The Rules of Half by Jenna Patrick

☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 376 pages
Published June 6th 2017 by SparkPress
About the Book:
If Will Fletcher’s severe bipolar disorder isn’t proof he shouldn’t be a parent, his infant daughter’s grave is. Once a happily married, successful veterinarian, he now lives with his sister and thrives as the small-town crazy of Half Moon Hollow. But when a fifteen-year-old orphan claims she’s his daughter, Will is forced back into the role he fears most: fatherhood.  Her biological dad isn’t the hero Regan Whitmer hoped for, but he’s better than her abusive stepfather back in Chicago. Still haunted by her mother’s suicide and the rebellious past she fears led to it, Regan is desperate for a stable home and a normal family—things Will can’t offer. Can she ride the highs and lows of his illness to find a new definition of family?  The Rules of Half explores what it is to be an atypical family in a small town and to be mentally ill in the wake of a tragedy—and who has the right to determine both.

There is no better with this illness. There is only controlled .
This was such an informative book, learning about how having Bi-Polar Disorder can affect people as well as their family members. This is a story not only of accomplishment and success, but offers a message of encouragement and hope to others.

Sometimes the best parenting a parent can do is throwing in the towel and leaving the job to someone more qualified.
The Rules of Half is a beautiful, emotional story, how one terrible moment wrecked an entire family. There are so many unspoken words, unprocessed feelings and communication issues. Jenna Patrick has thoroughly explored the struggles of each family member, they all have their flaws, they are far from perfect, they can't cope and they do things they normally wouldn't have done because they don't know what to do with their sadness. The result is a story filled with so many emotions and I was impressed by each layer of this poignant book. I really liked that this book was true to life. The characters were well written and came with the proper backgroud to give them depth. The insights are tenderly drawn, genuine and profound.

Haven’t you ever fallen for someone you knew you shouldn’t?
Jenna Patrick has a terrific descriptive wring style. She skillfully makes connections, openly shares her main characters' most private thoughts and she laces her story with an abundance of honesty, empathy and forgiveness. This gives The Rules of Half a perfect rawness that had a strong effect on me. I could literally feel the anger, the hurt and the pain and was stunned by how real it all felt. This book is intense, thought-provoking and agonizing. Jenna Patrick carefully divides tension, she balances emotions in a great way and she knows how to captivate her readers. She ends her story with a wonderful message and plenty of hope, showing her readers there's always light in the darkness, even in the most daunting situations.

You’re throwing away a chance at a real life because you can’t let go of a life that never existed in the first place.
I enjoyed this book very much. I laughed, cried, got angry and thought deeply about humanity. I think it is very powerful reading. I would be really happy to hear there's a second book from Jenna Patrick, what a beautiful debut.

She’d live through a thousand more bad moments to have one more of the good moments.