Martine Murray

Martine Murray is an award-winning novelist and illustrator. She was born in Melbourne and now lives in Castlemaine, Victoria.

Praise

  • Masterful … Murray’s unflinching, intuitive tale will satisfy readers who like their family dramas with a strong dose of darkness.

    —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

  • Murray perfectly captures the claustrophobia of family life, driven by an emotional barometer that swings from tender feelings of closeness and belonging to long-simmering resentment and regret.

    —Booklist

  • I felt this wonderful story as much as read it.

    —Susan Crandall, author of The Myth of Perpetual Summer

  • In this story of a young Australian family whose concealed deceptions are driving them apart, Murray writes with sensual tenderness about the buried yearnings that threaten and sustain our most cherished relationships, as well as our perverse human tendency to constantly test their strength.

    —Courtney Maum, author of Costalegre

  • The Bloom family will absolutely have your heart. Ada Bloom is a sweet, precocious girl traversing that strange territory on the edge of childhood. Her sister Tilly and brother Ben are testing the waters of adulthood, each in their own way. Their parents, Martha and Mark, are both tempted by people in their lives, old and new, in disastrous ways. Readers will be spellbound by this honest and tender accounting of each Bloom family member, told in a chorus of voices, revealing a intimate and flawed family portrait that leaves you feeling connected to everyone around you. Martine Murray’s stunning debut is a true delight.

    —Julia Fierro, author of The Gypsy Moth Summer