The Rules for Hearts

Battle Hall Davies #2

by Sara Ryan

Battle Hall Davies is sure of some things: she's going to Reed; she loves girls; and her older brother, Nick, is cooler than she could ever be. Nick ran away when Battle was in high school, and four years later, he's tracked her down. Now she's spending her summer before college in Forest House, the co-op where he lives in Portland. Battle is quickly swept into Forest House's community Shakespeare production, its all-night card games, and the arms of her new roommate, Meryl. It turns out that Nick isn't who Battle thought he was and Battle's not who she thought she was, either.

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Lesbian, Romance, Teen

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

I write books and comics for teens and others. Reviews and star ratings make me anxious, but I'm reporting what I read here.

Reviews

[Hannah Laine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book as a continuation of Battle and Nic's relationship.
With the end of summer camp and Battle's return to her parent's home I was hoping to see some sort of resolution for her relationship with Nic but instead we got an entirely new story that barely mentioned Nicola.
If I hadn't read the first book I would have almost never guessed that EoTW and TRFH were in anyways connected.
This book was quite a disappointment.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the first book by Sara Ryan, this book was disappointing. Battle is the angsty character, full of drama and not talking about anything she is pissed about, and she's frankly, sort of dull. So this book is from her P.O.V. and all about her summer before college, reconnecting with her slacker-of-a-brother, following him around like a puppy dog, even when he kicks her away; jumping in and out of bed with a woman who constantly tells Battle she's not really interested a whole lot, and that Battle is basically another lay, yet she keeps going there! Why?! It makes no sense, it's frustrating, and while I did read the whole thing, it just didn't do it for me the way "Empress of World" did.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say I'm surprised that I didn't like this. It was an unnecessary sequel to Empress of the World, a book that I was a little shaky about already. I had enjoyed it enough to give it a four-star rating, don't get me wrong, but as an LGBT novel published in 2001, it broke a lot of ground just by being honest, and I predicted that this book, unable to break ground in the same way, would end up being pretty boring.

Turns out, I was basically right. Man, was this book dull. Empress of the World wasn't exactly a dramatic story, but it never felt this boring. Its themes felt almost exactly the same as Empress of the World - self-discovery, breaking away from your family - only they weren't explored as thoroughly or as meaningfully. Ryan just rehashes them, with nothing new to say. She does try to do something new, with Nick - Battle's brother - engaging in a lot of risky behavior that could harm Battle, but she never brings the theme to a close, she never makes it clear what exactly she's trying to say. It just ends up feeling too open and incomplete.

Actually, the entire book feels that way. I get that this was supposed to be a slice-of-life story, but the entire plot ends up feeling just like the themes: not deep enough, incomplete, and altogether boring. For most of the book, I wasn't really sure what the overarching plot was supposed to be - I guess it was supposed to be about putting on a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, but the production wasn't at all thematically relevant - the stuff that happened outside the production was the stuff that seemed to matter. It also wasn't a particularly engaging plot. Again, Empress wasn't exactly a dramatic plot, but at least it mostly kept my attention. This failed. There was no dramatic structure, no buildup to any sort of climax, just a bunch of stuff that happened. Needless to say, it didn't feel complete at all - it didn't tie together at all in the way I wanted it to.

I think the problem is that the characters - combined with the theme - just wasn't that engaging. Battle was a well-developed character, but she was the only one. Ryan tries to flesh out far too many characters in a ridiculously short amount of time, and this led to all of the secondary cast feeling the same. Even the ones that were central to the plot, like Meryn and Nick, had the same framework: snarky, kind of a liar, and kind of a cynic. Battle was the only one that broke the mold. This meant that few of the character interactions felt organic enough to carry their scenes, and the snooze-fest of a plot didn't feel worth reading.

The writing was okay, I guess. There were definitely a few awkward sentences and paragraphs, in a way that wasn't present in Empress of the World, but for the most part, Ryan captured Battle's voice well, and she did a good job of avoiding repetition.

Overall, this was just a very dull, forgettable book. If you liked Empress of the World, you might as well give this one a shot, but if you're looking to read this as a standalone (which you could, if you wanted)... read Empress instead. It handles the themes in a far more interesting way than this does, and its storyline is far less boring.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Battle Hill Davies has just graduated from high school, talked her parents into letting her head to Portand OR (from Chapel Hill NC) to acclimate before attending Reed College in the fall. Battle didn’t tell them she would be sharing a house with her estranged brother Nick and several others. Nick has encouraged her to come, but seems a bit off when she arrives. It can’t be that she’s gay; Nick knew that before he ran away from home more than 4 years before.

Battle joins the theatre troup that already involves most of the people in the house. She sees them from several different perspectives, likes most and even falls slightly in love with one. The Rules for Hearts will appeal to readers who enjoyed the first novel because they can learn what has happened with Battle. As a standalone, it is less satisfying. Relationships come and go, but Battle begins to realize that the brother she adored is not the person she remembers or hopes for. He is self-centered and disappointing. From my POV, so is the book. The confrontations between Nick and Battle are rarely resolved. Her relationship doesn’t doesn’t really settle either. Battle does mature some as college approaches, but the unresolved relationships are frustrating. It was OK and easy to read. I just hoped for more. Maybe Battle will have a third story.

Readalikes:
Sara Ryan – Empress of the World; Nina Lacour – Everything Leads to You; Paula Boock – Dare Truth or Promise; Becky Albertalli – Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

Pace: Fast
Characters: Likeable; authentic
Story: Character-driven
Writing style: Engaging; banter filled
Tone: Bittersweet; somewhat bleak;
Frame: Portland OR; contemporary

[Lauren]

I read this book without having read its predecessor, Empress of the World. I'll have to go back and read that when I get a chance. The Rules for Hearts was a quick read, but the plot and characters haven't really stayed with me. I'm generally a fan of "quiet novels," but this one just didn't have enough meat in terms of character evolution and interesting language.

I did like, though, that the setting was something I hadn't seen in YA before. Main character Battle is a high school graduate, living in a big old house with a bunch of theater folk in Portland, Oregon. The story takes place in the summer before she goes to Reed College, and it explores Battle's transition from -- I assume -- a more protected environment to a place in her life where she needs to become more responsible for herself, and for her older brother, Nick. I like how she's the young one in the story, surrounded by a group of adults of varying ages, and she's learning how to interact with everyone from an aging hippie theater director to a reticent older actor to her brother's friends in their 20s. (However, Battle herself enters the story already seeming pretty world-weary and mature, so there's not a lot of room for her to grow up. Her transitions are subtle ones -- possibly too subtle for me.)

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this more than Empress of the World, not that that's really saying much because I wasn't exactly in love with that book either. Overall, I guess just not my sort of thing and not really my types of characters. I didn't like Battle much, but I think I was partially biased against her because her name is "Battle". Her brother's name by the way is just Nick. I feel irrationally annoyed and like I need a shelf for blatant Mary-Sueisms or something. I'd probably have been a lot more fond of her had she just been called something like Liz or Susan. But I don't know, as I said she just wasn't my type.

The only part I was really interested in was when she found that Nick hadn't been paying all the bills (for the sharehouse), which came as a pretty huge shock because you know he's a bit dodgy but you don't realise just how dodgy until then. Apart from that, it's a quick enough read and flies past pretty easily, but it's not something I really go "wow!" over.

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

It tried to hard to be quirky, offbeat like the way Francesca Lia Block does it effortlessly. I think I was looking for more, I had high expectations because the cover was pretty, the subtitle was "a family drama", but there just wasn't much substance. A group of misfits living in a "forest" acting in local theater. Now, Battle is back with her brother who she thought the world of and who walked out on their family about five years before. Battle discovers he's not all he's cracked up to be and that she's fallen in love with a girl from the house.

Not enjoyable.

[Wolf (Alpha) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I like how eager Battle is to see her brother Nick. I hated how Nick was never there to hang out or spend time with Battle. I felt bad for Battle when she saw Nick steal something from the museum. I like how Meryl and Battle form a bond quickly and become amazing friends. I liked how Meryl cared so much about Battle and how she took care of her. I like how in the end, Battle finds out about Nick and helps him. I like how Nick talks with their parents and goes back to live with them. I would rate this book 5 stars.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed "The Rules for Hearts" quite a bit; right up until the end. The story lacks a real resolution, and I always find that frustrating.

I have to admit that Battle isn't my favorite character; I can't really empathize with the way that she almost never stands up for herself. The passive aggressive attitude, especially towards her brother, is aggravating.

Most likely would not read it again.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book features a lesbian character in her late teens, its really a book about her dealing with her dysfunctional brother. Overall, the book takes WAY to long to decide what direction its going, and like the main character, the reader has to hang out with her brother's roommates until then.

[Blow Pop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content warnings: drug use, alcohol use, lesbian relationships, gambling, addiction

Review can be found here at Blow Pop's Book Reviews.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting sequel to Empress from Battle's point of view. More of a sequence of events than a real story, but not unenjoyable.

[Alanna McFall · Rating 4 out of 5]

22. A sequel: The Rules for Hearts by Sara Ryan

List Progress: 8/30

I have been trying to keep myself out of my reviews lately, to make them more accessible to a wider audience. But there is no way for me to have distance or remove when talking about Empress of the World, the 2001 young adult novel by Sara Ryan. The story about teenage girls Nic and Battle meeting at an academic summer camp was one of my first introductions to queer literature, and spurred on my own personal queer awakening (and possibly my love of academic summer camps). But I had never read the 2007 sequel, The Rules for Hearts. Reading the sequel in my thirties, while sitting next to my wife, certainly added some context that young Alanna never would have imagined. But no matter what age you read it at, Ryan has a skillful touch with messy emotions, and The Rules for Hearts does get quite messy.

A year after the events of Empress of the World, Battle Hall Davies is getting ready to attend Reed College in Portland. Her estranged older brother Nick has reached out to invite her to live with him and his housemates over the summer. She is eager to reconnect with her very charming brother, who she has missed desperately, but despite being the one to reach out, he seems far more preoccupied with his own life. Battle joins a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream that he is in, gets to know his friends (and his boyfriend), and starts a disastrous fling with a housemate who also has a past with Nick, but nothing she does gets her any attention or consideration from her brother. Nick is, in short, a fuckboy, and while she hadn’t noticed that when she was thirteen and he left home, it is unmistakable from her eighteen year old perspective. Battle loves Nick, but she doesn’t much like him, and much of the book is her trying to balance those competing forces.

The subtitle for The Rules for Hearts is “A Family Drama”, and that does capture the main focus of the book. It is a little disappointing that the romance between Battle and Nic-with-no-k is not continued from the first novel, but it is handled in a very realistic way. They tried long-distance for a time, but they were never that compatible to begin with and work better as friends. I am much older than Battle, but it did make me reflect fondly on loves gone by, the relationships that were never meant to last but shape how a person loves in the future. Nic does not appear in this book, but her shadow is long.

Sara Ryan is talented at making things realistically messy and unsatisfying. Nick is never going to be what Battle wants and needs him to be; the housemate Meryl is never going to give her the happy ending she craves. They, and the rest of the housemates, are all just people, who will make incremental changes throughout their lives but still ultimately be imperfect. I can see how this could be frustrating to a teenage reader looking for answers, but as an adult looking back, I can’t say any of it is incorrect. It just is.

Would I Recommend It: Yes, though I am far, far, far too biased to say if it is a definitively good novel.

[Krys Call · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it 2 stars, but the writing is somewhat better than writing that some people find to be good enough, so, if you are not choosy and just want a reason to sit on the couch that is not television, you may like it more than I did. There are some generalized spoilers, but I have tried to be vague in case you want to read the book. The purpose of this review is to prevent you from being disappointed the way I was.
I enjoyed Empress of the World the first time, but not upon rereading it. Both it and the sequel feature a small group of people who think they are very witty but who are not, and whose dialogue at times sounds like the same person talking. Only 2 or 3 of the characters in Rules for Hearts seem clearly delineated. The rest are collections of clothing, habits, etc. without distinct cores.
What is most perplexing is why the author has chosen in both books to present a sympathetic main character who is a lesbian and then chosen to follow the Radclyffe Hall and mainstream homophobic tradition of denying her a romance with a happy ending. In both Ryan's books, the romance founders and probably fails, but it is unclear what will happen next, as nothing does, and the book just ends. In both books, the fizzle does not resolve into a meaningful theme to make the disappointment to that reader looking for that rare thing, a well-written lesbian story with a happy ending, worth it.
There are plenty of mediocre lesbian romances. This book is written with a certain amount of skill and insight, but is less satisfying than the mediocre ones, because, once again, the lesbian is disappointed in love. In fact, there are no happy lesbians in this book.
The protagonist gets a dog, which is very true to life, so maybe the moral is-"Hey, gals, forget trying to work out anything with women and go straight to dog guardianship, since, look around you at aging lesbians, you know that will happen anyway!" Would love to read a well-written book wherein the gal gets a gal AND a dog, or, since this sometimes happens, the gals get along, and each gal gets TWO dogs, or a dog and a cat, or it all goes entirely in the cat direction.
In the end, this book is about family dysfunction and becoming bitter at a young age about everything but dogs. I guess it was written because people wanted a sequel to Empress and because the author wanted to get something off her chest about certain types of problems. If you read Empress and are hoping that the romance in that book is happily resolved, or that they each find a different gal with whom to be happy, this is not that book. To be fair, that book is hard to find, but why did Ryan make it even harder?

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting LGBTQ themed fiction. This novel is set in Portland, Oregon, seemingly in the early 2000's.
I don't want to reveal too much of the story. Briefly: the story is set in the summer between high school and college- the narrator/ protagonist has recently graduated from high school, and she has plans to begin college in Portland, Oregon in the upcoming autumn. She's in the process of exploring her sexuality, and she also has to attempt to address a complicated situation involving one of her family members.
note: There's a very specific reason that I'm not giving this book 5 stars. The narrator/ protagonist is interested in Shakespeare, she's involved in an amateur summer Shakespeare performance along with some of her housemates, and unless I've missed something, Sara Ryan never mentions Ashland in this book. The annual Oregon Shakespeare Festival is held in Ashland, Oregon every summer, and anyone who is interested in the works of Shakespeare who is in Oregon during the summer months would be discussing whether or not they want to travel to Ashland to attend the annual festival. The narrator/ protagonist travels to the Oregon coast for a weekend when she has some free time at one point in this story, so she obviously did have the time to travel. For readers who are familiar with summer events in Oregon, the absence of any mention of Ashland in this story made me question how thoroughly Sara Ryan had researched the setting when she wrote this book.
However- while the absence of any mention of Ashland is an obvious omission from this book, that was the only flaw that I'd noticed in this book, the story otherwise flows gracefully. Sara Ryan may not have researched annual summer events which occur throughout the entire state of Oregon, but she did research the city of Portland. There's a reference to a historic mansion which the city of Portland's parks department operates as a museum, and there's also a brief reference to an annual musicians' conference which is held on the campus of Reed College every summer.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars but it's a generous 3 stars. While the book was an enjoyable short read with more of Battle from the first book, there were still a number of things that bothered me.

Except for Battle, none of the characters really stood out to me and most of them I found annoying, including Battle at times. Every time Nic was brought up from the first book, I had a brief moment of hope that she would make a reappearance or they would reconnect somehow. I won't spoil the ending but it felt unsatisfying. There were multiple loose ends and questions that felt unanswered and a resolution that happened too quickly. When there's finally some closure with Nick, it's within the last few pages and then done.

I admit I haven't read or seen "Midsummer Night's Dream" to help with some of the references that I'm sure were in the story. There were some things I could piece together with my limited knowledge of the source material though. I do think if I knew more about it that I would have enjoyed the story more.

As for reasons to read this, it's a continuation of Battle's life and taking a look through her eyes on things. It felt strange at first but it was interesting to read her thoughts after reading Nic's point of view. It's short and enjoyable and broken up into small chunks if you don't want to read it in one sitting.

In the end, you can give this story a try if you want but only if you want to find out more about Battle and her brother.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one about 10 years ago in grad school and remembered liking it without recalling any specifics. I had very low expectations for this reread...and was pleasantly surprised! Something about this fairly simple and mild-mannered book still appeals to me.

Forest House is what my 20 year old self always imagined Portland to be, so it was satisfying to voyeuristically live the life I never had (but always wanted) in my early 20s. So there's that. Plus lots of Shakespeare references, the loveably irrational theater community, and charming if incredibly static characters. I also like that Battle is purely herself. I've been reading a spate of YA novels where coming to terms with being a gay teenager is the crux of the story, so it was a breath of fresh air to have a confident lesbian protagonist who wasn't afraid to act.

Honestly, this is far from a "great book". I have plenty to critique with regards to writing, pacing, characterization...but I'll keep in on my shelf for another 10 years because my inner teen self quite enjoyed it in spite of my judgemental outer adult shelf.

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't count the number of times I read and reread Empress of the World when I first got it. The fact that it's still in my bookshelf after all this time rather than tossed into a donation bin, just in case I wanted to pick it up again, is a testament to my adoration of it.

However, that's been all but soured by Rules for Hearts. It has captured hardly any of the beauty that was EOTW, and as one other reviewer put it, had I not read the first, and had it not been called #2 in the series, aside from the passing brief mentions of Nic, I wouldn't have assumed the two were linked at all, and a throwaway paragraph of what happened to them after EOTW felt more like it was added as an afterthought, than something relevant at all.

On completion of the book, I also felt... nothing. Like there had been no development from any of the characters on any side. As though it had simply suddenly ended out of nowhere. We never found out the details of what Nick was doing, there was no explanation on his relationships/flings with other characters, and there were no consequences towards his actions, even though the whole book built up on him being this underhand, unlikable character.

The whole thing with the dog as well felt so cliche and Mary-Sueish, it just had me cringing.

Thoroughly disappointed.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the look inside Battles head, seeing her interact in the real world, getting out of her shell while still remaining in control. She is the perfect example of a deeply competent young person who wants to be an adult but still is controlled by her emotions. She's a kid. The character of Nick is interesting too, and the insight into their family dynamics helps us understand why Battle is the way she is. I would have wanted a lot more closure (but this may be a personal bone I have to pick with the way things in general work out) with Nic. The book feels unfinished in terms of the narrative arc Battle could have gone on.

[Ceh131973 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping that this book would be more of a continuation of Empress of the World but it is really just about Battle and her dysfunctional family. It is still well written but the characters are not as deep as in the first book and Battle just seems like she is going from girl to girl. Not unrealistic just doesn't fit with the story that was begun in the first book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe should have reread the first book in this series before this, but my library doesnt have a copy and I picked this book up secondhand so...

Short and a little rough, but a still a pretty good book. Queer characters and dysfunctional families and Shakespeare. Doesnt actually teach you how to play hearts.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Empress of the World a few months ago, and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to remember that this one was a sequel to it, because it sure didn't feel like one. This book felt stagnant; nothing that happened felt like it had any weight to it, and I didn't feel drawn to any of the characters. It wasn't badly written, but I can't say I would recommend it.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although not as good as "Empress of the World," this book was still an enjoyable read. It went quick. I recommend it to young adults looking for something a little different with a theater emphasis or about the period between high school and college.

[H · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t like a single character! Rare, but it happens.

[Samantha Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will trick you into thinking that everything you are reading, is occurring at the same time, somewhere else.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting, but left too many loose ends.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think I liked a single character in this book. Big sad.

[Luli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected so much more… I thought it was kinda shallow, just not what I expected. Sad, because I was really looking forward to read this book.

[Sedona MaCloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

The baby gay in me needed this book

[Marie Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an incomplete ending!!! I thought there was no way the book would end like that.