This
book has been on my reading wish list for a long time and I’m so glad I finally
got to read it (as an e-book from the Toronto Public Library). But a warning if
you haven’t read it – you may need a box of tissues by your side for this emotional
story.
Description from the Publisher:
A
moving debut novel about a foster child learning to open her heart to a
family's love.
Carley
uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But
the day she becomes a foster child and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided.
This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never
thought existed and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect
household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it
feels like to belong, until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide
where and how to live. She's not really a Murphy, but the gifts they've given
her have opened up a new future.
One for the
Murphys was
written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint
of Penguin Group in 2012.
As a reader and
teacher:
I
really enjoyed this story – it was sad and funny and had many interesting
moments. I connected with the main character, Carley, right from the beginning.
I was rooting for her to change and for her to allow herself to be loved. I really
liked that the ending was resolved, but not in a way that ties everything up
perfectly (a little bit uncertain and messy, the same way that life is messy). I
also really liked Carley’s relationships with her new friend Toni, and all the
Murphy kids.
I
think this story portrayed a realistic situation and characters, without shying
away from heartbreaking emotions. It captured my attention from the moment I
began reading, and I read all the way through because I couldn’t put it down.
As a writer:
I
felt that the author chose her words quite carefully, not overloading the text
with too much description or metaphor, but creating strong images so that I
could picture what and where things were happening. This novel is a great
example of a character-driven contemporary middle grade.
There
were a lot of characters, but each one had a distinct personality. I really
admired how the author gradually showed us the changes in Carley and her
developing inner strength.
Opening line:
“Sitting
in the back of the social worker’s car, I try to remember how my mother has
always said never to show your fear.”
Quotes:
“My
mind plays a movie for me. The movie of the night everything tipped upward and
all around.”
“I
feel like the things I should say are the things I can’t say. And the things I
could say are the things I shouldn’t say.”
“There’s
a welling up inside of me like a glass that’s filled up too much.”
Other interesting info:
Lynda
Mullaly-Hunt is the author of Fish in a
Tree, another book I really enjoyed! (See my review here.) One
for the Murphys has won several awards and distinctions.
I
really love the slogan from the teacher guide: Be someone’s hero. No cape required. It’s an awesome motto I may just put up over
my computer. It would be a good one to discuss in a classroom, especially about different
ways to be someone’s hero (contrasting real life with superheroes) and the ordinary people that kids might admire or think of as a hero.
Check out the book trailer for One for the Murphys.