Genre 3 - Poetry -Book Review 1

Poetry Book Review:

What My Mother Doesn't Know

By: Sonja Sones

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sones, Sonya. 2001. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689841140


PLOT SUMMARY-
Sones cleverly captures the struggles of a girl coming of age through a series of free verse poems. The story unfolds through first person narratives by a love fickle, fourteen year old girl named Sophie. Sophie first thinks she has a crush on a boy named Dylan because their “bodies seemed to be carrying on a conversation of their own”. She has been so busy with love that she has been forgetting about her best friends Rachel and Grace who are there for her through thick and thin. The girls quickly remind her of their friendship and want to know “Is he a good kisser?” But, Sophie’s mind starts to daydream about kissing the class geek and wonders what else the world might have to offer, but would her friends understand? The readers are taken along for a ride with Sophie as she tries to make sense of the highs and lows of new love, balancing family drama, how the world views religion and the joy of friendship.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Sonya Sones’ portrayal of teenager’s life and loves is uniquely conveyed in this page turning book of poems. She cleverly pulls the reader in by connecting with their innermost thoughts about the thrill of new love. She reaches young readers by using authentic dictation like “How can I concentrate on Ancient Babylonia when Dylan’s note is burning in my pocket?” Sones shows that she understands the roller coaster of emotions that adolescence brings in a poem titled Tears where she describes them “ Usually I can feel them coming/ feel them swirling in my chest/ like a swarm of angry bees/ buzzing up my neck….” With all these emotions also comes joy, readers will laugh out loud of the pure reckless abandon teens exhibit. Sones shares the story of The Naked Truth where we find Sophie, Rachel and Grace enjoying ice cream in raincoats all the while giggling because before they put on their raincoats they took everything “off”!

The author keeps the readers engaged by randomly changing the shape of her poems to illustrate the point of her words. She cleverly shrinks down the shape of the words as Sophie is wishing that she could shrink down and fit inside of her boyfriends pocket to “hear his heart beating”. With Sones’ careful font decisions she conveys the feeling of journal entries while changing fonts styles to convey different moods and characters. She understands the audience’s romantic “girlish” ambitions of doodling about their loves and sketches corner illustrations of a couple closely embracing. She playfully entices the reader to turn the pages quickly to see her doodles come to life in a romantic flip book.

Sonja Sonnes successfully captures the pure, fun and thrilling adventures of young love and leaves the readers wanting more.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
-Starred Review Booklist- A natural for reluctant readers, this will also attract young people who love to read.

-Starred Review Kirkus- Sones has crafted a verse experience that will leave teenage readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.

CONNECTIONS
This verse novel would be a great read aloud for middle school students, especially reluctant readers.

It would be interesting to ask students to find music that matches the feelings that Sophie has.

Other Books By Sonja Sones:
Sones, Sonja. What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. ISBN 0689876025.
Sones, Sonja. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. ISBN 0689858205.