Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Rules of Survival is the story of Matthew Walsh and his two younger sisters, who survive through the emotional and physical abuse inflicted upon them by their mother Nikki.  At the beginning of the novel, Matt is writing a letter to his younger sister Emmy outlining the "rules for survival" with their abusive mother.  Matt and his younger sister befirend a man named Murdoch, who later becomes Nikki's boyfriend.  Their relationship is short-lived however, and when Murdoch breaks up with Nikki she tries to report him to Social Services for abuse.  When this doesn't work, she gets her friend Rob to beat him up, and both Nikki and Rob go to jail.  Matt's father and Nikki's sister gain joint custody of the kids, but when Nikki gets out of jail she kidnaps her 8-year-old daughter and gets her drunk.  The younger sister, Emmy, calls Matthew and tells him where she is, and Matt goes to rescue her only to be confronted by Nikki.  Matt is about to kill his mother when Murdoch shows up and advises her to leave and never come back.  We find out at the end of the novel that Murdoch's family was abusive as well.  Matt decides not to give the letter to Emmy.

Analysis:  This is a very intense book, and perhaps one that should be kept in the library rather than the classroom.  The issues dealt with in this book are unfortunately ones that may have a deep emotional significance to certain members of the class.  While some students may be shocked by the actions of Nikki, others may find them all too familiar.  The book is well-written but the subject matter is extremely negative and emotional.  This book could be read by middle-schoolers, but the subject matter may be a bit too intense for kids of that age, so it might be better saved for high-school or even left out of the classroom and kept in the library.

Ideas: If a teacher does decide to use this book in the classroom, they should know their students very well.  If you suspect that a child may be familiar with this kind of abuse, it is important to talk to them about it so that they are able to confront the issue rather than just feeling attacked.  Kids may say, "No mother is that neglectful and mean", but some kids may already know that this is not true.  This is an emotional novel, and if it is used, the teacher must be ready for a possible emotional reaction- if this occurs, it must be confronted rather than overlooked.