Rules

Rules

I am a 9 year old girl and this book was great!!! It was Interesting, sad, and happy at the same time!

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius" for TeensReadToo.com

You can always tell when you're reading a book that has a basis in truth. With RULES, author Cynthia Lord writes about what it's like to live with autism, and she should know, since she has an autistic child.

That ring of truth is there, in every word, when you read the story of twelve-year old Catherine and her autistic younger brother, David.David hates loud noises. If there's a cloud in the sky, he has to take his red umbrella with him. If his dad says he'll be home at five o'clock, David starts going crazy at five-oh-one. He likes to rewind his movie of Thomas the Tank Engine to his favorite part, over and over and over again. His favorite place to visit is the video store, where he'll even lay on the floor to read the back of the movie box a stranger is holding in his hand. And he knows all the words to Arnold Lobel's FROG AND TOAD.

For Catherine, though, it's a much different story. She hates the way people stare at her brother, or even worse, refuse to look at him at all. She's jealous of the time David gets to spend, one-on-one, with their pharmacist father. She hates David's rules, the strict adherence to which he is obsessed with them, and yet she makes new rules for him every time she thinks of something else he needs to know.

Catherine copes by drawing, and one day she decides to draw the boy in the wheelchair who is in the waiting room with her at Occupational Therapy. David goes there once a week to work with a therapist, and so does the boy who doesn't speak but instead uses a book of word cards to communicate. When Catherine offers to make Jason, the boy in the wheelchair, some new cards with pictures, an unlikely friendship is born. Catherine is also excited about Kristi, her new next-door neighbor, but soon finds out that friendship is a complicated matter.

How do you protect a brother that often annoys you? How can you be friends with the beautiful girl next door and yet be ashamed to admit your friend Jason doesn't talk and is in a wheelchair? How do you make your father understand that you matter, too? How do you tell your mother that even though David needs his own words, Frog and Toad is a special communication between a brother and sister that love each other? RULES isn't just a book about autism, but rather a look into the complexities of a family relationship. An excellent read for anyone who has ever had to deal with someone who is just a little bit different than everyone else.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pretty good book

This was a pretty good book. I read this in 6th grade for a novel and many of the 6th graders thought it was pretty boring because it did not have very much action in it and suspense. I kind of liked the book but it was not an eye catcher. This book is aobut a girl named Cathrine that has a brother named David and he has autism. It is very hard for her when a girl next door moves in and she meets Jason, a boy at Davids therapy place, she has to decide if she wants to be friends with her next door neighbor or Jason. She has a pretty tough life and it was kind of sad in some parts, but over all it was a pretty good book. I would recommend it to kids the age of 10-12.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

MY FAV. BOOK

I could never find another favoriter book then this probably. I wanna know if Catherine and Jason become boyfriend and girlfriend even tho Jason is a little older and has a disability. I also wanna know how big of friends her and Kristi become.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

GREAT READ!

I enjoyed "Rules" very much, it was very hard to put down. This is a book for boys and girls ages 8-13. Catherine, a 12yr old girl is trying to get a normal life. That is very hard with David, her brother who has autism. All the attention in the house goes right to him. Catherine is always giving him rules to follow such as "NO TOYS IN THE FISH TANK!" When Catherine meets Jason, a boy at one of David's classes who cant speak and is in a wheelchair,they get along very well. One day, her neighbor asks if Jason and she would like to go to a dance. Catherine is very embarrased to be with Jason other than in Davids classes. What happens next? Read the book to find out.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I love this book!

I think this is an amazing and insightful novel that made me laugh as well as think. I would highly recommend it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Rules was much loved!

My daughter looked at this book in the store (she is almost 10 years old) and turned her nose up but I put it in the basket because I liked the subject matter and because I wanted to read it myself! We wound up starting it together and then she read it on her own. She is now writing a report for school about it. She also recommended it to her friend and they are discussing the book as her friend reads which is a first. Very exciting to see my daughter so enraptured!

I loved it

I have an autistic cousin and was able to make some interesting connections

Highly Recommended

In this book Catherine handles her older brother, David who had autism. Catherine has always wanted a next door neighbor that she can just walk over to and hang out. When Catherine goes to O.T (Occupational Therapy) with David, she hangs out with Jason who can not speak, but can hear and Cath makes cards for him to use as a way of communication. ENJOY!! :D

Great Book To Read

This book is about a girl named Catherine. Her brother, David, is autistic and she doesn't like that he gets special treatment. Catherine feels her life isn't ever normal with David always ruining everything somehow so Catherine makes rules for him. Over the summer a girl named Kristi moves in next door to Catherine. They become friends but Catherine stops telling Kristi the full truth about a boy named Jason at the clinic her brother goes to. Jason is in a wheelchair and can't talk so he points to word cards to communicate. Catherine works hard making more word cards for Jason and starts to get feelings for him. When Kristi asks Catherine to the dance the community center is holding and tells her she should bring Jason, Catherine comes up with many excuses why she can't go. In the end she ends up going hoping Jason will show up after they had some issues at his birthday party. I thought this book was really good and had a great theme. This is a great book to read and it is pretty short. You should really check it out!

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!

RULES is a great book that, teaches us lessons, lets us see others perspectives, and introduces us to characters just like our selfs! If you're looking for a fun and easy read, you should read RULES!

You must check it out!!!!!!!!! :)

Book Review Outline
Book title and author: Rules by Cynthia Lord
Title of Review: A heartwarming story for people of all ages
Number of stars (1 to 5): 5

Introduction: The book Rules is about a twelve year old girl Katherine who has a brother, David, with autism. All she wants is a normal life which is nearly impossible with a brother with autism. This is a great book for children ages seven to thirteen. The author's purpose for this book is to persuade people to understand that it is ok to have a brother with autism. That you can still have friends and a brother with autism. I think this story is wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone. It is a heartfelt story.

Description and summary of main points: The book Rules is about a twelve year old girl named Katherine who has a brother with autism. All she wants is a normal life. Everywhere she goes she writes rules down for David such as "keep your pants on in public" and "no toys in the fish tank". Over summer break she meets the next door neighbor friend Kristi that she has always wanted and Jason a surprising friend with speech problems. Her own shocking behavior changes everything and she asks herself : what is normal?

Evaluation: The books characters are Catherine, a twelve year old girl, David Katherine's autistic brother, Jason a surprising new sort of friend, and Kristi the next door neighbor friend Katherine has always wanted. The plot of the book is that Katherine wants a normal life which is nearly impossible with a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. David does not know the rules like "to keep your pants on in public" and "no toys in the fish tank."

Conclusion: This story about Katherine and her brother, David, is a heartfelt story. Rules is a great story for children who have brothers with autism or any disabilities.

Your final review: I think this is a great book. I would recommend it to anyone who asked.

I am a 6th Grade Lemon in Glendale, AZ

"Rules" by Cynthia Lord The main character of this book is a girl named Catherine. She is in sixth grade and is eleven. She has an autistic brother, named David. She always feels jealous because he gets most of the "things" in the house. David is a main character too. Because of David's autism he has to go to a clinic every week. Catherine goes along and each time there is a boy named Jason there. Catherine loves to draw so she drew Jason. She started to draw but Jason's mom saw and asked why she was drawing him so she never got to finish. But then they became friends and Jason asked her to make him some word cards because he is mute. Then Catherine started taking about a dance and Jason really wanted to go, so he asked Catherine. But she refuses and says she is a really bad dancer. So Jason takes that in offense and ignores her. But then Catherine decided to go to the dance. Will Jason show up?? The setting in this story is in modern time Maine. I really enjoyed reading this book because it shows the real meaning of friendship. I recommend this to any girl. I connected to this book in a text to self and a text to text. I was visiting a friend and she wanted to play a game but I didn't so she got mad and I decided to play anyway. And in a book there was two boys and one wanted to play baseball and the other wanted to play football so one chose baseball to make the other happy.

Pretty good book.

I read this book in the beginning of 6th grade. It was slightly hard to get into but I read it anyways. It had a good message and Was very intresting.

Best Book Ever!!!

Rules is an interesting book about a 12 year old girl named Catherine and her relationship with her autistic brother, David. Catherine feels as if all of her family life revolves around David. All Catherine has ever wanted is to be normal and have everyone treat David normally. It bothers Catherine when she sees people starring at David, or even worse, completely ignoring him. Everything changes when a girl named Kristi moves in next-door and when Catherine meets a mute boy named Jason with a communication book and a wheelchair. Find out how things change for Catherine over the summer because of her friendships with Kristi and Jason.
Rules has many positives. The first is that every chapter begins with a different rule and then describes a situation to which that rule applies. Second, the book shows that people with special needs are just the same as everyone else. Third, the characters of Catherine, David, and Jason were really likeable and inspirational. The book did have some negatives though. The ending was not that satisfying. It didn't seem like the book had ended and I was craving more to the story. Also, the character of Kristi was not a favorite of mine because Catherine was hoping for a neighbor that might be her best friend, but that's not who Kristi turned out to be. Overall, Rules had many more positives than negatives for me and it was one of the best books I have read in a long time.
I really liked the writing style of the author because it was simple and easy to comprehend. Cynthia Lord used the first person point of view and told the story from Catherine's perspective. This point of view was helpful in understanding Catherine's feelings and thoughts. I also liked the author's writing style because it was clear and the author did not use a lot of big complicated words. The writing style of the author of Rules made it easy to understand and appreciate everything that was going on in the story.
I would definitely recommend this book. One of it's main themes, that people who have special needs are the same as the rest of us, is important, especially for kids our age to recognize. The characters were inspirational, especially Jason who couldn't speak or walk, but was a true friend to Catherine and a strong person who overcame many obstacles.
Some other novels I'd recommend are Touch Blue, also written by Cynthia Lord. Touch Blue is about a young girl that tries to save the little harbor in her town from careless boaters that are polluting it. Another book that I would recommend is Powerless by Matthew Cody, which is about an ordinary boy that moves to a new town, meets some new friends that have superpowers and learns that you don't have to have superpowers to be a true hero.
I enjoyed reading Rules and would recommend it as an interesting read for older elementary kids to young adults. I look forward to reading Cynthia Lord's next book, Touch Blue.

Love iT!!!

Cynthia Lord, is a great author and I felt that I learned a lesson about this book and how people are really unfortunate than I am, and someone who just wants a normal lie. I write about this book because it has great character, intelligent details, and a honest theme. I liked how she gives clues about what is going to happen. I really appreciate the message that Cynthia Lord is trying to communicate with others and that not everything is valuable has to be useful. This is what it is really talking about in this book. In y opinion, this book is a really great book, because it has humorous things and things that are really important in life. RULES, isn't just a book about autism, but it is a complex of a family relationship. This is a excellent book for anyone who has deal with someone, who is just a little bit different than everyone else.

awesome

i read rules for summer reading but i never was really reading it. when i went on vacation during the summer, i was reading it and i said why haven't i been reading I LOVE this book!

Just Great!

I loved this book! It was so wonderful that I couldn't stop.I re-read 4 times! And the funny thing is, my best friend is named Catherine and has a brother with autism.

this is a GREAT book!

I loved this book! Not only is it educational but it is fun to read and interesting! I don't like to read very much but i have read this book over 3 times! its one of the best books EVER!

HannahG

Although this book was enjoyable and a good read, I would not say it is my favorite. The characters are interesting and develop relationships, but the author does not elaborate on these connections between the characters well enough, abruptly ending a story that could of turned into a great book. For example, the main character, Catherine, becomes close to a boy with a disability. She talks to him a lot and discusses her problems with him, but the book ends so soon that we do not get to find out whether the boy overcomes his disability or what becomes of their relationship. I did enjoy the new perspective on autism, thought. Most of the time, the point of view in these types of books is from the parent or the autistic person their self. Hearing the thoughts of a twelve year old on such a serious issue with her own problems mixed in made it a little bit more light-hearted. I can see that Cynthia Lord has a lot of potential in writing, but this was just not a great book. On a scale of one to ten, I would give it a seven.