by Cynthia Lord
12 year old Catherine just wants her life to be normal. David, her brother, has autism and her family revolves around his disability. Catherine has spent many years making rules for David to remember, hence the title. Examples of these rules are "Don't stand in front of the TV when other people are watching it", "Saying you'll do something means you have to do it- unless you have a very good excuse", and my personal favorite "No toys in the fish tank".
The main plot line is Catherine struggling with herself and her surroundings. She wants people to accept her, even if her brother is autistic. This was a fresh read for me because not many books (at least not many that I have read) are about people with disabilities and how they cope with them. Cynthia Lord writes and tells the readers about autism in a very tasteful and realistic way. This book is very believable and could be a true story for all I know.
I think that the interaction between Catherine and Jason was very beautiful. (not romantically) I loved how Catherine made new cards for Jason and felt comfortable talking to him.
At some parts of the book Catherine could get annoying. I mean I have to remember that she is only 12. Also, her new next door neighbor, Kristi, was not really likable in my point of view. She just didn't seem to acknowledge that Catherine's brother did have a disability and she kept hanging out with Ryan even though she knew that he was very rude to David. She just got on my nerves!
I loved the cover of this book! "No toys in the fish tank" was shown well on the cover.
Overall Rating
8.8/10
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