Rules for Hearts

In this companion novel to Empress of the World, a vibrant summer unfolds as Battle Hall Davies finds herself immersed in the quirky found family dynamics of Forest House.

"The Rules for Hearts makes its own rules. That's what I love about it."-Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of TTYL and TTFN

"Sara Ryan puts the world of downtown theater in all its brilliance and insanity on the page."-Jacqueline Woodson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Feathers and Show Way

Battle Hall Davies is sure of some things: she's going to Reed this fall; she loves girls; and her older brother, Nick, is cooler and more together than she'll ever be. Nick ran away from home when Battle was thirteen. Now, four and a half years later, he's tracked her down, and she's spending the summer between high school and college in Forest House, the group house where he lives in Portland.

It is a summer of surprises. Battle is swept into Forest House's community Shakespeare production and its all-night card games and into the arms of her new housemate, Meryl. It turns out that Nick is not who Battle thought he was-and Battle's not who she thought she was either.