From the author's website:
The Book Snobs GatheringHouse Rules is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special 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. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way – but lousy for those who don’t.
The Snobs met at Jennifer's house on Tuesday, May 31. Jennifer served a delicious homemade lasagna accompanied by warm bread and a salad. As usual, a variety of wine was consumed. We finished off the evening with Sock-It-To-Me Cake.
House Rules was an excellent book for discussion. And did we ever discuss. There were several occasions where members had to be reminded to take turns speaking. (I confess, it was me.) We discussed the difficulties that families must deal with when a member has autism. We discussed the crime that was committed and the possible reasons that Jacob did what he did. Since this is a mystery, I'm not going to go into details here, but this novel has a typical Jodi Picoult style ending which leaves you wondering.
In the end, there were still many unanswered questions. Janna, our official secretary, emailed the author the next morning with our questions. We were all extremely impressed to receive a quick response from Jodi Picoult. She took the time to address each of our questions individually. How awesome is that?
