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A review by abbywebb
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
4.0
Jacob is 18 years old. He is a high school senior with a rather high IQ. He rotates through interests, although some might consider his interests to be "obsessions." His current interest of choice is forensic science. Jacob loves to watch his favourite show, Crimebusters, and take notes on what is happening. He also likes to recreate fictional homicidal crime scenes for his mother to "solve."
Oh yah, Jacob has also been diagnosed with Asperger's disorder which is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To outsiders, he appears to be socially inept as he understands language only in a literal sense not a figurative one, does not make eye contact regularly, and he is hypersensitive to certain stimuli in his environment.
One day, Jacob's social skills tutor, Jess, has been reported missing by her boyfriend. Eventually her body is found and Jacob is the one accused by police as murdering her. In typical Picoult fashion, a murder trial begins.
I felt that House Rules was more predictable than the other books I have read by Picoult, but it was good nonetheless. Although the ending was sub-par for my liking, Picoult captured ASD with such an intensity and brutal honesty that I felt that she must have more experience with the disorder than simply having researched it. It felt as though she is the parent of a child with ASD. I even give her kudos for writing several chapters from Jacob's perspective. I don't think many authors could write a first person narrative of someone with ASD without it seeming contrived or phoney. Having dealt a lot with individuals with ASD (including Asperger's), I can see many similarities between Jacob and the children I have worked with.
To me, this one was of her finer works of fiction but probably because I have a professional interest in autism (I just attended a two-day workshop on the subject this week). For those of you who like the anticipation and the plot twists and intense page-turning of her typical books, seek out something else. But I truly believe that we all have a lot to learn from this book.
Oh yah, Jacob has also been diagnosed with Asperger's disorder which is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To outsiders, he appears to be socially inept as he understands language only in a literal sense not a figurative one, does not make eye contact regularly, and he is hypersensitive to certain stimuli in his environment.
One day, Jacob's social skills tutor, Jess, has been reported missing by her boyfriend. Eventually her body is found and Jacob is the one accused by police as murdering her. In typical Picoult fashion, a murder trial begins.
I felt that House Rules was more predictable than the other books I have read by Picoult, but it was good nonetheless. Although the ending was sub-par for my liking, Picoult captured ASD with such an intensity and brutal honesty that I felt that she must have more experience with the disorder than simply having researched it. It felt as though she is the parent of a child with ASD. I even give her kudos for writing several chapters from Jacob's perspective. I don't think many authors could write a first person narrative of someone with ASD without it seeming contrived or phoney. Having dealt a lot with individuals with ASD (including Asperger's), I can see many similarities between Jacob and the children I have worked with.
To me, this one was of her finer works of fiction but probably because I have a professional interest in autism (I just attended a two-day workshop on the subject this week). For those of you who like the anticipation and the plot twists and intense page-turning of her typical books, seek out something else. But I truly believe that we all have a lot to learn from this book.