Coming of Age; Family Drama; Young Adult Literature
Although The Usual Rules is a story about a great tragedy, it's also a coming of age tale because the main character is a teenage girl who does quite a bit of growing up throughout the story. Wendy is already in a period of transition when the book begins—with the usual teenage angst and heightened interest in romance—but the death of her mother really forces her to grow up. And when she moves all the way to California to live with her biological father, Wendy learns a lot about herself, as well as how to be self-sufficient and tough through truly hard times.
If this sounds like something young adult readers might be able to relate to, you're totally right. While September 11 was a truly exceptional event, much of what Wendy thinks about and navigates is classic growing up stuff. We're talking kissing, boys, parental disappointments, and all that jazz. Combine this with the book's lack of five-dollar words and easy to follow plot, and we're definitely in YA lit territory.
While The Usual Rules is about what happens after 9/11, it's also about the family dynamics in Wendy's life. For this reason, this book also falls into the family drama genre.
Before 9/11, she lives with her mother, stepfather, and half-brother—and can't imagine her life being any different. But when Wendy's mother dies in the World Trade Center, they all come to realize that she was the center of their little clan, and they struggle to redefine their family life without her. On top of that, Wendy's biological father Garrett wants her to come live with him in California. And so Wendy flies across the country and moves into an unfamiliar house in order to try and build a relationship with her father… even though he's been largely absent from her life.