Jay Crownover: Rule

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I read this book because I wanted to see what the younger generation was reading - it was a "Hot New Release" and inexpensive. There was nothing to say it was YA - but that's what it really was. Some of the content left me very concerned about the impact of this kind of cult writing on the current young generation.

On the whole the fundamentals of the story were a reasonable and tender "coming of age" story of Remy and Rule who had known one another when they were young and had suffered from family conflicts and traumas. The story of how their relationship developed and they found companionship, and hopefully love together was pretty well crafted. The steamy scenes were relatively subdued as long as you ignored the part played by heavy metal and the absolutely inconceivable joy when Rule was shown his "birthday present".

What I couldn't understand (and it may partly be a generational thing) was the pre-occupation and admiration of tattoos and body piercing as a central part of the story and an acceptance that they can be an important part of one's world. I was absolutely stunned to read the author's footnote "I love tattoos and body modification so I love (to see) more and more stories out there that reflect what I see when I look around the world".

It worries me that the current young generation may be led to believe by this kind of book that tattoos and body piercing are a normal part of coming of age. Fashion changes throughout our lives and to match our life cycle. We can change our hairstyles, our cars, houses, and furnishings but it is hard to change something that it almost indelibly engrained in our epidermis. I see many more mature people around with very poor and sad artistic legacies frequently combined with badly damaged skin which they will take with them into old age.