Marvelous Middle Grade Monday – ONE FOR THE MURPHYS

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.

There is a teacher guide for this novel.

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.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - JACOB'S LANDING

At first, I wasn’t sure I would relate to the characters in this story. But as I kept reading, I got more intrigued and wondered what might happen to Jacob’s eccentric grandparents. This is another book from the short list for the 2016 Silver Birch Fiction Awards from the Ontario Library Association.

Description from Amazon.com:

Coping with the recent death of his father, twelve-year-old Jacob Mosher is sent to spend the summer with his aging, estranged (and strange!) grandparents in a rural seaside town. Reluctantly, he trades the security of his foster mum and a big city for a blind grandfather, Frank, who dresses like a sea captain and conducts flag-raising ceremonies, and a quirky grandmother, Pearl, who sometimes forgets her dentures.

Jacob has two short months to figure out how to deal with his ailing grandfather, the surging river tides and the family secret that’s haunting his newfound grandparents.

Jacob’s Landing was written by Daphne Greer and published by Nimbus Publishing in 2015.

My Take:

I haven’t read many middle grade novels where grandparents have such a large role in the story. At first, like Jacob, I wasn’t sure I’d like reading about them because they seemed so quirky and eccentric. But as the story went on and the conflict increased, especially Jacob’s wonderings about how they might cope after he left, I wanted to find out what happened. I really liked Jacob’s friend Ruby, who seemed bold and adventurous, though sometimes she acted a little too quickly before she thought about the possible consequences.

As a writer, I enjoyed the way the author created such distinct characters through the use of details and different personality traits. They really came alive for me through their actions and dialogue.

Opening Line:

“I, Jacob Mosher, am sentenced to two months and a day with Captain Crazy and his sidekick, Pearl.”

Quotes:

“I’m still not used to the fact that Frank can’t remember some things—obvious things, like me for example—but then other things, like how fast a ship goes, he remembers right down to the second.”

“My stomach still feels gross at the thought of the doctor yanking the needle through Frank’s flesh yesterday, like he was putting bait on a fish hook.”

“Bad stuff happens, but you can’t let it keep you frozen. You’ve got to do something with it or let go.”

Other Info:

Daphne Greer lives in Newport Landing, Nova Scotia.

Here’s what Daphne says about writing on her website: “The hardest is making it believable and meaningful for them. The best is when that happens.”