Book 39: Rules

TITLE: Rules
AUTHOR: Cynthia Lord
STARTED: May 31, 2009
FINISHED: May 31, 2009
PAGES: 200
GENRE: Juvenile

FIRST SENTENCE: Rules for David: Chew with your mouth closed.

SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"---in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors.

But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?

THOUGHTS: This book is my favorite discovery of the course. There is so much going on in Rules that it would be impossible to cover it all without just reciting the book word for word. If you want to see a fantastic example of children's literature today, read this book. It is, perhaps, the best example any one book can set for new children's authors. Lord tackles complicated and, often, awkward and uncomfortable situations head on. She does not shy away from speaking about serious subjects that most people refuse to confront.

Catherine's character is so complex that I think I need to read the book again to understand her better. She looks out for her younger, autistic brother by teaching him "rules" he needs to follow in life. She is more than happy to help her brother but, like every other young girl, she resents the fact that David complicates her life. She loves her brother, but sometimes she wishes she could just get a break.

In the book, Catherine meets Jason, a boy confined to a wheelchair who speaks with the use of a phrase book. Catherine, an art lover, draws Jason new cards of words so they can speak together. The scenes between these two are incredibly touching - particularly the one where they go running. That particular moment brought tears to my eyes.

I think the gem part of this book is that it teaches kids that its okay to not like something. You can feel uncomfortable and wary in a situation and that is okay - as long as you are nice and helpful to those around you, you are a good kid. I also believe that Lord wants to tell her reader that it takes sacrifice to do the right thing and that sometimes doing the right thing, even if it looks uncool, will make people around you want to be better.

This story as so many facets that you just have to read the book to understand how good it is.

RATING: 9/10 [Excellent!]