What My Mother Doesn't Know

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Sones, Sonya. 2001. What my mother doesn’t know. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978068985553

PLOT SUMMARY

Ninth grader Sophie gives accounts of everyday, seemingly ordinary interactions with friends and relations that lead to rather substantial ordeals in the adolescent’s life. From reminiscing about her boyfriends, how she grew close to her friends, to the daily drama within her home, Sophie covers most areas in which adolescents face trying situations. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Written in free verse, What My Mother Doesn’t Know, reads much like prose. Many stanzas are simply complete sentences. Other times it may contain multiple sentence structures or incomplete ones—dependent upon the emotion Sones wished to convey. In the poem “Forearms”, Sones uses sentence fragments and italics to give added emphasis. Free verse fits this fast-paced novel in verse. Had the author decided to use a structured rhyme scheme, each poem would have sounded too whimsical to garner the emotional response desired from the reader.

Sones carefully selected words and phrases to tell the story by including only the most crucial details in just a limited number of words. This does require the reader to make inferences about the events that happen in between poems (when the poems are not immediately chronological but fast-forward a bit). However, Sones provides enough information in her chronological sequence and inserted flashbacks that the reader has sources to draw from in regards to previous knowledge about the characters.

The author utilizes personification regularly with phrases such as “His wild eyes / are dancing with mine, / swimming into mine.” (“Is It My Imagination”, p.134). Other sensory-rich phrases help the reader to see what Sophie sees: “ancient faces” and “gnarled hands” (“At the Library”, p.201). Most of the verses are written using simple, literal language. Sones’ choice of words clearly paints a picture of the events, allowing the reader to fully envision the scenes.

While the language and pace of the novel guide readers through the story, the story would not be worth reading if it were not for the strong emotional pull. Sones puts into print words adolescent girls have been terrified to share, feelings they are afraid to admit. The feelings Sophie has for Murphy, the subject of merciless taunting in school, may have seemed unique to female readers until taking in Sophie’s account. A teenage girl may believe herself to be the only person who hides the complete truth from her friends. Sophie’s descriptions of how she felt for Dylan comforts girls who are experiencing a crush for the first time. Sones’ free verse, quick-moving poems paired with Sophie’s honest, relatable emotions make What My Mother Doesn’t Know a winning choice for reluctant, adolescent readers.

AWARDS & REVIEWS

ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2002

ALA Top 10 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2002

Booklist Editor’s Choice 2001

“Sones's book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK.”

—Sharon Korbeck, School Library Journal, October 2001

“…teens looking for a quick and pleasant read may appreciate both the brevity of these poems and the familiarity of their content.”

—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, December 2001

CONNECTIONS

Related Texts

Sones, Sonya. 2008. What my girlfriend doesn’t know. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689876033

Cisneros, Sandra. 1991. House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Press. ISBN 0679734775

Alternate Perspectives

This book is about Sophie and from her perspective. Rewrite a verse from the perspective of Rachel, Grace, Dylan, Murphy, or Sophie’s parents illustration the same situation with a varied perspective.

Read What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know (Sones, 2008), which is written in the same format from Murphy’s perspective. Compare Murphy and Sophie’s perspectives on their relationship and how others view them.

Keeping a Diary

Readers can keep a diary for one week of happenings around them—both significant and insignificant (just like Sophie’s). Transform one diary entry into verse, utilizing imagery, figurative language, rhythm and/or rhyme.