In The Elephant in the Room, when middle-schooler, Sila Tekin’s mother is stuck in Turkey trying to get her immigration paperwork in order, the loneliness is almost unbearable for her and her father, Alp. Sila’s newly withdrawn demeanor prompts her school to pair her with autistic classmate Mateo Lopez in a special program that has the kids spending time together at the end of each school day. The point is to help both kids socialize more and, after a slow, silent start, they eventually begin getting to know each other.

Life changes dramatically for Sila and Mateo when Alp is hired to fix an old truck owned by widower, Gio, who lives on a non-working farm on the outskirts of town. Sila and Gio seem to form an immediate bond, even before they discover that Gio’s late wife was Sila’s beloved second-grade teacher. When an odd string of coincidences leads to Gio rescuing a young elephant named Veda from a failing circus, Sila and Mateo wind up with the most awesome summer job ever—caring for Veda. Sila connects to the young pachyderm on a deep level, realizing that, like her, Veda must really miss her mother. A reunion of either mother-daughter pair feels out of reach, but with a team of caring friends—maybe it’s not.

Author Holly Goldberg Sloan has another deeply heartfelt hit on her hands. Again employing the multi-POV device she uses so brilliantly, she lets readers see and feel the unfolding of these extraordinary events through various characters’ eyes. Veda’s POV is used sparingly but impactfully, and even the supporting animal characters—a flock of undisciplined flamingos, a ravenous bear, and a loyal dog—whose POVs we’re not privy to, are well-drawn, quirky, and fun.

Both kids are battling quiet storms within, which makes them interesting and empathetic. Gio is wonderfully complex. His desire to rediscover meaning in life, coupled with voluminous lottery winnings, propel him to take on caring for Veda, somehow feeling it’s something he has to do. His connection with Sila seems similarly fated, and their special bond serves as the glue for all of the characters. A story of hope, longing, love, and action, The Elephant in the Room will show middle-grade readers that things—people, animals, situations—are not always what they seem and that they’re not always as powerless over circumstances as they sometimes feel.

https://www.goodreadswithronna.com/2021/03/24/the-elephant-in-the-room-holly-goldberg-sloan/

So it was good. A lovely story. The characters really came alive for me. But I didn’t feel the magic like I did when I read Counting by 7s. The sentences were all really short, which was actually frustrating as a reader. Second, I just didn’t find the language as beautiful—there were no magical phrases or gorgeous figurative language.
Good for upper elementary.

One year ago aTurkish American Dad and his daughter Sila bid their wife and mother goodbye so she can make a quick trip to Turkey to resolve visa issue, which was instigated as revenge by her employer. It turns into a very long stay, and the separation has cast a veil of sadness over Sila. Gio, a widower and lottery winner turned multimillionaire, lives on a ranch, and contacts Sila's father, a mechanic, to repair his truck. Sila accompanies her dad, and a friendship begins. Friends celebrate birthdays, and as fate would have it, a defunct circus is at the donut shop where Sila and her dad are celebrating Gio's birthday. Before
long, Gio has struck a deal to buy Veda, the elephant, and her equipment. Veda becomes a huge part of Sila and Gio's lives, as they need to learn from scratch about everything --Veda's personality, her environmental needs, her food, and ultimately, her family. Meanwhile at school, a new group has been formed to encourage communication among those struggling with social skills. Sila who has become uncharacteristically quite is matched with Mateo, a boy on the spectrum. With summer about to start, Sela plans to spend her days tending to Veda on Gio's ranch. She invites Mateo to come, and another bond is strengthened. Points of view are offered by Sila, Mateo, and Veda, which I loved. This is a a perfect book to explore the importance of friends, animal rights, everything about the elephant families, and suddenly at the end, labor and immigration law. I did wish for a bit more development on that plot point. You will love this book, and your respect for the majestic elephant will explode.

Powerfully written and heartfelt, The Elephant In the Room will challenge and inspire readers.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Overall I thought this was a lovely story with a lot of good messages within it's pages.

Sila has a lot of things going on in her young life. Her mom has had to leave the country for an undetermined amount of time, her dad works hard to support their family leaving him little time for much else, and Sila is being asked to hang out with her classmate, Mateo, who in her opinion is kinda different.

Through an unlikely friendship with an elderly man named Gio, things start to change, and Sila begins to learn that sometimes understanding others is the key to understanding yourself.

I really liked the way that the author wrote this from the perspective of all the characters and not just the main one. Sila's voice is the one you hear most often but everyone has a turn at some point in the book, even the animals, which is pretty amazing.

There were a few things I didn't care for but they are probably more personal preferences than actual issues. I didn't like how Sila interacted with the adults at times, coming across bossy and pushy. I also thought it was a little bit too fantastical how things worked out in the end, I would have cut it by maybe half.

For the most part though, great story of friendship, family, and hope.

I absolutely loved this story dealing with fear and loneliness of a mom separated from her family as she is forced to return to Turkey get her immigration documentation in order. An absolutely lovely story of family, longing, and the connections between animals and humans. If you love The One and Only Ivan, then you will enjoy this story. It is full of heart.

A beautiful story of friendship between unlikely characters: Mateo, who stopped talking to everyone; Sila, who shut everyone else out while waiting for her mom to come home; Gio, a widower who won the lottery; and Veda, a circus elephant who is lonely. All of them were a little lost having become unanchored by changes in their life. When the four of them come together, they each begin to heal a little at a time. This is a moving story about love and loss, grief and healing and well it may make you want to buy your own elephant. Highly recommended.

A well-written middle grade novel with some flaws. Sloan excels at character creation. I loved Mr. Gio and Matteo. But having lived in Turkey for six years, I was looking for a sense of Turkish identity that I didn't find in the portrayals of Sila and her father Alp. To me, it felt like they could have come from any country, with the few cultural details given being more at the level of what a tourist would know, such as them drinking out of tulip-shaped glasses. Even though the book says Sila and Alp spoke Turkish at home, this isn't represented. A small thing, like having Sila call Alp "Baba", the Turkish word for father, would have added a feeling of authenticity. (Some of the Spanish spoken by Matteo's mom was included.) The story is good. I do recommend it, but those readers like me looking to be immersed in Turkish-American culture will be disappointed.

https://bookishlivingblog.wordpress.com/2021/02/18/14-the-elephant-in-the-room-by-holly-goldberg-sloan/

I love elephant stories. This one especially because spoiler- there is a happy ending. When Sila's mom has to go back to Turkey because of a Visa issue, she has more time on her hands on begins exploring her town more. She meets an older adult running a wildlife sanctuary, and yes- that's where the elephant comes into the story.

Wow! This story really tugged at my heart. This is a story of a girl named Sila whose mother was deported for what was supposed to be a few days and ends up being much longer as they wait for all the paperwork to be completed for her to come back. We watch Sila struggle with missing her mother, slowly drawing into herself and away from friends. Until she meets an older gentleman who introduces her to Veda, an elephant, and her world begins to open up.

This middle-grade novel encompasses a lot of relatable issues, like empathy, sadness, understanding, and patience. We get to follow Sila as she learns to cope with her mother's absence and learn how to be patient and accept that not all things are fair. I believe that this story will be beneficial to young readers as they are learning to navigate their way through life.

What a delight! I'm parent to two middle grade readers, and I especially love how Sloan's books are enjoyable for me as an adult and my middle school kids—they give us so much to talk about!

This title exemplifies so much of what I have enjoyed about Sloan's work in the past: she closely portrays five characters, all individually dealing with great sorrow. But when you bring those characters together, they collectively find hope, healing, and ultimately, happiness.

I received an electronic ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group through NetGalley.
Powerful story about a group of people who are caught in their own grief cycles and find connections with each other to find the joy again.
Sila and her dad are getting by after her mom had to return to Turkey for an immigration issue. The short time to resolve this has stretched for a year. She has withdrawn from friends and is struggling at school and at home. Her dad has to go fix a truck for an older man outside of town. Turns out he is the husband of Sila's second grade teacher who passed away several years prior to the story beginning.
Gio is caught in grief and feeling his life no longer has meaning. Then he meets Sila and her dad and feels a connection with this child his wife taught.
One more different grief pattern comes into play when Sila is paired with Mateo - a young man in her class who has autism. They find their way to friendship and trust and finish the patterns woven by Sloan.
Running through all of this is the bonds that form when Gio impulsively buys an elephant from a rundown circus owner after a chance meeting on his birthday. He sees how Sila connected instantly with Veda and knows he has the room at the old farm he purchased.
Some of the events are a bit too coincidental but the overall story works well. By the end, I had tears in my eyes as moms are returned - both Sila's and Veda's. Each of the characters is stronger and more confident in themselves by the end. Readers will feel they are standing there in the new elephant sanctuary experiencing the emotions along with the characters.
A different style for Sloan and well done.

As in "Counting by 7's", Sloan gives us a gripping emotional tale of the growth and survival of young people, including one on the Autism Spectrum.

Sila's parents came as refugees from Turkey to Oregon before Sila was born. Things were going well until her mother questioned why she was paid so much less at her job than the less-qualified men. She was fired, and suddenly her immigration status was in question. On a quick trip to Ankara for paperwork, US Immigration rules change substantially, and Sila's mom can't return.

After 10 months, Sila and her father are noticeably changed. Sila, once outgoing with lots of friends, is now quiet and stays to herself. She blames herself for her mother's dilemma. Through a school program designed to draw her out, she becomes better acquainted with her classmate Matteo. In a series of coincidences, Sila and Matteo end up working the summer taking care of an elephant outside of town, and making discoveries about themselves and the world around them.

A very current story about US immigration, treatment of Autism Spectrum disorders, family separation and personal loss.

The Elephant in the Room is a heart warming and delightful book about hope, finding yourself, friendship, and more. Sila's mother travels to Turkey to straighten out some immigration paperwork and doesn't come back for many months. Sila misses her dearly. In the meantime, she goes on a house call with her dad to fix a truck and meets an older grandfatherly gentleman named Gio. She and Gio establish an unlikely friendship and Gio rescues a circus elephant, Veda, knowing it would make Sila happy. In the meantime, as part of a school assignment, Sila is paired up with a silent and reclusive boy named Mateo. It was a pleasure to watch all these relationships grow and blossom! Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Sila’s mother goes back to her homeland in Turkey to straighten out a problem with her immigration paperwork. What was supposed to be an 8 week stay drags on for months and months, and Sila’s world falls apart. She withdraws within herself, losing all interest in friends and school activities, just existing from day to day. Things change when she meets an elderly man named Gio and forms a bond that leads to the rescue of a circus elephant named Veda. Suddenly Sila’s life has meaning again as she spends the summer helping care for the elephant, forms an unlikely friendship with an autistic boy named Mateo, and discovers Gio’s relationship to a much-loved teacher she had when she was in second grade. This is a wonderful story of separation and the importance of family, for both humans and animals. I highly recommend it.

What a great little book. I was in love with the cover off the bat, and it definitely falls in line with the story.
Sila and her family are struggling immigration, and not having their family together. Meanwhile, Veda, the elephant, helps to fill that void. I really like the parallels between Sila and Veda. Mateo was great representation for the Autistic community as well.

Who would have thought the topics of immigration, autism, isolation, animal rights and cruelty and friendship would flow together to create a great middle grade fiction? Holly Goldberg Sloan creates another great middle grade novel. Sila's mother has been in Turkey for almost a year, working out an immigration issue. She puts on a brave face but is struggling. Through a series of events, she ends up with a new friend from school and a job working for an elderly widower who bought an elephant from a folding circus. Sounds impossible but it's a wonderful story about connection.