Book Review: What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Bibliography:
Sones, Sonya. (2001). What My Mother Doesn't Know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689841140.

Summary: 
The book is written from the perspective of Sophie, a young girl in high school. The novel in verse follows Sophie as she dates different boys and finds happiness in an unexpected mate. The author walks you through some trials and errors Sophie encounters, including a cyber-romance and an exciting new relationship turned sour. Her two friends and their lives are discussed in this diary-type novel, along with Sohpie's relationship with her mother. In the end, Sohpie falls for her "masked man" - an unlikely partner - where she finds happiness (for now at least).


Critical Analysis: 
This book was a very interesting read. As my first experience with novel in verse, I was very surprised with how well the book's plot flowed. The book is written from Sophie's perspective, and would be very easy for high school girls to relate to. One thing to note is the lack of a male's point of view in this story. High school males may not find this book interesting.

The book has a nice plot and teaches about growing and accepting yourself and others. I can remember struggling to accept myself as an adolescent, and I see other young girls going through the same thing. Sophie's character does a wonderful job of demonstrating growth and acceptance in What My Mother Doesn't Know. She learns to overcome her own insecurities and the end of the novel hints that she will be very happy in her new state of mind.

The book is very controversial and has been challenged in many ways. I can understand why this is so, as some of the subject matter in the novel is questionable. However, I feel strongly that it is important for young girls to understand and be knowledgeable about dealing with the opposite (or same) sex in terms of relationships and friendships. This versed novel does a fine job of bringing to light issues that today's teens deal with in everyday life. Perhaps this is a great novel for parents of teen girls to read as well!


Awards:
ALA Best Book for Young Adults 2002
ALA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers 2002
Top Ten Editor's Choice by Teenreads.com 2001
ALA Top 100 Most Banned Books of the Decade 2000-2010
ALA Top Ten Most Challenged Books 2004 & 2005
See all awards at www.sonyasones.com/books/whatmymother/honors.html
Review excerpt from TeenReads: "Sones's lovely poems are so good that I'd say she must be a poet first and a storyteller second -- except that her story is also that good!" (Note: For the controversy that goes along with this book, I was surprised that I was unable to locate a hearty review on School Library Journal or Booklist.)


Connections:
Use the book to talk to young women about relationships
Literature Connection: Use the book to open up conversation about perspective and point of view
Speak to students about cyber safety after reading
Use specific poems to study organization and layout of poems (Deleted, Bit by Bit, I Check My E-Mail)
Use the novel in a mother-daughter book club or teen book club
Use in a unit study about writing your own poetry about everyday life
Talk about challenged and/or banned books
Other books by Sonya Sones: Stop Pretending, Sixteen, Love & Sex, Nexessary Noise


Sources: 
Sonya Sones. "My Books for Teens."  Accessed March 1, 2012. http://www.sonyasones.com/books/books.html.
TeenReads.com. "Review: What My Mother Doesn't Know." Last modified October 1, 2001. http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/what-my-mother-doesnt-know.