Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
It's the start of a new school year for Billy Romero. But nothing has changed.
It's been five months since his father was killed in a car accident, and it's all he can do to get through the day without breaking down. His friends can't understand why he can't move on. After all, it happened LAST year. Billy thinks to himself, "Seventh grade was only three months ago, not a year ago!" Billy is still grieving and has withdrawn from most of his friends and has to see a shrink once a week.
But the start of eighth grade holds promise. After a race to the bus stop, he's forced to take the only available seat left on the bus, next to a girl he's never seen before. Before too long, Amy starts saving him a seat every day, and the two form a tentative friendship. And he's managed to land in Miss Gate's English class. She's the hot new teacher this year.
It isn't long before Miss Gate (or Tess, as she asks Billy to call her) takes an interest in Billy. It starts innocently enough, when Billy misses the bus home and she offers to drop him off at his house. She begins to encourage Billy to pursue his poetry after school. She confides in Billy that she too lost her father at a young age, and she's there for him if he needs support.
Through all of his encounters with Miss Gate, Billy slowly starts to emerge from his grief. He begins to force himself to venture out with his old friends, even surprising himself at how much fun he's been missing out on. Amy asks him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. And he's shocked when an old friend wants to just be around him because of his strength. Billy feels far from strong, but when he learns his friend's mother has cancer, he is there for the kind of support that no one else can offer him.
But something feels wrong to Billy, though he just can't put his finger on it. It isn't until the night that Miss Gate drives him to a regional poetry contest that it all comes to a head.
Mr. Logsted has stepped out from behind his author wife, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, to publish his first novel.
SOMETHING HAPPENED is a shockingly real look at how subtle gestures by someone in authority can slowly mount into something not quite right. Billy is aware that there is an undercurrent of something, but can't quite figure out why he feels uncomfortable with the situation.
The author quietly weaves Miss Gates' spell over Billy. The reader picks up on the crafty way Miss Gate is able to get Billy to spend more time with her alone. The story is a great reminder that there is danger even in places that are supposed to be safe.
It's the start of a new school year for Billy Romero. But nothing has changed.
It's been five months since his father was killed in a car accident, and it's all he can do to get through the day without breaking down. His friends can't understand why he can't move on. After all, it happened LAST year. Billy thinks to himself, "Seventh grade was only three months ago, not a year ago!" Billy is still grieving and has withdrawn from most of his friends and has to see a shrink once a week.
But the start of eighth grade holds promise. After a race to the bus stop, he's forced to take the only available seat left on the bus, next to a girl he's never seen before. Before too long, Amy starts saving him a seat every day, and the two form a tentative friendship. And he's managed to land in Miss Gate's English class. She's the hot new teacher this year.
It isn't long before Miss Gate (or Tess, as she asks Billy to call her) takes an interest in Billy. It starts innocently enough, when Billy misses the bus home and she offers to drop him off at his house. She begins to encourage Billy to pursue his poetry after school. She confides in Billy that she too lost her father at a young age, and she's there for him if he needs support.
Through all of his encounters with Miss Gate, Billy slowly starts to emerge from his grief. He begins to force himself to venture out with his old friends, even surprising himself at how much fun he's been missing out on. Amy asks him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. And he's shocked when an old friend wants to just be around him because of his strength. Billy feels far from strong, but when he learns his friend's mother has cancer, he is there for the kind of support that no one else can offer him.
But something feels wrong to Billy, though he just can't put his finger on it. It isn't until the night that Miss Gate drives him to a regional poetry contest that it all comes to a head.
Mr. Logsted has stepped out from behind his author wife, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, to publish his first novel.
SOMETHING HAPPENED is a shockingly real look at how subtle gestures by someone in authority can slowly mount into something not quite right. Billy is aware that there is an undercurrent of something, but can't quite figure out why he feels uncomfortable with the situation.
The author quietly weaves Miss Gates' spell over Billy. The reader picks up on the crafty way Miss Gate is able to get Billy to spend more time with her alone. The story is a great reminder that there is danger even in places that are supposed to be safe.
