Rules by Cynthia Lord

Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York: Scholastic Press.
Catherine, an adorable 12-year old girl, has an autistic younger brother named David. She feels that their family life revolves around David and all of his special needs. Her father works long hours and is not home much to spend time with them. Her mother expects her to babysit for David and include him in activities with her friends. Though Catherine obviously loves David, she honestly tells funny stories of how he frustrates and embarrasses her. She often says that she wishes he was normal. She even refers to him as a rotten apple—looks nice on the outside, but brown and mushy on the inside. Catherine creates and enforces rules for David to follow that will make him fit into a normal world. During summer break, Catherine makes friends with a paraplegic boy named Jason. They met during one of her trips with David to the Occupational Therapist. Being an artist, Catherine creates word cards for Jason to use as a way of communicating. Also, she makes friends with her new neighbor, Kristi. Catherine is sure Kristi’s friendship will be the best thing ever. But, in a strange twist of fate, she realizes that true friendship is not a result of what is considered to be normal. In this book, 12-year old Catherine tells a humorous and touching story of life with an autistic brother. The stories are very real and something that other children living in similar situations can relate to. Her descriptions are very vivid and accurate and make you feel a part of her life. For being such a young girl, she offers much insight into the real-life struggles of children with autism. You make an immediate connection with her and want to be on her side throughout the book. She understands the need for people to follow the rules of society. But, she also realizes that some rules can be broken, such as her rule, “never dance in public”. She draws in the audience, often with her thoughts instead of words, and makes you feel sympathetic towards her at times, but also supportive of the mature decisions she makes. All of the stories she tells, lead up to the ending. It is not until the end that Catherine’s real character is revealed through her friendship with Jason. You are left to make your own decision about how her friendship with Kristi develops. Here is a book trailer about “Rules” I recommend watching, to get a further idea of what the story is about: https://youtu.be/2V3U5eNXIyQ .