Rotten, Paperback

A troubled teen. A rescued Rottweiler. An unlikely friendship.

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.

This is a heart-stealing story about a boy and his dog from New York Times bestselling author Michael Northrop.

Michael Northrop is the New York Times bestselling author of the middle-grade adventure series TombQuest. He is also the author of On Thin Ice; Trapped, an Indie Next List selection; Plunked, a New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing selection and an NPR Backseat Book Club pick; and other titles. An editor at Sports Illustrated Kids for many years, he now writes full-time from his home in New York City. Learn more at michaelnorthrop.net.