Rules of Rain by Leah Scheier

🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

A dramatic new novel about the bond between a teen and her twin brother.

Rain has taken care of Ethan all of her life. Before she even knew what autism meant, she's been her twin brother's connection to the hostile world around him. She's always prepared—when her father abandons them, when her mother gets sick, when Ethan is tortured by bullies from school—Rain is the reliable, stable one holding them all together. She's both cautious carer and mad chef, preparing customized meals for her family and posting crazy recipes on her cooking blog.

Each day with Ethan is unvarying and predictable, and she's sure that nothing will ever change—until one night when her world is turned upside down by a mistake she can't take back. As her new romance with her long-time crush and her carefully constructed life begins to unravel, she discovers that the fragile brother whom she's always protected has grown into a young man who no longer needs her. And now, for the first time, she finds that she needs him.

*I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
I loved this story and found that I really connected with Rain. I know what it is like to feel like someone depends on you and then how it is difficult to cope with them not needing you anymore. It is a bit disorienting and can result in feelings of anger and jealousy. I feel like the author took exactly how I felt and put it into words. This story was beautiful and heartwarming.
I loved all the characters and found that even though it was from Rain's point of view with only pieces of Ethan's point of view thrown in it that his pieces made a huge impact on the book. 
I thought that Leah Scheier did a wonderful job of portraying an individual with autism. It was not romanticized. She showcased some the difficulties that go along with this particular diagnosis but also showed that people that are dealing with autism are still capable of accomplishing the goals that they have for their life whether they are simple every day tasks or occupational/college goals.
I think that the author was trying to get the point across that each person should live for themselves and their own dreams and not hold each other back by enabling those around them to remain as they have been and never change and adapt as life moves forward. Life is not always black and white. There are many gray areas to people as well as the decisions that they make. These are things that Rain learns as the book progresses but in order to get the full affect of the messages that Leah Scheier wrote in the book it should be read in its entirety.