Virtually every spring, I can rely on several things: trees will bud, flowers will sprout, days will get longer and warmer, and a new Jodi Picoult novel will be released. I welcome them all.
Picoult's latest is House Rules, the story of single mum Emma Hunt raising two teenage sons. Jacob, the eldest, has Asperger's Syndrome, and an obsession with forensic science and crime scenes, while Theo has to try to survive and thrive in his older brother's shadow and always be second for Emma's attention. Disaster strikes when the death of someone close to the family lands Jacob under arrest for murder.
After over a dozen books, Picoult has developped a somewhat predictable format for her books: a woman, generally single, or with a second husband/boyfriend, has teen or pre-teen child(ren). One child has an often life threatening disease, and his/her siblings end up being marginalised, insecure, and often envious of the ill child. Throw in a father figure who, according to mum, does not and cannot fully understand and commit to the situation, and climax it all with a court scene dealing somehow with the situation. It's a formula that, with snappy dialogue, some sympathetic characters, some you want to punch in the face (figuratively, of course), and medical information on the affliction-in-question for the beginner, manages to continue to satisfy this reader.
And even more satisfying was the conclusion of House Rules. Not to give anything away, but it has a pleasing difference from many of Picoult's other books. Read it to find out.
