The Elephant in the Room (2024)

This book is so meaningful.
Such books are so important when it comes to animal protection and how to properly take care of them.

I find this middle story so unique and inspirational. I do hope I get to read more of such books. We tend to take animals for granted, misuse them for labour and selfish reasons.

This read made me so emotional when it ended. I was thinking really hard of what we have done knowingly or unknowingly that is harming the lives around us.

This is the story of a girl whose mother has to go to Turkey for a few days to secure her immigration papers. However, days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. It was making Sila really worried and she couldn’t focus on anything else. However, her father decides to take her to a place to fix things for an elderly man. There she meets a grandfatherly figure and an unexpected chain of events that leads to the rescue of a circus elephant!

How crazy is that! And yes, it is such an adventure filled reading experience. One moment I was so sorry for the little girl, her clueless father, the old man who’s lost for what to do next with the lottery prize he recently won but you know this is one of those books which give you enough hope and inspiration on what to do next when you are lost in a similar situation.

I love this book so much! So worth it.

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I am so excited to finally share with you my review of The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan. It was a true pleasure to read this book, and I devoured it very fast!

Synopsis:

In this beautiful book, we follow young Sila, whose mum had to travel to Turkey one year ago to try and solve her immigration status and be able to return to the United States. Sila is not handling the separation well and is not as happy as she used to be. She doesn’t talk as much as she used to and is ignoring her friends.

One day, she accompanies her father while he’s fixing a truck. On this trip, she meets an elderly man who has the most incredible story – he has just won the lottery months ago. Together, they end up rescuing a circus elephant called Veda. And the rescue also leads to Sila helping out during the summer, together with a boy called Mateo.

This summer will introduce Sila to sadness, excitement, friendships and a very unique connections between her, Mateo, and the amazing elephant Veda, who also has a story of her own.

My Thoughts:

The Elephant in the Room is a very heartwarming book and I love how positive it felt, despite the obvious challenges that Sila is facing right from the very start. Honestly, my feelings were enhanced while reading this book, and I recall now how strongly I wanted to hug Sila, when she thought her wearing a certain shirt had an impact to her mum’s fate.

“Goodbyes were more important than they appeared to be.”

We have many characters that are going through a difficult period in their life; Sila is missing her mother, Gio his wife. Veda, the elephant, has been separated from her mum and sent with the circus. And Mateo is struggling to fit in. I wish he could’ve had a glimpse of how Sila and Mateo’s mums were feeling with their situations as well. In my opinion, Mateo’s character is portrayed very beautifully. I loved reading Mateo’s POV, his feelings, his thoughts. And I also love the fact that Veda has a POV as well – that was a very nice touch!

“The circus people could teach her to do many things. But they could not teach her to trust them. Or to ever forget her past.”

I really enjoyed this book! It was very emotional and it highlights how children react to changes in their lives. It also shows the human and animal interaction, and how animals are able to understand feelings, as well as how sometimes humans can communicate better with animals as well. Furthermore, the friendships and the positivity in this book is overwhelming! Good people are all around us, we just have to find them, or let them find us. However, the only remark I have is that this book is too short and I wish the ending was longer. Unfortunately, it all unraveled rather abruptly in the last 20 pages and I wish we dived into that more slowly.

“Is something better because you don’t see it all the time?”

If this book is made into a movie, I would love to see it! I think many people would enjoy watching it as well. To conclude, if you are looking for a heart-warming fast read about a witty girl, unusual boy and an elephant that befriends them, The Elephant in the Room is the book you want.

A rescued circus elephant, a widowed lottery winner, a young girl whose beloved mother has been deported, and a quiet boy with autism are drawn together in this beautiful novel by the author of Counting by 7s. I couldn't put it down!

Two classmates, Sila whose mother has been sent back to Turkey due to a clerical error and Matteo, a boy with autism bond when they take care of a millionaire's elephant. More than a story about Sila, readers will enjoy learning the stories of Gio, the millionaire who buys a circus elephant and bear, Veda the circus elephant, and Matteo who was paired with Sila as part of a study at school.
If you like elephants, stories about kids who care about animals, or are looking for a book with Turkish American characters, give this one a try.

Novel borrowed from a friend

Holly Goldberg Sloan understands and writes with such accuracy about kids who, for one reason or another, are different. I loved her novel "Counting by 7's" and absolutely enjoyed "The Elephant in the Room".

Sila Tekin is miserable since her mother was unfairly deported to Turkey. She and her father are trying to stay strong but it's so hard to be without your mother. Sila is chosen at school to be part of group of kids who are partnered up with kids who need peer support. Sila is paired with Mateo. Mateo doesn't like to talk so for 20 minutes at the end of every day they sit in the library and read their own books. Sila has gone to school with Mateo her whole life and begins to realize that he has been moved to the back of the room and is mostly ignored by everyone.

When Sila's dad gets a call to fix an old truck, he takes Sila with him. As Sila and her father get to know Gio, they learn that he won the lottery, bought a huge tract of land surrounded by high walls, and his wife passed away. When Gio, Sila and her dad meet a circus caravan at a local restaurant, Gio ends up buying Veda the elephant and Mr. Pickles the bear.

The author explores so many areas that concern our kids today: immigration, autism, friendship, animal welfare and the love between mothers and daughters. I will be eagerly awaiting whatever Holly Goldberg Sloan writes next. She really does show us what "The Elephant in the Room" may be for some of our kids.

A beautifully told story about family, friendship, the wonderful bond that can form between humans and animals and the power of hope that things will get better.

Sila is a young girl whose mother had to go back to her native country Turkey to set right some problems with her immigration to the US years ago. A week long trip turns to months and Sila and her father miss her terribly. Meeting Gio, an older man who has recently won the lottery and is wealthy but very lonely after the loss of his wife, cheers Sia a bit. Especially when Gio decides to use some of his money to buy an elephant from a traveling circus and give her a better home.

Meeting Veda, the elephant delights Sia and she wants to share the experience with Mateo, her classmate at school who is unusual and doesn't have friends but seems to know a lot about a lot of things. As the two of them interact with each other and Gio and most importantly,Veda, they feel lighter, happier and more at peace with the world and all the heavy problems in it.

This story makes you feel the world isn't such a bad place after all and truly emphasizes how being close to nature and treating animals well and befriending them is the key to a more fulfilling existence.

A rescued elephant, new friends, two families reunited, (human and animal), and happy tears at the end, (me, of course!). I loved everything about this story. It really made my heart glad. The story is set in Eugene, Oregon where I live, but unfortunately there are no rescued elephants living here on a huge farm. If there were, I would be out there constantly volunteering for whatever jobs needed doing.

I wasn't going to rate this book so low, but ya'll this is hands down one of the worst books I've read this year which is surprising considering I've heard nothing but great things about Holly Goldberg Sloan

The Elephant in the Room follows main character Sila as she attempts to cope with the absence of her mother who traveled back to Turkey to secure the necessary information to make her immigration paperwork complete. In her absence, Sila struggles until she meets Gio who ultimately changes the trajectory of her life.

What Worked: While I found this book to be extremely over the top and unrealistically convenient, I appreciated that Sloan attempted to lead the narrative with a sense of hope. I also appreciated the autism representation through Mateo.

What Didn't Work: I don't think I've rated a middle grade book this low in a while. I seriously was not expecting to dislike this book as much as I did. The book had a strong start, but then everything became extremely convenient in a way that was unrealistic. Gio randomnly wins the biggest lottery pot in their town, then he conveniently buys a big plot of land that conveniently serves as a place to house an elephant after finding out how much Sila loves elephants. And guess how he acquires this elephant? He conveniently meets a former circus performer after buying an entire shop of townspeople coffee and donuts. It felt weird and over the top and unrealistic. I'm all for things working out for the best especially in children's literature, but this was too much. And the writing was a slog to get through. We received a perspective for every single character. For exampled, I did not need to be inside the head of the elephant. I don't think it added anything to the context of the story.

Overall, this was a huge disappoint. I actually only finished this because it was so short and I was reading it for work. I'm still interested in checking out other works by Sloan, but this just didn't work for me.

I'm not completely sure how to feel about this one. The book itself was okay, just not my personal cup of tea. What didn't sit well with me was the autistic rep in this. While I sincerely hope it wasn't the author's intention, there was a passage in this that could be interpreted as describing autism as a disease?? Or even a silent killer??
To be clear, I don't know if the author is autistic/nerodivergent themselves, and I don't think it was necessarily their intention to come across this way. Regardless, the whole passage, and subsequently the rest of the book just felt off to me.

What Sila Tekin would remember about that afternoon was that she had been wearing her favorite shirt.
- first line

Verdict: This book has so much heart and I loved it. It focuses on family, friendship, the powerful bond we form with animals, and most of all hope.

It has been nearly a year since Sila’s mother was forced to return to Turkey to correct an error with her immigration paperwork. Sila and her father have adjusted but still miss her every day. Sila accompanies her dad on a job to fix a truck, and they meet a sweet, older widower (Gio) who recently won the state lottery. Sila is selected to spend time with a boy at school (Mateo who is on the autism spectrum) in an effort to bring them both out of their shells. Gio adopts an elephant (Veda) who is being sold by a retiring circus owner. Sila and Mateo end up helping Gio take care of Veda.

All of the characters have voids in their lives that they are looking to fill and they manage to fill them with Veda and each other. The story is heartwarming and beautiful. There are many life lessons throughout, but it doesn’t seem preachy. The story is told from several points of view, Sila, Mateo, and even Veda (the elephant). No animals die in the story which was a plus for me. It isn’t a sad story, but a hopeful one.

My favorite quotes:
Sometimes, Sila decided, saying you have a plan is the first step in making one. (Ch. 25)

Did her own pain and sorrow over her mother’s absence force her to be a bigger person? Were people more compassionate because of their own difficult experiences? (Ch. 29)

You had to hope for the best.
You had to keep going even when things weren’t fair.
You had to believe in the possibility of days like this day.
And you had to work to make them happen. (Ch. 39)

The circus people could teach her to do many things. But they could not teach her to trust them. Or to ever forget her past.

Loved this book. It was a sweet story, well told, and fun to read. I felt like the ending concluded a little too quickly as there could have been more to the story. I immediately handed it to my 10 year old as she is the target audience and would love this book.

Earlier this month I found a new (to me) #bookclubofinstagram !

Because I really needed to join another #bookclub I promptly ordered “The Elephant in the Room” for #middlegradereadersbuddyread !

This story did not disappoint, especially since it did address many elephants that happen to be in many rooms—immigration, equal pay for women, and autism— just to name a few.

The description of this book it spot on, so instead of reiterating I’ll just say that my favorite part of the story is when Silas and Mateo are paired in a new buddy program that their school is testing. Both children learned so much from each other and although it is only a small (and not even the main) aspect of the story, it just made my heart sing.

The story was never drab, and I found myself flying through the pages, anxious for the conclusion that ended up being more than I could have hoped for.

If you’re into #middlegradebooks this one is fantastic ! Thank you @sue.the.very.busy.reader and the rest for picking this book and welcoming me into the group !

Loved it, best book list !

Loved it! This story of resilience and patience and continued hope for a better future is the perfect message during this Covid 19 pandemic. It wasn't told in preachy way, very subtle and relatable to many. This is now on my favorite books list.

Deemed a children's book, this novel is definitely a read for all ages. What a beautiful story with so many themes and deep, heartfelt meanings. A very quick, must read. This author writes beautifully with compassion and love in every word!

"It wasn't how the world saw her but how she saw herself that felt important."

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would!

In several novels, authors talk about the absence of a loved one in the sense that they're deceased, there's been a divorce, or something happens along those lines, so it was interesting that in this novel, the absence of a loved one is portrayed as a mother who has been separated from her family through conflict regarding immigration. I haven't read too many novels surrounding this topic, so I loved the discussions on equality of race and gender portrayed in that way!

The characters are so lovable, Sila's pain and longing felt so real, and I really felt for her. I didn't to expect to like Mateo too much, so I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised! I loved the autism representation and being able to look inside his head, I loved hearing what he had to say! Gio was such a sweet character, his grief made my heart break, but my heart was mended back together when Sila, Mateo, and Veda brought joy into his life!

Holly Goldberg Sloan's writing is very simplistic, but so thought-provoking, and I enjoyed reading from several different perspectives, it added more feeling to the story.

What really put the cherry on top for me was the really sweet ending. It brings so much light and positivity to these characters' lives, and I loved seeing all the characters come together! When Sila reunited Veda with Madhi after being reunited with her own mother, I nearly cried. That last chapter was so beautiful!

Although I do wish the story had had a little more depth, I think this is a fantastic book for all ages, and will give readers a new perspective on other people's trials.

"You had to hope for the best. You had to keep going even when things weren't fair. You had to believe in the possibility of days like this day. And you had to work to make them happen."

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! I read it for #BitAboutBooks Spring Challenge with a non-human character. Readers will fall in love with Sila, her dad, Apt, and Gio, the elderly lottery winner. When Sila's mom must return to Turkey her 8 days becomes a year. Sila and her father are devastated; she turns away from her friends, school activities, and is sad all the time (but she feels it is no one's business). When her father takes Sila to fix a truck, she meets Gio and her life and Gio's changes. What follows is such an enjoyable, heartwarming story about friendship, family, empathy and second chances. With the introduction of classmate Mateo and his mom, the story just gets better and better. There was so much wonder when Gio, Sila, and Mateo save and care for an elephant, Veda. The information on the elephant dung showed the nature connection, the animal connection and the importance of caring for others. This is a book ALL should read; just like her book, Counting by 7s, Sloan is an awesome author and her message is real, timely, and authentic. A must read!

This book is extremely lovely. A great story about family, friendship and the importance of taking care of nature and animals. A really heartwarming story that my son and I really enjoyed.

“Were people more compassionate because of their own difficult experiences?”

This was fine and a great book to listen to while multitasking. It's definitely written for a younger audience, and I think the themes of family, separation, differences in processing things, loneliness, and friendship were good.

Read this with my 10 year old daughter and we loved it! A great mother daughter read 💖🐘

4.5 rounded up to 5!!

This cover got me so much I bought the book 2X! And the story inside is equally as wonderful about a girl named Sila and the struggles she's having with her family and her mother being away as a result of trying to correct some immigration paperwork in Turkey. Sila has other important relationships in her life as well though She is reintroduced to a boy named Mateo and they end up becoming friends and spend time together on a grandfatherly man's, Gio, property. Sila's Dad worked for Gio and Sila had been Gio's wife's student at one time, but we find out that Gio's wife passed and he won a considerable amount of money and decided to buy property. Gio ends up rescuing an elephant from a circus. That elephant, Veda, lives on Gio's property and Sila and Mateo fall in love with Veda and want to help with her care. There is a beautiful connection between the elephant and humans. There are so many lovely little bits of this story that are cleverly woven together and make it utterly enjoyable!

The lovely people at Piccadilly Press sent me a proof of The Elephant in the Room and wow did I love it!

You know those books that just feel like a hug? This is one of them.

Silva's mum travelled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the US. A year later she still isn't home and the long separation is almost too much for Sila to bear.

This book is a beautiful story of a group of people, each of whom is in need of a friend, who band together in the rescue of a circus elephant. I loved each and every one of the main characters. They all are given a distinctive voice - yes, the elephant is included too - and it is a joy to read the way their growing friendship and bonds grow.

"The Elephant in the Room" does a really wonderful job of looking at tough subjects that are very prominent in the world at the moment like the separation of a family, whilst also giving a message of the power and importance of connection with humans and the natural world alike. And I won't lie, the ending had me tearing up.

I liked this book. But I also feel strongly that it could have benefited from....como si dice.....some editing.
The beginning especially was so weirdly disjointed in a all telling not showing kind of way, and then the POV shifts weren't very clearly delineated, so you ended up with a bit of whiplash, especially surrounding the random animal POVs.
I really liked Mateo as a character, and the overarching themes of family and freedom and justice were very good, if a little heavy-handed at times.

I did like this, but it didn't blow me away.
In a story about connectedness and with so much focus on Sila's missing mother, I missed any real sense of what Oya herself was actually like. There was nothing of her in this novel: yes, I know they Skyped, but where was the evidence? I wanted to miss Oya on Sila's behalf, but didn't get the chance. I know this is probably a tiny aspect of a generally good book, but it just irritated me throughout.

I started listening to this for book club alone, but since it seemed like Ivory would like it and we had time in the car together, we listened to it together. Sweet story. It seemed like it was written for a young audience, other than the whole thing about winning the lottery. Way to promote gambling to the rising generation! Otherwise it had some really great lessons and engaging story and characters.

3.5 stars

This middle grade book had some really crazy elements. Things that definitely sound over the top, but make for an interesting story. It is a story about family and the pain we feel when away from them. I liked a lot of the commentary that it made. It definitely wasn't the most amazing middle grade, but it was good.

A new favorite!

2022 Popsugar Reading Challenge- #24: A book you can read in one sitting

This book was perfection. It was such a heartwarming story!

A super YA book! The author has created a beautiful storyline with Sila, Marteo, Gio-an elderly grandfather figure and lottery winner, immigration issues, possible Autism issues, and an elephant-Veda- that hold them all together. A great and quick read….

This is the second book that I have read for children that I have just loved. A very touching story. It is nice to read something that isn't full of controversy. Just a simple story about a girl missing her mom, two new friends, life and an elephant. A must read for anyone who would love a happy, realistic story. Definitely one I would recommend.