What My Mother Doesn't Know - Poetry



Bibliography: 

Sones, Sonya. 2003. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. New York: Simon & Schuster. 978-0689855535

Plot Summary:

Sophie is a typical high school student dealing with typical high school issues; boyfriends, friends and where she fits into it all.  What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a lovely story about Sophie, her first love, wanting acceptance from her friends and finding love in the least likely place.      

Critical Analysis:

What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a unique novel written in verse, it is not what someone would consider traditional poetry.  The story is made up of a series of named poems, when you read them all together you have an amazing coming of age high school tale told from Sophie’s perspective.  Each poem is made of up of approximately 3-6 stanzas, each line of the stanza is like a short phrase but the stanza as a whole is a full thought or sentence.  There isn’t any particular rhythm or beat to each poem or the book as a whole, it’s a series of simple, meaningful, moving thoughts that come together to make a complete story. 

As stated previously What My Mother Doesn’t Know is not what someone would consider typical poetry.  The first element that most people think of when they hear the word poetry is that it rhymes and the vast majority of this book does not, for the most part it is written in prose.  There is an example of rhyming poetry within the book called More or Less where Sophie describes her boyfriend Dylan and had she not seen with her eyes everything she loves about him then she thinks she would have liked him less. This is an example of a typical teenage girl trying to understand why she has fallen for Dylan and why she is confused by those feelings.  Needless to say there is a nice flow to the lines and story but the author did not set out to make a rhyming novel written in verse.  This does not take away from the story or the feeling that you are reading something in verse.

There is a part of the story where Sophie begins to feel confused about how different she and Dylan are, the poem is called At the County Fair.  She starts each stanza with the words “If Only” and goes on to describe little things she likes but Dylan doesn’t or vice versa.  This is a turning point in the story that shows that Sophie is beginning to contemplate their differences and if it’s okay to be different.   

Culture Clash adds an element to this story that is completely unexpected; it addresses the idea that some people might not be comfortable with people who are Jewish.  “Dylan says when I meet his mother today I shouldn’t mention I’m Jewish.  I say okay, but can I tell her about the HIV positive thing?  He gives me a look.  I give him one back.”  It is such a simple poem but incredibly meaningful and shows how Sophie will not let someone push her around or make her feel bad for who she is and how she was raised.  This is such a great example to young people to always believe in who you are.

It’s a Beautiful Tree, “So tall and full, with all of its arms swooping up at the tips as if to say, “Ta da!”  This poem continues to describe the afternoon Sophie spent with her friend Murphy and his family, it felt like something out of a movie, you were there experiencing the decoration of a Christmas tree and Christmas songs for the first time with Sophie.  The imagery was so perfect in this poem it made you wish it was Christmas time.

Due to the content of this book and the length it is absolutely for a teen or young adult.  An adult would find pleasure in reading it’s unique style and the familiar story.  The story brings up emotions that many people could identify with and Sophie is a girl that many girls can admire and look to as a good example.  There are little life lessons within the story that are age appropriate for teens.  It’s a great novel written in a style not seen often but a very enjoyable read. 


Review Excerpts and Awards:

“Fast, funny, touching” – Booklist

Claudia Lewis Poetry Award

Winner of the Iowa Teen Book Award (2005-2006)

American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2002)

Booklist Editor’s choice (2001)

Connections:

·         Sonya Sones’ books are great books that encourage an open discussion.  Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy is another book by Sonya Sones that is autobiographical about her older sister having a nervous breakdown and being hospitalize.  Books such as Sonya Sones allow an open discussion for teenagers to identify with books and their own experiences.  Teenagers often feel they are alone in their feelings but Sonya Sones books put the teen years in perspective and allow teens to identify with the characters in her books.  Book clubs are a great way for people to identify with characters and share their own experiences, putting teens in small groups to host a book club would be a great lesson.  Having the teens dissect and interpret parts of the story and poem and share experiences is a great learning experience.