Monday, January 31, 2011

Stop Pretending: Poems About When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones


In a sequence of short, intense poems based on the author's own experiences, a 13-year-old girl suffers through her shifting feelings about her sibling's mental illness. She recalls the terror of the Christmas Eve when Sister was suddenly transformed into a stranger; the horror of visiting Sister in the hospital and finding her rocking on all fours; the fear that her friends will find out; her own worry that she, too, may lose her mind; and her wistful memories of Sister as she was before...
“The poems take on life and movement, the individual frames of a movie that in the unspooling become animated, telling a compelling tale.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Sensitively written.” (The Horn Book )

“Stop Pretending is a tour de force debut. It celebrates truth-telling, and has a purity and passion that speaks to the heart.” (Boston Globe )

“The poems have a cumulative emotional power.” (ALA Booklist (starred review) )

“Unpretentious. Accessible. Deeply felt.” (School Library Journal )

“Heartfelt.” (KLIATT, starred review )

Can you say much more than that?

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