Customer Reviews

The Alison Rules

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love all of Catherine Clarks other books (Truth or Dairy, Wurst Case Scenario, and so on), but at first I didn't really like this book. THE ALISON RULES is a more serious book, and because of that it starts off a little slowly. But after a while, it begins to pick up, and I couldn't put the book down.

THE ALISON RULES is about high school sophomore Alison and her best friend Laurie. Not long ago, Alison's mother died, and she's having a heck of a time coping. Laurie's the funny, outgoing, playful one - and she tries to get Alison to cope, but she's not overly pushy. Alison is more introverted and quiet, and she thinks that just avoiding everything that reminds her of her mom will make her pain go away.

Halfway through the school year Patrick Kirk (or Patrick Kirkpatrick, as Laurie calls him) transferrs into their geometry class. The two girls befriend him, and also start to fall for him.

On a class trip to Boston, Laurie tells Patrick how Alison's mom died (this is how the reader finds out, as well) and then the two girls are in a huge arguement. But a little while later, something happens that will - oddly enough - help Alison learn how to cope with losing her mom.

THE ALISON RULES is an amazing book - its more serious than Ms. Clark's other books, but its also more touching and heartfelt. I couldn't put it down after a while. Warning: you might want to keep a box of Kleenex handy - I was crying like a baby during this book.

Overall grade - A+

The book Alison Rules is a great book for anyone who remembers being a teenager, or still is for that matter, as well as anyone who has had to deal with the loss of a loved one. The book is from the point of view of Alison, a sophmore in high school. She had lost her mother in the previous summer, and we get a feel of how it feels like to cope with such a terrible loss, and how much harder it really is than it appears to those who have never had that happen yet, or to those of you who have recently lost someone, this book gives a great explanation of view of significant teenage girl dealing with losing someone close.
The author does a great job of thinking like a young teenage girl. I being one myself, understood where Alison was coming from through out the book, and all of it was really accurate, anywhere from not understanding math, to best friend disputes, to getting around to spending quality family time, along with other typical and not so typical events and scenarios through out the book.
To those who do read this book, the beginning and well through the middle of the book, its pretty slow, but don't give up on the book!! It has a shocking ending, that really comes out of no where, and it really hits you hard. I recommend that you read the entire book. You need to read through to the end to really understand the whole meaning of the book. Its as if the last part of the book ties the entire story of the Alison Rules all together, and you realize just how much of it you didn't really understand at the beginning.
i hope you enjoy the book!!

The Alison Rules is one of the best books i've ever read. It made me laugh and cry. It also teaches you life lessons. Alison already lost her mom and decides to cope with that by never thinking about her and never having a fun time. When she finally meets a guy named Patrick. But her best friend likes him also. At the end its very sad but gives you a good lesson in life of how you should deal with things. I would recomend it to anyone looking for a good book to read.

The Alison Rules is a great book. I checked it out from the school library to read after finals; and I'm definitely going to buy it.

The Alison Rules is about Alison Keaney. From the first chapter, you know that Alison has been through a tragedy, but the tragedy's details aren't revealed until about the middle of the book. Alison's best friend Laurie is more outgoing, and Laurie develops a love for Patrick Kirk, the new boy who becomes both of their friends.

Then, near the end, Alison suffers another tragedy that shakes up her life. Will she learn to deal with her mother's tragedy as well, or will she go into spirals of depression? Read and find out!

I read this book in less than a day--I just had to know what happened to Alison. She's a character you can believe in: small town, normal girl with issues. I likey.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because the characters were believable. Catherine knows how to write. She hasn't forgotten what it feels like to be a teen. Her characters sound like teens. They act like teens. The Alison Rules is a sad story about a girl named Alison who is trying to cope with the death of her mother. I don't want to reveal too much here, but this book is a definitely a good one. I suggest to all teen readers and anyone who enjoys coming of age stories.

Alison has a lot of rules: When stealing a rowboat, always check that the oars are the same length, so you don't go in circles. In reference to your best friend's crush, keep your feelings to yourself. And never use your locker if that's where you were standing when told the very worst news of all in The Alison Rules (2006) by Catherine Clark.

Some of her rules aren't the most rational. But when your mother is dead, rationality isn't really important. In fact, it isn't even really a concern. Between the rules and her best friend, Laurie, Alison manages to get by. Maybe she isn't having the greatest time, but at least she's surviving.

Everything changes when a new boy moves to Alison's small town. Patrick is fun, different, and he might be exactly what Alison needs. Unfortunately both Alison and Laurie fall for Patrick setting off a series of arguments and events that will ultimately tear the two friends apart.

The Alison Rules was not the book I expected it to be. After looking at the cover and reading the blurb it seemed like a fun book that would have an ultimately okay ending.

I was wrong.

Don't get me wrong. Being surprised by a book is fine. It is usually a good thing. But I found the ending of The Alison Rules to be completely unforgivable. It was unnecessary, excessive, and made no sense in the general arc of the story. I would love to pick it apart for you here, but I don't post spoilers. Suffice it to say this is a story about growing up, grieving, and friendship.Then Catherine Clark threw in a surprise twist that, for me, completely invalidated everything else I had read in the book. I hate to say it so strongly but: Not recommended.

This book had a good message and I can kinda relate to how Alison felt. But then again it was so hard for me to get into this book. I found myself rushing through the book just so I can be done with reading it. This is one of those book where you read it one time and then when your dont you never want to pick it up again. I read it in one day and then took it back right after I read it...that is not a good thing for me. To make a long story short, if you like really sad books that make you cry and pretty much make you depressed, than this is the book for you.

From the amazing author Catherine Clark comes this incredibly moving story, The Alison Rules.

Despite what Alison's friend Laurie always says, Alison always insists she doesn't have a set of rules. However, she does follow a strange pattern of behavior. She broke up with her older, football-playing boyfriend (one of "the Gods"), she avoids her locker, and she refuses to go to Boston. And everything is getting along fine in Alison's opinion until the new guy Patrick comes along.

The main issue with Patrick is the love triangle. Laurie likes Patrick, and so does Alison though she refuses to admit it. Patrick likes Laurie as a friend, but he likes Alison more than that. Alison believes she can't be with Patrick because she would be betraying Laurie.

Alison is forced to confront her past and everything that has been bothering her on a trip to Boston. There, everything comes out. Laurie cruelly exposes Alison's weaknesses until Alison can't take it anymore. There we learn what terrible thing happened to Alison that caused her to create her rules: the death of her mother.

The Alison Rules is the basic story of a teen learning to deal with the death of someone close when they feel like there's no one who understands them. After a period of withdrawal, Alison finally learns to cope, though the event that catalyzes this is most surprising and heartbreaking.

This was one of the most moving books I have read in a very long time. I even spent the last half of the book crying; that's how sad it was. I wouldn't recommend this book if you are looking for a light read, but if you want something with depth and meaning, this novel and other from Catherine Clark are a good choice.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com

i was a little bored at the beginning because i thought nothing was ever going to happen but from then on it kept my interest and i could'nt put it down....literally oh yeah and the ending...oh man i never saw that coming! thats what made me love this book!!!!

Catherine Clark is one of my favorite authors and I fell in love with her books "Truth Or Diary" and "Wurst Case Scenario". Unfortunately, I did not fall in love with this book like I did the others.

Alison is a smart girl with one good friend. Alison's mother died the year before and Alison is feeling withdrawn. A new boy, named Patrick, moves into her tiny home town and both Alison and her best friend, Laurie, get crushes on him. It turns out that Patrick likes Alison, and not Laurie, which leads to Laurie and Alison fighting. Then something happens that changes Alison's life forever, just as her mother's death did.

I did not feel that this book kept up pace and by the end of the book, the whole story had changed completely and the plot line was not consistent. By the end I was asking many questions that did not get answered. What happens between Alison and Patrick? Why did the story have to change so suddenly?

This was an average teen book, but definitely not the best. Look to Clark's other books for better reading.

~Atalanta