Nancy Werlin

Dear reader, if you are looking for a light and cheerful book then run away from this one. This story is harsh in its portrayal of a family living under the tyranny of a sick and violent mother. Hope and hopelessness alternately fill the heart of Matt who is writing the story of his family. At the outset we think he is writing the book for his younger sister Emmy in an attempt to explain the events that led to the unraveling of his already fractured family. But we discover that he is show more actually writing this story in order to better understand it himself. Nikki, the mother is cruel and hateful to her children, she is manipulative and promiscuous with men, she finds intense pleasure in the pain and discomfort of others, she is completely devoid of any redeeming qualities. Matt and his sister Callie have learned to “handle” her by being incredibly agreeable and docile as they attempt to protect themselves and their baby sister, Emmy. Enter Murdoch, a kind man who brings hope to the children. For a short while Nikki keeps company with Murdoch and life starts to take on some semblance of normalcy. But when Murdoch ultimately ends the relationship, Nikki begins a descent into madness which the children could scarcely have imagined. show less

I HATED the mom in The Rules of Survival. So much that my blood pressure would literally spike while reading of the cruelties she inflicted on her children. I loathed the adults who turned a blind eye to the abuse because they just didn't want to deal with it at the time. In my book, by turning a blind eye, you become just as bad (if not worse) than the abuser. But yeah, this book had me pissed off through a vast majority of it and horrified when I wasn't pissed.

The Rules of Survival is one show more of those books that doesn't shy away from the abuse inflicted. It was terrifyingly real, intense, and very emotional. I was cringing every time Nikki (the cruel mom) would strike her kids either with her fists or with words. This book hits a little close to home with me because I know what it's like to live with a person whose moods shift so quickly that you have to watch out for them and are constantly walking on eggshells to make sure you don't do anything to set that person off. So, I was rooting for Matthew, for Callie, and for Emmy and couldn't wait from them to get away from that suffocating and damaging atmosphere.

While this book is all types of depressing, it is also hopeful because you know right from the first page that the children do survive and try to leave the past behind them. The fact that you know what happens from the first page, doesn't make this book any less gripping. It was entirely captivating. So much that I read this book in a little bit less than three hours. I was glued to my chair and didn't even get up once. I also loved that the The Rules of Survival was written in an epistolary format with Matthew writing to his younger sister, Emmy, whom he (along with Callie) tried to shield from the abuse as she was the youngest. I just thought that him writing to her was incredibly sweet and it brought tears to my eyes more than once.

I highly recommend The Rules of Survival. You will get upset reading this novel. It's just inevitable. But there is a sense of hope in there as well. I hope that all of the Matthews, the Callies, and the Emmys of the world get the help they need and I hope with all my heart that they too become survivors. Because Werlin is right. The survivors are the ones who get to tell the story. show less

Synopsis:
A young woman discovers that she is cursed to go mad on the birth of her first child unless she can complete three impossible tasks.

Review:
Woven from the lyrics of the ballad Scarborough Fair, made famous by Simon and Garfunkel, Impossible successfully places a fairy tale in the context of modern life without sacrificing any magic at all.

Lucy Scarborough was raised by foster parents after her mother, Miranda, went mad on Lucy’s birth. Now Lucy finds herself pregnant at 17, and show more discovers a diary kept by Miranda during her pregnancy claiming that unless Lucy can complete the tasks named in the ballad, Lucy will go mad when her own daughter is born. Lucy chooses to believe, and sets out to weave a seamless shirt with no needles, find an acre of land between the saltwater and the sea strand, and plow it with one grain of corn using a goat’s horn. In the backdrop lurks the figure of the Elfin King, who seems to rule over Lucy’s plight, though she does not know yet exactly how.

I tore through this book. It’s fast paced, romantic, magical, and skillfully plotted. I’m not always a fan of updated fairy tales but this one really worked, I think because Werlin didn’t try to make it too contemporary. There was just enough realism for me to connect with the characters, and just enough magic for me to buy the premise. show less

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin is the story of a teenage boy who is desperately trying to save himself and his younger sisters from his very disturbed and dangerous mother. This is an intense and riveting story that I couldn’t put down, I was in turns horrified and disgusted that this mother of three was able to get away with how she treated her children. Her sister reveals at one point that Nikki, the mother, was an extremely difficult child who was always lying and having tantrums show more which makes me believe she had a lifelong mental problem that was never diagnosed.

This is a heartbreaking story as Matthew relates how their mother’s abusive behavior was overlooked by many as she never beat them or sexually molested them. Instead the children had to deal with her manic behavior, mood swings, and reckless endangerment. This is a portrait of a family in crisis that certainly stirs the emotions.

The Rules For Survival is told in the form of a letter that an older Matthew writes to his youngest sister, Emmy, but it is also a way for him to look back on events that shaped his life and help him to both heal and understand who he is. Although this book is labelled as YA, the story is powerful and haunting as it deals with a very adult subject matter. The author totally pinpoints the impact that an untreated mental illness can have. show less