Once again Jodi Picoult with her unique manipulation of interior monologue allows the reader to see into the thoughts of each of her characters, making for suspense as well as objectivity.  In House Rules, her 2010 bestseller, the main character, eighteen-year-old Jacob Hunt, is autistic, having been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome on the autism spectrum at age three.  Jacob has an IQ of 255, has a special interest in forensics analysis, and spends his time setting up crime scenes.  With his police scanner, he is kept informed of crimes in his hometown of Townsend, Vermont.  He sometimes shows up at crime scenes, offering unsolicited assistance, which often leads to solving the case.  His mother, Emma Hunt, is a single parent.  She and Jacob’s father were divorced when Jacob’s younger brother, Theo, was just a baby because he could not function in the upheaval that often accompanied his older son’s behavior.

Certain house rules had to be followed to avoid upsetting Jacob.  For example, to keep the peace—everything in balance—Theo had always to defer to his older brother’s wishes.  Throughout the novel, Jacob reminds us of these rules:

1.     Clean up your own messes.

2.     Tell the truth.

3.     Brush your teeth twice a day.

4.     Don’t be late for school.

5.     Take care of your brother; he’s the only one you’ve got.

Jacob’s interest in setting up crime scenes eventually leads to his being accused of the murder of his tutor, Jess Ogilvy, a young college student.  Oliver, Jacob’s young defense attorney, is at first apprehensive of the job of defending Jacob.  This is his first real case, his first real job since his job of farrier while studying for the bar exam.  Through his interior monologue, the reader watches as he gains confidence in himself in his defense of Jacob, who seems to be more competent.  Jacob reads everything, and with his photographic memory remembers everything.

As usual, Jodi Picoult thoroughly researches her subjects, in this case, Asperger’s.  This leads to a heightened and more personal knowledge of this disorder, and with that knowledge comes empathy for the growing number of people with this and other psychological and emotional problems which so affect everyone in the family.  In House Rules, this includes Jacob himself, his younger brother, and his parents, who are now divorced.  His mother must always be available to take care of whatever problems arise with Jacob.  Theo, of necessity often neglected, faces his own problems as a result.

With Jacob everything is taken literally.  There are no shades of gray.  When the only defense his lawyer can come up with is insanity, Jacob protests.  One of the house rules is that you must always tell the truth.  To plead insanity is not the truth:  “It’s not the truth,” Jacob says.  “And you always have to tell the truth.  House rules.”  It is interesting to see how each of these rules plays out in the plot of this novel, building to a crisis, then the climax, and finally, the denouement.  In the midst of it all, just when you think things can’t get any worse, there’s always that comic relief so typical of the author.