Goodbye Mr. Terupt

Rob Buyea's Goodbye Mr. Terupt is a funny, big-hearted school story for 11 year olds about a gang of friends determined to make this year one to remember.

What happens

The gang are starting eighth grade. Mr. Terupt still works at their school, but he's teaching seventh-grade science now, so none of them has him for lessons. Peter says it straight out on the first page. This year they need memories that will last.

You get the year from all seven of them in turns. Peter pulls the stunts. Luke explains the science whether anyone asks or not. Lexie screams at everything, Jessica writes poems and Danielle says her prayers for everybody at bedtime.

It kicks off at a summer festival on the beach. Lexie gets stung by a jellyfish and Peter offers the famous remedy (you can probably guess which one). That goes about as well as you'd expect! Then the gang take on a babysitting job for the Terupts, and Peter helps himself to a drink from their fridge that he's sure is a smoothie.

That's the kind of humour this is. Loud, a bit rude and very much about being in eighth grade. Lexie gets her revenge, and she enjoys every second.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

This one sits right at the top of the shelf. The friends are in eighth grade and there's plenty of romance. The pranks are rude, with breast milk, a photocopied bare bottom and Peter dropping his shorts in the principal's office to prove it wasn't his. There's some mild swearing too.

It gets serious as well. Danielle is nervous about switching to an insulin pump for her diabetes. Anna misses her mum as the wedding plans take over. And after a TV advert, Lexie starts wondering whether she carries the breast cancer gene her mum had.

Who hasn't felt the end of something coming and wanted to hold on tight? That feeling runs under all the jokes.

What to read next

If this is their first time with the gang, they could go back to Saving Mr. Terupt, where the same seven head into junior high and seventh grade.