Rain has always felt responsible for her autistic twin brother. However, as their roles shift, she must let go and allow herself to be the vulnerable one.

Rain and Ethan’s sibling relationship was such a joy to read about. Their connection was so sweet!

I laughed so much while reading this, but I also shed a few tears. The characters were well-written, dynamic, and loveable. You can’t not like Rain and Ethan. Additionally, the side characters were not one-dimensional, especially Liam.

This was such a touching and heartwarming coming of age novel, full of romance, emotions, and growth. If you’re searching for a feel-good YA novel, then look no further!

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

First Thoughts After Finishing: What a rollercoaster!

Initially I was drawn to the synopsis of this book because it features a character with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I teach at a school for autistic children, so I was curious to see how an autistic teenager would be represented in literature. Add to that a neurotypical twin and what seemed like a dramatic contemporary plotline, and I was sold. And Leah Scheier did not disappoint.

For as long as Rain can remember, she’s been taking care of her family. Her twin Ethan has autism, and she has been his support and caretaker, helping him navigate safely through the world. When he couldn’t talk or didn’t understand why something was happening, she was there to fix things. When Ethan became gluten-free, she started inventing new recipes and blogging about them. Rain thinks she has her family’s entire future mapped out. But Ethan, who never changes, seems to be changing. And one misstep has her questioning what she thinks. And if Rain isn’t holding everything together, who will?

Rules of Rain isn’t the kind of book that you fly through, but it is the kind of book that draws you in and doesn’t let you go. I started reading this on vacation, and I found myself wanting to steal moments to read to see how everything developed. This book is about relationships: Rain and Ethan, obviously; Rain and her parents (her mother is dysfunctional, to put it mildly), Rain and her crush, which unfolds in an interesting way, and Rain and her friends, who are purely awesome. I would have loved to have seen more from her friends, particularly Hope. She is completely endearing and a great best friend to Rain, and I wish that we had been able to read more of her storyline.

Then there is Ethan and the treatment of ASD. Excuse me while I hop onto my soapbox for a moment. There’s a saying about autism: If you’ve met one person with autism, then you’ve met one person with autism. Each person is different, which is why it’s considered a spectrum. Still, certain tendencies are common. I thought Ethan’s manifestation of autism was handled very well; it was most peoples’ treatment of Ethan that bothered me. People with autism shouldn’t be ridiculed for it any more than people should tease others who are different. Moreover, autism isn’t a disease to be “fixed” or “cured.” It’s just a different approach to the world. Autistic individuals are still capable of leading richly fulfilling lives complete with any experiences they want. And with that said, I’ll hop down now.

I loved reading about the world from Ethan’s point of view. Even after working with autistic individuals for a number of years, it’s still not always possible to fathom how their brain works, but it is fascinating to explore. In a way, this book was as much Ethan’s journey as Rain’s, and I was cheering for him every step of the way. I would love to know what happens next for him.

Overall, this book took me through every emotion, and I never stopped caring about the characters or where they would end up. Nothing was one-sided, and that was such a refreshingly honest depiction of real life. I look forward to reading more books from this author!

Most Memorable Aspect: The treatment of ASD.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and now during this time of lockdown, I am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

The story of “Rules of Rain” was touching and heartwarming but it still left me wanting for more than we got.
The story is an easy and adorable little read about sibling loves and mental challenges. The story is easy to fall in love with very quickly and the characters are wonderful. They all develop quite nicely over the course of the book.
3.5/5 stars

A copy of the book was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Leah Scheier has no problem getting the story stated. The emotion starts right away and the reader really manages to connect to her characters.

This story managed to surprise me several times as well. I liked how balanced the characters were, I felt like each one served their own purpose and had a valid place in the novel.

I was very intrigued by the story, relationship, and how everything came together.

As a sibling of someone with special needs I really related to Rain's deep seated anxieties about her brother and his future. It wasn't a perfect book, but some of the pieces felt so personal to me and I appreciated that.

I had to give up on Rules of Rain, because of ableism. It was problematic in regards to autism. The rep itself was full of stereotypes, and Ethan was treated terribly for being autistic, but this isn't challenged.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t completely connect with the characters. I thought the relationship between Rain and Ethan was lovely and I got a strong sense of how protective Rain was of Ethan which was lovely but I struggled to connect with Rain at all and at times found her annoying. I found the ending a bit of a letdown.

I tried to read this several times. This book just isn't for me. It did not hook me at the very beginning, so I couldn't continue reading it. I kept forgetting that I had even began. Sorry for the trouble.

I loved all the characters and found that even though it was from Rain's point of view with only pieces of Ethan's point of view thrown in it that his pieces made a huge impact on the book.I thought that Leah Scheier did a wonderful job of portraying an individual with autism. It was not romanticized.

I didn't finish Rules of Rain, although I appreciated the premise. We need books with more diverse characters who help us understand DIFFERENCE. Thank you for that.

I look forward to reading the book now that it's published, and sharing it with students.

I really enjoyed Rules of Rain. I don't have people close to me who have autism so I don't know the struggle that people can face everyday. The author did a really good job showing the reading one side of autism and how it can affect those around you. The side story with Rain was really enjoyable to read as well. This book had the perfect mixture of everything to make it a great book.

This was an enjoyable read about sibling love and autism. I enjoyed reading about Rain's interest in cooking as an added dynamic but at times the plot fell a bit flat, I'm glad I read it through though!

An interesting book! I greatly enjoyed this one from beginning to end. Full review coming soon on my blog.

I received an advance ecopy of this title via NetGalley. My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this opportunity.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars


Pros:

*Realistic. The relationships between characters felt very natural. Each character was fleshed out very well and I could form them in my mind even though there wasn't a lot of physical descriptions given.
*Ethan's journal entries. Honestly, Ethan's story was more interesting than Rain's. His journal entries did a great job of inviting the reader into the mind of a character that, especially at first, is hard to crack. A very humbling and beautiful look inside the mind of a neurodivergent individual and a great illustration that autistic people have complex thoughts and goals just as neurotypical people do - they just express it differently.
*Details. From Rain's blog entries to the medical and psychology terms, even down to the weighted blanket, the details made this book.


Cons:

*Teenage sexual exploration. Okay, look. I'm fully aware that teens do "things." I'm just not on board with the current trend in YA literature of everybody (or so it seems) hopping into bed, or other places, with one another. Even responsible sexual exploration doesn't do it for me - what about characters that choose NOT to boink?
Forced LGBTQ+ inclusion. Inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons is fine . . . but not when they make no sense and seem to only serve to go 'Yay, my book is inclusive." It does a disservice to the LGBTQ+ community because a character forced to do anything becomes flat and one-dimensional. And the character (or characters - I'm not telling because this is already verging on spoiler territory) in question didn't need their sexual orientation to define them - they're awesome! That bit could have been left out and it wouldn't have really changed anything for me. Events could still have happened in much the same way.


Summary of my review: Good premise, great detail, loved Ethan's character, but the last 1/4 to 1/3 of the book fell into dramatic, trope-y overkill and could have used some focus and editing.

I'm also looking forward to this novel!! It looks exactly like my next read! stay tuned guys!

Teen girl, Rain, has grown up living a life different to most – protecting and doing everything she can for her autistic twin brother, Ethan. Living alone with their mother, she has become a second parent to him and knows how to deal with the symptoms he experiences better than almost anyone else. Until the rules begin to change, that is. As a new romance comes into her life, she realises that there is change afoot with Ethan too, as her best friend takes interest in him. Learning to navigate this new relationship is just as tricky for Rain as it is for Ethan.
I’d call this a coming-of-age book, where our protagonist has to learn to deal with a new stage of life not only for herself but for her autistic brother, and it’s one that’s really interesting. I have absolutely no experience with autism, so for me, this gave a really interesting insight into what life is like for those on the spectrum and for those they have any sort of relationship with – whether family, friend or romantic. I’ve seen some reviews saying that it was far too stereotypical of autism, so that’s a shame if it’s true, but for those of us with no experience of it, I found it a valuable insight.
The story itself was fun and addictive to read – it was very easy to get into and I really liked the characters themselves. There were a couple of points that I thought weren’t really very true to real life (no spoilers allowed, but it was one of the main plot points!), but even so, still interesting and fun to read.

3.5 stars This was a touching and endearing story about sibling love and loyalty.

Rain and Ethan are sixteen-year-old twins who live with their uninvolved mother. Ethan has autism and Rain, his culinary-obsessed twin sister, has been his protector and caregiver from as far back as she can remember. She understands Ethan more than anyone else and is devoted to keeping his world as comfortable and uncomplicated as possible. Her love for Ethan shines through every page of this touching story. Their sibling relationship and connection pulled at my heartstrings. The author, Leah Scheier, did a wonderful job with both Ethan and Rain’s characters. I was invested in them from beginning to end.

The story unfolded through Rain’s perspective with extra sections from her cooking blog and Ethan’s journal. I liked how the story was presented, but I did find my interest wavered a few times.

Overall, it was a cute, easy, unique and interesting read that was a refreshing change of pace.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Leah Scheier for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you for sending me this galley, however unfortunately I was unable to access this book on my e-reader.