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Monday, December 27, 2010

Book Review: House Rules by Jodi Picoult

I finished reading this book last Thursday, Dec. 23rd. But I had already posted for the day and I was determined that that be my last post until after the holidays. I have read several books by this author, Jodi Picoult, and I have liked them all for various reasons. This one I found most interesting as the main character is a young man with Asperger's syndrome. I've actually had two young boys in my counseling practice in the past with this diagnosis, well one was diagnosed and the other had the symptoms, but had not yet been diagnosed. I was not anywhere near an expert regarding this disorder and eventually when it became more clear I had to send them on to other counselors for treatment. I found the descriptions quite informative in this novel. However, I did not concur with the author's pointing the finger at vaccinations as a cause of Asperger's syndrome. Everything I have read in scientific medical findings is that that is NOT true.
But as a novel, and a murder mystery the book is good, well written, and kept me on my toes. Even though I was pretty darn sure I had it figured out long before the author let us know for sure, I was happy to know I was RIGHT! ;-)) You'll have to read it yourself to find out what I mean about that!

6 comments:

  1. Have you read "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time", this is a murder mystery written from the perspective of a boy with autism. Very good and gives a clear insight into his world.

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  2. i have read a number of Picoult books and they are often gripping. each on sort of deals with a different "issue." almost all have a courtroom drama aspect.

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  3. I recently finished this book and loved it because it made the Asperger diagnosis a reality for me plus a gripping story.

    I know the medical community disagrees with the vaccinations as a cause but I recently read that there is something in a childs genes that makes them more susceptible which explains why every child is not afflicted.

    Also, I find it interesting that once the blame was placed on the immunizations, the drug companies quietly removed the mercury from the mix.

    My daughter has two friends whose children both developed autism in direct relationship to their immunization. One day they were normally developing children to a child in a different world.

    so I am still suspicious that is may be a cause.

    I loved this book!

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  4. Lynn...thanks so much for this review! I am very familiar with Aspergers Syndrome!!! I agree, I don't think it is a vaccine issue, but it is interesting to hear Teri's comment...seeing is believing!!! No one really knows at this point. I have read "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night", and it is WONDERFUL! A novel I could not put down (short), and read it in a few hours it held my attention so well.
    A really great movie you would appreciate is called Mozart and the Whale, about a young couple who meet and fall in love, both with Aspergers!!! Shows all of their challenges, but they hang in there. We own it.

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  5. The book the fearless threader mentioned is written by Mark Haddon. It is a great book to read because it gives you a glimpse inside the mind of a person with aspergers syndrome.
    I also do not believe immunization is the cause for asperger, I think that this is genetic. I do believe however that stress during early infancy can influence the degree of asperger a child has. Stress can make an already noticeable asperger worse, or can make a light asperger noticeable. Immunization can be a source of infant stress, but what about a birth by suction? I know a lot of people with children who have asperger or other autistic disorders, an disturbing percentage of which have had their child delivered with suction.

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  6. I found the book to be very insightful; Jodi Picolt shows us how having chidren with disablities affects not only the child but the family. At times I found the book to be a little drawn out. The writing style from each persons' perspective is good but can be hard to follow sometimes.

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Thanks for leaving your comments as I love hearing from you. Your words of encouragement are why I continue to draw!