Rob Buyea

I picked this up because I witnessed a group of grade 6 students last September in the library. They didn’t know that I was watching them browse for books. One of them reverently pulled “Because of Mr. Terupt” off the spinner and whispered, “Hey guys...remember this?” The other students clustered around, nodded solemnly and smiled as they shared a private moment that I just knew was special. I wished, more than anything, that I’d had a video camera running to document that show more magical moment. I found out later by casual inquiry that their grade 5 teacher had read the book to her class and allowed them to discuss the book in groups. It was clearly one of their favourite memories from their previous grade so OF COURSE I needed to read the book for myself.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Buyea captures the dynamics of the classroom perfectly and I could imagine each of the students as being clones of students I’ve taught. The book is perfectly paced, and lends itself to multiple opportunities for discussion without being preachy or phoney. I know it’s an older title but sometimes there are books that get talked about so much that I lose my urge to read it. I’m glad that I finally got to it. Well worth while!
I’m going to purchase the other two. I want my clsssroom to have all 3 books”. I think I’ll add it to my “books every kid needs to read list. It’s a classic show less

Seven fifth graders at Snow Hill School in Vermont learn a variety of life lessons, not necessarily from their textbooks, when they start the school year off with their new teacher. Short chapters are actually brief narratives by individual students and sectioned off by each month of the school year, beginning with September. From the students' distinct voices readers come to understand the different personalities and backgrounds that define them. Peter, the prankster; Danielle, who never show more stands up for herself; and Jessica, the new girl in town who hides behind her favorite books, are just a few of the characters who shape readers' vision of the classroom. As their narrative continues, readers realize that each child has a story that only begins in school; it's the problems and conflicts that make up their home lives that come full circle because of a prank that results in tragedy. Mr. Terupt is that one teacher who really understands them, who always seems to be on their side, and who teaches them a valuable lesson no matter how much some of them try to shut him out. If the school year is a series of events, then Mr. Terupt is the catalyst that starts the chain reaction. The characters are authentic and the short chapters, some less than a page, are skillfully arranged to keep readers moving headlong toward the satisfying conclusion.– show less

It's possible this review will be incredibly biased. As someone who has just finished her second year of teaching with a group of third graders who may have changed her life, am I over-identifying with every single aspect of this story? Possibly.

That said, this book made me cry.

The beginning seemed pretty uneventful - Mr. Terupt is a "rookie" teacher who takes on a class of fifth graders. I smiled at all of the patented "teacher moves" that permeate this character (this book was SO show more OBVIOUSLY written by somebody who has experience running a classroom!). I myself have tried the chain-link class reward system Mr. T utilizes. His use of project-based learning was fun to see - glad to know we teachers agree on what makes learning most effective - when its fun! But I digress. All in all, I enjoyed being able to identify strongly with this character in a sweet, light-hearted way through the kids. And the kids were great portrayals of characters you could find in any fifth grade class - I could certainly identify parts of a few students I've taught in fifth grade-going-on-sixth. Also, for me the disjointed character-switching really worked. It felt (perhaps unsurprisingly) like I was actually seeing things through the teacher's eyes - which makes sense since in my experience a huge chunk of teaching is trying to get inside each of your students' heads, to see what's going on and how you can navigate pathways to help them achieve something that day. So in the end the way the author switched narrators almost constantly felt really authentic to me.

And then came part two. Now, it wasn't the contrived accident that made me emotional. Up to that point, events in the novel were progressing as expected. Kids were being kids, who were opening up and growing (slowly) under a pretty great teacher. And then comes the sudden upheaval that changes everything. Standard stuff. It was what came after that upheaval that really got to me. As Mr. T really took a back seat, each kid shined in his or her own moment time and again, in a way that wasn't ridiculously obvious or overly moralized. It wasn't the tragedy that was the center of the story, but the seven students who were incredibly strong focal points. And that was how I was able to connect so deeply with the book - as each character changes, the ideas behind this story grow stronger and stronger - until, well, it's 6 o'clock in the morning and you have a tears on your face.

Again, it's probable that I am identifying so strongly with this book because of my own experiences. Still, even if this book doesn't make you feel the way that I did, the strong characterizations and shifting voices really makes it a quick but thought-provoking read! show less

The Perfect Secret is a follow up to The Perfect Score, and from the start, this is a follow up that works well as part of a series, but will leave the reader with a lot of questions if they haven't read the first book. Buyea takes no time to provide any backstory aside from the fact that The Recruits were thrown together as punishment for something they did (although from one character's perspective I got the sense that it wasn't something entirely bad.)

The story picks up where the last show more left off, so I just went with it, and once you've suspended the questions you have about some of the storylines, it is a fun and engaging read. The story is told from multiple perspectives, which always puts an interesting spin on the story as it unfolds. The Recruits are now 7th graders (and having a 7th grader myself) captures well the feel of being wiser in the ways of middle school, and the complexity of crushes that break out between friends in tight-knit groups. They are good-hearted kids on a mission to bring Coach, Mrs Magenta, and Mrs Woods back together and patch up their distant relationship.

The story is age appropriate (although I'm not entirely settled on my thoughts of how he handled the issue of Gavin's mother as an undocumented immigrant.) It's a good middle school read for a kiddo who has read the first in the series. show less