Review | THE ONE THING YOU’D SAVE by Linda Sue Park

THE ONE THING YOU’D SAVE | Written by Linda Sue Park | Illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng 

Clarion Books | Release Date: March 16, 2021 

Book Review written by Chrystal D. Giles

Linda Sue Park describes THE ONE THING YOU’D SAVE as a “fully illustrated story told in linked poems,” I’d describe it as the perfect format to start a thoughtful conversation. But before I tell you all the things I loved about the story, I should probably summarize it.

Ms. Chang gives her students an assignment. “Imagine that your home is on fire. You’re allowed to save one thing.” With family and pets safe, the students must pick something else—anything else—to save. But just one thing. Some students automatically go for the practical items, a cell phone or a parent’s wallet, but a deeper conversation starts when treasured objects enter the discussion.

The poems in this story are told in an ancient form of Korean poetry called sijo. It is a style I had not heard of, but was very drawn to. In its classic form, sijo has three lines of thirteen to seventeen syllables. Park used sijo in a new way in this book by making many of the poems longer than the traditional format. She says, “using old forms in new ways is how poetry continually renews itself, and the world.”

The grouping of the sijo form, the conversational language, and the pure drawings in grayscale drew me in instantly. The opening prompt posed by the teacher was a simple one, I myself thought of a very practical answer at first inquiry. I was then moved by how the author allowed the students to exchange ideas and reflect on each item in a more profound way. By the end of the story, I was rethinking what object I would choose to save.

Perhaps one of the most moving things about the story was the Park’s ability to have the reader connect with each student in just a few lines. When one classmate says, “I’d go right to the bathroom and grab her insulin kit,” the reader instantly knows more about them and their relationship with their mother.

I found myself thinking about this book long after I put it down. I highly recommend THE ONE THING YOU’D SAVE for young readers and adults alike.

Linda Sue Park is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard and the New York Times bestseller A Long Walk to Water and Prairie Lotus, a historical fiction middle-grade novel. When she’s not writing, speaking, teaching, or caregiving for her two grandchildren, she spends most of her time on equity/inclusion work for We Need Diverse Books and the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. She is also on the advisory board of the Rabbit hOle national children’s literature museum project.

Chrystal D. Giles is a champion for diversity and representation in children’s literature. Her debut middle-grade novel, Take Back the Block, is out now. Chrystal lives outside Charlotte, NC and is working on her next novel.