Review: One for the Murphys

One for the Murphys

by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

 

Book Description:

Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong--until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live. She's not really a Murphy, but the gifts they've given her have opened up a new future.

Review:
This book was an emotional rollercoaster ride! Carley was a great narrator with a story that will just twist your gut... there were moments that I started to cry because I couldn't believe poor Carley's situation with her mom, but then I would find myself grinning like a maniac as she played with the Murphy boys.  When Carley has to decide what to do for the rest of her life... it was such a bittersweet decision.

Even though this book is geared for a slightly younger audience, I would absolutely recommend this story for anyone who loves realistic and emotional stories.

Review: Live Through This

Live Through This
by Mindi Scott

Book Description:

If Coley Sterling’s best friend would stop hating her, if her dance-team captains would lighten up, if her friends would stop asking her about Reece, the geeky sax player she’s crushing on—then her life would be perfect. Right? After all, Coley’s stepdad is a successful attorney who gives Coley and her siblings everything, and her mother will stop at nothing to keep them all happy and safe—including having escaped ten years ago from the abuse of Coley’s real father. But Coley is keeping a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully crafted facade. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and a decade’s worth of Coley’s lies are on the verge of unraveling—along with the life she thought she knew.

 

Review:

This. This is a doozy of a book. It is gripping, it is un-put-downable. Once I had gotten about 20 pages in, there was no stopping. I read straight through until the last page, tears streaming down my face in several spots, shivers running down my spine. I could not tear myself away.

This is not a book for everyone. The author doesn't really worry about being very open about what's happening between Coley and her boyfriend, or Coley and the person who has crossed the line with her... For some people this book may be a little too much. Too hard to read.

I would really only recommend this book to very mature readers in grades 11 and up.