Jodi Picoult continues to gain recognition as a bestselling
novelist with notoriety brought by both made-for-television
versions of her work and a recent big screen adaptation of her
novel, MY SISTER’S KEEPER. With the release of her latest
book, HOUSE RULES, she may have created her best and most
controversial work to date.

Eighteen-year-old Jacob Hunt is a highly-functioning teenage boy
who suffers from a form of autism known as Asperger’s
Syndrome. He realizes he is in good company as Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, Albert Einstein, Andy Warhol, Jane Austen and Thomas
Jefferson all had Asperger’s. He is far more functional than
the Dustin Hoffman character in Rain Man, but he does
share some similar traits: sticking to a regular schedule and not
veering from it, obsession with colors and organization, and
difficulty in maintaining a relationship.

Jacob’s mother, Emma, writes a syndicated advice column
--- “Ask Auntie Em” --- and his younger brother, Theo,
attends the same high school. Picoult devotes each chapter to one
of the various characters who are featured in HOUSE RULES. Early in
the book, Theo recognizes that he is supposed to make exceptions
for Jacob (it’s one of the unwritten house rules). Similar to
John Irving’s CIDER HOUSE RULES, the Hunt family actually has
their own set of rules all based on respecting Jacob’s
special needs and keeping things as normal as they possibly can.
Jacob and Theo’s father, Henry, ran off when they were very
young, and he has since remarried and raised a new family in
California --- far from the Vermont home Emma has struggled to keep
together.

Jacob has a genius IQ and possesses knowledge of random facts
and a wealth of movie quotations. Another one of his obsessions is
forensic science, brought about by his daily viewing of the
television show “Crime Busters.” He keeps a police
scanner in his room and often invades crime scenes to share his own
hypothesis of the situation. When he shows up at a late-night scene
in which the police are examining a frozen corpse, he is captured
and put in front of the lead detective, Rich Matson. Jacob insists
he is a civilian with a better understanding of forensic science
than the local police.

Emma and Theo continue to struggle daily with Jacob and his
quirks. Theo wonders why being different gets you a free pass in
life. He finds a way to rebel from the lack of attention he gets at
home by following his own obsession --- breaking into local homes
and occasionally walking off with items like iPods and video games.
As a senior in high school, Jacob must interact more than ever
before. As a result, Emma hires a college student named Jess to
become his social skills coach and she actually has some minor
success. People with Asperger’s have trouble with normal
interactions, and their conversations are often one-sided. They are
unable to read social cues or body language and often cannot
identify the feelings of those around them. Therefore, Jess knows
she has her hands full with Jacob.

She takes him out for a night of social interaction at a local
pizzeria. Unfortunately, for Jacob, Jess brings along her
boyfriend, Mark, who Jacob cannot stand. Jacob also suspects that
Mark may be abusing Jess physically, so he is on his guard around
him. An argument erupts as Mark becomes unnecessarily jealous of
the time Jess spends with Jacob, and the two of them leave the
pizzeria in a huff --- abandoning Jacob in the process. It is much
to Jacob’s surprise when news comes out that Jess has gone
missing and Mark is the lead suspect.

In shocking fashion, the police discover Jess’s body
positioned in an odd manner in the snow behind the house she was
staying in. Mark is initially brought in and questioned, but the
focus soon shifts to Jacob --- as Jess’s body was found
wrapped in a quilt from Jacob’s closet. Mark is released, and
Jacob is taken in by Detective Matson and eventually charged with
the murder of his tutor. Emma, not knowing what to do, hires a
local defense attorney named Oliver Bond. Oliver has very little
experience but recognizes the magnitude of the case and sees an
opportunity to make a name for himself.

The remainder of the novel focuses on the trial and all the
challenges presented by putting a teen with Asperger’s in an
unfamiliar and potentially hostile environment. Jacob admits to
setting up the “crime scene” that involved Jess’s
body and is forthcoming about how he did this. However, he is never
asked directly by his attorney or even his mother if he was
actually responsible for her death. Emma is in a state of denial,
and Oliver has his work cut out not only in defending a client
against overwhelming evidence but also preparing the client’s
mother for the prospect that her son may spend the rest of his life
in a prison or home for the criminally insane.

There are some twists and turns as HOUSE RULES tells the story
of this landmark criminal case. Shrewd fans of mystery novels
should be able to figure things out before the stunning climax ---
but this in no way takes away from the reading experience. Novelist
and American icon Stephen King has been quoted as stating:
“You men out there who think Ms. Picoult is a chick thing
need to get with the program. Her books are an everyone
thing…” I couldn’t agree more and hope that HOUSE
RULES brings her an even wider audience.