Lawrence, Lisa J. Rodent.

Lawrence, Lisa J.  Rodent.  (Series: Bullying)  Orca  2016  281p  $14.95      ISBN 978-1-4598-0976-5    hs  Realistic fiction  VG-BN   

Rodent is brutal and raw.  Isabelle is a 17-year-old who struggles at home and at school.  She is raising her two younger siblings and attempting to cope with her alcoholic mother.  Her father is not in the picture.  When Isabelle gets into a fight on the first day of school, her troubles increase. She is bullied. She is not rescued, but Isabelle does find supporters and she hunkers down to survive.

Memorable characters and situations will etch themselves into the reader’s consciousness as he or she races through this fast-paced page-turner.  Orca Books delivers another young-adult novel featuring gritty realism, narrated with an authentic voice.     

Summary: Isabelle longs to escape her life of being responsible for caring for her two siblings and her alcoholic mother.

Alcoholism-Fiction, Family-Fiction                                --Hilary Welliver