Matthew is 14, Callie is 12, and Emmy is five. Narrated in the first-person past tense by 17-year-old protagonist Matthew, and told as a recollection to his younger half-sister Emmy, the story begins in south Boston three years prior. The Rules of Survival was named a 2007 National Book Award Finalist and was named a 2007 Best Book for Young Adults by ALA. The story is framed as a letter written from 17-year-old Matthew to Emmy three years after the events of the novel. However, things take a turn for the worse when the relationship ends and Nikki goes back to her abusive ways. With their father Ben out of the picture, the children find hope when a nice neighbor named Murdoch begins dating Nikki.

When 14-year-old Matthew realizes how dangerous Nikki has become, he does all he can to rescue his two younger sisters, 12-year-old Callie and five-year-old Emmy, from the vicious abuse. Set in south Boston a few years into the future, the story follows three young children who are forced to endure and overcome the abusive behavior of their unstable mother, Nikki.

The Rules of Survival is the 2006 young-adult novel written by American author Nancy Werlin.

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