Sones, Sonya. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003. ISBN 0689855532
Sophie is like most any
other fifteen-year-old girl. She wants a
boyfriend, trusts her best friends’ opinions most, and swears that her parents
don’t understand anything about her life.
Sophie narrates WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW like a personal journal,
spilling details and emotions into each entry.
When she finds herself falling for the biggest geek in school, Sophie proves
that she has learned the hard lesson so many high schoolers struggle with: it
is not important what everyone else thinks about you, as long as you are doing
what makes you happy in the end.
Sonya Sones’ verse novel, WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW, shines as a heartfelt story of teenage love, friendship and heartbreak. Young girls will relate to Sophie’s emotional journey of relationships with boys, and will cheer her on as she gives in to her true feelings for Murphy. Sones uses short poems throughout the book to so perfectly capture Sophie’s voice and the feelings and experiences of high school. Any girl who has ever fought with her mom over what to wear to the school dance or stayed up all night with her best friends to talk about young love, will be captivated by Sophie’s poems. Older readers will smile with nostalgia and cringe with embarrassment as they remember the good and bad of their own teen years. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW is a touching coming of age story that will remind young adults to always follow their hearts.
Sones uses short lines in her poetry to create a steady rhythm, allowing readers to step inside Sophie’s life and experience her feelings and emotions alongside her. Each poem reads quickly and naturally, much like a young teen rattling off the details and drama of her day. Sones captures the excitement and anticipation of first love in the perfect teenage voice. For example, her poem “Close to Midnight” illustrates how Sophie can’t keep Dylan off her mind as she wonders, “Lying in bed/gazing up at the/glow-in-the-dark stars/on my ceiling,/I’m thinking of you/lying in bed/gazing up at your ceiling/maybe thinking of me/at this very same/moment.” The details Sones includes, like the star stickers on Sophie’s ceiling, will remind young girls of their own lives and feelings. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW also includes a special treat for readers at its conclusion, where Sones has added a short flip book on the corner of each page, depicting Sophie’s favorite Renoir painting. The small illustration appears just as Sophie starts to admit to herself that she is falling for Murphy, and ends the book with a perfect kiss and smile, much like how Sophie concludes her tale smiling back at Robin.
The AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION named WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW as a Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers and a 2002 Best Book for Young Adults. Tweens and teens who struggle finding a book to enjoy may quickly fall in love with Sophie and eagerly devour this easy yet emotional read. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL agrees, writing “Sones’ book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK.” KIRKUS REVIEWS adds “Sones has crafted a verse experience that will leave teenage readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.” WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW has won a list of awards, including the Iowa Teen Book Award in 2005, an INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION Young Adult’s Choice award, and was named as a BOOKLIST Editor’s Choice in 2001. The book has also seen some controversy, appearing on the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCATION’s list of most frequently challenged books for its descriptions of teenage body changes and sexuality, so teachers and parents should beware before recommending it to very young readers.
Sonya Sones’ verse novel, WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW, shines as a heartfelt story of teenage love, friendship and heartbreak. Young girls will relate to Sophie’s emotional journey of relationships with boys, and will cheer her on as she gives in to her true feelings for Murphy. Sones uses short poems throughout the book to so perfectly capture Sophie’s voice and the feelings and experiences of high school. Any girl who has ever fought with her mom over what to wear to the school dance or stayed up all night with her best friends to talk about young love, will be captivated by Sophie’s poems. Older readers will smile with nostalgia and cringe with embarrassment as they remember the good and bad of their own teen years. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW is a touching coming of age story that will remind young adults to always follow their hearts.
Sones uses short lines in her poetry to create a steady rhythm, allowing readers to step inside Sophie’s life and experience her feelings and emotions alongside her. Each poem reads quickly and naturally, much like a young teen rattling off the details and drama of her day. Sones captures the excitement and anticipation of first love in the perfect teenage voice. For example, her poem “Close to Midnight” illustrates how Sophie can’t keep Dylan off her mind as she wonders, “Lying in bed/gazing up at the/glow-in-the-dark stars/on my ceiling,/I’m thinking of you/lying in bed/gazing up at your ceiling/maybe thinking of me/at this very same/moment.” The details Sones includes, like the star stickers on Sophie’s ceiling, will remind young girls of their own lives and feelings. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW also includes a special treat for readers at its conclusion, where Sones has added a short flip book on the corner of each page, depicting Sophie’s favorite Renoir painting. The small illustration appears just as Sophie starts to admit to herself that she is falling for Murphy, and ends the book with a perfect kiss and smile, much like how Sophie concludes her tale smiling back at Robin.
The AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION named WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW as a Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers and a 2002 Best Book for Young Adults. Tweens and teens who struggle finding a book to enjoy may quickly fall in love with Sophie and eagerly devour this easy yet emotional read. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL agrees, writing “Sones’ book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK.” KIRKUS REVIEWS adds “Sones has crafted a verse experience that will leave teenage readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.” WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW has won a list of awards, including the Iowa Teen Book Award in 2005, an INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION Young Adult’s Choice award, and was named as a BOOKLIST Editor’s Choice in 2001. The book has also seen some controversy, appearing on the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCATION’s list of most frequently challenged books for its descriptions of teenage body changes and sexuality, so teachers and parents should beware before recommending it to very young readers.
____
Young adults who read
WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW can be encouraged to keep journals for themselves,
even trying to write some entries in verse poetry. They will also enjoy comparing Sophie’s
stories with those about teens in other verse novels, such as:
LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, By
Sarah Tregay, ISBN 0062023586
Readers will also be
thrilled to discover that Sonya Sones has written a sequel to WHAT MY MOTHER
DOESN’T KNOW, this time told by Sophie’s new boyfriend, Robin:
WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T
KNOW, By Sonya Sones, ISBN 0689876033
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