Rules for Rule Breaking is a right-at-home teen novel. Despite Winter Park and Bobby Bae’s similarities—the obvious one being Korean-Americans stuck in North Carolina, or the not-so-obvious, but wildly fierce academic rivalry they share—the two are discordant. Reluctantly following their parents’ wishes, Winter and Bobby must spend their summer visiting East Coast colleges; on their journey they get a taste of growing up, growing together, and growing comfortable in being uncomfortable. The dialogue and relationship between the pair, and the small cast of characters, is realistic to the high school experience, and incredibly natural. Talia Tucker is impressive with how honest she crafts the dialogue, how its cadence and terminology ebb and flow in an in-tune manner. However, the story is too often lost in this strength and unfortunately fails to achieve the poignancy and depth that novels which utilize more narrative, show-not-tell, elements excel at. Additionally, college-hopefuls may find the book repetitive due to its contents being heavily centered on the stressful situation they’re already in. Overall, teenagers will see themselves in Rules for Rule Breaking, which features all of the messy relationships, aspirations, and young love that mingle in their high school hallways: it’s a comfortable read.