Review of WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW by Sonya Sones

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sones, Sonya. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. 2001. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689841140

2. PLOT SUMMARY

This verse book follows 15 year old Sophie and her friends through the normal trials and tribulations of high school. We watch her stumble through two relationships. One on the internet, and another with a boy that she realizes she has nothing in common, except a physical attraction. The book also delves into Sophie’s relationship with her out of touch mother, and distant father. The book touches on the parent’s failing relationship, with the father escaping to work to avoid problems at home. Finally, Sophie falls for a boy who is her soul mate, but she is afraid to acknowledge him, because she knows her friends will disapprove. In the end, she overcomes her fear, and embraces this new relationship. Her mother also comes to a realization that she needs to show more interest in her daughter’s life, as her father drives away on yet another business trip.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is one that I don’t think any teen-ager will be able to put down. It has all the feelings and situations that most teen-age girls deal with every day. I would recommend this book for Junior High and High School students only. It is sexually suggestive, although there is no sex, it is contemplated and discussed.

The poems are great on their own, but the whole package is a wonderful and uplifting story. The poems are easy to read, which is great for reluctant readers, as well as the fact that most readers will be hooked after only a few pages.

The situations are dead on, from the distant father, to the depressed mother, to the ever judging friends. Every school has someone like Murphy, that is the butt of jokes, and more or less a non person. I’m just so glad that this Murphy, finally gets the girl. I just can’t say enough good things about this book. You will laugh, cry, and walk away with a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is precious.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY Review:
"...Sones (Stop Pretending) poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy...With its separate free verse poems woven into a fluid and coherent narrative with a satisfying ending, Sophie's honest and earthy story feels destined to captivate a young female audience, avid and reluctant readers alike."

LIBRARY SCHOOL JOURNAL Review:
"...Sones is a bright, perceptive writer who digs deeply into her protagonist's soul... Sones's poems are glimpses through a peephole many teens may be peering through for the first time, unaware that others are seeing virtually the same new, scary, unfamiliar things... Sones's book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK."

5. CONNECTIONS

I think it would be great to have a “What My Mother Doesn’t Know,” box in the room. Students could anonymously write whenever they want and put it in the box. One could be pulled out each day or week, discussed or used for a writing prompt. It would be a great way for students to learn about each other and provide an outlet for feelings that might otherwise not surface.

Have students pick their favorite scene in the book and illustrate it.

Students could make a poster showing the good choices Sophie made in the book, or they could pick to show the poor choices Sophie made in the book. They could use collage (like the book jacket cover), attach objects, cut words and pictures out of magazines, or draw to illustrate their points.

The book could be paired with the documentary film, 5 GIRLS
(2001). This documentary aired on PBS on October 2, 2001. It focuses on five young women from diverse backgrounds. The uniting element of this documentary is the need that the girls feel to have connected relationships with their families. After viewing, discuss students relationships with their own families. Students could write about their own family relationships and pick one girl from the film that they felt the most connection with and explain why. Students could also make a poster about themselves and one of the girls in the film or they could compare the character Sophie with one of the girls featured in the film for their poster project. They could also choose to compare themselves to the character Sophie from the book.