Books with author Murphy

Jimmy Murphy’s sixth grade teacher, Sister Angelica Rose, is out to get him. She humiliates him in class and punishes him when he hasn’t done anything wrong. She even forces him to perform onstage with second-graders, wearing a giant green banana costume. A classic underachiever with a talent for trouble, Jimmy wants revenge, and with his friends he plans a prank that will embarrass Sister Angelica in front of the whole school. What could possibly go wrong?

Jaykriss is a typical teenager. He’s bored with school, the girl he loves doesn’t even know he’s alive, and he and his mother disagree—a lot. The village Jaykriss lives in lies deep in a primevalforest. Life there is simple, and is predicated upon day-to-day survival. As his father is gone, Jaykriss must provide for his mother and sister. That is his primary role in life--and he is good at it. But Jaykriss is restless. He is curious and inquisitive. And he wants desperately to avenge the death of his father Glyndich--a warrior killed by a fearsome dragon known only as the Thrax.So how does a mere boy of fourteen who is simply trying to keep his family alive kill a legendary beast thought to be nearly invincible? To kill the Thrax, one must first find it. On a routine hunting trip, Jaykriss and his best friend encounter the Thrax at last. The terrifying creature chases them mercilessly through the darkening forest--and the boys eventually stumble into the refuge of an eccentric hermit whose home is filled with books from ancient times. The hermit teaches Jaykriss that all is not as it seems in his world. The mutants and dragons that populate their world are actually relics of a long-ago biological disaster. The Dark King, a ruler they revere as a god, is a vicious tyrant who will do anything to stay in power. Jaykriss realizes that there may be more to his life than he initially thought. He might be able to someday vanquish the Thrax. He may, in fact, be The One who Leads, prophesied to save the entire human race. But is Jaykriss truly ready for his destiny--or will that destiny consume him?

What creates a championship team? Spirit, determination, and a legacy that refuses to die. Game of My Life Auburn Tigers is a collection of the greatest Tigers moments from past and present as seen through the eyes of the players themselves. In this newly-updated collection, Mark Murphy has brought together passionate Auburn football players to share their fondest experiences and memories. Some of these games involve championships, including the heart stopping BCS Championship Game victory over Oregon in January 2011, while others seem ordinary save for extraordinary personal meaning. In each case, it is the player who singles out the game, the moment in time that to him is the most defining of his Auburn Tiger football career. Each player has his own unique story, but together they weave a tapestry of Auburn's legendary history. Heisman Trophy-winners Pat Sullivan and Cam Newton, along with many of the great names in Auburn history, such as All-Americans Jackie Burkett, Tucker Frederickson, and Tre Mason and fan favorites such as Joe Cribbs and Jason Campbell are profiled in this unique book. Game of My Life Auburn Tigers takes readers down memory lane, while also providing an in-depth look into the men and games that helped shape and build the Auburn football tradition and heritage.

This is a coming-of-age memoir, written from the perspective of Laura Murphy, the older of the two children of Marie and Kevin Murphy. Laura takes the reader along on an awkward journey of her pre and adolescent years as first, her parents separate and then, her mother is courted by and marries the parish priest. Her father, meanwhile, runs off with the family furniture, abandons their dogs and bails on his financial responsibilities to the family.As the years go by, the kid’s constant babysitter, Grandma Mo, starts acting out in early stages of dementia and Laura, herself, is falsely diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Laura struggles to find her own path as the people around her spin out of control, weaving a web of mixed conceptions of what is normal and pure chaos. This memoir about betrayal, survival and family, written in a first person and quirky child narrator’s voice, toggles humor and pathos without sentimentalism.

Every account of the American Revolution mentions Benedict Arnold and brands him—correctly—as a traitor. There’s no question that Arnold, an American army officer, switched his loyalty to the British side. Over the years, however, historians, partisans, and gossips have added to Arnold’s unsavory reputation by distorting, embroidering, or simply ignoring factual details. In this informed and thoughtful account, Jim Murphy goes in search of the real man behind the “traitor” label, rumors, and folktales that became part of the Benedict Arnold legend. Drawing on Arnold’s few surviving writings and on the letters, memoirs, and political documents of his contemporaries, Murphy builds a fascinating portrait of a brilliant man, consistently undervalued by his peers, who made a choice that continues to reverberate through American history. Dramatic accounts of crucial battles and political maneuvers round out this lively biography of a patriot who could have been a hero.

Jimmy Murphy’s sixth grade teacher, Sister Angelica Rose, is out to get him. She humiliates him in class and punishes him when he hasn’t done anything wrong. She even forces him to perform onstage with second-graders, wearing a giant green banana costume. A classic underachiever with a talent for trouble, Jimmy wants revenge, and with his friends he plans a prank that will embarrass Sister Angelica in front of the whole school. What could possibly go wrong?

The Alphabet Keeper keeps all the letters caged in the dark. But one day they escape while she’s cleaning their cage–and then there is no stopping them! The clever letters are on the loose, rearranging themselves at every turn. With a few quick moves, the Alphabet Keeper’s hat becomes a cat. A bus turns into a bush. A rock changes into a rocket. And the flyaway alphabet is on its way to a final farewell!