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Reviewed by:
  • Rotten by Michael Northrop
  • Deborah Stevenson
Northrop, Michael . Rotten. Scholastic, 2013. 246p. ISBN 978-0-545-49587-5 $17.99 R Gr. 7-10.

When JD returns home after a tough summer to start junior year, he is startled to find that his mother has adopted a large and defensive Rottweiler, which was rescued from abuse. The nervous dog, who is fearful of men, grows accustomed to the boy, and JD gradually warms to the dog, whom he dubs Johnny Rotten (JD is a punk fan). As JD picks back up with his friends, they're keen to meet the new member of his household; when JD refuses until Johnny Rotten is a little better socialized, JD's goofy friend Mars pushes the issue and ends up with a bitten hand. The bite is minor, but Mars' low-life family smells money and files a lawsuit—which would not only wipe out JD's family's finances but result in Johnny Rotten's being put to sleep. While the dog is a big part of the story, it's even more about young guys; Northrop has a keen eye for the way teenaged male relationships can teeter uneasily between friendliness and aggression, the dynamics in JD's group of four are sharply observed, and the dialogue has authentic moments of enjoyable wit. The book also effectively dangles JD's known withholding about his summer (he actually did a stretch in juvenile detention for, of all things, stealing a bottle of perfume) as bait for his suspicious friends as well as for the suspecting reader, and it's credible that that becomes a bone of contention for Mars, who's aware of JD's condescension. With its guy-centric focus and arresting cover (extreme close-up of a damp-muzzled Rottie), this is a testosterone-rich dog story, a book just right for animal-loving Chris Lynch fans.

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