Because of Mr. Terupt

Author: Rob Buyea

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication Year: 2010

Most of the readers will be: 4th-7th grade boys and girls.

Reader's Advisory: For another book told from multiple perspectives, read The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger. 

Summary:

Jessica, Alexia, Peter, Luke, Danielle, Anna, and Jeffrey tell the story of their fifth-grade school year with a brand-new teacher. Mr. Terupt is fun and cool. He helps new friends come together, and ends the girl wars. But some of the most important lessons he teaches his students are learned when he isn't in the classroom. 

My favorite passage:

Peter elbowed Alexia. Then I heard him whisper a word to her.
That's not even close to a dollar, I thought.
"Fifty-three," Alexia said. "No good. Try..."
Were they crazy? They were trying out rude words and giggling the whole time. I just knew they were going to get caught.
"That's no good, either," Peter said. "Maybe..."
What a butthead! As soon as I thought it, I knew it was a word worth calculating. Sure enough, butthead equaled 81. I tacked on the s. There wasn't just one butthead but two buttheads (dollar word). I was just about to call out that I had round one when Peter beat me to it.
"I've got a word!" he yelled. "Buttocks!" He strutted to the board like he was the coolest thing since sliced bread and wrote it for the class."Buttocks," he said again. "B-U-T-T-O-C-S." Peter went on to demonstrate how the word added up to a dollar. Mr. Terupt didn't interrupt. Just as I was about to, the new girl did.
"Buttocks is spelled with a k in it, Peter," Jessica said.
Peter looked to Mr. Terupt. "Sorry, Peter. She's right. Better try again. And maybe you should choose a different type of word than the ones you've been coming up with."
Peter slunk back to his seat. No surprise to me, Mr. Terupt knew what Peter was up to the whole time.
I raised my hand. "Mr. Terupt, I've got one." I walked up to the board and wrote butthead. That was followed by a chorus of laughs. "Butthead," I said. "B-U-T-T-H-E-A-D adds up to eighty-one cents, but if we have more than one, then we get buttheads. And buttheads is a dollar word. Just ask Peter and Alexia."
Mr. Terupt snickered. "That's enough, Luke. I must say, this isn't a word I was expecting, but nonetheless, it's our fist dollar word. Congratulations." (pg 9-10)

What I really think:

***SPOILERS***

I thought I knew what happened in this book before I started reading it, so when Jessica and Mr. Terupt talked about "happy endings" I thought, "Yeah, right!" But it does have a happy ending, and thank goodness! Many of the lessons the students learn would have stuck even if Mr. Terupt had died, but it is powerful and important that he has a chance to actually forgive Peter. 

I have observed that many of my students seek out novels with heavy themes. I'm glad to have a book I can recommend that should both satisfy them, and leave them feeling uplifted. 

Twisted

This is a review of the audio book.

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Reader: Mike Chamberlain

Producer: Listening Library

Production Year: 2007

Lexile: 680L

Most of the listeners will be: High school boys.

Listener's Advisory: If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko is another audio book in which the characters face family problems.

Summary:
Tyler's punishment for the "foul deed" (spray painting graffiti on the school building) is to work for the school janitors over the summer. He has been the scrawny nerd all his life, but all of the sudden, Tyler is a little bit cooler because of the "foul deed," and not so scrawny on account of all the manual labor. The girl of his dreams, Bethany, is actually flirting with him, much to the annoyance of her twin brother, Chip. But after a crazy post-football game party Tyler isn't so cool anymore. Everyone thinks he is the one who took the pictures of Bethany passed out and naked, including his father. Tyler doesn't want to live like this, ostracized at school and at home. He has to decide whether he should kill himself, or find a way to turn his life around.

My favorite passage:
Early on in the novel, Tyler and his family attend a cookout at the home of his father's boss, who also happens to be the father of Bethany and Chip. Chip's father notes how muscular Tyler has become over the summer and compares him to Chip. This leads to Tyler and Chip arm wrestling as their fathers observe. Tyler plays with Chip for a while but knows he can take him. When he is just about to claim his victory, Tyler looks over at his dad and sees him shake his head. His father doesn't want him to win. Tyler obliges and lets Chip win. He takes some pleasure in knowing he could have beat Chip, but gets none of the public glory. (Disc 1)

What I really think:
I almost cried during parts of this book. (The only reason I didn't was because I usually listen to audio books while running.) Parents can really hurt their kids in ways that aren't obvious like physical abuse or neglect. Anderson demonstrates how devastating verbal and emotional abuse (even if it is not always intentional) can be. I love that Tyler pulls himself out of a bad situation and finally tells his father how his behavior affects him. Ultimately, Tyler's dad doesn't promise to be different, only to try. I would caution that in real life, there are some parents who wouldn't even do that. But that doesn't mean their kids shouldn't say anything to them.

I mostly liked Chamberlain's reading. Although, I found his female voices to be a little frantic sounding at times, when the characters weren't necessarily supposed to be frantic.