WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sones, Sonya. 2001. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW. New York, New York.
ISBN 0689841140

PLOT SUMMARY
This is a novel for youth written in poetry, verse, form. It is the story of Sophie a seventeen year old girl that is dealing with life and all 0f the issues facing teenagers during this day and age. Her parents are unhappy with each other, fight all the time, are rarely together, don't pay much attention to her, and would be better off divorced according to Sophie. Sophie and her two best friends Rachel and Grace are like any other teenager who are consumed by the issues of acne, boyfriends, sex, and fitting in with their peers.

In the beginning of the story Sophie is head-over-heels in love with a popular and cute boy at her school named Dylan. Then one night at a Halloween dance she meets a masked boy and dances the night away with him. Later through several events that bring her together with the "masked man" she learns who he is--not Dylan but the biggest geek and most unpopular boy in school by the name of Murphy, but who's called Robin by his parents. However, by this time she is so smitten with Robin this doesn't bother except for the fact that she doesn't know how to explain this to her two best friends and not become the laughing stock of the school. One day at school in the cafeteria she finally decides to do what she knows she should have been doing all along-she plops herself down across from Robin, who is sitting all alone in a corner of the room, and takes his hand in hers.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Sones does a great job of capturing the essence and struggles of being a teenager. While the novel is written as poetry and each poem is a story in itself in order for the reader to really get a feel for the characters it is better to read the novel from cover to cover. Each verse has a title that expertly sums up the thoughts and feelings of the poem. Teenagers that read the book will be able to relate to characters because they are so true to life and adults will conjure up all the memories, good and bad, of adolesence and the trials and tribulations of being a teenager in love.

Teenagers will certainly identify with all the poems in the book but one in particular the girls will relate to as they are experiencing their first love and the "magic" of kissing their first boyfriend is the poem Distracted in Math Class which reads as follows: "All I have to do/is close my eyes/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,/moving closer/and closer still/to my mouth,/till I can hardly breathe,/hardly bear to wait/for them to press onto mine./All I have to do/is close my eyes." Sones is truly a master at getting teenagers involved in her books and even grasping the attention of the reluctant reader. Because the story in written in poetry form even the struggling readers can enjoy the book through reading each poem at their own speed and not feeling overwhelmed at having to read many pages in order to grasp the feelings, mood, and personalities of the characters in the story.



REVIEW EXCERPT
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:"Sones is a bright, perceptive writer who digs deeply into her protagonist's soul."

CONNECTIONS
Other novels by Sones include
The sequel to this novel WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN'T KNOW ISBN 0689876025
ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES ISBN 1416907882
STOP PRETENDING: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY BIG SISTER WENT CRAZY
ISBN 0064462188