Realistic Fiction

Rules

Rules

  • Downloads：6361
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-11-07 06:56:49
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cynthia Lord
  • ISBN：0439443830
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

This 2007 Newbery Honor Book is a humorous and heartwarming debut about feeling different and finding acceptance。 Now in After Words paperback！

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life。 Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability。 She's spent years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"---in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors。
But the summer Catherine meets Jason， a surprising， new sort-of friend， and Kristi， the next-door friend she's always wished for， it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal？

Download

Reviews

Kathy McC ，

Great lessons for upper elementary readers。

Olivia ，

4 grade + Loved the representation of ASD but wish it was explained just a little better for a younger audience。 I fear it comes across as “complaining big sister” more than what the author intended for this specific reading level。

Janna Barbour ，

Insulting Perspective， Unhealthy Family DynamicsRaising an autistic child does not have to mean ignoring the other child（ren）。 And yet， in this book both the mom and the dad are working parents who rely on their neurotypical daughter to constantly “babysit” the older brother with autism。 Is this book about autism and siblings， or is it really about dysfunctional family dynamics brought on by unhealthy parental behaviors？The sister does have some healthy character development- but mostly involvin Insulting Perspective， Unhealthy Family DynamicsRaising an autistic child does not have to mean ignoring the other child（ren）。 And yet， in this book both the mom and the dad are working parents who rely on their neurotypical daughter to constantly “babysit” the older brother with autism。 Is this book about autism and siblings， or is it really about dysfunctional family dynamics brought on by unhealthy parental behaviors？The sister does have some healthy character development- but mostly involving another character - a disabled boy who cannot speak。 The older brother with autism is given less humanizing characteristics and less caring interactions than the ‘new’ friend， Jason。 The parents of the main characters clearly are not coping well and the main character Catherine， seems to place the blame on autism， as do her parents - and I don’t recall a single instance of anyone talking about how hard it is for a child with autism to live in the world of neurotypicals。 The sister tries to hold him arms down， holds him down physically， and physically covers his mouth…Why？ So she is not embarrassed in front of others。 And this is not addressed， and needs to be。 Physically restraining someone against their will to avoid， not harm， but embarrassment， is not ok。 The bully in the story never has any consequences either， and instead of talking to an adult， the main character ruminates about the bullying and tries to change her brother’s behavior so he won’t get made fun of anymore。 Not a book I would recommend really。 。。。more

Natalie ，

I first read this book when it first came out when I was around the fifth grade age and it was love at first read-I think it's because I can relate to it very easily。I too live on the coast of Maine and like Catherine， I too have a love for sketching and painting （among other forms of art） and JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" series， however，truly the biggest difference between Catherine and I is out of me and my brother I'm the one with autism （which was recently re-diagnosed as high functioning Asp I first read this book when it first came out when I was around the fifth grade age and it was love at first read-I think it's because I can relate to it very easily。I too live on the coast of Maine and like Catherine， I too have a love for sketching and painting （among other forms of art） and JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" series， however，truly the biggest difference between Catherine and I is out of me and my brother I'm the one with autism （which was recently re-diagnosed as high functioning Aspergers （another form of autism） several years ago）。I recently reread this book and I disagree with previous comments that state that the author painted people with disabilities in a bad light。The edition of this book that I own actually includes a portion with a Q & A with Ms。Lord and within one of her answers to a question she states that she herself has a son with autism and that she drew up ideas for the character of David from her own experiences with her son。Having autism myself （and having had been diagnosed with such since I was a small child），I feel like this book was sort of an eye opener to me about what it must have been like for my older brother while we were growing up together and our parents often had to pay a little more attention to me than him （I required even more attention from our parents because on top of autism I also have a mild cerebral palsy diagnosis）。Fortunately，my brother and I have always been close （he has actually always been pretty protective of me） and even with him currently being in his early thirties and me in my late twenties，him and I are still very close and if this book were to continue I would like to think that Catherine and David would still be very close。Overall，I feel that Ms。Lord did a very beautiful job at writing this novel and developing the characters。I feel that this book has the power to teach acceptance about people with autism and perhaps cause readers to want to learn more about autism diagnoses。P。S。:This book inspired me to find my own colored glass bottles to place on my bedroom windowsill and adopt my own two guinea pigs- their names are Kit-Kat and Luna =） 。。。more

Madi Hamilton ，

The sweetest story about a girl navigating her relationships with her disabled brother and a disabled friend she meets。 Heartwarming but also realistic and raw。

Shira Yaniv ，

Rules is a fictional novel written by Cynthia Lord。 The setting in this story takes place in a Maine Seaside Town during summer vacation and follows a young girl by the name of Catherine。 Catherine is a fairly average twelve year old who enjoys drawing， swimming， and the summer time。 Catherine is determined to spend her summer productively。 She pictures it vividly， explaining， “I had imagined today warm， with seagulls winging across a blue sky，” planning on filling her free time with tons of fun Rules is a fictional novel written by Cynthia Lord。 The setting in this story takes place in a Maine Seaside Town during summer vacation and follows a young girl by the name of Catherine。 Catherine is a fairly average twelve year old who enjoys drawing， swimming， and the summer time。 Catherine is determined to spend her summer productively。 She pictures it vividly， explaining， “I had imagined today warm， with seagulls winging across a blue sky，” planning on filling her free time with tons of fun activities。 However， there are two things stopping her from fulfilling her adventurous summer wishes— the rainy， muddy weather， and her autistic little brother， David。 tOne of the many interesting aspects in this book are the characters。 One of the elements we look into while being narrated by Catherine is a glimpse into her thoughts and feelings， along with different experiences she went through as the older sister to David。 Throughout this story， we learn about the internalized struggles she faces， having to constantly look out and after him while also trying to balance her own social life， and about the guilt， anger， and shame she feels while in this position。 One of the main things we learn about Catherine as the book goes on is that she tends to feel a little ashamed of the disabled people in her life。 Whether it be her little brother， or her new non-verbal friend Jason who uses a wheelchair， she seems to sometimes want to hide them from other characters in the story。tPart of the reason I chose to read this book is for the impressive character development。 For example， in the beginning of the story when Catherine’s friend Kristi says things about David like， “That must be hard，” or “Even regular little brothers are a pain，” Catherine’s first instinct is to blame David， and feels anger and resentment toward him for not being “normal。” But as the story progresses， Catherine begins to turn that blame onto Kristi， recognizing her cruelty and passive aggressive snides and remarks。tAnother aspect of this book that I regularly enjoyed is the styling and format of the chapters， and how they relate to the storyline and the characters。 For each new chapter， the title is introduced as a rule that Catherine made， either for David or for herself。 I really liked how this not only correlated with the plot and allowed us to relate to the title， but also showed how David’s perspective is different from others。 I think that this also showed a lot about Catherine’s character， and made it clear that she cared and looked out for David just as any other big sister would， just in a slightly different way。tLastly， I really enjoyed the way the author portrayed Catherine and Jason’s relationship。 I thought that how she saw him in a similar way to David was very interesting。 Throughout the book， she is somewhat ashamed to tell people about her and Jason’s friendship， but ultimately gets over it in the end， introducing him to Kristi and further establishing their friendship。tAll in all， Rules is a wonderful and intriguing story that balances characters， storylines， and style。 It offers a realistic glimpse at how autistic sibling relationships may work， their struggles and their differences， and how ultimately， in the end， they love each other just as much as any other sibling pair does。 I think that this book is definitely a target for younger audiences， and may not be a number one pick for older people， but is definitely a great choice for a light read。 。。。more

Jennifer ，

The Arnold Lobel parts were my favorite - love me some Frog and Toad。

Sandy ，

I sometimes wish for more closure in youth books， but I'm coming to terms with them being intentional snapshots of a place in time。 With childhood in the rearview mirror and adulthood way down the road， I get to ride along for a little while and be okay with the open-endedness of things。 The last page of the book comes and I say， "I guess this is where I get off now" and then watch the character drive off。 At least I know about the lessons she learned while I sat beside her， and how they will in I sometimes wish for more closure in youth books， but I'm coming to terms with them being intentional snapshots of a place in time。 With childhood in the rearview mirror and adulthood way down the road， I get to ride along for a little while and be okay with the open-endedness of things。 The last page of the book comes and I say， "I guess this is where I get off now" and then watch the character drive off。 At least I know about the lessons she learned while I sat beside her， and how they will inform her next stretch of the road。 。。。more

Stephanie ，

BV Checkout - RO 2023 Book， A didn’t like ending， didn’t get it？

Ashton Pettit ，

I really enjoyed reading this book and how it was from the older sisters point of view。 Another example of how you should never judge a book by its cover。 Although her struggles were not the same as her brothers， she still had different rough patches while growing up。 I would add this to my classroom library and encourage my student to read this。

Cindy Li ，

Honestly it was very boring for me。 Definitely better books on these issues out there。

Maya ;） ，

no rating - would be unfair because of how long it’s been since i actually read this。 only doing this bc i reviewed one of my other elementary school favorites and it made me think of the time i had a chronic nosebleed that saturated about a dozen pages of my borrowed copy of this book。

Dmitry ，

autistic people did not deserve this

Ashley Ossenkop ，

Super enjoyable book， loved the real experiences the characters went through。

Hannah ，

Great book for kids to understand the difference between others， my autistic self loved it。

Jonah G ，

Okay needed to bee longer。

Leo ，

Very sweet and unpatronizing 💜

Katy Lovejoy ，

I think stories about families of people with autistic children are very interesting， even though no one in my family is autistic。

Loretta ，

I read this book out loud with my 11 year old son。 Such a great book。 We had some great discussions throughout as well as some giggles。

Schekinah ，

I probably shouldn't have read the reviews before I read the book because now I feel guilty for liking it so much。 There were definitely some controversial moments in it， yet I like it the same。 Maybe I like it because the font and writing style were easy to read。 Or maybe I like it because it feels so realistic and the characters remind me of my cousins and their family dynamic。 Of course， there were some things that I didn't like that the characters did and said， but that made it feel more rea I probably shouldn't have read the reviews before I read the book because now I feel guilty for liking it so much。 There were definitely some controversial moments in it， yet I like it the same。 Maybe I like it because the font and writing style were easy to read。 Or maybe I like it because it feels so realistic and the characters remind me of my cousins and their family dynamic。 Of course， there were some things that I didn't like that the characters did and said， but that made it feel more realistic as well。 I didn't really like the ending because it felt a little bit fast and I wanted to know what happened with the characters。 Speaking of the characters， here's what I think of each of them:Catherine~ I honestly thought I would dislike Catherine by reading the reviews， but she's not as bad as I expected her to be。 She reminds me a bit of my little cousin， who is the middle child and both of her siblings are autistic。 My cousin loves her siblings but can be very mean-spirited to them， disrespecting the older one by bossing him around， and treating the younger one like she's a burden and the reason things go wrong。 She also can be very hypocritical when reacting to her sibling's behaviors。 Catherine， like my cousin， thought some very horrible things about her brother， David， like calling him broken on the inside or a rotten apple。 It made me really sad to see that she thinks he's something that needs to be fixed。 Even though she seemed guilty after thinking these things， I can't tell if she still thinks that way by the end of the book（plus， you can't really apologize for your thoughts）。 The reason I like Catherine， though， is because she seems like a real person who makes mistakes and tries to change。 I didn't feel that she was dramatic about being embarrassed by her brother's antics， though they weren't that embarrassing in my opinion。 I understand that her brother can annoy her just like any brother does。 I understand she needs attention from her parents and maybe feels lonely。 My cousin could feel all these things as well， and I don't think it's a bad thing to feel this way。 It won't be good in the long run if you ignore your feelings just because someone else has it worse（also when Jason said "want bad words。"😭）。 What I don't understand is why both my cousin（let's just call her Ella） and Catherine feel that their siblings need to change。 They do things like restraining them from stimming（Catherine） and scolding them for no reason（Ella）。 I don't like that at all。 Catherine does a lot of things I would never have done in her situation， such as not asking the neighbors over for dinner because David was heard screaming in the yard， or hiding behind Jason's wheelchair when she saw Kristi（her neighbor） in public。 Maybe it's because I often play and interact with autistic kids and I don't really see a reason for them to change their behavior unless they're causing harm。 But then again， I might never understand what it's like to have an autistic sibling despite how often I'm with my cousins。 The difference between "Ella" and Catherine is that Catherine is more compassionate and understanding of people with disabilities。 Even though she yelled at David when she was in a bad mood， Catherine was a good sister and did her best to make him feel better。 She also goes out of her way to be friends with Jason（kid in the wheelchair） and they have a good relationship（While making a few mistakes）。 She doesn't seem to think of Jason as broken like she does with David， but it appears that she wishes their disabilities would disappear（Jason's wheelchair and David's autism）。 Interestingly， Ella wished she was autistic like her sibling and maybe feels left out。 I think compassion should be given fairly to everyone and that we should be sensitive to others' special needs。 I hope my cousin can think that way in the future and not have a negative relationship with her siblings。Jason~ Jason has to be my favorite character in this book。 I can relate to his moodiness and sarcasm and I love his relationship with his mom and Catherine。 I also can't help feeling sorry for him when he says（taps） that he dreams of running。 The part where Catherine runs with his wheelchair felt so real。 I felt like I was there， that I was Catherine anxiously pushing his wheelchair， hoping he doesn't fall。 The part with the people cheering and giving thumbs up and when he was petting the guinea pig felt so wholesome。 I think it's good when someone's writing gives you feelings like that。 If the book was made in a different year maybe Jason would have a tablet or phone so he could type and have a text-to-speech app。 But I like the way him and Catherine communicate in the book though it is difficult for him to express himself。 I felt bad when （view spoiler）[he said he wished he could die （hide spoiler）]。 Catherine might be the only friend he has that cares about him and doesn't just pity him。 Their relationship is sweet and I wish （view spoiler）[Catherine didn't get embarrassed about him （hide spoiler）]。 I also wonder if he was still a little mad at her towards the end。Kristi~ Kristi。。。。 I don't understand her at all。 I get she's supposed to be this 'mature' girl who's cooler than Catherine， but I can't tell what her motive is。 She starts being friends with Catherine， goes to her house and they talk。 At one point I think she says， That must be hard， even regular little brothers are a pain which I did not like。 Even when she says this she doesn't seem to mind David。。。。 at least outwardly。I feel like Kristi has some sort of internal bias when it comes to disabled people or that she sees them as inferior or something similar。 She seems like one of those people back in school who are not directly mean to you but they make offhand comments or sound condescending。 They make you feel uneasy。 And it's not something you can prove， you just know they think you're weird。 It might just be a personal thing but I got that feeling when （view spoiler）[Kristi kept on defending Ryan with the classic "He didn't mean it 🥺" and "but he's a nice guy😅"。 And she obviously respects Ryan more than Catherine。 Something about her is just off， especially the way she reacts to Jason。 Why is she acting so awkward？？ I also don't understand why it was so important for Catherine to tell her that Jason has a wheelchair and is non-verbal。 Catherine's reason for not telling was bad but Kristi doesn't even know the reason so what's with the attitude？ （hide spoiler）] Personally， I don't think things like that are necessary when talking about someone。 Why would someone say "oh yeah， my friend is Asian， by the way" or "my cousin has blonde hair" if that's unimportant to the story you're telling。 Mentioning things like that isn't bad， but it's not important either。 Like， in the context of the times Catherine talked about Jason to Kristi the wheelchair didn't need to be mentioned。Despite my distaste for Kristi she had a good point in the chapter where her and David danced together in Catherine's room。 I agreed with Catherine at first when she said she didn't want to dance and didn't want Kristi and David to dance because they would break the art supplies （my siblings always used to break my art tools so I would pile them on the bed as soon as she said 'dance'）。 David starts doing this awkward looking dance and Kristi dances with him。 They're（David and Kristi） laughing and having fun until David's foot breaks a ruler， and Catherine shuts off the music。 She gets upset and says she doesn't like when people make David look stupid to which Kristi replies that they were just having fun。 I don't understand why Catherine was mad because they were just dancing and I don't think Kristi was trying to make him "look stupid"， she didn't even react to the way he was dancing or make fun of him。 She needs to let him be🙄。 But other than that I still don't like Kristi and she's really annoying and a fake friend。Ryan~ I hate this ableist rat; he doesn't even deserve a section。 I hate how he's playing nice with Catherine and David just for Kristi's dry 😹。 If I were Catherine I promised you， I would've snitched on this gremlin idc cuz he called David the r-word， and that would've been my last straw。David~ Other reviews have said that David is a stereotypical autistic kid and not good representation， which doesn't really make sense because wouldn't the stereotype be acting robotic with no emotions like that dude from the Big Bang Theory？ He didn't seem that way to me and actually reminded me of my little cousin。（like the fact that you can't leave candy or sweets out unsupervised without them eating it all。） Not every autistic person acts the same though， but some people might have similarities while others are complete opposites。 Ella's little sister reminds me of David but her big brother is very different from him， except for the fact that they both hate being yelled at。 I liked David; he seemed like someone I'd like to babysit。 I don't think I'd have a problem with him unless he started screaming（well， depending on how he's screaming and why。 We have some similarities（reading the age ratings of movies and the way he does puzzles）， so I think we'd get along。 I think some of his rules are very helpful for life and would probably help me socialize better if I read this when I was 8。 He seems like a nice kid and some of the times Catherine got mad at him didn't make sense because he's not trying to embarrass her。 And the part where （view spoiler）[she ran away at the party was embarrassing， not even what David did。 Plus， no one was even looking at him so why did she get mad？？ （hide spoiler）] I wish the book showed more of David's feelings so readers can understand him。（off topic but I love the way Catherine describes David's hands moving。 As someone who always does that I felt happy that his hands were described as flickering and fluttering， which are pretty and delicate words， instead of twitching or "crazy hands"; words that feel shameful。）The Parents~ As someone else said in another review Catherine and David's parents need to be more fair。 David has more needs than Catherine but that doesn't mean you should neglect one child and give all the attention to the other。 That will cause tension and jealousy between siblings and resentment towards the parents in the future。 I can see it happening with my cousins because the non-autistic one feels left out somehow。 One time she even said she wishes she was autistic， too。 It made me feel bad for Catherine when the Mom and Dad kept getting mad at her for asking for things， but when David asks they just give it to him。 Towards the end of the book Catherine told her dad how she felt， that she and David need attention， so maybe he'll think about how the behavior can be hurtful。Summary:Though this book has some problematic elements， it's an easy read and realistic for what I observe in my life with my cousins， so I still like it。["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> 。。。more

Sue Roraback ，

Its a very good book！

Shari ，

Olivia read on her own and rated it 3 stars。

Holly Cerulli ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 tried reading this in elementary school and my intuition must of been right， I didn’t realize it was ableism at the time but I realize now that’s what made me so uncomfortable。 DNF since I was just annoyed with how the main character was speaking in general and acting towards her brother。 My naive young self created my own “rules” for my sibling， inspired by the rules the main character gave her brother （which was just a bunch of things she disliked about him） which caused me to get in trouble l tried reading this in elementary school and my intuition must of been right， I didn’t realize it was ableism at the time but I realize now that’s what made me so uncomfortable。 DNF since I was just annoyed with how the main character was speaking in general and acting towards her brother。 My naive young self created my own “rules” for my sibling， inspired by the rules the main character gave her brother （which was just a bunch of things she disliked about him） which caused me to get in trouble lol。 I’ve always been disgusted in myself that this book inspired me to do that which is why this deserves 1 star， not even 。。。more

Becca Peterson ，

This book is told from Catherine's point of view。 Throughout the books she is teaching her brother （David） about rules that he should follow in life。 David has autism and needs to be taught right from wrong。 She makes him a list of commons things that he should not do。 This list saves her embarrassment and makes her life easier too。 This book is told from Catherine's point of view。 Throughout the books she is teaching her brother （David） about rules that he should follow in life。 David has autism and needs to be taught right from wrong。 She makes him a list of commons things that he should not do。 This list saves her embarrassment and makes her life easier too。 。。。more

Emily Reads ，

YA journey。 Helps talk about being different， ableism

Emma Carpenter ，

Story of a girl with a younger brother with autism and her attempt to control behaviors through rules。 Catherine， the main character， protective over her brother， is overly aware of how people see her and judgement。

Hunter Ryan ，

Great book about autism

Kate ，

A great and necessary read especially for older elementary age kids。

Becca Wierwille ，

Rules is a touching story filled with humor and heart。 Catherine's story dives into the complexity of friendship and relationships and what it means to be a good friend and a good sister and to still have a sense of your own identity。 Really enjoyed this read！ Rules is a touching story filled with humor and heart。 Catherine's story dives into the complexity of friendship and relationships and what it means to be a good friend and a good sister and to still have a sense of your own identity。 Really enjoyed this read！ 。。。more

Penelope Conklin ，

I dnfed it。 Was a bad beginning

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Rules

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Rules&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Rules&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0