Genre 3: One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies

One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies


Sones, Sonya. 2004. One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-689-85820-8.


Plot Summary
When Ruby's mother dies of cancer, the 15 year old is forced to move from Boston to Los Angeles to live with a father she's never met. Ruby must leave the only home she's ever known, her best friend in the whole world, and a boyfriend she cannot live without. To make matters worse, her father is the stunningly handsome movie star, Whip Logan, who longs to have a father/daughter relationship with Ruby. When she spurns every attempt he makes, Ruby's father showers her with every material gift a teenage girl could want. Ruby, however, is determined to make him pay for ignoring her all those years. Throughout this novel-in-verse, Ruby learns to deal with the grief over her loss, resentment towards her father, and adjusting to life in Hollywood.

Critical Analysis
Sonya Sones' use of free verse poetry is the perfect avenue for Ruby to tell her story of loss, love, and redemption. Sones displays Ruby's affable personality with her humorous quips and clever word plays. This novel-in-verse is told through Ruby's diary, letters, and emails to her dead mother, her best friend, and her not so loyal boyfriend.

Readers will find an ironic twist when comparing the happy-go-lucky girl on the cover of this book with the angry, grieving girl on the pages of this book. As in her other books, Sones treats us to a poignant, surprising, and outright funny look at dealing with loss and learning to forgive. Ruby takes us through her journey with an honest voice while she deals with such topics as death, betrayal, homosexuality, and absolution. Of course, due to these very topics, One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies often finds itself on lists of books parents would like to ban from school libraries. These are also, though, topics teenagers must learn to deal with.

This is a book that will resonate with anyone who has lost a parent. It will also provide a quick and easy read for reluctant readers.

Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: "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 starred 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
Use this book and other novels in verse along with a poetry unit to show others ways of writing poetry.
Use this book when dealing with a student who is working through the grief process.

Related Books
Other books by Sonya Sones:

What My Mother Doesn't Know
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

Book cover art from www.librarything.com