Name: Rules for Rule Breaking
ISBN: 9780593624760

Talia Tucker

High school juniors and academic rivals Winter Park and Bobby Bae are forced on a college visit road trip by their parents. Will this road to misery lead them on a romantic detour?

100 miles. 5 colleges. 1 road trip romance.

Rules for Rule Breaking

Booksmart meets Never Have I Ever in this debut YA rom-com about two Korean American teens forced into a shared college visit road trip where they discover that the reasons they’ve been rivals their entire lives might actually be signs they’re a perfect pair. 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 Philly for food—and battling the subsequent digestive distress—and crashing a party in Cambridge. And, of course, realizing that they’re perfect together.

Ellie M.

We Asian girlies definitely won with Talia’s sweet debut ya romcom about two Korean American teens going on a 100-mile road trip. The catch? They have hated each other their whole lives. Never Have I Ever meets I Hope This Doesn’t Find you in this coming-of-age story where we’ll see what could possibly go wrong with breaking the rules Winter Park and Bobby Bae have in writing, and the possibility that they may just be the perfect match. 

I genuinely indulged myself in this book! This was the first romcom I have read that really served banter and hilarious forced proximity. The main characters had great chemistry and inevitably allows the reader to relate to their story. I also appreciated the fact that teenagers were finally written to act their own age, with all that immaturity and stubbornness. Not only that, but this book tackles family and the growing pains of friendship and young love. We have characters who are sensitive, and equally smart and strong and are trying to make sense of their place in a world that’s suddenly too overwhelming for them to navigate. Rules for Rule Breaking shares a heartfelt message with its readers.

Natalie 

DNF- first off, thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the ARC! I requested this because I thought it sounded cute and the plot seemed promising, but this book just isn’t for me personally. The main characters and the writing just feels too juvenile (I know this is YA) and so I don’t think this is my type. Thank you again for the ARC copy!!

Rules for Rule Breaking 100 miles. 5 colleges. 1 road trip romance.

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