Simone Breaks All the Rules Books in Order

Simone Breaks All the Rules is a contemporary YA story built around one big question: how much freedom does Simone Thibodeaux get to claim for herself before graduation? Simone is a Haitian American senior in New Jersey, smart and funny, but boxed in by rules at home. Her parents send her to an all-girls school, do not allow dating, and want a say in major decisions, including prom.

That setup gives the book its spark. Simone is not trying to burn her life down. She wants normal teenage things: room to make her own choices, space to chase a crush, and the chance to stop feeling like someone else is writing her script. When she and her fellow late bloomers put together a senior-year bucket list, the story starts moving with the energy of a rom-com. Still, the feelings underneath are more complicated than a list of dares.

Freedom sounds simple until family is part of the equation.

A lot of the tension comes from the push and pull between affection and frustration. Simone loves her family, even when their expectations make her feel trapped. The book keeps that balance in view, which is one reason it feels warmer than a pure rebellion story. Friends matter just as much. Simone's circle gives the novel its comic rhythm, its awkward experiments, and its reminder that late blooming is still blooming. Romance is part of the fun too, with crushes, prom pressure, mixed signals, and the usual senior-year chaos.

The New Jersey setting helps keep everything grounded. This is not a fantasy version of high school. It is a world of classes, curfews, gossip, family plans, and the kind of public embarrassment that feels enormous when you are seventeen. Rigaud also folds Haitian American life naturally into the story, not as background decoration, but as part of how Simone understands duty, love, pride, and possibility.

The book is funny, but it never treats Simone's feelings like a joke.

What to expect, then, is a fast-moving romance with a real coming-of-age spine. The plot runs on bucket-list antics and prom drama, but the deeper story is about learning which rules deserve respect, which ones need challenging, and how to become your own person without losing the people who helped make you. If you like warm friend groups, family-centered YA, and heroines who are both confident and still figuring things out, Simone Breaks All the Rules lands very nicely.