Rules by Cynthia Lord copyright 2006
Mom says I have to deal with what is and not to get my hopes up, but how else can hopes go but up?
"Wear your seat belt in the car," David states. "That's the rule."
"You're right." I click the seat belt across me and open my sketchbook to the back pages. That's where I keep all the rules I'm teaching David so if my someday-he'll-wake-up-a-regular-brother wish doesn't ever come true, at least he'll know how the world works, and I won't have to keep explaining things.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award and a Newbery Honor Book, Rules tells the story of twelve-year-old Catherine, who hopes this summer will bring the next-door friend she's always wanted, and some sense of normalcy. But with David, her autistic younger brother around, life feels like one embarrassing moment after another. Her list of rules for David grows as she attempts to prevent disaster, but often ends up finding the rules apply to herself.
Throughout the book and in spite of her own conflicted emotions, Catherine works valiantly at helping David and her new friend Jason, who is in a wheelchair and cannot speak. Always responsible, her frustration grows as her parents expect so much from her, yet she feels they hardly ever see her and her needs because David looms so large. When Catherine finally reaches the breaking point, all of her empathy and compassion expended, she still manages to pick herself up and do the right thing, even though she risks losing what she wanted most.
This achingly perfect book broke my heart and made me weep. Cynthia Lord conveyed the reality of life as experienced by people who, in Catherine's words, do not have the same chances as everyone else, and the people who love them. I have not felt so evangelical about a book in ages. Everyone should read this book! It says so much about relationships, human nature, friendship, families, and perceptions it will speak to every reader, regardless of age, gender, or circumstance. So go get a copy from the library or bookstore! Read it RIGHT AWAY!
If you order a copy from Bookland in Brunswick, Maine, where Cynthia Lord lives, and request it in the comments section, she'll drop by the shop to inscribe a book and sign it for you. And you'll be supporting an independent bookstore! (Yes, I ordered my own copy tonight, after I was done crying.)
"Wear your seat belt in the car," David states. "That's the rule."
"You're right." I click the seat belt across me and open my sketchbook to the back pages. That's where I keep all the rules I'm teaching David so if my someday-he'll-wake-up-a-regular-brother wish doesn't ever come true, at least he'll know how the world works, and I won't have to keep explaining things.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award and a Newbery Honor Book, Rules tells the story of twelve-year-old Catherine, who hopes this summer will bring the next-door friend she's always wanted, and some sense of normalcy. But with David, her autistic younger brother around, life feels like one embarrassing moment after another. Her list of rules for David grows as she attempts to prevent disaster, but often ends up finding the rules apply to herself.
Throughout the book and in spite of her own conflicted emotions, Catherine works valiantly at helping David and her new friend Jason, who is in a wheelchair and cannot speak. Always responsible, her frustration grows as her parents expect so much from her, yet she feels they hardly ever see her and her needs because David looms so large. When Catherine finally reaches the breaking point, all of her empathy and compassion expended, she still manages to pick herself up and do the right thing, even though she risks losing what she wanted most.
This achingly perfect book broke my heart and made me weep. Cynthia Lord conveyed the reality of life as experienced by people who, in Catherine's words, do not have the same chances as everyone else, and the people who love them. I have not felt so evangelical about a book in ages. Everyone should read this book! It says so much about relationships, human nature, friendship, families, and perceptions it will speak to every reader, regardless of age, gender, or circumstance. So go get a copy from the library or bookstore! Read it RIGHT AWAY!
If you order a copy from Bookland in Brunswick, Maine, where Cynthia Lord lives, and request it in the comments section, she'll drop by the shop to inscribe a book and sign it for you. And you'll be supporting an independent bookstore! (Yes, I ordered my own copy tonight, after I was done crying.)
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