Bibliography: Elkeles, Simon. (April 2010). Rules of Attraction. New York: Walker & Company. ISBN: 9780802720856
Plot Summary: Even in Boulder, trouble follows Carlos. Set up by a local drug lord, his brother Alex arranges for him to live with one of his college professors and his family to keep him from being sent back to Mexico. Carlos has never felt more out of place, their lives are so different, so many stupid rules, and their teenage daughter is driving him crazy. She’s not his type, but he can’t stop thinking about her.
Critical Analysis: If you enjoyed Perfect Chemistry featuring Carlos’ older brother Alex, then you are going to like Rules of Attraction. Kudos to Elkeles for continuing to tell the story of the Fuentes family without writing the same story over with different details. Rules is much less urban and gritty than Chemistry. Some readers will miss that, but I think many more will be able to relate to the situations that Carlos and Kiara find themselves in, both having fish out of water moments and both surprising the other at times.
I love in this case, to fit with the theme of the novel, almost every character has more than one side to their personality and even situations aren’t what they seem. Kiara’s mom is a small business owner, she doesn’t just stay at home. Kiara’s best friend might be gay but he plays a mean game of ultimate frisbee. Kiara’s dad, well, that might spoil the plot, so you’ll have to read the book to find out.
I hope that Elkeles continues to tell the connected stories of the Fuentes family. I believe I have said it before, like other genre fiction, romance often doesn’t get the respect and recognition it deserves, especially well written good stories like the ones she chooses to tell. I am excited about the prospect of having such books to give to teen age girls–romantic, sexy, but showing women as strong and capable. I even wager a guess that some young men will enjoy these stories of the Fuentes as well. I think that Elkeles’ book trailers are genius, and the cover for Rules, might sell the book without any prompting at all.
Readalikes: This book reminded me a lot of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Nobody’s Baby But Mine, another story of two very different people from very different worlds who come to realize that none of that matters in the end.
Rules also has a very strong suspense thread running through it, especially towards the end. This reminded me a lot of the romantic suspense by Nora Roberts, such as Angels Falls or High Noon. Even more than that, though, I am reminded of Robert’s interconnected stories of families and friends, such as the story of the Quinn brothers told in the Chesapeake Bay Saga, or the story of friends that own a wedding planning company in the Bride Quartet.
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