House Rules

House Rules is Jodi Picoult's latest novel and I have been waiting on the hold list forever for this one. She is quite the popular author. In fact, I came up the list and was so excited that I shelved the book I had been reading over vacation to start this one instead.

Set in Vermont, House Rules is the story of Emma Hunt and her two sons, Jacob and Theo. Jacob is a sufferer of Asperger's, a syndrome at the high end of the autism spectrum. He is incredibly smart but also holds the hallmarks of Asperger's in that he cannot connect with others, read emotion, or keep calm when routines are disrupted. Theo is the younger, oft-forgotten brother of Jacob. Emma is raising her teenagers on her own as her ex-husband left her when Jacob was diagnosed with these issues as a child. When Jess Ogilvy, a grad student helping Jacob with his social development, is found dead, an investigation and trial surrounding Jacob turns the Hunt's world upside-down.

House Rules is written in Picoult's traditional style, skipping between narrators. I haven't read any of her work since last year but I find this style refreshing especially after having not read it for awhile. I like Picoult' usual twist, the suspense she creates, and the thought she puts into all her characters. House Rules is probably in my top 5 of her books.