Other editions of book Rules: Novel-Ties Study Guide

Twelve year olf Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism & a family that revolves around his. 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, & Kristi, the potential next door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down & forces her to ask: What is 'normal'?

A heartfelt and witty debut about feeling different and finding acceptance--beyond the rules.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 stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, 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?

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?

Rules, Cynthia Lord's Newbery and ALA Award-winning debut novel, is a tender look at the frustration, struggle, devotion, and hope experienced by families with autistic children. Catherine, a 12-year-old girl with big responsibilities, loves her autistic younger brother David and makes lists of rules she thinks will help him get by. But she often feels that her parents, focused on special care for David, forget that she exists, too. "... this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance."-School Library Journal