What Mr. Mattero Did - Hardcover

Priscilla Cummings lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

Grade 6-8–When three seventh-grade girls from Oakdale Middle School come forward with an accusation that Mr. Mattero touched them inappropriately, the passionate, veteran music teacher is summarily sent home, and a formal investigation–and lots of informal character assassination–quickly gets underway. Once the media becomes involved, the man becomes persona non grata and is presumed guilty by most. Naturally, he's devastated, and his family suffers too, as the rumors and reproaches escalate. Melody, Mattero's daughter, is particularly affected; she happens to be an eighth-grader at Oakdale. The story is told from her perspective, alternating with chapters written from the point of view of Claire, one of the accusers. Cummings has crafted an engrossing and thought-provoking tale involving sensitive, real-life issues. The first-person dialogue sounds authentic, the pacing is brisk, and the personal situations woven into the plot are apt and age-appropriate. The book provides a great deal of high-interest suspense, and, when the issue of what Mr. Mattero did is finally resolved, readers get an ending that's both satisfying and realistic.–Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI
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