Publishers Weekly - Publisher's 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. (Oct.)
School Library Journal
Gr 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
JAN 98 - AudioFile
Sixth-grader Hannah always sticks up for geeky Malcolm because he’s her younger brother’s best friend and because, unbeknownst to her classmates, she grew up with him. Concerned with her image amongst the popular crowd, Hannah makes some mistakes in judgment, grows from them and finally realizes who her true friends are when tragedy strikes her family in the form of muscular dystrophy. Alyssa Bresnahan’s youthful energy wonderfully captures preteen mood swings with a full palette of emotions: embarrassment, bravado, nervousness, anger, joy. Especially good at dialogue, Bresnahan does a fine job varying her voice from character to character --sympathetic yet stern parents, exuberant children, hopeful Ian, nerdy Malcolm and oft-confused Hannah. Author Farrell’s empathetic grasp of preteen concerns and of a family’s struggle with muscular dystrophy results in a realistic, coming-of-age story that is funny, moving and a touch sad. J.H.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine
