The Rulebooks

Max has never been in love. She knows exactly what it looks like–she’s spent years studying the phenomenon in other people, but her Asperger syndrome makes it too anxiety-provoking to attempt such a thing in her own life. That is, until she meets Ruby, who makes Max want to give love one more shot.

Maxine Saddler has never been in love. She knows exactly what it looks like. She’s spent years studying the phenomenon in other people, but her Asperger syndrome makes it far too anxiety-provoking to attempt such a thing in her own life. Instead, she focuses exclusively on academics. She’s 23 years old, starting grad school, and perfectly content to ignore the world beyond her textbooks. That is, until she meets Ruby Satterwhite, who makes Max want to give love one more shot.

Max and Ruby have fallen hard for each other after a bitter grad school rivalry turned first into lust, and then into love. When the school year comes to an end, they’re faced with a new challenge: a summer apart. They make plans to visit each other, but when Max comes to Chicago to meet Ruby’s family, she brings with her a secret in a small package – an engagement ring that she hopes will prove her devotion. There’s only one problem.... Max has never been good at first impressions, and she fits into Ruby’s family like a square peg in a round hole.

Max and Ruby Saddlerwhite are newlyweds who seem to have it all. They have mastered the rules of love and navigated the challenges of a long-term relationship, and now they are settling happily into married life and beginning their careers. There’s just one thing Ruby wants – to start a family. And that’s something Max isn’t sure she can give her. She has learned to work through the challenges of life and love on the autism spectrum by researching her way through major obstacles, but a baby is a challenge Max might not be up for.