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Rules

by Cynthia Lord

3.98 · rating details · 9,160 ratings · 1,725 reviews

A heartfelt and witty debut about feeling different and finding acceptance--beyond the rules.Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules-from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep y...more

Hardcover, 208 pages

Published April 1st 2006 by Scholastic Inc. (first published January 1st 2006)

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May 11, 2008

Jennifer Wardrip rated it

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, jens-personal-read

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

You can always tell when you're reading a book that has a basis in truth. With RULES, author Cynthia Lord writes about what it's like to live with autism, and she should know, since she has an autistic child.

That ring of truth is there, in every word, when you read the story of twelve-year old Catherine and her autistic younger brother, David.David hates loud noises. If there's a cloud in the sky, he has to take his red umbrella with hi...moreReviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

You can always tell when you're reading a book that has a basis in truth. With RULES, author Cynthia Lord writes about what it's like to live with autism, and she should know, since she has an autistic child.

That ring of truth is there, in every word, when you read the story of twelve-year old Catherine and her autistic younger brother, David.David hates loud noises. If there's a cloud in the sky, he has to take his red umbrella with him. If his dad says he'll be home at five o'clock, David starts going crazy at five-oh-one. He likes to rewind his movie of Thomas the Tank Engine to his favorite part, over and over and over again. His favorite place to visit is the video store, where he'll even lay on the floor to read the back of the movie box a stranger is holding in his hand. And he knows all the words to Arnold Lobel's FROG AND TOAD.

For Catherine, though, it's a much different story. She hates the way people stare at her brother, or even worse, refuse to look at him at all. She's jealous of the time David gets to spend, one-on-one, with their pharmacist father. She hates David's rules, the strict adherence to which he is obsessed with them, and yet she makes new rules for him every time she thinks of something else he needs to know.

Catherine copes by drawing, and one day she decides to draw the boy in the wheelchair who is in the waiting room with her at Occupational Therapy. David goes there once a week to work with a therapist, and so does the boy who doesn't speak but instead uses a book of word cards to communicate. When Catherine offers to make Jason, the boy in the wheelchair, some new cards with pictures, an unlikely friendship is born. Catherine is also excited about Kristi, her new next-door neighbor, but soon finds out that friendship is a complicated matter.

How do you protect a brother that often annoys you? How can you be friends with the beautiful girl next door and yet be ashamed to admit your friend Jason doesn't talk and is in a wheelchair? How do you make your father understand that you matter, too? How do you tell your mother that even though David needs his own words, Frog and Toad is a special communication between a brother and sister that love each other? RULES isn't just a book about autism, but rather a look into the complexities of a family relationship. An excellent read for anyone who has ever had to deal with someone who is just a little bit different than everyone else. (less)

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Dec 30, 2008

Swee'tea rated it

Recommends it for: kids who have relatives with autism

This is a quick read, I read it in about a week or so. It is a VERY good book! What I liked best about the book, is how Cynthia Lord(the author) really understands how it's like to live with people with autism. I know this because she came to my school, and I met her. I liked how the book was about a who has the same experiences that I do, having a sibling with autism. I don't just recommend only people with relatives with autism to read this, I recommend everyone reading it. I have shared...more

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Sep 13, 2011

Rebecca rated it

I've been trying to think of the best way to talk about this book. I read it in a night and then forced it upon my mother -who hardly ever makes the time to read- and she finished it in a night. Someday, when my sister is ready, I will have her read it too. This book was so sweet, and at moments, heart-wrenching. It's a simple story about a young girl who wants to be known for herself - not David's sister. Her eight-year-old brother has autism and because of his special needs, often takes the at...moreI've been trying to think of the best way to talk about this book. I read it in a night and then forced it upon my mother -who hardly ever makes the time to read- and she finished it in a night. Someday, when my sister is ready, I will have her read it too. This book was so sweet, and at moments, heart-wrenching. It's a simple story about a young girl who wants to be known for herself - not David's sister. Her eight-year-old brother has autism and because of his special needs, often takes the attention of their parents.

Catherine is in a tricky place. She loves her brother, so much that she regularly adds to a list of 'rules' for him - things that the average person instinctively knows or learns very quickly - but David needs to be taught. Some of the rules are hilarious, "If it fits in your mouth, it's food." Some are heartbreaking, "Sometimes people laugh when they like you. Sometimes they laugh to hurt you." Yet, as much as she cares for David, he complicates her life. Her parents thrust babysitting duties on her constantly, her father rarely spends time with her alone - but he will with David, her brother is constantly embarrassing her in front of friends and neighbors. To further complicate things, they have a new next door neighbor who's Catherine's age and she does everything she can to hide David's behavior so that her new friend won't find out. Catherine also starts up a friendship with a boy at David's therapy clinic who can only communicate by pointing at the pictures in his phrasebook.

It's a good story, but it really was the moments between Catherine and David that struck me so much. My seven-year-old nephew is autistic and there were so many moments that felt all too familiar. Not all unpleasant, but familiar. One of Catherine's rules is "If you don't have the words you need - borrow someone else's." David takes this to heart and is perpetually quoting Arnold Lobel's "Frog and Toad" book to express how he feels, and Catherine will respond back with the next line. At one point, Catherine is so angry at something David does, that she refuses to respond to his usual line, "I'm sorry, Frog." The panic that David goes through when the usual routine is messed up broke my heart. It is such a fragile, sweet relationship and watching Catherine figure out who she is and, more importantly, who she wants to be is such a nice journey.

I recommend this to anyone whose lives have been touched by autism or who would like to see how families deal with the day to day routines with an autistic child. A beautiful story.

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Oct 04, 2010

Jim Haggerty rated it

· review of another edition

Rules, by author Cynthia Lord, is a touching look at the life of a young girl, Catherine, who's coping with the conflicting emotions of living with her autistic brother, David. And I was coping with the conflicting emotions of annoyance and boredom of reading this book.

Catherine, a normal 12 year old girl, has a huge role and responsibility in the care-taking of her autistic brother, David. Catherine must balance the love and the responsibility she feels for David with the embarr...more

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Aug 08, 2008

Nancy rated it

Shelves: children

"Rules", by Cynthia Lord, is told from the perspective of Catherine, the 12-year-old sister of David, an autistic 8-year-old. Catherine, at 12, is dealing with finding a place in a family that seems to be centered around coping with David's needs for comfort and development. Catherine's mom is divided between managing a home business (leaving Catherine to care for David) and providing David the care and developmental therapy he needs. Catherine's dad seems to be mostly coping with his ...more"Rules", by Cynthia Lord, is told from the perspective of Catherine, the 12-year-old sister of David, an autistic 8-year-old. Catherine, at 12, is dealing with finding a place in a family that seems to be centered around coping with David's needs for comfort and development. Catherine's mom is divided between managing a home business (leaving Catherine to care for David) and providing David the care and developmental therapy he needs. Catherine's dad seems to be mostly coping with his own difficulty with accepting the parenting cards he's been dealt and possibly with his own austistic-like tendencies. Neither parent, though they both clearly love Catherine, appears to have the emotional resources to cope with any of Catherine's issues. In a sense, she is expected not to have any and to participate in a semi-adult capacity in therapeutic care for David. Meanwhile, Catherine is confronting her own, normal, 12-year-old girl issues--how far should she go against her own needs and wishes to go along with her friends, who should her friends be, how to cope with mean kids, what to do with her summer when her best friend is away.

What I really like about this novel is that the characters are allowed to be complex. Though Catherine's parents are, in a way, neglectful of her needs, they aren't portrayed as bad parents so much as people coping as well as they can with a difficult situation and making some mistakes in doing so. For example, there are a number of times in the novel where David is waiting for his father to come home from work and take him on an outing. David expects his father at five and becomes very distressed when he isn't home by five. Catherine notes that while she can understand that her father is characteristically late, David can't. Reading this, I couldn't help but wonder, though Catherine didn't, wouldn't one think her father could be expected to control his tendency to be late in this instance rather than repeatedly distress his son and force his daughter to cope with this distress on a regular basis? Why is it that Catherine can understand how difficult it is for David to cope with his father's lateness, but her father can't? Another good example is in Catherine's new neighbor, Kristie, a girl Catherine would like to be friends with, but whom she immediately senses will be much `cooler' than she is. Kristie, it turns out, isn't a mean girl, and it's clear she's dealing with her own issues, but she probably isn't going to be real friend material for Catherine. I also liked Catherine's relationship with Jason, a wheel-chair bound boy about her own age. She is attracted to him, but isn't sure she wants to take on more relationships complicated by disability. Jason, though unable to communicate without the use of written cards and symbols, manages to be a pretty real adolescent. He isn't perfect- he sulks and can be manipulative. Still, the reader can see why Catherine might find him compelling.

If there is anything that seems unrealistic about the book, it is that Catherine is, maybe, too understanding. She pretty much accepts that her parents aren't able to be there for her emotionally as much as she might like them to be and is, for the most part, willing to accept what they can offer. She accepts her disappointment that new neighbor is probably not going to be a good fit for her as a friend without hating her. She is able to accept that a friendship with Jason is going to be complicated. Most of all, she loves her brother with all of his limitations, while understanding that if she could turn him into a "normal" boy, she would.

"Rules" is actually a pretty upbeat book. In general, Catherine seems secure and confident in her ability to handle problems. Although she is coping with a number of issues, she clearly loves her family, has friends she cares about, and interests and talents outside the scope of caring for/worrying about her brother and is absolutely free of self-pity. This would probably be a great book for young adolescents coping with family issues. I highly recommend it.

(This review is also posted at Amazon.)(less)

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Aug 26, 2011

Mina rated it

Shelves: summer-reading

The fourth book I read this summer was rules by Cynthia lord, I personally found this book well written interesting with authenticity to it. This book was about a girl Catherine and her younger brother David who is autistic. Catharine is much like any ordinary girl and all she desires for is for David to wake up one day and for is autism to disappear, but Catharine knows that wish will never come true. Through out portions of the book Catharine feel that her world revolves around David, she has ...more

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Mar 18, 2010

Gina Pecoraro rated it

Shelves: realistic-fiction, award-winning

Format: Chapter Book
Awards: Newbery Honor (2007), Schneider Family Book Award (2007)The Schneider award was given to Rules for its artistic expression of the disability experiences for adolescent readers.

Catherine makes a list of rules for her younger autistic brother to follow. She gives him these rules to help him fit in a little better, but also so he doesn't embarrass her. She loves her brother but at the same time wants to be able to live her own life. Kristi moves in ne...more

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Mar 17, 2009

Amitha rated it

Shelves: best-kids-books-read-2009, autism-kidlit

I wasn't sure I would like this book at first because it is an "issues" book. I thought it would be about a girl who learns to accept her brother's disabilities, and while this is true, it was more a learning-to-fit-in-and-be-comfortable-with-yourself book. I'm still making it sound cheesy, but it really wasn't. Rather, it was hilarious and well-written. The main character, a twelve-year-old girl named Catherine, is highly relatable, and draws you in from the first chapter by telling ...more

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Jan 19, 2008

Moira rated it

Shelves: kid-lit

Well, this was a nice book - a story about a girl trying to come to grips with her autistic brother (and her parents who do everything for him and nothing for her) and her friendship with a boy with cerebral palsy. It kept my interest. But it seemed artifical - I mean, she is driven crazy by the brother, but she chooses to befriend the boy who is even more challenged? And the voice is that of a girl MUCH younger than the main character is supposed to be. Further, nothing is all that resolved...more

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Jul 12, 2007

Monica rated it

After having read a number of Newbery Honor and Newbery Award-winning books that have fallen short of what I would consider “Newbery-worthy”, I was thrilled to come across Rules! I read the book cover-to-cover in under two hours, and was really moved by the main character, Catherine, and her relationship with her autistic brother, David, and her paraplegic friend, Jason.

This is a book that would have become one of my favorites, had it been around when I was a kid. Rules reminded me...moreAfter having read a number of Newbery Honor and Newbery Award-winning books that have fallen short of what I would consider “Newbery-worthy”, I was thrilled to come across Rules! I read the book cover-to-cover in under two hours, and was really moved by the main character, Catherine, and her relationship with her autistic brother, David, and her paraplegic friend, Jason.

This is a book that would have become one of my favorites, had it been around when I was a kid. Rules reminded me a lot of a book called Between Friends that I “borrowed indefinitely” (ahem) from my teacher’s library in elementary school. Both novels deal with the social pressures that typical kids struggle with when they befriend or are related to someone with a disability.

Social relations involving a character straddling two social groups is an important topic that many young adult books explore, but not always very well. Frequently, young girls are portrayed as catty, but it actually puts a very realistic twist on things when a character can be tender and caring in so many ways, yet still strive to fit in with the “cool” crowd. This is a reality many young people can relate to, whether they have a sibling or friend with a disability, or maybe they just have a friend who is not as “cool” as the “in-crowd” would dictate they be.

Cynthia Lord does a great job at not trivializing David or Jason’s disabilities, and choosing not to focus on what they can’t do, but what they can. Since the author has an autistic son, you can frequently infer places where she has added her own frustrations—i.e. strangers who give a “pity” look when they walk by, people who completely ignore the individual, and most humorously, adults who talk EXTRA LOUD to make up for things, and then ask the parent, “How is his day going today?”, as if the individual can’t respond for himself or herself.

The book is light-hearted and funny, not sad or too serious. I love Catherine’s artistic side, and how the author chose to weave that into the novel—it adds depth to her character. Drawing has been a therapy for her in some ways (“Sometimes I can change how I feel about something by drawing it”), and it also sparks and sustains her friendship with Jason. Some authors make reference to a character’s artistic abilities, while the superior authors are able to show you the character’s abilities, and tie it into the storyline. (The book Olive’s Ocean that I reviewed is an example of the former. The author repeats time and time again that the girl is a great writer, but you don’t really feel it in the way Cynthia Lord describes Catherine’s abilities.)
All in all, this book is very well done, and a wonderful quick read for anyone.
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Oct 18, 2009

Amanda rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: 4th-6th graders

Shelves: middle-grade, realistic-fiction

The title refers to the rules that Catherine creates for her autistic brother, David, ostensibly to help him navigate the world. Catherine struggles with her feelings about David's differentness, but she stops dividing people into normal vs. different when she makes friends with Jason, a boy in a wheelchair at one of David's therapy sessions. (When David doesn't know how to say something, he quotes from Lobel's Frog and Toad books.)

I think Lord's characterization is authentic, and I ap...more

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Aug 26, 2007

Abby Johnson rated it

Shelves: audio

This book was completely not like I thought it would be. It's about Katherine, a twelve year old girl trying to make a new friend and deal with her younger brother David who has autism. One day while she's at the clinic where David has occupational therapy, Katherine meets Jason. Jason is another patient at the clinic. Jason has cerebral palsy and he communicates using a book with pictures. Katherine creates some new pictures for him and begins a friendship that becomes very important to them bo...more

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Nov 16, 2008

AnnaBnana rated it

Shelves: juvenile-fiction, ya-fiction

I thought this book was really incredible. I read it in one sitting. I was glad that Lord didn't shy away Catherine's difficult and conflicted feeling about having an autistic brother. I thought the relationship she built between Catherine and Jason was natural and touching.

I think Catherine is also a really relate-able character on a more general level. I haven't experienced any of what went on in Catherine's family life, but her propensity for daydreaming and getting her hope...more

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Mar 22, 2009

Marynna rated it

Shelves: children-s, gifted-young-proficient-readers, fiction, civics-ethics, literature

Such delight! This touching, funny story -- a quick, compelling read for a sunny afternoon -- is both respectful and adorably irreverent. Catherine is the voice of a wise, practical observer whose perspective has been sharpened by life with her autistic brother and her disabled friend.

There is nothing here which is inappropriate for any reader of any age; and there is much here that is valuable for everyone, whether or not they know or are related to people who have autism or any oth...more

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Oct 13, 2010

Diana 807 rated it

Shelves: 6th-grade

I think it a great book because catherine learns that she has to love her bother for the way he is. And she finds out that even regular brothers can be a pain. she also she meets Jason and finds out that she could still be Jasons friend even though he cant talk or walk.

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Jan 08, 2009

Wendy rated it

I thought this book had quite a few good imaginative narrative devices, and it was quite interesting to read about living with a child with autism, knowing that the author had first hand experience in this regard. I wanted main character Catherine to have a bit more heart, though - something about the character seemed a little flat, and there were certain situations that did not quite ring true to me.

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Feb 04, 2009

Karen rated it

I finally got my hands on RULES by Cynthia Lord, and I read it in one sitting. The narrator, Catherine, genuinely seems twelve. Her mannerisms and thoughts ring true, especially her artistic view on life and her lists of rules to help both herself and her autistic brother David. Catherine has more than shallow run-of-the-mill problems to deal with, and yet she's easy to identify with. In less capable hands, the story could have come across saccharine or depressing. Lord pulls it off in a way tha...more

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Dec 12, 2011

Cat rated it

Shelves: library264

Title: Rules
Author: Cynthia Lord
Year: 2008
ISBN: 9780439443821
Type: Book
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Length/Pages: 224
Publisher/studio: Scholastic Inc.
Ages:9 and up
Annotation: Catherine a 12 years old young girl who wants to be known for herself - not David's sister
Plot
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants to be a normal kid with a normal family. Too bad that will never happen, one because she has a brother with autism, and two ...more

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Dec 09, 2011

Kelley rated it

Genre: Contemporary Realism
Catherine is a 12 year old girl, who helps care for her brother with autism. She is creating a list for him of rules about how the world works. She meets a boy named Jason who cannot speak and uses a wheelchair. Through her work with her brother and her new friend, Catherine must learn to accept people’s differences and redefine normal.

Character
Catherine is a very strong character who has a lot to handle at such a young age. She has been given ...more

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Dec 04, 2011

Wendy rated it

Shelves: young-adult

I was torn between giving the book three stars or four stars. I must be feeling generous tonight, because I decided to go with four.

Catherine has a younger brother diagnosed with Autism. She struggles with how embarrassing some of his behaviors can be when they are out in public, and how much his diagnoses affects her life. Like any twelve year old with a little brother, she is beyond frustrated with him and can be very inpatient. Yet, she also struggles with her desire to defend an...more

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Dec 04, 2011

Alma rated it

Shelves: ya-2010-11

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Scholastic Press. 2006. 200 pp. ISBN: 0439443822. Genre: Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3.98 Stars. Catherine is a 12-year-old girl who is trying to figure out her place while trying to help her brother, David, who has autism.

Summary: Catherine wants to find some sense of normalcy in her not-so-normal world. She helps her 8-year old brother, who has autism, understand the ‘unwritten’ rules of society by writing down the unknowns for him, such as, “It’s...more

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Oct 22, 2011

Heather rated it

Shelves: awards-newbery, contemporary-fiction, novels

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 2007 Newbery Honor

I think this book should have won the Newbery in 2007--it was a much more engaging story for me than The Higher Power of Lucky.

Catherine struggles with an autistic younger brother, David. Their parents give David more attention and expect more from Catherine, which drives her crazy. I imagined that this would be similar to a lot of situations in which one sibling is ill or disabled and the other needs love and a chance to just kick back sometimes too. ...more2007 Newbery Honor

I think this book should have won the Newbery in 2007--it was a much more engaging story for me than The Higher Power of Lucky.

Catherine struggles with an autistic younger brother, David. Their parents give David more attention and expect more from Catherine, which drives her crazy. I imagined that this would be similar to a lot of situations in which one sibling is ill or disabled and the other needs love and a chance to just kick back sometimes too.

When Catherine continues to go with her mom to David's occupational therapy sessions, she finds a friend there, Jason, a boy in a wheel chair with cerebral palsy. Catherine, who is an aspiring artist, makes new word cards for him so that he can communicate better.

The situation is complicated when a new girl, Kristi, moves in next door. Catherine is embarrassed of the way her brother behaves, and, worried about what Kristi will think, she wants to hide Jason's disability too. Things come to a head when Kristi suggests Catherine invite Jason to come to a dance with them.

Catherine makes lots of rules for David to follow so that he won't embarrass her in public, and ultimately rules for herself so that she doesn't have to face difficult social situations. Jason and his caring for her help her to break her rules and risk disapproval from her new friend. What I didn't like about this was that we never got to see whether Kristi forgave her for not telling her about Jason or whether they continued being friends. I got the feeling that Kristi was kind of done, but Jason forgave Catherine for being nervous about being seen with him, so I suppose Kristi could forgive her too.

This story really struck close to home for me. I remember feeling a similarly awkward way about a, frankly, obese guy I used to hang out with at lunchtime in high school. When someone asked me, in front of him, if we were dating, I loudly protested that it wasn't like that. I think I really hurt his feelings--now I wish I had handled that differently. I could also identify with Catherine's assumption that people were going to make fun of her since she saw it all the time happening to David and was embarrassed about it. I don't have an autistic brother, but I was gullible and sensitive as a kid, so it was easy for other kids to manipulate me, which taught me that people can't be trusted. This book helped me to see that even now as an adult, I still make up rules for myself and make assumptions about what other people will think so that I don't have to risk ridicule and rejection from them. It's hard to make friends that way, though. Maybe I'll figure it out some day.(less)

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Oct 19, 2011

Mary marked it as to-read

Shelves: crone-6th-realistic

School Library Journal (April 1, 2006)
Gr 4-7-Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him ("It's okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store"). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi mo...more

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Aug 26, 2011

Melodee rated it

Yeah...so, I read this book quite a while ago, and cried through most of it. I think I related a little too well to way too many characters. It's written from the perspective of the sister to a boy with Autism. He's very high on the Autistic scale. Having a handicapped brother myself, I related to how she sometimes resented her brother because he's always first priority out of necessity, and she felt she had to compete for her parents' attention. Havign a son who's also has ASD, I could also...more

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Aug 15, 2011

Kate rated it

Shelves: 4th-grade, 5th-grade, 6th-grade, contemporary-realism, developmental-disorder, girl-main-character, junior-high, making-new-friends, school-dynamics, self-discovery, sibling-dynamics

A book talk from grad school:

Twelve-year-old Catherine is full of rules for her autistic brother David to follow – rules about how to eat, how to interact politely in social situations, and how to keep your clothes on even when you have spilled something on them. She has been embarrassed by David too many times before, and now that a new girl, Kristi, is moving in next door, Catherine wants to make sure that David won’t ruin the perfect friendship she has been imagining. She is not s...more

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Aug 14, 2011

Mia rated it

Shelves: summer-reading-list

I liked this book it wasn't my favorite though... Catherine has an autistic brother named David. David is eight and his interests include reading movie ratings at the video store, rewinding his Thomas the Tank Engine movie and listening to Frog and Toad. Catherine is twelve and her biggest wish is that David will someday wake up without autism, she loves David but she is constantly trying to get him to do things the right way- the normal way. Because of his disability David has to go to Occu...more

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Aug 13, 2011

Amy added it

Shelves: 2011, fiction_j

"No toys in the fish tank" is one of a litany of rules that Catherine has written for her autistic brother, David. Even with all the rules, though, David still has difficulty with daily social interactions. Catherine feels, as she reiterates many times, torn between two worlds: the world where she wants to be a normal pre-teen with her friends, and the world where she has to watch out for David. To make matters worse, she feels as though her parents don't really understand or apprec...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Kristen rated it

This was a book that once I finished it, I thought, someone needs to put a new cover on this! The cover doesn’t even begin to tell the reader how deep the book is and how Lords asks the reader to reach inside his/her self and ask, “What would I do in that situation.” Instead, the cover screams, “I am a CHIC BOOK! Hehehaa…”
Catherine is twelve and going through all things that middle schoolers go through – trying to find some friends, avoiding family like the plague, and (maybe) looking at ...moreThis was a book that once I finished it, I thought, someone needs to put a new cover on this! The cover doesn’t even begin to tell the reader how deep the book is and how Lords asks the reader to reach inside his/her self and ask, “What would I do in that situation.” Instead, the cover screams, “I am a CHIC BOOK! Hehehaa…”
Catherine is twelve and going through all things that middle schoolers go through – trying to find some friends, avoiding family like the plague, and (maybe) looking at the opposite sex. It’s the summer, and it’s evident that Catherine’s life isn’t quite like those of her friends. With a an autistic brother, Catherine must find a balance of being a third parent in her home, an older sister, and being a typical teenager.
Catherine also goes to OT with David once a week to keep her mom company. While there, she befriends a handicapped preteen, Jason. Jason is confined to a wheelchair and is unable to speak. Catherine, an artist, offers to make Jason cards so he is able to speak. Each time Catherine inadvertently touches Jason, fireworks go off through her body. For the reader, it’s evident this is the makings of a first crush, but for Catherine, she just brushes it off.
This relationship becomes more complicated as Catherine attempts to befriend a new neighbor, Kristi. Kristi will surely be part of the “in” crowd, and Catherine is not upfront about Jason and his disabilities. With a brother with emotional and physical needs, Catherine is often embarrassed about David and she brings that baggage to her relationship with Jason. When Jason asks her to go to a community center dance with him, Catherine declines because she is ashamed of his disability. As the reader, you want to yell at Catherine to “get over herself” and like Jason for who he is – but then the small part of you that is still 12 says, “of course she’s not going to come clean!” There is not a real resolution to the books which adds to its appeal. It’s a book that will captivate middle school students with those big questions they all deal with – who am I and who do I want to become?
As for title, Rules, it couldn’t be any better because even though David has many social “Rules” he has to learn – (one of my favorite being you have to keep your pants on) – Catherine has to navigate her own set of social rules middle school gives her. Both characters have to find their own way through rules that seem to contradict and are complicated.
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Jul 11, 2011

Morgan rated it

Shelves: childrens-lit

Rules by Cynthia Lord is a multidimensional story about an girl named Catherine and her emotional struggles with having a brother who has Autism. In trying to help her brother David who cannot understand social situations very well, Catherine creates a list of rules for her brother to follow such as, "It's fine to hug Mom, but not the clerk at the video store," or "A boy can take off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts." Catherine is sometimes deeply embarrassed by her br...more

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Jun 28, 2011

Theresa Milstein rated it

Shelves: favorites

I was so impressed by this book and by her speech at the NE-SCBWI book a few years ago, when I wound up being her handler at her workshop the following year, I was very excited. Here's a blog post + photo of us:

http://theresamilstein.blogspot.com/2010...

And here's the body of the blog post I wrote about her book:

“Looking closer can make something beautiful.” – Cynthia Lord, Rules.

When I realized that my daughter was sick yesterday,...moreI was so impressed by this book and by her speech at the NE-SCBWI book a few years ago, when I wound up being her handler at her workshop the following year, I was very excited. Here's a blog post + photo of us:

http://theresamilstein.blogspot.com/2010...

And here's the body of the blog post I wrote about her book:

“Looking closer can make something beautiful.” – Cynthia Lord, Rules.

When I realized that my daughter was sick yesterday, my plans disintegrated. Since I didn’t have a Sub job, my husband was going to take our children to the bus stop so I could take a yoga class. I hadn’t taken one in about three weeks and was looking forward to it. No yoga. And that would be the end of errands. Forget about sending out manuscripts to agents and publishers. The day would be about my daughter.

The previous evening, I had begun to read, Rules by Cynthia Lord to my daughter. I had seen Cynthia Lord give a moving and inspirational speech at the NESCBWI Conference in April. Afterwards, she signed and inscribed my copy of the book with the above-quote, which she said is her favorite. But I didn’t read her book until after the conference.

When I did read the book, it struck me about what a distinct voice she has – she writes just as she speaks. The book is one of the best middle-grade ones I’ve read, so it’s no wonder that she won the Newbery Award. It’s about a twelve-year-old girl dealing with an eight-year-old autistic brother, and her struggle to accept him. The book centers on the rules the girl tries to instill in her brother, and that she tries to live by, but eventually figures out that some rules can be broken. I enthusiastically told my children about the conference and the book. Since then, my daughter has wanted me to read it to her, though I thought she was too young. But she asked for it again and I acquiesced.

My seven-year-old daughter inhaled the book (completing two-hundred pages in twenty-four hours), reminding me of when I was young, and the power particular books had over me. I stopped periodically to explain what I thought she might not have understood or to ask questions. Rereading the book has given me more of an appreciation of the story and the writing; each word was chosen with care. So many parts tickled us. I cried over the comparison between the brother’s broken inside and the handicapped friend’s broken outside. One day, I hope to get the opportunity to touch others with something I’ve written. I have decided to reedit my manuscript, Indigo in the Know again, in aspiration to improve it.

I thought I’d spend the day getting nothing accomplished. Little did I know I’d spend it sharing a beautiful piece of literature with my daughter. In doing so, it made me reflect on my own writing.

(Here's the link to the above post content: http://theresamilstein.blogspot.com/2009...)(less)

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