House Rules, by Jodi Picoult

Quick, Jodi Picoult fans: what do you expect in a new book from the author? A New England setting, multiple narrators, a child/teen plagued with a problem, a family struggling to cope with that problem, a legal issue, and a twist at the end of the book. Give the reader a prize--that's exactly what you get in House Rules, but fortunately the book is a step up from Picoult's past few efforts.

The central character of House Rules is Jacob Hunt, an 18-year-old who has Asperger's Syndrome. He struggles with social communication and isolation, falling back on movie quotes when he cannot figure out how to respond in conversation; suffers meltdowns when his carefully constructed schedule is disrupted (he eats and wears only one color each day--Friday, for example, is blue day); and obsesses about forensic science to the point where he sometimes shows up at crime scenes and offers advice to the police. His single mother Emma struggles mightily to meet Jacob's needs and keep the family afloat financially. Often lost in the fray but still expected to protect his brother when necessary is 15-year-old Theo, the younger brother who, as the book opens, is acting out rather seriously--he has progressed from voyeurism to breaking and entering.

The legal issue arises when Jacob's social skills tutor, a grad student named Jess, is reported missing. By the time she is found dead, we know that both Jacob and Theo have been at her house around the time of her death. Jacob is charged with her murder, and it quickly becomes apparent that Asperger's and the courtroom are not a good fit. Adding to the tension is the marginal competence of Jacob's farrier-turned-lawyer Oliver. While Oliver is lovable and quickly becomes part of the family, his legal skills are iffy (he lives in his office above the local pizza parlor--not the first place most of us would look for a lawyer). A Picoultian plot twist at the end of the book finally brings clarity to the question of how Jess died.

Picoult uses the multiple narrator device effectively; each of the characters given a voice emerges as a multi-faceted individual. Her portrayal of how Jacob's mind works is both moving and thought-provoking (though I wish she hadn't brought in the vaccination claims--it doesn't add anything to our understanding and for me undercuts her authority in writing about autism). As with the mothers in other Picoult books, Emma is both admirable and deeply flawed. The one narrative voice that doesn't quite fit is the police captain, who seems to float in and out of the story, rather than being integral as the other characters are. Yet Picoult needs him to tell certain aspects of the story, so I understand why he is included.

Other devices are less effective, including the final predictable plot twist, the insertion of material from the archives of the advice column Emma was writing at the beginning of the story, and inclusion of "case files" describing how forensic science was used to put various murderers in prison.

House Rules is not a great book, but Jodi Picoult has created a great character in Jacob Hunt, and seeing how his mind works makes the book a worthwhile read.

Favorite passage:
Nobody ever asks Superman if X-ray vision is a drag; if it gets old looking into brick buildings and seeing guys beat their wives or lonely women getting wasted or losers surfing porn sites. Nobody ever asks Spider-Man if he gets vertigo. If their superpowers are anything like mine, it's no wonder they're always putting themselves in harm's way. They're probably hoping for a quick death.

Of interest:
If you find Picoult's portrayal of Asperger's syndrome interesting, you might enjoy the HBO film Temple Grandin, which provides a fascinating look into Dr. Grandin's life in her teens and twenties. Grandin is also autistic, and the film uses some interesting devices to give the viewer a glimpse of how her mind works. Grandin has written several books that are now on my "to-read" list.