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House Rules: A Novel
by Jodi Picoult

Published: 2010-03-02
Hardcover : 544 pages
79 members reading this now
117 clubs reading this now
77 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 44 of 46 members

The astonishing new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult about a family torn apart by an accusation of murder.

They tell me I'm lucky to have a son who's so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the broken microwave and have it working again an ...

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Introduction

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The astonishing new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult about a family torn apart by an accusation of murder.

They tell me I'm lucky to have a son who's so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the broken microwave and have it working again an hour later. They think there is no greater hell than having a son who is locked in his own world, unaware that there's a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own world, and still wants to make a connection. A son who tries to be like everyone else, but truly doesn't know how.

Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject -- in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's -- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect -- can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way -- and fails those who don't.

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Discussion Questions

Suggested by Members

What do You think would have happened had Theo not went in where Jess was staying?Do you think Jacob would have had a argument about their words at restraunt?
by mariank (see profile) 07/23/13

autism, judicial system, parenting, divorce, siblings
by AshleyAsher (see profile) 03/17/11

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

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Book Club Recommendations

Member Reviews

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by Maria M. (see profile) 04/26/20

 
by Valerie B. (see profile) 12/16/19

 
by Carrie H. (see profile) 12/17/18

 
by Jill H. (see profile) 07/29/18

 
by Mary Ann O. (see profile) 09/11/17

 
by Stacy S. (see profile) 04/08/17

 
  "House Rules"by Pat H. (see profile) 08/05/16

Jodi Picoult is at her best. She never stints on research. In this absorbing story of a single Mom raising one child with Asperger's syndrome and another in the middle of his teens, Picoult vividly describes... (read more)

 
  "House Rules"by Jeraldine W. (see profile) 05/04/16

I would not have chosen to read this book on my own, but I am glad that I did. I learned a lot about Asberger's syndrome and some of the behavioral challenges for the person afflicted with it and for... (read more)

 
  "House Rules"by Pamela S. (see profile) 05/01/16

Good book up to the end. Then you feel the author just got tired of the story and stopped it with the fastest way out.

 
by Lissa W. (see profile) 11/11/14

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