Where I'd Like To Be by Frances O'Roark Dowell As soon as Murphy is introduced to the other girls in the Home, she lets them know that Murphy's not her real name. Murphy has *four* boxes to unpack, making her stories of anthropologist parents and awesome adventures seem almost believable. Maddie thinks that Murphy is exiting. She wants to be friends with Murphy, but Murphy makes it a little hard when she befriends Logan, the most unapolagetic nerd ever. When Logan and Murphy decide to build a house, Murphy draws Maddie and her friend Ricky Ray into the project. Realizing that they need to learn more to build a house, they go to the library, where Donita tells them that they don't have the land or the know-how to build a house, and should build a fort instead. And so they do.
The story is narrated by Maddie, who focuses mostly on Murphy. There's a lot of foreshadowing telling us that Murphy isn't who she claims to be, but the reader gets to judge Murphy before finding out who she is. The style is frank but never rude. The ending is totally out of the blue, with not much relevance to the story; perfect for a sequel.
Happy reading.
