HOW TO WRITE THE SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR LIFE BY FIONA HARDY
Murphy Parker is a quiet person and as a consequence doesn’t say much. Her other Grade 6 classmates generally ignore her which suits her just fine. Her passion is music and composing songs on her old keyboard. She rarely plays any of her songs out loud – she doesn’t want others to hear her work, there are only a few she trusts to listen.
Murphy lives with her aunt and uncle and cousins Junie and Axel. Her dad Sam, visits most days and they hang out together at music stores or kid-friendly gigs. Sam suffers from depression and so sometimes he can’t manage everyday things, but that’s okay because his family looks out for him.
One day during music, one of Murphy’s songs is heard by the class and she is amazed that they really like it. She’s also not sure she likes the attention it brings. But overnight everything changes, someone else is playing her song on YouTube and saying it’s theirs. Now her class thinks she’s a liar and a cheat and Murphy can’t think how to make them believe her. The music thief must be discovered and a couple of kids, Zara and Avery, come to the rescue. Can they find the person responsible for stealing Murphy’s music? And how can they convince everyone that Murphy Parker is no cheat?
This is Fiona Hardy’s second novel after How to Make a Movie in 12 Days. She has written a wonderful picture of school life with characters every reader can identify with. Murphy the shy composer, Zara the radical political activist and a host of others. And just a heads up - the chapters are named after music tracks and refer to what is going on in the story which I find fabulous. Also, at the end of the book Murphy’s class has to choose a song that is important to their family. It gives a great insight into how complex people’s lives can be and that perhaps we shouldn’t judge others so quickly. This story is about trust, friendship and acceptance and will engage any reader right from the start.
For Ages: 10 + years
Number of Pages: 272
Published: August 2020
Themes: Family, acceptance, friendship and mental health
Rating: 4.5/5
I wish: I’ve downloaded the soundtrack of the chapter headings.