Review: The Six Rules of Maybe

The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti 

16th March 2010 | Simon Pulse

From the author of The Nature of Jade.


Summary: Scarlett Hughes is overly involved in the lives of everyone around her, and exceptionally interested in the habits of her neighbors. But Scarlett is thrust solidly into her own life when her sister, Juliet, returns home from school—pregnant and surprisingly married to a sweet, handsome man whom she seems to have no interest in, but who is hopelessly in love with her. Forced to take a look inward for the first time, Scarlett discovers the necessity of dreams, as well as the necessity of facing reality and 

speaking the truth.

OUT OF FIVE STARS

Review: I really wanted to enjoy Deb Caletti's latest novel, she is such a large name in Young Adult and not too far in style from my favourite author Sarah Dessen but The Six Rules of Maybe ultimately finds my brain wandering when Caletti goes into way too much detail on almost every page and leaves me asking whether she should make the jump to adult as her in-depth analysis' may be more suited to the older market. 

Scarlet has always felt that her older sister Juliet is superior to her in every which way especially since she was so much more popular than her in High School but when Juliet comes home pregnant and married Scarlet starts to wonder whether she really is the golden child her mother makes her out to be. 

The main problem I think I held with this book is the fact that I didn't connect well with or relate to Scarlet and I think this had to do with the fact that she allowed herself to form a crush on her pregnant sister's husband, she spends many a late night chatting with him and many more chapters discussing him. 

I would've liked to see more of a relationship with Jesse, while this would've been breaking a major rule in the best friend handbook, the few moment they did have together were monumental. 

As I think back over the story there were so many sub plots and characters that there is sure to be something that sparks your interest in here. I recommend it to females of any age who have ever felt held back by their shyness or a willingness to please. 

The highlights of the book for me were the love interest Jesse held on Scarlet, I would've liked to see much more of this and one of the early in-depth analysis' Caletti wrote on the quieter people of society, i really connected well with it. 

The ending was pulled together really well, but I still can't get over the fact that she crossed the line with her sister's boyfriend and the ever frequent long and winding analysis' on shyness.

Available now from Amazon and The Book Depository.