Mr. Terupt Falls Again

Gr 4–7—In this sequel to Because of Mr. Terupt (Delacorte, 2010), the students are now sixth graders, happy to be spending another year with Mr. Terupt, who returns to teaching after recovering from a serious accident. Again the story is told in short chapters, each one the narrative of an individual student. This year the youngsters are dealing with coming-of-age issues. Peter is still the prankster and has spent a lot of time helping get the classroom ready and maybe justify some of the guilt he still feels about the snowball he threw that hit Mr. Terupt's head. Lexie is just trying to be noticed, and readers share her struggle to fit in. Luke spent the summer at science camp and is determined to treat challenges by collecting and analyzing data before coming to conclusions. Even Mr. Terupt opens up and shares some of his family background with the class. A skillful meshing of characters and story lines makes for another great read. References to books the students are reading, like Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game and Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia, add realism as Mr. Terupt uses literature to interpret life lessons. Even reluctant readers will identify with some of the situations and be drawn into Mr. Terupt's world.Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH