Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
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 Sarah and Brianna are both high school students and have been best friends since kindergarten. Sarah feels as if she lives in Brianna's shadow - an intensely beautiful, people-attracting shadow. One of those people is Ryan. Sarah has been in love with Ryan since 8th grade. She's never had the guts to pursue him herself, and unfortunately, Brianna obliviously decided to snatch him up before she could finally develop that courage. So now, the new norm is that Sarah gets to play third wheel to her best friend and the guy she loves. 
 "This is the real unwritten rule: You don't want what you know you shouldn't. And I haven't just broken that rule. I have wrecked it, smashed it, and still... And still I want." 
 Then, things begin to change. Brianna and Ryan are always fighting. Brianna is in denial and quite determined to make the relationship work. Sarah begins to see signs that Ryan may like her more than she thought - but what is a best friend to do? Taking Brianna's boyfriend is not an option... 
 Is it? 
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 This was a super-quick read for me. I finished it in just a handful of hours. I almost want to call it a fluff piece, but if you look at some of the issues hidden under the surface, it really isn't fluffy. 
 Upon reading the synopsis for the book, you'd probably think it's all about romance and forbidden love. It's not. This book is about friendship, insecurities, loyalty, and most of all - it is about the fact that you do not choose who you love. 
 Sarah's character may sound like the "bad guy" at first, but you quickly see that's not the case. Brianna is, to be frank, an insecure bitch. She isn't treated properly by her parents and yet she is just like them. I don't buy that she was so clueless about the fact that Sarah was the one to have feelings for Ryan first. She just scoops the guy up like it's nothing. This caused me to dislike Ryan as well. He stays with Brianna for X amount of time, and yet he claims he has feelings for Sarah? Why wait? Pure guilt? I don't remember him ever explaining it exactly, but guilt is my assumption. 
 The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I was not a huge fan of the ending. I guess I wanted a fluffy happy ending to this book. It seemed as if that was how it should be, but it didn't happen. I am all for endings that break out from the Happily-Ever-After mold, but in the case of The Unwritten Rule, I wanted one. It's not all bad, but it's definitely bittersweet. 
 I very much enjoyed the suspense of this book. I didn't quite expect to be as sucked-in as I was. I was up well into the wee hours of the morning just to finish it. Once you begin this book, I highly doubt it'll be easy for you to put it down. All throughout the story we get to see bits and pieces of past moments between Sarah and Ryan; little fragments of closeness between the two teens. I found Sarah's loyalty to Brianna very admirable, but the fact that she eventually gives in to temptation is more realistic. As portrayed in this book: love isn't something you can force. The person you love is not a choice. It just is. 
 I really enjoyed this novel and I recommend it. It's fairly clean. There are a handful of curse words and a little bit of sexual content, but it's definitely mild. It's a story about love and loss, loyalty and happiness, sacrifice and friendship. There are many lessons to be learned from this book. It's a realistic portrayal of teen love and angst. The Unwritten Rule captured my attention from beginning to end! 
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 Book source: My darling local library! 
 Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster