Book Review WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sones, Sonya. 2001. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. New York: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 0439455480

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this verse novel, Sones introduces us to Sophie, your average boy-crazy fifteen year old girl. Sophie tells us about her first love and then her second and third love. We learn about her feuding parents, her awesome best friends, and her struggle to find true love while still trying to look cool.

After several disappointing relationships, Sophie thinks she has found Mr. Right but is scared he will make her the laughing-stock at school. In the end, Sophie realizes her happiness and love for her soul mate are more important than popularity.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Sones’ first-person narrative poems use simple teenage language that most young readers will gravitate to. Each poem can stand alone and tells us an episode of Sophie’s life but as a whole tell a story of a young girl’s quest to find love.

In “Distracted in Math Class,” we hear Sophie’s private thoughts as she daydreams “and I can feel his lips, / the way they felt / that very first time. / I can feel the heat of them, / parting just slightly, / brushing across my cheek.” Young and older readers will be able to relate to one’s own memories of their first love.

Sones also make events we all hated going though seem funny. In “Three Hours Before the Dance,” Sophie goes to great lengths to make sure her hair is just right. She uses special shampoos with essential fatty acids, instant reconstructor and detanglers, and revolutionary potions that repair split ends just to name a few. But in the end, her hair “still looks pathetic.”


4. AWARDS WON AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
Iowa Teen Award

BOOKLIST: “The poetry is never pretentious or difficult; on the contrary, the very short, sometimes rhythmic lines make each page fly.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “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.”
VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES: “The poems are snappy, and each one strikes a chord that fluidly moves the reader on to the next episode.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Middle school writing/English teachers can introduce students to poetry with What My Mother Doesn't Know. It is simple, fun, quirky, and something young adults can definitely relate to.

*Students can then write their own poems about embarrassing, cool, or emotional events in their lives.

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