Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?

Glenn's (Class Dismissed) diverse collection of free verse describes the aftermath of the murder of an English teacher at Tower High School. Focusing on the feelings and opinions of the characters more than on suspense or action, the text cleverly embraces varied narratives--a press memo, a police interview, a letter from the Board of Education--but consists mainly of the dramatic monologues of students and staff at the school. ""I hope his soul goes straight to heaven./ What that man did for me,/ .../ He made feel smarter than I am,"" says one; ""I hope his soul goes straight to hell,/ What that man did for me,/ .../ He made me feel stupider than I am,"" says that student's twin. The girl who had a crush on Chippendale, the students he encouraged or flunked, the guidance counselor who loved him--all are represented in one-page poems. Clues and red herrings drop somewhat obviously, and the killer is apprehended in one of the final poems. While the format allows Glenn license to experiment with different voices, the verse seems like a plain-spoken prose text divided up arbitrarily into line lengths to resemble poetry. The language is gritty and colloquial, but the characters aren't individuals so much as types. However, YA readers who share Glenn's taste for heavy irony might enjoy the Spoon River-esque storytelling. Ages 12-up. (June) Nonfiction