Achieve One For The Murphys Picturized By Lynda Mullaly Hunt Exhibited In Booklet

manipulative. The actual writing is competent enough, but the charactersand the plotI can't find anything nice to say.
The book is its strongest in the uncomfortabletoread beginning where Carley has trouble adjusting to her new home.
But that's all over much too soon, and there are eventually TWO denouements that don't work, One deliberately withholds information from the reader in order to create and then resolve drama, and the other is cheesy.
The author seems to be leading the reader to a conclusion, re: the mother's actions on the night Carley is injured, that I disagree with strenuously.
So the book manages to be both overly sweet and borderline offensive to me, This book was an easy heartfelt read, I wasn't prepared to get a snotty nose and a few tears at the end, Carley has had a horrible life with her mother and new husband and gets sent to foster care where she finds a loving family and a best friend.
She is witty and sad and mad and kind and confused, I really liked all the characters in the story, I had happy hopes for her throughout the book, Would def recommend. This turned out to be a great story, but I had issues with the end,

The story follows a girl named Carley whos recently dealt with some domestic violence with her mother.
After being sent to a foster home, she deals with many difficulties, but she believes this family might be whats best for her.
Could she really be a Murphy As time moves on, things change, and Carley feels confused about her future.


My middlegraders

did enjoy this story, as well as myself, but because it was such a major change for Carley in the end, I truly wanted more of an ending.
We all loved the themes of family and friendship, Theres great character development too, Hopeful for a follow up book in the future,

Overall, and we will be checking out the authors other books, originally posted on sitelinkHeise Reads amp Recommends

A heartbreaking and heartwarming debut book from Lynda Mullaly Hunt, ONE FOR THE MURPHYS is a beautiful story of family perfect for middle grade readers and adults!.
It's about hope and unsureness and loss and love and friendship and caring and happiness and sadness and possibility and belonging and what it really means to be family.
Carley and Toni and the Murphys are all a fantastic cast of characters who I just wanted to hang out with and hug.
Adore Michael Eric and Adam there's something about welldrawn brothers in books that always gets to me probably because I have two of my own.
And the way in which this story is written, with each chapter being its own kind of vignette of something that happens after Carley is sent to be fostered by the Murphys, is astounding in its ability to draw the reader into the story emotionally.
The chapters are short and the whole story takes place overdays, but it is utterly impactful.
One of the strongest themes throughout the book is the idea of an everyday person being a hero in someone's life.
The ways in which you can be a hero to someone else are endless, and it's a gentle call to arms to do so.
I love how this is prevalent in the book, but in a nonpreachy kind of way,

Although I don't know from personal experience, what left an impression was how real and honest the emotions and feelings of this character felt for what I imagine a child in foster care would be going through.
I adored this story, and the Carley, from the very start and my heart warmed and broke along with her as she traveled this journey of selfdiscovery and acceptance and finding strength and love.
I want to hand this book off to every teacher and parent I know and I imagine there will be so many students for whom this type of story will resonate.
Although Carley is inth grade, this book can definitely be read younger as well, Who doesn't want a family to love and take care of them If you haven't yet read ONE FOR THE MURPHYS, I recommend you do yourself a favor and get to it soon.


I look forward to seeing what Lynda Mullaly Hunt will write next, and according to her website, her next middle grade book will be ALPHABET SOUP releasing in spring.
I'll definitely be reading that one after enjoying ONE FOR THE MURPHYS so much, This is a beautiful book, Overwhelming, emotionally gripping, surprisingly touching, I did not expect to find my emotions running up and down different octaves like piano notes.


YA reading, for tweens, But just as heartwarming and uplifting for adults,

It's a short book, a quick read, but one that had me leave everything to finish it.
I just could not walk away,

After closing the book I wished reality was not so removed from fiction in this case.
If all foster parents were like the Murphies, there would not have been so much heartache in the world of lost children.
My heart just broke for this young girl,

I absolutely recommend this book to EVERYONE, A mustread. A wonderfully heartfelt story. A lovely exploration of trauma, fostering, and the effects it has on everyone involved, There were some hilariously aggressive moments like the stuffing of the bread rolls in the restaurant booth and some extremely sad moments that brought a tear to my eye.


The ending was not what I expected nor what I wanted but it still lent itself very well to the protagonist's character growth.
I liked this, but

It was a wonderful story about a girl named Carley who ends up in foster care living with the Murphys, a family with three boys.
The book had well drawn characters and situations, Sad and heartbreaking, I would definitely recommend it and can see early middle schoolers loving this book.


My issues dealt more with the details, The main character wasbut inth grade It was spring and the Red Sox were still playing, but there were basketball tryouts The oldest son was "just a little younger than Carley" but in comparison to her seemed a lot younger.
Her new best friend in this smallish town didn't know that she was a foster kid and thought that Mrs.
Murphy was Carley's mom, even though it was partway through the school year already

It was stuff like this that kept jumping out at me.
Plus I thought that Carley's recollections of the night that led to her being put in foster care should have played a stronger point in the story.


I really wanted to like this book so much more, I loved Carley as a character, It was almost a great book, but regardless, it is a book that still covers an important topic that middle schoolers will want to read.
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