House Rules: A Novel Review

I have considered myself a huge fan of Jodi Picoult for a long time now. Every time her new book comes out I snatch it up and read it excitedly. But Jodi's last two books- Change of Heart and Handle With Care- have been disapointing. I hoped House Rules could be her redeemer--but I wasn't impressed.
Picoult has created a system now in her books. The book showcases a ethical or moral dilemma and then the court case that clears up the dilemma. At the very end, however, there is usually a shocking, unexpected ending. Picoult's many early books written in this system--Plain Truth, Nineteen Minutes, Salem Falls, Perfect Match--work perfectly. Not only is the ethical or moral topic interesting and open to many different outcomes, the court case is interesting too. And of course, we keep reading for the ending.
But Picoult hasn't been writing like she used to. She has been focusing more and more on parent and children dramas-- and there are a lot more boring passages. More focus is put on the parents' disapointment with their lives or the problems their children have to face, and less on whatever court drama is at hand. In House Rules, a teenage boy with Asperger's Syndrome is accused of killing his tutor. But the story isn't interesting or the court case exciting. The procecuter seems to want to put Jacob away because he has Asperger's Syndrome (or it least it seems that way to me, as if she had a personal vendetta?). The mother is horrified by the fact that she isn't sure if Jacob is guilty, or so she says. There just isn't enough evidence of her being unsure of his innocence. All I got were alternating passages about how much the mother loved Jacob but at the same time was almost angry at him for not being normal. And I realize she probably had a right to feel that way, but Picoult didn't make it believable. And lastly, although Jacob is shown to have trouble showing any sort of emotions, his apparent lack of them becomes randomly more apparent towards the end of the book--there's no believable progression. The book overall was disapointing and just not worth the hype.Get more detail about House Rules: A Novel.