What do you think?
Rate this book
What Mr. Mattero Did
For days, three seventh-grade girls Claire, Jenna and Suzanne agonize over whether to say anything. Finally, they summon the courage to speak up about their music teacher, Frederick Mattero.
What happens next is chaos. Parents are called. A teacher is accused and attacked. The gossip mill churns like mad. Police arrive to question other students, beginning with Melody, Mr. Mattero's daughter. Did Mr. Mattero do anything improper, or are the girls simply lying?
Told from two points of view, Claire's and Melody's, this novel takes readers into their private middleschool worlds as the girls struggle to discover the truth.
What happens next is chaos. Parents are called. A teacher is accused and attacked. The gossip mill churns like mad. Police arrive to question other students, beginning with Melody, Mr. Mattero's daughter. Did Mr. Mattero do anything improper, or are the girls simply lying?
Told from two points of view, Claire's and Melody's, this novel takes readers into their private middleschool worlds as the girls struggle to discover the truth.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 2005
19 people are currently reading
1529 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
January 4, 2018
Quick review for a quick read. Actually, the more I think about the end comments from one of the girls in this whole matter and the ending notes this book came up with - I'm just going to go with my gut reaction and give this book a single star. I was going to give it some credit because the audiobook narrator did a good job narrating this book (Eve Bianco) and the overarching pacing of the novel made it quick to fly through and made me want to know what ultimately happened. (I predicted it fairly early on though, and suffice to say that the ending and big reveals here made the points it was working toward that much worse.)
This book was messed up on so many levels. Like...I can't. Even considering this book was written in 2005...why?
I would not even remotely recommend this book IN ANY MEASURE as a good story regarding sexual trauma or sexual assault. Not even for the notations of how a lie could go horribly wrong and have repercussions that affect multiple people. It's every horrible stereotype and misinformation you could think about sexual assault cases, rape culture, and false accusations thrown into a book rehashed into one story - plus glamorizing bulimia, plus laughing about a one-off joke about homophobia (I had to rewind my audiobook to see if I somehow misheard that but nah, it was there), plus it feels like the narrative was heavily skewed to make you feel sympathy for one "side" if you will. I hated also that there was such a heavily skewed notion that a SA victim would only act a certain way (liars talk against their accusers versus people who are victims don't tell anyone). My impressions of the characters - I didn't like a single one of them, but truthfully I wouldn't have even minded not having to like the characters if they were multi-dimensional, and this tale did a better job with handling the complex issues it tried to delve into. Each individual was so one note and self-indulgent that I felt like the story milked the scenario for the drama rather than having anything remotely poignant to say.
And the forgiveness lecture at the end was just freaking terrible.
I just....nah. Nope. I'm putting this book out of my head as soon as humanly possible.
Overall score: 1/5 stars.
This book was messed up on so many levels. Like...I can't. Even considering this book was written in 2005...why?
I would not even remotely recommend this book IN ANY MEASURE as a good story regarding sexual trauma or sexual assault. Not even for the notations of how a lie could go horribly wrong and have repercussions that affect multiple people. It's every horrible stereotype and misinformation you could think about sexual assault cases, rape culture, and false accusations thrown into a book rehashed into one story - plus glamorizing bulimia, plus laughing about a one-off joke about homophobia (I had to rewind my audiobook to see if I somehow misheard that but nah, it was there), plus it feels like the narrative was heavily skewed to make you feel sympathy for one "side" if you will. I hated also that there was such a heavily skewed notion that a SA victim would only act a certain way (liars talk against their accusers versus people who are victims don't tell anyone). My impressions of the characters - I didn't like a single one of them, but truthfully I wouldn't have even minded not having to like the characters if they were multi-dimensional, and this tale did a better job with handling the complex issues it tried to delve into. Each individual was so one note and self-indulgent that I felt like the story milked the scenario for the drama rather than having anything remotely poignant to say.
And the forgiveness lecture at the end was just freaking terrible.
I just....nah. Nope. I'm putting this book out of my head as soon as humanly possible.
Overall score: 1/5 stars.
July 29, 2012
I was incredibly disappointed with this novel. I don't believe I expected too much, just an exploration of teacher/student relationships and/or abuse, and consequences.
Maybe the book isn't as terrible as I like to think, but the fact still stands that it perpetrates the idea of women/girls lying about sexual assault. And why? For no reason. Completely unjustified, other than to tell girls not to lie about this stuff. Nevermind that most reported assaults aren't even taken seriously to begin with. Or even reported. So, what's the point of this book again? Making sure things stay that way?
What fucking bullshit.
Maybe the book isn't as terrible as I like to think, but the fact still stands that it perpetrates the idea of women/girls lying about sexual assault. And why? For no reason. Completely unjustified, other than to tell girls not to lie about this stuff. Nevermind that most reported assaults aren't even taken seriously to begin with. Or even reported. So, what's the point of this book again? Making sure things stay that way?
What fucking bullshit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2016
Have you ever met someone who just likes to PREACH about things? You know them, they're the type of people that will go on and on about something that's not even an issue. They're your really radical family member that shares sassy memes on Facebook about this or that issue and never bother to check out the Snope's page detailing how incorrect their assumptions are.
Well, What Mr. Mattero Did is a lot like those types of people.
The story follows three seventh graders as they walk in their school's office one morning and tell their principal that their music teacher had touched them inappaoritaretly. Mr. Mattero is forced to take a break from school, and both the girls and his family experience hardships from these accusations. Things flair up to the point where the girls all need to transfer schools and Mr. Mattero resorts back to drinking, something that he hadn't done for years.
The story comes to a head when the girls reveal that they lied. Things had gotten to be too much for the girls to handle. Claire, one of the accusers, learn of a girl that had actually been molested she decides to come clean. The school apologies to Mr. Mattero and asks him to return, which he declines, and a wrily police officer comments that too many of these accustations are made.
I think the most troubling thing about this book, and there are many, is this statement. Cummings pulls some statistic seeamingly out of her ass that says that 20% of abuse accustaions are false. I've researched rape and abuse statstics for a number of classes, and no crediable source I have ever found had put the number that high. Sure it happens, but a rape or molestation is way more likely to never be reported, or if it has the abuser likely won't serve any jailtime. I'd like to hope that she misunderstood a similar satistic given to her somewhere along the line, but from the rest of her tone regarding the story I highly doubt it.
And I kinda get where Cummings is coming from. There is power in what you say about people, and gossip is extremely toxic and harmfull, but the author is delusional if she thinks that tons of teenage girls are making up lies about their teachers because they don't want to be in class anymore. If you look at the sheer number of these crimes it just isn't significant enough to be an issue. Everything from the girls' own voices to the police officers investigating the crimes had a tone of hoiler than thou that was just increidbily frustrating. If Cummings wanted to create a cautionary tale about how it's in a lie's nature to get away from you then it would have been better suited to something less serious as a molestation accusation. She did craft a wonderful representation of a lie falling apart as more and more needs to be added to it, but again, she picked a terrible vector for that tale.
It's also troublesome to me that the police just somehow knows that Claire's and her friends' story is fake when they lie, but seemingly seem to openly accept when she tells them about another girl that had actually been molested. This lies in that the detective in charge of the case knows the Mattero family and innately trusts that the patriarch wouldn't do what the girls said that he did because he passed a lie detector test, which isn't even accurate in the first place. The book touches on this a bit, but they only cover part of the issue. Sure, false positives can be given but you can also lie and give false negatives. I actually had a professor that detailed to my class what steps you would take to pass a lie detector test even if you're lying. Any police or detective worth his salt would know this and still take those results with a grain of salt, especially since the three victims were so adamant and consistent about their stories.
Another point about this "cautionary tale" that bothered me was that there was a point where the sister of one of Claire's best friends and feel accuser asks them if they lied. Claire reflects that it was amazing and wrong that no one in their families up to that point had ever bothered to ask them if they were telling the truth or not. Which is troublesome in that it seems to apply that parents should not believe their children in serious accusations, which is a reason why many kids end up not reporting their abuse. This ends up reinforcing that stigma and fear that they feel by heavily implying that it was wrong for the girls' families to just believe them. Could you imagine how isolating it would be to be molested or raped and then to tell you parents only to have them question you if it's true or not? Well, that seems to be what Cummings thinks should happen in any case.
Okay. I think I've talked enough about how horrible the plot and the message is. Believe it or not, there's more wrong with the book than just those points.
First off, Cummings does manage to create a distinctive middle school voice, but she creates two characters who internal dialogue are the same. The only difference in how Claire and Melody spoke was that Claire (and the rest of the seventh-graders shown in the story) used "like" in most sentences while Melody and the eighth-graders did not. The phrasing was awkward and felt like someone imitating how young people speak in lue of an authentic, realistic voice.
Additionally, there was some build up to two major reveals towards the end of the book but none of these twists felt particularly surprising or refreshing. The major reveal being, of course, that what Mr. Mattero did was in fact nothing. Given the tone this wasn't surprising. The second "twist" thrown in was that the little boy that Melody had been mentoring at the horse rehabilitation center had been Claire's younger brother. I actually kinda liked this and had been hoping that Alexander would turn out to be Claire's brother, but it was executed in such a poor, dramatic way that it felt me rolling my eyes.
I'll just sum this up by recommending that every one stay away from this book. It really doesn't add anything to the student-teacher relationship genre that is in anyway productive. Instead, I fear that it could foster some potentially harmful stigma towards abuse victims.
Well, What Mr. Mattero Did is a lot like those types of people.
The story follows three seventh graders as they walk in their school's office one morning and tell their principal that their music teacher had touched them inappaoritaretly. Mr. Mattero is forced to take a break from school, and both the girls and his family experience hardships from these accusations. Things flair up to the point where the girls all need to transfer schools and Mr. Mattero resorts back to drinking, something that he hadn't done for years.
The story comes to a head when the girls reveal that they lied. Things had gotten to be too much for the girls to handle. Claire, one of the accusers, learn of a girl that had actually been molested she decides to come clean. The school apologies to Mr. Mattero and asks him to return, which he declines, and a wrily police officer comments that too many of these accustations are made.
I think the most troubling thing about this book, and there are many, is this statement. Cummings pulls some statistic seeamingly out of her ass that says that 20% of abuse accustaions are false. I've researched rape and abuse statstics for a number of classes, and no crediable source I have ever found had put the number that high. Sure it happens, but a rape or molestation is way more likely to never be reported, or if it has the abuser likely won't serve any jailtime. I'd like to hope that she misunderstood a similar satistic given to her somewhere along the line, but from the rest of her tone regarding the story I highly doubt it.
And I kinda get where Cummings is coming from. There is power in what you say about people, and gossip is extremely toxic and harmfull, but the author is delusional if she thinks that tons of teenage girls are making up lies about their teachers because they don't want to be in class anymore. If you look at the sheer number of these crimes it just isn't significant enough to be an issue. Everything from the girls' own voices to the police officers investigating the crimes had a tone of hoiler than thou that was just increidbily frustrating. If Cummings wanted to create a cautionary tale about how it's in a lie's nature to get away from you then it would have been better suited to something less serious as a molestation accusation. She did craft a wonderful representation of a lie falling apart as more and more needs to be added to it, but again, she picked a terrible vector for that tale.
It's also troublesome to me that the police just somehow knows that Claire's and her friends' story is fake when they lie, but seemingly seem to openly accept when she tells them about another girl that had actually been molested. This lies in that the detective in charge of the case knows the Mattero family and innately trusts that the patriarch wouldn't do what the girls said that he did because he passed a lie detector test, which isn't even accurate in the first place. The book touches on this a bit, but they only cover part of the issue. Sure, false positives can be given but you can also lie and give false negatives. I actually had a professor that detailed to my class what steps you would take to pass a lie detector test even if you're lying. Any police or detective worth his salt would know this and still take those results with a grain of salt, especially since the three victims were so adamant and consistent about their stories.
Another point about this "cautionary tale" that bothered me was that there was a point where the sister of one of Claire's best friends and feel accuser asks them if they lied. Claire reflects that it was amazing and wrong that no one in their families up to that point had ever bothered to ask them if they were telling the truth or not. Which is troublesome in that it seems to apply that parents should not believe their children in serious accusations, which is a reason why many kids end up not reporting their abuse. This ends up reinforcing that stigma and fear that they feel by heavily implying that it was wrong for the girls' families to just believe them. Could you imagine how isolating it would be to be molested or raped and then to tell you parents only to have them question you if it's true or not? Well, that seems to be what Cummings thinks should happen in any case.
Okay. I think I've talked enough about how horrible the plot and the message is. Believe it or not, there's more wrong with the book than just those points.
First off, Cummings does manage to create a distinctive middle school voice, but she creates two characters who internal dialogue are the same. The only difference in how Claire and Melody spoke was that Claire (and the rest of the seventh-graders shown in the story) used "like" in most sentences while Melody and the eighth-graders did not. The phrasing was awkward and felt like someone imitating how young people speak in lue of an authentic, realistic voice.
Additionally, there was some build up to two major reveals towards the end of the book but none of these twists felt particularly surprising or refreshing. The major reveal being, of course, that what Mr. Mattero did was in fact nothing. Given the tone this wasn't surprising. The second "twist" thrown in was that the little boy that Melody had been mentoring at the horse rehabilitation center had been Claire's younger brother. I actually kinda liked this and had been hoping that Alexander would turn out to be Claire's brother, but it was executed in such a poor, dramatic way that it felt me rolling my eyes.
I'll just sum this up by recommending that every one stay away from this book. It really doesn't add anything to the student-teacher relationship genre that is in anyway productive. Instead, I fear that it could foster some potentially harmful stigma towards abuse victims.
April 19, 2012
The concept of this book would've been fantastic, but in my own personal opinion it fell a bit flat. It did explore an interesting topic of what are the consequences of a lie, yet there wasn't an interesting, proper way that the book went about it. It's entirely too hard for me to believe that three 7th Grade pre-teen girls wouldn't understand that someone sexually assaulting a minor would have much, much bigger consequences for everyone involved than just simply being removed from their music class and have a free period instead. Plus, the way it was written kinda reminded me of reading a middle-school girls Facebook page, which is perhaps what the author was going for, but it confused and a bit irritated me. The ending of the book was just too quick of a wrap-up with a bit of an unrealistic outcome, but probably was the most realistic part of the book.
It wasn't the absolute worst book I've ever read- perhaps, the two stars was a bit harsh, but some of the books I've rated three stars had a much better storyline in my opinion- but, it will not be one I'll be reading again most likely. It just fell flat to me, but trust your own opinion when you read it.
It wasn't the absolute worst book I've ever read- perhaps, the two stars was a bit harsh, but some of the books I've rated three stars had a much better storyline in my opinion- but, it will not be one I'll be reading again most likely. It just fell flat to me, but trust your own opinion when you read it.
April 11, 2017
Aside from the terrible writing (there are several points in the book where the shift in character voices [from the same character!] is obvious and off putting), this book perpetuates the belief that many women lie about sexual abuse/assault. I would not want a teen in the library to pick this up - especially if they have been a sexual abuse victim - and end up thinking that they shouldn't tell anyone because it will ruin lives - including their own. The little caveat at the end of one of the girls meeting a fellow peer who was actually suffering from sexual abuse rather than lying about it did not make up for the fact that this book was more preachy about how girls lie to impress their friends - sometimes - specifically "1 in 5 reports of sexual abuse are false" - quoted from this book. This book seems to be so much more hurtful to the issue of sexual violence than helpful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2021
Grade: B
Claire and her two seventh grade friends report that their teacher, Mr Mattero, molested them, setting off a series of events they never expected. His daughter, Melody, an eighth grader at their middle school feels that impact hardest. But what really happened in that music room, and are the girls telling the truth.
Told in both Claire and Melody's POVs, WHAT MR MATTERO DID is s thoughtful look at friendship, peer pressure, family, and sexual abuse. Although Claire clearly made some awful decisions, she was more troubled than bad. At home she was lost in the shuffle between her special needs brother and toddler sister. She lacked confidence, had an eating disorder and followed her dominating friend into trouble. Melody was less complex of a character, purer in her feelings and actions. Her POV of the devastation the accusations had on the entire Mattero felt raw and honest.
Priscilla Cummings created a great preteen voice in Claire and Melody, unfortunately the voices were the same for both girls. I did enjoy Cummings' writing. I'm not sure where she came up with the statistics that 20% of sexual abuse allegations are false, all the statistics I've read have the number much lower. Yes, it happens, but far more minors, mostly girls, are molested than report. Many cases can't be proven because only about 30% of cases have DNA linked to a perp because of delays in reporting, certain acts don't create DNA. I wonder wherever Cummings got her stats included cases that couldn't be proven in the number. I'd hate for tweens to get the wrong idea about victims and believability.
THEMES: sexual abuse, friendship, family, peer pressure, eating disorders
Claire and her two seventh grade friends report that their teacher, Mr Mattero, molested them, setting off a series of events they never expected. His daughter, Melody, an eighth grader at their middle school feels that impact hardest. But what really happened in that music room, and are the girls telling the truth.
Told in both Claire and Melody's POVs, WHAT MR MATTERO DID is s thoughtful look at friendship, peer pressure, family, and sexual abuse. Although Claire clearly made some awful decisions, she was more troubled than bad. At home she was lost in the shuffle between her special needs brother and toddler sister. She lacked confidence, had an eating disorder and followed her dominating friend into trouble. Melody was less complex of a character, purer in her feelings and actions. Her POV of the devastation the accusations had on the entire Mattero felt raw and honest.
Priscilla Cummings created a great preteen voice in Claire and Melody, unfortunately the voices were the same for both girls. I did enjoy Cummings' writing. I'm not sure where she came up with the statistics that 20% of sexual abuse allegations are false, all the statistics I've read have the number much lower. Yes, it happens, but far more minors, mostly girls, are molested than report. Many cases can't be proven because only about 30% of cases have DNA linked to a perp because of delays in reporting, certain acts don't create DNA. I wonder wherever Cummings got her stats included cases that couldn't be proven in the number. I'd hate for tweens to get the wrong idea about victims and believability.
THEMES: sexual abuse, friendship, family, peer pressure, eating disorders
December 1, 2012
Oh My Goodness! This was an all twisted up book. I think it deserved five stars. This story is about three teenage girls named Clair, Jenna, and Suzanne. One day the girls were in the music room, and they were in there with their music teacher Mr. Mattero. Little did he know they had a master mind plan. The girls went around telling people that what happened in the music room was terrible. All of that comes up to the point where the music teacher is being investigated for some supscious crime. Did he really do it? He can't go back to work until the investgation is over, What do you think happened to actually make him a prime suspect in the crime ? Is this a joke, or did it really happen? Mr. Mattero's daughter Melody goes to the same school her dad teaches at.
Melody has all of this grief, because her father was accused of something he didn't do. She is the daughter of him, and a lot of people knows that teacher. When Melody hears about her dad being called into the office, she ends up becoming shocked. She feels like the rumors she is hearing isn't true. The story is told from the standpoint of all the characters really, but the main character you hear the most is Melody. The second person you really hear is Clair. Those are the two main people's voice you hear.
I really could not belive the last two chapters of this book. It shocked me, because I didn't see anything like that coming. The part that got me was when Clair sat down with her mom, her dad, and the detective and confessed. She just blatantly outright said what she did. Her and her other two best friends lied about all of things that went on in that music room. I could not belive it! It had me going for a while, but then again the way the author described Mr. Mattero's charcter led me to belive he was innocent. This book was greatly enjoyable! I couldn't put the book down. It was a page turner. There were some aspects of the book where I was kind of bored. Although, I gave this book five stars, I kind of was irritated with the fact that Mr. Mattero didn't go back to teaching, I was irritated with the fact that he downgraded his job oppritunites. I learned something from this book, and that is that I shouldn't make up lies about if someone is sexually abusing me. I should always tell the truth. I also learned not to make my teacher's lives miserable. In this book, it was just lie after lie with the three girls. It made me mad when Clair actually confessed after the fact that her teacher's life was completely ruined. I felt like the punishment for the girls was just terrible! That wasn't enough ! That man was one of the best teacher's at that school, and the fact that the detective was being very ignorant and didn't have all the answers, really got under my skin! Anyway I loved this book, it teached morals in the story that each teenage girl needs to learn. It teached girls that you shouldn't lie and hurt those hwo are around you. I recomend someone reading this book, their percision of the book may be totally different from mine, they might think the book was terrible! Read this book, and I hope you like it as much as I did.
Melody has all of this grief, because her father was accused of something he didn't do. She is the daughter of him, and a lot of people knows that teacher. When Melody hears about her dad being called into the office, she ends up becoming shocked. She feels like the rumors she is hearing isn't true. The story is told from the standpoint of all the characters really, but the main character you hear the most is Melody. The second person you really hear is Clair. Those are the two main people's voice you hear.
I really could not belive the last two chapters of this book. It shocked me, because I didn't see anything like that coming. The part that got me was when Clair sat down with her mom, her dad, and the detective and confessed. She just blatantly outright said what she did. Her and her other two best friends lied about all of things that went on in that music room. I could not belive it! It had me going for a while, but then again the way the author described Mr. Mattero's charcter led me to belive he was innocent. This book was greatly enjoyable! I couldn't put the book down. It was a page turner. There were some aspects of the book where I was kind of bored. Although, I gave this book five stars, I kind of was irritated with the fact that Mr. Mattero didn't go back to teaching, I was irritated with the fact that he downgraded his job oppritunites. I learned something from this book, and that is that I shouldn't make up lies about if someone is sexually abusing me. I should always tell the truth. I also learned not to make my teacher's lives miserable. In this book, it was just lie after lie with the three girls. It made me mad when Clair actually confessed after the fact that her teacher's life was completely ruined. I felt like the punishment for the girls was just terrible! That wasn't enough ! That man was one of the best teacher's at that school, and the fact that the detective was being very ignorant and didn't have all the answers, really got under my skin! Anyway I loved this book, it teached morals in the story that each teenage girl needs to learn. It teached girls that you shouldn't lie and hurt those hwo are around you. I recomend someone reading this book, their percision of the book may be totally different from mine, they might think the book was terrible! Read this book, and I hope you like it as much as I did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2014
3 7th graders reported a teacher for sexual abuse. However, it was a lie. Not thinking about how it would not only affect them, but also affect the others around them. Especially, the family of the father they accused- the daughter Melody. Moreover, not realizing how serious sexual abuse is.
the more you lie, the more you have to lie...
I had so many emotions in this book, it made you annoyed, sad and angry. This book had a younger writing style for my age but I wish we would of read something like this in our 7th grade class. Sexual abuse wasn't really brought up in my middle school. But, after reading this book I feel like it's important for schools to make students do something that relates to sexual abuse and educate them on it. This book is perfect for a middle schooler, it has that middle grade writing style. 3.5/5 stars for me because it was really good but, I'm too mature to read this and enjoy it on a 5 star scale. The girls in this book are so clueless as to what trouble they've caused! And I'm sitting here reading it like, a you fucking kidding me you dumb little shit look at what you did. The development of the character Claire was good though, she started as a unreliable liar and then started doing the right things. I felt so bad for Melody she was so confused and frustrated and the book makes you realize how powerful evil things can be. Not for too long though.
This was a good book and I do recommend it as a light read if you're 14+ and a must for the middle school audience.
the more you lie, the more you have to lie...
I had so many emotions in this book, it made you annoyed, sad and angry. This book had a younger writing style for my age but I wish we would of read something like this in our 7th grade class. Sexual abuse wasn't really brought up in my middle school. But, after reading this book I feel like it's important for schools to make students do something that relates to sexual abuse and educate them on it. This book is perfect for a middle schooler, it has that middle grade writing style. 3.5/5 stars for me because it was really good but, I'm too mature to read this and enjoy it on a 5 star scale. The girls in this book are so clueless as to what trouble they've caused! And I'm sitting here reading it like, a you fucking kidding me you dumb little shit look at what you did. The development of the character Claire was good though, she started as a unreliable liar and then started doing the right things. I felt so bad for Melody she was so confused and frustrated and the book makes you realize how powerful evil things can be. Not for too long though.
This was a good book and I do recommend it as a light read if you're 14+ and a must for the middle school audience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2018
"How deep down did a secret have to be before it was completely safe? And if there was a safe zone, then how could you ever really be sure that anyone was telling the truth?"
Don't waste your time with this one. I made the mistake of picking this up because of my fascination with taboo subjects. It angered me more than anything and I wish I could wipe it from my memory.
It's obvious from page one what was going to happen in this book and you can even guess the outcome. How it came to be and how it all ended was such a crock. Not believable at all.
What angered me the most is that this is why people have a hard time believing people when they speak up. They make references to stories like this and push it aside even before anything is investigated. For shame, author, for shame! Trust me, I know accusations are brought forward on lies at times but when you write something like this, at least make it stand out and believable.
Please, don't get me started on the disgusting language that was used to describe a substitute teacher. It was appalling.
To say that I hated this is the understatement of the year. I might have to use my magical powers to make people look away from this book!
Don't waste your time with this one. I made the mistake of picking this up because of my fascination with taboo subjects. It angered me more than anything and I wish I could wipe it from my memory.
It's obvious from page one what was going to happen in this book and you can even guess the outcome. How it came to be and how it all ended was such a crock. Not believable at all.
What angered me the most is that this is why people have a hard time believing people when they speak up. They make references to stories like this and push it aside even before anything is investigated. For shame, author, for shame! Trust me, I know accusations are brought forward on lies at times but when you write something like this, at least make it stand out and believable.
Please, don't get me started on the disgusting language that was used to describe a substitute teacher. It was appalling.
To say that I hated this is the understatement of the year. I might have to use my magical powers to make people look away from this book!
November 28, 2016
How is it that someone could read 200 pages in one day on a book? Well I did. It is that type of book, that catches your attention in the beginning, and you can’t put it down till the end. Intense, sad, exciting, and mouth opening. The author made a great jobs with emotions in this book. While reading I yelled, I cried, and I just couldn’t stop reading. It was so descriptive it felt like you were there. In each intense moment. You can feel your heart beating every single time a moment, or problem comes up.
Is it true? Could it be possible that a teacher could sexually abuse a student? What did Mr. Mattero do? This story is told by two different girls, and two different perspectives. Claire, a student of Mr. Mattero. Melody, a student and daughter of Mr. Mattero. Two girls tell the same story, but they each have different effects to this problem. Two girls who never met, or knew each other till that day. Will they both go through this incident?
Is it true? Could it be possible that a teacher could sexually abuse a student? What did Mr. Mattero do? This story is told by two different girls, and two different perspectives. Claire, a student of Mr. Mattero. Melody, a student and daughter of Mr. Mattero. Two girls tell the same story, but they each have different effects to this problem. Two girls who never met, or knew each other till that day. Will they both go through this incident?
November 3, 2008
This book reminded me alot of The crucible. It also reminded me of how dumb teenage girls can be. The writing was good... but I didn't really like the book.
May 30, 2023
In this book the author rights about three girls accusing Mr. Mattero of sexual assault. Mr. Mattero was their music teacher at school. The girls went to their office and told the principal what the teacher did. Mr. Mattero was accused and he lost his job being a teacher even though the girls made it all up because they did not like him. Mr. Mattero legacy was destroyed and he had to find a different job. Melody is Mr. Mattero daughter and she has to live with knowing he was falsly accused.
I liked how the author had the three girls not know Mr. Mattero had a daughter in school. Ms. Cummings did a very good job at telling this story and having it be about wrongly accusing sexual abuse on a innocent teacher. It shows just how bad wrong accusing people is. In the book it talks about Mr. Mattero losing his job and having to take a step lower because he was accused wrongly.
The story in general could have been better in general. The three girls did not know Mr. Mattero's daughter which to me is unbelievable. The author used poor grammar and did not paint a good picture in my head of what was going on in the story. I would like to see more of Mr. Matteros's point of view of the story as well as less of his daughter Meloy's. The story could have also used more dramatic parts to it to make it more interesting to keep reading.
I liked how the author had the three girls not know Mr. Mattero had a daughter in school. Ms. Cummings did a very good job at telling this story and having it be about wrongly accusing sexual abuse on a innocent teacher. It shows just how bad wrong accusing people is. In the book it talks about Mr. Mattero losing his job and having to take a step lower because he was accused wrongly.
The story in general could have been better in general. The three girls did not know Mr. Mattero's daughter which to me is unbelievable. The author used poor grammar and did not paint a good picture in my head of what was going on in the story. I would like to see more of Mr. Matteros's point of view of the story as well as less of his daughter Meloy's. The story could have also used more dramatic parts to it to make it more interesting to keep reading.
June 26, 2024
2.5 stars? Maybe 3. I understand this was a young adult novel. Maybe even more so for preteens. So taking that into account, I can’t be too harsh about the writing. It was a very simple book to read. It didn’t get graphic with words or explaining things but the fact this IS a young adult novel may be the reason it was so disturbing. A very scary and realistic topic that could easily happen to anyone in real life. I was very anxious to get to the end to see what happened. And I’m annoyed!!!!! I discovered this book from a YouTube video titled “top most disturbing kids novels” in which the creator mainly talked about young adult. Not “little” kids. And it very much was bothersome. Not disturbing like some adult content that I read, Of course. But for the year and the target audience and the nonchalant tone, I can see how it would be considered disturbing
March 12, 2024
Yikes.
The last thing the world needs is more shame surrounding coming forward after sexual assault. We don’t need more reason for people to think victims are lying.
Maybe if this book had focused on the idea of “lying about being a victim takes attention away from real victims,” MAYBE it would have been decent. But the half-sentence dedicated to that idea is too little, too late.
Don’t waste your time.
The last thing the world needs is more shame surrounding coming forward after sexual assault. We don’t need more reason for people to think victims are lying.
Maybe if this book had focused on the idea of “lying about being a victim takes attention away from real victims,” MAYBE it would have been decent. But the half-sentence dedicated to that idea is too little, too late.
Don’t waste your time.
January 11, 2020
3 7th grade girls accuse beloved music teacher of inappropriate touch. told from point of view of one accuser & the daughter of teacher. As the truth behind accusations & cost to all involved is revealed, they find themselves, what capable of, and how to live with the consequences cost of false accusations.
November 3, 2020
I loved this book it makes you think that one thing is about to happen but then the completely outer thing happens it is a good read if you like very intense books and more books that are less of small unimportant things like I don't know like a crush (but if you like that it's ok)
July 18, 2017
I thought it was a really good book. There were a lot of twist. I didn't think it was the best book but I'm really glad I took time to read. It was really good!
February 17, 2018
Quick read about the power of our actions.
January 22, 2023
Think about what you say or do…it all ha repercussions
July 10, 2023
Author completely disrespects kids who are abused and was cruel in the book. DO NOT RECOMMEND
August 5, 2024
This was a good book, I think this is one younger kids should read to understand a scenario of making accusations that have consequences that follow.
May 11, 2025
It’s like Stargirl if Leo was ten times more insufferable. Cummings used too many exclamation points.
I enjoyed the reveal that Alexander was Corky.
I enjoyed the reveal that Alexander was Corky.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2017
What Mr. Mattero Did
By:Priscilla Cummings
Priscilla Cummings Did a fantastic job on writing this book. She is really creative and good at wording the book so young teenagers can really understand it. It was really emotional and you felt like you were part of the book. She used very good descriptive languages. When reading this book you don't ever really get bored there is so much stuff going on in the book. From the first chapter you automatically want to keep reading to see how it ends. The ending was My favorite, It was so unpredictable.
In this book there is so many details, thoughts, and feelings to every single character. It was a really easy book to read and understand. At the end it kinda throws you off, you didn't think a book would end like that. My favorite part was the ending you are thinking about it will end like this but then all of a sudden it is ending a different way. This book tells and shows you a lot about how lying for one thing can turn into one big mess that you can't get out of unless you tell the truth even if it means getting in trouble.
I would definitely say that if you're a young teenager or older you should read this book. It is such a good book that maybe some people can relate to. It makes a good point about lying can get somebody fired or even in trouble with the cops. I think if you are a emotional person or a person that is good with feelings you would really like the book. It can connect to young girls, The main characters are Some girls in middle school.
By:Priscilla Cummings
Priscilla Cummings Did a fantastic job on writing this book. She is really creative and good at wording the book so young teenagers can really understand it. It was really emotional and you felt like you were part of the book. She used very good descriptive languages. When reading this book you don't ever really get bored there is so much stuff going on in the book. From the first chapter you automatically want to keep reading to see how it ends. The ending was My favorite, It was so unpredictable.
In this book there is so many details, thoughts, and feelings to every single character. It was a really easy book to read and understand. At the end it kinda throws you off, you didn't think a book would end like that. My favorite part was the ending you are thinking about it will end like this but then all of a sudden it is ending a different way. This book tells and shows you a lot about how lying for one thing can turn into one big mess that you can't get out of unless you tell the truth even if it means getting in trouble.
I would definitely say that if you're a young teenager or older you should read this book. It is such a good book that maybe some people can relate to. It makes a good point about lying can get somebody fired or even in trouble with the cops. I think if you are a emotional person or a person that is good with feelings you would really like the book. It can connect to young girls, The main characters are Some girls in middle school.
October 22, 2015
This book was ok. It showed the other side of sexual abuse allegations and how it affects the person being accused and their family, especially if they didn't do it.
In the beginning I liked Claire and I thought that Mr. Mattero really did abuse them. Right off the bat I didn't like Jenna. She was really pushy and bossy, telling their girls that they had to go to the principal before their mothers. And not to mention the fact that Jenna persuaded the girls to fabricate the abuse so she can get attention from her mom. I mean come on. How did Claire and Suzanne get talked into that. They had absolutely no backbone when it came to Jenna. And when Claire finally grew a backbone it was too damn late- she already ruined Mr. Mattero's life. I mean I get that kids are under peer pressure n all that but come on. I was a kid too and I would NEVER let someone talk me into something so serious like that just for attention or to get out of someone's class. I had common sense.
It was ridiculous that Claire didn't think that police were going to be called or that Mr. Mattero would get fired or that anything serious would happen b/c of their accusations. I find it hard to believe that she only thought that the principal would change them out of Mr. Mattero's class. Where the hell has Claire been living, under a rock? Is she that stupid that she didn't realize the consequences of what she said?
I like Melody's character because her character shows that its not only the person being accused that suffers. If that person has a family, they all suffer.
As the book went on I liked Claire less and less until I couldn't stand her. As the book went on and let on that the girls lied, I hoped that Claire, Suzanne and Jenna would be arrested for lying. In the book, the officer Daniels said that the girls would be tried in juvie court and probably get community service for basically ruining a person's life and career bc they were bored. I find it hard to believe that that will be their only punishment. I haven't looked online or anything but I think there are more severe punishments for reporting a false claim. If there's not, there should be.
I pretty ticked off about this book b/c I am a teacher and I know that no teacher can come back from an allegation like that, even if they didn't do it and the accusers confessed that they were lying. Their would always be doubt about the situation among the parents and teachers. The school may even not allow the teacher to come back so they can be on the safe side. I work with pre-k kids and even at that young age they can be sneaky and lie; I see it everyday. Once a kid says something like that about a teacher, its over, no matter who is on your side. The kids can easily say something like that because they don't like you or you told them not to do something or you scolded them or for any number of reasons. Its scary how words can change someone's life forever.
In the beginning I liked Claire and I thought that Mr. Mattero really did abuse them. Right off the bat I didn't like Jenna. She was really pushy and bossy, telling their girls that they had to go to the principal before their mothers. And not to mention the fact that Jenna persuaded the girls to fabricate the abuse so she can get attention from her mom. I mean come on. How did Claire and Suzanne get talked into that. They had absolutely no backbone when it came to Jenna. And when Claire finally grew a backbone it was too damn late- she already ruined Mr. Mattero's life. I mean I get that kids are under peer pressure n all that but come on. I was a kid too and I would NEVER let someone talk me into something so serious like that just for attention or to get out of someone's class. I had common sense.
It was ridiculous that Claire didn't think that police were going to be called or that Mr. Mattero would get fired or that anything serious would happen b/c of their accusations. I find it hard to believe that she only thought that the principal would change them out of Mr. Mattero's class. Where the hell has Claire been living, under a rock? Is she that stupid that she didn't realize the consequences of what she said?
I like Melody's character because her character shows that its not only the person being accused that suffers. If that person has a family, they all suffer.
As the book went on I liked Claire less and less until I couldn't stand her. As the book went on and let on that the girls lied, I hoped that Claire, Suzanne and Jenna would be arrested for lying. In the book, the officer Daniels said that the girls would be tried in juvie court and probably get community service for basically ruining a person's life and career bc they were bored. I find it hard to believe that that will be their only punishment. I haven't looked online or anything but I think there are more severe punishments for reporting a false claim. If there's not, there should be.
I pretty ticked off about this book b/c I am a teacher and I know that no teacher can come back from an allegation like that, even if they didn't do it and the accusers confessed that they were lying. Their would always be doubt about the situation among the parents and teachers. The school may even not allow the teacher to come back so they can be on the safe side. I work with pre-k kids and even at that young age they can be sneaky and lie; I see it everyday. Once a kid says something like that about a teacher, its over, no matter who is on your side. The kids can easily say something like that because they don't like you or you told them not to do something or you scolded them or for any number of reasons. Its scary how words can change someone's life forever.
November 4, 2016
The book, What MR. Mattero did, is a very intense and impacting book. The story is about seventh graders Jenna, Suzanne, and Claire who don’t understand the consequences of their actions when they accuse their music teacher, Mr. Mattero, of sexual abuse. First off, just the beginning chapters allow you to feel very concerned and attached to the girls because of what they say they went through. You begin to grow closer to the girls and feel hatred for Mr. Mattero. This book really brings out all the feelings you could possibly have for the characters at a very early start in the book. ALthough the book wants you to feel hatred for Mr. Mattero, you can't help but also feel sympathy for him in his family as they begin to suddenly fall apart. With all of this happening, this book allows your mind to work and think about all the possible outcomes, and that's personally what i look for in a good book. Throughout the book you begin to question if Mr. Mattero did it because the author somewhat made him seem like a good person when you didn't think about the fact he could of done that. Once you get past a couple of chapters in the book it is an absolute page turner, and although this book is very good, there are some parts that are boring and irritating. What i mean by this is that there are parts that are very irrelevant. Towards the end of the book, Claire does something very unexpected. She has the detectives sit down and she tells them that they lied about everything because they wanted to get out of music class. This is the part of the book that i about flipped out and screamed. I was very shocked that those girls would put Mr. Matteros reputation down the drain and ruin his family, but then at the same time, they are teenage girls. Anyways, i loved this book. It teaches readers very important morals to carry out in life. To me, the book shows girls not to lie and hurt those who are around you for your own selfish reasons. I would recommend someone to read this book, and although some people will have different thoughts, In my opinion it's a must read.
Rhyllie Warren
Rhyllie Warren
February 5, 2024
Claire and Melody, Mr. Mattero’s daughter, narrate the story in alternating chapters.
Jenna outlines the plan. They will talk to Mrs. Fernandez during second period instead of going to Earth Science, and they will all tell her what just as they rehearsed it. If the secretary put them off, they would tell her that it was an emergency. They vowed that they “would not break down or back down.” Jenna would act as spokesperson. As soon as Jenna tells the principal that something happened in music class, and they thought it was abuse, Mrs. Fernandez sent the girls to separate rooms so they could write down their experience. Clare writes that they were trying on costumes in the music room. Jenna insisted that they take their own clothes off first. While the girls were behind the piano getting undressed. Mr. Mattero walked in on them. He laughed and walked over. He hugged Jenna, patted Suzanne’s back, and touched Claire on her bottom. Then, he walked out laughing. This is the story that all the girls told. A detective and a woman from child welfare talks with Melody, who has no clue who they are or what is going on. Other students hint about something bad happening, but Melody doesn’t know how bad until she gets home and hears her father telling her mother about the girls’ accusation. So, Mr. Mattero is placed on administrative leave with pay. When Claire finds out that he’s not coming back to school, and that the police are involved. Claire watches Melody getting food thrown at her in the cafeteria. Then, someone breaks into the three girls’ lockers and steals all of their things. Claire and Suzanne’s parents send them to different schools, and Jenna and her dad move away. Claire realizes that she and her friends never thought about all of the repercussions. They just wanted to be out of Mr. Mattero’s music class for the rest of the school year.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
Jenna outlines the plan. They will talk to Mrs. Fernandez during second period instead of going to Earth Science, and they will all tell her what just as they rehearsed it. If the secretary put them off, they would tell her that it was an emergency. They vowed that they “would not break down or back down.” Jenna would act as spokesperson. As soon as Jenna tells the principal that something happened in music class, and they thought it was abuse, Mrs. Fernandez sent the girls to separate rooms so they could write down their experience. Clare writes that they were trying on costumes in the music room. Jenna insisted that they take their own clothes off first. While the girls were behind the piano getting undressed. Mr. Mattero walked in on them. He laughed and walked over. He hugged Jenna, patted Suzanne’s back, and touched Claire on her bottom. Then, he walked out laughing. This is the story that all the girls told. A detective and a woman from child welfare talks with Melody, who has no clue who they are or what is going on. Other students hint about something bad happening, but Melody doesn’t know how bad until she gets home and hears her father telling her mother about the girls’ accusation. So, Mr. Mattero is placed on administrative leave with pay. When Claire finds out that he’s not coming back to school, and that the police are involved. Claire watches Melody getting food thrown at her in the cafeteria. Then, someone breaks into the three girls’ lockers and steals all of their things. Claire and Suzanne’s parents send them to different schools, and Jenna and her dad move away. Claire realizes that she and her friends never thought about all of the repercussions. They just wanted to be out of Mr. Mattero’s music class for the rest of the school year.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
January 14, 2011
Summary:
There are three girls that are best friends they are Jenna, Suzanne,and claire. These ladys have a problem but they are so scared to tell the principal about and they have been asking to each other should they tell yes or no? Or what is going to happen if we do? Or what if we dont? But they finally tell the principal what Mr. Mattero did. The problem becomes huge it comes out on t.v. they fire Mr. Mattero until they finish the investigation on him. But it dosent just affects Mr. Mattero it will also effect the lady too. You shoud read the book to know what Mr. Mattero did and what happen to him and the ladys.
I think this book is very intresting. Every time i start reading this book i dont want to stop because then i wounder to myself whats going to happen next? I suggest you this book if you like books that are kind of mysterious. To be honest i actully did learn some things in this book like how some teens usually think when there in this situation. Its a really intresting book enojoy if you read it!
There are three girls that are best friends they are Jenna, Suzanne,and claire. These ladys have a problem but they are so scared to tell the principal about and they have been asking to each other should they tell yes or no? Or what is going to happen if we do? Or what if we dont? But they finally tell the principal what Mr. Mattero did. The problem becomes huge it comes out on t.v. they fire Mr. Mattero until they finish the investigation on him. But it dosent just affects Mr. Mattero it will also effect the lady too. You shoud read the book to know what Mr. Mattero did and what happen to him and the ladys.
I think this book is very intresting. Every time i start reading this book i dont want to stop because then i wounder to myself whats going to happen next? I suggest you this book if you like books that are kind of mysterious. To be honest i actully did learn some things in this book like how some teens usually think when there in this situation. Its a really intresting book enojoy if you read it!
June 5, 2016
I like the premise of this book, and I really liked the ending, in which it was shown how a lie impacts so many people in so many different ways. The only problem I had was that the book seemed to take the perspective of the most ignorant seventh graders and the most isolated ones too. The character Claire, is ridiculously ignorant and her voice reads very earnestly, but it's hard to believe. There's also a subplot with anorexia, in which Claire obsessively counts calories and reminds herself that she needs to stay on her "diet". It's very unbelievable that Claire had no idea that the school would tell her parents and the police of a reported incident of sexual abuse at the hands of a teacher. Another thing that bothered me was the way the interaction of the teenagers/pre-teens was set. The girls only communicate by phone calls on landline, and it appears that nothing really makes its way onto the internet. Cell phones are also rarely mentioned.
To summarize: the book wasn't bad, but the characters were unbelievably ignorant and the personalities were hard to put stock in.
To summarize: the book wasn't bad, but the characters were unbelievably ignorant and the personalities were hard to put stock in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2012
I started reading this book a while back but I never did finish it. I'm not sure what I thought of this book. I mean, the title really got me curious at first but I remember putting it down because I got really furious. I'm already halfway, and I think I kind of got hooked a little bit but I remember telling myself that I'm tired of things like this and yeah, the dialogues and whatnot. Well maybe it's because I just finished reading a book that's about teenagers and with their dramas and all and I just wanted something funny. So I kind of went off the rail. But back to the book, you can't know who's really telling the truth so you better get to the end of it for you to know. And I think it requires patience to read this book but during that time unfortunately for me, that - I lacked of. But hey, if anyone recommends for me to read it again I might give it a chance. I mean - there are so many five stars review in here. I might be missing out. I never know.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews