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A review by samantha_89
Rules by Cynthia Lord
5.0
So, first things first; my brother has autism. Catherine is such a real and true character it was like reading my life. That's only a very small hyperbole.
Rules is the story of Catherine's journey to accepting her brother for who he is. Jason, a boy in a wheelchair who has to be given words, helps her along the way. I really loved the importance of words between Jason and David, Catherine's autistic brother. Jason has to have his words written down for him since he can't speak. Catherine is a twelve-year-old full of the eye-rolling and sarcastic "whatever"s. David speaks in echolalia, although that word is never used in the book, mostly through the words of Arnold Lobel, the guy who wrote Frog and Toad. I loved the ending resolution of the book, Catherine realizing that the connection she and her brother have and her brother's need to communicate more effectively being of equal importance and two things that should both be achieved.
Catherine's interactions were so true to life, it was lovely to see. The image of Catherine tugging on her brother’s sleeve but afraid she is going to rip it is so clear in my head because I’ve done that so many times. I thought I was crazy when my brother Spencer was throwing a fit in the store and I made a plan to tackle him, but finally someone else (fictional or not) got it.
By page eight, I was crying. “Someone I could yell at and he’d yell back, and we’d keep going and going until we’d both yelled ourselves out.” I do my best to think of my brother as a regular brother (albeit, one I have to do laundry for, make dinner for, watch out for, etc.) because my brother and I argue. All siblings do that; my littlest brother and I fight all the time. When I was fourteen I went away for a week, as a form of revenge (or boredom, I don’t know) he went in my room and ripped up all the posters on my walls. For a fourteen-year-old that’s a very traumatic and violating thing to happen. When I yelled at him his only response was “What’s for dinner?”. I’ve never been able to put in to words what makes Spencer different but Catherine did it so well. Sometimes, “autistic” just doesn’t cut it. He might not have a lot of words, but I don’t have them all either.
What I loved most about Rules was that the parents were real. As a sibling of an autistic person you have this huge amount of responsibility put on you. Responsibility that your parents aren't really aware of all the time. Catherine says something along the lines of knowing she can better take care of her brother than her parents, I definitely agreed with this. My parents are more likely to lose their patience with my brother or forget to keep an eye on him.
Rules is a great book, especially for siblings of autistic children. It's important to be able to see yourself in someone in literature and Catherine is definitely that person for me. If you're curious about autism Rules is also a great book for that, it gives you a very in depth look at what family life is life.
Rules is the story of Catherine's journey to accepting her brother for who he is. Jason, a boy in a wheelchair who has to be given words, helps her along the way. I really loved the importance of words between Jason and David, Catherine's autistic brother. Jason has to have his words written down for him since he can't speak. Catherine is a twelve-year-old full of the eye-rolling and sarcastic "whatever"s. David speaks in echolalia, although that word is never used in the book, mostly through the words of Arnold Lobel, the guy who wrote Frog and Toad. I loved the ending resolution of the book, Catherine realizing that the connection she and her brother have and her brother's need to communicate more effectively being of equal importance and two things that should both be achieved.
Catherine's interactions were so true to life, it was lovely to see. The image of Catherine tugging on her brother’s sleeve but afraid she is going to rip it is so clear in my head because I’ve done that so many times. I thought I was crazy when my brother Spencer was throwing a fit in the store and I made a plan to tackle him, but finally someone else (fictional or not) got it.
By page eight, I was crying. “Someone I could yell at and he’d yell back, and we’d keep going and going until we’d both yelled ourselves out.” I do my best to think of my brother as a regular brother (albeit, one I have to do laundry for, make dinner for, watch out for, etc.) because my brother and I argue. All siblings do that; my littlest brother and I fight all the time. When I was fourteen I went away for a week, as a form of revenge (or boredom, I don’t know) he went in my room and ripped up all the posters on my walls. For a fourteen-year-old that’s a very traumatic and violating thing to happen. When I yelled at him his only response was “What’s for dinner?”. I’ve never been able to put in to words what makes Spencer different but Catherine did it so well. Sometimes, “autistic” just doesn’t cut it. He might not have a lot of words, but I don’t have them all either.
What I loved most about Rules was that the parents were real. As a sibling of an autistic person you have this huge amount of responsibility put on you. Responsibility that your parents aren't really aware of all the time. Catherine says something along the lines of knowing she can better take care of her brother than her parents, I definitely agreed with this. My parents are more likely to lose their patience with my brother or forget to keep an eye on him.
Rules is a great book, especially for siblings of autistic children. It's important to be able to see yourself in someone in literature and Catherine is definitely that person for me. If you're curious about autism Rules is also a great book for that, it gives you a very in depth look at what family life is life.