Family Drama; Coming-of-Age
Family Drama
Things are as dramatic in the Walsh household as they get. Nikki, the Walsh family matriarch, is basically a drama-producing machine and makes life pretty difficult for her kids. She is constantly abusing them—both verbally and physically—and much of the story revolves around her children's desire to get away from her. Things get even more complicated when Nikki loses custody and basically goes insane, becoming intent on ruining everyone else's lives in revenge. Without Nikki, we pretty much have no story here, so this is definitely family drama.
Coming-of-Age
In the midst of all this chaos, The Rules of Survival is also about Matthew and Callie growing up. When the story opens, they're both young teenagers, and over the course of the next couple years, they come to realize that they don't always have to listen to Nikki or do exactly what she says. They can dream bigger for their future—and imagine a life without their abusive mother.
Eventually, Callie and Matthew take different routes. She goes to stay with her father, where she can study science and medicine, and Matthew takes care of Emmy and Aunt Bobbie, eventually getting into college. But while their paths diverge, they both grow into their own confident, successful people, with absolutely no help from Nikki.