The DIS Book Club Discussion Group: Round 3 - House Rules - CHAT JUNE 8 @ 8 P.M.

[Splat25]

This is my first Jodi Picault Book and I found it to be pretty decent and I wasn't sure what to expect as I read on. I read the book fairly fast which is unusual for me since I only get a chance to read at night when going to bed.

Spoliers
Like many of you all, I was all primed and ready to see something developed with Rich, both romantically and plot wise. He seemed to be the vehicle used to get Jacob into jail, but otherwise seemed discarded. I would like to have seen him work with Jacob more in a positive role.

I felt that Theo was ignored and forced to grow up very fast. Not sure what other options a single mother like Emma had though when dealing with an intensive son like Jacob. I don't feel that she ignored him on purpose - I just don't think she had anything left after working and Jacob to give.

Emma's relationship with Oliver was a little strange as well. It seems the time she would be most freaked out and frantic is the time she develops a love interest? Maybe after the trial was over sure. Not sure how they thought they could keep it a secret when even the very way you touch someone when in love is different. I did think it was cool on the other hand that Oliver seemed to mesh well with the family and helped out.

I think it was a pretty interesting book overall and I'm glad I decided to read it and join the in the book club discussions. I'm still milling over some parts of the story, especially the ending to make it clearer for me.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Hi All,

We are going to hold a book club chat on June 8th at 8 p.m. EST. It will be in the old ABD chatroom. To get there, click the "Chat" button on the top of the screen, enter your log-in information, and then select the ABD chatroom. We have permission from Kevin to use the room. Come prepared to share your thoughts on the novel as a whole!

See you then,

Nikki

 

[DisneySunflower]

A live chat! This is the best Book Club EVER!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Now that we are coming to a close with this book, I am going to ask a question that I've been dying to focus on for awhile now. Do you think that Jodi Picoult, as the author, had a responsibility of accurately portraying autistic children and adults when writing this novel? What are your thoughts on her portrayal? Was it accurate/fair?

 

[DisneySunflower]

Now that we are coming to a close with this book, I am going to ask a question that I've been dying to focus on for awhile now. Do you think that Jodi Picoult, as the author, had a responsibility of accurately portraying autistic children and adults when writing this novel? What are your thoughts on her portrayal? Was it accurate/fair?

I think that it is definitely the responsibility of the author to research and accurately depict the characters in any novel. So, the same is true for Jodi Picoult.

I believe that she did a good job informing the reader and bringing the reader into the life of a child/young adult with Asperger's Syndrome. I do recognize the spectrum of Autism and that because of the spectrum individuals will vary greatly in their thoughts and actions/behaviors.

 

[McLoki]

As the parent of 2 kids on the autism spectrum (one with Aspergers, one with moderate autism) I though she did an excellent job portraying life with an autistic child. I think that her portrayal of Jacob is more indicative of moderate autism than aspergers though. (just my opinion)

Michael

 

[peanut1967]

Hi All,

We are going to hold a book club chat on June 8th at 8 p.m. EST. It will be in the old ABD chatroom. To get there, click the "Chat" button on the top of the screen, enter your log-in information, and then select the ABD chatroom. We have permission from Kevin to use the room. Come prepared to share your thoughts on the novel as a whole!

See you then,

Nikki

Wish you would do it earlier, living in the UK its a tad late for me.

Angie

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Definitely the author has a responsibility and I believe she did a very good job in her portrayal of Jacob. I recall reading that she has a family member and so must have felt not only a moral responsibility as an author but also (I imagine) wanted to present Jacob as the well-rounded person he would be in real life. Good question!

 

[Merry Mousketeer]

I think participating in a live chat on the book is easier for me than the on-line chat since I'm better with the live interaction. However, being in the Pacific Time Zone, I'll still be on my way home from work when the chat begins.

The chat is a great idea. If it works out, maybe future chats can be expanded to include DISers in other time zones?

Thank you, Nikki, for all your time and effort you've dedicated to making the book club a success!

 

[DisneySunflower]

I am devastated! They called a Parent Meeting for my daughter's choir for tonight, at 8:00 pm! I hope it is quick and I can make it for part of the chat. I was so looking forward to it!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Just a reminder....book club chat TONIGHT at 8 p.m. EST!

For those of you who can't make it, I'll try to work on different chat times for future rounds. I hope to see you soon!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us for our first book club chat! Even though we had a small group due to scheduling conflicts, it was a worthwhile discussion!! Feel free to continue sharing your thoughts here and bring up new ones (if you were not in chat, now's the time to share what's on your mind about the text as a whole).

 

[minie_meese]

I enjoyed the conversation too. Thanks Nikki!

We talked about some inconsistencies in Jacob's character that didn't seem reasonable. One thing we didn't talk about that bothered me some was that Jacob didn't seem to realize he was implicating himself as a suspect by covering up what he thought was a murder his brother committed. Any thoughts?

It was also hard for me to believe that after forcing himself to testify, how could anyone not have asked Jacob what happened from the time he entered the house?

Elaine

 

[disneydreamgirl]

I enjoyed the chat as well, hard to get used to especially when my computer connection kept booting me out!

I see what you mean Elaine...the only explanation I can suggest for how Jacob didn't understand that he was implicating himself is that he believed he'd set up the scene so perfectly and it should have been obvious to figure out ( from his perspective). That said, it doesn't seem quite on point...as for the questionning, I would have thought the same and I think others pointed out that Emma should have asked him and it is tough to believe that she could have stopped herself from doing so. This would certainly have changed the plot line.

Can't wait to hear what the next book selection is. DS and I have been reading "The 39 Clues" latest edition and I am reading Teddy Kennedy's biography, about to start "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". I haven't done this much pleasure reading in years. Have the day off on Friday and plan to sit in my zero-gravity chair in the backyard and read the day away.

 

[minie_meese]

I'm looking forward to reading Ted Kennedy's True Compass. I gave my husband The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for Christmas. He wasn't sure he'd like it but loved it and is now reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Next.

I'm glad I'm reading more lately. Thanks all for the inspiration.

 

[hmonkeyruns]

...he believed he'd set up the scene so perfectly and it should have been obvious to figure out

I kept expecting him to get exasperated and just blurt out the truth because the people were too dumb to figure it out. I think it would have driven him crazy that they suspected him and not the abusive boyfriend who he was trying to frame.

about to start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I read this and found it frustrating -- I loved half the story and found the other half painfully dull. I have the Girl Who Played with Fire but I just can't bring myself to start reading yet. The Dragon Tattoo movie is playing at a local theater so I might go see the movie to re-spark my interest in the novels.

 

[RutgersAlum]

Sorry I couldn't make the chat Tues night, but I do want to answer Nikkibell's question about if Picoult portrayed ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder--Asperger's falls under that umbrella) accurately...

As one who is kind of on the front lines (son on spectrum) I say yes, indeed. She threw in so many incredible details--from first obtaining the diagnosis; to the hours upon hours of therapy a week as a preschooler; the search for any improvement via supplements or "the diet" glutein-free, casein-free), or ANYthing you hear about; to the uneven developmental progress--Jacob was an incredible memorizer yet Emma discovered he was not reading as a youngster, he was reciting from memory; to those uncomfortable observations of your kid and typical kids on the playground, whoa...I could go on.

So, Nikkibell, IMHO, despite the inconsistencies that everyone has cited (with which I agree! [ spoiler ] Why Oliver, Emma??? Why couldn't Jacob just freakin' tell the world that he did not kill Jess, or did he, ahhh!? And no verdict?!?!? [ /spoiler ]), as an ASD mom who would usually seek to escape this type of book as it's too close to home (a PP, another parent of ASD child, forget who, sorry!, said that, too)...I am glad my son's speech therapist loaned me this book at the EXACT time the DIS folks were reading & discussing it!

Watching this thread for some good summer read recommendations now that school is ending soon...thanks for the opportunity to read with you!
Michele/RutgersAlum

 

[*NikkiBell*]

The time has come! We are finally finished with House Rules. Please post your ending thoughts here on the novel, its characters, and its plot.

How do you think you might have voted if you were on Jacob’s jury? Why do you think Jodi Picoult omits the verdict from the end of the book? Is it a good ending? Did you ever suspect Jacob or Theo? Did you guess what had happened to Jess before the end of the novel? At what point?

 

[DisneySunflower]

The time has come! We are finally finished with House Rules. Please post your ending thoughts here on the novel, its characters, and its plot.

How do you think you might have voted if you were on Jacob’s jury? Why do you think Jodi Picoult omits the verdict from the end of the book? Is it a good ending? Did you ever suspect Jacob or Theo? Did you guess what had happened to Jess before the end of the novel? At what point?

I would have found Jacob Not Guilty! He did not harm Jess in anyway and only "cleaned up" while framing her boyfriend he disliked. His obsession with Crime scenes was quite obvious.

I am not sure why she omits the verdict, perhaps to keep us guessing?

I thought the ending was mediocre at best. I was hoping for more information, a wrap up, and more of an ending.

I never thought Jacob or Theo "did' it. I did not think that Theo was implicated very well, the whole Ipod thing just seemed forced and random.

I figured out that she had fallen and knocked herself out when I read that she had slipped. I was not expecting her to be found dead by Jacob, that was a twist for me.

Did I mention that I love this Book Club!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I'm coming a little late to the party but hope all of you don't mind if I chime in. I just finished reading House Rules today and found your discussion. I'm the mom of a 14 year old son with Asperger's and read this book with great interest.

I've read a lot of Jodi Piccoult books and realize that she churns out a book each year. I know she does a lot of research, but when I first read Jacob's description, I was concerned enough to consider writing her a letter. I feel that she took every single possible affect of Asperger's Syndrome and stuffed them into this one character. Jacob is a very extreme example of an 18 year old with Asperger's. The major meltdown over the sample lady not being at the store, the clothes in rainbow order, the food colors for each day of the week, the aversion to the color orange and the absolute need to see a certain show every day at the same time suggests Jacob had a lot more going on than Asperger's. A lot of his characteristics seem to stem more from OCD. Many people with autism have other disorders that come into play, but Jacob was only said to have Asperger's. It is certainly possible for a person with Asperger's to have all of these characteristics and behaviors working at the same time, but that would be a pretty extreme case. And by the age of 18 with all of his many therapies, some of these behaviors would have lessened by now. I found it hard to believe that he was attending a mainstream school and riding his bike around town by himself yet his Asperger's was so severe. It just didn't compute for me.

The other red flag for me was the mention of vaccinations causing autism. It's been widely publicized that there is no scientific proof that vaccines cause autism. In fact, the doctor who first made that claim has since taken it back and, consequently, lost his medical license in England. Some parents strongly believe it's true and it will continue to be an ongoing debate. However, I think it is very socially irresponsible for the writer of a mainstream book to perpetuate this kind of information. The jury is still out on the GFCF diet and the supplements that Jacob was taking. Some parents pick and choose which of these they believe helps their childs' behavior. I was a little taken aback that Piccoult chose to have Emma subscribe to each and every one of these methods. Many people feel they've helped, others feel they're just a bunch of bunk. I feel that having these characters subscribe to all of these techniques just perpetuates hysteria.

The ending of the book and, in fact, much of the 2nd half was a real problem for me. People with Asperger's, my son included, simply can't tell a lie or withhold information. Jacob would have blurted out what really happened any number of times, especially when he was on the stand. I understand he thought he was helping his brother, but he would have talked to his brother about it and told him he covered it up right away. I also don't think he would have covered Jess with his own quilt. I could see him wanting to frame the boyfriend for the murder but not himself. It just didn't make sense.

Thanks for reading if you got this far! And thanks for letting me join your discussion. I looked forward to reading this book when I first heard about it, but I was disappointed in the way Asperger's was portrayed. I'm giving the book to my dad, a retired police officer, and I'll be interested in his opinion in the forensic and police procedure parts.