Mr. Terupt Falls Again

Mr. Terupt Falls Again (2012) is a middle-grade novel by American author Robert Buyea and the second book in the four-book Mr. Terupt series. The novel follows seven sixth-grade students as they navigate their final year of elementary school and help their teacher, Mr. Terupt, find happiness. Buyea has experience teaching third and fourth graders as well as high schoolers, which informs his writing. He also was a wrestler, and wrestling plays an important role in the Mr. Terupt series. Buyea writes children’s and MG novels, including The Perfect Score series. Mr. Terupt Falls Again won the E. B. White Read Aloud Honor Book.

This guide uses the 2020 Yearling paperback version of the book.

Content Warning: The guide references but does not quote the R-word, which is used in the original text. It also references anti-Indigenous bias, which appears in the novel, and substance use disorders.

Plot Summary

Mr. Terupt Falls Again is told chronologically from the perspectives of seven students in Mr. Terupt’s sixth-grade class. Each section is labeled with the name of the character who is narrating. Because the students are often together, the descriptions of some of the events sometimes overlap. Because of this, the narrative will occasionally go back in time a few minutes to start the story from a different perspective. Different language and structures are used in the narration that relay key details about the students. For example, Jessica is very interested in film. Because of this, her sections are written like a film script. Luke is interested in being a scientist, and since he has learned that scientists are like detectives who ask important questions, his sections end with questions. Danielle is a devout Christian, and her sections frequently end with a prayer. The tone of the narration also changes at times. For example, Lexie uses more slang than the rest of the characters.

The novel is broken into three parts. Part 1 begins in the summer before sixth grade, as some of the students help Mr. Terupt move his classroom into the school annex. Part 2 begins in January of the school year and opens with Lexie explaining how things have changed for her. Part 3 occurs during June and details both the students’ graduation from elementary school as well as the wedding between Mr. Terupt and Ms. Newberry.

As the novel opens, the students have learned that they will be with Mr. Terupt again because the school has adopted a looping system which means they will have the same teacher for two years in a row. This class has a special bond because they all dearly loved Mr. Terupt the previous year but almost lost him after he sustained a head injury.

As the plot develops, the students encounter various problems. Peter does not want to graduate from sixth grade because he will have to leave his friends and go to a private school called Riverway. He plans to fail out of school so he can stay in sixth grade, but he eventually realizes this will not work. His parents find out about his wishes, and they let him stay in his public school system.

Lexie, referred to in the chapter titles as Alexia, struggles because she wants to grow up faster than her body and situation will allow. She gets caught up with some teenagers, Lisa, Reena, and Brandon, who introduce her to smoking and offer her alcohol and drugs. They also dress her in a more mature manner, but Mr. Terupt eventually finds out and helps her get away. She still tries to look mature by stuffing her bra to impress the boys who come for an exchange program, but they laugh at her as the tissue paper in her bra comes loose. In the end, Peter and Lexie develop feelings for each other and kiss.

Danielle’s body is changing faster than Lexie’s, but since her parents have not taught her about these changes, she is worried something is wrong with her when she starts her period. Danielle’s family is in danger of losing their farm because of a dispute with the Moonsuc nation, a fictional Indigenous American group in the novel who originally inhabited the land. Danielle’s grandmother, Evelyn, has a heart attack from the stress, but she survives. Anna and her mother, Terri, help nurse Evelyn back to health. In the process, Terri, who is a single parent, develops a relationship with Danielle’s older brother, Charlie.

At the beginning of the novel, Jeffrey finds an abandoned baby, which he brings to school so the adults get the baby the proper help. Jeffrey develops an attachment to the baby, Asher, and eventually he convinces his mom to visit the baby. His parents are still in mourning over the death of their son, Michael, but Asher rekindles the joy in their lives, and the family adopts him.

Jessica and Luke both help bring to light new information about Mr. Terupt. Jessica finds out that both of his parents died in a car accident when Mr. Terupt was a senior in high school; they were leaving Mr. Terupt’s wrestling tournament. Luke researches the odd physical symptoms Mr. Terupt demonstrates, and when he and Mr. Terupt talk about these symptoms, Mr. Terupt says his doctor thinks they are just a response to a medication. Mr. Terupt stays healthy throughout the novel, and he ends the book by marrying Ms. Newberry, another teacher at the school.