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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
This book, written in 2010, feels very relevant to this day. Jacob, the story's protagonist, is 18 years old and has Asperger's, which is (simply put) high functioning autism. I love hearing from Jacob's point of view, especially when he states early in the book that Asperger's is "the mental health disorder du jour" (he has a point, in my opinion) and that it's "overused by parents to explain their bratty kids." (P. 17)
At any rate, Jacob has a medical condition that often looks like guilt, if that person is unfortunate enough to be charged with murder. Put simply, he sees things extremely black and white, and cannot (at least finds it hard) to see things from another's point of view. Jacob is accused of killing Jess Ogilvy, a 23 year old graduate student, who is also his "social skills" tutor.
What frustrates me as a reader is that Jacob isn't 100% allowed to tell his story...it seems fairly simple to me what happened, and maybe that's because, as a teacher, I'm fairly familiar with students on the Autistic spectrum....That being said, the story is written from five people's view points, but Jacob is the main character, and as Picoult herself states, this is essentially his story. However, we are fortunate enough to also hear from Emma (mom), Theo (younger brother, "neuro-typical"), Oliver (defense lawyer), and Rich (detective).
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and think hearing from people on the spectrum (and learning empathy) is very important in today's world where Autism is so common. I wonder if Picoult truly believes, as does Emma (Jacob's mom) that vaccines cause Autism...
At any rate, Jacob has a medical condition that often looks like guilt, if that person is unfortunate enough to be charged with murder. Put simply, he sees things extremely black and white, and cannot (at least finds it hard) to see things from another's point of view. Jacob is accused of killing Jess Ogilvy, a 23 year old graduate student, who is also his "social skills" tutor.
What frustrates me as a reader is that Jacob isn't 100% allowed to tell his story...it seems fairly simple to me what happened, and maybe that's because, as a teacher, I'm fairly familiar with students on the Autistic spectrum....That being said, the story is written from five people's view points, but Jacob is the main character, and as Picoult herself states, this is essentially his story. However, we are fortunate enough to also hear from Emma (mom), Theo (younger brother, "neuro-typical"), Oliver (defense lawyer), and Rich (detective).
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and think hearing from people on the spectrum (and learning empathy) is very important in today's world where Autism is so common. I wonder if Picoult truly believes, as does Emma (Jacob's mom) that vaccines cause Autism...
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
book was exactly as i expected. slightly predictable, interesting characters, timely social topics, kept me up past my bedtime several nights... how consistent of you, JP.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
This book was going to be 5 stars until the end. Going through over 500 pages for that wrap up almost ruined the whole book that I found completely fascinating. I wish the last 50 pages could've been redone but overall I liked it.
I was so freaking excited when this book came out that I just had to have it. Slowly I forgot that I even had this book until I moved in November of last year. To my surprise, I still haven't read this book so it was my goal to get through it this month.
Now I love Jodi Picoult. I don't always love every book of hers but ever since I read Vanishing Acts I have been completely hooked. I try my hardest to collect every book she has ever written to make my book collection ever growing. I haven't been buying her books recently but that is due to the fact of not having a bookshelf. LIKE EVER. So whenever I get around to buying one of those bad boys I will continue my collection of books.
Back to this book. House Rules intrigued me from the beginning. WHY? Because it's about a character that has Asperger's syndrome. That hit me at home because my older brother has Asperger's. Which to this day a lot of people still don't know how to acknowledge or handle it. My brother is an actual person but he reacts to things a lot differently. He's still him and I love him for that - but while growing up and seeing how people treated him differently just made me so upset. So when I read the synopsis for this book - I just had to have it.
Oh man guys. I don't really know how to rate this book. It felt painfully slow and it made me really upset. I wanted to love Jacob and this story and I just couldn't. I get that Jodi did her research but come on - that's just not fair. The mystery part was good but that was the only thing good about it. If she didn't put every freaking symptom into Jacob he would've been more realistic and likable. I just feel bad for the character and how this story was written.
Like I mentioned earlier, I love Jodi Picoult as a writer but that doesn't mean I love every single book of hers. I wish I did love this book but I just couldn't.
Now I love Jodi Picoult. I don't always love every book of hers but ever since I read Vanishing Acts I have been completely hooked. I try my hardest to collect every book she has ever written to make my book collection ever growing. I haven't been buying her books recently but that is due to the fact of not having a bookshelf. LIKE EVER. So whenever I get around to buying one of those bad boys I will continue my collection of books.
Back to this book. House Rules intrigued me from the beginning. WHY? Because it's about a character that has Asperger's syndrome. That hit me at home because my older brother has Asperger's. Which to this day a lot of people still don't know how to acknowledge or handle it. My brother is an actual person but he reacts to things a lot differently. He's still him and I love him for that - but while growing up and seeing how people treated him differently just made me so upset. So when I read the synopsis for this book - I just had to have it.
Oh man guys. I don't really know how to rate this book. It felt painfully slow and it made me really upset. I wanted to love Jacob and this story and I just couldn't. I get that Jodi did her research but come on - that's just not fair. The mystery part was good but that was the only thing good about it. If she didn't put every freaking symptom into Jacob he would've been more realistic and likable. I just feel bad for the character and how this story was written.
Like I mentioned earlier, I love Jodi Picoult as a writer but that doesn't mean I love every single book of hers. I wish I did love this book but I just couldn't.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At the end of the book, the reader does not get to know the final outcome of the court case.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was passed along to me by my mother-in-law. She really loved this book. Me, not so much. I appreciate the significance of having a child with Aspergers as one of the main characters, and the plot was clever enough. If we could give half stars, this would get a 2 and 1/2 from me. That said, the parts from Jacob's point of view did not always ring true to me. The pacing started to annoy me during the last third of the book, especially because I had a hard time believing that nobody had bothered to get the accurate story from Jacob. The conclusion was not satisfying enough to justify the slow trek to get there.