#tbt; Rules by Cynthia Lord

Rules by Cynthia Lord. 208 p. Scholastic Inc., February, 2007. 9780439443821. (Own)

#tbt features Rules by Cynthia Lord. Rules was Lord's debut and was published in 2007. In early 2008, it won both a Newbery Honor and a Schneider Family Book Award. Since then, it has been named to six state book awards. Rules is the first-person narration of Catherine, who is twelve and has an autistic brother, David. Catherine loves David but resents the time and energy his parents need to devote to him. She's also embarrassed by his outbursts. She takes comfort in her art and write a set of rules for David to follow if he ever becomes "normal." The novel is loosely based on Lord's own family and inspired when her daughter asked why families like theirs were never portrayed in books and on television.