Unspoken Rules

by Lora Inak

[readingwithwrin]

Thank you to Netgalley and Rhiza Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Natalie is a seventeen-year-old Syrian Australian living in the suburbs of Melbourne with her parents and older sister. They go to the Christian Orthodox church which is strict, and the expectations of her parents who are still used to the customs of Syria, Natalie is very limited in what she can do. While her best friend understands it, she also gets annoyed with it at times, when Natalie can't even have a sleepover, or judges her for things that she doesn't think are bad.
Then we have Natalie's older sister, who follows all the customs and just wants to get married already before she is an 'old maid' (she's in her early twenties).
We also have a love interest, who ends up shaking things up and helps Natalie to realize some things she really wants to do in her life.

Overall I really did like this story. Reading about an Australian Syrian isn't something we get very often as most immigrations stories we see in YA that are well publicized are coming to America or Britain, so seeing someone adjusting to the Australian culture was really nice.
Natalie's story is one that a lot of young women will be able to relate to when it comes to dealing with strict parents and religious expectations placed on them by the community they are a part of. Natalie desperately want's to be her own person, and not just someone's wife. She wants to further her education and be able to use it so she can tell what is really happening in Syria.
When it came to Natalie's family it was nice to see parents actually be involved and to actually see them as parents. Yes, they are flawed and make big mistakes, but it was nice to see a real family for a change. Mom and Dad, both have their own problems and expectations to be placed on them. Natalie's older sister while annoying at times, is also just trying to do what is expected of her in their culture, and when things start happening to her she doesn't know exactly how to handle it.
Natalie has a lot going on in her family life and her school life as well, and those two lives are ones she's tried to keep separate for the most part, but it's reaching a point when the two will collide as she finishes high school and she might just not be ready for that.

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