The Rule of One by Leslie and Ashley Saunders – Review

Summary:

In their world, telling the truth has become the most dangerous crime of all.

In the near-future United States, a one-child policy is ruthlessly enforced. Everyone follows the Rule of One. But Ava Goodwin, daughter of the head of the Texas Family Planning Division, has a secret—one her mother died to keep and her father has helped to hide for her entire life.

She has an identical twin sister, Mira.

For eighteen years Ava and Mira have lived as one, trading places day after day, maintaining an interchangeable existence down to the most telling detail. But when their charade is exposed, their worst nightmare begins. Now they must leave behind the father they love and fight for their lives.

Branded as traitors, hunted as fugitives, and pushed to discover just how far they’ll go in order to stay alive, Ava and Mira rush headlong into a terrifying unknown.

Review: 4 stars

The Rule of One is about twin sisters sharing a single identity in an America that is full of propaganda and surveillance and has a one child rule. A story told about twins by twins as only they can tell what it must really be like. An own voices novel in a dystopian world filled with oppression, surveillance and rebellion stands out as these twin sisters fight for their right to live.

The Rule of One was a short fast paced read that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I found myself yelling at the book and the characters as the plot surprised me with twist after twist. This is quite the suspenseful read and I warn you now that you might have a hard time setting it down.

Told in alternating first person chapters Mira and Ava begin the novel sharing Ava’s identity, but slowly carve out their own voices, becoming individuals. Mira has an especially hard time with this as she is the second born, and thus, the one that shouldn’t have been born. Though the twins appear very similar in the beginning, as the novel goes on their differences become more apparent. Ava is the calm one who is meticulous about details. Mira is a bit more bold and emotional. Both their relationship and survival are challenged throughout this novel and it is interesting to watch these characters grow.

I have read some novels recently with similar ideas, Mirage and Impostors, but The Rule of One still manages to stand out with it’s non-stop action and message of rebellion against oppression. I love that this story about twins is written by twins Ashley and Leslie Saunders. I would recommend this suspenseful dystopian to everyone, this book blew me away.