Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - What My Mother Doesn't Know

What My Mother Doesn't Know
What My Mother Doesn't Know
Author: Sonya Sones
My name is Sophie.This book is about me.It tellsthe heart-stoppingly riveting storyof my first love.And also of my second.And, okay, my third love, too.It's not that I'm boy crazy.It's just that even thoughI'm almost fifteenI've been having sort of a hard timetrying to figure out the differencebetween love and lust.It's likemy mindand my bodyand...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780689841149
ISBN-10: 0689841140
Publication Date: 10/1/2001
Pages: 272
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 6

4.3 stars, based on 6 ratings
Publisher: Simon Schuster Children's Publishing
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 48 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This is a really fast read for an adult reader. Written as a bunch of poems, it's cute and I feel tells the true feelings of an average 15 year old.
jessnoelle07 avatar reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Well this was a very short read, took me a little over an hour to read this book. Don't get yourself in bunches, it is written in poetry style. The writing flowed very nicely and easily read. I almost found myself annoyed at this book and it's 15 year old thoughts. But, it was rather funny as I can remember myself being that way. I would suggest this ONLY to young teens.
reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Teenage girls will really like this. Older girls (women) will remember what it was like.
bookworm222 avatar reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Loved this book :D Must read for all teens! And I'm her age :)
reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Through a series of poems, the teenage narrator, Sophie, tells the story of her first experiences with love. Focusing on the universal experiences of adolescence, she discusses her relationships with family, friends, and boys as she struggles to reach adulthood. Sophie moves through her first relationships with the support of her childhood friends Grace and Rachel, who are also experiencing their new loves. The beginning section of the book describes the teen's intensely romantic relationship with her first love, Dylan. When Dylan asks her not to mention that she's Jewish to his prejudiced mother, Sophie is heartbroken. Her relationship with Dylan morphs into a friendship after she meets her second love, Chaz, in a chat room on the Internet. Sophie's cyber love is short lived and gives way to a more meaningful relationship with the unpopular and often bullied Robin Murphy. In addition to the stress of maintaining relationships with friends and boyfriends, Sophie struggles to understand and be understood by her mother, an overly emotional soap-opera addict. The distance that she feels from her family mirrors her feelings of isolation from the rest of society.

Sonya Sones created in Sophie an easily accessible character for young adolescents. Readers can identify with the issues the protagonist faces, as they are all universal experiences involving family, friendships, love, race, gender, class, and culture. Sones also writes in narrative poetry, which is easy and fun to read. This type of writing is especially accessible for reluctant readers. Unfortunately, the book lacks a male point of view. Readers only see the perspective of the female characters. This book needs to be supplemented with other material that provides a male perspective.
Read All 22 Book Reviews of "What My Mother Doesnt Know"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

imnellen avatar reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 246 more book reviews
very good. For a poetic type of book the story comes across very well
reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 24 more book reviews
Very interesting; written in poems. Sounds like a very sophisticated young girl.
JamieB avatar reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 26 more book reviews
Really cute book. Very easy read!
meimei avatar reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 16 more book reviews
Another great teen book, funny, entertaining, life changing, What My Mother Doesn't Know, was a favorite book of mine growing up, written through poems and diary entries, the main character writes and tells the story of her life and what it's like growing up and the challenges of being a teen.
reviewed What My Mother Doesn't Know on + 2 more book reviews
Really good! Funny but has real life experience as well.


Genres: