Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd [Hardcover]

Mame Farrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 1995 | Grade Level: 5 and up

Twelve-year-old Hannah believes she's been promised in marriage to Malcolm Murgatroyd, the son of her parents' best friends, who happens to be the biggest geek in her class.

Editorial Reviews

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.

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (October 23, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374348383
• ISBN-13: 978-0374348380
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,819,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE THIS BOOK!!, February 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd (Hardcover)

I love this book! It deals with how cruel children can be when they are part of the "in" group as opposed to the "out" group. It alsos shows that no matter how bad someone may look, it doesn't determine the size of their heart.

4.0 out of 5 stars great book, July 25, 2006

By 

Alicia Mahia "Ala Ala Bing-bang" (Ala Ala Bing-bang) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd (Sunburst Book) (Paperback)

Marrying Malcolm (by- Mesme Farrel)

This book is about the popular girl Hannah Billings. She is just the girl who wants to be liked and popular everything that Malcolm Murgatroyd is not. He is basically a person who does not fit in. He is bad at sports, carries around a stuffed- animal, and many embarrassing things. But Hanna's parents, and his parents have been friends like forever, and Hannah has grown up with Malcolm, but no one else knows this. This is her secret, and she tries to keep it while writing her autobiography, but of course this is hard. Hannah has a brother named Ian, and he has Muscular Dystrophy, and he is in a wheel-chair. The condition is a big struggle for her to face, but Malcolm always makes Ian feel better. Malcolm just is different, he is special. Hannah has to choose to be popular or to do what is right, and to deal with (what her parents have planned) marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd.

4.0 out of 5 stars Taylor loves It!!!, October 26, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd (Hardcover)

Marrying Malcom Mugatroyd is a fiction novel written by Mame Farrell. Once I started reading, I got hooked. It's about a sweet, young girl, named Hannah, and basically her life. It's a must read book.

Hannah is a 6th grade girl trying to fit in. She is embarresed of the fact that her family is best friends with the school nerd, Malcom. She is acually promised to him!!! He is teased and made fun of almost every day by almost every body. She finds her self sticking up for him because of the fact that he is her brother's, Ian, best and only friend. Ian has a tough life because of his muscular dystrophy. Which means he rolls around his his wheel chair. Hannah goes through some hard and some funny times. Including her first boy-girl party, Ian being rushed to the hospital, holding hands with her dream boy, plus all the normal things teenagers worry about. She just hopes nobody finds out about her secret and embarresing life with Malcom.

Even though it's a fiction book, I could easily relate to it. The characters were all very well known and very beilievable.

This story is a funny, make you smile, make you cry kind of book. Even her friends admit that "Hannah is just a nice person." I loved it.