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Defying the odds, Arthur Berndt has lived to see his 11th birthday. Miraculous considering the turbulent world he struggles to survive in.
In this riveting sequel to Arthur: The Beginning, Arthur continues to live in fear of his irrational and violent father August. Though Arthur suffers the most under his father's tyrannical rule, his mother Marguerite and sisters Liz and Ruth are also prisoners inside a house dripping with fear, coldness and criticism.
Apart from his chaotic life at home, Arthur has cobbled together a twisted existence: committing criminal acts, isolating in the nearby woods and passing for near-normal in school.
Due to his lengthy history of antisocial behavior starting at five years of age, Arthur has become a precocious persona non grata with neighbors, storeowners and law enforcement. Despite feeling scorned by adults and rejected by children his age, Arthur continues to stubbornly and resentfully commit antisocial acts that only solidify his sketchy reputation, deepen his sense of isolation and further enrage his father. When not committing these self-defeating deeds of delinquency, he spends much of his free time in the nearby woods alone or with his beloved dog Rex, the one living creature he has bonded with.
Only in school-where his reputation doesn't precede him-does he find a measure of structure and predictability missing in the rest of his world. That won't last forever.
Terrified that his father might administer the "final" punishment at any moment, every day Arthur survives feels like a stay of execution. Survival leaves the door open for recovery. Read Arthur: The Struggle Continues and you'll find yourself rooting for Arthur to never give up-and you'll forget you're reading fiction!
