2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss House Rules by Jodi Picoult.

Pages: 532 pages

Length: 1 month (July)

Participants: SarahKat, TerryJane, Sunny

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Hi, buddies! Looking forward to reading this with y'all, but probably won't read it until mid-month or so. I'll be listening to the audiobook, compliments of my middle daughter's library. 😊

I'm putting down to start it on the 19th. 😊

I'll be starting late too. Going to try to finish Fire and Blood first.

I have started this very slowly. I've only finished the very first chapter (only Emma's POV) but I have a comment. I'll put it under spoilers even though is it really a spoiler if nothing has actually happened yet?

(view spoiler)[I notice that they are using the diagnosis of Asperger's as opposed to "on the autism spectrum" which interests me. Asperger's was taken out of the DSM-V in 2013 and this book was published in 2010, so it will be interesting to see the difference between how this was understood 13 years ago vs. today. I foresee myself doing a lot of research on autism during this book. Psychology is my jam. (hide spoiler)]

Just so y'all know, I am reading this one now.

TerryJane wrote: "Just so y'all know, I am reading this one now."

Yay! I'm still only a little way in but I should be able to pick up the pace this weekend.

I'll try and read it over the weekend. I've gotten sidetracked with this that and the other.

Through chapter 4 (35%):

(view spoiler)[My current theory is that Jess fell and hit her head on the tub or sink or something when Theo startled her. Jacob found evidence that Theo was there and set up a different crime scene to protect his brother. The bruises and stuff may have been from Mark previous to the death day.

I'm mad at detective Matson. I know his job is to catch the murderer but he knows Jacob doesn't react to things the way a "normal" person would. I don't like that he's assigning blame so quickly. I really feel bad for Jacob being so overwhelmed and thrown by his questioning. Even someone without autism would be caught off-guard. (hide spoiler)]

I've finished. Anything I say would be spoiler-y for y'all, so I'll just wait until you're done.

Through Chapter 7 (63%): (view spoiler)[I am really enjoying this book. I like seeing things through the different character perspectives. I can't decide how I feel about Emma. She has it rough, being a single mom of 2 teenage boys would be hard enough, then to stack AS on one of those kids and all of the financially and emotionally draining things that come along with that? That's heavy.

I do feel horrible for Theo though. He's not getting half of what he should from his mother. For his sake I wish Emma had a routine for Theo too. Like, every Monday they go out just the two of them. Or even, when Crime Busters is on. Just spend a half hour with him. I know she has to work, I know she's exhausted. I know I know I know. I just feel bad for Theo.

Also, I don't like that both Oliver and Rich seem to be a bit smitten with Emma. Men falling over the same woman annoys me. In real life and in books.

I am still sticking with my theory of what happened. And also, the cops are a little dumb. When they are sitting there running through what they think happened, and they don't realize that in order for Jacob to dress Jess, she would have been UNdressed in the first place, and not raped? Why wouldn't they jump to the shower earlier than just now? Maybe I am biased because I have the hindsight. (hide spoiler)]

Do you know that it's easier to read it a book when you remember to take it home with you?! I have it in my hand this very minute and will get started on it later today.

Enjoy Sunny!

I finished this morning! Here's my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

(spoilers are tagged)

(view spoiler)[I'm with you, SarahKat, on Jacob's behavior change. How many times did he miss 4:30 Crimestoppers while he was in lockup, and fail to melt down? What about food colors? Scratchy tags on the jailhouse uniform?

I was pleased that the court made some accommodations, but it was SO extremely frustrating that no one thought to ask him the right questions straight up. Emma certainly could have advised Oliver what to say and how to say it, but maybe she suspected he was the killer and was afraid to hear the answers.

You really nailed the mystery, SarahKat. I failed, thinking it was the abusive boyfriend, and being pissed off that they let him out and locked up Jacob. I even entertained the possibility of a struggle when Theo got busted in his sneaky actions. I kept thinking about the wine bottle and tea and other kitchen stuff he handled. Did Jacob clean off every item that he'd touched?

I really didn't like how conveniently and quickly it wrapped up. I would have liked more about Theo, Jacob and their dad (was his name Henry?). Is he going to be more involved in the future? Is he on the spectrum, too? Also, maybe a little something about Emma and Oliver. I guess I would've just preferred a cool down instead of a cold turkey ending.

We had a friend in the homeschool community who was diagnosed AS pre-2013. Unlike some on the spectrum, he loved hugs. He went to anime conventions not in cosplay, but rather carrying a sign that read "FREE HUGS!" Haven't seen him since he and my older two graduated high school, but I wonder how he dealt with the diagnosis change, e.g., no longer being an Aspie (his word, not mine). I also knew three Girl Scouts on the spectrum who didn't necessarily seek hugs from strangers, but often asked me for hugs in a troop or camp atmosphere. All that to say, some generalizations about people with autism were not what I personally experienced. (hide spoiler)]

Thanks for suggesting this book, SarahKat. I don't know that I would have discovered it on my own. I have 10 of her books on my TBR, but she's been sort of hit or miss for me. The 10 I already read ranged from 2 to 5 stars. House Rules was was a strong 4 for me.

I finished yesterday. and WOW was my reaction. I 2nd the thanks SarahKat for suggesting this one. I don't have any of the author's books on my TBR, but have read this one and one other because of a challenge. I really enjoyed the experience. I was tempted to give it 5 stars just for Jacob alone, but went with I really liked it because I did.

(view spoiler)[ I figured out what Jacob was doing, too. And I really got aggravated at his mom for NOT getting on board with what was going on. She talked about being the one who understands Jacob and how she gets him, but then she didn't take time to actually ask him what happened with Jess. She knew if she got pacific enough that he would answer her honestly because he has to. And even if she didn't understand his answers completely, she could have thought things through and asked more questions to figure out what was on his mind. She's been dealing with him for 18 years; and his life was at stake for gosh sakes. I missed some of the characteristics that he had that y'all pointed out were over-looked/changed somehow in the way he reacted to some things.

And I didn't like Emma, either. And having the 2 men who come in contact with her fall for her was so yawnsville! The cop falling for the lead female is so over-done. In the end, I really didn't much care what happened to any of adults. I was more concerned/interested in Jacob and Theo. Their points of view were the best! And I loved them.

I couldn't believe she didn't set aside some time to spend with Theo on his own without Jacob. A date night or something. I mean Jesse could have stayed with Jacob and she could have taken Theo out and communicated with him. Honestly, Jacob and Theo had more communication skills than any of the adults around them. No one took the time to LISTEN.

I felt like the ending was sort of abrupt, too. You would think there could have been one more section with 50 or so more pages to settle things.

The only serious problem I have regarding reading this book: I have had I shot the Sheriff, But didn't shoot no deputy; playing in my head the last several days! Honestly, that's one that plays through my brain every now and again even without Jacob's help!

Do you think it's better that it's Asperger's became part of the autism spectrum? Or does it really make all that much difference? (hide spoiler)]

Glad you both enjoyed it! I do really like Picoult most of the time but like I said, this was definitely one of her best.

Sunny as to your question on whether Asperger's joining the autism spectrum is better, I don't know enough about treatment and stuff, but I would assume, yes. Having 2 separate diagnoses probably invites different methods of treatment. I would hope having the spectrum would help treatment be more geared toward each individual and their symptoms rather than if they have AS or autism.

The one person I know who had Asperger's pre-2013 was my first husband's cousin. He was very loud and very obnoxious at times. I never saw him have a meltdown or anything like that. It was just obvious he didn't pick up on cues from others on when to stop talking or tone it down. You had to say "Justin you are being too loud." and he'd stop for a bit before he got excited about something again. If I remember correctly, he also really liked hugs and had no personal bubble. It is interesting how the same thing can show up in so many different ways depending on the person.

@TerryJane you commented: (view spoiler)[ [I'm with you, SarahKat, on Jacob's behavior change. How many times did he miss 4:30 Crimestoppers while he was in lockup, and fail to melt down? What about food colors? Scratchy tags on the jailhouse uniform?

Something came to me the other morning at 5AM when I was awake and thinking over stuff, hoping I might go back to sleep ... While he was in lockup he was attacked as soon as they put him in the cell with the others, right? Afterwards, they kept him drugged up so much I don't think he was in his usual alert mind. Also, he stayed curled up on the floor quite a bit, and from what I gathered in one scene he didn't eat much of anything they brought him. I think he was too drugged to respond much to anything. Also, he was pulled so much into his own mind to escape as much as he could; I think he was afraid he wouldn't be able to get himself back. That one scene when he was talking in numbers really got to me; and Oliver bless him started talking numbers, too. I think he accepted the clothes the moment he put them on ... I think he understood from watching TV that he had no choice about them ... he was so relieved they weren't orange! He probably would have screamed then. I never thought about jail uniforms having tags. He didn't comment on this when he put the thing on did he? He should have at least notice this. (hide spoiler)]

Sunny wrote: "@TerryJane you commented: [I'm with you, SarahKat, on Jacob's behavior change. How many times did he miss 4:30 Crimestoppers while he was in lockup, and fail to melt down? What about food colors? ..."

You're right, Sunny. I forgot about the drugs, and don't recall mention of the tags in jail. Sizes might have been printed directly on the garments.