The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

Published: March 16, 2010 by Simon Pulse

(224 pages, hardcover)

Summary: He's looking at me like--well, like he wants to look at me. 

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Like he likes what he sees, and he's smiling and his eyes are so blue, even in the faint flow of the porch light they shine, and I nod dumbly, blindly, and then grope for the door handle, telling myself to look away and yet not able to do it. 

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"Sara," he says, softly, almost hesitantly, and my heart slam-bangs, beating hard, and this is what it's like to want someone you can't have. To want someone you shouldn't even be looking at.

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My thoughts: I really don't know what it is with Elizabeth Scott books; something about them just draws me in, makes me want to live in their worlds forever. The Unwritten Rule was no exception to this, of course. I completely feel in love with the characters, writing, and plot.

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At first glance, The Unwritten Rule looks like your typical YA romance: girl falls for boy, boy falls for girl, neither of them realize it, girl's best friend falls for boy, snags boy, and eventually something happens between the girl and boy, causing all sorts of angst and shudder-inducing cliches followed by a moment where you just know they're totally meant for each other. Been told a million times before, right? Well, it may be a worn-out story, but Scott somehow manages to work her magic and make it into a gripping, emotional novel that caught me from the first page and didn't let go until I'd finished it a couple of hours later.

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Sara was likeable. I'm not going to lie, she didn't have a ton of personality, and I didn't feel like she was my spirit animal or anything. She was sweet and nice and, quite obviously and helplessly, in love with her best friend's boyfriend. I sympathized with her, not so much for the falling in love part, because, while I can appreciate misplaced affection just as much as the next reader, but because of the having-a-best-friend-who-kind-of-completely-sucks. Brianna, Sara's best friend, isn't a mean girl. Well, not really. Okay, so she's a total jerk, but Sara has been her best friend for forever (meaning since kindergarten) and when you've been friends for that long of a time it's impossible to even consider not being friends anymore. And this is what I loved about the book: it was more than just a boy-meets-girls-and-accidentally-falls-for-the-wrong-one, it was about a complex friendship that I really related to.

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I'm going to try hard not to gush at this point. Ryan, to be plain, is amazing. Ryan, who is torn between being with the girl he's falling for and the girl he somehow ended up with; Ryan who was sensitive and sweet and impossible to not like and feel bad for. He was my favorite character, to be honest, because while I could easily relate to Sara, Ryan cared about Sara, and even Brianna so much. One of the things I really loved was the way Scott executed the plot: she didn't make the characters seem like jerks because they weren't falling into the roles Brianna had carved for them. And while I wish Ryan had a bit more of a backbone, he was still a great guy and character.

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The writing was predictably realistic and heart-wrenching. I don't know how with so few pages Scott manages to make such three-dimensional, personal characters and plot lines that are simple in theory but complex like in real life, but she does it in The Unwritten Rule flawlessly. It was poignant and I loved how not all of the characters went by untouched by the effects of the novel. It wasn't the happily-ever-after you might expect, or the horrible falling-out you could expect, but it was simple and honest and (kind of sort of spoiler-ish) happy. I loved the book, and while it wasn't my absolute favorite of hers, I'd definitely re-read it and recommend it to any reader in a heartbeat.

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Covering the Cover: I like it. Simple and cute.

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 4.5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.9 stars

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Series: Mockingbirds, #1

Publication: November 2, 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

(332 pages, hardcover)

Summary: Some schools have honor codes.

Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.

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My thoughts: From the cover and the description, I was expecting your basic rape novel; heavy, serious, and sad. But I really loved Whitney's take on date-rape. It wasn't as dark or depressing as I'd expected; it was not only realistic, but uplifting. Alex, your typical over-achieving good girl, has always kept her head down, with no real love life to speak of at the moment. Then, one night, she gets drunk, goes too far, and is taken advantage of. Or at least she can't remember giving consent to going all the way. Alex's uncertainty added a layer to the book that was unexpected and really helped me connect to her.

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The novel starts with Alex waking up in a bed that isn't her own; she at first refuses to acknowledge what obviously happened, and I liked that she wasn't immediately bent on exacting revenge or hiding from the world. Her denial was honest and added depth. The entire novel had a different spin on it than I would expect from a novel about rape. Alex was a good character because she felt real and her response to everything was also true-to-life. I really liked how she grew and developed. She was the kind of character I honestly missed after having finished reading.

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There were three things that really stood out to me about this book, which bumped it up from a good read to a unique, amazing novel. 1.) The Mockingbirds; I love To Kill a Mockingbird and appreciated every one of the references. But even people who hadn't read the novel got a feel of how cool (sorry for lack of a better word) the secret justice system was. It was complicated, yet made sense, and I kind of wish there was a Mockingbirds group at every school. They were just really awesome (in the best meaning of that word).

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Moving on; 2.) Alex's life after the rape happens. I know the entire book basically takes place after the actual rape, but I really, really loved how Whitney wrote Alex's reaction. It was the perfect balance of fright and lightness. Her life was definitely changed after it happened, and several things were wrecked for her because of it, but her life goes on. It's not often that books that deal with such a dark subject show that life will go on and things will eventually be okay. Which kind of leads into: 3.) The romance; and not in the typical he-was-so-cute and she-was-so-awkward-but-adorable way. I mean in a it's-great-that-she-learns-that-every-guy-isn't-out-to-get-her. I mean, yes, getting raped is horrible, and should be taken seriously, and I don't blame any girl for being afraid after an experience like that. But I appreciated the fact that Alex moves on and realizes that there are good guys out there, and not to be afraid of the world because of one person.

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The characters were well-written. Not as completely developed (excluding Alex) as maybe I could've asked for, but the plot more than made up for it. They definitely didn't fit the regular stereotypical characters, and I loved that. I liked all of the characters I was supposed to like and disliked all of the characters I was supposed to dislike. No complaints whatsoever. 

Overall, I really enjoyed The Mockingbirds. It was deep and sensitive, but not overwhelming and too-heavy-to-read-in-one-sitting. It was the perfect balance of seriousness and lightness. I expected something, and got something else entirely, which turned out not to be a bad thing at all. Whitney's writing was good and her plots and characters were even better. Definitely one of my favorite contemporary reads, and I can't wait for the sequel.

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Covering the Cover: Simple and intriguing. It's not a favorite but I like it.

Characters: 4.33/5

Plot: 5/5

Writing: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4.9 stars