The Rules of Survival (2006)

From Sept 2006 SLJ:
Nancy Werlin’s latest novel tackles the topic of child abuse with grace and insight. Narrated by seventeen-year-old Matt as a letter to his youngest sister Emmy, The Rules of Survival is his effort to come to terms with the vicious treatment they suffered at the hands of Nikki, their beautiful and unpredictable mother. One of Matt’s early memories involves getting up during the night to sneak a cookie back to bed and being caught by his mother. Giggling and yelling “Cookie thief,” she holds a knife to his throat, cutting him just a little bit to teach him not to steal. As much as he fears his mother’s manic highs and lows, his greater concern as he grows older is for the safety of his sisters. He and his sister Callie shield Emmy as much as possible from Nikki’s volatile moods. Compounding the problem are the adults in their lives—their father and their aunt—who recognize Nikki’s instability but find it easier to look the other way. When Nikki’s ex-boyfriend Murdoch befriends the children, they want to believe that a more normal future is possible, but are afraid of being disappointed by an adult yet again. The story’s characters captivate readers from the beginning, and short, terse chapters move the plot along with an intensity that will appeal to seasoned Werlin fans and reluctant readers alike. As with Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson, 1999) and other recent novels that explore difficult issues, teens will empathize with these siblings and the secrets they keep. ( )

Listened to the audiobook; narrator did a good job because he matched the attitude and emotion of the characters. Matthew and his younger sisters try to survive the abusive actions of their mother. They come across a man named Murdoch who seems to have pity for children when he defends a young boy in a convenience store against his raging father. Matthew decides to seek Murdoch's help to get him and his sisters away from his mentally unstable mother. Story of a dysfunctional family and the detrimental effects abuse can have on children. Excellent novel, would highly recommend! ( )

Matt and his sisters, Callie and Emmy, are always starring in a play directed by fear. Just one small wrong move can set their mother Nikki off, and lead to the most dangerous of circumstances. She has no qualms about leaving her young family to fend for themselves most nights in South Boston, and that's the best case scenario. When Nikki chooses to lavish her presence upon her three children, they can almost count on terrors like finding a kitchen knife pressed to their throats, being beaten with a bag of seafood, or even taking a terrifying detour into oncoming traffic if they can't placate their mercurial mother. Despite having a father who is still involved in their lives in small ways and an aunt who lives in the downstairs apartment, nobody steps in to protect Matt, Callie, and Emmy until a stranger named Murdoch McIlvane enters their lives one unexpected night at the Cumberland Farms store. It is then that Matt begins to dream that things won't be like this forever, that he begins to believe that life could be more than living in fear of his mother.

Matt, the eldest at fifteen, is the story's narrator, and a good one at that. Matt knows what it is to live in fear and to want to escape, but he knows he can't leave without his two sisters who he will protect at any cost. Despite the odds, though, Matt still hasn't given up hope that their dangerous circumstances could change, that their father could man up even though he's almost as terrified of unstable Nikki as the kids are or that Aunt Bobbie could step in when she hears the commotion upstairs. It's this outside hope and other reasons that even Matt can't give voice to, that he searches for an ally in Murdoch, and finds one. Matt, with all his hopes and the fear that encroaches upon them, is the perfect window into the lives of abused kids. Werlin uses his narration to great effect, giving us a sense of just how easily and random it was to attract Nikki's senseless rage and how it's lurking at the edge of even the most trivial encounter.

The Rules of Survival is a page-turner of a book that will catch readers up in its twists and turns. It's a frighteningly realistic portrayal of abuse, how easy it is for kids to be trapped by it when adults that should care do nothing. Matt, Callie, and Emmy's story is ultimately one of change and of redemption, but it's one that makes you wonder and worry all the kids for whom it's not. ( )

Oh, the amount of adoration I have for this book. It's an intense story about an incredibly intense topic, but at this point, Werlin's writing had really developed into something worth reading. The characters all seem to come to life in a way her previous books had failed to capture. Much of the story in this book is a mystery, and Werlin does a fantastic job at writing suspense between the lines. I could easily see this being written as a horrid cliche attempt at suspense, but it wasn't! I've rarely encountered such fresh stories and storytelling. The survivor angle is inspirational and brings everything full circle at the story's emotional conclusion. I would have liked to have heard more on the reasons behind his mother's issues, but that is the only complaint I have about the book, and as far as complaints go, that one's pretty nitpicky.

Rating: 5/5 ( )

When I picked this book up, just by looking at the cover I was pretty sure I wouln't like it. But I guess that's where the saying "Never judge a book by its cover" comes from. It took about 25 pages for me to really start liking the book. The chapters were very short, which for some reason made it much easier for me to read. The whole book was like a flashback, written in the form so that the main character, Matt, is telling the story to the audience, his younger sister, Emmy. He tells the story of how he and his two sisters endured, and sometimes suffered, living with their mentally-ill, crazy, abusive, and sometimes obsessive and stalker mother, whom they always refer to as "Nikki", which confused me in the beginning. But the book held my interest, so I finished it in only a few days. This is a great book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for action in a story.

Summary:
Matt, Callie, and Emmy have a broken family. Their father left years ago, leaving them with their cruel, negligent, crazy, and abusive mother. Then one day Matt meets Murdoch in a convenience store, where he rescues a child from his abusive father. Matt begins to have hope, believing that Murdoch could somehow save him and his sisters from their mother. So when they start dating, Matt thinks his life is fixed. But Murdoch breaks up with her when he sees how crazy she is- running and hiding instead of helping them like Matt had hoped. From there, Nikki, their mother, goes downhill, becoming obsessed with Murdoch and stalking him. Nikki takes matters into her own hands, ignoring the law, abusing her children, and hiring people to get back at Murdoch for her. Matt begins to realize that the only way to survive Nikki is to get rid of her completely. But the question is, if it came down to it, would he be able to take his own mother’s life?

Main Characters:
Matt and Callie, the two eldest siblings, are constantly protecting their six-year-old little sister, Emmy, as she is targeted time and time again by their abusive mother, Nikki, releasing her anger over her breakup with Murdoch on her children.

How It Relates To Wellness:
Matt, Callie, and Emmy are constantly faced with both physical and mental insecurities. As Nikki, their negligent, cruel, abusive, and stalker mother, gets worse, they struggle to find help, survive, and keep safe.

What I Learned From This Book:
From this book I learned that when you are in a situation to where you don’t feel or aren’t safe, it is important that you get help, whether it be from an adult you trust or the police, because no one should make you feel that way.

Recommendations:
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for action, or drama, because there is a lot of it in this book. It’s not your normal teen read, which is why to me it was so different, but also why I liked it as much as I did. It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever read. So if you’re looking for something new, something you’ve never read before, this book would be a great start. ( )