The Good Teacher by Petronella McGovern

Publisher's Synopsis

A good teacher can change lives …

Every evening, Allison watches her husband's new house, desperate to find some answers. Every morning, she puts on a brave face to teach kindergarten. She's a good teacher, everyone says so - this stalking is just a tiny crack in her usual self-control.

A late enrolment into her class brings little Gracie. Allison takes the sick girl under her wing, smothering Gracie with the love she can't give her own son. When Gracie has a chance to go to America for treatment, Allison whips up the community into a frenzied fundraising drive.

But as others start to question her judgement and the police arrive at her door, Allison wonders if she can trust herself. Has she crossed a line?

How far will the good teacher go to save a life? And whose life will that be?

An intriguing tale of our times about kindness and betrayal, and the danger of good deeds.

My Review of The Good Teacher by Petronella McGovern

A kindergarten teacher whose personal life has just been turned upside down is now challenged by a new student who will present unique challenges to her and her class. The Good Teacher by Petronella McGovern combines a feel-good community triumph story with betrayal and confusion in this sharply paced drama. 

When little Gracie Branson arrives in Allison Walsh’s kindergarten class she immediately creates an impact. Gracie is suffering a rare form of cancer and regularly visits the hospital for treatments and chemotherapy. Allison, struggling with a recent marriage break-up, at first dreads the prospect of the added in-class pressure this will cause but soon realises how much she needs someone like Gracie, and her father Luke, in her life. 

The tragic circumstances of Luke and Gracie’s life to this point is exacerbated by the fact they can’t find a place to live that’s close to the school. Allison is trying to adjust to living alone in a home that, until only a few weeks ago, also included her husband and Felix, her 16 year old son. To help Luke out with the cost of accommodation, and also to spoil the plans of her now ex-husband who wants to sell the family home, Allison invites them to move in until something comes along. 

It turns out that the treatment Gracie is receiving in Australia just isn’t working and she needs the more advanced treatment that’s only available in the US. The costs are prohibitive and there’s no way Luke can afford it. He explains this to Allison and, upon hearing about it, promises to help run a fundraising campaign that will enable Luke and Gracie to make the trip so that she might have the life saving treatment.

Also willing to help Luke and Gracie is Maz who works at the local gym with Luke. She’s brimming with unbridled enthusiasm and is always ready with an affirming phrase to help motivate and innervate. Her new side hustle, selling natural therapy pills, provides her with a chance to contribute in a more meaningful way. Hers is a shining light of upbeat buzzing and it also manages to bring her closer to Luke, romantically.

The Good Teacher is a strong character driven drama that demonstrates the power of a community who pulls together to achieve a truly inspirational fundraising effort. From the fellow teachers at the local school to the trainers at the gym, we’re given multiple viewpoints describing how different people go about doing their bit to help Gracie. 

The plot builds nicely with several subplots hinting at dramas within the families of the main characters. Most notably is Allison and her failed marriage and her response that essentially amounts to stalking her husband and son, unprepared to say goodbye to the marriage of 25 years.

But there’s also a plot twist that seismically changes the tone of the book midway along and had me reassessing everything I had read to that point. It’s one of those situations where you realise that every assumption you’ve made to that point was fatally flawed. 

With plenty of surprises and a rollercoaster of emotion packed in, I found it very easy to become completely immersed in the story. Each character was clearly evoked and enabled me to form a definite opinion of them quite quickly, good or bad. This also meant that I felt as if I had a piece of Gracie’s welfare at stake too. 

This was a winner for me.