Review: The Rules of You and Me by Shana Norris

*Available June 24th, 2013!

Hannah Cohen has always lived her life by a set of carefully constructed rules to maintain the image of perfection. But now, the rules aren’t helping control the chaos that is quickly taking over.

Opting out of spending the summer in Paris with her mom, Hannah instead heads to the mountains of North Carolina to stay with her aunt. The Blue Ridge Mountains provide a barrier between Hannah and the rest of the world, a safe haven where her secrets can be forgotten.

When Hannah crosses paths with Jude Westmore, a guy who hangs a different shirt from the tree in his front yard every day, she finds herself breaking out of the comfort of her rules and doing things she had never dared before. As the summer passes, Hannah and Jude grow closer and make up their own rules for dealing with life.

But when the secret Hannah has tried to forget is finally revealed, even the new rules can’t save her from possibly losing everything–including Jude.

My thoughts-

The Rules of You and Me is a story about Hannah Cohen. Goodreads says it’s a standalone companion novel to The Boyfriend Thief, but I haven’t read The Boyfriend Thief (yet), and I liked it very much on its own. This book, while being a light read, really does a beautiful job of handling issues of expectations and guilt. I really related with this book, and enjoyed the journey that Hannah and Jude take to letting go and being themselves.

Hannah lives her life based on a set of rules. Her parents expect her to be perfect and these rules help her maintain this flawless façade on the outside. When her life starts to crumble, Hannah decides to retreat to North Carolina to stay with her Aunt for the summer. This is where she meets Jude Westmore and he comes with his own set of issues. Hannah and Jude struggle together to push through their boundaries, learning along the way. I think they really just needed each other, someone to relate to and be honest with. Over the course of the book, they create a new set of rules to live by. Lost are the days of rules that discourage or impede…these rules are encouraging and full of life!

My Hannah and Jude-

**I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.