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A review by bargainsleuth
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
2.0
I liked the idea of this book because of Jodi Picoult's attempt to raise awareness of Autism, but I don't think it was done very well. My son's social skills teacher warned me that the main character had EVERY symptom, and she wasn't kidding. Every symptom, quirk, obsession, tic and aspect of being social awkward is portrayed in one character and that is simply not the case in real life. They say if you've met one person with Autism, you've met one person with Autism, because each person displays Autism differently.
My big beef was the fact that Picoult's autism research is flawed and based on studies that have been debunked as completely fraudulent and have been that way for years. So now the casual reader who doesn't know anything about Autism thinks these crazy things because they read about it in a fiction book.
What's with everyone not asking Jacob what really happened? Seriously. He explains that he set up the crime scene, but no one thinks to ask WHY he did that? No one asks him what happened when he got to Jess's house. No one. It would have made a much shorter book, true, but this book did not have to be 600 pages long..
Yet despite the fact that Picoult goes on for 600 pages, the book just ends. What a crummy ending, with still a lot left unanswered. Reading books like these reminds me why I generally steer clear of adult fiction.
My big beef was the fact that Picoult's autism research is flawed and based on studies that have been debunked as completely fraudulent and have been that way for years. So now the casual reader who doesn't know anything about Autism thinks these crazy things because they read about it in a fiction book.
What's with everyone not asking Jacob what really happened? Seriously. He explains that he set up the crime scene, but no one thinks to ask WHY he did that? No one asks him what happened when he got to Jess's house. No one. It would have made a much shorter book, true, but this book did not have to be 600 pages long..
Yet despite the fact that Picoult goes on for 600 pages, the book just ends. What a crummy ending, with still a lot left unanswered. Reading books like these reminds me why I generally steer clear of adult fiction.