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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Addicting, mysterious, beautifully written, and impactful. A bit predictable, I’ll admit, but a good read nonetheless.
Good: It shed light on autism/aspergers and requires you to think about what it's like to interact with someone who has autism which was interesting.
Bad: it was a typical Picoult book - very formulaic. Make sure to have a main issue, a courtroom scene, a love affair and some "twists", all of which are super predictable.
Bad: it was a typical Picoult book - very formulaic. Make sure to have a main issue, a courtroom scene, a love affair and some "twists", all of which are super predictable.
Predictable, yet engrossing. I'd complain that there wasn't enough raw emotion in this book, but that seems a bit fruitless and/or trivial when discussing a book centered around a kid with Aspergers Syndrome. I hate that I enjoy Jodi Picoult's books so much. It was fun to read.
An enjoyable read for the most part although it did feel like there were some inconsistencies in Jacob’s behaviour. Finding out what actually happened dragged on too long for me and I’d have liked to understand what happened next.
I'm usually a Picoult fan but this really disappointed me.
Firstly I didn't find the character of Jacob convincing. It felt a bit like throwing in every bit of research she'd found no matter if it was relevant or not (why the totally unproven anti-vaccination stuff? why?!)
The character of Theo was just awful. I'm a sibling of a brother with Aspergers & yes, sometimes you can't do the things you want & have to be the 'older' sibling but I've never heard of anyone acting as selfish as Theo.
Then there's the story. Even if you ignore all the above its totally predictable (solved by me halfway through!) & the ending doesn't conclude anything.
Not her best!
Firstly I didn't find the character of Jacob convincing. It felt a bit like throwing in every bit of research she'd found no matter if it was relevant or not (why the totally unproven anti-vaccination stuff? why?!)
The character of Theo was just awful. I'm a sibling of a brother with Aspergers & yes, sometimes you can't do the things you want & have to be the 'older' sibling but I've never heard of anyone acting as selfish as Theo.
Then there's the story. Even if you ignore all the above its totally predictable (solved by me halfway through!) & the ending doesn't conclude anything.
Not her best!
A book I'd literally consider to be a tour de force, House Rules by Jodi Picoult was an instant favorite for me upon completion. I read this a long while ago, and yet it still has stuck with me. This was my first try at reading Jodi Picoult, and was highly recommended by my math tutor at the time. The writing was highly readable, and wasn't simplified either. The characters were all diverse, and the structure of story being told through five different view points was very organized and helped the story along really well. Also the mystery from the trial was very well hidden, and came as a surprise, even though it was a little disappointing. My only problems with this book all involved Jacob. Jacob has Aspergers, and his Aspergers is perceived in a greatly exaggerated tone since the author threw in basically everything you could have with Aspergers into one character. Also, I believe he should have been been sentenced to jail time or punishment of some sort for something else he did in the novel, but it was pretty much brushed off. You'll see when you read it. Other than that, this book was awesome, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading. 5/5 stars.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Why the $#&*($# do I keep on torturing myself by reading Jodi Picoult books? It's a disease. I see the latest one at Target and read the back cover, and I say, "There's no way this one could be crappier and more formulaic than the last one..." And then I put it on the library hold list (which always numbers in the hundreds), so then I feel obligated to read it when it finally comes in. And then I sit down with a glass of wine and play a "literary" version of MST3K... "Ooh, a feisty lawyer -- check! Oooh, a shocking last-minute revelation -- check! Oooh, a conflicted cop -- double check!"
I enjoyed the book but the idea that vaccines cause autism that appears several times throughout the book spoiled it for me.