About the Author

ROB BUYEA taught third and fourth graders for six years; then he taught high school biology and coached wrestling for seven years. Currently, he is a full-time writer and lives in Massachusetts with his wife and daughters. He is the author of the Perfect Score series. His first novel, Because of Mr. Terupt, was selected as an E. B. White Read Aloud Honor Book and a Cybils Honor Book. It also won seven state awards and was named to numerous state reading lists. Mr. Terupt Falls Again and Saving Mr. Terupt are companion novels to Because of Mr. Terupt. Visit him online at robbuyea.com and on Facebook, and follow @RobBuyea on Twitter.

Reviews

An NPR Backseat Book Club Selection
An E. B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book
An Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award Winner
An Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Winner
A Minnesota Maud Hart Lovelace Award Winner
A Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award Winner
A Nebraska Golden Sower Book Award Winner
An Iowa Children’s Choice Book Award Winner
A Massachusetts Children’s Book Award Winner
Nominated for 17 State Book Awards

“Even the accident toward which this novel is inevitably headed is no accident; it is as masterfully set up and skillfully concealed as the rest of this riveting story.” —John Irving

"This powerful and emotional story is likely to spur discussion."—Publishers Weekly

"No one is perfect in this feel-good story, but everyone benefits, including sentimentally inclined readers."—Kirkus Reviews

"Compelling. . . . Readers will find much to ponder on the power of forgiveness."—Booklist

Gr 4-6-Fifth grade is going to be pretty much like any other year, or so some students of Snow Hill School think. After all, most of them have already established their roles-the bully, the class clown, the kid who hates school, the shy girl, the fat girl, the boy who is smarter than he admits, and so on. This forms a pecking order everyone unconsciously follows. However, this year there's a new teacher, Mr. Terupt, who is young and has unusual ideas. He expects the students to adopt a form of personal responsibility. Many of them seem unable to rise to his expectations; problems related to their home lives and past history play into their behavior. Plenty of foreshadowing shows there will be a tragedy, but who is truly at fault? Buyea's thoughtful, inspiring book (Delacorte, 2010) clearly shows his understanding of the dynamics of this age group. Mike Chamberlain and Arielle Delisle create the voices for the seven narrators-the students who provide the perspectives on the school year, Mr. Terupt, and how a group of young people learn to cope with crisis and discover that change is possible. The story is inspiring and the multiple points of view add depth. This beautifully performed production brings the book to life and makes it accessible to even more young people who will also find their lives changed by Mr. Terupt.-Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.