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Miss?
IndieReader APPROVED Award
UPDATED with an editorial by the "Flap Your Wings (and maybe stomp your feet a little)!
Maggie McCauley, a feisty young Army veteran, believes her new life as a 7th grade English teacher will be a breeze. She finds out quickly how very wrong she is as she deals with out-of-touch administrators and an inappropriate security guard who resorts to violence. In a school targeted for closure, how will she possibly succeed? And what will happen to her students?
Written with love, humor, compassion, and exasperation, "Miss?"--a contemporary novel based on actual events--presents an insider's view of the challenges teachers and students across the nation face in today's test-dominated public school system.
UPDATED with an editorial by the "Flap Your Wings (and maybe stomp your feet a little)!
Maggie McCauley, a feisty young Army veteran, believes her new life as a 7th grade English teacher will be a breeze. She finds out quickly how very wrong she is as she deals with out-of-touch administrators and an inappropriate security guard who resorts to violence. In a school targeted for closure, how will she possibly succeed? And what will happen to her students?
Written with love, humor, compassion, and exasperation, "Miss?"--a contemporary novel based on actual events--presents an insider's view of the challenges teachers and students across the nation face in today's test-dominated public school system.
232 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 13
1 person is currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Laurel McHargue
22 books46 followersHi!
I was raised in Braintree, MA, but ended up living high in Colorado's Rocky Mountains! As a graduate of the United States Military Academy in 1983, I live life in a constant quest for challenge and adventure. My stories are about life--real and imagined!
I believe a life filled with challenge will never be boring.
My publications include:
2183: dystopian sci-fi fantasy, my latest novel (published 1 NOV 2025 in 3 formats!)
DARK EBB: GRIM TALES, Volume 2. Twenty more dark short stories with original artwork.
QUACK: My first children's picture book, written and illustrated by me, and based on my experiences with raising ducklings from day-old to egg-laying! I plan a 3-book series.
Peace by Piece: 10 Lessons from a Jigsaw Puzzle! Co-created with my counselor friend, Nadine Collier. A fresh perspective on timeless life lessons, and how my experience with a jigsaw puzzle reminded me of them. 2021 CAL Book Award Finalist and CIPA EVVY Bronze Award for Inspiration!
DARK EBB: GRIM TALES, 19 dark short stories with original artwork. 2020 CIPA EVVY Bronze Award.
Crow-Magnum. A short story about twin girls, a mother's death, and mysterious crows.
Waterwight Breathe: Book III of the Waterwight Series. I earned a CIPA EVVY Merit Award.
Waterwight Flux: Book II of the Waterwight Series. It earned a CIPA EVVY Merit Award.
Waterwight. (NOW IN AUDIOBOOK FORMAT!) This YA fantasy adventure is compared to Neil Gaiman's novel Coraline by a KIRKUS reviewer. It earned a CIPA EVVY Silver Award for Fiction/Fantasy.
Hunt for Red Meat: (love stories). Join me and my husband for three years of hunting (but not ever killing) the wily elk in Colorado. First in my BLOOK series (my blog book stories). There's a crazy fishing story too!
The Hare, Raising Truth. When was the last time you read an adult fairy tale? This Grimm's Fairy Tale / The Twilight Zone mashup is not for children!
"Miss?" Based on my experience as a first-year teacher, "Miss?" is a loosely fictionalized novel. It earned the IndieReader Approved Award.
Haikus Can Amuse: 366 Haiku Starters. A gift journal. Finish the 2nd and 3rd lines of a haiku when given the first line, and write down your inspiration!
Hai CLASS ku. A 90-day spinoff of Haikus Can Amuse, this workbook provides a semester's worth of creative prompts. An alternative to Sudoku and crossword books!
My goal is to author as many books as possible in genres of every type!
I also enjoy acting.
Visit me on my blog and sign up for my mid-monthly newsletter at: www.leadvillelaurel.com
and on my podcast: Conversations with Laurel, where I tell stories, interview people, and discuss the human condition!
I was raised in Braintree, MA, but ended up living high in Colorado's Rocky Mountains! As a graduate of the United States Military Academy in 1983, I live life in a constant quest for challenge and adventure. My stories are about life--real and imagined!
I believe a life filled with challenge will never be boring.
My publications include:
2183: dystopian sci-fi fantasy, my latest novel (published 1 NOV 2025 in 3 formats!)
DARK EBB: GRIM TALES, Volume 2. Twenty more dark short stories with original artwork.
QUACK: My first children's picture book, written and illustrated by me, and based on my experiences with raising ducklings from day-old to egg-laying! I plan a 3-book series.
Peace by Piece: 10 Lessons from a Jigsaw Puzzle! Co-created with my counselor friend, Nadine Collier. A fresh perspective on timeless life lessons, and how my experience with a jigsaw puzzle reminded me of them. 2021 CAL Book Award Finalist and CIPA EVVY Bronze Award for Inspiration!
DARK EBB: GRIM TALES, 19 dark short stories with original artwork. 2020 CIPA EVVY Bronze Award.
Crow-Magnum. A short story about twin girls, a mother's death, and mysterious crows.
Waterwight Breathe: Book III of the Waterwight Series. I earned a CIPA EVVY Merit Award.
Waterwight Flux: Book II of the Waterwight Series. It earned a CIPA EVVY Merit Award.
Waterwight. (NOW IN AUDIOBOOK FORMAT!) This YA fantasy adventure is compared to Neil Gaiman's novel Coraline by a KIRKUS reviewer. It earned a CIPA EVVY Silver Award for Fiction/Fantasy.
Hunt for Red Meat: (love stories). Join me and my husband for three years of hunting (but not ever killing) the wily elk in Colorado. First in my BLOOK series (my blog book stories). There's a crazy fishing story too!
The Hare, Raising Truth. When was the last time you read an adult fairy tale? This Grimm's Fairy Tale / The Twilight Zone mashup is not for children!
"Miss?" Based on my experience as a first-year teacher, "Miss?" is a loosely fictionalized novel. It earned the IndieReader Approved Award.
Haikus Can Amuse: 366 Haiku Starters. A gift journal. Finish the 2nd and 3rd lines of a haiku when given the first line, and write down your inspiration!
Hai CLASS ku. A 90-day spinoff of Haikus Can Amuse, this workbook provides a semester's worth of creative prompts. An alternative to Sudoku and crossword books!
My goal is to author as many books as possible in genres of every type!
I also enjoy acting.
Visit me on my blog and sign up for my mid-monthly newsletter at: www.leadvillelaurel.com
and on my podcast: Conversations with Laurel, where I tell stories, interview people, and discuss the human condition!
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 24, 2016
I loved this book! I could not put it down! The story intrigued me from the beginning, and the characters really came to life! I received this book as a gift and opened it for the first time on a September morning last year thinking that I would read for a few minutes while eating breakfast. After the first few pages, however, I was hooked and couldn't put it down. Those few minutes quickly turned into a few hours as I became immersed in this heartwarming story of an Army veteran's first year teaching experiences in an inner-city public school. I laughed out loud at the students' antics and nearly cried at several scenes as I empathized with the teacher's frustrations and disappointments in dealing with a failing, inner-city school. I highly recommend this book! It is an excellent read!
March 10, 2022
An in-the-trenches glimpse into the maddening heartache (and rewards!) of being a public school teacher... from six years ago, before the struggling profession then got turned on its head. Being a teacher was and still is impossibly tragic and inspiring. So frustrating. A challenge. With losses, a few wins.
It's the story of how a good-hearted person went from one battlefield to another, losing ground both times, but not giving up and finding ways to shine.
Ms. McHargue shows why seventh graders are terrible and wonderful all at the same time. It's often not their fault, and there's always room for hope... except that everything outside the classroom is the real hazard.
:-) I find her book itself is a hazard. It's hard to put down. Each chapter pulls you forward to the next. The author keeps tempting you to stay up past your bedtime.
It's the story of how a good-hearted person went from one battlefield to another, losing ground both times, but not giving up and finding ways to shine.
Ms. McHargue shows why seventh graders are terrible and wonderful all at the same time. It's often not their fault, and there's always room for hope... except that everything outside the classroom is the real hazard.
:-) I find her book itself is a hazard. It's hard to put down. Each chapter pulls you forward to the next. The author keeps tempting you to stay up past your bedtime.
October 29, 2015
Before I had my own kids I was a behavior counselor to inner-city elementary school students. It was a hard and thankless job; I lasted less than 2 years before I was burned out. The stories told in "Miss?", by Laurel McHargue, remind me of my own time working with troubled youth. It is heartbreaking subject matter, but I'm so glad McHargue has told her story because it's important. This is an especially great read for book clubs.
Synopsis
Maggie McCauley is fresh out of the army and lands a job at a failing middle school teaching 7th grade English in Denver, Colorado. With the looming threat of their school closing, Maggie does her best to teach students who have far more serious issues on their minds than expanding their vocabularies. "Miss?" provides a heart-wrenching account of many of the challenges faced by both teachers and students in public schools today.
Strengths
I think the biggest strength to "Miss?" is its obvious heart and realism. Maggie's students face challenges daily that no child should ever have to deal with. They are children of drug addicts, live in homes with little to no supervision; some parents are abusive, while others are working too many jobs trying to make ends meet and are simply not present. Some speak no English at home. Upon hearing about one student whose mother was a drug addict and was being raise by his grandparents,
"Maggie was incensed, and an abrupt surge of what could only be described as a maternal instinct lit a fire in her chest and made her want to scream." (Chapter 17)
I have felt this before in my job as a behavioral counselor. Even when the kids drive you crazy with their antics and continued disrespect, frustration can melt away in a moment and be replaced by a fierce love and desire to protect them from the injustice they have been dealt in life. "Miss?" showcases these students and makes the reader fall in love with them through Maggie's eyes.
Weaknesses
While I was reading I kept hoping to learn more about Maggie outside of school and her present teaching life. We learn very little about her family and I wondered how she fit in with them. There were opportunities where McHargue could have added that layer of depth to Maggie, like when she visited home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but only mentioned briefly that she had visited home rather than giving the reader a glimpse into that aspect of her life. There were other characters as well from which I wished for more: Grant, her boyfriend for part of the novel, and many of her co-workers were somewhat shallowly developed. I understand the focus of the story was Maggie's relationship with teaching and her students, but adding more depth to supporting characters would contribute to a more vibrant and realistic story.
Conclusion
Overall this was a very well written story. If you have ever been a teacher, worked in a school in any position, have a child in public school, will ever have children in public school, have ever attended public school, or have any interest in learning about the school system then you should read and will enjoy this book. Ha, so really, everyone should read it. :)
McHargue has taken a difficult subject matter and presented it in a way that will both educate and entertain readers. Most importantly it makes you care about and be aware of what many teachers are dealing with in our schools. Go find yourself a copy and enjoy an enlightening read!
5 stars
For more of my reviews visit http://goodtales.novelblogs.com
Synopsis
Maggie McCauley is fresh out of the army and lands a job at a failing middle school teaching 7th grade English in Denver, Colorado. With the looming threat of their school closing, Maggie does her best to teach students who have far more serious issues on their minds than expanding their vocabularies. "Miss?" provides a heart-wrenching account of many of the challenges faced by both teachers and students in public schools today.
Strengths
I think the biggest strength to "Miss?" is its obvious heart and realism. Maggie's students face challenges daily that no child should ever have to deal with. They are children of drug addicts, live in homes with little to no supervision; some parents are abusive, while others are working too many jobs trying to make ends meet and are simply not present. Some speak no English at home. Upon hearing about one student whose mother was a drug addict and was being raise by his grandparents,
"Maggie was incensed, and an abrupt surge of what could only be described as a maternal instinct lit a fire in her chest and made her want to scream." (Chapter 17)
I have felt this before in my job as a behavioral counselor. Even when the kids drive you crazy with their antics and continued disrespect, frustration can melt away in a moment and be replaced by a fierce love and desire to protect them from the injustice they have been dealt in life. "Miss?" showcases these students and makes the reader fall in love with them through Maggie's eyes.
Weaknesses
While I was reading I kept hoping to learn more about Maggie outside of school and her present teaching life. We learn very little about her family and I wondered how she fit in with them. There were opportunities where McHargue could have added that layer of depth to Maggie, like when she visited home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but only mentioned briefly that she had visited home rather than giving the reader a glimpse into that aspect of her life. There were other characters as well from which I wished for more: Grant, her boyfriend for part of the novel, and many of her co-workers were somewhat shallowly developed. I understand the focus of the story was Maggie's relationship with teaching and her students, but adding more depth to supporting characters would contribute to a more vibrant and realistic story.
Conclusion
Overall this was a very well written story. If you have ever been a teacher, worked in a school in any position, have a child in public school, will ever have children in public school, have ever attended public school, or have any interest in learning about the school system then you should read and will enjoy this book. Ha, so really, everyone should read it. :)
McHargue has taken a difficult subject matter and presented it in a way that will both educate and entertain readers. Most importantly it makes you care about and be aware of what many teachers are dealing with in our schools. Go find yourself a copy and enjoy an enlightening read!
5 stars
For more of my reviews visit http://goodtales.novelblogs.com
February 1, 2016
You had me at hello.
The character background and subJect Peaked my interest. I decided to read the sample, and if the wrIting style grabbed me I would buy the book. I quickly read the downloaded sample and bought the book. I was half way through before I put the book down for the evening.
Since my wife was a mIddle school teacher, nothing was very shocking about the story line. I began to wonder if anyone would be able to write about this environment from the student perspective? I was happy for the follow up on Bernice.
The character background and subJect Peaked my interest. I decided to read the sample, and if the wrIting style grabbed me I would buy the book. I quickly read the downloaded sample and bought the book. I was half way through before I put the book down for the evening.
Since my wife was a mIddle school teacher, nothing was very shocking about the story line. I began to wonder if anyone would be able to write about this environment from the student perspective? I was happy for the follow up on Bernice.
January 3, 2014
An honest and engaging novel that boldly raises the many issues with the public school system while remaining relatable and enjoyable to read. While it is an obvious recommendation for teachers, I would encourage anyone to read it, not only because it's a good book, but because the problems it discusses affect the entire population, whether or not we realize it.
April 30, 2014
I really enjoyed this book and the way the author was able to express the issues of being a teacher and the struggles that come from not only students but the state and teachers around her. I feel that knowing the author and actually having her as a teacher made this book so much better and I was able to see the crazy outfits, facial expressions and times distress.
March 10, 2014
I LOVED this book!! Despite all the shortcomings in our education system, these inner city kids and their wonderful new teacher made a heartwarming story. There was sadness, humor, love, grief, loss...the story ran the gamut of emotions, and did it very well!!!
March 18, 2014
This book really showed some of the ridiculous things that teachers are required to do. I enjoyed reading it. I loved her clever ways of getting her lessons across to the students.
November 13, 2015
This was a heartwarming good read. I think the humor was properly placed and overall the story was good. I wish more was done with it but as it stands it was worth the read.
May 13, 2014
So glad to have won a copy . It looks extremely interesting and I cant wait to READ AND REVIEW IT!
March 30, 2016
I can only imagine what it must have been like to be this hilarious woman's student! And now I have proof in this book!!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews