Book Review
Maya hall
House Rules
By: Jodi Picoult
House Rules is a novel that tells a story by using
different characters in the book for each chapter. This allows the reader to
understand the plot as well as the main character of the book, Jacob, in different
points of view. The main character is a child with Asperger’s syndrome, which
is a form of autism and the novel describes how Jacob interacts with his family
and the environment. He is unable to detect social clues and his sense of
security revolves around schedule and routine.
Even though Jacob cannot see the purpose of cliques, friendships, or
jokes, he can see that he doesn’t fit in and he longs to have friend. The premise of the book is a murder/mystery
that revolves around Jacob and his family. It is very suspenseful but unique
because the main character has autism and each chapter tells the story from a
different perspective. This is a common writing style for the author, Jodi
Picoult, and several of her other novels which provides a unique twist to the
writing style.
I thought the basic
premise of the book was really disturbing yet hard to put down. Jacob was
convicted of murdering his tutor and because of the autistic traits he displays
you can see the frustration in his mother because people lack the knowledge
about a unique boy characterized on the autism spectrum like her son. She does not want the court to see her son as
a mentally disabled child but to understand that Jacob is truly a sweet kid
that just doesn’t interact well socially and has odd routines. Jacob’s mother Emma explains her frustration
by saying on page 5, “They think there is no greater hell than having a son who
is locked in his own world, unaware that there’s a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own
world and still wants to make a connection.
A son who tries to be like everyone else but truly doesn’t know how.”
The way Picoult writes this novel allows the reader to love and appreciate
everything that this mother is willing to do for her son. She helps you appreciate the difficulties
Jacob and his mother face. Maureen
Corrigan from the Washington Post agreed by saying, “Picoult's
depiction of Jacob and his family is complex, compassionate and smart. The
Hunts are likable, but none of them is likely to be nominated for sainthood
soon.”
You can hear Jacob’s frustration
when he is telling the story because he explains that his interests are
different from most kids his age so he finds him left out more times than
not. Even though he has quirks he does
understand that he doesn’t fit in as he mentions on page 19, “Now, I have
gotten used to kids telling me to leave, to sit somewhere else. I never get called on weekends. I just don’t get social hints that other
people do.” Jacob kept the story very fast pace and interesting because of the
unique traits he exhibits.
I would rate this book a 5 out of 5
stars because I am friends with someone who has Asperger’s Syndrome and as I
was reading the book I felt that all of the point of views including Jacob’s
were very accurate. As I can see the
frustrations someone with Asperger’s goes through was very well portrayed in
the story through Jacob’s point of view.
It was very interesting to hear a similar voice but in a completely
different situation.
House
Rules Book Trailer
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