisely what happened to me. It was a boring book that didn't grab my attention. The plot and characters were all over the place.

oh to be a soul drinking tea and thinking about alice in wonderland

So my friend Ellie loaned this to me to read, and it was sooo cute! I thought the way the book was formatted was super clever, and I thought all of the characters were so well-rounded and just so adorable I cannoootttt. I loved the way the story unfolded by E.L. Konigsburg giving us a little piece of each of the character's lives; each of those pieces building the plot just a little more, until the end arrived, and we had the big picture. And the book is only 160 pages! I can picture the four of these characters in some sort of fantasy setting and just able to solve all of the problems that would be thrown in their direction. They have a brilliant dynamic.

This is one of those children's books that is SMART. Even as a 19-year-old, the book felt sophisticated to me, even though it was based around four 11-year-olds. Also, the main character is, arguably, an adult. I feel like that's something that never happens in middle-grade books.

Anyway, the only problem I had with this book is even though I loved the way it was written, sometimes I felt that it was trying a tad too hard to be pretentious. Some of the lines I read and was like, "Okay, this is trying toooooo hard to be deep." But I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a book made for a younger audience, but that honestly anyone should enjoy.

What a wonderful book. I had planned to read the 2006 Newberry Award book, Criss Cross, but the librarian shared her opinion that The View from Saturday was much better. I thank her for directing me to this book.
The story features four 6th graders and their teacher. We focus in on each of the children one by one and experience their journeys of emotional and social growth. The journeys are not catastrophic; just parts of their lifes that help them grow. The ribbon that runs throughout is an academic team contest at the end of the school year. I know, the storyline does not sound that intriguing, but the book IS magnificient. I rate this book with a 5.

Towards the end of the book the 6th grade teacher, Mrs Olinski, is meeting her former mentor and principal. She watches this older woman who she has greatly admired and thinks, "A turquoise jogging suit. Tuquoise!" She had always regarded turquoise, like shocking pink and chartreuse, as the color equivalent of the word ain't: quaint when seldom used but vulgar in great doses.

Four sixth grade students represent their school in the state-wide Academic Bowl competition under the tutelage of their paraplegic class adviser. But before they were a formidable team called “The Souls” meeting every Saturday afternoon for tea, they were first four diverse individuals coming home from a trip; and in between answering quiz bee questions that are somehow related to their travel stories are narratives of their life lessons and personal reflections as to how circumstances and kindness have brought them together as a team.

When I was in sixth grade, I didn’t care much about musicals and calligraphy, and was practically unaware that turtles do not adapt well to ecological changes. I was partly unruffled too with using the word being described in its own definition, and entirely oblivious as to where Humpty Dumpty made his very first book appearance.

The sixth graders in the story, who discuss and ruminate these topics as if they were only sipping tea during afternoon tea times, have definitely made my grade school days look utterly bland and mediocre.

Sigh.

Not great, but I think that has more to do with my age than anything. It was well written and well paced, but just a bit young. I also found Nadia and Noah to be somewhat arrogant. Yes, I know they are 6 th graders but still.

The book "The View From Saturday" by E.L Konigsburg is about a group of sixth graders who named themselves "The Souls." "The Souls" is made up of four kids named Noah, Nadia, Julian and Ethan. During summer vacation all four kids have new experiences and they are all good at a particular subject. This is why their homeroom teacher Mrs. Olinski chooses all four of them to compete in a academic competition. Every Saturday "The Souls" gather for tea at Julian's house before they are chosen for the academic competition and discus what they learned/did during the summer and try to teach each other what they learned. The day of competition The Souls win and advance to the next competition the following Saturday against seventh graders. I recommend this book to anyone who is in sixth grade or higher.

This was read for the YA/MG Book Battle for Round 1, Match 8. My review—and decision!—can be found here.

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The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg is a good book. It’s centered around the regional academic bowl which frames four short stories that explore the strengths and minds of the students on Epiphany Middle School’s sixth grade team, and the teacher who doesn’t know why she chose them at all.

Year of the Griffin by Diane Wynne Jones is also a good book. Also a found family story, it focuses on the first year of six students at the Wizards’ University and the scrapes they get into while exploring their gifts of magic and dealing with their families’ various reactions.

So here’s the million dollar question: If they’re both good books, HOW DID I MAKE MY PICK? (I threw them across the room and the one that landed cover-side up won! Okay, no.)

Here’s the thing: The View from Saturday knows it’s a good book. It is neat and clean and very precise. It utilizes its devices with a master’s precision: frame narrative, foreshadowing, internal vs. external conflict, rising action – it’s all there and it works! It tells a good story!

But it doesn’t ever unfold itself enough to let the reader crawl inside it and enjoy it. It doesn’t breathe. It doesn’t come to life and exist after you put it down. It tells, very competently, the story of four smart misfits who come together, overcome bullying, and forge an unquestionable friendship. That story, however, feels almost tired because it’s expected. It’s rote. It’s easy. There are no outliers to that plot; it is all wound up very neatly.

Year of the Griffin doesn’t do that. It’s messier – it’s a sequel to another novel (Dark Lord of Derkholm, which I haven’t read), and there are gaps where it could explain itself better. The world-building is a strange mishmash of this, that, and the other thing. There are griffins and moonships and wizards and neckties and coffee.

And then, on top of all those other things, there are abusive parents and revolutionaries and sibling rivalry and it’s great. Because life is messy! It, too, tells the story of six misfits who come together and forge a friendship, but that’s only the beginning: as in life, the story doesn’t end there.

The world keeps spinning and stuff keeps happening and Year of the Griffin reaches out with claws and asks you, the reader, to think about your life and challenge how you live it and explore what else might be out there. It expands. It exists outside its own margins.

Fact: My selection for advancement in Round 1, Match 8 is… Year of the Griffin.

Each one of Mrs. Olinski's four 6th graders contribute to their team's victory streak through cleverness and personal experience. I enjoyed reading how their stories intertwine: how each character makes his or her own journey.

I distinctly remember purchasing my $12.95 copy of this book from the school book fair: something I rarely did! The bright turquoise book jacket and shiny Newberry sticker were irresistible to me. I felt like a million bucks as I walked back to my classroom, and valued this book for years to come. Despite my indulgent purchase, I'm not sure I ever finished reading it! Haha. As I read through this time around, I came across unfamiliar storylines and I'm certain I did not read it cover to cover as a child. Alas, it's a wonderful read!

*For future reference*
Recommended reading age: 6th grade
Mature content: Reference to "making love" (pg. 8), use of curse word (a**) (pg.73), some bullying

As part of UMHB’s READ 3307, I read "The View from Saturday". A teacher, Mrs. Olinksi, who was returning to school after being paralyzed in a car crash ten years earlier, had always been excellent at choosing students for the Academic Bowl. She always provided sufficient reasoning for her choices. However, this year in particular, she chooses four very different and unexpected students for the team. Their bond seems unbreakable, but how far will Julian, Nadia, Ethan, and Noah advance? Will they succeed the expectations set before them?
Through the use of vivid description, many conversations in the form of dialogue, and an emphasis of imagery, Konisburg brings this first person narrative about sixth graders to life. The book honestly portrays realities of life for today’s children in that two main themes are teamwork and seeing people who are different than you in a positive light. Characterization in depth allows the children in the story to be convincing and each has qualities that can be viewed in children today. Also, the book helps children enlarge their points of view. This book allows for young readers to imagine themselves in Noah’s shoes. The book illuminates problems dealing with growing up in today’s world, such as learning to cooperate with others and overcoming pressure in order to reach a common goal.

The only thing that I didn't like about this book was how they spoke. All the characters spoke in a very formal manner, and not at all how children speak. Otherwise, I loved the story and how the characters ended up together.

Mrs. Eva Marie Olinski, a paraplegic who returns to teaching after several years following a serious accident, chooses four students from her sixth-grade class in the Epiphany, NY, middle school for the Academic Bowl team. Noah Gershom accidentally becomes best man at the wedding of Ethan’s grandmother and Nadia’s grandfather while visiting his grandparents in Florida. Nadia Diamondstein, in addition to being the granddaughter of the new wife of Ethan’s grandfather, has red hair, a dog named Ginger that’s a genius, and a fondness for baby turtles. Ethan Porter, in addition to being the grandson of the new husband of Nadia’s grandmother, is the quiet second son of one of Epiphany’s oldest families who stands up for Julian. And newcomer Julian Singh, who is originally from India and whose father has opened a bed and breakfast in Epiphany, starts it all off by inviting the others to a tea party.

How did Mrs. Olinski choose her team? She had a number of answers, but were any of them true? Yet, there is no doubt that these four students, with their own individual personalities, develop a special bond among themselves, calling themselves “The Souls,” and this attracts their teacher’s attention. Why did they make such a good team? And will they be able to win—especially against seventh and eighth graders? In 1968 E. L. Konigsburg had won both the Newbery Medal for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and an honor award for Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. The View from Saturday won the Medal in 1997. The biggest complaint is that the book is boring, at least the first four rather long chapters where the author provides the setting for the action by describing the different backgrounds of the four students as well as Mrs. Olinski, and that therefore it can be somewhat confusing to read, especially with alternating the final quiz bowl championship match with the accounts about the different journeys which each kid has had to make. Some of the reason for this may be that Konigsburg started out with four separate short stories that she had written and then tied them together with a unified theme.

One teacher noted that his kids told him that the book started very slowly, mainly because they didn't see the looming connections between the characters, but once the connections become evident, thanks to Konigsburg's marvelous narrative, they thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel. He concluded that the story provides very positive statements about success, hard work, and civility, and I agree. There are a few things about it that I didn’t care for. One was a rather gratuitous reference to bra straps and what would be to most kids a somewhat titillating use of the word "puberty." Also, one student refers to another as “an ass,” which is a perfectly acceptable use of the word, but it’s said in such a way as to imply another, more vulgar, usage. And there is a reference to drinking wine. Aside from these, however, I enjoyed reading the book. It is certainly a different approach to story-telling, and I can see why some children would not care for it, but I can also see why others would really like it.