House Rules in Jodi Picoult Books Reading Group.

Apr 29, 2010 Teresa rated it it was amazing

I am a Picoult fan, having read and enjoyed 14 of her 18 books published to date (3 of the 4 remaining are on my shelves, to be read!). I’ll be the first to admit that she has a very distinctive style, some would say formulaic…there is usually a moral/social dilemna which pushes a family to the limits, invariably a court case and usually a twist at the end. I’m not going to get all defensive here but this is MOR reading, neither highbrow nor lowbrow, but I have encountered very few storytellers I am a Picoult fan, having read and enjoyed 14 of her 18 books published to date (3 of the 4 remaining are on my shelves, to be read!). I’ll be the first to admit that she has a very distinctive style, some would say formulaic…there is usually a moral/social dilemna which pushes a family to the limits, invariably a court case and usually a twist at the end. I’m not going to get all defensive here but this is MOR reading, neither highbrow nor lowbrow, but I have encountered very few storytellers who can engage you and make a book as readable as Jodi Picoult can.

So, what’s the big social/moral theme this time ? Here, the focus is on Aspergers via the story of the Hunt family comprised of single Mum, Emma, her son, 18 year old Jacob, who has Aspergers and Theo, his younger brother who doesn’t and is therefore Neuro-typical (NT) – well, if we’re into putting labels on folk, let’s label the so-called “normal” characters too! Perhaps I should declare a slightly vested interest here as I am very familiar with Aspergers/ASD as a member of my family was diagnosed with it a couple of years ago. So, I recognise that my view of the story and the author’s presentation of Aspies may be slightly skewed at times but I think I can still attempt a reasonably objective review…

As usual, Picoult employs multiple POV narrative to show the feelings and opinions of all of the main characters, those already mentioned from the Hunt family plus Rich, a policeman and Oliver, the newbie lawyer who ends up defending Jacob in a murder trial. I have read quite a few novels structured this way and I must say that Jodi is the expert in this field, given that she doesn’t confuse the reader and still manages to give you well rounded, extremely believable characters. Even Jacob’s estranged father, who plays a peripheral role, is fleshed out to give us a credible picture of a man living with undiagnosed ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder).

I’ll refrain from giving away anything about the plot and instead focus on the characters. The author has clearly done her research on Aspergers and forensic procedures meticulously. Anyone who has ever met, worked with or lived with someone on the autistic spectrum will readily recognise certain aspects of Jacob’s behaviour – one can’t generalise as every one is individual but I found myself nodding away at some of Jacob’s traits and even recognising the portrait of the mother who is so used to living life in such a rigid routine to keep Jacob placated (certain colours of foods for certain days of the week..) and the other sibling who seems completely left out of the picture as all attention is focused on Jacob.

I only have a couple of slightly negative criticisms – it does seem a bit odd that such a strong, independent woman as Emma falls so quickly for the charms of the first interested party or that the murder investigation isn’t solved very quickly but I guess there would be little room for drama if everything was packaged so neatly. If you’re a fan of detailed mystery/thrillers don’t go searching for holes/inconsistencies as there are probably lots of them so the realistic depiction of Autistic Spectrum Disorder is slightly marred by some incongruous sections but not to the extent that my own reading enjoyment suffered. I also wondered if the attention to detail re Aspergers including a constant stream of anecdotes to explain Jacob’s quirky behaviour might have bored those who aren’t remotely interested in learning about ASD – just a thought which niggled me…

If you’ve already read and enjoyed Jodi Picoult at her best, My Sister’s Keeper, Plain Truth, Nineteen Minutes, you will love House Rules and like me, want to devour it in one or two sessions. If you’re already familiar with Aspergers, you will be pleased that the author hasn’t sensationalised the condition and has created a realistic picture of a young Aspie – if you don’t know much about Aspergers, then you will come away from this book, having learned a great deal and hopefully realise how foreign the allegedly “normal” world seems to Aspies and perhaps be a bit more flexible in your thinking about how we, as a society, treat those who don’t match our behavioural archetype.
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Jul 20, 2009 Kelly Lamb rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, jodi-picoult

Let me start by saying that I am a BIG Picoult fan. I've read almost all of her books...only have 2 left after this one. I know her writing is formulaic, but it's a formula I generally enjoy, and one of the biggest things I like about it is that despite the consistent format, I am always surprised at the end.

Unfortunately, this was the first JP novel I read where I was most definitely NOT surprised at the end. In fact, I figured out what happened long before I hit the midway point of the book. B ...more

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Jan 13, 2010 Joanie rated it really liked it

Shelves: own

Okay, I'm giving this four stars because it totally sucked me in and I didn't want to put it down but there were a lot of things that annoyed me. I have read 13 of Picoult's 17 books and now I think I've gotten to the point where it's starting to bug me that there are certain features common to most of her books. There is always the long suffering mother who puts absolutely everything else aside (including the needs of every other members of her family) to crusade for her child. There is almost Okay, I'm giving this four stars because it totally sucked me in and I didn't want to put it down but there were a lot of things that annoyed me. I have read 13 of Picoult's 17 books and now I think I've gotten to the point where it's starting to bug me that there are certain features common to most of her books. There is always the long suffering mother who puts absolutely everything else aside (including the needs of every other members of her family) to crusade for her child. There is almost always another sibling who is troubled in some way but is overlooked due to the attention paid to the other child and there always seems to be marital discord either current or past. All of these factors apply to House Rules-big surprise. I think Picoult does a great job choosing topics that are current and of interest to the general population but I think she needs to mix it up a little when it comes to her execution.

Since I work with kids and young adults with disabilities I can often be too nitpicky when I feel like something isn't accurately portrayed in a book or movie. In reading House Rules I tried to put that aside so I wouldn't make myself crazy but there were still things that irritated me. I think Picoult tried to present the most extreme side of the impact Asperger's can have on a family. Yes, families are most definitely impacted by anything that affects one member but I don't think most families would implement color days for foods and expect everyone in the family to live by it. A certain amount of the work done with people with Asperger's is helping them to adapt to regular family life-not expecting everyone else in the family to cater to their whims.

I don't want to ruin anything about the murder case in the book so I'm keeping my feelings about that and the ending to myself but I"ll just say Picoult took the character's communication difficulties (and the lack of communication in all of the other characters) to such an extreme to make her story work it was laughable.

Like I said before, despite all these faults I was still totally engrossed in this story and I know I will read the next book Picoult writes. I just hope she changes things a little bit. It's been a while since I've read it but I remember Second Glance as being different than her regular formula and I really enjoyed that one. Of course it could also be that I read that one before I got so tired of the same old thing so I just don't remember. Oh well, I know I'll still be here next March talking about the latest Picoult-guess I don't mix it up much either.

Maybe Picoult should try writing about a father who gets really involved with his kid, o
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Apr 02, 2010 Kathy McC rated it really liked it

Would have been 5 stars, but I felt cheated by the abrupt ending.
But, as always Picoult delivers a well-researched, well developed, thought provoking novel. Would love to know how she finds her topics, especially since her new book sounds like her most controversial yet.

There are always so many "Ah-Hah" moments in a Picoult book that is difficult to narrow down the choices. I think these were my favorites from this one-

"Sometimes I think the human heart is just a simple shelf. There's only so m ...more

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Apr 25, 2010 Lindsey rated it really liked it

Finished this book this month. Read it in a week, what can I say I'm a Picoult addict. Also not going to lie, I figured it out within the first couple of chapters. Little predictable but I love learning about topics (this one being about Asperger's Syndrome) that she masterfully researches. All in all a great book, typical style of Picoult, beautiful writing. I would recommend it to anyone. ...more

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May 03, 2010 Ann rated it liked it

As usual, Jodi Picoult has written an engrossing tale, an ending that resolves a little too quickly, but nonetheless a good read. She has once again focused on a timely and thought provoking topic.

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Jan 19, 2010 Jamie rated it really liked it

This book was a very fast read. I wanted to keep reading it to find out what happened, so I read it quickly. Unfortunately, I did figure out the ending very early on and agree with some other reviews that said the book didn't feel completely wrapped up when it finished. I liked how she started every chapter with a different crime, that was interesting and reminded me of the book she wrote (can't remember the name) that had the recipes in it.
The information about Asperger's Syndrome was interest ...more

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Mar 19, 2010 Sue Seligman rated it liked it

I finally finished this book, and I am not sure how I felt about it. I learned a lot about Asperger's Syndrome, and the information about forensic analysis was well-researched. I just wasn't overly fond of any of the characters, but I still wanted to find out how the plot would be resolved. I am still not sure what happened to the victim...too many unanswered questions. So, although I am a Jodi Picoult fan, this was not a favorite book for me. ...more

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Jan 21, 2010 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2010

I absolutely loved this book! I had an easy time keeping up with all of the characters and I think it had a great story line. The only downside I found was that it ended rather quickly. I would have liked to have seen it wrap up more and maybe found out more of how their lives went on after the trial.

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Dec 01, 2009 Ashley rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2010, women-s-lit

Great book of course. The characters were great and the story was intriquing. Of course I figured out the mystery part fairly early into the book, but it was still a good read.

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