She Knows Book Club Discussion - Tonight!

This evening, March 25th, we will be discussing Irene Zutell's novel PIECES OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER. I thoroughly enjoyed this book -- you can read my review here. Since I am one of the SheKnows Book Club Bloggers, I'll be there sharing some of my thoughts about this terrific novel. If you'd like to discuss the book (or even just learn more about it), feel free to stop by the message boards tonight from 6 PM to 10 PM ET.

If you missed out on reading PIECES OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER, you still have plenty of time to get the next book club (although I still think you should read PIECES OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER sometime because it's so good.) The SheKnows Book Club has recently announced the April/May pick, and it looks like a good one. Over the next two months, we will be reading HOUSE RULES by Jodi Picoult.

Summary: They tell me I'm lucky to have a son who's so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the broken microwave and have it working again an hour later. They think there is no greater hell than having a son who is locked in his own world, unaware that there's a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own world, and still wants to make a connection. A son who tries to be like everyone else, but truly doesn't know how.

Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject -- in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's -- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect -- can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way -- and fails those who don't. -- Atria