Jodi Picoult’s House Rules was the first book I read by this acclaimed author. It had a small cast of well developed characters and some interesting twists. Not an edge-of-your-seat whodunit, but more of a “come sit and have coffee while I tell you this story,” kind of book.
Written in multiple narrative styles, the story unfolds as the characters’ personas develop. Family dynamics are multi-faceted, but Picoult guides the reader into a greater understanding of challenges faced by a divorced mom of two sons. The youngest boy is a high school student, angry at the world and the older son, high functioning with Asperger’s syndrome, requires the mother’s constant attention to translate humankind into understandable pieces.
Stir the pot with Mom losing her job and one of the boys being arrested for the murder of a high school classmate and you’ve got a pressure cooker ready to blow.
House rules : a novel by Jodi Picoult
– June 5, 2012Posted in: Adult Fiction