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Rules
200 pages
A warm, honest summer story about a girl learning to throw away her rulebook and embrace the messy, beautiful reality of her family.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting on a sunlit porch during a long, transformative summer. It moves at a steady, thoughtful pace, anchored by a deeply relatable narrator who is just trying to figure out how to fit in while managing the chaotic gravity of her family life. The prose is accessible and conversational, punctuated by charmingly specific lists and sketchbook observations that bring the protagonist's inner world to life. The mood is warm and earnest, balancing moments of genuine frustration with profound, quiet empathy. It is a story that wraps you in the messy, complicated love of siblings and the awkwardness of new friendships. Perfect for readers who appreciate gentle, character-driven contemporary fiction that asks big questions about what it really means to be normal.
- Mood
- warm
- summery
- poignant
- grounded
- Tone
- earnest
- empathetic
- wry
- honest
- tender
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- sibling dynamics · redefining normal · accepting differences · invisible caregiving · true friendship
- The writing
- Accessible and conversational, punctuated by the protagonist's quirky, heartfelt lists of rules and sketchbook observations.
- The arc
- Moves from a place of frustration and a desperate desire for conformity to a warm, open-hearted acceptance of life's beautiful complexities.
- Who it's for
- Middle-grade readers who love gentle, realistic stories about family, friendship, and navigating the awkwardness of growing up.
Content notes
- ableism (challenged in text)
- sibling conflict
- feelings of shame or embarrassment
About the book
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules-from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"-in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
Description from Open Library.
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