Rotten

by Michael Northrop

Overview

A troubled teen. A rescued Rottweiler. An unlikely friendship.

Jimmer "JD" Dobbs is back in town after spending the summer "upstate." No one believes his story about visiting his aunt, and it's pretty clear that he has something to hide. It's also pretty clear that his mom made a new friend while he was away---a rescued Rottweiler that JD immediately renames Johnny Rotten (yes, after that guy in the Sex Pistols). Both tough but damaged, JD and Johnny slowly learn to trust each other, but their newfound bond is threatened by a treacherous friend and one snap of Johnny's powerful jaws. As the secrets JD has tried so hard to keep under wraps start to unravel, he suddenly has something much bigger to worry about: saving his dog.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545495899
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

About the Author

Michael Northrop is the New York Times bestselling author of the middle-grade adventure series TombQuest. He is also the author of On Thin Ice; Trapped, an Indie Next List selection; Plunked, a New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing selection and an NPR Backseat Book Club pick; and other titles. An editor at Sports Illustrated Kids for many years, he now writes full-time from his home in New York City. Learn more at michaelnorthrop.net.

Read an Excerpt

ROTTENI grab my bag from the car and head for the side door. There's not much furniture in the front room of our house -- just a TV, an old couch, a low table, and, most nights, me -- so when I bang through the side door, make the right, and head in there to drop my stuff, I don't bother to switch on the light. Sure enough, I slam my shin into something and go down in a heap.I realize mid-fall that it must be the coffee table. I realize post-fall that mom must have moved it while I was away. I grab my shin and swear, but my voice is drowned out by the noise suddenly filling the room. It makes even less sense than the table being out of place. It's still dark and all I can see are stars from hitting my shin, so for a second I think maybe I'm imagining it or it's coming from the TV. But the TV is off and the sound keeps coming: It's a dog, barking its head off, barking at me. It makes no sense: We don't have a dog. We never have. I look around the dark room, trying to figure out where it is. It sounds close, and I don't want to get leg-humped or mauled or rabies. I reach up and sort of cover my face, so that I'm looking out through my spread fingers. Just as my eyes are beginning to adjust to the dark, the light flips on and I see my mom standing at the edge of the room. "Don't worry," she says. "He's new." It takes me a moment to realize she's talking to the dog.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Rotten:A Bank Street College Best Book of the YearA Junior Library Guild selectionA 2014-15 Keystone to Reading Award finalist"A sure bet for any reader who loves an underdog, human or canine." Publishers Weekly"A fine portrayal of a boy, a dog and the ties of friends." Kirkus Reviews"A laugh-out-loud book, with so many things to love." Christian Science Monitor"Northrop knows just how to get into the male mind, blending subtle humor with convincing dialogue. But above all, the author knows that nothing gets between a guy and his dog." BookPagePraise for On Thin Ice: "A sharp, sympathetic insight into poverty, family, friendship, and forgiveness." Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Polaris:"An exciting blend of nautical adventure and monstrous horror." Kirkus ReviewsPraise for TombQuest:"Pure adventure from start to finish." School Library ConnectionPraise for Surrounded by Sharks:"This story strikes a balance of suspense and action... For reluctant readers and fans of survival stories." School Library JournalPraise for Trapped:"Northrop gets at the core of human nature through masterful pacing. Gripping." Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Sixteen-year-old Jimmer "JD" Dobbs returns from a summer "upstate" and struggles to get his bearings at home and stay out of trouble. But trouble finds JD. His mother has adopted a seriously mistreated rescue dog, figuring JD and the dog "could both get new starts." But JD knows that "clean starts are a frickin' myth," that the past has a way of following them. JD names the Rottweiler Johnny Rotten, after the lead singer of the Sex Pistols. He's JR for short, with a head the size of a cinder block and the amazing ability to leap through the air like the sharks he saw on Air Jaws, snatching biscuits and partially devouring them before landing. However, JR bites Jimmer's friend Mars, and Mars' mother decides to sue, putting at risk the Dobbs' house and the life of the dog. Readers may well wonder why no information about JD's clearly euphemistic summer "upstate" is forthcoming, but the novel is cleverly orchestrated, and his secret is eventually revealed as he looks for a way to save the dog he has come to love. JD's voice rings true, as does his occasional bonehead decision-making and his tentative steps toward empathy. A fine portrayal of a boy, a dog and the ties of friends. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews