Murphy, Rita

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Murphy, Rita

Personal

Married; children: one son.

Career

Author and educator.

Awards, Honors

Delacorte Press Prize for First Young-Adult Novel, 1999, for Night Flying.

Writings

Night Flying, Delacorte (New York, NY), 2000.

Black Angels, Delacorte (New York, NY), 2001.

Harmony, Delacorte (New York, NY), 2002.

Looking for Lucy Buick, Delacorte (New York, NY), 2005.

Adaptations

Night Flying was adapted as an audiobook.

Sidelights

There was a time when author Rita Murphy literally wrote in the closet. Writing was hobby then, and in order to keep from bothering her husband and son in the family's one-room apartment, "I pulled a lamp and my computer into a closet where I wouldn't disturb them," Murphy explained to Publishers Weekly contributor Shannon Maughan. Murphy's writing habits changed after her first novel, Night Flying, was selected for the Delecorte Press Prize for First Young-Adult Novel. "Murphy's work station has moved from the closet to a desk near the kitchen, where she now writes for about four hours each morning," Maughan explained.

Night Flying introduces almost-sixteen-year-old Georgia Hansen. Like all of the women in her family, Georgia can fly. Of course, she must obey the rules of her domineering grandmother, the same rules the whole family must obey. Then Georgia meets her Aunt Carmen, who was cast out of the family years before. As Georgia begins to uncover old family secrets and lies, she must ultimately decide whether to honor family tradition or choose her own path. Murphy "infuses Georgia's narrative voice with a naïve lyricism that beautifully captures the human desire to soar," wrote Debbie Carton in a review of Night Flying for Booklist. A Publishers Weekly critic commented that the novelist "seamlessly links the metaphor of flying with Georgia's rite of passage."

In Black Angels, Murphy moves from fantasy to the real-life town of Mystic, Georgia. The year is 1961, when Celli, who lives on the white side of town, discovers that her father is half black and passing for white. Confused by the racial tensions erupting in her town, Celli must now decide where she will stand along the racial divide. While Hazel Rochman wrote in Booklist that parts of the plot are contrived, "what will hold readers is the young girl's viewpoint of politics coming to town and right into her home."

In Harmony Murphy returns to the fantastic; Harmony is a young girl who came to her parents from the stars. She has incredible powers, and is able to make things happen with only a thought. Fitting into her small mountain community is a challenge for Harmony, however, and she has to learn how to use her gifts for the good of the community. "Once again, Murphy introduces us to strong female characters and adds a touch of the super-natural as well," wrote Paula Rohrlick in Kliatt. A Kirkus Reviews contributor dubbed the novel "a magical story written with a light, lyrical touch" that is "always rooted in the particulars of the mountain setting," and GraceAnne A. DeCandido wrote in Booklist that Murphy uses "sweet, sharp language as clear as the scent of pine."

Looking for Lucy Buick is a contemporary novel about a girl who grows up among a family of surrogate aunts and uncles. The reason?: Lucy was discovered, as an infant, in the back seat of a Buick won by an "aunt" in a bet. Lucy grows up determined to find her birth family, who she refers to as the Buicks, and when she turns eighteen, a fire allows her to fake her own death and make her way from New York to Iowa. There, Lucy

finds, not her birth family, but a colorful cast of people who become a real family to her. Nicole Marcuccilli, writing in School Library Journal, considered Murphy's novel "an excellent read about a teen searching for her identity and where she belongs," while a Kirkus Reviews contributor dubbed Looking for Lucy Buick "sweet and light as a feather but with the substantial charm of music or a summer's day."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 2000, Debbie Carton, review of Night Flying, p. 809; February 15, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of Black Angels, p. 1149; March 15, 2001, review of Night Flying, p. 1366; September 15, 2002, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Harmony, p. 222; October 15, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of Looking for Lucy Buick, p. 47.

Book Report, May, 2001, Heather Hepler, review of Night Flying, p. 61.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January, 2001, review of Night Flying, p. 190; March, 2001, review of Black Angels, p. 272; January, 2006, Deborah Stevenson, review of Looking for Lucy Buick, p. 243.

Horn Book, September, 2000, Lauren Adams, review of Night Flying, p. 577; January-February, 2003, Lauren Adams, review of Harmony, p. 81; January-February, 2006, Philip Charles Crawford, review of Looking for Lucy Buick, p. 85.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002, review of Harmony, p. 1316.

Kliatt, July, 2002, Paula Rohrlick, review of Night Flying, p. 31; November, 2002, Paula Rohrlick, review of Harmony, p. 14; November, 2005, Myrna Marler, review of Looking for Lucy Buick, p. 9.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2000, review of Night Flying, p. 77; December 18, 2000, Shannon Maughan, "Rita Murphy," p. 28; February 5, 2001, review of Black Angels, p. 89; April 22, 2002, review of Night Flying, p. 73; September 23, 2002, review of Harmony, p. 73.

School Library Journal, November, 2000, Sharon Grover, review of Night Flying, p. 160; July, 2001, Louise L. Sherman, review of Black Angels, p. 111; October, 2002, Saleena L. Davidson, review of Harmony, p. 169; November, 2005, Nicole Marcuccilli, review of Looking for Lucy Buick, p. 143.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 2000, review of Night Flying, p. 277; December, 2002, review of Harmony, p. 400.