Sones, Sonya. 1999. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780064462181
2. Summary and Review
In this verse novel based on real events in her life, Sones paints a picture of 13 year old Cookie and her experiences when her older sister has a nervous breakdown on Christmas Eve. Cookie struggles with her sister’s condition and slow recovery, worries she will be next, is forced to listen to her parents fight constantly, and deals with alienation and bullying from her friends. The poems themselves, mostly free verse, are hauntingly beautiful and give the reader a close connection to Cookie’s emotions, as if we are reading her diary. Some are very short at one stanza long and others are longer at two to three pages. Occasional rants portray Cookie's anger and are a welcome change of pace. The end reveals a glimmer of hope that the family may return to some semblance of normalcy. One of the most poignant poems titled “The Truth Is” portrays Cookie’s struggle to visit her sister in the hospital.
The Truth Is
I don’t want to see you.
I dread it.
There.
I’ve said it.
3. Awards/Reviews
*Myra Cohn Livingston Award Winner for Poetry, 2000
*YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2000
*Claudia Lewis Award Winner, 2000
*Positive Reviews in Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Booklist Starred Review
4. Activities
This book encompasses many issues teens may go through. Insecurity, loneliness, and bullying all play roles in Cookie’s teenage life. All of these issues are effects of the bigger problem of Cookie’s sister having a mental illness. Some key poems on these topics could be read aloud or the book could be read in a literature circle. After reading, students could be encouraged to think about Cookie’s problems and relate them to their own lives. It could then be revealed that the story is based on events that really happened in Sones’s life and that she wrote the poems in a poetry class. Then a semester long poetry writing unit could follow. Students would write a poem or two per week about social issues they may have experienced and compile them into verse novels by the end of a semester.
Alternatively, students could embark on an author study of Sonya Sones and read her other 3 verse novels for teens.
5. Related Books
* Crank by Ellen Hopkins ISBN 9781416995135
* Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher ISBN 9781595141712
* One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones ISBN 9780689858208
*What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones ISBN 9780689855535
*What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones ISBN 9780689876035
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