Rotten

Publishers Weekly

Sixteen-year-old Jimmer Dobbs, known to his friends as JD, returns from a vague absence “upstate” to find that his mother has replaced him with a Rottweiler from a rescue shelter. JD christens the dog Johnny Rotten (after the Sex Pistols singer), but because the dog has been abused, it takes a while for Johnny Rotten to trust the new man around the house. When Johnny Rotten bites one of JD’s friends, the friend’s family smells a payday and files suit. Because the dog has bitten before, his days are likely numbered. This JD cannot abide. He attempts to bribe the friend into dropping the lawsuit by coming clean about his summer away. Northrop (Trapped) has a keen eye for the way teens move through the world (one of JD’s buddies never parks when picking him up. He “just rolls to a stop along the side of the road, like it’s a bank heist”) and for the mix of bravado and vulnerability that can drive boys’ friendships and interactions. A sure bet for any reader who loves an underdog, human or canine. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger. (Apr.)

From the Publisher

Praise for TRAPPED

"Compelling . . . Michael Northrop deftly describes teens who are tested by the endless snow." --USA TODAY

"A gripping disaster story . . . Northrop's solid storytelling should keep readers rapt." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"An edge-of-your-seat experience . . . Just as he did in GENTLEMEN, Northrop gets at the core of human nature through masterful pacing." --KIRKUS REVIEWS

Praise for GENTLEMEN

"Northrop's first novel is creepy, yet it has what can pass for a happy -- or at least satisfying -- ending." --THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"A riveting thriller . . . This is a rare sort of book that may work just as well for reluctant readers as it will avid ones." --BOOKLIST

Kirkus Reviews

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)