Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday: House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we share books for which we are eagerly awaiting publication.

My choice this week is House Rules, by Jodi Picoult, to be released on March 2 by Atria. I have read all but two of Picoults' books and I've enjoyed them all. Hopefully, this one will be as good as the rest.

Product description from Amazon:

House Rules: A NovelJacob 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.

2 comments:

Nina said...

I never tried any books of this author before, but my friends keep telling me I should. This seems like a great book. Thanks for the great pick.

Lori said...

Not really my type of book, but I know that this author is appreciated by many of my freinds. Here's Mine.