The View From Saturday

Throughout The View From Saturday, the theme of teamwork follows several different threads, both literal and figurative. Literal teamwork is needed for The Souls to compete in the Academic Bowl. Nadia, Margaret, Izzy, Ethan, and the turtle wardens work together as a team in all weather conditions to help another species have a chance of a successful future. This teamwork becomes a symbol for Nadia, who eventually recognizes that her family are also working toward a common goal, trying to figure out the future as best they can as a team.

The journeys each member of The Souls (and Mrs. Olinski) take prior to the competition also involve teamwork within friendships that mold each member into the kind, respectful humans capable of achieving greatness. Noah’s character is creative and smart, but he is so full of facts that he often doesn’t stop to consider the big picture. During his visit with his grandparents in Florida, Noah helps tirelessly with the wedding preparations and finds that his kindness and help are reciprocated and amplified in collaboration with others—one resident teaches him calligraphy and gifts him a calligraphy set, and another helps him paint. Noah discovers that through collective kindness, teamwork generates bigger and longer-lasting rewards than individual efforts, exemplified by the snowball effect following Noah’s choice to give away his gifts at the wedding.