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A review by kemetaur
Rules by Cynthia Lord
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I really liked this book. It was sweet.
*Spoiler warning*
I thought that there would be a reveal towards the end about Christine being autistic. Maybe the author wanted to portray the common scenario of high masking autistic girls growing up undiagnosed and not receiving supports or understanding, kind of slipping through the cracks when they have a higher support needs sibling.
I loved the way Christine and David communicated with each other. It reminded me a lot of the way my family members and I often communicate with each other. It's like a different, special language. A secret, exclusive, deep-connection language where social small talk doesn't even exist.
I loved that Jason's mom gave him so much freedom to grow up and have independence with friends. The way she gave him PRIVACY even...
Even when she was nervous.
Each time she watched Christine and Jason interact, I was worried that she was going to cut off their friendship, that she would claim Christine was a bad influence on him or something.
It was cute listening to him bickering with his mom using the teenage "WHATever" words that Christine made for him. I appreciated how the author showed how normal their parent/son relationship actually was despite verbal communication limitations. And his mom never took away his words even when she didn't like them. Many parents do. I was so glad to see her self restraint and the respect she had for her son.
I also appreciated how normal and age appropriate his friendship/crush with Christine was in the same way. It sounded exactly like any other sweet young developing relationship- it was just the communication and mobility details that were different...and those details honestly are different for everyone anyway. Even for able bodied people.
*Spoiler warning*
I thought that there would be a reveal towards the end about Christine being autistic. Maybe the author wanted to portray the common scenario of high masking autistic girls growing up undiagnosed and not receiving supports or understanding, kind of slipping through the cracks when they have a higher support needs sibling.
I loved the way Christine and David communicated with each other. It reminded me a lot of the way my family members and I often communicate with each other. It's like a different, special language. A secret, exclusive, deep-connection language where social small talk doesn't even exist.
I loved that Jason's mom gave him so much freedom to grow up and have independence with friends. The way she gave him PRIVACY even...
Even when she was nervous.
Each time she watched Christine and Jason interact, I was worried that she was going to cut off their friendship, that she would claim Christine was a bad influence on him or something.
It was cute listening to him bickering with his mom using the teenage "WHATever" words that Christine made for him. I appreciated how the author showed how normal their parent/son relationship actually was despite verbal communication limitations. And his mom never took away his words even when she didn't like them. Many parents do. I was so glad to see her self restraint and the respect she had for her son.
I also appreciated how normal and age appropriate his friendship/crush with Christine was in the same way. It sounded exactly like any other sweet young developing relationship- it was just the communication and mobility details that were different...and those details honestly are different for everyone anyway. Even for able bodied people.