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mschrock8's review against another edition
3.0
I pulled this off my shelf because I wanted a short book to start the new month.
Ms. Beatrice Hempel was the Grammar Queen of her junior high. Ha!
I am not surprised that I agreed with Beatrice on many things.
Ms. Beatrice Hempel was the Grammar Queen of her junior high. Ha!
I am not surprised that I agreed with Beatrice on many things.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
Episodic stories about a young seventh-grade English teacher, very similar in tone to Curtis Sittenfeld or Melissa Bank.
nssutton's review against another edition
5.0
the first chapter made me think of my own seventh grade teacher. the second made me think of the english teacher i hope jestodd becomes. i loved every little detail of this book so much, from the cover, to the last eight paragraphs of the first chapter, to the very last encounter.
sgomez25's review against another edition
3.0
My sister went to the school where Ms. Hempel "works". And I guess I did too...
nappower's review against another edition
3.0
A quick read/collection of related short stories that I found enjoyable. There are little gems of humor or surprise (I kind of loved how the reader learns about a certain aspect of ms hempel identity midway through) or an unexpected sentiment scattered throughout what from the surface seems like a snoozey topic/style. But it's also the detached mood/style of the stories' narration/treatment of the reader that fit my recent reading mood too. I probably haven't imparted anything useful in this :T
ohheyemilyk's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure about this book at first. It's definitely a little more highbrow than a lot of what I read, but it was such a nice tale of a young teacher. I loved the deft touch with details: Ms. Hempel's walks down memory lane were clearly written & very evocative.
elusivesue's review against another edition
3.0
this book started out as a collection of vignettes about the same teacher, Ms. Hempel - the stories were published in dif. magazines. The vignettes themselves are very good - some are really powerful. However, the cohesion between the vignettes could be stronger, and it doesn't read like a novel so much as a short story collection, and I was expecting a novel.
sawyerbell's review against another edition
4.0
Loved, loved, loved this book and how the author captures odd little moments in the life of a teacher.
harby's review against another edition
4.0
So far this is a really engaging book, the author has great style and constructs the story really well. We get to know the main character, Ms. Hempel, through a series of short stories related to different parts of her life-- as a teacher, daughter, friend, sister, and lover. It's definitely a quick read.