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mfumarolo's review
3.0
About to start her senior year of high school, Sophie is feeling a little bit lost. Sure she has her two best friends by her side, but things are changing and she doesn't quite feel like she's been living her life to the fullest. When she finds a sort of bucket list that her aunt Suzy wrote and and wasn't able to fulfill before she died when she was 18, Sophie decides to complete these final wishes herself. The dares open Sophie to things she never would have done before, but as the year goes on, friendships become fragile, dark truths come to light, and Sophie is left questioning if she really knew her aunt, her friends, her family, or herself at all.
I'm always interested in 'dare' books, mostly because I'm such a pansy myself. As such, I was immediately intrigued by the premise. Sophie was a very realistic 17 year old girl - the things she worried about and her thought processes especially hit home. I had a lot of the same feelings at that age, and I honestly still do many years later.
However, as a narrator I felt like she was often holding back from readers. We get glimpses of the fact that not all is rosy at home, but we don't actually see much of it. Same goes for her relationships with her two best friends as the trio drifts apart, and even in her emerging romantic feelings towards next door neighbor Johnny. I really liked what was happening there - something raw and awkward and sweet - but Sophie never gets too specific on how exactly their friendship grows or what they even talk about when they were spending so much time hanging out together.
Downing gives readers big wide sweeps of emotions, I just would have preferred a few more specifics here and there. If I had to categorize this story, I'd say it's both an issues and coming of age novel. I read this over the course of a few hours one evening, enjoyed it, and consider it a fine one-time read.
I'm always interested in 'dare' books, mostly because I'm such a pansy myself. As such, I was immediately intrigued by the premise. Sophie was a very realistic 17 year old girl - the things she worried about and her thought processes especially hit home. I had a lot of the same feelings at that age, and I honestly still do many years later.
However, as a narrator I felt like she was often holding back from readers. We get glimpses of the fact that not all is rosy at home, but we don't actually see much of it. Same goes for her relationships with her two best friends as the trio drifts apart, and even in her emerging romantic feelings towards next door neighbor Johnny. I really liked what was happening there - something raw and awkward and sweet - but Sophie never gets too specific on how exactly their friendship grows or what they even talk about when they were spending so much time hanging out together.
Downing gives readers big wide sweeps of emotions, I just would have preferred a few more specifics here and there. If I had to categorize this story, I'd say it's both an issues and coming of age novel. I read this over the course of a few hours one evening, enjoyed it, and consider it a fine one-time read.
jen286's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Really I don't understand the whole I need to do something with my life thinking, I am happy just being me and doing whatever I want to do, but I have known many people who get freaked out that they won't leave a lasting mark on the world. Sophie want to do something and not just be the good girl as...well I don't know why she feels the need to do that as I said I never have. I was always a good kid and never went to a party in high school or really did anything 'bad', but my friends and I had lots of fun. Anyways it was just a nice story and nothing really special to give it more than 3 stars, but I didn't hate either. I liked the characters and the ideas.
readingbelle's review
5.0
What a gem of a story!
Don’t you love it when you pick a book up having no expectations and it just pleases the heck out of you?? That is what I found with my most recent read ‘None of the Regular Rules’ by Erin Downing. I came across this book through my favorite tech friend Twitter. See Erin was offering up copies of None of the Regular Rules to bloggers for free in exchange for reviews so I thought “what the heck!” Now I had never read an Erin Downing book but I loved the cover and blurb so I shot her a message and she sent me the book. Well can you say win-win? Thanks Erin for offering up your book because I loved it and here is my review...
The official Blurb:
Sometimes, a few dares can change lives…
The weekend before the start of senior year, Sophie Erickson and her best friends, Ella and Grace, discover a handwritten list of dares tucked away in the glove compartment of Sophie’s beat-up old Toyota. But this isn’t just any list; it’s a dead girl's bucket list.
Sophie's beloved aunt Suzy died as a teenager in a fatal fall, leaving Sophie with an overly cautious family, a few fading photographs, and a bucket of bolts that barely passes for a car. But now, Sophie has Suzy’s list of the things she wanted to do in her last year of high school. Sophie can't help but wonder: What would happen if she tried to fulfill Suzy’s last wishes, to live out the longed-for life of her aunt, her hero?
As Sophie and her friends attempt to knock off the things on Suzy's list of dares, love blossoms in unexpected places and Sophie begins to feel that her life is finally coming together...when in fact, everything is slowly unraveling around her. When the truth about a long-held family secret threatens to shatter everything she believed to be true, Sophie is forced to question everything she knew about the life and people she believed in, and ultimately herself.
My thoughts upon finishing:
- Awwwwww!
- I need a reasonable bucket list to work on.
Meet Sophie, a smart go with the flow type of girl starting her senior year with her two best friends hippie Ella and over achiever Grace. Despite their differences the girls have been best friends since elementary school and are celebrating the start of their senior year when they come across a list of “dares” written by Sophie’s dead aunt when she was a senior.
Bring in Johnny Rush, Sophie’s uber popular neighbor, and longtime crush, who's about to head off to college but becomes a key in helping Sophie begin to find the confidence to complete some of her bucket list. Johnny and Sophie have lived side by side for years but she was always too timid to step outside her invisible fence to speak with him. Now, thanks to the bucket list, she and her friends attend their first “Johnny Rush” party which starts a chain of events that have the power to change their lives and their friendships.
As Sophie begins to feel happy with herself and the changes she has made she begins to realize that things are not quite what they seem and a huge family secret destroys her at a time when everything else has already fallen apart.
None of the Regular Rules is full of teenage fun and angst. I was brought back to high school as I recalled the need to want to fit in, the longing for that one guy that will never be the right one, the struggle with parents who didn’t understand and the need to find yourself. I read the book in two midnight sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it. A true YA novel with minimal (if any) language and no overtly sexual situations. This is a book you could give to an actual high schooler without worry of their parents getting mad at you ;) If you are a fan of YA realistic fiction, with a bit of drama, romance and comedy I would highly recommend None of the Regular Rules to you.
This review review was first posted on SupaGurl Books. Come check us out for reviews, giveaways and lots of fun!
http://supagurlbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/none-of-regular-rules-review-and.html?spref=tw
Don’t you love it when you pick a book up having no expectations and it just pleases the heck out of you?? That is what I found with my most recent read ‘None of the Regular Rules’ by Erin Downing. I came across this book through my favorite tech friend Twitter. See Erin was offering up copies of None of the Regular Rules to bloggers for free in exchange for reviews so I thought “what the heck!” Now I had never read an Erin Downing book but I loved the cover and blurb so I shot her a message and she sent me the book. Well can you say win-win? Thanks Erin for offering up your book because I loved it and here is my review...
The official Blurb:
Sometimes, a few dares can change lives…
The weekend before the start of senior year, Sophie Erickson and her best friends, Ella and Grace, discover a handwritten list of dares tucked away in the glove compartment of Sophie’s beat-up old Toyota. But this isn’t just any list; it’s a dead girl's bucket list.
Sophie's beloved aunt Suzy died as a teenager in a fatal fall, leaving Sophie with an overly cautious family, a few fading photographs, and a bucket of bolts that barely passes for a car. But now, Sophie has Suzy’s list of the things she wanted to do in her last year of high school. Sophie can't help but wonder: What would happen if she tried to fulfill Suzy’s last wishes, to live out the longed-for life of her aunt, her hero?
As Sophie and her friends attempt to knock off the things on Suzy's list of dares, love blossoms in unexpected places and Sophie begins to feel that her life is finally coming together...when in fact, everything is slowly unraveling around her. When the truth about a long-held family secret threatens to shatter everything she believed to be true, Sophie is forced to question everything she knew about the life and people she believed in, and ultimately herself.
My thoughts upon finishing:
- Awwwwww!
- I need a reasonable bucket list to work on.
Meet Sophie, a smart go with the flow type of girl starting her senior year with her two best friends hippie Ella and over achiever Grace. Despite their differences the girls have been best friends since elementary school and are celebrating the start of their senior year when they come across a list of “dares” written by Sophie’s dead aunt when she was a senior.
Bring in Johnny Rush, Sophie’s uber popular neighbor, and longtime crush, who's about to head off to college but becomes a key in helping Sophie begin to find the confidence to complete some of her bucket list. Johnny and Sophie have lived side by side for years but she was always too timid to step outside her invisible fence to speak with him. Now, thanks to the bucket list, she and her friends attend their first “Johnny Rush” party which starts a chain of events that have the power to change their lives and their friendships.
As Sophie begins to feel happy with herself and the changes she has made she begins to realize that things are not quite what they seem and a huge family secret destroys her at a time when everything else has already fallen apart.
None of the Regular Rules is full of teenage fun and angst. I was brought back to high school as I recalled the need to want to fit in, the longing for that one guy that will never be the right one, the struggle with parents who didn’t understand and the need to find yourself. I read the book in two midnight sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it. A true YA novel with minimal (if any) language and no overtly sexual situations. This is a book you could give to an actual high schooler without worry of their parents getting mad at you ;) If you are a fan of YA realistic fiction, with a bit of drama, romance and comedy I would highly recommend None of the Regular Rules to you.
This review review was first posted on SupaGurl Books. Come check us out for reviews, giveaways and lots of fun!
http://supagurlbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/none-of-regular-rules-review-and.html?spref=tw
meganmreads's review
4.0
None of the Regular Rules was a well written contemporary YA novel with wonderful characters that I felt like I knew and could relate to. This book was realistic in many ways without being extreme or gritty or dark. It dealt with many issues like coming of age, family, friends, romance, abuse, death, etc without being overly inspirational or overly dark, which I liked. While I do love gritty novels, this was not one of them and I thought that it still captured being a teenager extremely well.
When Sophie finds her dead aunt’s high school bucket list, she’s immediately inspired to start doing some of the things and crossing them off, especially because her aunt died young and didn’t have the chance to complete the list. By pushing herself and her friends to the limit, Sophie discovers a lot about herself and the people she cares about. Not only was she able to do things she never had the guts to do, she was forced to look at what kind of person she was and her own future. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to feeling like you are going to leave high school without ever doing some of the things you’ve always wanted to do or finally doing some of the things you’ve always wanted to and finding out it’s disappointing.
Parents are definitely present in this YA novel, which was refreshing. Parental involvement is frequently missing in YA novels and I think this one is more relatable because they are present in their children’s lives. Sophie and her friends have a variety of issues with their own families that they deal with in the book, which makes it realistic. It also adds intrigue to some of the tasks on the list because there is a chance of the girls getting caught by their parents. Overall, I enjoyed this aspect of the book.
There’s a touch of romance in the book, which I also liked. It wasn’t the main point, but I think it was enough that lovers of YA romance will be satisfied. There is absolutely no love triangle at all (!!! I know!!), which was nice and I think YA lovers that are a bit tired of love triangles will appreciate this book. It’s also not a part of a series, so YA lovers that are also tired of waiting for series or miss a good stand alone book will also appreciate it.
I thought None of the Regular Rules was a refreshing contemporary YA that makes for a great light read with a lot of realness to it. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
When Sophie finds her dead aunt’s high school bucket list, she’s immediately inspired to start doing some of the things and crossing them off, especially because her aunt died young and didn’t have the chance to complete the list. By pushing herself and her friends to the limit, Sophie discovers a lot about herself and the people she cares about. Not only was she able to do things she never had the guts to do, she was forced to look at what kind of person she was and her own future. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to feeling like you are going to leave high school without ever doing some of the things you’ve always wanted to do or finally doing some of the things you’ve always wanted to and finding out it’s disappointing.
Parents are definitely present in this YA novel, which was refreshing. Parental involvement is frequently missing in YA novels and I think this one is more relatable because they are present in their children’s lives. Sophie and her friends have a variety of issues with their own families that they deal with in the book, which makes it realistic. It also adds intrigue to some of the tasks on the list because there is a chance of the girls getting caught by their parents. Overall, I enjoyed this aspect of the book.
There’s a touch of romance in the book, which I also liked. It wasn’t the main point, but I think it was enough that lovers of YA romance will be satisfied. There is absolutely no love triangle at all (!!! I know!!), which was nice and I think YA lovers that are a bit tired of love triangles will appreciate this book. It’s also not a part of a series, so YA lovers that are also tired of waiting for series or miss a good stand alone book will also appreciate it.
I thought None of the Regular Rules was a refreshing contemporary YA that makes for a great light read with a lot of realness to it. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
michelle_pink_polka_dot's review
4.0
This book was a pleasant surprise for me! I really was expecting this to be something sad and depressing and it was actually more about Sophie finding herself than anything. When Sophie finds a list of "dares" that her aunt made before she died, she knows it has to mean something. She sees this as an opportunity to finish Suzy's bucket-list, but also for Sophie and her 2 best friends to mix it up for their senior year. Sophie is struggling to find herself and doesn't feel like she fits in with her perfect family, much the way Suzy was feeling before she died.
Along the way Sophie, Ella, and Grace get help from Johnny Rush, Sophie's hot neighbor. The chemistry between Johnny and Sophie was really great, I just wish Sophie wasn't so blunt when she got around him. I didn't feel like it suited her personality. Their relationship was just a little off for me, but that didn't stop me from wanting them to get together... I mean hello, who wouldn't like a guy named Johnny Rush!! Also i liked that Sophie and Johnny were able to take a step back when it was needed. Sophie really had to figure out her feelings for her aunt and how best to remember her on her own. Basically what I'm saying is that the romantic relationship did not overtake the book, which I thought was awesome.
The best part of this book was the friendship between the 3 girls! They had their ups and downs and weren't afraid to call each other out for acting bitchy. They were all so different, but at the same time they balanced each other. Grace was able to let loose more when she was with them, Ella wasn't as focused on being so hard, and Sophie was the glue that bonded them all together.
There was a *very* surprising twist involving Sophie's family that made the story that much more interesting! I was surprised and hurt for Sophie... her family really did have some issues.
Overall: I totally recommend this book. It was a really great coming of age YA book which I think fans of 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson would like!
My Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com
Along the way Sophie, Ella, and Grace get help from Johnny Rush, Sophie's hot neighbor. The chemistry between Johnny and Sophie was really great, I just wish Sophie wasn't so blunt when she got around him. I didn't feel like it suited her personality. Their relationship was just a little off for me, but that didn't stop me from wanting them to get together... I mean hello, who wouldn't like a guy named Johnny Rush!! Also i liked that Sophie and Johnny were able to take a step back when it was needed. Sophie really had to figure out her feelings for her aunt and how best to remember her on her own. Basically what I'm saying is that the romantic relationship did not overtake the book, which I thought was awesome.
The best part of this book was the friendship between the 3 girls! They had their ups and downs and weren't afraid to call each other out for acting bitchy. They were all so different, but at the same time they balanced each other. Grace was able to let loose more when she was with them, Ella wasn't as focused on being so hard, and Sophie was the glue that bonded them all together.
There was a *very* surprising twist involving Sophie's family that made the story that much more interesting! I was surprised and hurt for Sophie... her family really did have some issues.
Overall: I totally recommend this book. It was a really great coming of age YA book which I think fans of 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson would like!
My Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com
leahisdudish's review
3.0
I was kindly gifted this to review by the author, it’s currently only available as an ebook, but if you’re from the UK like I am. It’s only £2.00 in the kindle store so it’s not a bad price as books go.
Right, so, the book:
This is the story of Sophie as she is about to embark on her senior year and, like most people leaving school, she wants it to be special. However, she fears that it won’t be and that she’ll be unsatisfied with her final year of school if she can’t even work up the courage to go to her fit neighbour’s house party. But then, on a casual drive with her friends in her recently inherited car, she finds her late aunts bucket list and the three of them decide to complete each dare on the list so they can make their senior year truly memorable.
As the story progresses you see each of the characters have their own individual issues which conflicts with the list, like one of the dares is to jump off of a cliff into a stream and Sophie’s fear of heights has always prevented her from doing it.
In fact, all the characters are really interesting, I particularly thought Grace and Ella (the two friends) and their relationships with their families and the boys they’re crushing on really intriguing so it’s kind of frustrating that none of the characters had much depth.
None of the Regular Rules has a brilliant premise, it’s a great idea but I found the writing style hard to get into at certain points. There are moments where stuff is explained with too much detail or is mentioned that has no real impact on the story and it diverts attention and breaks the flow. But, if you can work past that then the story itself is engaging. I find the whole idea to be quite inspirational, if, like Sophie, you’ve come to a mile stone in your life and you want to do something different and exciting then this is great, you get to see how they all cope deviating from their usual lives and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.
I found the reveal about Suzy a little predictable, I personally saw it coming from the moment it was first bought up, but even so, it still packed a bit of an emotional punch. The ending was great too and I thought the Sophie and Johnny moments when they were getting to know each other and watching their relationship develop was really cute. It’s just the slightly bumbly prose that I had a few issue with but I’m fully prepared to accept that that was just me.
The absolute best moment had to be where Erin Downing did the thing. The thing where you mention the name of the work in the work. That happened. SHE DID THE THING! It doesn’t come across as being forced either, it happened and I was like AHAHAAA!! THE THING! WHERE YOU MENTION THE TITLE IN THE NARRATIVE!!!!!
All in all, it was an enjoyable journey through Sophie’s senior year and a great concept for a YA novel.
Right, so, the book:
This is the story of Sophie as she is about to embark on her senior year and, like most people leaving school, she wants it to be special. However, she fears that it won’t be and that she’ll be unsatisfied with her final year of school if she can’t even work up the courage to go to her fit neighbour’s house party. But then, on a casual drive with her friends in her recently inherited car, she finds her late aunts bucket list and the three of them decide to complete each dare on the list so they can make their senior year truly memorable.
As the story progresses you see each of the characters have their own individual issues which conflicts with the list, like one of the dares is to jump off of a cliff into a stream and Sophie’s fear of heights has always prevented her from doing it.
In fact, all the characters are really interesting, I particularly thought Grace and Ella (the two friends) and their relationships with their families and the boys they’re crushing on really intriguing so it’s kind of frustrating that none of the characters had much depth.
None of the Regular Rules has a brilliant premise, it’s a great idea but I found the writing style hard to get into at certain points. There are moments where stuff is explained with too much detail or is mentioned that has no real impact on the story and it diverts attention and breaks the flow. But, if you can work past that then the story itself is engaging. I find the whole idea to be quite inspirational, if, like Sophie, you’ve come to a mile stone in your life and you want to do something different and exciting then this is great, you get to see how they all cope deviating from their usual lives and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.
I found the reveal about Suzy a little predictable, I personally saw it coming from the moment it was first bought up, but even so, it still packed a bit of an emotional punch. The ending was great too and I thought the Sophie and Johnny moments when they were getting to know each other and watching their relationship develop was really cute. It’s just the slightly bumbly prose that I had a few issue with but I’m fully prepared to accept that that was just me.
The absolute best moment had to be where Erin Downing did the thing. The thing where you mention the name of the work in the work. That happened. SHE DID THE THING! It doesn’t come across as being forced either, it happened and I was like AHAHAAA!! THE THING! WHERE YOU MENTION THE TITLE IN THE NARRATIVE!!!!!
All in all, it was an enjoyable journey through Sophie’s senior year and a great concept for a YA novel.
rachelcully's review
3.0
A fun read. Nothing earth shattering or heart wrenching, but still a good story. I almost reared up at parts. I could really relate to Sophie. And while at first I thought Johnny Rush was just a pretty face with a few screws loose, he did come to grow on me. A cute read with a real story that for the right reader can really hit home.
loveisnotatriangle's review
4.0
I wanted to feel the pressure of trying something new – of risking something before we were thrown out into the world with a bunch of strangers and all of the security of home stripped away.
Senior year is about to begin and Sophie Erickson has decided that she wants more from her life than her safe, parental-approved existence. She sees her future after high school stretching out before her with a big blank, impenetrable wall blocking the way, and she's ready to do something to change that. Instead of watching safely from the sidelines Sophie decides that this is the year that she will step out from the background and experience life. She wants to do something to define herself, but she’s not sure what that will be. Until she finds a hand written list of dares in her late aunt Suzy's car.
Sophie always looked up to her aunt, whom she saw as brave and the only person in her family willing to take chances and go after what she want. Although Suzy died tragically 10 years ago when she was in high school and Sophie was only 8, Sophie still feels a strong connection to her. That bond has never been stronger than now, when Sophie is entering her own senior year of high school and has inherited Suzy's car. When Sophie and her two best friends find the list of dares that her aunt wrote in high school, Sophie decides that she will complete the list to honor her aunt, but also as a way to step outside of herself and hopefully, discover who she is in the process.
None of the Regular Rules is a book about friendships. Although Sophie is the driving force behind committing to the list of dares, she wants to share the experience with her two best friends, Grace and Ella. It is Sophie's enthusiasm that makes them excited to participate. Grace is popular, athletic and a great student; Ella has an eccentric, artistic style, is a part of the yearbook crowd and wants to see the world after high school. Sophie in many ways is the balance between them, but each of the three girls is dissatisfied with something in her life. The three of them have been friends since childhood, and though they are are all different from each other, they have somehow been able to maintain a friendship throughout school. I really love that this is a book about a friendship between three girls. It is how many of my friendships have formed, and the story was more relatable because of it.
Sophie, Ella and Grace have known each other long enough to be able to read each others’ moods, call the other out when she is being idiots and also push each other’s buttons. During their senior year, their relationship will be tested by guys, misunderstandings and pressures at the end of high school. With the big changes of college – and expectations for the future – looming, they are still growing and learning how to relate to each other, they are also still having fun and challenging each other in the process. Sophie, Ella and Grace’s relationship is by no means perfect, but it is dynamic and that makes it real. It was refreshing to read a book that focuses on healthy, supportive girl friendships.
In addition to the focus on friendships, two themes that really resonated with me in None of The Regular Rules were perception and identity. How you perceive someone before you meet them can be very different than what they are like once you get to know them. We all judge others before we know who they are, or put people on pedestals only to watch them fall. This is never an easy lesson, but it is one that everyone learns - sometimes in more painful ways than others. On the flip side, is the concept of developing your own identity. Learning how to be authentic regardless of what others think is true about you (or want to be true about you), and regardless of whether you disappoint others in the process. It is never so important to learn these lessons than the end of high school, when your future is looming ahead, and when you have to make your own decisions about what that future looks like for you, regardless of what your parents or anyone else thinks. It takes a fair bit of bravery to do this, which is something that each of the three girls develops over the course of the book.
Of course a romance weaves its way through the story. Featuring Sophie and her neighbor Johnny Rush, the love story is not the center of the plot, but fits into it nicely. While I will admit to being slightly disappointed in the way it progresses, it does feature some sweet and swoonworthy moments that I enjoyed. I wish we'd gotten to know Johnny a little better, and that he'd opened up to Sophie sooner. Despite his friendly, upbeat personality, he was not always forthcoming with information about himself and that made me suspicious about him.
None of the Regular Rules is a fantastic look at friendships, love and identity at the end of high school. Growing up and defining who you are doesn't have to mean loosing friends or leaving your past behind. And though trying something new can open yourself up to failure, it can also bring things - and people - into your life that you would have missed otherwise.
Love Triangle Factor: Mild
Cliffhanger Scale: Standalone
Senior year is about to begin and Sophie Erickson has decided that she wants more from her life than her safe, parental-approved existence. She sees her future after high school stretching out before her with a big blank, impenetrable wall blocking the way, and she's ready to do something to change that. Instead of watching safely from the sidelines Sophie decides that this is the year that she will step out from the background and experience life. She wants to do something to define herself, but she’s not sure what that will be. Until she finds a hand written list of dares in her late aunt Suzy's car.
Sophie always looked up to her aunt, whom she saw as brave and the only person in her family willing to take chances and go after what she want. Although Suzy died tragically 10 years ago when she was in high school and Sophie was only 8, Sophie still feels a strong connection to her. That bond has never been stronger than now, when Sophie is entering her own senior year of high school and has inherited Suzy's car. When Sophie and her two best friends find the list of dares that her aunt wrote in high school, Sophie decides that she will complete the list to honor her aunt, but also as a way to step outside of herself and hopefully, discover who she is in the process.
None of the Regular Rules is a book about friendships. Although Sophie is the driving force behind committing to the list of dares, she wants to share the experience with her two best friends, Grace and Ella. It is Sophie's enthusiasm that makes them excited to participate. Grace is popular, athletic and a great student; Ella has an eccentric, artistic style, is a part of the yearbook crowd and wants to see the world after high school. Sophie in many ways is the balance between them, but each of the three girls is dissatisfied with something in her life. The three of them have been friends since childhood, and though they are are all different from each other, they have somehow been able to maintain a friendship throughout school. I really love that this is a book about a friendship between three girls. It is how many of my friendships have formed, and the story was more relatable because of it.
Sophie, Ella and Grace have known each other long enough to be able to read each others’ moods, call the other out when she is being idiots and also push each other’s buttons. During their senior year, their relationship will be tested by guys, misunderstandings and pressures at the end of high school. With the big changes of college – and expectations for the future – looming, they are still growing and learning how to relate to each other, they are also still having fun and challenging each other in the process. Sophie, Ella and Grace’s relationship is by no means perfect, but it is dynamic and that makes it real. It was refreshing to read a book that focuses on healthy, supportive girl friendships.
In addition to the focus on friendships, two themes that really resonated with me in None of The Regular Rules were perception and identity. How you perceive someone before you meet them can be very different than what they are like once you get to know them. We all judge others before we know who they are, or put people on pedestals only to watch them fall. This is never an easy lesson, but it is one that everyone learns - sometimes in more painful ways than others. On the flip side, is the concept of developing your own identity. Learning how to be authentic regardless of what others think is true about you (or want to be true about you), and regardless of whether you disappoint others in the process. It is never so important to learn these lessons than the end of high school, when your future is looming ahead, and when you have to make your own decisions about what that future looks like for you, regardless of what your parents or anyone else thinks. It takes a fair bit of bravery to do this, which is something that each of the three girls develops over the course of the book.
Of course a romance weaves its way through the story. Featuring Sophie and her neighbor Johnny Rush, the love story is not the center of the plot, but fits into it nicely. While I will admit to being slightly disappointed in the way it progresses, it does feature some sweet and swoonworthy moments that I enjoyed. I wish we'd gotten to know Johnny a little better, and that he'd opened up to Sophie sooner. Despite his friendly, upbeat personality, he was not always forthcoming with information about himself and that made me suspicious about him.
None of the Regular Rules is a fantastic look at friendships, love and identity at the end of high school. Growing up and defining who you are doesn't have to mean loosing friends or leaving your past behind. And though trying something new can open yourself up to failure, it can also bring things - and people - into your life that you would have missed otherwise.
Love Triangle Factor: Mild
Cliffhanger Scale: Standalone
authorheatherw's review
4.0
This book was a cute and fun read! I liked the concept of three friends trying to shake up their lives by completing a list of dares left behind by Sophie’s deceased Aunt Suzy. There was a certain level of predictability to the plot, but it was still a sweet story.
Sophie, Grace and Ella are three best friends who are beginning their senior year of high school. They each have their own distinct personalities, but have been friends since grade school. The girls were relatable and I loved reading about the ups and downs of their friendship. The girls are fumbling in different aspects of their lives and it was sweet how they relied on each other to get through the tough times.
I loved Sophie, she’s a girl you can cheer for. She’s quiet and unassuming and has spent high school being the silent observer. Whenever she completed one of her aunt’s dares, I felt like she was growing so much as a character.
I think the friendship was the driving force of the novel. The cover threw me off a little bit since it made me guess that the romance was more of the focal point. In actuality, Sophie and Johnny’s relationship came off as a fling. I thought they were cute together, but I kept thinking that it was probably not going to last.
By halfway through the novel, it starts to tackle more serious issues, which added depth to the story. Without giving anything away, revelations cause Sophie to question everything in her life. I liked how the author depicted her changing emotions and how she overcame her darker thoughts with the help of her friends. I especially liked the ending and thought it was a cute way to conclude Sophie’s journey.
This is an enjoyable YA novel about love and friendship. I look forward to reading more from the author!
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for a copy of this novel for review!
Sophie, Grace and Ella are three best friends who are beginning their senior year of high school. They each have their own distinct personalities, but have been friends since grade school. The girls were relatable and I loved reading about the ups and downs of their friendship. The girls are fumbling in different aspects of their lives and it was sweet how they relied on each other to get through the tough times.
I loved Sophie, she’s a girl you can cheer for. She’s quiet and unassuming and has spent high school being the silent observer. Whenever she completed one of her aunt’s dares, I felt like she was growing so much as a character.
I think the friendship was the driving force of the novel. The cover threw me off a little bit since it made me guess that the romance was more of the focal point. In actuality, Sophie and Johnny’s relationship came off as a fling. I thought they were cute together, but I kept thinking that it was probably not going to last.
By halfway through the novel, it starts to tackle more serious issues, which added depth to the story. Without giving anything away, revelations cause Sophie to question everything in her life. I liked how the author depicted her changing emotions and how she overcame her darker thoughts with the help of her friends. I especially liked the ending and thought it was a cute way to conclude Sophie’s journey.
This is an enjoyable YA novel about love and friendship. I look forward to reading more from the author!
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for a copy of this novel for review!