Because of Mr. Terupt

The fifth graders at Snow Hill School know that they're in for a treat when they learn that they will have Mr. Terupt, a brand new teacher, as their instructor this year. Mr. Terupt is like no other teacher they have ever had and touches each of his students in different ways. He helps Jessica to feel welcome in her new school. He helps Anna crawl out of her shell and make some new friends. He lets his students make their own mistakes, even when it means that Luke's concoction in science class sets off the smoke alarm. And even though he encourages his students to solve their own problems, he's not afraid to tell them when they've crossed the line. But when something bad happens to Mr. Terrupt, his devoted class must use what they learned from him to cope with their own feelings of guilt and grief.

This book, written by Rob Buyea, is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. The story is narrated in a grand total of seven (!) different voices, each a different student in Mr. Terupt's class. While the style of writing does not change dramatically for the different voices it is still very easy to keep the narrators straight since Buyea does a brilliant job of developing the characters and investing the reader emotionally in each kid's situation. I'll admit that I teared up frequently while reading this story, which testifies to the amount of raw emotional power the writing has. The ending was perhaps just a little too tidy and perfect, but after such a journey the happy ending was welcome. Without question, this book will make you want to track down your favorite teacher ever and give him/her a big thank-you hug.

Overall Grade: A