Rules (novel)

Infobox Book |
name = Rules
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Cynthia Lord
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = none
genre = Children's novel
publisher = Scholastic, Inc.
release_date = 2006
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback) also published in large type
pages = 208 pp
isbn = ISBN 9780439443821
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Rules" is the debut novel by author Cynthia Lord. Released by Scholastic, Inc. in 2006, it was a Newbery Honor book in 2007.

The main character, Catherine, is a twelve year old girl; her eight year old brother, David, has Autism and Catherine explains how this makes her life complicated and causes her to wish that her life was a bit more "normal". She is compiling a list of rules for David so that when he gets older, he can understand how the world works.

One time when she and her mom take David to occupational therapy, she attempts to sketch a picture of a 14 or 15 year old boy named Jason who cannot speak and uses a wheelchair. He uses a communication book to talk. Jason seems to be quite fond of her, and have a crush on her as well. Her new friend/neighbor Kristi asked about him and if he'd want to join Catherine at the community center dance (where Kristi volunteered at). The only thing was, Catherine never did mention Jason's disabilities since she didn't know how Kristi and her friend Ryan would react. By the end of the book,Catherine realizes that being different isn't bad, and she begins to ask herself this: "What is Normal?"