Amber has always had to follow the ‘rules’. Her father has dominated her life and even though she has managed to escape he still manages to track her down. Will he drag her back into his warped reality or will she manage to keep out of his range. Wit the help of Josh she hopes to break free but will she ever live a life that is no longer dominated by her dad’s rules.
A tense thriller which sees Amber having to learn to trust others but still be reluctant to believe that she can have a normal life free of threat & fear.

What a good book. It’s fast paced and well researched.
I felt sorry for Amber and was hoping that she would get a happy ending. Josh I just wanted to cuddle and give him lots of motherly love.
I felt that the book was topical as we’re dealing with Covid-19 at the moment.

In this book you can see another version of control obsession where a child is too scared to talk about the real problem. A book that should be read by everyone who is afraid to have a voice.

It's first time when I'm reading a book about peppers and how they live their life. It had a bigger impact especially with this global pandemic. It makes you think twise if you are ready if something bad would happen. But I think we are never ready. The plot is interesting. It gave me goosebumps to read about Amber's life and how she tries to handle her problem. I don't know what I'm feeling about the ending. It gave me too many feelings.

I love the cover, the idea of burned matches, that you have one life and you can get burn so easily. This is why you should talk about your problems. Don't worry, somebody will hear you. Thank you NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I have read Tracy Darnton's The Truth About Lies, so understood the chapter structure, which could potentially be a bit confusing at first for teenage readers with the flashbacks to the past starting each chapter before the present day part of the story. It was refreshing to read a story with a teenage girl and a teenage boy which was NOT a romance! I rejoiced! The characterisation of both teens, with their chaotic past home lives, trust issues and more, was quite realistic and the descent of one character into acceptance of what she eventually has to do to escape her past is long and hard to read.

There are plenty of plot twists in the thriller, although I must say I personally saw the last twist coming (may be because I am an adult reading this title - not sure if a YA or teen would), but I did enjoy the last chapter that spelled out exactly what that twist was and how it was carried out. Overall, a twisty thriller with enough family drama and teenage angst for YA readers.

This book was a very appropriate read in the current climate. The story focused on a group of people known as ‘Preppers’, preparing for any eventuality such as alien invasion, economic collapse, global pandemic! The Rules is a ‘Cat and Mouse’ chase style story of father and daughter and really started to pick up around 40% of the way through. Cliché I know but I couldn’t put it down, definitely a book to persevere with.

As a character, Amber comes across as resilient from the start, although lacking a few manners, but I felt a great deal of empathy and sadness for her. As the story progresses it delves into the sheer amount of physical and mental abuse that was present in her life from an early age at the hands of her father. The Rules addresses many issues regarding foster care, homelessness, domestic abuse and mental health problems, in a way I feel was readable and had few triggers yet ensuring the seriousness of these issues were portrayed.

I personally love novels set in the UK and I was lucky enough that I had a familiarity with several of the locations mentioned in this book, being from the Northumberland area myself, so this was also a nice surprise.

A four star read from me, an easy writing style, good strong characters and enough suspense to keep me on tenterhooks until the very end. Thank you Tracy Darney.

I was intrigued by the story of The Rules and wasn't sure what I'd think of it but I loved it so much I was through it in a few days. The story follows Amber who has had a challenging life and after her father gets in contact again she realises she has to get away and make sure she's never found but following his rules gives a disadvantage when it's harder to stay one step ahead.

I thought this was a really interesting and gripping read and I was never sure where the story would go next. I liked Amber as a character as she showed such determination, bravery and at times you could see her vulnerability. I think by having the story in two timeframes, the past in which Amber learnt from her dad and the present when she tries to stay away from her dad, it makes it so easy to understand why she feels and behaves as she does today. I wasn't sure about Josh at the start but it was nice to see him being supportive and a good friend even when Amber wasn't always giving the same back.

The story moved at a good pace that always left me wanting to read more. It was good to see how the rules were represented in how Amber lives her life despite knowing that they mightn't be the best for her. This is a brilliant story and makes me want to read more from the author. It's hard to review this book without spoiling anything but I love how it ended with many thought provoking questions which make you rethink what you've just read.

Thank you so much to Stripes Publishing for sending me a copy of The Rules, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review!

Amber has finally started to fit in somewhere, when a letter arrives from her father.  The father she never wanted to see again.  The father who she knows will stop at nothing to track her down.  Alone again and on the run, she knows how to survive - her father taught her how to survive, because he's a prepper, and Amber always had to live by The Rules.  The only problem is, her father knows the rules too, he created them after all.  

The Rules was a fast paced and engaging book that had me reading late into the night.  The father's fanaticism was utterly terrifying to me - especially knowing there are actually people in the world who live this way. Seeing the toll it took on his wife and daughter, who were much more likely to be in danger from him than any perceived worldwide threat, made this a scary book indeed. 

As the story follows Amber, she reluctantly allows the charismatic and optimistic wanderer, Josh, to tag along.  Josh was by far my favourite character.  His happy go lucky attitude, that masked his own rough path, was just as interesting as Amber's story.  With some relevant nods to recent world events - such a toilet paper hoarding and conspiracy theories - and an explosive conclusion, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend picking this one up!

Amber has, for as long as she remembers, been prepared by her father to expect the unexpected. As a survivalist he insisted on teaching her how to prepare for the worst. Her key rule was to ensure she followed his rules.
We’re not sure what happened, but we see Amber is in foster care. She is in the UK, and we learn her mother has died. A letter from Amber’s father has arrived from America and it immediately puts Amber on alert. She realises she will have to leave.
We follow Amber on her journey to try and learn more about her father’s plans. She doesn’t trust him, and journeys to familiar places in her attempt to learn what she needs.
For someone who is meant to be so well-trained she seems to make some silly mistakes. She places her trust in another person who used to be in foster care with her, and this results in some crazy decisions being made. Before too long, Amber’s father catches up with her and we start to glimpse for ourselves the extent to which one man’s delusions can impact on the lives of those around him.
Throughout the story I got a sense that things weren’t quite what we thought. Amber made some strange decisions, and the details of her past indicated there may be more to the story that she was telling us.
When we get to the rather explosive finale it seems to justify what Amber had told us, but it also suggested that perhaps Amber was better prepared than she wanted to let on!
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this, and I’m curious to see how this goes down (particularly in light of recent events that may have led people to question the extent to which they are reliant on others).

A tense plot based around a teenager trying to avoid and outwit her father, a self-trained survivalist or prepper, to use his phrase. An interesting probe into rules and how we apply them and family and friendship bonds. Original and thought-provoking: a book that will haunt me for some time to come.

The Rules is an interesting and original look at the "Prepper" culture, those who prepare themselves tor major catastrophes like the world ending. It's about survival. The book follows a 17 year old girl whose been taught this way of life by her father.
The novel feels very relevant and current, exploring themes sensitively, maturely and very realistically.

“What tips someone from the rational to the irrational?” (p. 234)

Amber knows how to survive. She’s 17 and is trained to outwit and outlast anything and everything. But the one who taught her everything is the same person she has to run away from.

“Who was the monster? Me or him?” (p. 278)

The Rules piqued my interest because of its premise. I’ve never read a book about preppers, the people who prepare for the absolute worst, for the ending of the world. And boy did this book deliver!

We’re introduced to Amber, a 17-year-old, kind of your typical teenager. During the first chapters of the book you come to realize that Amber isn’t your typical teen with the typical teen problems. She’s been trained by her father to be a prepper, to be ready for anything.

Amber loves school, loves the normalcy of her days. She’s been in and out of foster families, but is now settled in a school, she even has a friend. Well, sort of. Her days are predictable, and she likes that. But everything is turned upside down when she gets a letter from her father, the only person she doesn’t want in her life. So she utilizes her training and goes into hiding. And then the SHTF.

There are more people to this story than just Amber and her father, but in the end they are the only ones that matter.

“There is no one else.” (p. 271)

I read this book almost at one go. It’s captivating and fast-paced, and well written. It hits home with the situation we’re in right now, with the mentions of toilet paper hoarding, killer flu and even Greta Thunberg.

There are quite a list of trigger warnings for this one, including domestic violence, emotional abuse, shooting, fatphobic commenting, and so on. So keep those in mind and read with care.

'The Rules' is described as a a gripping thriller for fans of One of Us is Lying, We Were Liars and A Good Girl's Guide To Murder so, after giving all three of those books 5 stars, I had ridiculously high expectations for this one. After reading the summary, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect in terms of how close this book would be to those and whether it would be completely in my comfort zone, but I knew that it had the potential to be a new favourite, and it absolutely didn't disappoint.

Amber is a young girl who has spent her teenage years making her way through care homes and foster homes, after running away from her somewhat delusional, prepping-for-the-apocalypse father. When she finds out that he has tracked her down, she makes the immediate decision to run away from the first place she has ever felt settled in order to self-preserve. What follows is a story of intelligence, planning and survival instinct, both on her part and on her father's, as we get an insight into just how troubled he is and just how much that has scarred Amber.

I enjoyed every aspect of this book. I liked both Amber and Josh as characters and I loved that, despite their very different outlooks on life, they both found themselves at least a little dependent on one another throughout the story. There was no forced romance at all but it was beautiful to watch their relationship develop as they both figured out what they were doing on their journey and how they ended up together on the run.

As well as having strong characters, I found the story to be so compelling that I just couldn't put the book down. The chapters are very short and abrupt, and I found it incredibly easy to keep going and get through this book without even realising it. The story is fast-paced and permanently exciting, with both the flashbacks and the present day constantly building up tension and setting the reader on edge. I knew throughout this entire book that it was building to a grand conclusion, and I wasn't at all disappointed with the ending.

A combination of likeable, strong characters, an intense plot, and an enjoyable amount of twists and turns made this book one of the best YA thrillers I've read in years, and I will absolutely be grabbing every Tracy Darnton book I can get my hands on from now on.

I feel like I need to take a few deep breaths after reading The Rules by Tracy Darnton having been swept up in a tight knot of anxiety since the very first chapter.

Such an original plot, based around Amber, the daughter of a fanatical end of the world prepper as she tries to evade her father. The story is incredibly powerful and intense and I was thrilled when we met Josh and his happy go lucky antidote was added to the boiling pot that is the relationship between Amber and her father.

The ending truly did not disappoint if anything the at times shocking finale was my favourite part of the book which is very rare at the moment when a lot of books seems to start off fabulously and then fizzle out.

Thank you again to Net Galley and Tracy Darnton for the opportunity to read. A definite 5 stars from me!

First, an admission: there is an unwritten law of the universe that, given that there are so few of us, if your surname is Darnton you and I are related. I’m not sure whether Tracy Darnton is aware of this, especially as we are only relatives through marriage, but nevertheless it is true, and it is also true that I probably wouldn’t have picked this book up had it not been for her surname. It is a long time since I was active in the world of children’s literature and I’ve rather lost touch with what’s now being published. The Rules makes me regret that reminding me, as it does, that the best of YA literature deals with complex and important issues.

Approaching eighteen, Amber Fitzpatrick finds herself, perhaps for the first time in her life, in an almost settled situation. Having worked her way through several foster placements, she is now at a boarding school and studying towards the qualification she hopes will give her a place at university. However, her fragile piece of mind is shattered when her social worker, Julie, tells her that they have received a letter from her father.

Amber’s father is a Prepper: that is somebody who prepares themselves for the disaster that they are certain is just around the corner. This could be anything from an alien invasion to nuclear warfare, perhaps an enormous natural disaster or even a pandemic. Such individuals stockpile not only food but also medical supplies, water purification tablets, lighting systems, the list could go on. They also, in many cases, have a list of draconian rules and, until she breaks free, it is the rules that her father has established that have controlled Amber’s life and destroyed that of her mother. Terrified that her father is about to lay claim to her again, Amber strikes out on her own and makes for a Northumberland holiday cottage owned by a couple who once fostered her. Here she runs into her complete antithesis, Josh, with whom she once shared a foster placement. If Josh has a rule in life it is to have no rules. All these rules in society we’re meant to follow, to know our place, I don’t have to do it any more, he claims. Together they set out to find Centurion  House, established as a survival outpost in case of whatever cataclysm might first strike. Here, Amber hopes to find supplies and money that will enable her to out run her father, whom she is sure will try and take her back into his custody. 

The irony, of course, is that it is the very rules that her father has taught her and the skills that she has learnt in preparation for disaster that enable her not only to survive but also, for a considerable time, to outrun both him and social services. Indeed, it is in part because she ignores her own instincts and allows Josh to take her to hear her father speak, that she is eventually tracked down.

Had I read this novel a year ago I would now be discussing as the central theme the idea that we all live by rules of one sort or another. As Amber comments when the police and social services ultimately try to pick up the pieces, they’re following their procedures, their rules. What matters about any rules is the ultimate goal of those who devise and implement them and who, consequently, benefits as a result. However, it’s impossible now to read this book without doing so in the light of the current pandemic and I suspect that how readers react to it will to some extent be defined by their response to the rules laid out by governments around the world in their reaction to the Covid-19 crisis. What is more, any individual’s understanding of the novel might well change from day to day. What struck me most forcefully today was the distinction that Amber draws between the Preppers in England and those in America. However, I finished this book at the very beginning of May on a day when I both read about the general consensus in England that for the moment some form of lockdown needs to continue and listened to protesters in Michigan demanding the right to be allowed to go out and do precisely what they want now, this minute.  By the time you read this, and I’ll post it to coincide with the early July publication, there may well be other, more immediate parallels that I would want to draw because, if the novel makes clear anything, it is that we simply don’t know from one day to the next what we might be called upon to face and that there are times when, at the very least, being prepared for the unexpected is not a bad idea.

With thanks to Little Tiger Group and NetGalley for the review copy.