Rules by Cynthia Lord

“Rules,” by Cynthia Lord demonstrates how a girl with a brother who has autism manages with day-to-day struggles. In the beginning, her best friend who was very understanding of David moves away. Alone, Catherine faces the summer. When an elderly neighbor across the street moves away, Catherine hopes a new best friend would move in. In some ways she was lucky because Kristi is her age, but she automatically befriends Catherine’s enemy, Ryan. Meanwhile, Catherine has been visiting another new friend, Jason, when she tags along to go to occupational therapy with David. Jason is in a wheelchair and can’t talk, but he has a communication book. Catherine immediately starts helping him by talking to him and making him new words for his book. She finds herself in a much better situation than before, because Jason might just be the best friend she could ever ask for. A text to self connection that I can make is that I have had a couple of situations with friends moving away, but unlike Catherine, at the time I had had other friends, too, so it wasn’t nearly as hard.


Reviewed by Emma, Grade 8