Rules

Rules by Cynthia Lord tells the story of a middle school girl Catherine and her hope that the girl who moves in next store at the beginning of the summer will be a friend she can spend the summer swimming in the pond and hanging out with. However Catherine has something really big standing in her way. She loves her younger brother David but he has autism and can be really embarrassing. On top of that she meets a nice boy, Jacob, but he is in a wheelchair and can only communicate using his communication board. How can Catherine stay cool so that the new neighbor will want to be her friend while still remaining loyal to her brother and continuing her friendship with Jacob. Hard choices and a summer of self discovery face Catherine as she grows up and tries to be true to herself.

I think that Anything But Typical, Rules, The Reinvention of Edison Thomas, and Out of My Mind are a nice set of books to read around the same time. While they all deal with students with disabilities and trying to figure out how they fit in during the middle school years, each author has taken a slightly different perspective that sets their book apart from the other and keeps the books from feeling redundant.

Next I'm on to some science fiction and fantasy.