Customer Reviews

The Unwritten Rule

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before you read further, go buy Scott's novel Living Dead Girl -- now there's a novel that will appeal to YA readers everywhere.

I'm not sure why most of the reviewers think this book was so great. To me, it seemed such a cliche of bad friendship, high school, and the mean person getting her comeuppance. Frankly, I can only imagine that the positive reviews from the book are either from women who have "stolen" their best friend's boyfriend or from those who wish they could. The justification for Sarah and Ryan getting together seems to be that Brianna was the "bad friend" who put Sarah down. I am not buying into that whole cliche that Brianna got what she deserved. Sarah was not a good, honest friend to her. Sure Brianna had lots of issues -- and her parents were also portrayed as very one-dimensional as were all the characters in this novel -- but was she deserving of her boyfriend and her so called best friend going behind her back? What prevented them from being upfront and honest from the beginning? Immaturity. I had no respect for either.

There's a reason for this "unwritten rule" among girlfriends, and a code that exists because of the potential for ruining friendships and destroying long held trust between girls who've been together long before any boy came on the scene. I'm staunchly on the side of "if your best friend dated him, he's off limits forever" position.

In this novel, Scott makes Brianna so bad that it sort of ends up justifying Sarah's cheating on her friend and taking her boyfriend. And why, if Ryan did like Sarah so much, did he go out with Brianna in the first place AND why didn't he break up with her long before the 2 month anniversary. His total passivity and weakness make him a totally unappealing male character -- what? he can't help himself when enveloped into Brianna's life? Please. It's insulting to teenage boys everywhere -- they can't choose who they go out with and they go out with a girl when they like another?

I think the author took liberties with an old tired plot line -- and I was sorely disappointed in this totally predictable teen romance novel that rationalizes and excuses dishonest behavior. I think that the discriminating young adult novel reader will see through this thin device and the "happy ending" that has broken an "unwritten rule"...I would still advise girls to stay away from their best friend's boyfriend.

I won't be recommending this one.

Sarah liked Ryan first, but that doesn't matter because he is now her best friend Brianna's boyfriend. And even though Sarah is well aware of the unwritten rule of friendship--you aren't supposed to like your best friend's boyfriend--it still hurts to see Ryan with Brianna. But then one night, at a party, things change for the three of them, and even as Sarah desperately attempts to be a good friend and do the right thing, she can't stop imagining what it would be like if Ryan were dating her.

The Unwritten Rule is one of Elizabeth Scott's most simple yet achingly realistic books. Though the issue at the heart of the book, liking your best friend's boyfriend, isn't exactly special or unique, Scott works her magic, making this book about so much more than messy love, but about friendship, how far loyalty extends, and familial relationships and their own set of complexities. Though for the most part The Unwritten Rule has the feel of a light, romantic book with its occasional predictability, Scott packs in plenty of emotion, and the reader can't help but feel more conflicted and empathetic with Sarah as she is drawn farther into Brianna's drama and a few things about herself and that friendship, true friendship, goes both ways. As always, Scott's magnetism will enthrall many, and her style is simple and convincing. This book is an open and excellent look at the drama and heartache involved in love and friendship.

Cover Comments: I always like how cute and bright Elizabeth's covers are, and this one is no exception! I do wonder though, if feet are becoming a bit of a trend in her covers...this is the fourth book by her with feet on the cover. Otherwise, very nice, simple, clean. I like it a lot.

Sarah knows she shouldn't like Ryan. Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend. There's an unwritten rule in friendship - no crushes on your best friend's boy. But the attraction is there - and besides, Sarah liked him first. When Ryan and Sarah are thrown together one night, something happens. Sarah is torn apart by guilt and wanting to act on her feelings.

Elizabeth Scott is an amazing author - she can write anything and I'm always amazed at her talent. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this one, as I hate love triangles and stealing someone's boyfriend - no way! But Ms. Scott pulls it off in a wonderful way that made me feel for the characters.

As much as I liked Sarah and Ryan, Brianna was the stand-out character for me. I would like her and hate her at the same time. I would feel sorry for her but I'd also want to yell at her for being so mean. Ms. Scott walks a very fine line with Brianna and it works; she kept me guessing about her the entire time. Was she good or bad? Someone to like or not? And could we make excuses for her? I could have an entire book discussion on just Brianna alone!

But I can't leave Sarah out (and not just because she shares my name)! Your heart aches with her as she is wracked with guilt over wanting her best friend's boyfriend and wanting to remain loyal to Brianna. The story is slowly unraveled, and bits and pieces about the past are unveiled and the reader, like Sarah, wants so badly for Sarah and Ryan to be together.

I also love the families that Ms. Scott writes - she has the best supporting characters. I loved that Sarah was close to her parents and she's okay staying at home with them. I've always had a close relationship with my family, even as a teen, and that is a rare thing to find in YA books. Sarah's relationship with her parents was believable and they were a family I would love to visit.

This is an emotional novel and one that will stick with you. It might sound like it'll be a fluffy chick lit romance, and while there is romance, it's certainly not fluff! If you've read anything by Elizabeth Scott, you know she writes great romances and this one is no exception. It's never an easy or light romance - it's heart-wrenching and heartbreaking and real.

THE UNWRITTEN RULE doesn't take the easy, all-will-be-perfect route to this story, which I think makes the book even more realistic. This one will have you thinking about your friendships and relationships long after you read the last page.

Reviewed by: Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen

I think it's impossible for someone not relate to something in The Unwritten Rule. Be it having a crush on your friend's (or best friend's) boyfriend or maybe being friends with someone that uses you as a stepping stool, they can't give you a compliment without sort of insulting you at the same time. There is a lot here and I know it sure gave me a lot to think about and all the while Scott is writing in her relatable and humorous voice.

I love how the book is super romantic but also very serious when it comes to friendship and family issues. It's really a very well rounded book. At first Sarah's best friend Brianna seems like the sweetest friend ever but little by little you realize she's doing things for herself that are uncomfortable and wrong for her friend and boyfriend but she's not doing it without reason. She has some serious family issues but the book makes you think about the fact that you can only help a person so much without getting wrapped up in their issues and messing up your own life.

And normally you'd think of a potential boyfriend stealer as someone horribly awful but Scott writes Sarah and her past with Ryan in such a way that you (at least I did) think they should be together and it's always meant to be that way. And same with Ryan, he didn't come off as the sleazy boyfriend, he was almost angelic and wanted to do what was right for his girlfriend but also himself.

I tore through The Unwritten Rule wanting to find out how this how love triangle was going to work itself out and let me tell you I loved the entire ride and outcome. Of the 3 Elizabeth Scott books I've read this is definitely my favorite!

I think we've all been there in our teens where we had a major crush on a boy but don't know how to go about telling him, the fear that he'd never like us and we step aside for our friend who also has feelings for him.

Unfortunately, The Written Rule was a major disappointment for me. It had no real depth and the main characters annoyed me immensely. Carrie Jones has the blurb on the cover where she says this is brilliant, touching and true. I beg to differ. It's really none of the above.

Sara has an all-consuming crush on Ryan. So much so that he's all she can think about. Sara doesn't think she has a chance with Ryan because she feels she's nothing special. Sara fades into the background all because of her beautiful and vivacious best friend, Brianna. Sara is well liked by the majority of her classmates but she's more the type that is just "there". Sara comes from a well-rounded family, with a loving mother and father and loves wearing bright colorful sneakers to show off her lacking personality she feels she has. One day at a party, Ryan starts talking to her and they have a moment where he may kiss her. But then Brianna walks in and it's all over for Sara. Ryan goes off with Brianna and they next thing that happens is that Ryan and Brianna are a couple. But wherever they go, Sara is there and soon something horrible happens. Ryan drives Sara home one night and they end up kissing. Sara is ashamed that she has betrayed Brianna and doesn't know how to tell her. And then Ryan says he wants to be with Sara and will find a way to tell Brianna. Sara is torn because friends should come before boys, but she wants Ryan so much.

The Unwritten Rule has a great premise but the exposition fails big time. Elizabeth tries her best to explain why Sara is to torn up about her and Ryan kissing. The big problem I had is with Ryan, this wishy-washy character, who with one word right from the start could have solved everything. Ryan is like a ghost, a pale one-dimensional, lacking in major personality figure who if he was man enough, wouldn't haven't allowed things go on this far with Brianna. We never get the full story on why he decides to be with Brianna even after she kisses him as her way to manipulate him into being her boyfriend. Sara isn't defined at all even with the book being from her point of view. She's just as one-dimensional as Ryan, where they only reason the reader should side with her is because of all the heartache she's going through, which I get, but seriously, Brianna's heart isn't really into Ryan. She claims him just because she wants to. And Brianna's reactions to the world around her confused me the majority of the time.

I really tried to sympathize with Sara since she has unrequited love for Ryan and doesn't want to hurt Brianna, her best friend and confidant, who is truly a heartless brat. But since Sara doesn't really have any redeemable qualities, except for her quirk with sneakers, which I felt was put in there to show how different and special she is, The Unwritten Rule is a reading fail.

Also, at one point Brianna uses the good old "F" word, which came out of nowhere, and I guess would be justified since her reaction makes sense, but the tone of this book is more PG if anything and caters more for the under thirteen year old crowd. Inserting that word and the insults Brianna is supposed to bring forth an emotional reaction from the reader. It doesn't and is almost insulting the reader's intelligence.

The Unwritten Rule is one book I wouldn't recommend to any teenager who wants to read a humorous and what should be an adorable outlook on secret love and the angst a teen goes through. The Unwritten Rule could have been so much more, but wasn't.

This is a major pass.

Katiebabs

The Unwritten Rule is my third Elizabeth Scott book and my least favorite out of the three (the other two are Living Dead Girl and Love You Hate You Miss You which deal with sexual abuse and death respectively).

The book can be summarized very briefly: Sarah and Brianna are best friends, Brianna is dating Ryan, Sarah likes Ryan, and Ryan wants to be with Sarah too. Will the girls' friendship survive the squabble over the guy?

The main problem with this book is that it is very simplistic, there are no layers to the story, basically nothing much happens in it. 95% of the book are Sarah's thoughts on the matter that go like this: "I like Ryan so much. I've liked him since 8th grade. But he is dating my best friend Brianna. She's been my best friend since the kindergarten. But Ryan likes me more than Brianna. But Brianna loves Ryan too. But their relationship isn't working. But Brianna's parents are so horrible, I can's take Ryan from her too. But I like Ryan so much..." And it goes on and on like this in circles forever, making this short 200 page long book very boring and repetitive.

Main characters are also very hard to get attached to. They are not interesting or compelling - Sarah is a goody motherly type of girl, Brianna is an outright mean girl, and Ryan is a doormat-ish stud. This assortment of cliche characters doesn't leave much room for moral dilemma, it is very easy to discount bad girl Brianna's feelings and forgive good girl Sarah's deceit.

IMO this subject has been portrayed infinitely better in E. Lockhart's Ruby Oliver books.

One of the unwritten rules of friendship is you don't fall in love with your best friend's boyfriend?

But what if you've been in love with him for years now and it was your best friend who stole him from you? Or what if it was really you he was pursuing but you assumed he was chasing the friend because of an earlier date snafu?

What would you do?

That's the dilemma that faces Sarah in Elizabeth Scott's "The Unwritten Rule." Sarah is a typical Scott heroine--the shy girl who likes to be invisible. But whereas other Scott protagonists have not necessarily had a lot of friends, Sarah's been best friends with Brianna since the two were in kindergarten and Brianna rescued Sarah from an overbearing, bullying want-to-be best friend. Or did she?

On the surface, "The Unwritten Rule" may appear to be about the rivalry for a boy and unrequited love Sarah faces. But dig a bit deeper and the story really explores the nature of friendship and the question of whether Sarah and Brianna are really friends and the foundation for their long standing friendship. Brianna has her own issues from parents who ignore her except when battling over her in court to some insecurities. While the story is clearly on Sarah's side in things, the novel doesn't make Brianna out to be an out and out villain, but allows us to feel a bit of sympathy for her, even if the story is clearly rooting for Sarah and Ryan (the boyfriend) to get together.

As usual, Scott nails the authenticity of the situation with characters that are both realistic and interesting. And as with most of her books, the issues and questions explored here are more than just the simple premise of what would happen if you were in love with your best friend's significant other.

If he doesn't like you enough not to date your shallow, manipulative, drama queen friend, then you should move on to someone else.

Sarah liked Ryan first. Ryan liked Sarah back and due to a strange and clearly unforgivable lapse in judgment on the part of Brianna (Sarah's best friend) and Sarah (for forgiving Brianna of being a man stealing cow) Ryan and Sarah's relationship is put on permanent hold. Fast forward to the present and Brianna and Ryan are now a couple.

Right about here is where I found it hard to sympathize with Sarah. I mean, sure, fine, you like your evil best friends arm candy, so what, get over it. If he wanted to be with you, why is he with Brianna? Over and over, Ryan, who's clearly calling the shots in this love triangle, no matter if Brianna is wandering around, trying to destroy everyone and everything in her quest for 'damage girl of the year,' stays with Brianna. He is Brianna's boyfriend.

Why? I'll tell you why. Ryan can't make up his mind. Sure, Brianna has a lot of crap going on and Sarah and Ryan say they want to help her, 'she's so needy, she couldn't bear further heartache,' but what they can dish out in the name of friendship and caring isn't really what Brianna needs and besides, why should everyone sacrifice their happiness for one person (especially one who is kinda mean to the people she calls friends?).

Frankly, I found Ryan to be the most mushy (and I don't mean that in a nice way) character in the book. He just wont make a decision. He lets others take the fall for him and most annoying of all, he is bossed around by Brianna like a diva with a puppy dog.

I think Sarah could do better than Ryan and I kinda hoped she'd figure that out by the end of the book.

But, you know what, this book review has been more about my views on relationships than on the book itself. I think that people who want to be together are. Love will find a way.

So, back to the review. All in all this was a steady and believable story. The characters were real and the storyline so familiar I could have inserted the names of my High School buddies and had just about the same story (different ending though).

So, if you like a dramatic and emotional read from the perspective of a girl in love with her best friend's boyfriend, this is the book for you. IF you like a different take on a similar theme, check out Laura Moriarty's book, The Center of Everything.

Generally, I love Elizabeth Scotts books. Usually, Scott is able to create characters and situations that feel real, and novels that can warm the heart. Unfortunatly, Scott's attempt with "The Unwritten Rule," falls flat.

First off, the novel begins halfway through the story of Ryan and Sarah's ill-fated courtship. The story begins where, after the two have had crushes on each other for years, Ryan ends up as Sarah's best friend, Brianna's, boyfriend. In the beginning of the novel, it is unclear why both Ryan and Sarah like each other and why Brianna got in their way. Instead, the start of the novel is filled with the Sarah's inner thoughts where she is pining after her lost love.

This does not endear the reader to Sarah, nor does it endear the reader to her relationship with Ryan when she is soon after found kissing him in the car as he drives her home from the party. There is no build-up of chemistry, no cute scenes of them getting to know eachother and falling for eachother. Instead, we are thrown in to their confused relationship.

The one positive note in this novel is that it does get better, especially as the reader is able to see more of the girl's friendship. Thorugh flashbacks, the reader is able to understand the attraction of the two characters (though, it does come much to late), and start understanding how imperfect Brianna and Sarah's friendship is. By the end of the novel, Brianna becomes a fascinating character that she really didn't seem to be in the beginning. Unfortunetly, this only highlights how uninteresting the two main characters, Sarah and Ryan, really are.

Chosen as the April book for my friend's and my two person book club The Unwritten Rule was a simple story. The main character Sara has liked Ryan ever since the eighth grade but Ryan is dating Sara's best friend Brianna and has been for almost two months. However, now it turns out Ryan likes Sara and he liked her before he and Brianna had started dating. Sara of course doesn't know this until one night in Ryan's car when he kisses her. Then of course her heart and mind are torn for the majority of the book. Sara's been put in an awful position, she really likes Ryan but Brianna has been her best friend forever and although Sara liked Ryan first Brianna went after him and got him, besides she didn't know Sara had feelings for Ryan so Sara can't really hate her can she?

The whole story is really nothing but a back and forth inner struggle of Sara constantly telling herself that her feelings for Ryan are wrong versus her feelings for Ryan that she can't get rid of. Her thoughts are repetitive and get pretty rambly at times which make me feel like I'm being taken on a roller-coaster. I also wondered why didn't she have other things to think about or do besides the whole Ryan/Brianna/her situation? Sure the story is about her breaking The Unwritten Rule- You don't like your best friend's boyfriend but I think the story would have benefited from a little more character depth for everyone.

Sara's a nice girl and she has a cool talent that I haven't seen another character have before which is sneaker design. She also has a mom who is obsessed with cook-offs and a dad with rheumatoid arthritis and other than constantly feeling like her best friend's supportive shadow there isn't really much to Sara.

Ryan also isn't much to drool over personality wise. He's an artist which I think is cool and he's nice guy but other than being a pretty laid back person who liked art I couldn't see why both girls wanted him so badly.

And then there is Brianna. Before I read this story I thought or hoped that the best friend would be a good best friend, that it would be harder for Sara to betray her not just because she has the title of being the best friend but because she was the best friend for a reason. But honestly I couldn't really see why Brianna and Sara were so close, Brianna's the main lead to Sara's supportive role, she's gorgeous and all the guys drool over her while settling for Sara when Brianna doesn't want them. That wouldn't be a problem if Brianna didn't treat Sarah like she was below average. She puts her down with constant advice that comes across as insults and Sara just keeps quiet and takes it. I can sympathize with Brianna's behavior because of the way her parents treat her but I can't see why she would treat her best friend in such an awful way.

This is an emotionally based book told completely from Sara's point of view and I read this book in less than two days because I desperately wanted to find out how it would end. Would Sara get with Ryan or would she give him up for her best friend or would she end up with neither? Could she possibly end up with both? Its certainly a good story if you want a dramatic read about friendship and loyalty but I can't see myself liking it enough to reread it in the future.