House Rules Discussion

Our June Group Read was House Rules by Jodi Picoult which explored Aspergers and how it can adversely affect those who come in contact with the judicial system. Here are some discussion questions. If you read, play along. If you read it awhile ago, play along. Any and all thoughts are always welcome. ;) Even if you didn't read you may be able to answer some questions!

Questions from Jodi's Site:

1. Jacob’s meltdown give the reader many clues into what Emma’s like is like taking care of Jacob. What does it tell us about Emma and her personality?

2.The rules of the house are listed on page 21. Do they seem appropriate or unusual? Would they be rules that would work in your house? Why should a rule that works in one situation not work in another? (p 75) If a bully taunts him and I tell him it’s all right to reciprocated….why shouldn’t he do the same with a teacher who humiliates him in public? Discuss.

3. Asperger’s Syndrome is a relatively new term. Do you know someone who has been diagnosed with AS? Have you read any other books that deal with autism as a theme, or that depict autistic characters? How does House Rules compare? Does autism make good subject material and, if so, why? What challenges does AS pose in the telling of a story? How well does Jodi Picoult deal with those challenges?

4. Theo breaks into houses and Jacob saves the Christmas cards. Both boys are trying to have the same thing—what they consider to be a real home. What makes their home not a “real” home to them? What do they want?

5. ‘I’m new to practicing criminal law, period, but I don’t tell her that’ (p.231). Is it fair of Oliver to take on Jacob’s case, considering his inexperience? Does he prove himself a good lawyer? How might he have done things differently?

6.Did you ever suspect Jacob? Or Theo? When did you guess what had happened to Jess? Did you enjoy the story’s detective elements?

And here is an extra.. a link to a Jodi Picoult Podcast about House Rules!

Have a fantastic 4th of July weekend!!! This is my favorite part of every summer and also the weekend I met my husband 7 years ago!

Has anyone started reading July's book The Secret Garden?

House Rules Review...

Don't forget to suggest a book for July's Group Read!

House Rules by Jodi Picoult is about Jacob, an 18 year old teenager with Aspergers. Jacob is obsessed with forensic science and likes to set up crime scenes for his mom to solve. This is just one of his many 'quirks' as his mom refers to his Aspie symptoms. He only eats brown food on Thursday, blue food on Friday and the first of the month is all white food. His world is very black and white. He is made fun of at school and is super smart. He meets with a tutor named Jess twice a week to work on social skills. Jess is his best-friend and only friend in the whole world.




His younger brother Theo is also really smart and aggravated with how is life is because of Jacob. Theo starts breaking into houses of people who have 'perfect' families. He steals something small from them and thinks no one is the wiser. One day, he sneaks into a professors house that he thinks is empty. Unfortunately, it is not empty. Jess is staying at this house while the professor is out of town and in the shower when Theo walks in. Jess catches Theo and as he runs out of the house, she slips and falls in the bathroom.





Jacob arrives at the house a little later. He and Jess had argued earlier in the week when he awkwardly had asked her out on a date. When Jacob gets home later that night he is agitated and has a complete meltdown. He sleeps in his closet over night and his mother, Emma, starts attempting to take him to the hospital when he 'snaps out of it.'





That morning, Mark, Jess's boyfriend shows up at the police station and claims Jess is missing. Detective Matson takes the case and assumes Mark is abusive (he is) and that he has something to do with her disappearance. It isn't for another 5 days and two talks with Jacob before they find Jess's body wrapped up with a quilt belonging to Jacob and marks on her neck and arms.





Here is the part in a Jodi novel, when you think ohh I bet this is what happens, but she will have a twist and maybe it won't be. Well, there was no twist. There was excellent character development and the different perspectives that she uses in her stories were a great way to tell this story. To understand how Emma, Theo and Jacob think.





I was however disappointed. I think it was frustrating to read about how unprepared the police were with dealing with Jacob even after being told about him. Like you wouldn't look up information on Aspergers or consult someone before you interviewed them. I was also disappointed in Oliver's character, the lawyer Jacob's mom gets. He was obviously very unprepared and yeah, she could hardly afford anything. BUT this is YOUR CHILD, who on TRIAL FOR MURDER. I would not have trusted him to be the best defense for my child. HELL NO. And why was no one asking Jacob' the correct questions. His mom flat out asked if he killed Jess, he said no. Okay, so then you say, why did you move her? Was Jess bleeding when you got there? Did you hit Jess? Come on people. You say over and over and over again that he will tell the truth, so ask the right questions!





And Emma was so into the Jacob drama she NEVER let Theo try to spit out information. And I was disappointed in Theo that he DID not say anything until waaayyyy late in the game. Ugh. I guess it was just aggravating to me.





There was a lot of information in there about Aspergers and a lot of information about forensic science. If either of those interest you, the book may interest you. The court scenes kind of dragged for me and I skimmed through some of it.





Disappointing.

If anyone else would like to share their thoughts on House Rules via a guest post email me at pinkflipflops44 at gmail dot com!

House Rules Check in...

First I want to lead off with Miss Anthrope's comment from my last check in last week. She just posted it today, but I didn't want anyone to miss it..

Uffda! I finally got this book a couple days ago from the library (Monday, actually)- I was like 130 on the wait list (so, whew! I'm gonna back off my library after seeing that some are in the 1000's!)

I work with individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders- it's so fascinating in the way that they think:

For example:

I had one individual who used to hate taking showers. Whenever her mother tried to bathe her/wash her hair, she would become physically aggressive (hit, kick, spit, pull hair, etc). So when she came to the crisis facility, we showered her: we put up with the physical aggression, we got our hair pulled, punched, kicked, spit on, yelled at- but I'll never forget the day I had her in the shower and she looks at me and says, "Turn it farther!" And when I was clueless, she kept (calmly) repeating it. "Turn it farther?" I asked her, "Make it hotter?" and she'd scream out, "Noooo, farther!"
Finally I just looked at her and said, "show me". If you look at the shower handle, it was the kind where the handle should be turned in a counterclockwise fashion (like an arc) to get hotter and to the right to get colder. She literally meant, "turn it farther".

It was interesting because we always would teach people, "if you say something, they take it literally", but sometimes I think we don't even know what the literal meaning of a word is, or what slang literally means- because we're so used to it we don't think of it like that.

One guy I currently work with loves the tingling and burning sensation of slapping- it feels good to him, so he will walk around the house, pound on walls, windows, tables, doors, people-- yes, people, and he does it either because it feels good or he wants attention. For the longest time (years ago), they didn't think he could talk; he would just echo what he heard from others. Turns out, now many years later, he talks all right! He swears in context! He'll tell you that he does something, "to get a rise out of you!" It's a bit of a word salad, where throughout the day you have to stop and listen to what he's saying to figure it out. But we talk back to him- if he starts talking about something, we talk about it too, even though it might not be talking together, but more of a parallel conversation- that way, he knows we're listening to him (and it gives purpose to language for him). Otherwise, if no one would respond or listen to him, then why talk?

Oh, and the need for consistency and routine- it gets to be difficult. I work with one individual now who was misdiagnosed all his life as OCD, but really, he is on the spectrum. "I want peas, cottage cheese, and hot dish for supper". And if that's not what you were having, then he'd tell you, "I want my way now! Peas, cottage cheese and hotdish, now!" He'll eat food that falls on the table: not because he's hungry, but because it's his. So to get him to stop doing that (eating off the floor), we have him throw it away and we "replace" what he lost.

Surprisingly, Picoult does a really good job of conveying what it is like to support an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorders... the mom in this book, is, lemme tell you, by far the most understanding parent I've run across! (Many parents simply just don't understand or don't know what to do- even providers, group homes!! don't know what to do sometimes.

The mom in the book (I'm on all of page 61 haha) reminds me of another mom that I was blessed with meeting when I was student teaching. She is super mom to me. Her oldest daughter is on the spectrum and she fights for everything for her daughter. She has improved sooo much and she makes sure that her daughter gets what she deserves and is treated fairly. She gets the side-eye from a lot of people and has pissed off school admins but she is doing what she is supposed to do; advocate for her daughter. It's tough for people who have no experience with autism to realize how much work and how much struggle and how much isolation the whole family has to go through!

My thoughts through page 61...

I like Jacob's character but it is almost hard for me to think he can be so reflective on everything and yet unable to control his outbursts.

His brother is going to snap and his mother really needs to remember that she has two children and that Theo can live his how he wants regardless of his brother. Oh and the breaking into 'perfect family houses' is not going to end well and is a perfect example of a cry for help. I also have quite a few guesses as to how this is going to play out and I am already kind of disappointed.

My co-worker just finished it and she said she thought she had it figured out and was like no, it will be a twist and then at the end finished it and said, yep had it figured out. She was not a fan. So now I am worried.

And let's borrow a question from Jodi's website...

‘My mother will tell you Jacob’s not violent, but I am living proof that she’s kidding herself’ (p.11).
As with many of Jodi Picoult’s previous novels House Rules is written from the perspective of several different characters, each taking turns to narrate a chapter. Why do you think Picoult favours this narrative device, considering the nature of her stories? Is it a successful technique?

I enjoy when she tells the story in different perspectives, I think it helps you know more about the characters and develops them into real people to care about and gets me engaged in the story! I think she does it for those reasons.. ha

Have you gotten it? How far in are you? Do you like it? Anything you want to discuss? I will respond in comments!

An Excerpt from House Rules..

I still haven't gotten this from the library, however I am within the 100s!! ;) I was looking on Jodi's website and found an excerpt that I thought I would post here, so for those of you who are like me and still haven't been able to get your hands on our June Blogger Book selection here is a taste of House Rules by Jodi Picoult.

(copy and pasted from here. )

Emma
Everywhere I look, there are signs of a struggle. The mail has been scattered all over the kitchen floor; the stools are overturned. The phone has been knocked off its pedestal, its battery pack hanging loose from an umbilicus of wires. There’s one single faint footprint at the threshold of the living room, pointing toward the dead body of my son, Jacob.

He is sprawled like a starfish in front of the fireplace. Blood covers his temple and his hands. For a moment, I can’t move; can’t breathe.

Suddenly, he sits up. “Mom,” Jacob says, “you’re not even trying.”

This is not real, I remind myself, and I watch him lie back down in the exact same position – on his back, his legs twisted to the left.

“Um, there was a fight,” I say.

Jacob’s mouth barely moves. “And…?”

“You were hit in the head.” I get down on my knees, like he’s told me to do a hundred times, and notice the crystal clock that usually sits on the mantel now peeking out from beneath the couch. I gingerly pick it up and see blood on the corner. With my pinky, I touch the liquid and then taste it. “Oh, Jacob, don’t tell me you used up all my corn syrup again –“

“Mom! Focus!”

I sink down on the couch, cradling the clock in my hands. “Robbers came in and you fought them off.”

Jacob sits up and sighs. The food dye and corn syrup mixture has matted his dark hair; his eyes are shining, even though they won’t meet mine. “Do you honestly believe I’d execute the same crime scene twice?” He unfolds a fist and for the first time I see a tuft of cornsilk hair. Jacob’s father is a towhead – or at least he was when he walked out on us fifteen years ago, leaving me with Jacob and Theo - his brand-new, blond baby brother.

“Theo killed you?”

“Seriously, mom, a kindergartner could have solved this case,” Jacob says, jumping to his feet. Fake blood drips down the side of his face, but he doesn’t notice; when he is intensely focused on crime scene analysis I think a nuclear bomb could detonate beside him and he’d never flinch. He walks toward the footprint at the edge of the carpet and points. Now, at second glance, I notice the waffle tread of the Vans skateboarding sneakers that Theo saved up to buy for months; and the latter half of the company logo – NS – burned into the rubber sole. “There was a confrontation in the kitchen,” Jacob explains. “It ended with the phone being thrown in defense, and me being chased into the living room, where Theo clocked me.”

At that, I have to smile a little. “Where did you hear that term?”

“Crime Busters, Episode 43.”

“Well, just so you know – it means to punch someone. Not hit them with an actual clock.”

Jacob blinks at me, expressionless. He lives in a literal world; it’s one of the hallmarks of his diagnosis. Years ago, when we were moving to Vermont, he asked what it was like. Lots of green, I said, and rolling hills. At that, he’d burst into tears. Won’t they hurt us? he’d said.

“But what’s the motive?” I ask, and on cue, Theo thunders down the stairs.

“Where’s the freak?” he yells.

“Theo, you will not call your brother –“

“How about I stop calling him a freak when he stops stealing things out of my room?”

I have instinctively stepped between him and his brother, although Jacob is a head taller than both of us.

“I didn’t steal anything from your room,” Jacob says.

“Oh, really? What about my sneakers?”

“They were in the mudroom,” Jacob qualifies.

“Retard,” Theo says under his breath, and I see a flash of fire in Jacob’s eyes.

“I am not retarded,” he growls, and he lunges for his brother.

I hold him off with an outstretched arm. “Jacob,” I say, “you shouldn’t take anything that belongs to Theo without asking for his permission. And Theo, I don’t want to hear that word come out of your mouth again, or I’m going to take your sneakers and throw them out with the trash. Do I make myself clear?”

“I’m outta here,” Theo mutters, and he stomps toward the mudroom. A moment later I hear the door slam.

“What we got here,” Jacob mutters, his voice a sudden drawl, “is…failure to communicate.” He crouches down, hugging his knees.

When he cannot find the words for how he feels, he borrows someone else’s. These come from Cool Hand Luke; Jacob remembers the dialogue from every movie he’s ever seen.

I’ve met so many parents of kids who are on the low end of the autism spectrum, kids who are diametrically opposed to Jacob, with his Asperger’s. They tell me I’m lucky to have a son who’s so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the busted 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.

I reach out to comfort him but stop myself - a light touch can set Jacob off. He doesn’t like handshakes or pats on the back or someone ruffling his hair. “Jacob,” I begin, and then I realize that he isn’t sulking at all. He holds up the telephone receiver he’s been hunched over, so that I can see the smudge of black on the side. “You missed a fingerprint too,” Jacob says cheerfully. “No offense, but you would make a lousy crime scene investigator.” He rips off a sheet of paper towel off the roll; dampens it in the sink. “Don’t worry, I’ll clean up all the blood.”

“You never did tell me Theo’s motive to kill you.”

“Oh.” Jacob glances over his shoulder, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “I stole his sneakers.”

What do you think, would it be worse to be verbal and not fit in or silent and not be able to express yourself? Have you started reading or are you still waiting?

June's Group Read is...

House Rules by Jodi Picoult! Thanks for the suggestions and voting!

Description from Goodreads.com

HOUSE RULES is about Jacob Hunt, 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 one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. 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 – but lousy for those who don’t.

Suprisingly, as much as I love Jodi Picoult I have not read her last two books. I think I got a tad burned out on them being basically the same, but I am interested in this book because I have spent a lot of time working with students with Autism and it is very fascinating.

Have you read any other books by the author? Do you know a lot of information on Autism? If not check out Autism Speaks for more info!