I received this book for free from ARC in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Rule of Three by Eric Walters Published by Farrar Straus Giroux on January 21st, 2014
Genres: Apocalypse, Suspense, YA
Goodreads
One shocking afternoon, computers around the globe shut down in a viral catastrophe. At sixteen-year-old Adam Daley’s high school, the problem first seems to be a typical electrical outage, until students discover that cell phones are down, municipal utilities are failing, and a few computer-free cars like Adam’s are the only vehicles that function. Driving home, Adam encounters a storm tide of anger and fear as the region becomes paralyzed. Soon—as resources dwindle, crises mount, and chaos descends—he will see his suburban neighborhood band together for protection. And Adam will understand that having a police captain for a mother and a retired government spy living next door are not just the facts of his life but the keys to his survival.
GUYS!!!! GUUUUUYYYYSSS!!!!
Yes, this is totally going to be one of those reviews that is 60% gifs, 30% incoherent screaming and caps locks, 5% me demanding you go out and buy it, 3% analogies made of pure nonsense and 2% coherent review. Now that you have been warned, let’s get this party going!!!
I swear I just want to scream TRUST ME! YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE IT JUST FLIPPING PRE-ORDER IT! I think we’ve know each other long enough for that to be sufficient. I even like to think that you care about my babble and would actually listen to me, while I continually just scream for you to pre-order The Rule of Three right this second. Yes, forget this review, forget putting on pants, forget everything that doesn’t directly affect you pre-ordering this book, right this second.
I won’t go into what the book is about because whoever did the blurb did a fan-flipping-tabulous job already, and this was probably one of the things I loved most. Come on you know what I mean! You grab a book, read the blurb and the tag line, then you think “hmm this sounds good” but then you read the book and think “where in the hell is the book that goes with the blurb I read in the store?!”. I’ve had this happen numerous times and for The Rule of Three to not only stand true to it’s summary but also have a summary that totally encompasses the book without giving away key details but still hold my attention is applause worthy.
Ok, so let me try and be coherent now.
The most impressive and wonderful thing about The Rule of Three was how real it felt. I don’t know how many of you remember the blackout of 2003, I was only 14 at the time but I remember people freaking out. I remember my mom telling us not to leave the neighborhood and to run as fast as we could if we saw someone we didn’t know. I remember how people started to act after just a few hours of no electricity, and it’s something I have no intentions of reliving in this lifetime. The Rule of Three, made the blackout of ’03, that itty bitty blackout that only lasted a few hours for some and a few days for others, that blackout that only affected 55 million people, seem pathetic and silly by comparison. The power outage in The Rule of Three was world wide and had no sign of ending, and Walters took that scenario and showed us what happens to humanity when the things we depend on for ever day life disappear.
Seriously think about it.Your car won’t start, your cellphone won’t even light up, your toaster, coffee maker, fridge, credit card machines, THE INTERNET did not work. How long would it take for that layer of civilization to vanish? Walters took this scenario, and showed us how delicate that layer of civilization truly is. It wouldn’t take days, or weeks, or months. In just a few hours man would turn on man and the very thing that separates us from our original barbaric state would disappear. And this isn’t an assumption! Remember the first night of the blackout of ’03? The looting? The fires? The fights? The TENSION! Walters has done so good of a job showing what our actions would be like I may actually look into a bunker! Seriously.
But Walters didn’t show just the despair of this situation, he showed that there really are people out there that are genuinely helpful. That there are people who are meant to lead and can do so effortlessly. That there are people who know what buttons to push to secure the resources necessary for survival. And he did all of this with a writing style that was comfortable, gripping and totally believable considering that the POV was from a teenage boy. It was… I was… It just..
The only thing holding it back from a full on 5 star review was the “romance”. This book had action, intense situations, fabulous writing, lovable and amazing characters and a plot that took you for a hell of a ride. Why Walters felt the need to add a love interest is beyond me. It didn’t fit. It didn’t even flow! One second we’re facing an unknown end and the next we’re talking about our hands being sweaty from holding a girls hand? I do not approve. Especially when the rest of the book was flawless.
