The story centers around Jacob Hunt, an eighteen year old young man with Asperger's syndrome, who is highly intelligent but lacking in empathy and the ability to read social cues. His obsession with forensic science paired with the police scanner in his bedroom actually helps law enforcement solve the occasional criminal case. However, when a local college student who has ties to the Hunt family goes missing, Jacob's typical Asperger's behavior, such as lack of eye contact and emotion, are interpreted as suspicious behavior. Facing murder charges, Jacob's mother is desperate to make the judicial system see the innocent boy she raised instead of the cold-blooded killer described by the state.
The Questers found House Rules extremely thought provoking. While the plot does hinge on a crime, the book is actually a character study. Jacob, his brother Theo, and his mother Emma are completely consumed by Jacob's Asperger's. It defines the color of their food, their daily schedule of events, and how their entire household functions. Jacob's father abandoned the family soon after Theo's birth and doesn't re-enter their lives until a desperate attempt by Theo to save his family during Jacob's murder trial. Points of discussion included people's personal experience with Autism and Asperger's, as well as how the author showed the isolation that family members face in a world that rejects the misunderstood. Club members recommend the title, but caustion that it is a deeply emotional read.
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