GOODBYE, MR. TERUPT

Eighth graders Peter, Jessica, Danielle, Anna, Jeffrey, Luke, and Alexia celebrate their final year with Mr. Terupt, who is still in their lives as their adviser.

The fourth book in the series follows 2015’s Saving Mr. Terupt. Mr. Terupt’s fans will be happy to see their favorite characters return with a bucket list of epic projects. Health issues—diabetes and cancer—become the focus of two successful projects; Luke researches the cows on Danielle’s farm; Jeffrey tries to make wrestling weight by starving himself; family relationships grow and change, and so do their own. There’s even a chaste kiss. All of them, but especially brokenhearted Peter, struggle to adjust to the idea of a future without Mr. Terupt’s support. Buyea follows the narrative pattern of his previous books, chronicling the school year month by month in short chapters with alternating first-person narratives that reflect the speakers’ personalities. Readers new to these works will get a good idea of the major issues and events of fifth, sixth, and seventh grades through each speaker’s memories, and all will be left with yet another set of lessons about the importance of forgiveness. These Vermonters are probably all White.

A satisfying culmination of a middle school chronicle.