The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha

"The secret of The Rule of Won is simple, yet its power has been suppressed for generations. The universe is one of infinite abundance—ask, and you shall receive."

When newcomer, Ethan, comes to town and starts up a new club based on the mantra of the book, The Rule of Won, the entire school is fascinated by the idea.

Students flock to the meetings, known as "Craves", where Ethan convinces them to "imanifest" their desires into existence. If they want something enough, he insists, you will have it.

Of course, slacker Caleb doesn't want to have anything to do with the group. It's only when his overachieving girlfriend basically forces him to join, that he does so.

Slowly, Caleb begins to become a believer when things that the group has been imanifesting for come true.

That is, until Caleb sees that things have become way out of hand. One of his friends, Erica, has been doing horribly in her algebra class and instead of studying, she spends all her time writing "I will pass my next algebra test" in her notebook.

It doesn't stop there. Things continue to escalate out of control as more and more people begin to follow The Rule of Won. In fact, they become fanatics.

As the club continues to become increasingly destructive, Caleb realizes exactly what he's gotten into and that he has to do something to stop it.

But can slacker Caleb stop slacking to save the day? Read The Rule of Won to find out.

I've only heard positive things about this book and I have to say that it lived up to every one of them.

The main character, Caleb, is perfect for the role that Petrucha casts him in. Despite being a notorious slacker, Caleb is insightful and witty. Also, he is well-developed; it is easy to see why Caleb makes the decisions he does.

The voices of the other characters' are also distinct. For instance, it is easy to distinguish the different people who write the entries on the message board that the Rule of Won members use even though those characters are pretty minor.

The one thing that bothered me was how undeveloped the relationship between Caleb and his ex-girlfriend was. I didn't quite understand why Caleb still wanted to be with her. However, it's a minor complaint and doesn't really detract all that much from the novel.


Overall, The Rule of Won is an insightful look into what happens when people begin to blindly follow an inane cause. And it's not at all preachy. Instead, it's honest, funny and a must-read.

Rating:
Originality: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Readability: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Go read it. Now!

-Reader Rabbit