House Rules, by Jodi Picoult

[Andy]

House Rules
by Jodi Picoult

I've only read one other Picoult book, My Sister's Keeper, about a family whose life is made difficult by the medical condition of one of their children. Eventually, there's a trial. And the ending disappointed me so much I decided I would never read another one of her books.

Well, another one of her books inevitably ended up in my home. And seeing it on the table aroused my curiosity, so I read it. A lot is similar to the other book. Family with two children. One has a medical condition. Which results in a trial.

In House Rules, there's a mother (Emma) with two sons, Jacob and Theo. The problem in this family is that Jacob has Asperger's syndrome - a mild version of autism. It causes Jacob to be socially inept, as well as hypersensitive to bright lights, certain colors, and other things. He feels bound by rules (hence the title) and familiarity. If something interferes with his daily schedule, or his hypersensitivity bothers him too much, he has a "meltdown" or tantrum, because he is mentally incapable of dealing with it.

Long story short, Jacob is eventually accused of murder, and the justice system shows that it neither understands Asperger's syndrome nor knows how to deal with it. His meltdowns in prison are mistaken for deliberate misbehavior, and his fidgeting and inability to look people in the eye are mistaken for evidence of guilt. The book shows us the daily life of his family, and how his mother, brother, and lawyer must deal with Jacob's behavior and convince an ignorant judge and jury why he is not as guilty as he acts.

Overall, it's a decent book. I was very curious to know how it would end, especially since Jacob's trial looks so hopeless. It has hard to put the book down. I enjoyed how the story progressed, and Picoult has certainly done her research. Still though, the book has issues.

First is that Picoult, despite her research, seems to have missed the mark. Jacob's symptoms are not typical of people with Asperger's. He displays ALL of the most common symptoms, and they are ALL severe, when in reality most people do not have them all, nor are they all so severe. I think many readers will get a flawed understanding of Asperger's because, as the book notes, it is a spectrum. And Jacob does not represent the average person on that spectrum. Picoult clearly was trying to educate her readers. However I think offering more than one character with Asperger's would have helped demonstrate how it never affects two people the same way, nor so severely.

Second (major spoilers)
Jacob takes things VERY literally. The characters must ask him literal questions to understand what he did or didn't do, or else he won't say anything. And so halfway through the book, I was wondering, "Why doesn't anyone just ask Jacob, 'Did you commit the murder?'" As we learn within the last ten pages of the 530-page book, NO, Jacob says he did not commit murder. I was amazed neither his mother, brother, nor lawyer were smart enough to do this earlier. It would have saved us 200 pages of trial, when in the last ten pages this revelation pretty much forces them to redo the entire trial from scratch. Thank goodness Picoult just summarized it in four more pages.
Oh, and on page 307 of the hardcover, watch in horror as the author says that video games for the Nintendo Wii are cartridges instead of discs. Yup, she did.

Overall, it was a decent book. I'm glad I read it, and I recommend it. It really opens your mind into new ways of seeing the world, from the view of a person whose brain functions atypically. It's not something you're going to learn in school, but it's important, and this book really forces you to think about putting yourself in other peoples' shoes.

[Autumn]

Ooh Picoult! I think I've read all her books - I wrote my Extended Essay (4000 word long essay for the International Baccalaureate Programme) comparing her and Jane Austen, and I used "My Sister's Keeper" as one of the books, among others :P

Yep, I agree "House Rules" is worth reading. But you're right, it is a rather similar situation as in "My Sister's Keeper" - in fact, almost all her novels have a situation like this. What i don't like about her writing is that the characters in her novels have the same roles each time - the worried parent, the kid with issues, the sibling with issues, etc. Too little variation.

But her plots are interesting, and generaly I'm a big fan. I'd also recommend "Songs of Humpback Whale" from hers - that one's actually a bit different, and her first novel. I really enjoyed it.

[Bowie20049]

Care to share the quote that mentions the Wii?

[Andy]

Yep, I agree "House Rules" is worth reading. But you're right, it is a rather similar situation as in "My Sister's Keeper" - in fact, almost all her novels have a situation like this. What i don't like about her writing is that the characters in her novels have the same roles each time - the worried parent, the kid with issues, the sibling with issues, etc. Too little variation.
I agree, there doesn't seem to be a lot of variation. As soon as I read Theo's chapter, I immediately compared him to the brother in My Sister's Keeper. It's not enough variety for my tastes.

I feel like Picoult does research in differen things for her book, but I just don't feel like it was enough for this one. I think she did a disservice by not accurately portraying Asperger's, and I feel like if I read any of her other books, I'll be left with an inaccurate portrayal of whatever the focus in those books is. I think if she spent more time instead of just rushing it through so she can get started in her next novel, it would be better.

[Andy]

Care to share the quote that mentions the Wii?
It's spread out over 2 pages, but I scanned the book. Enjoy. :)

Someone inevitably gets hit by the Wiimote too. :rolleyes:

http://i25.tinypic.com/286xpg9.jpg

[Schooner]

I've read most of her books and have to agree that there is usually the same types of characters in each:
-Single mother, usually cheated on by a disloyal husband
-Weak/ill child
-a strongly misunderstood child who acts out to be noticed
-a defense lawyer, who--against their better judgement--ends up caring for their client

It gets a little old after awhile but I did like the situation these "new" set of characters were forced into. It also opens up the readers mind and makes them more understanding to those who have disabillities. I thought it was a good read and reccomend it to anybody.

[ashinwonderland]

I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books. While yes, a lot of them have a lot of the same elements, one particular story that is different from the rest is The Pact. It's about a teenage couple, who made a suicide pact, and while the girl dies, the young man is taken in custody for murder. It also focuses on what this situation does to each of the teen's parents, two neighboring couples who are both still married to each other. I recommend all of her books, however.