Harmony

by Rita Murphy

Harmony McLean has been different from the moment she was discovered. When a falling star struck his chicken coop, Felix McGillicuddy never expected to find a baby girl miraculously left behind. He names her after the harmony of spheres in honor of her celestial arrival, and his wife, Nettie Mae McLean, gives Harmony her strong Irish surname to keep her grounded.

Soon after her 15th birthday, something special begins coursing through Harmony–the power to move objects and affect the universe with her energy. But this mountain-bred girl is looking for a way to fit into the big world, not stand out any more than she already does.

In this powerful novel from the writer of Night Flying , a young woman must learn to accept who she is before she can claim the magic that has chosen her.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Family

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 8, 2002

About the author

Rita Murphy is the author of Night Flying (2000), Black Angels (2001), Harmony (2002), Looking For Lucy Buick (2005), Bird (2008) and Hurricane Henry (2025).

Night Flying, winner of the Delacorte Press Prize at Random House Children's Books, was voted a Best Book for Young Adults by The American Library Association and Smithsonian Magazine.

Rita studied at the University of Vermont and Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She has been a creative writing instructor at The Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica, Breadloaf Young Writers Conference in Vermont, and guest author in Vermont Public Schools.

Rita lives with her family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What couldn't you love: coming of age star child with powers?

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was going to be like Stardust, (which I have not read but I have seen the movie). I thought it was going to be about finding out if Harmony was a star and her dealing with her new found powers. How Harmony came to live with Felix and Nettie Mae is briefly mentioned in the beginning, then never addressed again. Her powers are also mentioned briefly in the beginning, but then they get pushed to the back burner. There is also a story line of a logging company wanting to cut down trees on Harmony's property, and her and her family want to stop them. This book was a coming of age story, with a just a hint of "magic". Even though it wasn't what I was expecting, I still really enjoyed it. I wish there were more scenes of Harmony experimenting with her powers, and seeing the consequences of that. The book felt a little rushed, and all the problems were solved a little too quickly and easily. Though, there was one "problem" I wish was solved differently. I still enjoyed Harmony and her story, I just wish it had been a little longer and a few things more flushed out.

[Mason]

DNF

[Somesuchlike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, Rita Murphy sure does like foundlings, doesn't she? This is the first of three novels about teenage girls who were found in mysterious circumstances as infants (the other two being Looking for Lucy Buick and Bird). Ms Murphy is a somewhat formulaic writer, shall we say.

Which isn't to say that's a bad thing. Her first three novels all feature some kind of political or social issue combined with a fantasy element, set against the backdrop of a U.S. state: here it's environmentalism, paranormal abilities, and rural Tennessee. Harmony is a girl who may or may not be a fallen star (a la Neil Gaiman's Stardust, I suppose) who uses her mysterious paranormal powers to save the trees.

But that's really not a good description of Harmony. It's not really about the trees or the paranormal; it's about a teenage girl facing issues of life, death and first love. It's very sincere and genuinely touching in places, but it's not really my kind of fantasy. It doesn't have the full-fledged fantasy environment of Night Flying and it left me wanting.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fifteen-year-old Harmony is having a rough year. Loggers want to remove an ancient stand of trees around her house and she and her adoptive parents must scheme to stop them. While that should be enough for this short novel, she also has her first major crush on her best friend Shawnie's cousin Caleb and she has recently discovered that she has telekinesis and telepathy. Is she really the star child people have rumored her to be since her mysterious arrival in a chicken coup as an infant? She can twirl spoons, start fires and sometimes predict a person's death with her mind, but she cannot decide whether her new found talents are a blessing or a curse.
The setup is promising, and the story works as very light reading but with so much going on, it feels as though each of the story lines are lacking something. Horror and science fiction fans may be disappointed that there is not more about Harmony using her powers, and that there is very little mentioned about her mysterious origins, while romance fans will want more encounters with Caleb.
Harmony and Shawnie's are likable characters that appear younger than their fifteen years and will probably not hold much appeal to high school students, but large, public libraries will find a readership for this book among middle school girls who enjoy light series fiction.

[Torrey Goelz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought that the book "Harmony" was very well written, but didn't enjoy the book in general. Even though it was well written I'm not a fan of Sci-fi books in general. Rita Murphy did an excellent job of writing the book chronologically from the start of Harmony's life to the end. She did a very good job of writing about how Harmony came to Earth, and how all of her powers were handled by her. I liked most of the book was written, but I thought the parts of her trying to talk to Edwin was really cliche, about a teenage girl being awkward around a guy. I thought those parts got really repetitive throughout the book

[Nadine Rose Larter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story about a girl who was brought to earth by a star. After she turns fifteen she discovers that she has magical powers. I liked that her adoptive mother was a Cherokee Indian - I've always found them so quietly fascinating. It's not the greatest story you will ever read but definitely far less whiny and annoying than a lot of other YA fiction out there. At least the main character is a respectable girl with a good head on her shoulders instead of an emotional mess.

[Griffin Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written very well, and it really helped move the story along. Harmony is one of the most interesting characters that I have ever read about. She has to find herself, and be able to control her powers at the same time. She just wants to be a normal teenager, but she also likes her powers.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl with paranormal abilities in the mountains of Tennessee fights to save the trees.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. I liked Night Flying much better.

[Teno Q. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl comes to terms with her strange abilities, the changes that come to her little mountain home, and growing up.

Beautiful, lyrical, and sad.

And short. Much too short.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, odd ending though.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, easy read. I enjoyed it.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply beautiful.