- Paperback: 121 pages
- Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre / Not Applicable (Sep 1 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0374447446
- ISBN-13: 978-0374447441
- Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 13.1 x 0.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 91 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #797,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
A major credibility problem hobbles this first novel before it can get off the ground. Hannah cherishes her standing with the so-called Popular Kids above all else, to the point where she has almost a double life. At school, she is as cool as everyone else, shunning geeky Malcolm Murgatroyd. But at home she socializes with Malcolm regularly, because his parents and her parents are the best of friends. When Hannah has to assemble a scrapbook for a class project, she realizes that all her family photos show Malcolm, too-her deep, dark secret is about to be revealed. It's easy to imagine a 12-year-old desperately concerned with fitting in, but when Hannah's otherwise sensible parents permit her to carry on her pretense, the stretch becomes impossible. Add to the equation a younger brother afflicted with muscular dystrophy (Malcolm, by the way, is his only friend), and Hannah's preoccupations seem even less earth-shattering. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6?Hannah, 12, has problems: her third-grade brother Ian's muscular dystrophy embarrasses her, and she must hide her friendship (since infancy) with sixth-grade classmate Malcolm Murgatroyd (also known as Murgadork), son of her parents' best friends. (In fact, their families have projected their marriage since their births). What's a popular girl to do? After Ian has a serious brush with death, she makes her choice and publicly acknowledges the importance of both boys in her life. Written in the first person, the book has some funny, touching moments. The central characters are well drawn, with Malcolm a determined free-thinker and Hannah a convincingly conflicted young woman. Her school clique is a frightening mass of shallow, judgmental adolescents with raging hormones. So far, it rings true. However, the book lacks detail to place it in time; the social texture suggests the 1950s, but the landscape lacks evidence to place it there or anywhere else. At book's conclusion, Hannah reads her autobiography aloud to her class: "My future plans include going to college, doing volunteer work for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, and someday, if I'm lucky, marrying someone like Malcolm Murgatroyd." Which, she says in the next sentence, "is exactly what I did." The sudden change in voice from present to past is jarring. Certainly, the experience of the child in this novel is valid, but her marriage expectations in combination with the time-warp effect imply that this is a work of historical, not contemporary, fiction. This is a first novel by a writer who shows promise.?Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Murgatroyd is Marvelous,
By A Customer
This review is from: Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd (Paperback)
Malcolm Murgatroyd is a geek. Hannah is friends with Malcolm and she is a cool girl. Hannah doesn't want anyone to know that Malcolm's mom and dad and her mom and dad are friends. She makes Malcolm swear that he won't tell anyone that they are friends too because she wants to keep up her cool act with her school friends. Hannah has a brother named Ian who has Muscular Dystrophy. Malcolm is the only one that can make Ian laugh. Hannah's mom and dad constantly tell her that one day she'll marry someone like Malcolm which drives Hannah crazy. Will Hannah decide that Malcolm is A-OK or keep up the secret friendship with him? Read the book and find out!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Handling Peer Pressure,
By A Customer
This review is from: Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd (Paperback)
Our mother-daughter book club read this book when the girls were in 4th grade. The girls said this was one of the best books we had read because this was what "it really felt like" for them in school. They felt it accurately portrayed how kids treat the "nerds" or kids who are different in school and how hard it is to stick up for those being picked on for fear of getting the same treatment done to you. It is a great discussion book for schools, parents and kids, etc. I was really surprised when my daughter said that she would have done exactly what Hannah did at the party because it's too hard to go against the crowd. It led to a wonderful learning opportunity. She then suggested to her teacher that they read it in school because her class was dealing with a similar incident.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exelent Book, great suspense, fabulous plot,
By A Customer
This review is from: Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd (Paperback)
I think that you should definatly read this book, but only if you are 10 and a half or older, because it's kind of intense.When I read this book I was in 4th grade, but then again, in 4th grade I hade an 8th grad reading level. Anyway, if you want to read a fantastic, well writen book, READ THIS ONE!
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