Brad About Books: Rotten by Michael Northrop

Read on April 1, 2013

ROTTEN
Published: April 1, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: ARC
Page Count: 256 pages
Source: Publisher

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.

Rotten is a wonderful story about bonding love and friendship. This book is outstanding!

I am a huge lover of dogs (I have two myself), so when I found out that this book was about a dog, I was all over this one. I was so happy I read it! The friendship that grows between JD and Johnny Rotten was amazing to read. They truly connected to each other as best friends, and I was rooting for both of them during the entire book. Plus, who doesn't love a story about dogs? 

My only complaint about Rotten was that it took a bit for me to connect to JD - I'm not sure why I didn't like his character in the beginning, but I didn't. He felt a bit self-centered and uncaring. But trust me when I say that he grows out of that, thanks to Johnny, which I truly loved and appreciated. Looking back now, I can totally see what Johnny represents. He represents Johnny learning true friendship and caring about something so extremely. And I love that Michael Northrop put that element into Rotten!

And I was honestly scared at how the book was going to end. I couldn't see how Johnny and JD could get out of the situation they were in, but Northrop did a seamlessly job at making that ending so surprising and wonderful. It was one of my favorite parts of the entire book!

Overall, Rotten is a great story that is a must-read animal lovers and non-animal lovers!

MY RATING