One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sones, Sonya. 2004. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES. NewYork: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689858208

PLOT SUMMARY
This prose-style poetry book takes the reader through the life of fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken as she travels from her home in Boston to live with her absentee father in Los Angeles. The book follows her as she deals with the pain of leaving her home and those she loves to live with her father, with all of this happening because her mother recently died.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Without a doubt, this is the book for the readers who say they don’t like poetry. The prose-style poetry makes it unthreatening and the storyline draws the reader in.  Sones has created a poetry book that an older teen would appreciate because of Ruby’s feisty nature and the trials that come with being a teenager-in-love. The characters are fully-developed and the reader will continue to wonder how they are doing, long after the book has ended.

A unique aspect of the book is that the title of each poem often serves as the opening line. The poem, “I’m Heading into the Cafeteria” begins with “When for some unknown reason/ Colette grabs my hand/ and leads me away from the throngs/ to sit together on a bench by the pot garden.” Without reading the title, the poem is unclear. What makes this book so appealing is that some poems are very heavy emotionally while others are downright funny.  “Three thousand miles away from my mother/ and my mother’s grave/ where she lies in a wooden box/ under six feet of dirt/ just beginning to rot” is powerful writing whereas “‘Yep,’ Max says, with a mile-wide smile/ spreading across his face./ ‘This is Ripley. Believe it or not’” has just the right element of humor for the storyline.  ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES is an excellent introduction for a reluctant poet.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Her depth of character is revealed through her honest admissions, poignant revelations, and sensitive insights. This is not just another one of those gimmicky novels written in poetry. It's solid and well written, and Sones has a lot to say about the importance of carefully assessing people and situations and about opening the door to one's own happiness.”

BOOKLIST review: “It's Ruby's first-person voice--acrimonious, raw, and very funny--that pulls everything together, whether she is writing e-mails to her deceased mother, attending Dream Analysis class at a private L.A. high school, or finally learning to accept her father and embrace a new life. A satisfying, moving novel that will be a winner for both eager and reluctant readers.”

CONNECTIONS

Interested readers can always try their own verse poetry, just like Sones.

Other Sonya Sones books:
Sones, Sonya. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. ISBN 0-689-85553-2         
                                                                                                                                        Sones, Sonya. WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T KNOW. ISBN 0-689-87602-5      
                                                                                                                                         Sones, Sonya. STOP PRETENDING: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY BIG SISTER WENT    CRAZY.ISBN 0-06-028386-6