History Literature / HouseRules

* ShownTheirWork: Picoult makes a point to tell the reader all about the research that she did for the book.

* LifeImitatesArt: The same defense Jacob used was used in the RealLife trial of Toronto van attack perpetrator Alek Minassian a decade after the book was written. [[spoiler:Unlike Jacob,]] Minassian most definitely committed the act in question, but like Oliver, his attorneys argued he was legally not responsible for it due to his autism.

''House Rules'' is a 2010 novel by Creator/JodiPicoult. Like every other book she writes, it takes place in New England, there is a sick child (a boy in this case), a martyrous mother who looks after them, an {{Unfavorite}} sibling, a catastrophe leading to a court case, and a twist ending.

''House Rules'' is a 2010 novel by Creator/JodiPicoult. Like every other book she writes, it takes place in New England, there is an IllGirl (er... boy in this case), a martyrous mother who looks after her (er... him), an {{Unfavorite}} sibling, a catastrophe leading to a court case, and a twist ending.

* MyBelovedSmother: Emma takes on the role of TheCaretaker to Jacob UpToEleven to the point where she becomes this. Emma goes ''way'' out of her way to make sure that Jacob's special needs are accommodated for. She makes sure that his routine is always followed and to calm him down when he's having a meltdown. Unfortunately, she does it to the point where Jacob has practically no coping skills whatsoever.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The boy on the cover (presumably intended to be Jacob) looks no older than ten years old, but it's stated multiple times in the book that Jacob is eighteen. It's actually relevant to the plot that Jacob is technically an adult, since this means that Emma isn't allowed to go with him when he's being interrogated.

''House Rules'' is a 2010 novel by Creator/JodiPicoult. Like every other book she writes, it takes place in New England, there is an IllGirl (er... boy in this case), a martyrous mother who looks after her (er... him), a {{Unfavorite}} sibling, a catastrophe leading to a court case, and a twist ending.

* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: Emma to Jacob; she doesn't give the guilt-trip verbally to Jacob, but she justifies herself to the reader in the narrative.

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Theo. A prime example of this is when his mother promises him that they'll go to the cinema, a rare treat for Theo, who's constantly passed over in favor of keeping Jacob's "meltdowns" to a minimum. He's excited when the day of the trip arrives...only for Jacob to find out that he's out of books, and is threatening to throw a fit if he doesn't get new ones. They end up at the library instead of the cinema. On realizing that his mother hasn't even noticed how badly she's disappointed her younger son (again), the usually well-behaved Theo decides to throw a tantrum in the middle of the library. ''Then'' his mother starts screaming and crying herself, an event that shocks Theo and leaves him feeling guilty years later.

* AmbiguousDisorder: We're told that Jacob has Asperger's Syndrome but everything that we're ''shown'' about him points more toward full-blown autism. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by being traumatized and psychologically wrecked by constant horrible parenting, exacerbating to a great extent what could have been a mild condition? Or, on the other hand, maybe just CriticalResearchFailure ...

''House Rules'' is a 2010 novel by Creator/JodiPicoult. Like every other book she writes it takes place in New England, there is an IllGirl (er... boy in this case), a martyrous mother who looks after her (er... him), a {{Unfavorite}} sibling, a catastrophe leading to a court case and a twist ending.

* AccidentalMurder: Theo thinks this is what he has done to [[spoiler: Jess, but it turns out that it was really just an accident.]]

* BigBrotherInstinct: One of Emma's noted rules of the household is "Take care of your brother; he's the only one you've got." [[spoiler: This is why Jacob kept Theo's involvement in Jess's death a secret.]]

** Interestingly, when they get their grades at school, Jacob's are good but not exceptional, while Theo gets straight 'A's.

** Helen Sharp, who says "Asperger's is the new selfish" or Rich, who tricks Jacob into an interrogation room by using doublespeak. Also Theo [[spoiler: for withholding evidence until the end of the book]], Emma, for completely ignoring Theo's needs and telling Jacob that he can't have it both ways (though Jacob points out that neurotypicals do frequently), and Henry, for walking out on his wife and children because he can't deal with Jacob's A.S.

* ManChild: Jacob. Even though he is eighteen, and one can understand why someone at that age wouldn't move out, especially because he's still in high school, he doesn't have a driver's license and is in absolutely no shape to live on his own. He isn't shown to know how to do basic household chores or financial things.

* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Mother]]: Emma has neglected Theo in favor of being TheCaretaker for Jacob and performing this duty to the point where Jacob is, for all purposes, codependent on her. She's even trying to groom Theo to take care of his older brother when she is no longer there to do so.

* [[FantasyForbiddingFather Fantasy Forbidding Mother]]: Emma to Jacob. She considers herself to be a good parent because she is TheCaretaker for her autistic son and even indulges his interest in forensic analysis, but she makes sure that ''eighteen year old'' Jacob is unable to ''drive'', even though he's been bugging her about it. Presumably he's wanted to acquire some other skills vital to being able to live on one's own, but she's stomped him down on those, too. Theo has gotten a share of this, too, but not nearly to the codependency-inducing level that Jacob has gotten it. Theo was unable to go to the cinema (a rare treat for him) and get his learner's permit because of Jacob's meltdowns.

* [[InformedAttribute Informed Functioning]]: We're told that Jacob has Asperger's Syndrome but everything that we're ''shown'' about him points more toward full-blown autism.
** Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by being traumatized and psychologically wrecked by constant horrible parenting, exacerbating to a great extent what could have been a mild condition? Or, on the other hand, maybe just CriticalResearchFailure ...

** A lot of this can be attributed to Emma's indulgence of Jacob's eccentricities, such as the color-coded meals at home; she has never taught Jacob that the rest of the world will not bend over backwards for him, and so he's far more used to getting his way than he should be. Instead of teaching him how to deal with the outside world, she's made it so that his section of the world will deal with him, which leaves him quite unprepared for any situations outside of his controlled home environment.

** A lot of this can be attributed to Emma's indulgence of Jacob's eccentricities, such as the color-coded meals at home; she has never taught Jacob that the rest of the world will not bend over backwards for him, and so he's far more used to getting his way than he should be. Instead of teaching him how to deal with the outside world, she's made it so that his section of the world will deal with him, basically. Which leaves him unprepared for things outside of his home.

* DisappearedDad: The [[SarcasmMode classy]] son of a bitch's stated reason for abandoning his wife and two young children is that he can't handle his elder son's "Asperger's." (see below)

* [[spoiler: AccidentalMurder:]] Theo thinks this is what he has done to [[spoiler: Jess, but it turns out that it was really just an accident.]]

* AspergerSyndrome: Jacob.

* DisappearedDad: The [[SarcasmMode classy]] SoB's stated reason for abandoning his wife and two young children is that he can't handle his elder son's "Asperger's." (see below)

''House Rules'' is a 2010 novel by JodiPicoult. Like every other book she writes it takes place in New England, there is an IllGirl (er... boy in this case), a martyrous mother who looks after her (er... him), a {{Unfavorite}} sibling, a catastrophe leading to a court case and a twist ending.

** Interestingly, when they get their grades at school, Jacob's are good but not exceptional, while Theo gets straight A's.

* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Mother]]: Emma has neglected Theo in favor of being TheCaretaker for Jacob and performing this duty to the point where Jacob is, for all purposes, codependent on her.