Skip to main content

Tween Tuesday: One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens! Join the fun, share your links below and discover a new tween read!

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Contemporary

Release Date: 5/10/2012

Add To Goodreads

About the Book: After her stepfather hurts Carley and her mother in a fight, tweleve-year-old Carley has just been told that she is being placed in a foster home until her mother gets better. Carley doesn't belong in the Murphy's foster home-it's too good,  too nice, and too affectionate-not for Carley at all. But the Murphy's, especially the kind and caring Mrs. Murphy, slowly are able to break down Carley's walls and Carley is able to help the Murphy family more than she thought.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: If you're looking for a touching and heartwarming read, add this to your summer reading pile now!! I was captivated from the first page and absolutely fell in love with Carley and the Murphy family. The Murphy's are now one of my fictional families that I would love to live with-they're funny, they're caring, and you can't help but want to be part of them.

One for the Murphys is a tender story about foster care and the brief times that foster children have in a foster parents life. There's no easy path for Carley as she still has a mom to go back to-her time in foster care is not indefinite.. I think readers will especially relate to Carley as she keeps questioning if the life she had before was bad because it's different than the one she comes to know with the Murphys and if her mom really loves her.

Instead of coming off as sappy and cheesy and Hallmark perfect, the Murphys come across as real and down to earth. They show Carley another kind of family-not better or worse, but different. I liked that the book never puts one home life above the other-Carley has good and bad in both situations she's known and I think this makes the story even more powerful.

Give this one to readers looking for a great family story that will stick with them. This is one family you won't forget!

Book Pairings: Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff, Freaky Fast Frankie Joe by Lutricia Clifton, Hound Dog True by Linda Urban

Comments

  1. This sounds like a great read! I like when MG books explore family stuff--that can be really powerful for kids in lots of different home/family situations. I'll have to check it out this summer. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Abby (thelupinelibrarianMay 29, 2012 at 12:11 PM

    The book cover looked so familiar for some reason, and then I realized that the author participated in the Apocalypsies YAmazing Race Blog Hop. Even after reading dozens of blogs, the description for "One for the Murphys" stood out to me, so I guess that's a sign that I should read it soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So agree. It's refreshing to see a different type of family situation. I'm sure lots of kids will relate. I really enjoyed this. Thanks for spotlighting it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from other readers! Share your thoughts and chime in!

Popular posts from this blog

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Realistic Fiction Release Date: 2/26/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Eleanor and Park are both misfits. When new girl Eleanor sits next to Park on the bus, they don't want anything to do with each other. But over the course of the school year, things change. It starts with comic books and becomes a friendship and a romance that the two will never forget. You never forget your first love. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Have you ever had a book sit on your shelf that you've heard so much hype about? And you think that books sounds like it would be right up your alley, but you're in a reading slump and you're afraid to give it a try unless it fails? I knew Eleanor and Park sounded like my perfect book, but I was in such an after committee slump that I even though I knew this book would help, I just didn't want to be disappointed. I should have known better because Eleanor and Park was perfect and everything that I had hoped it wou

Contact Me

  I love to hear from fellow readers and librarians! Send me an email to say hello! You can reach me at greenbeanteenqueen (at) gmail (dot) com

Suite Scarlett Giveaway!!!

How would you like to win a paperback copy of Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson ? I have FIVE copies up for grabs!! When Scarlett Martin turns fifteen she is put in charge of the Empire Suite, one of the rooms in her family’s hotel. Enter Mrs. Amberson, an aging C-list starlet who decides to employ Scarlett. Soon, she is taking dictation, running around New York City, and getting caught up in Mrs. Amberson’s crazy adventures. In the midst of it all, Scarlett falls in love–or so she thinks–and it takes Mrs. Amberson to help her see the light. Now in paperback from top-selling author Maureen Johnson! Here's the deal: -Contest ends July 20, 2009 -For U.S. Addresses only, sorry! -Comment on this post to enter. -Come back and comment again on this post for another entry-you may enter as many times as you want!! -Blog/Twitter/Facebook/E-mail this contest to others for +1 extra entries -Link me to your review of Suite Scarlett (or any other Maureen Johnson book) in the comments for +2 ex