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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
This one had me crying so many times. Although I think it portrays the process of foster care a little more smoothly than is possible, I feel that it the timing was the best it could be for the length of a middle grade novel. I loved the characters and the story, and pretty much all of the book! Anyone who passed me in my car while I was listening to the audio had to be a bit worried about me :)
What an amazing book. It really got me in the gut, and it might be classified as juvenile but it it was well worth reading as an adult.
I loved this until the very end. I didn't love the ending. It took the tougher road, but it wasn't what I wanted for Carly
A 7th grader could not believe I hadn't read One for the Murphys and shoved it into my hands...and I'm so glad she did. Carly Connors suddenly finds herself placed in foster care after a horrible domestic violence episode lands her and her mother in the hospital. With her mother too injured from the attack to be released from the hospital, tough-cookie Carly moves in with the Murphys. Initially she stays aloof, not wanting to let anyone get to know her (and also feeling that she doesn't deserve anyone getting to know her) but the Murphys slowly show her what a loving home and family can look like. Carly is a clever and street-smart kid but has a lot to learn about sharing her emotions and opening her heart. I may or may not have teared up at the ending!
Grades 5 and up.
Grades 5 and up.
Why, oh why, did I wait to read this tear jerker? Donated by a student to my library a year ago (a year ago!) I could kick myself. Reading One for the Murphys, written by a debut author who used to teach, gives me hope that my writing just MIGHT be good enough for prime time. And then I remember the incredible characters she crafted and the clever things her plucky main character would spout off as a way to protect herself and I can feel the doubt creep in. This is a three-hanky read about how to not let what life hands you forever contain you, that you can "be someone's hero," and that we owe it to our fellow souls down the line to return the favor when we are picked up as children. Beautiful. I can't wait to put it in my kids' hands. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
I read this book to my grade 4/5 students and they loved it. The humour kept a dark-themed book light even when the main character was going through traumatic and difficult times. It was written in a way that middle years students could keep up and understand, while also having a laugh and empathizing with the main characters, despite not having the same experiences.
I would not recommend reading this book as a read aloud with students in foster care or who have experienced physical abuse resulting in removal from the home.
I provided my students with a content warning and let them know when certain parts speaking about abuse was about to start and end so they could respond and cope appropriately as needed.
Overall a really great book that I would read again with a group of students who could emotionally handle it as it is surrounding a mature theme.
I would not recommend reading this book as a read aloud with students in foster care or who have experienced physical abuse resulting in removal from the home.
I provided my students with a content warning and let them know when certain parts speaking about abuse was about to start and end so they could respond and cope appropriately as needed.
Overall a really great book that I would read again with a group of students who could emotionally handle it as it is surrounding a mature theme.
Loved this! Another selection from the Mock Newberry List. A very quick read...partly because I just couldn't put it down. I really felt for the characters, and was hoping for a "Happily Ever After" ending.
A really nice book about foster care, but I was a little disappointed with the ending.
Wow, what a excellent, very emotion evoking, story. Made more so by our experience with the fostering system.