The Unwritten Rule Review

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release date: March 16, 2010

Source: Publisher

Everyone knows the unwritten rule: You don't like your best friend's boyfriend.

Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend.

Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she's thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It's wonderful...and awful.

Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't stop herself from wanting more...

Review:

The Unwritten Rule is my second Elizabeth Scott read, and it definitely won't be my last! It was easy to get into and a fast read- I finished it in one day. This was an emotional read in all, but there were quite a few funny and light hearted moments.

When I read the summary of this novel I thought... ugh Sarah likes her best friends boyfriend? And something happens between them? I automatically was out to hate Sarah, but the truth was- I ended up not liking Brianna. Sarah was an average girl many teenagers can relate to. She's an only child with loving parents and worries about normal things. She was quiet and small and was always in the shadow of her gorgeous, better than life best friend Brianna. I literally cringed at a few of the things Brianna said. Things she didn't even rethink, words that just floated out of her mouth but really stung Sarah. Since the novel was from Sarah's point of view, I could understand how she felt about Brianna. Brianna was a nice person, but at times she could be rude. Something she most likely got from living with parents that didn't care about her at all. Another thing that was very poignant was Sarah's love for Ryan. You could feel it from the first page all the way until the last. It wasn't just jealousy over Brianna, it was real love.

All the main characters- Brianna, Ryan, and Sarah- were well developed and the reader got a good look at their personalities. Although each of the characters does have their flaws, you can understand some of the choices they made.

As the plot developed and twisted, I was worried to see how it would turn out. The ending was satisfying though, if not a bit sad, but you knew it was the right ending.

The writing in this novel was great, the dialogue honest and to the point and as I mentioned before I really liked the plot. Elizabeth Scott can tackle any issue and make it her own. There were a few flaws in this novel and it might not be a book for everyone, but I still highly recommend it. I am definitely eager to read some of Scott's earlier novels now.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars