Where I'd Like To Be

Maddie grew up happy, even though her mother left her and she didn't know who her father was. For awhile, she lived with a dear old woman she called Granny Lane, until diabetes made it impossible for her to care for a child. Now living in a home with other children from various home situations, Maddie meets the new girl, Murphy, and thinks they might become friends. She has no idea how much of an impact Murphy will have on her life and that of some of the other children in the town.

I read this story once before, but it was maybe seven years ago and I'd completely forgotten what happens. Denise Wilbanks' narration has a Southern lilt that helped me remember that the story is set in Tennessee, another detail I'd forgotten. Where I'd Like show more to Be perfectly captures the tensions, worries, and joys of childhood friendship as Maddie, Murphy, and their friends go to school together, play together, fight and make up. Maddie narrates so we have her perspective perfectly, while her descriptions of the others' actions give us insight into their points of view as well. In some ways, I was reminded of The Egypt Game, though the imaginative stories of these children are much closer to home, so to speak. Listening to the audio, I missed some of the details either by being distracted or because the reading was drawn out over a week, but I've made a note that I want to read it again. show less

Maddie lives in an orphanage in the present day. She is more or less at peace with her situation, and her best friend is the much younger six year old boy Ricky Ray. Until Murphy comes to the Home. Murphy is one of those magnetic people with whom everyone wants to be friends. Their friendship is tenuous at first, but grows stronger as the two them, Ricky Ray, Donita (another girl from the Home) and a well off boy from their middle school all become a little clique of their own on a mission to build a fort.
The book takes a tragic turn towards the end, and I cried along with Maddie. But there is a redeeming conclusion.

A group of foster children build a home of their own. A ghost saved 12-year-old Maddie's life when she was an infant, her Granny Lane claims, so Maddie must always remember that she is special. But it's hard to feel special when you've spent your life being shuffled from one foster home to another.

This fiction book is about a girl who claims she was saved by a ghost when she was an infant, which makes her feel special. The main character, Murphy, grows up in many different foster homes in Tennessee. She tries to feel accepted into a home, so she creates a book of houses where she would like to live someday. This book has notable features such as descriptive words to imagine what is happening in the book. I would use this book as an instructional application to introduce the importance of identity.

A VERY good book about a girl at a children's home (Maddie) who befriends the new girl, Murphy. Murphy tells outragous stories and is clearly hiding things, but Maddie becomes very close to her and learns what true friendship is about when things turn bad.

' Where I'd Like To Be ' is a lovely story about friendships, hopes and dreams. Maddie is a highly imaginative young lady especially when it comes to her uncertain future. Many young adult readers are able to relate to that particular aspect of her character. ' Where I'd Like To Be ' is a rather slow paced tale of a young girl wanting to belong who comes to the realizatoin that she has much to offer her friends and a potential adoptive family. There is no 'wow' factor seeing as the storyline is fairly predicatble. ' Where I'd Like To Be ' is a nice story about a young girl's visualization of her hopes for the future.

Frances O’Roark Dowell
Where I’d Like To Be
Maddie is taken to the East Tennessee Children’s Home where she meets Donita, Ricky Ray, and Murphy, who comes after Maddie. When Maddie and the other children go to school, they meet a boy named Logan. Murphy convinces the group to make a fort. When they make the fort, they also make two books named the Book of Houses and the Book of People. Murphy shows Olivia, Katha, Brandon, and Jason the Book of People and it gets destroyed. Murphy then gets taken away by her mother and Maddie has to make a hard decision between being adopted or staying at the Home. Maddie chooses to stay at the Home because that is where she feels at home.
The cover is of a girl sitting inside a drawing of a house. show more I think this cover is appealing because it makes you wonder about the girl and who she is.
If you enjoy touching stories about orphans or friendship then this is a great book to read. show less