One for the Murphys ~ Lynda Mullaly Hunt

This novel hit me hard and to my core. When 12-year-old Carley Connors experiences a horrifying night with her mother and abusive stepfather, Carley is placed in foster care. Fortunately, she is placed with the Murphys, a kind-hearted and loving family with three young boys. Initially, Carley doesn’t know how to react to the way that Mrs. Murphy makes her feel. Carley isn’t familiar with the love and attention that Mrs. Murphy offers. It doesn’t take long, though, for Carley to feel comfortable in the Murphy home. She even begins to like it and wish that she had grown up differently. Although Carley misses certain parts of living with her mom, she wants a different life than the one she was raised in. But Carley may not have a choice when her mother asks to regain custody of her daughter…This novel is an incredible story of developing inner strength and recognizing our own self worth. Carley’s story is sure to pull at the heartstrings of all of your students. I would recommend this book as a class read aloud or an independent reading choice for students grade 5 and up!

Buy it here!  

Maturity: 1/4This novel is appropriate for most readers age 10 and up.  However, Carley is physically abused by her stepfather before she is placed in foster care, and her mother was also brutally abused. If a student is sensitive to this kind of content, I may not recommend this novel.

Pages: 224

Lexile: 520L

Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!

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