School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 7 Up--High school English teacher Robert Chippendale is shot and killed one morning while running on the Tower High track before class. Moments earlier, he'd had a confrontation with a shadowy figure in a red-hooded sweatshirt. That's all readers learn early on in this mystery in poem format. But more than a whodunit, this unique offering explores a multitude of issues in its pages. Single-page conversational poems are presented, each of which bears the name of a different student, teacher, or community member touched by the murder. Not only do the poems clue readers into the characters' personalities and sensibilities, but they also provide a telling commentary on the attitudes toward violence reflected in our society at large. The cast is large, ranging from students who loved or hated "Mr. C" to guidance counselor Angela Falcone, who ties the book together. An epilogue takes readers 13 years into the future to show what the characters, including the murderer, are doing with their lives. Glenn delivers a starkly realistic view of modern high-school life. A clever idea, executed in a thoughtful, compelling, and thoroughly accessible manner.--Sharon Korbeck, Waupaca Area Public Library, WI

Horn Book

The murder of a high school teacher and its consequences are played out in a series of poems that project the point of view of a number of students and teachers. Executed in somewhat pedestrian verse and written in contemporary vernacular, the narrative format succinctly reveals the interactions of the various personalities within a school community.

ALA Booklist

Teens who have enjoyed Glenn's previous free-verse peeks at contemporary high-school life, such as My Friend's Got This Problem, Mr. Candler (1991), will probably want to see this one, even though it is not as successful. Violence, a top concern among today's teens, is the unifying theme, and the idea of presenting a mystery in free-form verse should have great appeal. The aftermath of the unexplained shooting death of a high-school teacher is presented through the eyes of a variety of different people --students in his classes, investigating cops, a counselor with whom he had an affair. Unfortunately, even accounting for Glenn's attempts to differentiate the characters, the poetry is painfully turgid at times (black holes appear in the constellation of my memories ), and his story lacks punch. His previous, more intimate books, which present characters and problems more varied and more emotionally compelling, will continue to draw readers long after this one is forgotten. (Reviewed June 1 & 15, 1996)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Using what PW called Spoon Riveresque storytelling, this diverse collection of free verse cleverly embraces varied narratives to describe the aftermath of a high school teachers murder. Ages 10-14. (Apr.)

Kirkus Reviews

A respected teacher's murder on school grounds sparks a series of free-verse reveries and comments from a large cast of students, colleagues, police officers, and members of the local community in this unusual, provocatively oblique whodunit, subtitled ``A Mystery in Poems.'' As in Glenn's most recent collection, My Friend's Got This Problem, Mr. Candler (1991), voices, attitudes, and concerns are realistically varied: Youthful optimism alternates with fear or disillusionment, pre-packaged opinions with thoughtful observations, anguish with disinterest. Chippendale is remembered largely with affection, a competent teacher who, every now and then, made a difference, sometimes to the good (Celia Campbell) and sometimes bad (Delia Campbell). The contributors/suspects include Angela, a counselor who fell in love with Chippendale years ago; Leah, a teenager who claims she had a fling with him (but whose veracity is suspect); and violence-prone, emotionally numb Mike, who, despite enough circumstantial evidence by the end to arrest and convict him, never admits much. He's a chilling character—but is he guilty? And what about Leah's admission? Does anyone get the whole story? Let readers decide, as they appreciate the multiple ironies here, search for clues, and look for echoes of their own peers and teachers in these vignettes. (Fiction/poetry. 11-15)"