One for the Murphys book cover
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One for the Murphys

By Lynda Mullaly Hunt

From the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Fish in a Tree

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.

“Hunt’s writing is fearless and One For The Murphys is a story that is at once compassionate, thought-provoking and beautifully told. From the first page, I was drawn into Carley’s story. She is a character not to be missed or forgotten.” —Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

Winner of the Tassy Walden Award for New Voice in Children’s Literature

Educator Resources

  • One for the Murphys Discussion Guide

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  • One for the Murphys Educator Guide

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State Awards

Recommended reading lists from your state's teacher or librarian associations!
  • Connecticut
    • Nutmeg Book Award, 2015
  • Florida
    • Florida Reading Association Children's Book Award, 2012-2013
    • Sunshine State Young Readers Award, 2013-2014
  • Illinois
    • Chicago Public School Battle of the Books, 2014
    • Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award, 2015
  • Oklahoma
    • Children's Sequoyah, 2015
  • Alaska
    • Battle of the Books, 2014-2015
  • Colorado
    • Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2013-2014
    • Colorado Children's Book Award, 2013-2014
  • Missouri
    • Truman Readers Award, 2014-2015
  • Maryland
    • Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 2014-2015
  • Vermont
    • Dorothy Canfield Fischer, 2013-2014
  • New Hampshire
    • Great Stone Face Book Award, 2013-2014
  • Iowa
    • Iowa Teen Book Award, 2013-2014
  • Kentucky
    • Bluegrass Book Award, 2013-2014
  • Pennsylvania
    • Keystone to Reading Book Award, 2013-2014
    • Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award, 2014-2015
  • Louisiana
    • Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award, 2014-2015
  • Maine
    • Maine Student Book Awards, 2013-2014
  • Minnesota
    • Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award, 2015-2016
  • Oregon
    • Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB), 2014-2015
  • South Carolina
    • South Carolina Junior Book Award, 2014-2015
  • Virginia
    • Virginia Readers Choice Book Award, 2014-2015
  • Tennessee
    • Volunteer State Book Award, 2013-2014
  • South Dakota
    • YARP: Young Adult Reading Program Reading List, 2013-2014
  • Indiana
    • Young Hoosier Book Awards, 2014-2015

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