Marley Won't Give Up!
By Blanche R. Dudley, Ed.D.
Blanche Dudley Books, July 18, 2026
ISBN: 979-8-234-11190-6 (paperback)
ISBN: 979-8-234-13422-6 (ebook)
281 pages, ages 11-14
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Marley, a twelve-year-old student at Hopeville Middle School, is fighting several battles at once. She refuses to accept that her mother has gone missing during a secret military mission. Instead, Marley celebrates her mom's courage in a school project to honor Women Warriors and sends hopeful but, as-yet, unanswered messages to her mom almost every day.
Meanwhile, she tries to ignore constant and hurtful bullying from the town's meanest and richest girl, or at least to follow her grandmother's advice and respond with her brain and not her fists. Now, Marley’s efforts to hide a growing but secret friendship with the town's supposed witch and her strange son are no longer working. Soon the whole school will know the unusual way she has been trying to cope with her mom's disappearance. Still, Marley refuses to back down and meets her toughest challenge with faith and friendship.
Praise for Marley Won't Give Up!
“A charming, if occasionally familiar, story that does the work to make its characters memorable …fine tale of a girl who finds strength amid many setbacks…The book manages to effectively stand out…thanks in part to the author’s talent for character development, which allows the protagonist herself to take the spotlight, and not the many terrible things that have happened to her.” - Kirkus Reviews
“Marley is a gem. I love this little girl who tries so hard and never gives up." - Kathryn Johnson, author of The Gentleman Poet
“This is a timely, important story that touches on so many relevant topics, particularly bullying and a deployed parent. A very worthy story here.” - Emma D. Dryden, Founder & Principal, drydenbks LLC; co-author, What Does It Mean To Be an Entrepreneur?
“I absolutely loved Marley’s story! It is touching and beautifully captures what it's like to wrangle all the emotional turmoil of that age. Just lovely.” - Alison Armstrong Taylor, Book Designer, PicturesandStories.com