Walking Home with Marie-Claire
Age Guide:: Older Children/Young Adult - 10-14 years
The day Marie-Claire walks into PJ’s life, everything changes. Whether they are wagging school or just hanging out on the beach, Marie-Claire can make any day an adventure. But why won’t she let PJ visit her house? What really happened to her older brother? And why won’t she listen when PJ tries to steer them out of trouble?
In 1973, I started a short story about a girl who was a mixture of everything I loved and everything that drove me crazy in my friends. I never finished the short story but when I grew up it became a novel. Some things never change and being thirteen years old is always complicated.
Walking Home with Marie-Claire is about being brave and crazy and loyal. It’s about making the wrong choices and doing the right thing. It’s about the stories girls tell and the secrets friends keep. It’s about growing up and still being yourself, no matter what.
Awards
CBCA Notable Book 2003
WAYRBA (West Australian Young Readers Book Award) Shortlist 2004
Reviews
Kirsty Murray’s latest novel nicely captures the spirit of the era without overdoing it. Nostalgia is never allowed to creep in and spoil the realism. The characters are well drawn, with the mysterious Marie-Claire being an edgy blend of free-spiritedness and dishonesty.
Bella’s Books – online reviews November/December 2002
For all its apparent simplicity, the pace of this short book builds smoothly and the conclusion is compelling. Murray captures well the immediate spark and ferocious intensity of childhood friendships in this gentle and thoughtful book about a girl who learns that, when it comes to standing up, her own two feet are as good as any.
Virginia Klooger Sydney Morning Herald February 2003
Behind The Book: Walking Home with Marie-Claire
Want to know how the book was written? Explore the research, notes and inspiration that went into the creation of the book.
+ Buy Signed Edition
Walking Home with Marie-Claire at The Little Bookroom
I've partnered with Melbourne-based bookshop The Little Bookroom to sell signed editions of this book. Just write 'SIGNED' in the Notes section at Checkout.