One for the Murphys

I loved how the slow and steady influence of a foster family’s kindness healed the deeply scarred and traumatized Carley.

I love stories that celebrate and uplift kindness and healing but don’t shy away from the tough stuff, either. Too many children face very hard realities. Books need to portray them! It helps kids to understand and to heal.

Lynda Mallaly Hunt is one of my favorite Middle-Grade authors. She is a fantastic storyteller. She creates authentic and relatable characters, and I would recommend all of her books, but One for the Murphys is the one that best fits the theme of this list. I connected deeply with Carely’s struggles with missing her mom but feeling betrayed by her and mistrusting the seeming perfection of her foster family and yet desperately wanting to belong in their world. This book is a powerful look at what it means to be a family of any kind. 

One for the Murphys is another story about a kid in foster care, but this time it isn’t due to abandonment. Carley Connors has been betrayed by her mother in the worst possible way. Still, Carley is terrified of being placed in a new family, confirming that sometimes you think the horror you know is better than the one you imagine. The author takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions as Carley learns what give-and-take in a stable family means. I love the message of hope even though the ending wasn’t what I was wishing for, but then… show more.