One of those hideous books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sones, Sonya. 2004 One of those hideous books where the mother dies. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689858208

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Ruby Milliken, a fifteen year old, from Boston is forced to leave behind her whole world to go live with her biological father in Hollywood when her mother dies of cancer. The anger of her move, betrayal from friends left behind in Boston and the new relationship with her unknown father entices you to keep reading. The book takes a close look at emotions pent up in a normal life of a fifteen year old and throws in some unusual curves. Ruby is unable to shed any tears until a fellow classmate is killed in a car accident and then her tears stream out. Her father is there to comfort her. There is a surprise ending that seems to make everything fall into place for Ruby. This book gives a new look at poetry written in verse and will even keep a reluctant reader entranced.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones is a compelling read. It is a novel written mostly in verse with a few letters and email messages intertwined. It pulls at your emotional strings right from the start with the death of Ruby’s mother. Ruby is forced to go live with her father in Hollywood who she thought never loved her or her mother. The only connection she had with her father was her aunt used to take her to movies that her father starred in. Sones’ provides great insight into the life of a child dealing with the death of parent. It is written in the first person from the perspective of Ruby the main character. The emails Ruby writes to her dead mother are humorous and are full of sarcasm, although you can feel the warmth and love within each line. Lines to her deceased mother like “How are things in heaven? LOL. How are things in the casket? Not too damp, I hope.  I mean, you can’t see every move I make down her in Hollyweird can you? If so, quit snooping and get a life. JK.” Ruby has a playful type of personality that shines with ever word written. Sones’ use of character development keeps the book hopping from one scene to another. Ruby has emotional storms and high drama that will appeal to all teenagers. The style of writing is easy and makes you want to read more novels written in verse. Sones’ work is filled with tongue-in-cheek humor and puns.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Gillian Engberg (Booklist, May 1, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 17)) Sones' novel is an unusual combination of over-the-top Hollywood fairy tale and sharp, honest story about overcoming grief. Starred Review
Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, May 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 3)) Sones is a gifted writer of novels in poetry. Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students.
Monica Irwin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 17, No. 1)) Ruby is a totally sympathetic character who will appeal to teen girls. She is realistically portrayed, and this novel, like Sones’s others, will be a popular addition to the genre.

5. CONNECTIONS
• Students dealing with grief can identify with the loss of a loved one by sharing their feelings through poetry. Writing about death or letters to their departed ones can relieve emotional stress.
• Form a group of students who have lost a loved one and offer to meet with them weekly in the library. Suggest books that deal with death and the feelings of anger and abandonment. This could also include students dealing with divorced parents.
• Students can create a story in verse using this book as a guideline on how to keep the story moving.
• Read other novels-in-verse
YA books about death:
What is goodbye? By Nikki Grimes. ISBN 9780786807789
Cures for heartbreak by Margo Rabb. ISBN 9780385734028
I found a dead bird : the kid's guide to the cycle of life & death by Jan Thornhill. ISBN 9781897066706
Walk softly, Rachel by Kate Banks. ISBN 9780374382308

• Read other novels-in-verse
A LIST of NOVELS-IN-VERSE taken from Sonya Sones’ website http://www.sonyasones.com/greatbooks.htm
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields
A Place Like This by Steven Herrick
Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse
Almost Forever by Maria Testa
Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Becoming Joe DiMaggio by Maria Testa
BeenTo Yesterdays: Poems of a Life by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
By The River by Steven Herrick
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
CrashBoomLove by Felipe Herrera
Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes
Escaping Tornado Season by Julie Williams
Foreign Exchange: A mystery in poems by Mel Glenn
Frenchtown Summer by Robert Cormier
Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland
God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant
Hard Hit by Ann Turner
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Heartbeat by Sharon Creech
Hold Me Tight by Lorie Ann Grover
Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown
Jinx by Margaret Wild
Judy Scuppernong by Brenda Seabrooke
Jump Ball: A Season in Poems by Mel Glenn
Keesha's House by Helen Frost
Learning to Swim: A memoir by Ann Warren Turner
A Lion's Hunger: Poems of First Love by Ann Warren Turner
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Loose Threads by Lorie Ann Grover
Love Ghosts and Facial Hair by Steven Herrick
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
North Of Everything by Craig Crist-Evans
One Night by Margaret Wild
On Pointe by Lorie Ann Grover
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Running Back to Luddie by Angela Johnson
Scout by Christine Ford
Seventeen by Liz Rosenberg
Shakespeare Bats Clean Up by Ron Koertge
Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Roadtrip by Linda Oatman High
Soda Jerk by Cynthia Rylant
Soul Moon Soup by Lindsay Lee Johnson
Stardust otel by Paul B. Janeczko
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones
Taking of Room 114: A hostage drama in poems by Mel Glenn
Talking In The Dark by Billy Merrell
The Brimstone Journals by Ron Koertge
The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith
The Realm Of Possibility by David Levithan
The Secret of Me by Meg Kearney
The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick
The Way a Door Closes by Hope Anita Smith
The Voyage of the Arctic Tern by Hugh Montgomery
This Full House by Virginia Euwer Wolff
True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Under the Pear Tree by Brenda Seabrooke
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Whitechurch by Chris Lynch
Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? A mystery in poems by Mel Glenn
Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell
Witness by Karen Hesse
World’s Afire: The Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 by Paul Janezcko
You Remind Me of You: a Poetry Memoir by Eireann Corrigan