Point of View

The book is somewhat unusual in that it is written in the first person, but from the point of view of several characters. Each chapter is told by one of seven students in Mr. Terupt's class -- Peter, Anna, Alexia, Jeffrey, Jessica, Luke and Danielle. Each student relates the events that occur in the plot from his or her own perspective, so several events are recounted more than once but from the perspective of different narrators. As a result, the narrator's voice is a bit different with each student, reflecting his or her unique speaking style and personality.

Language and Meaning

Since the book is narrated by a group of fifth grade students, the language is on that grade level and changes with each narrator. For example, Luke is the intellectual of the group, so the vocabulary used in his chapters is more challenging than...