Written by Elizabeth Smith
The Rule of One is set in future America were climate change and overpopulation has changed everything. Water is in short supply, all food is 3D printed or otherwise lab grown, each citizen has a microchip in their wrist in which all information about them is stored. There are cameras everywhere and the government is in complete control of its citizens, including their reproductive rights. Each family is only allowed one child. 18-year-old Ava Goodwin’s father is head of Texas’ Family Planning Department, which gives them certain luxuries that others do not have. They live in a nicer part of town and Ava is able to attend a prestigious college where she has earned top ranks.
The only thing is, Ava has an identical twin sister named Mira. Mira and Ava have been pretending to be the one person for years. They have a secret area under their house where one twin spends her day while the other is above ground being Ava by going to college and living her life. At the end of each day, they spend the evening together, sharing everything that happened that day and working on homework, preparing for the next day. There is no room for mistakes in their life and their father has raised them to perfectly pull off this charade of a one-child family.
Even as flawlessly as they have convinced everyone Ava is an only child, Mira cannot stay hidden forever. Their secret is revealed and in the chaos that ensues, their father gives them a box and tells them to get out of the city. He has prepared a kit for them to escape to safety. But nowhere is safe anymore and Ava and Mira must travel as fugitives trying to stay alive while their father is punished for the crime.
This book was super fast paced with the first few chapters showing Mira and Ava in their everyday routine, but things quickly change and we are thrown into their life on the run. They encounter lots of interesting characters along the way and situations that leave you on the edge of your seat. The descriptions of everything are incredibly vivid and make you feel as if you are running for your life right alongside Ava and Mira.
The story is told in alternating chapter perspectives. It is interesting to see how even though these girls have been raised so closely and to act as one person, they are complete individuals. They each react to situations differently and eventually have very different ideas about the world and how they will continue to survive. We get to be inside each girls mind and learn the resentments they ultimately have toward each other and the life they lead.
Another thing to note, the authors of The Rule of One are identical twin sisters, Ashley and Leslie Saunders. I think this brings such an interesting perspective to the entire story as we get an authentic look into how close twins really are with each other as well as how painful it can be when the closeness fades.
Overall, this story was completely compelling. I think one of the reasons dystopian novels appeal to readers now is because of things happening in the world today. These types of situations don’t seem that far off from where we are; we can see a future where things like The Rule of One are possible. It’s terrifying because it hits so close to home.
The Rule of One is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
In their world, telling the truth has become the most dangerous crime of all.
In the near-future United States, a one-child policy is ruthlessly enforced. Everyone follows the Rule of One. But Ava Goodwin, daughter of the head of the Texas Family Planning Division, has a secret—one her mother died to keep and her father has helped to hide for her entire life.
She has an identical twin sister, Mira.
For eighteen years Ava and Mira have lived as one, trading places day after day, maintaining an interchangeable existence down to the most telling detail. But when their charade is exposed, their worst nightmare begins. Now they must leave behind the father they love and fight for their lives.
Branded as traitors, hunted as fugitives, and pushed to discover just how far they’ll go in order to stay alive, Ava and Mira rush headlong into a terrifying unknown.
