Rules by Cynthia Lord
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Book Reviews of Rules
Book Review: Rules
Summary: 4 Stars
Rules by: Cynthia Lord
I am not quite sure what inspired me to read this book. I saw it laying on my book shelf and decided to pick it up. But I do know one thing, once I picked it up I couldn't stop reading it.
The book Rules, by Cynthia Lord, is a story about a girl named Catherine and her brother David who has autism. Catherine is just trying to have a normal life and balance her friends and family. She runs into many problems with her mom because she always wants her to watch David. Catherine is eager to hang out with friends, especially with the new girl next store. David's sister Catherine just wants Kristi to be her friend but she is worried that David will give off the wrong impression. Along the way Catherine meets a boy named Jason and starts having a strong relationship with him.
Even though I found this book enjoyable there where a couple downfalls. I found the book to be a little bit slow as if the author was just trying to drag it out. Another thing I did not like about the book was that it seemed like the author just cut it off. It seemed as if she had trouble writing the end of the book. Nothing exciting happened at the end and there were no changes in what the characters where doing. I found this to be unappealing.
Looking past the negative points I found this book to be suspenseful and I was always wanting to know what was going to happen next. I often found myself thinking what new drama is going to happen? I found it interesting to read about how a child with autism would act and how it impacts the family. I also found it cute how David and Catherine would relate everything they talked about to the story "The toad and the frog". For example when David would do something wrong he would recite a line from the book, or say "I am sorry frog". Another aspect of the book I liked was that it made me think about what I would do if I was in that situation.
I would recommend this book to any girl who has a sibling with autism. I think it would be easy for them to relate to. I would also recommend this book to someone in junior high; I am a freshmen in high school and I found this book a little bit under my reading level. There was no challenging vocabulary words and the book was pretty short.
This book was just about the life in a 12 year old girl so I would not recommend this book to anyone who is looking for comedy, horror, or mystery. I also would not recommend this book to any boys. I think they would find it boring.
Book Review: Rules- By Pete R. Pan
Summary: 4 Stars
Rules
By: Cynthia Lord
Reviewed by: Pete R. Pan
If you like realistic fiction, this book is definitely for you. Rules, by Cynthia Lord is filled with laughs, cries, and happy tears. Also, you would like this book if you have a sibling. Some tags to describe this book are friendship, autism, middle school, siblings, and summer.
Rules is about a girl named Catherine who has a younger brother with autism. She says her brother kind of ruins her life and that she can't get any friends while having him as a brother. Then a new girl comes to move next door from Catherine's house, and Catherine got so excited. She always wanted next door neighbor with a girl her age. Meanwhile, Catherine is going with her brother to a place where her brother has OT and PT (optical and physical therapy) where she meets a boy that can't talk and is around her age named Jason. The book is named "Rules" because Catherine keeps a list of Rules for her brother, David, so even if one morning, he can't wake up normal, he will know some basic tips to kind of be a normal brother.
The theme of this book, or a message the author probably wanted to tell the readers is that you should still try to have fun with your life even with some bumps along the way.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the author added a lot of description and detail in the characters. She made everyone have their own personality. Each one of the characters were super and special.
Book Review: Fabulous YA Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
This was a great young adult book with surprisingly difficult themes. It centers on a young teen, Catherine, whose brother David is autistic. Catherine is uncomfortable with her brother because being with him in public is difficult and sometimes embarrassing and infringes on Catherine's ability to live a "normal" life. Things become even more complicated when Catherine meets a wheel-chair-bound boy, Jason, while attending occupational therapy with her brother. Catherine is a great character and her struggles to deal with her brother's autism, the impact of his illness on her family, and her interactions with other challenged kids (like Jason) were incredibly realistic and interesting and, in some ways, heartbreaking. The way that Catherine's relationship with Jason develops was one of my favorite parts of the book, particularly how they are able to bond and begin understanding each other better through Catherine's art. Because of her interactions with Jason, who is physically challenged but mentally fully cognizant, Catherine gets some insight into how it feels to be on the other side of a difficult situation, which helps give her some perspective on her own brother. I also thought it was terrific that she finally was able to express some of her frustrations over her family situation to her father. Overall, some very adult themes presented in an appropriate way for young adults. Reading this book led to a great discussion with my 10-year-old niece, always a bonus.Book Review: wonderful book, just short of a five-star rating
Summary: 4 Stars
In _Rules_, we see the struggles of our 12 y o protaganist: making friends, coping with her autistic brother, venturing into a friendship with a disabled teen. My favorite character is that teen, who most people regard as mentally disabled just because his body is disabled. It's worth reading the book just for that character, his courage, and his subtle humor.
The character development in other respects is just shy of top-notch. Our heroine is likeable and really grows by the end of the story, but she seem to be over-reacting to several events. I would have liked a little more insight into the autistic brother and a little more refinement of word choice and style. Also, I was a little uncomfortable about the "girl-friend/boy-friend" aspect of the conclusion not because of the boy's disability, but because I don't think (and many, many people will disagree with me here) that 12 year olds should have boyfriends.
Book Review: Rules-- important for social interactions in the middle school years
Summary: 4 Stars
Catherine is 12, and her four year old brother is autistic. Sometimes Catherine thinks that her brother isn't the only one who could use more structure in his life-- her parents could benefit as well. Catherine helps her brother out by making rules for him to follow, such as as "No toys in the fish tank", and to help make things easier on herself as well. She wonders why it seems like there is a rule that says that her brother always comes first. In the waiting room at her brother's speech therapy clinic, Catherine meets a boy about her age who uses an iconic speech system and his pictures totally suck. He doesn't have any decent words like, "Whatever", or swear words, so Catherine takes home a stack of blank picture cards and starts making words for him. Catherine starts to question whether other people's rules matter as much as being true to yourself. Recommended.