Ms. Bixby's last day cover

Ms. Bixby's last day

by John Anderson

Everyone knows there are different kinds of teachers. The good ones. The not-so-good ones. The boring ones, the mean ones, the ones who try too hard. The ones who are kind of fun but also kind of annoying. The ones you ll never remember and the ones you want to forget. But Ms. Bixby is none of these. She s the sort of teacher who makes you feel like the indignities of school are somehow worthwhile. Who makes the idea of growing up a bit less terrifying. Who you never want to disappoint. What Ms. Bixby is, is one of a kind. Topher, Brand, and Steve know this better than anyone. And so when Ms. Bixby unexpectedly announces that she is very sick and won t be able to finish the school year, they come up with a plan: a plan that starts with them cutting school for the first time in their lives and making their way across their hometown. Through the three different stories they tell, we begin to understand just what Ms. Bixby means to Topher, Brand, and Steve and why they are willing to go to such great lengths to tell her.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?