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readingwithelizabeth 's review for:
One for the Murphys
by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
I really wanted to be able to give this five stars, but I just can't do that. First, let me explain what I liked about this book-
I liked Carley's personality and the development of her attitude throughout the story. She has been forced to be a sassy, independent young lady due to her mother's neglect (because, let's just be honest, that's just what it is). In the beginning, she is upset at being put in a foster home, which makes total sense- her mom and the life she has with her is all she's ever known. She displays blatant misbehavior and disrespect, but she shows conflict with herself about her behavior- she wants to hate it with her foster family, but she slowly finds herself falling in love with the idea of having a loving family.
I love that Mrs. Murphy is shown as a loving, patient mother who sometimes gets annoyed and loses her temper. I even love how it shows that Mr. Murphy isn't so keen on having Carley around, although he's able to warm up to her and see that she isn't as bad as she tries to make herself seem in the beginning. I liked the development of Carley and Toni's relationship, and I loved her relationship and love for the Murphy boys. Oh, and I'd be totally remiss if I didn't mention how much I loved her social studies teacher, Mr. Ruben. I couldn't help giggling when he made his own tragedy by pairing up students who didn't like each other. Most teachers are sneaky when they do this, but he just lets them know right off the bat haha.
Okay, now for what I didn't like...mostly, what I didn't like was based on what I see as inaccuracies with the foster care system. I'm not an expert on foster care, by any means, but these are some things I found a little odd. One thing was the whole character of Mrs. MacAvoy. From the beginning, to me, she doesn't exactly seem that sympathetic to Carley's situation. When she drops her off, she says 'good luck'...whether to Carley or the Murphys isn't specified, but I thought that was uhh...kind of weird? I also thought it was strange how Mrs. MacAvoy only visited Carley once, and that was only because Carley called. She also didn't accompany her whenever Carley visited her mom for the first time, and that just seemed strange and inaccurate.
I also wasn't pleased with the ending (Carley going back with her mom). I think her mom should have had to 'prove herself' a bit more, but no...Carley just goes right back to the same life she had before her mom got married. I really hope that Carley is able to keep in contact with the Murphys. I think having Mrs. Murphy in her life will help keep her motivated to make a life of her own, rather than the life her mom has forced her into.
I liked Carley's personality and the development of her attitude throughout the story. She has been forced to be a sassy, independent young lady due to her mother's neglect (because, let's just be honest, that's just what it is). In the beginning, she is upset at being put in a foster home, which makes total sense- her mom and the life she has with her is all she's ever known. She displays blatant misbehavior and disrespect, but she shows conflict with herself about her behavior- she wants to hate it with her foster family, but she slowly finds herself falling in love with the idea of having a loving family.
I love that Mrs. Murphy is shown as a loving, patient mother who sometimes gets annoyed and loses her temper. I even love how it shows that Mr. Murphy isn't so keen on having Carley around, although he's able to warm up to her and see that she isn't as bad as she tries to make herself seem in the beginning. I liked the development of Carley and Toni's relationship, and I loved her relationship and love for the Murphy boys. Oh, and I'd be totally remiss if I didn't mention how much I loved her social studies teacher, Mr. Ruben. I couldn't help giggling when he made his own tragedy by pairing up students who didn't like each other. Most teachers are sneaky when they do this, but he just lets them know right off the bat haha.
Okay, now for what I didn't like...mostly, what I didn't like was based on what I see as inaccuracies with the foster care system. I'm not an expert on foster care, by any means, but these are some things I found a little odd. One thing was the whole character of Mrs. MacAvoy. From the beginning, to me, she doesn't exactly seem that sympathetic to Carley's situation. When she drops her off, she says 'good luck'...whether to Carley or the Murphys isn't specified, but I thought that was uhh...kind of weird? I also thought it was strange how Mrs. MacAvoy only visited Carley once, and that was only because Carley called. She also didn't accompany her whenever Carley visited her mom for the first time, and that just seemed strange and inaccurate.
I also wasn't pleased with the ending (Carley going back with her mom). I think her mom should have had to 'prove herself' a bit more, but no...Carley just goes right back to the same life she had before her mom got married. I really hope that Carley is able to keep in contact with the Murphys. I think having Mrs. Murphy in her life will help keep her motivated to make a life of her own, rather than the life her mom has forced her into.