by Cynthia Lord
Rules is an amazing book! It was a window for me to learn more about how people with autism process the world around them as well as the reality of what life is like not only for them, but their family. The main character is in middle school and has an autistic brother. He sees the world very “black and white”. If you say you are suppose to be home at 5 o’clock, then he expects you to be home by 5 o’clock. Catherine really loves her brother and wants to help him in life, but she also wants her own life and tries her hardest to keep her brother’s world and her “normal” world separated. Eventually though, those worlds will collide…it is inevitable. The book made me laugh and tear up all while being a thoroughly enjoyable story!
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public” — in order to head off David’s embarrassing behaviors.But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?