Review for House Rules

 Did you guess what happened at Jess' house before the end of the book?
Rani says:
 but i don't even know if nat's cousin is doing it anymore
 yes i figured it out
Leslie says:
 I thought they gave it away early on
Rani says:
 yup totally
 it drove me crazy he wouldn't tell!
Andrea says:
 I had a pretty good idea, I knew he didn't hurt her
Leslie says:
 I was sort of mad when they let on that the brother was in the house
Andrea says:
 Me too
Rani says:
 right
Leslie says:
 I thought that they should have saved that twist till the end
Andrea says:
 Brother should have totally stepped up sooner
Leslie says:
 YUP
 Was it believable that Jacob would try to cover for Theo without understanding that he was implicating himself in the murder?
Rani says:
 yup agreed on both parts...he seriuosly was ready to let his bro go to jail
Leslie says:
 I think it is so hard to understand the actions of someone with aspergers
Rani says:
 Ok for the most part and for a typical asperger kid i would think so, but i have to say with as much as he knew about solving crimes i had a hard time buying that he would not have
Andrea says:
 I think he would, it was part of the House Rules and he was very much into following them
Rani says:
 he was totally a savant in that area
Leslie says:
 Right, he seemed especially smart
Rani says:
   right about the house rules
 i forgot about that
 it overuled i guess
Leslie says:
 What do you think happened to the characters after they went to tell the judge about Theo being at the house? Were you upset that there was not more of a conclusion to the story?
 I would like to believe that it was ruled as a mistrial and everyone was set free. But is it really that easy?
Rani says:
 I got the feeling everything ended neatly and happy...whether or not it would have realistically I'm not sure.
Andrea says:
 Very much so!!! I was sortof ticked I read 500+ pages and got totally ripped off in the end
 I wanted more!
 I like happy endings though, and while I think this had one, I wish it would have give me a little more
Leslie says:
 Me too. In some sense I thought she really hit you over the head with Asperger's and could have cut down on some areas and added 20 more pages at the end
Andrea says:
 I agree, I felt like she was repetitive sometimes
Rani says:
 right, i have to agree there...in other aspects realistically a kid with asperger's that has been in therapy that long, i think he wouldn't have been that abnormal in other areas too
Leslie says:
 Do you think an insanity defense if appropriate for someone with Asperger's? Why or why not?
 I would say yes, but it made you feel like he was competent. If I was the mother of the victim I would have a harder time
Andrea says:
 I am not sure on this one, I felt like he totally knew and understood what he was doing, so in this instance I don't think he needed an insanity plea I think he just needed to tell the truth
Rani says:
 I think it depends on the person just like any murder case... in his case and the way the story was going i definitely think it was appropriate
Leslie says:
 right.
Rani says:
 i say appropriate obviously because he seemed incapable of telling what happened
Leslie says:
 I blame the brother for coming forward.
Rani says:
 i totally do
 he knew better
Andrea says:
 True, but I think if they would have put him on the stand and asked him to tell the truth he would have
 Agree it was all the brothers fault
Leslie says:
 It was frustrating that he could not see how simple the solution was. I could not image how it would be to deal with that on a daily basis.
 It's amazing how many different challenges people have to go through in life
Rani says:
 I know it seriously would be utterly difficult
Andrea says:
 I couldn't either, the poor mother
Leslie says:
 Do you know anyone with Asperger's syndrome? Did the descriptions of Jacob fit what you know of that person?
Rani says:
 and i think the 3 year old currently sitting on my back begging to stay up is difficult
Leslie says:
 I really don't know anyone with Asperger's
 Is he really still up?!
Rani says:
 Ok this is the only part of the book that frustrated me
 i've done a lot of research on it
Leslie says:
 And?
Rani says:
 and from what i understand...and we know she got the kid in therapy from the getgo
Andrea says:
 We have a kid in our primary, and he is really smart and super instense about certain things, but I probably don't know him well enough to say
Rani says:
 a kid with asperger's can end up being pretty dang normal with therapy
Leslie says:
 umm
Rani says:
 and often get their diagnosis reversed
Leslie says:
 really?
 I really didn't know much about it before the book.
Rani says:
 i think the story would have been more realistic if he had just plain autism
 cause aspergers is suppose to be the highest functioning form of autism
Andrea says:
 possibly, the spectrum for that is so huge
Leslie says:
 I was curious to see what Nat has to say since she has worked a lot with autistic kids.
Rani says:
 my friend annie's kid has asbergers, and was in therapy since he was 2, and now he is 7 and had his diagnosis reversed just last year
Andrea says:
 That is great you can reverse it, I know I would be doing anything I could
 i can't imagine not wanting to help my kid
Leslie says:
 Did you learn anything new about Asperger's syndrome?
Rani says:
 Well I think it's always interesting, and every case is different for sure...
Leslie says:
 What did you think of Oliver's romance with Jacob's mother?
Rani says:
  i loved the romance actually
 i'm just a romantic, but he seemed nice and adorable
 i loved that he got the food days too
Leslie says:
 I thought it was sort of strange but I also thought they were trying to show that after years of putting her son first she was finally considering herself
Rani says:
 good point
Andrea says:
 At first I thought it was going to be the cop that she hooked up with, but I thought he was cute
 I also liked the food thing
Rani says:
 i thought the cop too at first
Leslie says:
 Was the cop married/
Rani says:
 divorced
Andrea says:
 divorced
Leslie says:
 oh, right
 Overall did you like the book?
Rani says:
 i really did, i thought it was very entertaining
 i also liked that she wrote in her typical style
 i feel it helps you get to know the characters better
Andrea says:
 I did like it, I enjoy her style when she does the chapters for the different characters
 I did wish there was a little more at the end though
Leslie says:
 I thought it was interesting. I really didn't know much about Asperger's. I also liked her style
 I like how she wrote it from the different character's point of view
Rani says:
 did you guys read my sister's keeper too?
Leslie says:
 She spent so much time developing the story and the characters that I thought she could have ended it a bit better.
 yea. It was so hard to read. So sad.
 Have you read any of her other books?
Rani says:
 agreed, the ending left much to be desired
Andrea says:
 That was the first one of hers that I had read, totally hated the end
Rani says:
 i've read the two, and then saw the movie about the amish girl
Leslie says:
 I hated the end but then I watched the move and hated that even more
 What is the one about the amish girl.
Andrea says:
 yeah I heard the movie ends different, I haven't seen it yet
Rani says:
 ya i felt the same... i'm trying to remember the name
 but she gets pregnant
 and aborts her baby
 i can't remember if she aborts it on purpose or not
Leslie says:
 I should read a few more of hers when I have time
 There are so many books I am waiting to read right now.
Rani says:
 i know it gets hard!

House Rules Book Review Questions

Book Review Monday, September 13th at 9:30 EST

If you have not finished the book, hurry up! If you have not started it, go buy it today. It is an easy read.

1. Did you guess what happened at Jess' house before the end of the book?

2. Was it believable that Jacob would try to cover for Theo without understanding that he was implicating himself in the murder?

3. What do you think happened to the characters after they went to tell the judge about Theo being at the house? Were you upset that there was not more of a conclusion to the story?

4. Do you think an insanity defense if appropriate for someone with Asperger's? Why or why not?

5. Do you know anyone with Asperger's syndrome? Did the descriptions of Jacob fit what you know of that person?

6. Did you learn anything new about Asperger's syndrome?

7. What did you think of Oliver's romance with Jacob's mother?