House Rules (High Risk Books)

Product Information

Although the book is powerfully honest and brutal I had problems more with the writing and character development. I suppose it just takes time to get used to how Heather Lewis wrote her novels. I admire the way she laid Lee's emotions and entire life bare for the reader to witness. It's just at the end of the book I didn't really feel like I knew Lee at all. And the entire world of show horses is completely unknown to me. I understand Lewis knew about it well and she certainly was able to show that through her words. I just wasn't able to picture any of the scenes in my head that contained the horses, which was a important thing to Lee.

Her girlfriend, Tory, is also very obviously a victim. Another thing that killed me was that under different circumstances these characters could be so happy, they could heal each other and be happy young lesbians in love, but they’ve experienced so much trauma that the only way they can interact with each other is through violent sex and drugs. It’s got the hopelessness of a true tragedy, to the point that you almost become accustomed to the tragedy by the end of the book and you’ve gotten comfortable with the fact that there’s just about no hope for these characters. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2021-01-11 05:01:42 Boxid IA40031909 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifierIt's a really dark, lonely sort of book. I don't know how to explain what I mean. It just left me sort of lost- but her writing was really good. The fact that nobody has any deeper biographical information from her.. It's like she's faded away from history. It took me a long time to find out what I know about her, from bits and pieces. Nobody else seems to think about her anymore. While I had sympathy for Lee (did anyone ever figure out she was only 15?), I didn’t really understand her motivations. I know two or three (now grown) women whose fathers “interfered” with them in ways in which they will never recover: none of them were quite as damaged as anyone in the book.

Warning: If you are looking for a book about horses and showing, this is NOT it. This is not the type of feel good, under dog winning the championship type of book. This is a book that shows the horse industry —that other aspect of the industry—that we know exists. And it’s graphic. Very, very graphic. Lccn 93025614 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Openlibrary OL1416092M Openlibrary_edition

Wikipedia citation

urn:lcp:houserules00lewi:epub:3e1beb52-f262-44ec-ba88-1c6b906f88e9 Extramarc Yale Library Foldoutcount 0 Identifier houserules00lewi Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t24b43t30 Isbn 9780385472104 An out lesbian, [6] her works explore aspects of American culture, such as the connections between power, drugs, sex, violence, love and justice. [3] The abuse of the riders is mirrored by the abuse of the horses, which gets more upsetting until the climax when everything comes to a head, and probably the last bit of comfort for the main characters gets destroyed.

I think the part I find troublesome is the graphic sex—which is not about passion, but about pain. I understand why this was introduced, but after awhile, it does get old—and I would feel the same about heterosexual sex. To me, I always found sex in a book to be a filler when someone’s main story wasn’t strong enough. In this story, yes, it has purpose, but the extensive way it’s described over and over again, you sort of start to say ‘ok, is this it?’ In the beginning, it’s purpose was highlighted, but as we progress in the story, it just starts to work like a broken record. Obviously these incidents impacted on the writer, who wrote this obviously from experience. But, I feel it was to hide a greater feeling and emotion and story. Which is a shame.

About the Author

But tho’ the sex in House Rules is not all that erotic, this book excels other novels about young athletes in the erotics of extreme competition. You can almost feel you’re in the saddle with Lee & smell the horse lather. Amber Dermont hadn’t a clue how to do that with dingy sailing in The Starboard Sea. Even Yonahloosee Riding Camp - tho’ belonging to a higher level of literature - doesn’t take you over the jumps with Thea Atwell as Heather Lewis lets you ride with Lee. The only thing I’ve read recently that matches this in sheer intensity is the chapter in Dare Me where the Sutton Grove cheer squad elevate Beth Cassidy for what is expected to be the culminating 2-2-1. (Beth, we recall, was also an equestrienne as well as a cheer captain.)

Next, we have a lot of unanswered questions about some main characters: Carl is alleged to be married, but we never hear of the wife, any history of the wife, other than 2 references. Even when the main character, Lee, stays with them in between shows, the wife is never even alluded to, but many other characters have their stories and history laid out up front. Confusing. Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.

Her writing style encompasses everything I love and revere in a writer - a simple, heartfelt honesty that is the hardest thing to achieve.