Home
Allegra by Shelley Hrdlitschka (Orca $12.95)
Don't stand so close to me. At what point does a teenage crush on a teacher cross the line? When does a teacher's support and admiration of a student become suspect?
These are the questions Shelley Hrdlitschka explores in Allegra, her ninth novel for teen readers.
"In music, the term allegro means 'lively, with a happy air,'"; says Mr. Rocchelli. The music teacher, with the faded jeans and the dimples, smiles at Allegra. "Does that describe you?";
"I think that's what my parents were hoping when they named me,"; Allegra mutters. It's only the first morning at Deer Lake School for the Fine and Performing Arts and already the place is a disappointment.
"And?"; prompts Mr. Rocchelli.
"I let them down,"; Allegra says.
Allegra's mother is a harpist in the symphony and her father is the bass player for a band called the Loose Ends. Her mother is all for classical training while her dad, self-taught, would scoff at someone like Mr. Rocchelli. Her dad's been performing for years while her mother's only recently gotten work as a musician. But it was her mother who made her complete the "highest level of piano performance"; at the National Music Academy before she'd consider letting Allegra study dance. Allegra's gotten math and biology out of the way at summer school and now she just wants whatever academics she needs to graduate. It doesn't make sense she has to take a lame music theory course, especially since she could fill that block with another dance class. You'd think a high school for the arts would get that.
She can write the final exam immediately, Mr. Rocchelli tells Allegra, and she has to concede "how nice he looks when he smiles."; Acing the exam still doesn't get her out of his class but he promises something "really special."; The project turns out to be a melody he's composed. "It's like a black-and-white sketch,"; he tells her. "I want you to turn it into a full- colour painting.";
Meanwhile, things are getting worse between her parents. Her dad's on the road so much her mom always gets this "weird kind of nervousness"; when he's about to come home. It's more than that, though. There's a simmering undercurrent Allegra can't quite read. But she has an idea it might have something to do with one of the guys in the symphony, the one named Marcus who drives her mother to performances.
Still, some of the kids at school aren't so bad. Tall skinny Spencer, for one. And the project Mr. Rocchelli proposed-expanding his melody into a full orchestrated version-is more fulfilling than Allegra imagined it would be. Soon she and Rocky-as he invites the kids to call him-are spending more and more time together working alone in the studio, caught up in the music and Allegra's startling talent, a talent way beyond her teenage years. Then everything begins to fall apart. She and Spencer aren't friends anymore, her dad's moved out. But Allegra's still got Noel.
That's Rocky's real first name. And then another student accuses Allegra and Mr. Rocchelli of an inappropriate relationship. Has she destroyed his career? His life? And what has she done to herself? In the dark days that follow, when there is "no reason to get out of bed"; and "dancing is pointless,"; Allegra discovers solace-and redemption-in an unexpected source. Her father.
Shelley Hrdlitschka's other novels include Kat's Fall, where 15-year-old Darcy must come to terms with his mother's horrific crime-throwing his sister from a fifth floor balcony-and Sister Wife, an exploration of the enforced plural marriage of young girls.
Shelley Hrdlitschka came to writing as a school teacher. 978-1-4598-0197-4
Louise Donnelly writes from Vernon.
"Recently I felt compassion for the Sechelt teacher, Heather Ingram, when I read Risking It All, the story of her relationship with a student. The media made mincemeat of her at the time, and I'm as disgusted as the next person when a teacher preys on a vulnerable student, but we're often too quick to judge before we have all the facts.
"I received many hugs from my students when I was teaching, back in the '80s, and my own daughters have given and received hugs from caring teachers. None of these were ever inappropriate but a male teacher friend confessed that he squirmed the entire time he was reading Allegra, not knowing where the teacher/student relationship was headed. He said he kept reflecting on all the times he'd been put into awkward positions by his own students, both male and female. When he wants to reach out and show genuine caring to his students-a quick hug or even a squeeze on the arm-he has to hold back for fear of his intentions being misconstrued.
"I understand why strict guidelines are now in place, yet it's unfortunate that it has to be this way, and I suspect that many teachers will continue to reach out with human touch and kindness when it is called for in the classroom.";
- Shelley Hrdlitschka
These are the questions Shelley Hrdlitschka explores in Allegra, her ninth novel for teen readers.
"In music, the term allegro means 'lively, with a happy air,'"; says Mr. Rocchelli. The music teacher, with the faded jeans and the dimples, smiles at Allegra. "Does that describe you?";
"I think that's what my parents were hoping when they named me,"; Allegra mutters. It's only the first morning at Deer Lake School for the Fine and Performing Arts and already the place is a disappointment.
"And?"; prompts Mr. Rocchelli.
"I let them down,"; Allegra says.
Allegra's mother is a harpist in the symphony and her father is the bass player for a band called the Loose Ends. Her mother is all for classical training while her dad, self-taught, would scoff at someone like Mr. Rocchelli. Her dad's been performing for years while her mother's only recently gotten work as a musician. But it was her mother who made her complete the "highest level of piano performance"; at the National Music Academy before she'd consider letting Allegra study dance. Allegra's gotten math and biology out of the way at summer school and now she just wants whatever academics she needs to graduate. It doesn't make sense she has to take a lame music theory course, especially since she could fill that block with another dance class. You'd think a high school for the arts would get that.
She can write the final exam immediately, Mr. Rocchelli tells Allegra, and she has to concede "how nice he looks when he smiles."; Acing the exam still doesn't get her out of his class but he promises something "really special."; The project turns out to be a melody he's composed. "It's like a black-and-white sketch,"; he tells her. "I want you to turn it into a full- colour painting.";
Meanwhile, things are getting worse between her parents. Her dad's on the road so much her mom always gets this "weird kind of nervousness"; when he's about to come home. It's more than that, though. There's a simmering undercurrent Allegra can't quite read. But she has an idea it might have something to do with one of the guys in the symphony, the one named Marcus who drives her mother to performances.
Still, some of the kids at school aren't so bad. Tall skinny Spencer, for one. And the project Mr. Rocchelli proposed-expanding his melody into a full orchestrated version-is more fulfilling than Allegra imagined it would be. Soon she and Rocky-as he invites the kids to call him-are spending more and more time together working alone in the studio, caught up in the music and Allegra's startling talent, a talent way beyond her teenage years. Then everything begins to fall apart. She and Spencer aren't friends anymore, her dad's moved out. But Allegra's still got Noel.
That's Rocky's real first name. And then another student accuses Allegra and Mr. Rocchelli of an inappropriate relationship. Has she destroyed his career? His life? And what has she done to herself? In the dark days that follow, when there is "no reason to get out of bed"; and "dancing is pointless,"; Allegra discovers solace-and redemption-in an unexpected source. Her father.
Shelley Hrdlitschka's other novels include Kat's Fall, where 15-year-old Darcy must come to terms with his mother's horrific crime-throwing his sister from a fifth floor balcony-and Sister Wife, an exploration of the enforced plural marriage of young girls.
Shelley Hrdlitschka came to writing as a school teacher. 978-1-4598-0197-4
Louise Donnelly writes from Vernon.
"Recently I felt compassion for the Sechelt teacher, Heather Ingram, when I read Risking It All, the story of her relationship with a student. The media made mincemeat of her at the time, and I'm as disgusted as the next person when a teacher preys on a vulnerable student, but we're often too quick to judge before we have all the facts.
"I received many hugs from my students when I was teaching, back in the '80s, and my own daughters have given and received hugs from caring teachers. None of these were ever inappropriate but a male teacher friend confessed that he squirmed the entire time he was reading Allegra, not knowing where the teacher/student relationship was headed. He said he kept reflecting on all the times he'd been put into awkward positions by his own students, both male and female. When he wants to reach out and show genuine caring to his students-a quick hug or even a squeeze on the arm-he has to hold back for fear of his intentions being misconstrued.
"I understand why strict guidelines are now in place, yet it's unfortunate that it has to be this way, and I suspect that many teachers will continue to reach out with human touch and kindness when it is called for in the classroom.";
- Shelley Hrdlitschka
Submitted on September 10, 2013 in By David.
