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House Rules: A Novel |  | Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 32.00
Buy New: CDN$ 18.82
as of 9/7/2010 12:21 MDT details
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New (22) Used (8) from CDN$ 12.00
Seller: more_for_u
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 23739
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 532
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 6.4 x 1.6
ISBN: 0743296435
EAN: 9780743296434
ASIN: 0743296435
Publication Date: March 2, 2010
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
 Weak plot August 9, 2010
Cavell Dumaresque
As usual this book is well written and Picoult has a good understanding of Aspergers syndrome. Her main character is interesting and is believable in his actions. Where this novel falters is in the other characters behaviours. For the entire novel I kept waiting for characters like his mother, the police, his lawyer and the prosecuter to ask the most obvious question...(SPOILER)...."If you did not commit this crime, Jacob, then why did you stage the crime scene?".....he kept maintaining his innocence through out the entire novel but none of those characters who should, questioned him any deeper on his motives. The prosecuter had him on the stand and didn't ask, no one did. This is where the plot is weakened for me and if that obvious question or one like it had been asked by anyone it would have forced Picoult to tighen her plot and come up with a not so obvious ending.
Not Bad - a bit drawn out August 3, 2010
Luke Harris (Ontario, Canada)
Well I must say the book grabbed my attention very quickly and held it till just over the halfway mark. From there I found it a bit slow moving and drawn out. The autism component was interesting but repetition of the symptoms from each characters point of view caused me to skip many paragraphs. It seemed to me that Jodi Picoult must have got distracted towards the end of the novel as the feel changed. I did loose interest in the story and found I just wanted to hear the verdict.
I debated between 2 or 3 stars and decided I'll give this a 3 as I felt connected with the characters and the beginning and felt for the poor mother of the "Aspie" child. Also the mystery component was good. However, the last third of the book killed it for me. It could have been either shorter or written differently to hold my attention.
Lastly, I still don't know why someone simple did not ask Jacob for the truth. Given the way he was portrayed to follow rules and never lie I would have thought this whole thing could have stayed out of court.
 Jodi Picoult Rules! July 25, 2010
Sigrid Macdonald (Ottawa)
If I were trapped on a desert island and could only bring books by one fiction writer, I would choose JP. This is the fifth or sixth book that I've read by her, and she never fails to deliver. In fact, I think this is one of her best books yet.
House Rules is the story of Emma, a single mother whose husband walked out on her because he couldn't handle dealing with her then three-year-old son, Jacob, who had just been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism. She also had a baby by the name of Theo.
As the story unfolds, Jacob is now 18. He does well academically -- he's nearly a genius -- but is incapable of forming social relationships because his brain isn't wired that way. So, Emma hires a social tutor for him by the name of Jess. Jess has a less than ideal boyfriend, who is often possessive, jealous and sometimes abusive. One day, Jess is murdered and Jacob, a crime buff, is charged with killing her.
As always, Picoult likes to delve into complicated legal issues, and there is a drawn-out trial, with an interesting relationship emerging between Emma and her young lawyer. Since my background is in psychology and social work, I love the fact that Picoult takes complex and pertinent social issues and weaves intricate, beautiful and heartwarming stories about them. We feel for these characters as though we know them, especially Jacob who wants so much to fit in but can't: wants to communicate but fails hopelessly. At the same time, we empathize with Theo, the forgotten child, and Emma, the one who has to do it all by herself -- superhuman mom. Picoult never fails to let us know that when one person is ill or off-balance in the family, the whole family unit is thrown off kilter.
However, this book is too long and could be cut by about 50 to 100 pages. She repeated so much about Asperger's and autism that I could have recited it verbatim myself (and yet I am no authority -- I don't know if this is really the way Asp kids are). I also felt that more attention and emotion could've been devoted to the crime victim instead of all of the attention being on the aforementioned family. Otherwise, as usual, a fantastic read and highly recommended.
 Frustrating Read! July 18, 2010
Debzzz007 (Ontario)
If you have someone close to you with Aspergers (as I do) ... this will be a very tough read!! I had to stop reading because I was so frustrated!! Picoult's character was over the top with symptoms of both AS and Autism. This book is a big let down..... I liked the idea of writing from the different perspectives of the family ... but she was again over the top with all of the characters thinking, actions and feelings about AS!! I hope readers don't take this "research" and apply it to all living with AS and their families!!
 I haven't read it, but everyone else is enjoying it!! June 8, 2010
While I haven't read the book yet, everybody I've loaned it to has loved it. I am looking forward to getting into it soon. Will let you know when I have read it-if I can.
The book was in very good condition and arrived in a timely fashion. Couldn't have asked for any better.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
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