Books with title Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd

What's worse than an arranged marriage? A "fiance" like MalcolmTwelve-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. She knows that she'd be laughed right out of school if her friends knew about her embarrassing family history with the Murgadork. but Hannah can't just turn her back on him -- after all, he's the only person who knows how to cheer up her younger brother, whose muscular dystrophy has confined him to a wheelchair. In this bittersweet first novel, the engaging, true-to-life Hannah struggles to the realization that kindness and happiness don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Ever since she can remember, Hannah Billings has been sticking up for Malcolm Murgatroyd, the most hated kid in school. Not only are they growing up together, but they will probably grow old together as well. And she can't get away from him even if she wanted to. Not only are their parents best friends, but Malcolm is the only person who can make her little brother, Ian, laugh. With Hannah's friends getting suspicious, and Malcolm doing more and more strange things, it's getting harder for her to do what's right: remain his one true friend. This realistically written story of family, friendship and coming-of-age makes Mame Farrell one of the top authors of young adult fiction in America today. Narrator Alyssa Bresnahan wonderfully captures the full range of adolescent experiences: embarrassment, frustration, unexpected crises and joy.

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. Add to the equation a younger brother afflicted with muscular dystrophy (Malcolm, by the way, is his only friend). 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.