House Rules
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3.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $0.99
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- $0.99
Publisher Description
'Picoult writes with unassuming brilliance.' - Stephen King
'Picoult has become a master - almost a clairvoyant - at targeting hot issues and writing highly readable page-turners about them . It is impossible not to be held spellbound by the way she forces us to think, hard, about right and wrong.' - Washington Post
Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself to others, and like many children with Asperger's, Jacob has an obsessive focus on one subject - in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do - and he's usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. Reluctance to make eye contact, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate gestures, all these can look a lot like guilt. Suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder.
House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, and at the extremes of love and loyalty a family must call upon to help each other overcome impossible circumstances.
Jodi Picoult is the author of 16 bestselling and widely - acclaimed novels. Read more about her on her website www.jodipicoult.com.au
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Each week, we select an entertaining Book of the Week for just 99c. An absorbing courtroom drama with many emotional layers, House Rules centres on a teen with Asperger’s syndrome. Jacob Hunt is a self-styled criminologist who’s strongly inspired by a procedural TV show, but that passion for forensics puts him squarely under suspicion when his tutor is murdered in their close-knit town. As the plot unfolds through multiple characters’ perspectives, Jodi Picoult brings real sensitivity and understanding to Jacob’s unique viewpoint. To other characters in the book, the teen’s response to questioning only points to his guilt, and even his immediate family struggles with what the truth might be. A true-to-life tale of how thinking differently can provoke blame in others, this is another multi-faceted novel from Picoult.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Having clear house rules has proven to be the most effective way for single mother Emma Hunt to raise her two sons: brilliant 18-year-old Jacob, who has Asperger s syndrome, and 15-year-old Theo. Jacob s obsession with criminal forensics has brought him to the notice of local law enforcement, and when a murder is committed, Jacob becomes a suspect. Gripping suspense, sensitive treatment of Asperger s, and brilliant characterizations make for an outstanding listen. Playing Jacob and Theo respectively, Mark Turetsky and Andy Paris sound youthful but never childish or mannered. Rich Orlow as the police detective, and Christopher Evan Welch playing the defense attorney are mature and assured. And Nicole Poole as the mother delivers a star performance; her Emma comes alive, and while never imitating the other narrators, her representations of the other characters in dialogue are so true the reader could forget it wasn t the designated cast member in the role. An Atria hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 21).
