Raise your hand if you need a little bit of sweetness in your life. We at THP sure do, and the best remedy we could think of is Talia Tucker’s debut novel, Rules for Rule Breaking!
Rules for Rule Breaking follows two childhood “friends” slash rivals as they reluctantly embark on a college tour road trip together. Winter Park and Bobby Bae have always followed the rules as top students and responsible children, but everything, including their rivalry, changes on this trip.
It may not be summer yet, but we can already tell Talia Tucker’s Rules for Rule Breaking will be our go-to rom-com of the season! Here are three reasons to read Rules for Rule Breaking!
Book Overview
Content Warnings: deceased grandparent, mention of panic attacks
Summary: Winter Park and Bobby Bae are Korean American high school juniors whose families have been friends since the kids were making crayon art. They, however, are repulsed by each other.
Winter is MIT-bound, comfortable keeping people at arm’s length, and known by others as responsible, though she has a desire to let loose. This probably comes from her rebel grandmother, who is constantly pushing boundaries and encouraging Winter to do so as well. Winter’s best friend is moving abroad and won’t be attending college at all, and Winter’s wrestling with what it means to be left behind. Bobby is as Type-A, anxious, and risk-averse as you can get. He’s also been recently dumped, which has him feeling disoriented and untethered.
That’s why, when Winter’s and Bobby’s parents insist that they go on a northeast college campus tour together, both teens find reasons to accept even though the thought of being stuck in a car together for 700 miles sounds unbearable. What awaits them is a journey of self-discovery where the only rule on their road trip is to break all the rules. At first, this happens in hilariously calculated ways (using lists and reason and logic!), but they soon abandon that, challenging each other to dares in Virginia, getting high and wandering around Philly for food—and battling the subsequent digestive distress—and crashing a party in Cambridge. And, of course, realizing that they’re perfect together.
Refreshing Asian American Representation
Talia Tucker’s Rules for Rule Breaking does a fantastic job of incorporating Korean culture into our two main characters. It also shows how different the backgrounds between two people can be, even if they share the same heritage. First, there’s Winter who speaks only Korean with her grandmother and considers her family very close and affectionate. Then, there’s Bobby who grows up not learning any Korean and feels detached from his Korean side because his parents wanted to protect him. This juxtaposition between Winter and Bobby’s characters is part of what makes them balance each other so well!
Teenage Rebellion
We also love how Rules for Rule Breaking highlights the ever-present need for teenage rebellion. Winter and Bobby have been responsible and reliable since they were children, and their parents trust them enough to go on this road trip by themselves. If we were them, we wouldn’t know what to do with all this freedom. But, of course, they make a list of rules they want to break. Rebelling and ignoring rules doesn’t have to mean breaking the law. It can be as simple as choosing a college that’s different from your parents’ pick. We can understand the thrill of skipping plans and having the day to ourselves, and that is more than enough.
The Slow Burn
Y’all. Winter and Bobby’s slow-burn, rivals-to-lovers story in Rules for Rule Breaking is the sweetest! We love their banter so much. Their history makes it even more enjoyable because they know the best and worst parts about each other. Did we mention there are alternating points of view between Winter and Bobby? (That’s what we like!) We do experience a few hiccups with Bobby’s ex-girlfriend. It doesn’t help that the main characters are both stubborn in their ways. But every obstacle makes the ending that much sweeter, and we couldn’t ask for more!
We’re prepared for Talia Tucker’s Rules for Rule Breaking to be our go-to summer rom-com with its slow-burn, rivals-to-lovers romance and refreshing Asian American representation!
Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker is out now, and you can order a copy of it here!
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Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
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