The Usual Rules, Joyce Maynard. (Paperback 0312283695)

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The Usual Rules
Author: Joyce Maynard

It's a Tuesday morning in Brooklyn?a perfect September day. Wendy is heading to school, eager to make plans with her best friend, worried about how she looks, mad at her mother for not letting her visit her father in California, impatient with her little brother and with the almost too-loving concern of her jazz musician stepfather. She's out th... more »e door to catch the bus. An hour later comes the news: A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center?her mother's office building.

Through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Wendy, we gain entrance to the world rarely shown by those who documented the events of that one terrible day: a family's slow and terrible realization that Wendy's mother has died, and their struggle to go on with their lives in the face of such a crushing loss.

Absent for years, Wendy's real father shows up without warning. He takes her back with him to California, where she re-invents her life: Wendy now lives more or less on her own in a one-room apartment with a TV set and not much else. Wendy's new circle now includes her father's cactus-grower girlfriend, newly reconnected with the son she gave up for adoption twenty years before; a sad and tender bookstore owner who introduces her to the voice of Anne Frank and to his autistic son; and a homeless skateboarder, on a mission to find his long-lost brother.

Over the winter and spring that follow, Wendy moves between the alternately painful and reassuring memories of her mother and the revelations that come with growing to know her real father for the first time. Pulled between her old life in Brooklyn and a new one 3,000 miles away, our heroine is faced with a world where the usual rules no longer apply but eventually discovers a strength and capacity for compassion and survival that she never knew she possessed.

At the core of the story is Wendy's deep connection with her little brother, back in New York, who is grieving the loss of their mother without her. This is a story about the ties of siblings, about children who lose their parents, parents who lose their children, and the unexpected ways they sometimes find one another again. Set against the backdrop of global and personal tragedy, and written in a style alternately wry and heartbreaking, The Usual Rules is an unexpectedly hopeful story of healing and forgiveness that will offer readers, young and old alike, a picture of how, out of the rubble, a family rebuilds its life.

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ISBN-13: 9780312283698
ISBN-10: 0312283695
Publication Date: 2/18/2004
Pages: 400
Rating:

Currently 3.6/5 Stars.

3.6 stars, based on 29 ratings

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Mary S. (NJMary63) reviewed The Usual Rules on 12/3/2006 + 21 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

This book has stayed with me well after reading it. I couldn't put it down. It drew me in and I was rooting for Wendy, Josh and little Louie the whole time.

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Lisa A. reviewed The Usual Rules on 1/17/2007 + 165 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Excellent, thought-provoking book. The author brings you into the story to a point where you can empathize with all the characters, warts and all. This book is one that will not be forgotten easily.

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Jacky K. (Jacky) reviewed The Usual Rules on 6/20/2007 + 174 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

A book where you can really empathize with the lead character. Events take her through the stages of grief from denial and anger to remorse and finally acceptance. You can see her growing along the way and the characters placed in the book to help her are just as interesting as she is. Great read!

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Connie A. (jazzysmom) - , reviewed The Usual Rules on 4/1/2012 + 907 more book reviews

This is a fantastic read. It is the story of Wendy, young teenaged girl trying to come to grips with her mothers death on 9/11. It's haunting and heartbreaking. A story of healing and how one September morning changed this young girls life. A page turner and an eye opener for me.This book is a keeper for those who are interested in this genre.

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Jessica H. (JessinGA) reviewed The Usual Rules on 4/20/2011 + 36 more book reviews

A well-written story of those left behind after 9/11 and how they make their way through the tragedy to a new life.

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Mary M. (voice) reviewed The Usual Rules on 9/2/2007

I think this should be a must read for everyone. It should be standard reading in high school. It is well written and comprehensive. I recommend it highly.

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Kathryn (Kmarie) - , reviewed The Usual Rules on 4/15/2012 + 529 more book reviews

I read this book when it came out in 2004, and it was one of the top reads for me that year... and I still remember some of the lines from it. I'm a grief and trauma resolution therapist so I can't stand reading books about loss that just don't ring true. This one rings, sings and VIBRATES true! Excellent read!

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Missy B. (k9kutter64) reviewed The Usual Rules on 9/20/2006 + 167 more book reviews

Excellent story!

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Lynlie (lynliep) reviewed The Usual Rules on 8/1/2006 + 50 more book reviews

loved it! very moving. story of healing and forgiveness.

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