The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti

Title: The Six Rules of Maybe
Author: Deb Caletti
Page count: 321 pages
Publishing year: 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
My rating: 2/5 stars!








I'm really sad that I didn't like this as much as I thought I would. I was really interested in the plot- the blurb sucked me in, as well as the cover. Yet, something was missing from this title. It could be the lack of personality from the characters or the not-so-developed plot line. Whatever it was, I had to give this two stars. While I didn't necessarily hate this, I definitely didn't like it. 

"Scarlet, an introverted high school junior surrounded by outcasts who find her a good listener, learns to break old patterns and reach for ope when her pregnant sister moves home with her new husband, with whom Scarlet feels an instant connection."

'Instant connection' should have been a red flag for me, but I ignored it. I wanted this book to be good. Really, I did. I was rooting for Deb Caletti to shock me with her awesomeness. In fact, I was waiting on it. I ignored the fairly low average rating for this title on Goodreads. I ignored the bad reviews. Like I said, I wanted this book to amazing. 

It didn't happen. This book had a sad case of an unrealistic insta-love, a triangle that wasn't strong at all, and characters that lacked personality- three things that I hate in a young adult novel. While I can possibly handle one of them, I can't handle all three in one book. I'm not a superhuman. It's just not happening. 

The romance:

• SCARLET & HAYDEN:

"Hayden would appear in my doorway. He'd look straight at me. He'd say something simple, but charged. Let's get out of here. I'd grab a few things, follow him out to his truck. The fantasy got a little hazy after that, except f0r a long highway and the feel of his jeans under my hands."

Scarlet has crossed into a new, dark territory. Hayden is married to Scarlet's older sister, Juliet, and is going to be a father. But Scarlet doesn't see any of that for what it really is; she is obsessed in love with Hayden. She's determined to show Hayden that Juliet isn't who he thinks she is- that Scarlet can be everything he needs. She can save him. She can love him like no other, if only he would see this.

"I lifted my cheek from his chest. I was so close to him. He was smiling, and then he wasn't. His eyes had a seriousness I had never seen before. I could smell the tang of his sweat. I looked into his face and he looked into mine. He swallowed hard." 

They're terrible wonderful for each other, she thinks. Once he sees that she's the woman he needs in his life, he'll fall for her. He'll fall out of love with Juliet and fall madly in love with her. He'll do it. Right? Ugh. *rolls eyes*

• JULIET & HAYDEN:

"Maybe he thought that working hard was honorable somehow, an honorable thing, but I saw something different. I saw him making himself small for her. Making himself less than and lower than and below. He said he didn't want to be a liar to make someone love him, but he was being a liar by doing those things, by trying o hard to get her to love him. Working hard with someone else- it was a sign of serious trouble ahead, bumps and heartache and things going unexpected directions; doom, even."

Juliet and Hayden's relationship is an up-and-down roller coaster. One minute everything is good between the two and the next it seems like they'll never be able to work it out. Juliet spends her time guarding her emotions and pushing people away. Hayden wants to be the guy that helps her open up, to give in to love. Between the two, a lot of fighting ensues. To be honest, I felt like this was a volatile relationship and should have been ended immediately. It wasn't healthy for either of them, especially when you bring a pregnancy into the mix. 

"When we gathered in the kitchen that early evening for our own various reasons, and when her voice sounded like bells-sweet and unreal- there was no question in my mind that whatever commitment she had promised Hayden the night before was about to be snatched back and destroyed. She was holding the bomb in one hand and the matches in the other, I knew."

My point exactly. 

The characters:

Scarlet: Scarlet is the MC, of course, and so the reader will get to know a lot of her thoughts and feelings. And what were these thoughts and feelings exactly? Oh, pining and pining over a married man! Nothing else really mattered to her. Oh, sure, the author made Scarlet help people out to make the reader think she is just the sweetest thing as can be. Yeah, I didn't fall for it. I could see past all of the superficial helping of others and saw the very core of her. She was an obsessive weirdo. Not only that, but she's terribly annoying. She whines and whines and whines until there's nothing else left for her to do. Forget the fact that she can change things in her life! She can stand up to her two-faced mother and her slutty sister, but does she? Not really. Oh, sure, she says she's going to, but she never does. All talk, no action.

Juliet: I think I disliked her even more than I did Scarlet. If Scarlet is borderline stalker, Juliet is borderline STD-walking-around. I really can't believe that she could be so immature. She was always talking about Scarlet being the younger sister, but Juliet acts like a baby! Here she was with a loyal husband and a baby on the way and she's out semi-stalking another guy! The stalking must run in the family. I was thoroughly embarrassed for Hayden. 

Hayden: He was probably the only character I enjoyed in this title. While he's not perfect in any means, at least he's not crazy. Between the two sisters, there's no more room for craziness. Anyways, he's got a level head on his shoulders even if he does let himself get treated like a doormat for most of the book. I felt sorry for him. I wanted him to drop Juliet, leave, and get custody of his child. Clearly Juliet has no motherly instincts. She's too busy stalking another man (who is a dirt bag, by the way). I felt like leaving would be the best thing he could do. 

Scarlet's mom: I'm not sure if her name was ever mentioned. (It probably was but I wasn't interested enough to care.) All I have to say about her was she was just as immature as her daughters. And she's a terrible parent. She gives Juliet all the attention in the world. "Ohhh, Juliet, you're pregnant and married? Why didn't you tell us?" Five minutes later. "Well I JUST LOVE YOU SWEETIE. It's going to be okay." *rubs tummy* If that were my daughter who had shown up newly married and pregnant, I would be pissed. But, obviously, Juliet is just imperfectly perfect! Never mind Scarlet, who needs her mother at this point in her life. Scarlet can do everything on her own, or so her mother thinks. Might as well just forget about Scarlet and center your attention on Juliet, the raving, attention whore. 

Ugh. 

I don't have much else to say about this. The secondary characters weren't important at all. They didn't matter. They had no personality whatsoever. Their existence was to fill gaps in the plot. 

And the plot? Besides the tale of two psycho sisters, one who falls in love with the other's husband and one who can't seem to keep her legs together, there isn't a plot. I didn't enjoy the happily ever after in the last chapter. It seemed fake, forced, and unrealistic when set beside the other events in the book. I think the author just threw everything together and forgot how crazy her characters were. 

The writing style and Hayden are the only reasons I'm not giving this one star. While the author might need to work on characters and story plots, she is an amazing writer. The dialogue flowed nicely. There were some quotes from the book that I did love. Some of them were so deep, so truthful, so real that my eyes teared up. If only the rest of the story could have been like that. 

Overall thoughts?

This had the potential to be good. Despite wanting so badly to enjoy it, I didn't. The characters really ruined that for me. I couldn't deal with all of the stalking and obsessiveness in this book. It was not cool and, to be frank, creepy. +1 star for the amazing writing style and Hayden. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you really enjoy Caletti's work. Maybe you'll be able to love this even if I didn't.