Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

Sones, Sonya. 1999. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. New York: HarperCollins.  ISBN 9780064462181

(Photo obtained from sonyasones.com)

   Plot Summary

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy manifests as a sensitively written verse novel which tell the true story of author Sonya Sones’s life after her sister has a mental breakdown which requires hospitalization.  Following the lead of the Kubler-Ross model of five stages of grief, the collection of poetry travels through the emotions of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, peppered with loneliness, confusion and frustration. 

Analysis

Although Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy is lengthy, the poetry is not complex and therefore a quick read.  As a book written to increase awareness of mental illness, Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy provides respite for those affected by mental illnesses or those just intrigued.  The content is age-appropriate. 

Sones’s poetry possesses powerful imagery (“My stunned parents stare,/ like witnesses at a car crash”) which allows the reader to instantly feel as if they are part of the story line.  The only downfall of the storyline is that readers will later learn that although the content is based on a true story, the poetry was written when Sones was an adult. Because of this fact, there are some gaps between what is written and what is realistic for the mundane attributes of the story (such as Cookie’s friend’s reactions to finding out her sister was in a mental hospital.  The children passed around a note in class which said “Cookie’s sister is Cuckoo” which does not appear to be an accurate portrayal of 12-14 year olds.)   

The issues within the book are minute and greatly overshadowed by free-verse prose which manages to teach about family and change but more importantly delivers coping skills through a rather unconventional medium. 

Review Excerpts

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “An unpretentious, accessible book that could provide entry points for a discussion about mental illness-its stigma, its realities, and its affect on family members. Based on the journals Sones wrote at the age of 13 when her 19-year-old sister was hospitalized due to manic depression, the simply crafted but deeply felt poems reflect her thoughts, fears, hopes, and dreams during that troubling time.”

Awards, Mentions and/or Honors

Christopher Award

IRA/CBC Young Adults’ Choice

ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers in 2000

ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 2000

ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Adult Readers in 2000

ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults in 2000

Enrichment Activities

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy printables, lesson plans and other links --- http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/stop-pretending

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