Ashley Saunders

Leslie Saunders

In their world, telling the truth has become the most dangerous crime of all. In the near-future United States, a one-child policy is ruthlessly enforced. Everyone follows the Rule of One. But Ava Goodwin, daughter of the head of the Texas Family Planning Division, has a secret--one her mother died to keep and her father has helped to hide for her entire life. She has an identical twin sister, Mira. For eighteen years Ava and Mira have lived as one, trading places day after day, maintaining an interchangeable existence down to the most telling detail. But when their charade is exposed, their worst nightmare begins. Now they must leave behind the father they love and fight for their lives. Branded as traitors, hunted as fugitives, and pushed to discover just how far they'll go in order to stay alive, Ava and Mira rush headlong into a terrifying unknown.

The Rule of One

Jessica Ford

3.5 stars. I don’t read many YA novels, but this one was pretty good. I enjoyed the story and wanted to see how it ended, but I don’t think I will read the two sequels.

Drew Dost

Overall this was a really good story! A bit cliche in parts, similar in some ways to other dystopian YA books, but I still really liked it and had a hard time putting it down. I really liked that there wasn't a love interest and the main dynamic the book focused on was family, that's pretty hard to find in my experience but I loved being able to explore that more than I've read before in other books.

Born to a death sentence in a near-future America, rebellious sisters herald a revolution--if they can survive. Twins Ava and Mira Goodwin defy the Rule of One simply by existing. The single-child law, ruthlessly enforced by Texas's Governor Roth, has made the sisters famous fugitives and inspirations for the resurgent rebellion known as the Common. But the relentless governor and his implacable Texas State Guard threaten that fragile hope, as Roth consolidates his power in a bid for ultimate authority. As Ava and Mira relinquish the relative safety of their Canadian haven to stand against Roth, new allies arise: Owen, a gifted young programmer, impulsively abandons his comfortable life in a moment of compassion, while Zee, an abused labor camp escapee, finds new purpose in resistance. The four will converge on Dallas for a reckoning with Roth, with nothing less than their destinies--and the promise of a future free from oppression--on the line. Disobedience means death. But a life worth living demands rebellion.

The Rule of Many

Beckah brooks

Resist much, obey little.

This book! Where do I even start!!! This is the second book in a trilogy, sequel to The Rule Of One, and it’s just as good as the first one! I love the writing style, the plot, the twists, everything! I really encourage you to pick up a copy of the first and the second and eventually the third when it comes out!

A really cool thing I found in this book is that it mentioned Spokane Washington, the Spokane River, and Riverfront Park! I happen to live in a part of Spokane and it was super cool to see those places in a book!

The first book in this series follows illegal twins throughout their escape and beginning of heading a rebellion. They happen to be illegal because in the United States you can only have one child due to the rule of one, so when their mom had twins it started their very dangerous lives! 
If you have read this book, what tart would you get if you were to be a part of the rebellion? I would definitely be a part of the rebellion but I have no idea what I’d get.

Melissa Schwartz

This was a great story with a unique and relatable concept. The character development was great and I look forward to future sequels. I think sometimes setting could have been explained better, certain scenes and occurrences were just hard to picture. I definitely think this would make a great movie and would look forward to the possibility of that

This was a pretty decent read! I'm a sucker for dystopias, and I LOVED that there's no romance/love triangle in this one!

The premise feels incredibly realistic for the future, especially the conditions of the US with regard to the environment, water and food shortages, suspicion of outsiders, etc. I'm not sure that it brought anything new to the table, but it made for an engrossing read!

My only real complaint is how unrealistic the twins' abilities are. Of course, intelligence and determination are necessary characteristics to being a heroine in a dystopian novel, but I felt that there were some parts where their abilities became too convenient, especially Ava's navigation skills without a map or compass. Also, (view spoiler)[when the twins separate, Ava hops on vehicles heading north to travel a decent amount of miles to get to the border. Mira walks south. And yet, Mira decides to turn around to find Ava and finds her at the border right after she's gotten into trouble, with no explanation of how she got there so quickly! (hide spoiler)]

Overall, it was an entertaining read, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

Tom Turner

Majorly Underdeveloped.

I was really looking forward to this book, sadly it was a high disappointment, and unusually for me, I gave up having only read a third of the book.

Teen literature at the moment is swamped with books set in a dystopian future, and this is no exception. However, what the authors failed to do was to fully realise their world. World-Building is essential in setting yourself apart from other books, the reader must be able to actualise and visualise the works you have created in their head. Sadly, the world kept morphing in mine. I'm sure that if I'd read on there would have been more exposition, but there were no solid foundations, and it just became too difficult to imagine coherently.

Added to which, there were also times when decisions were made by characters where I as the reader got no insight as to why they made that decisions. The book is seen and told in first person from the pov of the twins at the centre of the story. For some reason, despite the first person narrative, the characters were wholly underdeveloped. I felt I knew them from a sociological standpoint, but not a personal one.

Ultimately I felt this read more like a screenplay than a novel - which of course are two very different ways of telling a story. It doesn't surprise me then, that the authors of this book are filmmakers, writing their first novel.

Jelke Lenaerts

I RECEIVED A GALLEY OF THIS THROUGH NETGALLEY

I really enjoyed the first book in this duology so I was really excited to check out the sequel but sadly enough it was just a bit dissapointing. In this book two new perspectives were introduced and I'm just not a big fan of them. I was only interested in Mira and Ava's story and those just kind of dragged down the paste for me. I'm was just also not a big fan of their voices in general. They felt pretty unececary to me. I read the first book in one sitting but this went by so slowly and I just found myself bored at times. I was just a bit dissapointed by this book because it had so much potential and I just didn't really care for it. Overall this duology is pretty interesting and I'm so glad it didn't really fall in the endless amount of dystopian tropes. So it is a refreshing dystopian and that's great. The two main characters I still love and think are absolutely interesting.

I received a galley of this through Netgalley.

This book had such an interesting premise but it kind of failed to deliver a little bit. I wish we got a bit more backstory on the world because it's so interesting but we didn't get much from it. I did really liked our two main characters. It was a bit difficult sometimes to tell the two different perpectives apart, which was weird because the two characters are so different from each other. I loved that by the way, that the two girls were so different from each other, especially because they were raised to be exactly the same. It's just interesting. I also really liked their friendship. Oh, a thing I loved about this book is that there's no romance. That was so refreshing to see. This book is nothing really special if you've read a lot of dystopians before. The only thing this really has going for it is the strong connection between the two sisters and, like mentioned before, the lack of romance. But it's a very quik read and I would recommend it as it's very enjoyable. I am excited to read the sequel because of the way this book left off.

Renee Blankenship

Thank you to Amazon Publishing for my free copy of The Rule of One by Ashley and Leslie Saunders. All options are my own. 

There was a time a few years ago when I was on a dystopian YA kick and read ALL the books and ALL the series. I was hooked! So many great stories to get mildly obsessed with and share with my friends who also love YA. Then somewhere along the way I got a little burnt out and stopped reading any YA at all. 

When I was contacted about reading The Rule of One I realized just how long it had been since I delved into the world of dystopian YA. I gave The Rule of One a try and am so glad I did! The premise, a future where America's states are divided, where walls are put up along the borders and families are only permitted one child....felt like it was hitting a bit too close to home sometimes. I was hooked right from the beginning! Twin sisters, who trade places every day being Ava and must keep the secret that they are twins from the entire world. A resistance brewing in the background. All the markers of a great YA dystopian! The story itself picked up after a few chapters as the girls' identity as twins is uncovered and Mira is finally allowed to be herself out in the world. I finished The Rule of One in just a few days and have already recommended it to a few friends who also enjoy YA fiction. It felt similar to Matched and Delirium in a lot of ways, two YA series that I enjoyed reading a few years ago. 

The authors, twin sisters themselves, wrote such a unique story. The details, down to exchanging fingerprints and some of the advanced technology in this futuristic version of our world, were so clever. I'm curious about what happens to Ava and Mira and their father next and can't wait for the second book!

Alissa Maloney

shelby mosel

Jazelle H

Kyla Pasantes Barbeira 

Alyssa Huffman

As America's twenty-first-century revolution reaches its endgame, twin sisters must outrun, and outlive, the Common enemy. Outlaw twin sisters Ava and Mira Goodwin were born to defy Texas's tyrannical and oppressive Governor Roth. They inspired millions across the country to liberate themselves and fight to live free under the new Common rule. But an enemy still endangers their fragile vision for the future. Ava and Mira's mission: hunt the man down. The once-mighty Governor Roth has fled Dallas. Holding a hostage beloved by Ava and Mira, Roth has a mission, too: regroup his Loyalists, wreak vengeance, and reclaim his power. With the help of a savvy programmer turned rebel warrior, Ava and Mira brave a journey more uncertain than they've ever attempted before. As they forge southward into foreign territory--against a ruthless cartel, Roth's aggressive Texas Guard, and a formidable new foe--courage, alliances, and trust will be tested. Now, in the most unlikely and treacherous of places, the sisters must finish what they started. Before they--and the Common--are erased from history forever.

The Rule of One

Reviews