Skip to main content

ONE FOR THE MURPHYS by Lynda Mullaly Hunt


copyright date: May 2012
primarily marketed for: intermediate readers (5th grade and up)

I sort of expected One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt to be one of those overly sappy books with unrealistic, sickeningly sweet characters.  However, although the storyline might make it sound sappy, the characters are realistic and dynamic. 

After a traumatic incident that lands both she and her mother in the hospital, Carley Connors is taken away and placed in foster care with the Murphy family.  The only life Carley has known is one of put-downs, food scraps, and shopping for clothes in Salvation Army drop boxes.  Until she meets the Murphys.  The Murphys are too good to be true: Julia, the mom, happily makes home-cooked meals for her three boys and firefighting, sports-loving husband.  In fact, Julia isn’t even rattled by Carley’s rough around the edges attitude. 

At first, Carley despises the Murphys and the way they make her feel inadequate.  She doesn’t feel like she deserves to live with them.  However, as time goes on Carley starts to connect with each member of the family and with her true self. 

Will Carley ever be able to face her mother and their old life together after having tasted what a loving, stable family has to offer?  Read One for the Murphys to find out what happens to Carley when it becomes time to move on. 

Reading Threads:
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Waiting to Forget by Sheila Kelly Welch

Labels:

Comments

  1. Linda BJuly 9, 2012 at 11:02 AM

    This is next for me, so I won't read your review yet, Christy. I've heard good talk about it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SheilaJuly 10, 2012 at 11:58 AM

    Hi!

    Thanks for mentioning my novel, WAITING TO FORGET, as part of the "Reading Threads" for ONE FOR THE MURPHYS. I read the latter and really enjoyed it, and I do think it'd be a great book for kids and teens to read along with the other books you suggested. Mine is a bit darker than Carley's story and has a different, but hopeful, outcome. My husband and I adopted six of our seven children so this topic is close to my heart. Anyone who's interested can find a "book trailer" for WAITING TO FORGET on YouTube.

    I'm a former teacher, and I think it's great that you are helping your students (past and present) find books that they will enjoy reading. Keep up the good work!

    Sheila
    www.scbwi-illinois.org/Welch
    www.namelos.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. ShannonAugust 2, 2012 at 6:03 PM

    I've been hearing so much about One For the Murphys-it's already on my TBR list, but I'm thinking I need to move it up some. :)

    Waiting to Forget sounds good, too!

    Shannon
    http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2014 at 2:13 PM

    One for the Murphys is a wonderful book, it really tells the meaning of a family. The characters all seem to connect with Carley in some way, and I'm glad I found this book.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY by Kevin C. Pyle

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Despite the fact that the teacher in me sees so many lesson possibilities in Kevin C. Pyle’s graphic novel Take What You Can Carry , you should read it simply for the grace of its stories.   The artwork is as striking as the stories it tells.   Using artwork in two different colors and styles, Pyle tells the stories of two teenage boys living years and miles apart.   And yet, he communicates the universality in their experiences.   One boy is a Japanese American forced to move into an internment camp during WWII.   His family struggles to maintain their dignity and sense of peace under unbearable conditions. The other is a rebellious boy with an attitude whose reckless behavior causes him to wind up in trouble with the law.   To make amends, he finds himself completing community service hours in the most unlikely place.   I found my...
1 comment
Read more

THE SEA IN WINTER by Christine Day

  release date: January 5, 2021 primarily marketed for: Middle grades The Sea in Winter  by Christine Day is a gift to its readers. It is a book of quiet strength with much to offer.  Maisie is a ballet dancer who feels most herself when she is at the dance studio. However, at the start of this story, Maisie is coping with a serious knee injury that prevents her from dancing long-term. She misses her friends from dance and struggles to maintain those connections when she is no longer part of the dancing life they shared.  When her mom and stepdad plan a road trip to the Olympic Peninsula to visit sites of familial and cultural significance, Maisie stubbornly overworks her healing knee. She is determined to heal and return to the studio  faster than expected. Although her knee is the only focus of Maisie's wellness journey, it turns out there is more to healing than physical fitness.  Maisie is a quietly compelling character, but I was surprised to find myse...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE GREATEST SUPERPOWER by Alex Sanchez

copyright date: January 1, 2021 primarily marketed for: middle grades The Greatest Superpower  by Alex Sanchez is a gem. I was in a bit of a reading slump until I picked up this book, thanks to NetGalley .  This middle grades book is about comic book loving Jorge who is navigating his parents' divorce and his first crush on a girl. Jorge's parents not only announce they are getting divorced, but his father also reveals to Jorge and his twin brother Cesar that she is transgender and wishes to live as her true self.  Although this announcement is a confusing surprise to Jorge, his love for his father ultimately trumps all. Cesar, however, is angry at their dad and works to prevent Jorge from sharing the truth with his friends.  In the midst of the changes in Jorge's family life, he and his friends are trying to invent a new superhero for a comic book contest. When Jorge blurts out the idea of the superpower to gender-shift, his friends jump on board.  Conversatio...
Post a Comment
Read more