Sones, Sonya. 2004. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 9780689858208.
After Ruby's mother dies she is sent to live with her father, who happens to be a big movie star. Ruby is grieving her mother's death and bitter about having to leave her friends to go live with a father she has never known.
This well thought out novel in verse is an earnest, quick read for readers 12 and up due to Sones' ability to accurately channel the thoughts and feelings of Ruby. The last verse from the poem entitled It Mega-stinks demonstrates this:
What's the point of having
a bathroom that could be featured
on MTV Cribs,
when there's no one around I care about
to show it to?
Because Ruby is portrayed in a realistic and complex manner, the reader will commit themselves to finding out what happens to her. She contemplates her life in the same ways any teenager would. A good example of her introspection comes from the final stanza of Lakewood Daze.
But most days,
I wander around Lakewood feeling invisible.
Like I'm just a speck of dust
floating in the air
that can only be seen
when a shaft of light hits it.
With it's extreme, raw emotion and the depth of the main character, it's apparent to see why this novel by Sones was named by the American Library Association as a 2005 Best Book for Young Adults and also a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
To find out more information about Sonya Sones and her novels, visit http://www.sonyasones.com.
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