The Rules Review

Project Paper Doll: The Rules by Ariane Tucker, Project Paper Doll, Stacey Kade, The Rules, Zane Bradshaw
Series: Project Paper Doll #1
Published by Disney-Hyperion on 2013-04-23
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: eBook
Goodreads

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.

 Julie’s Review:

The Rules is a series that I can definitely see has some potential but the first book wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. The series is called Project Paper Doll, and I’m not too sure what that means, actually. From the redesigned covers, it looks like a bunch of dolls with one that looks like a person. It kind of makes me think of the show Dollhouse, so at first I was thinking this is a sci-fi tech book, maybe with robots. But the blurb is about aliens, so I was a bit confused for a while. It is aliens though, and throughout the book we hear about the main character’s hybrid alien DNA. As well as her special abilities that she can’t seem to access or control. We are told that she was rescued from a lab and is hiding in plain sight by being raised by a man who lost his daughter (and kept that death a secret so Ariane can take her identity.) She’s given these rules to follow to keep her safe and hidden by her “Father”.

The book is told in alternating POV between Ariane and Zane. At first I didn’t understand why the POV switched or who Zane was, but eventually it started to make sense. Of course, from seeing the initial POV switch I knew Zane was going to be the love interest. Because what story about a half-human half-alien teenage girl would be complete without a romance with a regular human boy? What I liked about their story was there was no instalove! They already knew each other because they go to school together, but their feelings develop due to having to conspire on something and spending more time together. That’s how you write realistic romance people.

What did bother me was the majority of the book was typical high school bully drama. Rachel is apparently Ariane’s trigger to her abilities, and so every time Rachel does a mean girl thing, Ariane’s block drops and she can do crazy telekinetic things. Well those abilities catch the attention of the lab that has been searching for her and of course now she’s in danger. That part was expected in the plot. What was not expected was some double crossing that happened. It was kind of cool to have that type of plot twist to change up what seemed to be a familiar story line. Unfortunately, when it got really good, it rushed through it and the book just ended. Well, not in a cliffhanger exactly, but in a set up of “ok we’re ready for book 2” type of ending. While I am curious to see what happens next, I’m not a fan of stories that take forever to get somewhere good, to the meat of the action and the true conflict, and then just stop and wait for the next book.

So overall this was a pretty good first in a series kind of book. The story line is a bit predictable because it does seem to follow a typical formula, but the characters (well, the main two) are interesting. I am probably going to want to see where this series takes them, but I probably won’t jump into the next book right away.

  Rose’s Review

I read this book for my YA For Adults Book Club based on a member’s insistence. He really enjoyed reading the book and so we finally read it as a group for my book club’s 2 year anniversary. (YAY! 2 years!!!!)

This book is about aliens. Well, one alien in particular. A girl. And what does this alien girl do? Fall in love with a popular human boy, what else??? haha. Okay, so it sounds cliche and maybe it is, but I really liked this book. I can say that if you love sci-fi and aliens, then this book miiiiiight not be what you want to read. There was way less sci-fi and alien and way more teen angst and high school drama. But the characters were well developed and the plot mainly relied on the development of these characters to move along, so I really enjoyed the book.

This book is the first in a new YA series titled “Project Paperdoll.” I cannot for the life of me put that name with any explanation from this book save a briefly mentioned obscure passage of the alien science experiment being called Project Paper Doll. No clue why the experiment is called that oo why the book bears the same name. Must be muy importante??? Perhaps Book 2, The Hunt, will tell us more? You can read it and find out for yourself. The second book is out now. The third book is expected out sometimes in 2015.

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