Rules

CHARACTERIZATION & PLOT

In her evaluation criteria Vardell states that a good novel has characters with who the reader can easily identify with.  Emotional growth, she believes, is much more important than even plot development and this is evident in Lord’s novel. 

Catherine starts off as a girl so bogged down with embarrassment that she creates rules to try and “normalize” her Autistic bother.  Over the course of the story she develops in to a young woman who learns to accept others for who they are; part of this growth comes from the realization that although we cannot change how other people perceive us, we can change how we perceive them. 

The plot of the story centers on Catherine’s initial embarrassment and is expertly handled by Lord. Catherine’s rules for her brother may have roots in discomfiture but it is tempered by the genuine love she has for him.  This is something that is true to life and something that young readers can easily relate to.

Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York: Scholastic Press.