A beautiful and insightful novel | The Six Rules of Maybe

Six Rules of Can't Resist | The Six Rules of Maybe | Deb Caletti

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	• The Six Rules of Maybe Deb Caletti Simon Pulse, 2010 - 321 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Author Deb Caletti has yet to make a misstep, and this book is a shining example of her talent

To their mother's ambitious-for-her-daughter disappointment, Scarlet's older sister Juliet abandons her career as a singer to come back home. Scarlet has mixed feelings about the return of the prodigal daughter. At home, their single mother is generally loving, but she has always placed most of her attention on charismatic, gorgeous, sociable, unreliable Juliet --- often leaving quiet, contemplative Scarlet to brood on her own.

Scarlet's feelings are further complicated when it turns out that Juliet is pregnant, and she has in tow an absolutely adorable husband named Hayden. While Juliet is dismissive of Hayden and takes his love for granted, Scarlet essentially falls head over heels for him, drinking in his humor, his dog Zeus, his manly wrists, and his incredible decency --- along with his considerable good looks. When Scarlet sneaks peeks at the love notes and romantic poetry Hayden leaves for his careless wife, she aches with envy.

Scarlet is a funny and sympathetic main character who defends introversion as "an alternate lifestyle that gets less respect than any other alternate lifestyle." She specializes in being nice, reading psychology textbooks to gain insight into what others are lacking in their lives, and then trying to fill that gap for them. Scarlet is the listener and advisor for her friends. She goes out of the way to treat the truly strange people in her world with loving kindness. For example, she leaves her Goth artist neighbor, who creates sidewalk art featuring a telling meld of her family with vampires, notes praising her talent. Scarlet also tries to keep her gullible elderly neighbors from being sucked in by an Internet scam and hopes to protect another neighbor suffering the beginnings of dementia.

And yet Scarlet would be the first to admit that she is far from perfect. She detests her mother's boyfriend, the priggish Dean. She tries to dodge her own high school admirer/stalker, repugnant Reilly Ogden, who is such a sad case that Scarlet can't bring herself to be blunt about her wish to be left alone. Scarlet is also an accomplished liar even about minor things, such as telling people she had her hair styled by a professional when she actually just hacked it off with the kitchen shears.

Now, Scarlet finds herself in a nearly unbearable conundrum. She wonders about her new niece or nephew, nicknamed "Jitter" by Hayden. Scarlet knows Hayden will be a loving, attentive father, but she has doubts about her sister's ability to selflessly parent. She is terribly torn because she really wants Hayden and Jitter for herself, and yet she loves Hayden enough to want for him what will make him happy --- which happens to be Juliet. Scarlet knows her romantic dreams about Hayden are impossible, even as she and her new brother-in-law form a close friendship.

Author Deb Caletti has yet to make a misstep, and this book is a shining example of her talent. The characters, in all their quirky and human glory, could walk right off the pages. The plot is compelling and beautifully paced, interwoven with several intriguing subplots. In this exquisite tale of romance, hope, tragedy and humor, we find gem-like and truly moving bits of hard-won wisdom as Scarlet yearns for the impossible --- and finds much more than she ever could have imagined.

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A beautiful and insightful novel

Scarlet is used to keeping people close and helping them with their problems. Whether it's the depressed teenage girl across the street or her gullible next door neighbors involved with an internet scam, she is the one always helping them out. But when her older sister Juliet comes home pregnant with her new husband Hayden, the problems Scarlet encounters--like her uncertainty at Juliet being a good mother, her frustrations with her mother, and her attraction to Hayden--might be a little too much to handle. Now for the first time, Scarlet will have to take a step back and learn to solve her own problems, and let those she loves do the same.

The Six Rules of Maybe is a beautiful and insightful novel. Scarlet's story and her struggle to deal with all of the issues that are unfolding around her not only mold her into a stronger and better person, but also open her eyes to her own nature, and her mother's and sister's, and the underlying cause for the way she and her mother cling to those they love, and Juliet pushes so many people away. Scarlet's attraction to Hayden also adds a very interesting and complicated twist to the story, and though it is warranted and understood, it is like watching a car wreck unfold--you know there will be a collision, and things could get quite messy, but you need to see it through in order to see just how many pieces there will be left to pick up at the end.

It is through these revelations and events that each of the Ellis women ultimately learn that life is complicated and messy, and not everything can be fixed immediately (or ignored)--sometimes you have to let go and let others stand on their own, and sometimes you need to reach out for help. With a smart, sensitive, and modern voice, Caletti has created in The Six Rules of Maybe a strong and lovely book about forgiveness, trust, responsibility, and growing up.

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Six Rules of Can't Resist

There are some books that just simply surprise you, usually by being more than they seem. The Six Rules of Maybe, by Deb Caletti, had just that effect. There were times when it was a typical girl meets boy (who she isn't supposed to like) YA, but then there were times where this book was putting my innermost thoughts out there on paper!

Scarlet grew up in her older sister Juliet's shadow. Juliet was beautiful, always had boyfriends (bad boys, of course), and never worried about how her actions affected other people. Their mom worked hard to raise them, and their father left them long ago, leaving plenty of abandonment issues behind him. When Juliet comes home married and pregnant, Scarlet and her mother aren't surprised by the whirlwind situation, but are surprised Juliet chose to stick with the commitment of a baby and a husband.

Hayden and his dog Zeus may be unexpected additions to the house, but to Scarlet, they are incredible and surprising. Scarlet begins to have feelings for Hayden she knows are wrong, but she can't help. When she realizes Juliet is sneaking around with her ex-boyfriend, she is conflicted- she is furious that her sister would hurt Hayden, but elated because she is falling in love with him herself. But nothing is more forbidden than your sister's husband, no matter how perfect he is.

There are parts of this story that are like windows into a high schooler's soul. In particular, it is a glimpse into the soul of a pleaser. If you aren't a pleaser yourself, you definitely know one. She is that girl who can't reject even the most annoying guy for fear of hurting him. She is a weirdo magnet because she will never do anything that might make someone feel bad. She also never thinks about how this all affects her, because she is too worried about everyone else. She seems so strong, so impervious, but really? She is a mess. She questions everything she does, feels trapped, and can't stand up for herself. Scarlet is a piece of all of us we wish we could squash but know will always be there.

This book is interesting, but is more in Scarlet's head than anywhere else. There is little dialogue or action, but when there is some, it is well done. The insights are incredible, but I am afraid it might be lost on a punchy teenaged reader who just wants gratuitous entertainment. This is a brilliant story with beautiful writing, but might not capture the attention of many of my students. I wish it would teach them a little about themselves or the people they know, but the lessons might be too subtle. I think this book is more valuable for the teacher or mother who deals with adolescent girls than for the girls themselves. While Ophelia Speaks gave us a glimpse into the minds of real girls, The Six Rules of Maybe can do so with a fictional girl who seems so real, you will swear you know her.

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good summer read

Seventeen-year-old Scarlet has lived her entire life in the shadow of her older sister Juliet. An introverted high school junior, Scarlet spends most of her time silently observing those around her and trying to "fix" what's wrong in their lives. So when Juliet returns home unexpectedly with a new husband and an unplanned pregnancy, Scarlet has a new project. Except it's hard to focus on Juliet's life when Scarlet finds herself falling in love with her sister's husband. Suddenly, Scarlet's neat little life isn't so orderly anymore.

Scarlet is a likable character, if a bit meek and, in a way, a busybody. A self-proclaimed "nice person," she focuses on everyone else's lives so she doesn't have to think too hard about her own. Her sister provides a nice contrast as a somewhat self-absorbed individual who's so scared of losing something good she'd rather push it away herself. And Hayden, a kindred spirit to Scarlet in niceness, is a very honorable young man that any girl would be proud to call her husband.

The issue I had with the novel was that it was too slow and dreamy for my taste. Deb Caletti has garnered comparisons to Sarah Dessen, but for some reason I can handle Dessen's slow-moving style, and just got annoyed with Caletti's. It might have been because the writing, while beautifully done, was just painfully slow and mirrored how long (over 2/3 of the book) Scarlet took to come to some sort of self-realization.

If you're an existing Deb Caletti fan, then you'll like "The Six Rules of Maybe." For readers who want a good teen fiction book, I'd recommend Sarah Dessen first before trying Deb Caletti.

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A funny, poignant, uplifting, and truly authentic novel by National Book Award finalist author Deb Caletti.

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