5.0 out of 5 stars My son enjoyed this book!

D. · October 18, 2025

My son loved this book. His class read it. 5th grade.

5.0 out of 5 stars she realizes how instead of getting annoyed with David’s behaviors

A. · April 17, 2016

Rules, a realistic fiction novel written by Cynthia Lord describes a young teen living with her autistic brother and the struggles she faces while trying to have an adventurous summer with a new friend and having to deal with the stigma attached to her brother. The main character, Catherine, matures throughout the book with how she deals with her brother, David, and how she begins to accept his disabilities. At first, she is very embarrassed by David and his actions in public, but through meeting a special friend, Jason, at occupational therapy (OT), she realizes how instead of getting annoyed with David’s behaviors, she should learn to accept them and view things more positively. From the beginning of the book it is clear how insecure Catherine feels about having a brother with autism. She takes care of him a lot, but is incredibly strict with him by trying to make set rules for everything he does. David does learn these rules, but as the book continues, it seems that the rules are more “helpful” for Catherine’s feelings then for David himself. We first see Catherine’s self consciousness appear when she has a new next door neighbor, a girl her age named Kristi. All Catherine wants is a friend for the summer since her best friend is not home. She hopes she can hide David from Kristi, fearing that he would scare her off and she would not want to be Catherine’s friend. However, when Kristi does meet David, she is not immediately scared off. An ongoing issue throughout the book is how frustrated Catherine gets that she was to babysit and help David more than (she feels) her parents do. Instead of viewing her time with David as special sibling bonding time, she views it as a burden, continuously thinking about what she could be doing if she did not have to be with her brother. The only time we see Catherine genuinely excited about being with David is when she goes with her mom to take David to OT. Catherine made a new friend there, Jason, who is a boy about her age in a wheelchair and is nonverbal. They communicate through Jason’s communications book, where Catherine takes it upon herself to draw and create new words to fill up Jason’s book. She surprises him each week with a set of new words to learn so they have a better way of talking and getting to know each other. Immediately, they form a close connection, each making the other jump out of their comfort zone in some way or another. Instead of viewing and treating Jason the way she treats David, Catherine truly treats him like her friend. When Jason said he wants to run, Catherine has the idea to take him outside in the parking lot, and run while pushing him, so he could get the rush and feeling of freedom. Jason invites Catherine to his birthday party, where she decides to spend all her savings to buy him a used guitar so he could practice making music. At his party, Jason decides to ask Catherine to the community dance that night, and when she hesitates and makes excuses, not only does he call her out but also he asks why she is embarrassed of him. This is the moment when Catherine finally puts into perspective how she treats Jason and David, and how she should. She realizes that just like her, they are normal people who deserve getting treated fairly. After apologizing and asking Jason to the dance, she explains to him that she realized it was never about being embarrassed of him, it was her own insecurity of how people would view her.Lord does a fantastic job with introducing the reader into the mind of two boys with disabilities, but also, the perspectives of family members and friends who are very relevant in these kids’ lives. Rules was Cynthia Lord’s first novel, and has won two awards: the 2007 Newberry Honor Book award and the Schneider Family Book Award. She then went on to write three more young adult books. I feel as if this book if very eye opening but also heart warming to any reader. Even though it is meant for ages 8-12, I still found myself, a 20-year-old college student, laughing, crying, and truly connecting to all the characters in this novel. I think everyone should read this to get incite into families with children that have special needs, but also, to, like Catherine, discover how to treat people with disabilities. Without being too simple or too intense of a story, Lord creates characters and a plotline that every age can enjoy and understand.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not A Bedtime Story

J.B. · March 24, 2007

This book is a study more than a story. Yes there is a story in the study, but the study of a family that has an autistic child and a non autistic child. Autism is incredibly difficult on a family that wants to have a normal social life but perhaps even more difficult on the "normal" child who must spend many devoted hours a day babysitting the sibling that never grows up, but lives by rules. Without "rules" in the autistic child would have so much more difficulty living in the world of "normal people."The real value I see in this book is the study of what the family must go through to raise the autistic child. Through this study we learn to appreciate that family's capacity love - outside of what is normal. The book even goes so far as to ask the reader, what normal is.If you or someone in your family has to deal with children with autism, either in or outside your home, then this is an important book to read. If you feel the need to know more about how a family struggles to stay together and the burden that an autistic child places on the family unit, or if you want to read about the extraordinary tolerance, the frustration and the sometime uncanny wit that might occur because of the autistic child -- than this book is for you.I am giving this book 4 stars because it makes us aware of the sensitivity of the subject matter.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book about siblings, friendship, and disabilities

J.C. · July 18, 2022

Catherine is struggling this summer without her best friend, who has gone to California - on the other side of the country, though I might as well be on the other side of the world. She just wants a normal life with a best friend and a brother who understands social cues and doesn't embarrass her around other people. Things start to look up when she finds out that the family moving in across the street has a daughter her age, Kristi, and she begins to hope they can be friends. But Catherine is also worried about how she might be perceived when the new girl finds out about David, Catherine's 8-year-old brother who has autism.David doesn't understand social cues, and he doesn't learn or understand all those social cues and rules that other people get without thinking. But David does understand rules. So, Catherine makes him rules: Just because someone is late, it doesn't mean they aren't coming; No toys in the fish tank; No opening door or turning on the TV in someone else's house. One day, while with David and her mother at David's OT appointment, Catherine meets Jason. She and Jason develop a friendship through words. Though she considers Jason a friend and Kristi a maybe friend, she keeps them separate.As summer passes, Catherine struggles with her separate worlds and keeping them separate, until Catherine begins to question just what is "normal" anyway?This was such a good book dealing with some very tough issues. Catherine clearly loved her brother, but she also struggled with how others perceived David. Even when she wishes David would just be "normal" it is because of the way others were behaving and not wanting David to have to deal with that. I really felt for Catherine in her interactions with her parents and how she was consistently being pushed aside or told she couldn't have something because David needed them more or David needed such and such. I cheered when she began standing up for herself with her Dad.The interactions between Catherine and David reminded me very much of the interactions between siblings Casey and Sam in the TV show Atypical. Both Casey and Catherine love their respective brothers and would do anything for them - and Heaven help anyone who tried to pick on their brother - but having a brother with autism is hard, and both Catherine and Casey struggle with that in their own lives.I highly recommend this book to anyone over the age of 10. It's a wonderful book with characters that we don't get to see in books often and when we do, it's usually sad. This book, on the other hand, shows that sadness is not the only emotion experienced, and the other emotions are equally important.

Good

K. · March 2, 2021

Brilliant book, helps to understand autism

Beautiful book!

R.G. · May 17, 2007

This is a beautiful book. There aren't any car chases or magic wands, but there IS plenty of plot and tension and characters who come alive and make you laugh and cry. Every single word in this book is perfect. Without any sense of being "messagy," Rules gives a great sense of the value of the human spirit and love and friendship and siblinghood. I read it, and then I turned around and immediately read it all over again.

A wonderful read

N. · May 6, 2015

I read this book as part of a homework assignment. I was pleasantly surprised to find it a wonderful read. It gave some insight into living with an autistic sibling. A must read!

👍🏼

H. · November 13, 2021

Great book for school

Great

A.C. · May 16, 2017

Great book Loved the concept and it was nice and meaningful