As well as its outstanding depiction of parental mental illness, How to Write the Soundtrack to Your Life had impressive disability representation. Murphy’s classmate and friend, Zara, was bold and fierce and unafraid to stand up for what she believed in. She also happened to be a wheelchair user. Not only did Fiona Hardy offer disabled readers a character they could relate to, she also highlighted some of the advantages of disability inclusion. Being friends with Zara made Murphy and the other characters more aware of the inaccessibility of the world around them. As Murphy’s friend Avery put it, “you notice every single place you go to and how Zara-unfriendly they are.”
Murphy Parker is going to be a songwriter – if she can ever find the courage to let anyone hear her music. When Murphy dares to play one of her songs in a music class, she’s shocked by how much her classmates love it. And her. That is, until the next day, when they hear a suspiciously similar tune and accuse Murphy of stealing.
Someone is playing Murphy’s music and claiming it as their own. But who? And why? Desperate to clear her name and reclaim her songs, Murphy makes an unlikely alliance. But it turns out that friendship might be even more complicated than tracking down a song thief…
I really like the rich characters that Fiona captures through her stories. I think Laura captures this well in her review:
