Customer Reviews

What My Mother Doesn't Know

5 star:		(140)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

There have been a lot of books written in verse lately. Sonya Sones was one of the first, and still the best. Her first book, STOP PRETENDING: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy was a deep, sad and moving book. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW is a little different --- it's just as good, just not nearly as sad.

Sophie is 15 and as interested in boys as the rest of us. She finally gets asked out by Dylan, the boy of her dreams, and totally knows it's true love. But then she starts noticing weirdness. Like she's taller than him, he actually watches the movie on their dates, and he doesn't want her telling his parents she's Jewish. Sophie doesn't feel right about Dylan, but she also likes him and doesn't want to end it. In an attempt to find something else, Sophie begins an online romance, and I won't even tell you how that turns out! Let's just say it gives her the push she needs to move on from Dylan to...Murph.

But liking Murph turns out to be a whole lot harder than liking Dylan. To put it bluntly, Murph is a total dork --- he's so uncool that people say, "Don't be such a Murph," when they mean "Don't be such a geek." So why is Sophie thinking of him every minute? And how is she going tell her friends that she likes the biggest loser in school? Deep down she knows that if she doesn't come clean with her feelings for Murph she'll be as bad as everyone else who makes fun of him --- but still, it won't be easy.

WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW is an honest and heartbreaking book about a girl being true to herself, trusting her friends, and having the strength to love what makes her heart happy. 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! Sones really captures the nervousness of dating a guy, the way friends can get jealous, the sorrow at realizing that you just don't like him anymore, and finding the strength to love what makes your heart happy. We should all be so brave.

--- Reviewed by Kate Torpie

This is the story of Sophie, who is a typical teenage girl. She is on the path to finding her true love, but it's not as easy as it seems. First there's Lou, who drools, then sexy Dylan, then her "cybersoulmate," Chaz. But then, at the Halloween dance, she finds someone she connects with, but he's masked. She makes it her personal mission to find her masked man. When she does, she is shocked, but not as repelled as she first thinks. This book is told entirely in free verse, and is a quick read, but is very realistic about the power of peer pressure, and very touching.

Wow, "what my mom doesn't know" is among one of the TOP books I read recently. It tells the story of Sophie, a 15 years old girl. Through Sonya Sones, I was able to see the life and struggles of a teenage girl such as, fights with her mother, her appearances, and her love life, which I also found parts of me inside of Sophie as a 16 years old. As the story progresses, I felt as if I was living through the experiences also. It's mainly because of the format that the book is written in. Sonya Sones tells the mind and feelings of Sophie through direct, bold and honest poems. With so little words she describes the important moments clearly and perfectly but yet the words she chose were also so powerful. You would honestly have to read it yourself to understand what I really mean. I finished this book in no time, because the author really knows how to let me keep flipping onto the next page, wanting to find out what happens next. Aniways, enough said, this is a really sweet and touching story of a teenage girl whom I believe all of us would discover little pieces of ourselves from her, no matter past or future.

This book does a very good job of expressing all of the emotions of teenage love. "What My Mother Doesn't Know" is a novel of short verses, all written by the point of view of a 14-year-old named Sophie. In the book she tells about her first 3 loves. In this coming-of-age novel, Sophie learns the difference betweeen lust and love, and also learns that you can't always trust people, even if you think you love them. The poems are really well written. This book flows; I finished it in 2 hours. Make sure when you start reading this one you have plenty of time, because you won't want to stop. I think anybody who has ever either been in love or thought they have been in love can relate to most of this book, no matter what age you are or what experiences you have had. I really suggest that anyone reads this book, whether you normally like to read or not; you'll like this book.

I adore this book! My friends and I make references to it all the time and it's great for reluctant readers. Sophie says, "I'm not boy-crazy. It's just that my mind and my heart and my body don't agree." So true!

First, she meets Dylan in a carpool going home from a party. At first he's just her friend's big sister's best friend's little brother. Then he turns into a boyfriend, good to share kisses and secrets with.

Second, there's Chaz. An online cyber soul mate, as they call him, Sophie enjoys talking to him but feels guilty because she thinks she likes him but she is dating Dylan. While that is not the cause, Sophie breaks up with Dylan. They are uneasy around each other for the rest of the book.

Then Sophie stops talking to Chaz when she find out what he likes to do in libraries.

And before you know it, it's Halloween. Sophie wears an ugly rose-covered dress to Rachel's house, where she changes into a much cooler black dress to go to a dance in as a beatnik. At the dance, she thinks the drummer is playing only to her and then a girl kisses him "so hard on the mouth it looked like it would hurt" at the end of the song. She also suspects recurring love for Dylan as she watches him play guitar.

Then comes the most exciting part of the book, Sophie's slow dance with a masked man. He makes her feel like he is her soul mate and that he knows her every inner thought. She says she wants to dance with him all night, "and then kiss."

So of course she goes about looking for her masked man. Rachel says she is in love with his essence. Grace says she's in love with his body parts. Sophie says she's in love with the essence of his body parts, hee hee.

Then Winter Break comes and her friends skip town. So Sophie has ehr own little vacation around town and spends some time with Murphy, a lovable geek whom she has a small crush on. Well, maybe not so small, as she is always imagining kissing him. And then, while drawing henna tattoos and listening to music, Murphy and Sophie start slow-dancing and Sophie realizes that Murphy is you-know-who!

And so that starts Sophie's relationship with Murphy, or Robin as she calls him. It is stronger and more important than any relationship she had with Chaz and Dylan. Robin just seems so perfect, especially when Sophie is scared of what her friends will think and Robin says he "will understand if it has to end."

Of course, it doesn't. Sophie doesn't really tell Rachel and Grace, actions speak louder than words.

This is a great book and while it can look kind of lengthy, it's a wonderful trip through the meanings of verse, love, and adolescence.

I read this book a few days ago and it was one of the BEST books I've EVER read! I started reading it, and since it was for silent reading at school, I wanted to pace myself so that I wouldn't need to get a new book soon...but I couldn't help it. I just kept flipping each page after the next. The first time I sat down to read it, I got to around the 66th page. The next time I sat down to read it, I finished all 276 pages!!
This book, in a nutshell, made me laugh out loud and get tears in my eyes at one pont. This book is about a girl named Sophie who is in high school and is going out with a guy named Dylan, who she is very much in love with. After a while of going out with him, she meets Chaz online and falls for him...but she's still with Dylan! She starts loosing interest in Dylan and soon finds out what a disgusted pervert this Chaz guy is. There's a guy named Murphy in her art class that no one even thinks about...like that. But for some reason, she wants to KISS him! She and Murphy hang out and become good friends. When he asks her out on a DATE, Sophie tells Murphy that she just wants to be friends...but is that how she really feels??
This book is such a GREAT book and if you are a teenage girl, READ THIS BOOK...NO QUESTION!! I usually DON'T like reading. But I couldn't even help myself in this case. Read it, you'll find out what I'm talking about. It's not even really 276 pages long. Each page is written like a poem so you're flipping through those pages really fast. Buy it or borrow it from a friend and see what I'm talking about!

Okay...when i first found out about this book i was being tutored, my tutor told me about this book, she said when one of her students was reading this and she just thought it was the most cutest little things ever! it turned out it wasnt! it was scandals,juciy, and most of all sexy! it made me feel like i was Sophie. in her life she has romance and emotions not even a grown women would feel! maybe not even the person thats reading this! but i wish i was her! when i was on the last page i didnt want it to end, ever! dont let the title throw you off. when i first saw it. i didnt know if it was for teenagers or mothers! its for both! me, being a teenager myself, maybe it had something in there that i didnt want my mother to know i did?! but then it wasnt like that at all...so...so...flauless and never missing a word. it hooks you in and dosent let u go.....ever!! Sonya Sones is a great aurther, even more so then Shell Sliverstine, and i thought he was the best?! this book makes me want to go kiss the biggest dork out there. hey, this book is so inspiering you never know, i might just go for it! but over all this book is not 5stars not 10stars not even 20stars there not enough stars in this world that will give this the rateing it deserves! so go buy it already! and if ya have read well, go read it again!

Wow, "what my mom doesnt know" is among one of the TOP books I read recently. It tells the story of Sophie, a 15 years old girl. Through Sonya Sones, I was able to see the life and struggles of a teenage girl such as, fights with her mother, her appearances, and her love life, which I also found parts of me inside of Sophie as a 16 years old. As the story progresses, I felt as if I was living through the experiences also. Its mainly because of the format that the book is written in. Sonya Sones tells the mind and feelings of Sophie through direct, bold and honest poems. With so little words she describes the important moments clearly and perfectly but yet the words she chose were also so powerful. You would honestly have to read it yourself to understand what I really mean. I finished this book in no time, because the author really knows how to let me keep flipping onto the next page, wanting to find out what happens next. Aniways, enough said, this is a really sweet and touching story of a teenage girl whom I believe all of us would discover little pieces of ourselves from her, no matter past or future.

Written in free-verse, this novel, composed of poems, is all about a teenage girl from Boston named Sophie. Sophie is struggling through the usual sturm und drang of her age, along with such custom-made worries as "will I be the tallest girl in school?" She sometimes doesn't get along with her mom, wonders if her dad even notices she's alive, and on top of all that, she frequently feels she's part of the only Jewish family on an earth filled with Christians.

In this book Sophie develops a major crush for ultra-cool Dylan, and is convinced she's in love with him even while sometimes he makes her wonder if he's really the right boy for her. Later, after she and Dylan burn out and part ways, she secretly falls head over heels for Murphy, who is--bummer of bummers--the class nerd. Sophie likes Murphy a lot, but she knows she'll be teased if her friends catch her out with him. She is forced to decide which is more important to her, being cool in her friends' eyes, or being with Murphy.

Sonya Sones is both a poet and a novelist, and in the case of What My Mother Doesn't Know, she's both at the same time. I found this to be the kind of story that took me back a decade to my own teen years, and made me miss them....and also be glad they're over. I can't wait to see what Sones publishes next.

"What My Mother Doesn't Know" is the best book I have ever read. It was written for teenagers, but my mom read it, too, and she really liked it. Sonya Sones is the best writer in the world! Her books are so funny and easy to read. I thought "Stop Pretending" (also by Ms. Sones) was the best book ever, but now that I have read "What My Mother Doesn't Know," I think it is even better.

I would reccommend this book to EVERYONE! It's a great book for book reports, because even though it looks long, you can read it in an hour and a half. If you have a teenager who doesn't like to read, I can guarantee that they will like this book.
EVERYONE LOVES THIS BOOK! Lots of my friends (including boys) read it too, and they all love it. It also makes a great gift. I give it to my friends who haven't read it for their birthdays now.

If you don't read "What My Mother Doesn't Know," you are truly missing out on the book of a lifetime. It should be ranked number 1 on Amazon. I can't wait for Ms. Sones to write her next book!