Murdoch, Patricia 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born 1957, in Canada.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Bradford, Ontario, Canada.

CAREER:

Author.

WRITINGS:

Deep Thinker and the Stars (picture book), illustrated by Kellie Jobson, Three Trees Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1987.

Exposure (young adult novel), Orca Books Publishers (Custer, WA), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Patricia Murdoch is a Canadian writer who has written both the picture book Deep Thinker and the Stars and the young-adult novel Exposure, the latter for Orca's "Soundings" series, which focuses on fiction appealing to reluctant readers. In Exposure, Julie's high-school years are being ruined by the constant insults and bullying she receives at the hand of a popular but mean-spirited classmate named Dana. Then her brother provides her with the ultimate payback: a digital camera full of pictures taken at a keg party that show Dana doing things she shouldn't. As Julie plans the ultimate revenge, her best friend, Sammy, voices ethical concerns over whether the revenge will be as bad as the torment. For Julie, who narrates the novel, this realization comes too late, and her relationship with Sammy is sacrificed. Noting that the cast of characters in Exposure includes teens "YAs can relate to," Stephanie Squicciarini added in a Kliatt review that Julie is ultimately "forced to face unpleasant truths about herself" in Murdoch's realistic novel. In Resource Links, Lesley Little praised the author's "auspicious [YA] debut," adding: "Her delivery has an edge that [is] … appealing and, perhaps most important, believable."

While Exposure was Murdoch's first novel for teen readers, her first published book was written years before. A picture book, Deep Thinker and the Stars focuses on a girl named Sharon. Her family is going through a lot of changes: in addition to her mother's departure for the hospital to give birth to a new baby brother, Sharon's beloved grandfather has recently passed away, and the girl misses him very much. In her family's Native American traditions, Sharon finds solace by helping her grandmother make beaded stars and prepare for her brother's name-day celebration. Ultimately, the thoughtful girl, whose Indian name is Deep Thinker, finds a connection with the brother she has gained and the grandfather she has lost: they both have the same eyes. Writing that Deep Thinker and the Stars will be useful to students learning about Native American family customs, Canadian Review of Materials contributor Elizabeth Lockett also noted that the picture book "treats the themes of birth and death in a strong, loving, native family with great sensitivity."