RULES by Cynthia Lord

Twelve year old Catherine yearns for a normal life and a normal brother, this is nearly impossible for her with a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She had spent years trying to teach her brother David "rules" such as 'keep you pants on in public' and 'if someone says hi to you, you say hi back' in order for him to be able to blend in with the scociety.
One summer, Catherine meets Jason, a boy from the clinic for occupational therapy. Catherine finds he is a suprising type of new friend, partly because he has a speaking disability and moves around on a wheel chair, and partly because he is the kind of understanding friend she had always yearned for. Catherine also meets Kristi, a next door neighbour she had always wanted. Everything seems fine until Catherines own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and she is forced to think: what is normal?
From this book, i learnt that judgment about a person cannot be made unless you really get to know them. Some people (e.g.~ people with certain disabilities) are often judged too harshly. A good is example from this book is when Kristi (Catherines new neighbour) first meets David and purposely points out to Catherinethat even normal brothers are a pain. This book overall was not only a easy book to understand, but it was also enjoyable and taught me many new things. I am sure everyone will be able to learn something from this book and I recommened this book to people of all ages.