Reading Response  Juliette Daignault 802

In the book Rules by Cynthia Lord the main character Catharine has an autistic brother named David. It is summer time and Catharine is hoping to make friends with a girl named Kristi who just moved in across the street. Catharine tries to befriend Kristi without letting Kristi know too much about her difference from other families. She never brings her to her house when David is around, and never mentions him to Kristi. She is faced with the trouble of whether Kristi could ever be a true friend when she conceals thing from her. By looking at Catharine's relationship with Kristi throughout the book we can see how they aren’t actually true friends. In our own lives we can apply this to how we distinguish true friends from fake friends by how we feel around them.

In the book Catharine feels embarrassed about having an autistic brother, and tries to conceal it from Kristi. Catharine thinks that if she tells Kristi about David too early she wont want to be friends with Catharine. "I peek over, but the girl isn't glancing now; she's staring right at us." In this scene Catharine has just seen Kristi for the first time. She wants to make a good impression on her, but David is outside as well and is drawing attention to him and Catharine. Catharine doesn’t want Kristi to think that her family is strange, that's why she was peeking over at Kristi to see if she was looking at them. When Kristi looks over at her and David, Catharine feels self-conscious. By looking at this the reader can instantaneously see that they would not become that close of friends. Even though they had just met, they should feel comfortable with each other, which Catharine clearly does not. 

Later in the story Catharine realizes she cant always worry about her brother, and if someone really wants to be her friend, they would understand her families differences. Catharine finally understands the importance of true friends, and how her brother needs her. "Tomorrow I'm going to tell Mom she has a point about David needing his own words, but other things matter, too. Like sharing something small and special, just my brother and me." Catharine wants to share things with her brother, and begins to understand him better. She knows that being with her brother is important, and that it's good to have quality time with him. She appreciates that her parents were right and that people will understand that her family is different. She learns that a true friend will accept these things without judgment, and that if you don’t feel comfortable with someone and try to evade them, then they are not a true friend.

Overall Catharine was embarrassed by her brother, but she learns to get over it. Catharine realizes that if a person really cares, you don’t need to cover things up. She begins to see that it's not worth it to get frustrated at someone just because you feel self-conscious about something. I recognized that every one feels embarrassed sometimes, and the hard part is understanding that you shouldn't feel bad about things. Catharine has moved on from feeling humiliated and understands the importance of being honest. She knows she can be herself when she's around someone who really cares.