House Rule: Book Review

Now I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, therefore when she came out with her new book House Rules, I was quick to buy it.

Synopsis from the website of Jodi Picoult:


HOUSE RULES is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis. He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. HOUSE RULES looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way – but lousy for those who don’t.


My Review:


This book caught my eye not only because the author is Jodi Picoult, but also because I'm highly interested in psychological disorders of children. I thought this book would not only be informative, but also interesting. At first though, I couldn't get into the book, but after a few chapters, I was quickly pulled in by the murder case at hand. However the murder case was a little too easy to figure out. Even though the story line was great overall, I feel as if there was way too much repetition during the court trials. IT was rather annoying to read the same things over and over again. I also didn't like the ending, because it ended so abruptly, leaving the readers to guess what had happened in the end, even though Picoult pointed to something specific happening, she never actually told the readers what occurred. Overall, I enjoyed the book and learned a great deal about Asperger's, especially a young individual dealing with the bullies at school because of his disorder. All I can say is, children don't ask for these disorders, they're given them either at birth, or during the life. Children need to learn how to acknowledge these differences and understand that these differences are what makes the world interesting. It would be extremely boring if everyone had the same religion, opinions, culture, and in general life. 


I would refer this book to others, but will warn them of the repetition and abrupt ending, but it is interesting to try and figure out  the murder case.