In Arizona
Grand Canyon Reader Award 2010 Nominee The Rules of Survival , Nancy Werlin tackles the topic of child abuse. 18-year-old Matt writes a letter to his youngest sister, Emmy, in an effort to come to terms with the childhood of fear they lived at the hands of their unpredictable, insane mother. Matt insists that “fear isn’t actually a bad thing . . . . It warns you to pay attention, because you’re in danger. It tells you to do something, to act, to save yourself.” Throughout the short, riveting chapters, Matt recounts his memories of growing up, and his terror is palpable, but so is his courage and resolve. 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 calling him “cookie thief,” she holds a knife to his throat, cutting him just a little bit to teach him not to steal. Matt also learned that the adults in his life – his aunt and father – would rather look the other way than get involved in a situation they feel powerless to stop. It isn’t until Matt finds Murdoch that he starts to see a possible way out of the dysfunction that encompasses them.
The characters in this haunting, powerful story will captivate readers. The suspense, the emotional and psychological horror, and the intense, fast-paced plot will make it almost impossible to put the book down. Certainly a book worthy of nomination to the 2010 GCR list.
- Posted by Cori