In The Rules of Survival, Matthew, Callie, and Emmy live through two extremes of family life. At the beginning, when they live with Nikki, their family life is both terrifying and unpredictable—they're always worried about setting Nikki off and getting hurt or abandoned for days on end. It's super rough.
When Nikki loses custody, though, the kids are able to cobble together a real and safe family—one where they have adults looking out for them. It may not look like a "normal" family, since Callie lives with Ben while Emmy and Matthew live with Aunt Bobbie, but it works for them.
Questions About Family
- Why do you think Nikki is such a terrible mother? What can you find in the text to explain her behavior?
- Why doesn't Aunt Bobbie step in to take care of the kids sooner? Again, turn to the text for support.
- Why do you think Matthew decides to live with Aunt Bobbie instead of Ben?
- Do you think that Murdoch has become a part of the family by the end? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Matthew starts calling his mother Nikki instead of Mom as a way to symbolically disown her as a member of his family.
Even though Nikki raises the kids for many years, Matthew, Callie, and Emmy have all decided to remove her from their family tree and to call Aunt Bobbie their mother instead because she provides real maternal support.