My Life as a Rat: A Novel

My Life as a Rat by Joyce Carol Oates is a powerful literary novel about family loyalty, truth, guilt, and the painful cost of doing what is right.

Violet Rue Kerrigan is twelve years old when she reveals what she knows about the racist murder of an African-American boy by her older brothers. Her testimony leads to their arrests and convictions—but it also results in Violet being cast out by the family she once believed would always love her.

Looking back on her life in exile, Violet recalls her childhood as the youngest of seven children and the long years of estrangement from her parents, siblings, and church. Through her struggle to understand what happened, she is forced to question loyalty, morality, identity, and the hold that family can have over us.

A compelling choice for readers who enjoy literary fiction, family drama, and thought-provoking novels about truth and belonging.

Hardcover, Very Good