The Six Rules of Maybe

The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti

Published: March 16, 2010 by Simon Pulse

Scarlet spends most of her time worrying about other people. Some are her friends, others are practically strangers, and then there are the ones no else even notices. Trying to fix their lives come naturally to her. And pushing her own needs to the side is part of the deal. So when her older sisters comes home unexpectedly married and pregnant, Scarlet has a new person to worry about. But all of her good intentions are shattered when the unthinkable happens: she falls for her sister's husband. For the first time in a long time, Scarlet's not fixing a problem, she's at the center of one. And ignoring her feelings doesn't seem to be an option...

I've liked most of the Deb Caletti books I've read so I'm always willing to try more. This book ended up being just alright but I wasn't really expecting to love it based on the summary. I'm not usually a big fan of stories where someone "falls in love" with someone else's significant other. I found it really hard to relate and I got tired of Scarlet obsessing over her sister's husband. 

Reasons I love this book:

• Scarlet's neighbors - Everyone on Scarlet's street is very quirky. Maybe too quirky to be realistic, but that's alright since I'm not really looking for perfect realism in books. Scarlet's neighbors and their problems keep Scarlet from getting too wrapped up in her sister's issues and provide welcome breaks from Scarlet's worrying.
• Shy - I've forgotten his real name, but I like him. He may be quiet but he knows what he wants. And Scarlet's friend Nicole reacts so realistically when Shy begins to show interest in someone other than her. Girls can be so catty and feel stabbed in the back by a friend who did nothing wrong. 
• Hayden - I really like Juliet's husband Hayden. He seems so excited and hopeful about marriage and pretty much everything in life. Sometimes I wanted him to stop dreaming and actually do something, but overall I liked him and his outlook on life. 

Huh, what?:

• plot - I had an issue with Scarlet's huge crush on Hayden. It just felt like he latched onto him because she had no life of her own or hobbies other than listening to people's problems. Maybe this was more of a problem with Scarlet's personality, but most of the plot is her ignoring Juliet while crushing on Juliet's husband.
• Scarlet - Scarlet seemed very judgmental to me, especially when it came to Juliet. Yes, they are sisters so she knows Juliet very well, but to automatically decide that Juliet was going to hurt Hayden and basically do everything wrong is just ridiculous. Scarlet didn't even get reacquainted with her sister before writing the marriage off. She judged everyone and then got all tangled up in their personal problems without considering what they wanted. 

Favorite quotes:

• Through the space between my fingers, I could see that Clive Weaver wore his old man slippers, too, and worse yet, his former mailman helmet, which all gave him the unfortunate look of an old nude guy in search of a mail safari.         -  pg. 79
• I had a moment of fear-panic, looked at his hands. I saw with relief that they did not hold some round cartoon bomb with a sparkling, lit fuse, nor a Wile E. Coyote crate labeled Dynamite! Actually, he was smiling. I had to think a minute. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Kevin Frink smile. He smirked, yes, but that only involved one corner of the mouth, not both.         -  pg. 154

3 robots

Not my favorite by Deb Caletti. Try it if you don't mind books about liking someone else's significant other.

Acquired: bought