BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sones, Sonya. 1999. STOP PRETENDING. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060283866
PLOT SUMMARY
A series of short intense poems describe the feelings of a thirteen year old girl when her older sister suffers a mental breakdown on Christmas Eve. She discusses visiting her sister, now a stranger, in the psych ward, wondering if her family will ever be the same. This is the author’s first verse novel based on her own life experiences.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a fairly mature book that illustrates the effects of a family member’s illness. The poems are written in falling verse. One poem titled, “Mass Pike,” shows how the world continues on when the father has an emotional breakdown on the side of the highway after a visit with his ill daughter…”he has to pull over…and we weep with him while cars filled with happy families whiz past.”
REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “An unpretentious, accessible book that could provide entry points for a discussion about mental illness-its stigma, its realities, and its affect on family members.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS: ”they[the poems] take on life and movement, telling a compelling tale and presenting a painful passage through young adolescence. The form, a story-in-poems, fits the story remarkably well, spotlighting the musings of the 13-year-old narrator, and pinpointing the emotions powerfully. She copes with friends who snub her, worries that she, too, will go mad, and watches her sister's slow recovery.
CONNECTIONS
Other verse novels by Sonya Sones:
Sones, Sonya. WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T KNOW. ISBN 0689876025
Sones, Sonya. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES. ISBN 1416907882
Sones, Sonya. 1999. STOP PRETENDING. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060283866
PLOT SUMMARY
A series of short intense poems describe the feelings of a thirteen year old girl when her older sister suffers a mental breakdown on Christmas Eve. She discusses visiting her sister, now a stranger, in the psych ward, wondering if her family will ever be the same. This is the author’s first verse novel based on her own life experiences.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a fairly mature book that illustrates the effects of a family member’s illness. The poems are written in falling verse. One poem titled, “Mass Pike,” shows how the world continues on when the father has an emotional breakdown on the side of the highway after a visit with his ill daughter…”he has to pull over…and we weep with him while cars filled with happy families whiz past.”
REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “An unpretentious, accessible book that could provide entry points for a discussion about mental illness-its stigma, its realities, and its affect on family members.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS: ”they[the poems] take on life and movement, telling a compelling tale and presenting a painful passage through young adolescence. The form, a story-in-poems, fits the story remarkably well, spotlighting the musings of the 13-year-old narrator, and pinpointing the emotions powerfully. She copes with friends who snub her, worries that she, too, will go mad, and watches her sister's slow recovery.
CONNECTIONS
Other verse novels by Sonya Sones:
Sones, Sonya. WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T KNOW. ISBN 0689876025
Sones, Sonya. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES. ISBN 1416907882
Picture Credit: Amazon.com
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