num_pages: 272
description: This National Book Award Finalist is a thought-provoking exploration of emotional abuse, self-reliance and the nature of evil. A heart-wrenching portrait of family crisis, this is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.   For Matt and his sisters, life with their cruel, physically abusive mother is a day-to-day struggle for survival. But then Matt witnesses a man named Murdoch coming to a child’s rescue in a convenience store; and for the first time, he feels a glimmer of hope. Then, amazingly, Murdoch begins dating Matt’s mother. Life is suddenly almost good. But the relief lasts only a short time. When Murdoch inevitable breaks up with their mother, Matt knows that he’ll need to take some action. Can he call upon Murdoch to be his hero? Or will Matt have to take measures into his own hands?National Book Award Finalist LA Times Book Prize Finalist ALA Best Books of the Year ALA Quick Pick  
language: English
title: The Rules of Survival
titlecomplete: The Rules of Survival
genres: Abuse, Mental Health, Teen, Survival, Young Adult, Audiobook, Contemporary, Fiction, Mental Illness, Realistic Fiction
ratings_count: 11702
awards: awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: South Carolina Book Award
category: Young Adult Book Award, awardedAt: 1199174400000
name: Rhode Island Teen Book Award, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: National Book Award Finalist
category: Young People's Literature, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: Gateway Readers Award
publisher: Dial Books