Winters builds a fast-paced, funny, and highly original story on the premise that a drab music teacher--"so totally unremarkable as to be essentially invisible"-- might have a secret past as a famous punk rock star. The main character, seventh-grader Bethesda Fielding, sets the plot in motion when she supposedly uncovers Ms. Finkleman's secret, but numerous other characters are fleshed out nearly as strongly. Winters moves with facility from one point of view to another, providing just enough background and detail on each to keep readers informed and engaged. When Ms. Finkleman, her former life apparently revealed, is instructed to prepare a rock-and-roll concert for a music competition, instead of the 16th-century English ballads she favors, the story takes some unusual twists, a few of which are kept from readers, adding more suspense. Winters (Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters) keeps tight control of the inventive material, ensuring that the unpredictable developments hit with a zing; his confident handling of an unusual mélange of elements will entertain readers with a wide range of tastes. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)
“A fast-paced, funny, and highly original story.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Every now and then a book comes along that reminds me why I love writing about middle school. Ms. Finkleman rocks—in every sense of the word.” — Gordon Korman, New York Times bestselling author
“Liberally laced with humor and featuring an upbeat heroine, unexpected friendship and rock-music trivia. Readers will rock with laughter.” — Kirkus Reviews
“This is a just-plain-fun read that culminates in a wholly satisfying ending, and it will easily appeal to fans of Andrew Clements and Gordon Korman, as well as anyone who ever watched School of Rock or High School Musical and imagined putting on the best show ever.” — Booklist
“Witty narration and entertaining characters enliven this already intriguing premise. Readers seeking an engaging school story with a rockin’ twist will enjoy this offering.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“With ‘The Secret Life,’ Winters applies a light touch that fuses youthful, scholarly exuberance with the inspirational power of rock’n’roll. A fast paced and unjaded book that is sure to delight.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Most enjoyable is the effect that learning and playing rock music has on the teacher’s students. Everyone seems to discover their true inner selves through music, and that includes the not-so-myterious-after-all Ms. Finkleman.” — School Library Journal
Every now and then a book comes along that reminds me why I love writing about middle school. Ms. Finkleman rocks—in every sense of the word.
Witty narration and entertaining characters enliven this already intriguing premise. Readers seeking an engaging school story with a rockin’ twist will enjoy this offering.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
With ‘The Secret Life,’ Winters applies a light touch that fuses youthful, scholarly exuberance with the inspirational power of rock’n’roll. A fast paced and unjaded book that is sure to delight.
Los Angeles Times Book Review
This is a just-plain-fun read that culminates in a wholly satisfying ending, and it will easily appeal to fans of Andrew Clements and Gordon Korman, as well as anyone who ever watched School of Rock or High School Musical and imagined putting on the best show ever.
Witty narration and entertaining characters enliven this already intriguing premise. Readers seeking an engaging school story with a rockin’ twist will enjoy this offering.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
This is a just-plain-fun read that culminates in a wholly satisfying ending, and it will easily appeal to fans of Andrew Clements and Gordon Korman, as well as anyone who ever watched School of Rock or High School Musical and imagined putting on the best show ever.
With ‘The Secret Life,’ Winters applies a light touch that fuses youthful, scholarly exuberance with the inspirational power of rock’n’roll. A fast paced and unjaded book that is sure to delight.
Los Angeles Times Book Review
Witty narration and entertaining characters enliven this already intriguing premise. Readers seeking an engaging school story with a rockin’ twist will enjoy this offering.
The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
Gr 4–7—Given a class assignment to find a mystery and solve it, seventh-grader Bethesda Fielding sets out to discover the true identity and personality of Ms. Finkleman, her seemingly ordinary music teacher. The woman is so ordinary that she is practically invisible to students and staff alike. This changes when Bethesda unearths some 1990s rock music paraphernalia and puts the pieces together (so she thinks), to find that Ms. Finkleman used to be Little Miss Mystery, in the band The Red Herrings. Bethesda is in a quandary after the project becomes the school's obsession. There is a rock star among them and so the choral corral that Ms. Finkleman was planning for a multischool competition will now showcase rock and a performance by her, instead of the 16th-century English folk ballads she had hoped the students would deliver. It is safe to say that Ms. Finkleman shuns the sudden fame and the attention it garners her. This story is part mystery, part friendship novel, part school story. There are twists and turns, but what is most enjoyable is the effect that learning and playing rock music has on the teacher's students. Everyone seems to discover their true inner selves through music, and that includes the not-so-mysterious-after-all Ms. Finkleman.—Tracy Karbel, Chicago Public Library
A seventh-grade history project to "find a mystery, and solve it" transforms a creative preteen and her classmates when she unlocks the secret life of their Music Fundamentals teacher, Ms. Finkleman, who's "so totally unremarkable as to be essentially invisible." Bethesda Fielding's ace research reveals the obscure Ms. Finkleman as Little Miss Mystery, former lead singer of an all-girl punk-rock band in the 1990s, prompting the school principal to demand Ms. Finkleman orchestrate a rock concert for the county choral competition. Ms. Finkleman co-opts Tenny Boyer, a student obsessed with rock music, to covertly create and direct the performance and Bethesda to tutor him in history. Enthusiasm for the concert swells, but things disintegrate when Tenny fails at history and Bethesda makes a bad choice as she tries to help him. Liberally laced with humor and featuring an upbeat heroine, unexpected friendship and rock-music trivia, this witty middle-school drama offers a lighthearted lesson in the importance of getting the facts straight. Readers will rock with laughter.(Fiction. 8-12)
