Review: HOUSE RULES by Jodi Picoult ***

Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject -- in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right.
But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's -- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect -- can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family feel the spotlight shining directly on them.
For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?
Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way -- and fails those who don't.

I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books and I like to say she's one of my favourite authors so naturally I was excited to read her latest offering too. I wasn't sure if I was in the mood for it, but after seeing reviews everywhere, I just couldn't resist it. I found the first half of the book absolutely gripping and I just couldn't put it down; I just wanted to read on and on as I really wanted to know what actually happened on that day. But then the obligatory Picoult courtroom scenes came and the book really slowed down. I kept reading as I was expecting some major twist in the end, but little did I know that the only thing this novel had in store for me was The Lamest Twist in the History of Plot Twists, which was quite an unpleasant surprise since Ms Picoult is famous for her shocking plot twists. And here, there wasn't even a twist, just the final explanation which just made me roll my eyes. I just kept thinking, "Is *that* even possible? Wouldn't a medical examiner have spotted that? Why didn't they just *ask* Jacob what actually happened?" So yeah, this book sadly went from a very promising opening to a rather disappointing conclusion.

While I did enjoy reading it, especially the first half or so, I thought the book was far too long and full of fillers. Ms Picoult has a trademark writing style, which is lovely and full of metaphors and I would recognize it immediately, even if I didn't know something was written by her. I can't fault it and Picoult definitely knows how to write, but now I feel that she always uses the same techniques, plus to me it feels like all her characters have a similar narrative voice so I find it difficult to tell them apart without being told who's narrating the story (there are always multiple narrators), which obviously affects the characterization as well. I wasn't particularly annoyed by any of the characters in this book, but sadly I didn't really connect to them either. They were basically just the standard Picoult characters: the child with an issue, the mother who will do anything for that child, the resentful sibling, the distant significant other, the lawyer, the detective, the prosecutor, the judge and yadda yadda, so basically nothing new really.

Picoult tackles a topical issue in each of her novels and this time she picked Asperger's Syndrome, "a highly-functional form of autism". At first I found the subject fascinating and it was interesting to see the world through the eyes of an Aspie, but after hearing the definition of Asperger's Syndrome and all the symptoms for like the twentieth time, I did feel slightly beaten over the head with the subject of autism and I think I could probably recite the definition in my sleep, which is slightly annoying.

As for the covers, I posted both the UK and US ones above. I can't say I'm a fan of either (too much green *shudder*), but in this case the UK one is definitely the winner - well, at least it's relevant to the story (the rainbow quilt plays an importan part), whereas the US one feels completely random. I've no idea what a small child is doing on the cover since Jacob, the main character, is supposed to be 18?

One last thing, and this is slightly off-topic, but I'm afraid I'm not a fan of Ms Picoult's use of sexist language. I've noticed it in several of her works actually and I'm quite surprised that she still uses the male pronoun to specify the indefinite pronoun, which is a pet peeve of mine; e.g. (p. 466 of my ARC):

"So someone with Asperger's might be smart?"
"Someone with Asperger's might even have a genius level IQ. However, when it comes to small talk, he'll be completely inept. He has to be taught social interactions [...]"
&
"A person with Asperger's desperately wants to fit in but simply can't understand social behaviour [...] He won't be able to read gestures or facial expressions [...] He won't be able to intrepret a non-verbal clue [...]"

Sadly, these are not lone examples; they appear all over the place and it really ticks me off so I'd like to take a moment and invite everyone to read this excellent article on Why Sexist Language Matters. Thank you and I hope I'm not the only one who feels so strongly about this issue? :)

All in all, I admit I was slightly disappointed with the latest Picoult offering, which is quite the opposite of how I felt about her previous novel, Handle with Care, which I gobbled up in one day. I'm afraid that despite a very promising and gripping opening I can't rate this one among my personal Picoult favourites (The Pact, Mercy, My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes etc.), but I expect her 2011 novel, Sing You Home, will turn out far better - I can't wait for it!

If you're not familiar with the Picoult phenomenom yet, then I wouldn't really suggest you start with this novel as I personally don't think it shows the best of what Picoult can do. But don't be discouraged by my review - despite all the compaints I had, I enjoyed reading this novel so definitely give it a try if you're a Picoult fan, it might tickle your fancy more than mine, who knows. :) Watch the official trailer below to learn more about the book!

overall rating:
plot: 3/5 | writing: 3/5 | characters: 3/5 | cover: 3/5

In My Mailbox #21

As always, this meme is hosted by The Story Siren.
So, guess who had a great book week! Yep, yours truly indeed - see proof below!


I've been waiting for this re-release of Alexandra Potter's DO YOU COME HERE OFTEN? for months! Love the author, adore the cover, can't wait to read the book!

I loved Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin so I decided to get her other book, MEMOIRS OF A TEENAGE AMNESIAC, which sounds like a great read, albeit rather reminiscent of Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (yay). Cute cover too!

And can I get a massive squuueeeeee for the ARC of HOUSE RULES by Jodi Picoult? :) Click here to see the front cover of the ARC. They're calling it her "most powerful novel yet" and I can't wait to see if it lives up to that hype. Ms Picoult is one of my favourite authors so you can imagine how excited I am about this, hehe. Due to my supersuper busy schedule, I sadly can't see myself reading it this year, but I'll definitely review it when it comes out in April 2010!

I've heard great things about WAKE by Lisa McMann so I decided to get a copy and see for myself if it's really as interesting as it sounds, hehe.

Hope everyone else had a great week too! :)

Review: CHANGE OF HEART by Jodi Picoult ***

"June's first husband was killed in a car crash. Against all the odds, her daughter was uninjured and, in another miracle, June found love again with the policeman who rescued them. Six years on they are a happy family, June pregnant with their own child. But now June's second daughter is dying without the new heart she so urgently needs. And her first daughter, along with her husband, is dead, killed by Shay Bourne, an itinerant workman they welcomed into their home. The crime was so heinous that Shay has been given the death penalty for the first time in 69 years in New Hampshire. Shay is going to die, and he is looking for redemption. He wants to give June's daughter his heart ..."

(summary)

It's no secret that I'm a huge Jodi Picoult fan, but that doesn't mean I think all her novels are masterpieces, and I'm afraid this is one of those rare few that I didn't enjoy as much as I would have hoped to.

I didn't even intend to read this book when it was released because I've read the reviews saying the novel was full of religious symbolism - I'm an atheist myself and religion irritates me more than it fascinates me. I figured this book was not my cup of tea, but I thought the main dilemma was very interesting so I thought I'd give it a try.

I can't say I didn't enjoy the novel as such as it was typically well written. However, what bothered me that there was too much pointless talk about religion (I still don't know what the point of the Gnostic Gospels was because I entirely skipped that bit) and too many random miracles (the last sentence actually made me roll my eyes). Personally, I thought that part was completely unnecessary, but I guess the main moral dilemma wasn't enough to fill the whole book. Furthermore, I thought that the book was slow-paced and that hardly anything was going on, apart from miracles, which didn't excite me at all. I'm afraid I wasn't too keen on any of the characters, which is quite rare for me (OK, except for the yummy *British* doctor). I also found the main twist (what really happened that day) to be underdeveloped - I thought the revelation about the husband was quite shocking, but it just flew out of the window really.

On the plus side, the novel raises some interesting points about death penalty, which is a controversial subject in itself and Picoult provides some fascinating facts about it. Oh and yeah, the readers get to experience it first hand - ooh, that was kinda brutal.

I think I disliked this novel more than I enjoyed it, but I can't hate it because it was written by Picoult and we all know she's fantastic, I'd never read all the other books if they weren't written by her. But I'm afraid this just wasn't my cup of tea and I kept reading only because I wanted to find out how it will all be resolved. Sadly, I can't say I was too impressed.

It's funny how this novel is a complete opposite to my review of Handle with Care, which I posted somewhere back in December 2008. I finished the proof and couldn't stop raving about it! Here's what I wrote:

I really enjoyed this beautifully written yet poignant novel about the O’Keefe family: mum Charlotte, dad Sean, the disabled child Willow and her older sister Amelia. Due to Willow’s disability, their daily lives are anything but normal, but despite all the struggles they all adore Willow. Charlotte wants to provide the best possible life for Willow but knows that won’t be possible without a lot of money, which she is determined to get, even if that means opposing everyone, hurting her family and suing her best friend Piper, the obstetrician who supposedly failed to diagnose Willow’s condition (the brittle bone disease) soon enough for the pregnancy to be terminated … Each character is given a voice to describe their point of view and as the story unfolds, things keep breaking – not just bones, but also hearts, families, friendships and other things. Unfortunately, some breaks can be fatal …
This really is an amazing and a thought provoking novel, which tackles several controversial topics (e.g. disabilities, abortion, adoption etc.) and raises many difficult questions ... As a huge Picoult fan, I had high hopes for this one and it actually exceeded my expectations. This novel is in several ways reminiscent of My Sister’s Keeper, Picoult’s most famous book, but it also has bits of her other novels mixed in, making it a typical Picoult bestseller. Highly recommended to the old Picoult fans as well as to to readers who are just getting to know this incredible author – this really is Picoult at her best!

Just to show I really am a Picoult fan, but Change of Heart just didn't work for me, same as Vanishing Acts, Salem Falls, The Tenth Circle.
On the other hand, I really truly adored My Sister's Keeper, The Pact, Mercy, Nineteen Minutes, Plain Truth, Picture Perfect!
I still want to read Perfect Match, Harvesting the Heart and Second Glance, but I don't think I'll bother with Keeping Faith, heh.