"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 stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, 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?"
Awards and Nominations:
- Newbery Medal Nominee (2007)
- Schneider Family Book Award for Middle School Book (2007)
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2008)
- California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Middle School/Junior High (2009)
- Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2009)
This book has been hanging out on my shelf collecting dust for a while now. I've gotten to this point where I have so many books that I will scan my shelves (and boxes) to find my next read, but won't settle on anything and I'll give up for the night. This has pushed me to take the top book off the stack. No digging through boxes. No shifting books around to see which one I want to read. It is simply picking a stack, grabbing a book, and starting it. This definitely isn't normal reading behavior, but who determines what normal is?
Rules is told by Catherine who makes rules for her autistic brother David. She wishes that David were normal like everyone else, which is why she makes rules. There are rules about having conversations or about everyday life tasks like not putting toys in the fish tank. Catherine has a longing for normalcy in her family, but she soon meets Jason who is a paraplegic and is in a wheelchair. She soon finds that while he doesn't look normal he is like her in more ways than she can imagine.
This entire book is really focused on the concept of what is normal. Catherine is frustrated that her brother can't just act normal. He is autistic and relies heavily on consistency and the rules that Catherine makes for him. To an extent, Catherine is embarrassed by her brother and his antics. But her attitude starts to change when she meets Jason who doesn't look normal. Jason is a paraplegic and cannot speak. She is almost mesmerized by him, but as time goes on she realizes that Jason is a lot like her. She never classifies herself as being normal, but having Jason be similar to her really opens her eyes that David is unique and that's okay. She really pulls a full circle in learning to embrace yourself and embracing others. I think that most students in middle school (and maybe even high school) go through an acceptance phase. They have to figure out what is normal, what they are, and where they fit in the grand scheme of things. There's a lot of self-searching during that time and I think this book addresses these topics. I personally know that middle school was a very awkward time. Everyone was hormonal, our bodies were changing, and we started having "real" feelings for classmates. But we had to figure out who we were and who we felt "normal" with. There were a lot of changes through middle school and high school. I think that this book pushes acceptance really hard. I know I would have missed out on some amazing friendships had I stuck with a concept of what is normal. Sometimes the people who don't fit in are the ones who are the best to be around.
I despised how Catherine's parents treated her throughout this book. I totally understand that David is autistic and is classified as being special needs. He obviously needs consistent routines and supervision at all times. But Catherine was desperate for attention and her parents were only worried about David. I felt like this happens so often. Siblings get swept under the rug because one child requires more help and supervision. It was frustrating that even when Catherine called her dad at the end of the book he was still somewhat irritated because he had to take off work to be there for her. This was probably the most realistic part of the entire book, but also the most frustrating. It was also very frustrating how Catherine was constantly stuck with the responsibility of her brother. Her parents were always working and it left Catherine to babysit, which was a very tiring and trying situation. I sympathized with Catherine a lot. I felt like she was purposefully shoved into the shadows the entire time.
This was a good book. There wasn't a lot of plot action that happens in the book, but it has a good and important storyline on finding yourself and embracing that. I give this 4 stars. This is a great book for anyone who has a sibling who is autistic and is struggling with acceptance of their sibling. This is also a great coming of age book to figure out who you and learning to accept others.
