Jodi Picoult released her newest novel, House Rules yesterday…

HOUSE RULES is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis. He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel — and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. HOUSE RULES looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way – but lousy for those who don’t.

Jodi Picoult releases another page turner this month with House Rules, which follows an 18 year old student with Asperger’s syndrome, Jacob and his family as Jacob becomes involved with the murder of his tutor, Jess. Picoult continues to write through multiple narrators – one of my favorite elements of her writing – one of which is Jacob’s attorney, Oliver who is introduced after almost 200 pages in. Jacob’s younger brother, Theo and mother, Emma are also main characters in the novel, as well as one of the detectives assigned to the case, Rich.

Now Picoult’s novels are always very much character driven and this routine does not stop here. Though as every character has their faults and conflicts, Picoult’s research on Asperer’s dominates this novel whether through Jacob’s narration or the others. There is no doubt that readers will become educated on Asperer’s syndrome and the impact it has made on not only society but the effects Jacob’s condition has on his family…which reminds me of My Sister’s Keeper in a sense.

Interestingly enough, there may seem to be more research than furthering along what else could have been touched on in the novel and giving more closure to the characters in the end. If you’ve read Picoult novels before and while you will always be anticipating what is to come, you will be surprised to find that this ending is actually quite easy to figure out. If you are expecting an abundant amount of plot twists, this is not that Picoult novel. It is honestly so much more complex than that, so much more compelling and moving, and I applaud Picoult for giving those with Asperer’s a voice through the character Jacob. This is quite an emotional and eye opening piece of literature with a handful of witty moments that everyone will be able to appreciate.

One of my favorite aspects of Picoult’s writing is her abundant amount of detail and fantastic imagery and she does not disappoint in reeling you in from the first page. Now this is not one of my favorite Picoult novels, simply because I personally find it hard to sympathize with and really connect with any of the characters and it is somewhat of a rude awakening in many different aspects that I’d rather not face. Though this brings me to the best part…as in all of her novels, Picoult poses very thought provoking moments that will leave you wondering about what (house) rules of yours are actually beneficial. Fabulous read, it’s got “bestseller” written all over it and for good reason.

Be sure to pick up House Rules by Jodi Picoult which is in book stores now.