House Rules

OVERVIEW:

When your son can't look you in the eye...does that mean he's guilty?

Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brilliant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject - forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he's always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right.

But when Jacob's small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight. For Jacob's mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication why nothing is normal because of Jacob.

And over this small family, the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

REVIEW:

This is the first time that I read a book about asperger's syndrome. I thought this book will be all about Asperger's like in a medical book even though its a novel. Well good thing I gave this book a try, it wasn't a let down although it was a long read. Jacob Hunt seems like a very intelligent teenage boy, but he doesn't know how to make a conversation and he don't like to have eye contact with people. Small things like the sound of a crumpled paper will set him on the edge of a full blown tantrum. And that's only some of the things about aspergers syndrome. In the book Jacob was accused of crime, the murder of his social skills tutor. There are a lot of things that points to Jacob as the murderer but is he gulity? hmmmm.... The other narrator is Emma Hunt (Jacobs Mom). Her character made me feel really sad, because she's a single mom with a special needs child and she doesn't have a stable and high paying job because she is devoted to taking care of Jacob. The other narrator was Theo (Jacob's younger brother) he is a normal teenager with his issues and he feels left alone in their house because all the attention goes to Jacob. There's also Oliver (The lawyer) and Rich (The detective).

I love this book, I learned a lot about what families with special needs children goes through. How they function and what they feel. Its a page turner because you would want to know what really happened to Jess and who killed her..

RATING:

5.0