Thoughts on YA Literature: Rules (Cynthia Lord)

Another book that I enjoyed was Cynthia Lord’s Rules. In a sense, I can relate to the character, though in a different light—I grew up doing different things from what would be typical for a normal child. I didn’t have the luxury of playing with that many children, particularly because my parents liked to keep us within the house. There wasn’t that much social interaction, unless I was in school.

The novel was presented as a story about a girl with an autistic younger brother. It is a coming-to-age story with a pinch of self-discovery, a common theme within the realm of YA literature. I particularly enjoyed this novel because of its simplicity with the mind of a young girl in constant battle with trying to fit in and be a normal girl growing up with normal friends and a normal family. At the same time, she knows that such a situation cannot happen because of how her life has been laid out for her. I can relate to the main character (Catherine) because I know the feeling of wanting to be normal. I think that transition for me was difficult, as it is for the main character’s realization that being different isn’t all that bad; in fact, it gives room to enjoy the little things in life.

My favorite character is Jason. I enjoyed Jason’s character development from a troubled boy who was highly dependent on his mother in the beginning of the story to someone who wishes to do things by himself in the end. He became much more independent than he was when readers first encounter him in the beginning of the story, although he is unable to communicate through vocals and uses a wheelchair. I noticed that despite his inabilities, Jason is a very strong character that influences many lives within the novel, particularly the protagonist. It is with Jason that Catherine first encounters someone who was able to voice the question of whether or not she was ashamed of him when he discovered that she was invited to go to the school dance. I believe that this was a turning point for me because I never thought about how many other incidents there were within the novel where somebody asked her what she thought about her situation. Her family in particular just assumed that she would adjust as much as they have for their younger child.

Honestly, I was surprised when the protagonist suddenly became aware of her differences as compared to her friends and accepted it in the end. I knew that there would be an ending where Catherine would have to find some sort of middle ground between her responsibilities. I think Catherine discovered, in addition to her accepting of how her life was different from her friends’ lives, that she was the only link for her younger brother to normalcy, although she may have felt handicapped herself because of the time and effort that she has had to spend with her brother.