ALA Booklist

Just before the end of the school year, a horrendous thunderstorm strikes Drybed Creek, causing a flash flood. Coming down the hill, Mrs. B. loses control of her school bus, and it topples onto its side. Now let's rewind to the beginning of the school year: there's been a robbery. Someone stole a wheelchair off the porch of an elderly couple. Each of the nine middle schoolers who ride Mrs. B.'s bus holds a thread of evidence about the robbery and the events that surrounded the high-school class of 1985. However, each also has her or his own problematic history. Using the nine months of the school year, Cheaney highlights each student. Even with this organizing principle, keeping the characters and their families straight takes concentration. Still, each chapter offers hints that build upon one another. Knowing there will be a bus wreck doesn't prepare readers for the final twist. So, who becomes famous? Few will be able to guess.

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

This story is told from the points of view of nine diverse middle schoolers who ride the bus driven by stern but lovable Mrs. B. The chapters focus on friends and family, but pieces of a bigger mystery about Mrs. B begin to emerge as the story progresses. Though the backstory is overly complicated, readers who persevere will find the ending satisfying. Great middle-grade appeal.

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

Cheaney-s novel opens with a bus accident on a torrentially rainy night and the promise that one character will be famous by book-s end; she then rewinds nine months with news of a robbery in the sleepy Hidden Acres subdivision. But these early tinges of suspense wind up being peripheral as the novel unfolds. Over nine months, Cheaney (My Friend the Enemy) follows the stories of nine characters, fourth through seventh graders, who ride Mrs. B-s school bus, switching between characters each month. Bender is a complex bully living in the shadow of his older brother, Spencer is brilliant, Kaitlynn is full of big ideas, and Shelly hopes to become a singing sensation someday, among other regular riders. What the students have in common are dreams, insecurities, and a fascination with Farm Road 152, where Mrs. B stops the bus each day for reasons unknown. Readers glimpse the kids- vulnerable, private worlds of thought as the novel unfolds, yet the narrative about their rocky roads to better understanding themselves can feel unfocused as it jumps around between characters. Ages 10-13. Agent: Erin Buterbaugh, MacGregor Literary Agency. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 5-8 Nine very different middle schoolers on a bus route theorize why every morning Mrs. B, the bus driver, stops at an empty bus stopno one ever gets on or off. Each narrator has his/her own theory about the mysterious bus stop. One day, clues start turning up and it's clear that they must work together to solve the mystery. Even though there are nine different perspectives, it isn't confusing or overwhelming to follow. Cheaney uses language that is simple enough to appeal to all readers. As the story progresses, kids will begin to understand each protagonist's struggles, hopes, and dreams and empathize with all of them. The community surrounding the bus route changes as the characters grow into their own. A great and fast read about finding yourself and making friends, that will be enjoyed by even reluctant readers. H. Islam, Brooklyn Public Library