Rules

Lord, Cynthia.  2006.  Rules.  New York: Scholastic Press.  ISBN 9780439443821

Summer vacation for Catherine isn’t free and uncomplicated. Her responsibilities as a sister to her autistic brother, David, are paramount, and she tries to teach him what is right and wrong through a list of rules:

“No toys in the fish tank.”
“If the bathroom door is locked, knock (especially if Catherine has a friend over)!”
“Sometimes people laugh when they like you, but sometimes they laugh to hurt you…”

With the arrival of a new neighbor, Kristi, who is just Catherine’s age, she hopes that she will find a friend to escape with over the coming months…if David doesn’t embarrass her and mess it all up.

At twelve years old, Catherine feels the urge to protect her brother from insult and derision, while also feeling embarrassed the abnormality of her home-life compared to her school-life.

When she makes an unexpected friend in Jason, wheelchair-bound and mute, at her brother’s occupational therapy office, she is forced to realize that she is just as capable of doing harm as others, and is forced to think about what friendship really means.

Catherine narrates as we follow her through her summer toward her better understanding of the balance between her actions and the feelings of others.

This is an intriguing look into the lives of the family members of handicapped children. Lord has created a humorous and sometimes painful story which allows the reader to experience vicariously the constancy and complexity of autism within a family.

These characters are both strong and frail in their daily struggles, making them more believable and relatable for it. Rules will serve as a humbling introduction for young adult readers to a better understanding of the similarities between themselves and others who may seem different.

Rules has won the Schneider Family Book Award (2007), Skipping Stones Honor Award (2007) for Multicultural and International Awareness, Mitten Award (2006), and was named as a John Newbery Medal Honor Book (2007).

“A heartwarming first novel.” (Booklist/February 2006)

"…it may encourage readers to consider the benefits and challenges of their own families and friends." (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books/May 2006)

"The emotions in this fast-paced novel ring true." (Horn Book Guide/Fall 2006)