Break These Rules: 35 YA Authors on Speaking Up, Standing Out, and Being Yourself

by Luke Reynolds (Editor)

Overview

If you’re a girl, you should strive to look like the model on the cover of a magazine. If you’re a boy, you should play sports and be good at them. If you’re smart, you should immediately go to college after high school, and get a job that makes you rich. Above all, be normal.

Right?

Wrong, say 35 leading middle grade and young adult authors. Growing up is challenging enough; it doesn’t have to be complicated by convoluted, outdated, or even cruel rules, both spoken and unspoken. Parents, peers, teachers, the media, and the rest of society sometimes have impossible expectations of teenagers. These restrictions can limit creativity, break spirits, and demand that teens sacrifice personality for popularity.

In these personal, funny, moving, and poignant essays, Kathryn Erskine (Mockingbird), Matthew Quick (The Silver Linings Playbook), Gary D. Schmidt (The Wednesday Wars), Sara Zarr (Story of a Girl), and many others share anecdotes and lessons learned from their own lives in order to show you that some rules just beg to be broken.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613747841
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/01/2013
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	960L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Luke Reynolds has taught middle school and high school English in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as composition at Northern Arizona University. He is the coeditor of Burned In and Dedicated to the People of Darfur and the author of A Call to Creativity, Keep Calm and Query On, and A New Man. His writing has appeared in the Arizona Daily Sun, the Hartford Courant, Mutuality magazine, the Sonora Review, Tucson Weekly, and the Writer. He lives in Boston.

Table of Contents

Introduction: 35 Ways to Be Who You Really Are 1

Be a Jock Or a Nerd. Pick a Side. We're at War Josh Berk 5

Shhhhh A. S. King 9

It's Better to be Safe than Sorry Matthew Quick 13

Listening is a Waste of Time Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich 23

Never Be Alone Francisco X. Stork 29

Don't Tell Neesha Meminger 33

Don't Quit Carl Deuker 39

Be Clean! Gary D. Schmidt 41

Never Talk About Religion Sara Zarr 51

Follow the Money, Not Your Heart Lisa Schroeder 55

Look Like a Magazine Cover Sayantani Dasgupta 59

Don't Tell Lies Leslie Connor 67

Pretend the Dark Stuff Isn't True Carol Lynch Williams 73

Don't Daydream Wendy Mass 79

Go to College After High School Chris Barton 85

Be Cool Kathryn Erskine 89

See Yourself Through the Eyes of Others Jennifer Reynolds 95

Speak Up! Mike Jung 101

Always Sit In Your Assigned Seat… Lyn Miller-Lachmann 105

Be Normal Jennifer A. Nielsen 111

Don't Clash With the Crowd Anna Staniszewski 115

Compare Yourself to Others Luke Reynolds 119

Be Productive Jennifer Ziegler 125

Always Know Where You're Going Brian Yansky 131

Don't Get Fat Lisa Burstein 137

Two is Better than One Natalie Dias Lorenzi 143

Follow The Directions Tamara Ellis Smith 149

Grow Up. Be Serious Tara Lazar 157

Boys Don't Cry Chris Lynch 161

The Boy/Girl Rule Pat Schmatz 165

Be a Man Rob Buyea 169

Dress Appropriately Margo Rabb 173

There are Firm Rules in Life Thanhha Lai 177

Don't Let The New World Change You Mitali Perkins 181

Me First Lynda Mullaly Hunt 185

Acknowledgements 191

About the Contributors 195

About the Editor 209

Editorial Reviews

From “Never Talk About Religion” (Sara Zarr) to “Boys Don’t Cry” (Chris Lynch), 35 writers contribute essays titled by “rules” for teens to break or ignore. Editor Reynolds proves he’s not above rule breaking, too: despite the subtitle, several contributors (Rob Buyea, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, and Mike Jung, among others) are technically middle-grade authors. Much of the advice—from rejecting conventional standards of beauty to not worrying about fitting in—may be familiar to many readers, though that doesn’t make it any less sound. In the strongest entries, the writers use examples of their own past struggles to subtly drive home their messages. Matthew Quick is honest about the nervousness, and rewards, that come with leaving one’s comfort zone; Gary D. Schmidt describes a moment of betrayal and awakening in a church youth group; Margo Rabb hilariously imagines Georgia O’Keeffe as a guest on What Not to Wear (“Go to hell,” the artist tells the hosts, before hopping on a motorcycle to New Mexico, “where she can wear whatever she likes”). Thanhha Lai perhaps puts it best: “There is no rule to follow; there is no rule to break. You follow and break rules just by the act of living.” Proceeds from the sale of the book benefit the Children’s Defense Fund. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

This book actually breaks the rules just by existing. This much sheer coolness should not be allowed in one volume!”  —Jordan Sonnenblick, bestselling author, Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie


"These wonderful essays not only lay out good reasons for breaking rules, but they also provide lots of room for thought. If I could make one rule, it would be for every teen, parent, and teacher to read this collection. We’d all be better for it."  —Kathi Appelt, author of  the Newberry Honor–winning novel The Underneath


"Much of the advice—from rejecting conventional standards of beauty to not worrying about fitting in—may be familiar to many readers, though that doesn’t make it any less sound. In the strongest entries, the writers use examples of their own past struggles to subtly drive home their messages."  —Publishers Weekly


"Each contributor shares personal experience and advice, which makes for good, varied reading that will surely offer something unique for many readers. The essays are inspiring and thought-provoking, and many offer truly funny moments."  —School Library Journal


"While each contribution is deeply heartfelt, the shining stars of the collection are those that elegantly guide the reader with authentic, personal specifics on journeys that are genuinely transformative."  —Booklist



"This book is a hall pass to individuality, out-of-the-box thinking and self-expression. LOVE. IT."  —Justine

From the Publisher

09/01/2013
Gr 7 Up—Nearly three dozen young adult authors each address a "rule" that should be bent or ignored, such as "always sit in your assigned seat," "dress appropriately," "never be alone," or "don't quit." Each contributor shares personal experience and advice, which makes for good, varied reading that will surely offer something unique for many readers. The essays are inspiring and thought-provoking, and many offer truly funny moments. Reynolds provides an excellent flow between essays. This title could easily be read cover to cover or by individual selection based on theme. There is a nice mix of male and female voices. Especially good are Leslie Connor's "Don't Tell Lies," in which she confesses to actually liking rules; Lisa Burman's essay on eating disorders, titled "Don't Get Fat"; and Chris Barton's "Go to College After High School," because it allows readers to think about their options. As readers head back to the classrooms this fall, these essays can serve as discussion starters and give readers a jumping-off point for thinking about the bigger picture and life after high school.—Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta

School Library Journal

Thirty-five essays encourage young readers to break the rules. "Be tougher, be thinner, be smarter, be sexier, be funnier, be quieter, be louder, be better dressed, be more aware of what's cool, be better at: everything." Young people growing up awash in electronic media and the images and lifestyles they sell are often easy victims, never realizing the extent to which they are being brainwashed. Add to that, their fellow students are conforming to the same societal expectations and preying on those who are too different. Young people are in danger, as recent suicide statistics suggest. In this collection, 35 writers encourage readers to stop obeying the voices telling them how to think, dress, act and believe. In "Don't Get Fat," Lisa Burstein writes about leaving behind the "warped, sick, eating-disordered" frame of mind fed by a voice that is "the mayor of crazy-town." In "Be Clean!" Gary D. Schmidt tells of rejecting the mind control of a youth pastor trying to save his soul. The best writers here couch their lessons in stories, but others lecture, and some sound like inspirational graduation speeches. After a whole volume of such essays, the mantra "Break These Rules" itself begins to sound like a rule to question. A well-meaning but uneven collection. (about the contributors) (Essays. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews