The Rules (Project Paper Doll, #1)

by Stacey Kade

1.     Never trust anyone.
2.     Remember they are always searching.
3.     Don't get involved.
4.     Keep your head down.
5.     Don't fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane's survival--and that of her adoptive father--depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans, to hide in plain sight from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) "project."

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief's son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening--and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules.

• ISBN10: 1423153286
• ISBN13: 9781423153283
• Publish Date: 23 April 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Hyperion Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 410
• Language: English

Reviews

[melanchalina]

Мне очень нравится серия Стэйси Кейд «Призрак и гот», это одна из тех серий, где интересный сюжет и действительно классные герои. Именно поэтому я решила почитать книгу «Правила».

К сожалению, данная серия меня не впечатлила. Она слишком типичная, полная штампов и плюс ко всему довольно скучноватая. Герои плоские и непритязательные. И если героиня в принципе мне понравилась, за исключением пары моментов, то герой не произвел совершенно никакого впечатления.

Но давайте по порядку. Сюжет книги вращается вокруг Арианы Такер. Она – произведение искусства, а точнее гибрид. Наполовину человек, наполовину пришелец. «Нечеловеческие» гены делают ее не такой, как обычные люди. Помимо сверхъестественных способностей, она так же выделается за счет внешности. Необычная кожа, тонкие кости, «особенные» волосы и черные глаза. Но благодаря некоторым хитростям, девушка легко может замаскироваться. Что она и делает. Она скрывается. Она выживает. Вот только один жестокий розыгрыш со стороны королевы школы все меняет. Теперь она в центре внимания и вынуждена объединиться с Заком, альфа-самцом школы, чтобы отомстить обидчикам.

Что ж… если убрать из сюжета все про наших друзей инопланетян, то вышел бы самый обычный роман. С запретной любовью, преодолением трудностей и тд. На самом деле в книге очень мало внимания уделяется мистической стороне, не знаю вышло это намеренно или нет, но больше склоняюсь ко второму варианту. Мне понравился Ариана, при прочтение ей действительно сочувствуешь и к тому же она определенно не дурра, как большинствонынешних героинь.

Но что касается героя? Нет. Это не сработало. Для начала, стоит отметить, что повествование в книге идет от двух лиц – Ари и Зака. И вот главы от лица Зака были непонятным, серым пятном. Данный прием в книге явно был лишним. При прочтении глав Зака сложно понять его цели, мотивы и поступки. Он не вызывает сочувствия, симпатии. Он как рассказчик сбивает с толку.

В общем, средненькая книга. Ни особо интересная, стандартная. Да под конец было два момента WTF, но книгу они не вытащили. Не уверена, что захочу читать продолжение, но подумаю об этом, когда будет готов перевод второй книги.

Моя оценка: 5/10

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

The Rules was so fun! Aliens! Secret government experiments! Fake relationships! Ariane Tucker is a human-alien hybrid created by a corporation known as GTX. She's been "adopted" by a guard who helped her escape after his own daughter died. In order to stay hidden, her father has laid out some rules that she must follow. They all amount to staying under the radar and not getting too close to any humans. Of course, this makes Ariane a loser at her high school, since she doesn't dress right or talk to anyone. But after defending her only friend from the mean girl, Ariane is now on someone's radar, and her safety has been compromised.

The Rules reminded me a lot of Vampire Academy (just the first book, not the series). Both books have a great overarching plot, but they use high school drama to get it all started. Rachel is the stereotypical mean girl, and has targeted Ariane after she embarrasses her in front of others during a prank. Then she comes up with a revenge plan: have her friend Zane ask Ariane out, then publicly humiliate her. Well, Zane isn't like Rachel, so he tells Ariane about the plan so they can get back at Rachel. Genius! Yeah, it sounds cheesy, but I really liked it! And I love fake relationships turning real.

I really enjoyed The Rules! I don't want to give too much away, since there are quite a few twists, turns, and reveals. I adored Ariane and how she still made mistakes with common phrases, since she was raised in a lab without context. Her memories of the lab are disturbing, and I'm always fascinated at how people can twist something like that and try to make it sound like it's for the greater good, and make sense, even though you know it's still wrong! I really need to get my hands on the next books soon!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[jnikkir]

I really really enjoyed The Rules. Despite focusing on an alien/human hybrid as one of its main characters, it really didn't feel like your typical sci-fi book, especially the first three-quarters - which felt like almost a mix of contemporary and paranormal romance.

One thing I loved about the book is the characters. Ariane is, on the surface, a normal high school girl - except for her super light hair, unnaturally dark eyes (hidden with blue contacts) and slightly gray skin. She's actually escaped from a local laboratory, and is a half-human and half-alien hybrid. Unlike many part-human characters in sci-fi though, Ariane isn't a part-human who wishes she were more human, or laments that she's not fully human, or is at all conflicted about not being human. Ariane is Not Like Us, and that's okay with her. She does wish she was able to fit in a little more easily, but only because she has to stay under the radar because she's hiding from the people who want to take her back to the lab where she was created. She is definitely not like most "high school girl" YA narrators. I found her voice to be refreshing and often really funny, because of the things she would point out human habits, and some of her 'misunderstandings' because she was taught about human interactions by watching old movies and TV shows.

But only half of the book is narrated by Ariane. Zane, who tells the other half of the story, is another student at Ariane's high school, who runs with a totally different crowd than Ariane. (Well, Ariane doesn't really run with any crowd - she only has one good friend. She is trying to stay inconspicuous.) At first I wasn't sure how Zane would realistically be brought into Ariane's life, because he really had no reason to interact with her. But when Ariane's best friend is subjected to a cruel trick courtesy of Zane's friend Rachel, Ariane retaliates and is then targeted for Rachel's next "joke" - and Rachel decides to convince an albeit reluctant Zane to help her out. Drama ensues - and it's sufficiently petty enough that I'd normally not enjoy reading it - but for some reason despite the high school drama, and the stereotypical characters that surround it, Zane and Ariane held my attention.

Throughout it all, Ariane is trying to figure out how to use her alien abilities - or rather, how to unlock them again, because she hasn't been able to use them since before she was rescued from the lab by a compassionate guard who had just lost his daughter. Ariane struggles to adhere to the 5 rules that her "adoptive" father has set out for her - basically amounting to "don't draw anyone's attention for any reason". Unfortunately, the drama that she gets involved in causes her powers to flare out unexpectedly - not the best combo when trying to remain unnoticed.

And things... escalate from there. No spoilers, but there are plenty of twists and turns and unexpected happenings - once things move from "high school drama" to "sci-fi drama", the twists just come on coming.

Another thing I really liked about this book was how Zane and Ariane both held my attention. I enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives - Ariane as she tried to navigate around humans and begins to realize that she's possibly starting to break Rule #5, and Zane as he starts to fall for Ariane as well, and slowly starts to pick up on her oddities. I usually have a "favorite" when it comes to stories with dual narrators, but I really didn't in this case - I found myself enjoying each character equally, never disappointed when one chapter ended and the other character picked up the story. And both their voices were unique - I never had a problem differentiating one from the other when their perspectives switched.

In conclusion...
The Rules is a really fun and exciting take on a contemporary YA sci-fi, almost feeling like a YA paranormal romance in the beginning - except for, y'know, the whole half-alien thing. While most of the action happens in the last quarter or so, the characters are what grabbed and held my attention through the slower-but-still-engaging lead-up. The conclusion was excellent - plenty of twists and I'm definitely dying to read book 2, but there's also just enough tied up to feel like a satisfying end. Definitely one to check out!
_________________________________________

{ This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved... }

[Amber]

I've heard that a couple of reviews say that The Rules is The Hunger Games meets The Host. If you have heard that too, and that's the driving force making you want to pick this book up, I would suggest you take a moment to rethink that plan. The Rules was nothing like The Hunger Games, and overall it was a pretty flat book. There were a few elements that were enjoyable, but all together I was disappointed.

Full review on Books of Amber

[Ashley]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviews

4.5 Stars

The Rules reads surprisingly like a contemporary book, and that's one of the things that made me love it so much. Although it does have sci-fi elements, they don't dominate the story at all. It's more about evil corporations, first loves, tender and hesitant romance, high school drama, and bullies, all with a small sci-fi twist.

The story is told from alternating points of view: Ariane's and Zane's. I didn't expect to get a glimpse into both characters' minds, so that was a pleasant surprise! Both of them were fabulous characters for different reasons, and in many ways they are completely perfect for each other. Both characters have demons from their pasts that they struggle to live with every day. Ariane is constantly fighting to stay under the radar, and Zane is trying to move past his old life of being a bit of an arrogant prick. But we quickly start to uncover Zane's sensitive, sweet side and realize that he's actually a nice guy running with a bad crowd.

The Rules doesn't have a ton of action in it, but I was okay with it. A large portion of the book is focused on the high school drama—dealing with bullies, figuring out who's a real friend and who's a fake friend, small revenge pranks, and just surviving in high school. Although it wasn't exactly riddled with intensity, I enjoyed it! I think mostly because Ariane and Zane had great chemistry and were so perfect for each other. They just clicked so well and I loved their witty banter! And there are some DELICIOUS kissing scenes! Swoon.

And then there's Rachel... God. She's the high school bitch that I wanted to rip to shreds. She's so awful that you just cross your fingers and hope that something horrible happens to her. You want to see Karma rain down on her ass.

There are a couple twists at the end that I personally did NOT see coming! They were a fun surprise and the last 50-75 pages of the book got super intense. Everything just started coming together and I was screaming for the annoying characters to get their comeuppance.

Overall, The Rules was a really pleasant surprise. I always thought it sounded good, but I don't think I expected to love it quite as much as I did. This is a very strong, interesting, and engaging book. I highly recommend The Rules to people who don't normally read sci-fi but are a little interested in the whole scientific experiment stuff.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

The Rules, is a fantastic sci-fi contemporary young adult novel that managed to hit all of the right spots with me. It came at a time when I was craving something that was a little more than contemporary and less fantasy, so it sort of became the "it" book for me. There's a wonderful blend of realism, teen angst, and suspenseful action to keep you on the edge of your seat. The characters are enjoyable, the story is heart wrenching and touching in various moments of the book, and the writing will pull you into the story. It's just a really great read!

It's incredibly easy to like all of the characters in this book. Ariane, is just all around awesome and totally kickass! Full of amazing strength, she has a bit of a stubborn streak half a mile wide. I loved the fact that she doesn't let other's pick on those weaker than them. She's just incredibly fierce and spirited! Although smart and witty, she doesn't come without flaws that frustrated me here and there, throughout the story. Some of her choices or decisions felt a bit redundant in some areas, but for the most she was definitely enjoyable.

Zane is charmingly sweet and incredibly super protective of Ariane. Their relationship was beautiful to watch unfold in such a slow progressive, realistic way. I love that it was just straight forward and honest, without involving insta-love. A lot of times, that can ruin a really good book for me, in so many ways. I'm was glad that Kade didn't incorporate that into this novel.

The Rules, is a cleverly written, captivating young adult contemporary with a fantastic blend of sci-fi that will definitely pull you into its world. You won't want to miss out on this book or the story it has to tell. There's a lot of action, tension, and wonderful build up going on in these pages. Definitely never a dull moment, with twists and surprises that you won't be expecting. The ending will definitely leave you clamoring for more.