Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Review: The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston

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 The Rules for Disappearing
Ashley Elston
Genre: YA Contemp/Mystery
Publication date: May 14th 2013
by  Disney-Hyperion

She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

-A copy was provided by Disney Book Group for review-

Another fake identity for “Meg” means another town, another school, another life altogether. In a book like this, mystery becomes the main element of the plot; why and who are they hiding from. Even though the book is actually a pretty good contemporary with decent characters and a compelling romance, the mystery element lost its flair for me fairly quickly, leaving me with a lukewarm read with some sparks, but not enough to hold its flame.

The fire of this one initially died when the plot kept beating around the bush. It left me exasperated for some answers already. Then it lost its biggest appeal when the big mystery ended up being a little too underwhelming. It’s the answer I was expecting; the one we don’t even consider, or at least we hope it’s not it because it’s the obvious direction the plot could take. You also have to take it all with a grain of salt when you think how things would work in reality, this all made it difficult for me to take it seriously.

Although I don’t mind predictability for the most part–seeing as it has become quite rare for me to be caught by surprise nowadays–I come to expect a certain amount of intelligence, or perception, when it comes to the characters figuring things out. In this case, Meg was a little too clueless, or dismissive. With a feeling of being watched, of being followed, then witnessing a couple of suspicious situations, Meg assumes it’s “all in her head”, every time. Then she puts her trust into someone who’s acting “out of the norm” which, to the reader, immediately becomes a red flag. While some may forgive this with her excuses of chalking it up to paranoia and not wanting to be relocated again, I found myself incredibly irritated. In these types of stories, the smarter and more cautious the character, the more I connect to them. If this was a movie, Meg would be the heroine I’d be screaming at angrily for not seeing things clearly. This leads me to think it’s more of an “not for me” type of read. Furthermore, when all is said and done, the ending left me with nothing but a cocked eyebrow. Not only is it anti-climatic, the last few pages didn’t really make any logical sense when you think of the grand scheme of things–why would they care about her anymore? To be honest, it felt like a gimmick to get us interested in the sequel and nothing more.

Despite my issues with the plot it’s not a complete loss. Aside from the previous mentions, I did like Meg’s personality, how caring she was of her sister especially. Then the relationship she forms with a certain boy in town became my favorite part of this novel. Meg has a hard time allowing herself to fall in love or get attached to a guy since she’s aware her family could be moved any second. This causes a hot and cold relationship where you both understand her hesitation, yet you hope she goes through with it anyways. And who could resist Ethan? Your adorable farm boy with a heart or gold and eyes only for Meg. Due to this reluctance, their relationship is slow paced, steadily sparking, with a great forbidden fruit flair. You really can’t help but sigh at their adorableness!

A mysterious premise, good characters, and a sweet romance, I can see this book being a hit for certain readers, especially those who have not read as many similarly plotted books. Sadly for me the mystery–the heart of the book–fell short of my expectations. 

3 Hot Espressos

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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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25 Responses to “Review: The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston”

  1. Nick

    Ugggh! Clueless characters are the worst. You just want to shake them by the shoulders. I’ve heard about this not being very logical and I don’t know if I would mind it or not. I feel like being realistic is something important in contemporary books because it’s supposed to reflect reality.
    I do like the sound of the romance. Ethan sounds like my kind of guy! 😉
    Lovely review, Giselle!

  2. Megan K.

    Oh my gosh, yes. The mystery was so unimpressive, considering a good part of the book was spent getting us all intrigued and itching to find out more! I also found that the story wasn’t as outstanding as I’d expected it to be – it was exactly as the synopsis said it was. I did enjoy the character interactions, though. Seems like we felt pretty much the same way about this one!

  3. Amy

    Awesome review babe!! I think I would like this, but not love it. I don’t mind predictability either since I tend to always figure stuff out, but like you, I like to watch the character figure it all out. The romance really sounds sweet. I like that it was a slow growing one and not insta-love.

  5. Megan Hand

    Great review, Giselle! The cover of this one and premise looks so intriguing, but I had a feeling once I started reading your review it was going to be one of those books that waits too long to answer the questions. I am intrigued, though, because you said the answer was sort of obvious, and I’m wondering if he did something illegal or not, so it has still piqued my interest. Will definitely think about this one!

  6. Alexa Y.

    Oh dear! It makes me sad that the mystery part of this book isn’t too mysterious. I’m not a person who easily figures things out while I read, but I sense that I might find this plot glaringly obvious in terms of the way it wraps up. I am curious about Meg’s relationship with her sister though, and of course the romance. So I’m kind of on the fence about this one!

  9. Sirtsu

    I haven’t been particularly interested in this one but I have seen bloggers and readers excited about this one. I know you love your books really mysterious, twisted and dark. I love a good mystery myself and it’s a shame it wasn’t mysterious enough. I’m kinda tired about obvious books though and since it wasn’t on my radar before I’m not sure if I will give it a try, but great that you liked it enough to give it 3 stars which in my eyes is pretty good. Lovely review as always!

  10. Molli Moran

    This is a great review of RULES! I loved Ethan SO much, and I liked Meg and her little sister. But the mystery was underwhelming and there were several moments when I wanted to shake my head because you just KNEW that nothing would really play out like that in real life. So taking things with a grain of salt is a great description; that said, something about this one was just so cute and sweet that I ended up liking it. Great review, Giselle!

    Molli | Once Upon a Prologue

  14. Danny

    I really think I might love this one! It sounds great! :)) I don’t mind predicabilty either, but just like you I have a problems with caracters beeing too obviously naive. Still,:) totally want to read it!

  15. Mary @ BookSwarm

    Originality really is difficult to find, especially when you read as much as we do. A lot of YAs fall into a pattern or stick to a trope and it takes a lot to break out of it, like the “oh, I’m just imagining it” thing. But it sounds like this was an enjoyable book, nonetheless!

  16. Jen (A Reading Daydreamer)

    I’m actually reading this one right now and I’m 80% through it. I have to say that I agree with you on pretty much all of it, although I haven’t gotten to the end yet, I guess I now know that I should have my expectations lowered and that I won’t be too blown away at all. I think that you make a really good point saying that there should have been more cleverly thought out plot and mystery, because it is honestly falling a little short for me. However, I do love the romance, and Ethan! <3 Fabulous review as always, Giselle!

  17. Shooting Stars Mag

    Definitely sounds like one of those characters you just want to shake and shout “Wake up!” too. That can certainly get frustrating. I’m not sure if I’d figure out the mystery or not…sometimes I AM a bit clueless. lol At any rate, thanks for you thoughts; not sure this would be the right book for me either.

  18. Candace

    It’s too bad it was a bit underwhelming. I’m pretty dense at figuring things out quite often, but this sounds like something I might even feel underwhelmed with. But I have a copy so I guess I’ll find out when I read it!

  19. Leigh @ Little Book Star

    It bothers me when my obvious prediction is correct. Not sure if I’ll read it or not, but it’s def. not one of my top books to read right away. Good to hear that the MC is likable though.

    Leigh
    Little Book Star

  22. Amanda

    That’s disappointing that what should be the main draw of the book – the mystery – felt contrived and underwhelming to you. I hate it when that happens! I’ve read other reviews where people have mentioned that this could easily be made into a film. Maybe this kind of story would be better in the visual media? Sometimes films do help distract viewers from the obviousness of plot points. I am interested in the basic premise, but if I do read it I’ll now be prepared to take it all with a grain of salt.

  23. Jessirae

    Sounds good, but meh. I’d probably end up agreeing with you on this. I hate mysterious books with suspense only to be dragged on and then finally getting the big reveal and finding out it wasn’t that big after all. Totally lame when that happens! I probably would like the relationship between Meg and Ethan though. Again, awesome review Giselle! Glad that you liked it despite the lukewarmness of it! 😉

  25. Lauren Elizabeth

    I think if the mystery didn’t work for you I probably won’t enjoy it either. I’ve also heard it’s not very realistic and kind of loses the plot. It’s a shame because I wanted to give it a go, but I have too many other books to try first. Thanks for your thoughtful review!