Rating: 
Summary: Powerful emotions from a remarkable writer.
Review: This book, STOP PRETENDING: WHAT HAPPED WHEN My BIG SISTER WENT CRAZY, was on a required reading list for a course I took in Young Adult Literature. I could not put it down.On Christmas Eve, "A wild-eyed Jewish girl wearing only a nightgown," rushes out of the house to go to Midnight Mass. She is in the midst of a nervous breakdown. After this, she is institutionalized, but life must go on for the family. Told through the poems of the younger sister, 13 year-old Cookie, this novel is based upon real life events of the author. In her poems, in which we have the unfolding of the story, Cookie reveals her great fear that this will happen to her as well. She deals with her issues of shame over her sisters' condition. She experiences memories of how life was before the breakdown, and almost lives in a denial of the experience. Her former friends reject Cookie. In her poems, Cookie captures the intense emotions and feelings in dealing with life, and all of the troublesome events of the aftermath of this life altering event. But not all is bad. Cookie finds photography, and begins a healing process. She meets a new boy at school who knows nothing of Cookies' sister, and they fall in love. Within these events, Cookie learns that life goes on, sometimes good, sometimes not so good, but it does go forward. The poems throughout vary in length, but mostly stick to free verse. The use of poems is an effective tool to convey the deep emotions. In the novel, the fate of her sister is unanswered, but seems hopeful in tone. In a final note to the book, Sones does shed light on the rest of the story in her own personal experience, with her own sisters success. She provides support websites and telephone numbers as resources for organizations which help people with emotional disorders and suffering from depression. If you know of anyone who faces the challenge of an institutionalized family member, please buy this book for them. It should provide a tool of dialogue and discussion for the family. As an added note, in the course I took, one of the class members contacted Sonya Sones, and we had an interview with her over the phone. She is delightful, and her upcoming work for publication will also be a novel told in poems. The selections she read ranged from hysterical to deeply pensive. I eagerly await this book, and have added STOP PRETENDING to the must order list for the opening of school (as I am a School Librarian.)
Rating: 
Summary: ..Stop Pretending..
Review: "Stop Pretending" to me was a pretty good book. It wasn't one of the best books I've ever read, but that's probably because I have read books that interest me more before. Over all though, the book got a pretty good rating from me.
"Stop Pretending" is a book about a young girl named Cookie who is turning 13. Her older sister suddenly turns crazy and has to go into a mental hospital. The family visits her often. Sometimes trips to see her can be very painful, but other times, they feel closer then ever. From both sisters sharing intrests to boys, the girls find ways to stay close. Cookie is often very upset at school and loses some friends, but in the end makes new ones and learns to be happy.
"Stop Pretending" is anything from wild to happy, and from sad to confused. Sonya Sones, the author of this book, shares what her life was growing up and did a very nice job of showing it.
Rating:
Summary: Stop Pretending, a book that doesnt pretend
Review: Stop pretending is a book that doesn't mess around. It was a really good book. This is the real deal, based on the author's own experiences. It's in poem form, and written really well. I loved the way Sonya Sones drew a picture in my mind. With each word another line was drawn. This book is in 1st person point of view. That made the book come alive! When you're reading a 1st person point of view book you can actualy tell what the characters are thinking and feeling while you're reading it. I have read another book Sonya Sones has written and it was wonderful. After I was done reading it, I went looking for more books from the same author. Thats when I found Stop Pretending. Sonya Sones is a very talented writer. She wrote diaries of what happened to her sister, and then put it into the book Stop Pretending. The main character, Cookie tells the story so realistically it's scary. I got attached to the character's personalities and was rooting for each and every one of them through out the whole book. While I was reading it sometimes I had to stop and snap out of it, and realize that these people arn't real. Stop Pretending isn't your everyday book that you would randomly check out of the library. If you're going to read it, be prepared to brake out a few boxes of tissues. It's a serious book about a teenage girl who's older sister goes insane on New Year's Eve and has to be put in the pychiatric ward that same night. Suddenly Cookie's whole family has turned from fun loving to crazy strangers living in her house. While Cookie balances her insane sister and her strange crazy parents she worries about losing her friends at school. Until she finds love in the heart of the new kid at school, her life is a crazy mixed up rollercoaster that wont stop going! If you're looking for a book thats laugh out loud comedy, fall out of your chair funny, dont touch this book. After reading it, it will make you put your life into perspective, and make you think, "Gosh I dont really have it that bad." I would definatley read another book by Sonya Sones. I couldn't put the book down and was always interested in what was next. I thought it was a strong well written novel, that is a must read for teenagers and adults.
Rating:
Summary: Stop Pretending A Book Everyone can Relate To
Review: Stop Pretending is a great book. I personally loved it. I would recommend this book to people who love realistic fiction novels.
This book is about a girl whose sister goes crazy. It takes place in a small everyday town. The whole story is about what happens to her and how things begin to change. Examples of changes are her friends don't like her anymore, she finds out about people making jokes, rumors are going around her at school, and her family begins to fall apart.
Throughout the course of the book she finds herself hanging out with people who at one point she thought were strange but then turn out to be very different. There is a boy that is new to her school and she begins to like him a lot. They end up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Whenever she is with him she forgets about her sisters problems. What makes him special is he doesn't care about her sisters problems and this just makes her like him more. The book is written in a poetic format which makes it easy and fun to read. There are certain parts in the book that really grab your attention and make you want to read more and more and find out what happens. The main character in the book is very normal. She thinks and feels like every other kid her age which makes it very easy to relate to her. But as the book continues her thoughts and feelings begin to differ due to what she has experienced. There are parts in the book where you can hear what she is thinking. Such as "Is it her fault her sister went crazy?" "Did she do something?" And other times she thinks her sister is faking. The book is full of mixed emotions and thoughts.
I think what makes the book memorable is the fact that some people really do have sisters who unfortunately have gone through similar experiences. It also made me happy that she was able to work out her frustrations about her sister and her sister's problems. So when I read the book I just think how lucky I really am. This book is truly wonderful and an absolute joy to read.
I think anybody could read this book and benefit from its message. So many times things come up that most people overlook in life and this book brings them out.
Rating:
Summary: Issues via Poetry
Review: Stop Pretending is a collection of a thirteen-year old girl's thoughts, feelings, and actions after her sister is diagnosed with a mental illness. The book relays a teenager's emotional journey through shock and denial to relief and acceptance of her sister's condition. Though this story is told in an unorthodox form-- a series of poems-- its poetic style strengthens the narrative. The poems allow readers to experience Cookie's thoughts and feelings with her. There is no background information or perspectives from other people; the poems solely express Cookie's concerns, questions, confusions, joys, and sorrows. While it gives no hints or suggestions for fixing the problems that accompany mental illness, it leaves its readers with a sense that Cookie has made peace with the mental illness and that her life will be more joyful. These poems are inspired by events that occurred in the author Sonya Sones' life. Sones' oldest sister was unexpectedly diagnosed with a mental illness. Sones had always looked up to her sister, and this diagnosis created emotional and relational instability in her life. Many years later, Sones was able to take the journal entries she had written during that time and change them into the collection of poems that became Stop Pretending. The poems in Stop Pretending are based on Sones' own thoughts and feelings as a teenage girl. She bares her soul to her readers as they swept up in her thoughts. This book deals with many issues teenagers face everyday, including family struggles, loneliness, relationships, friendship, self-identity, and drugs. Readers are prompted to think about how to deal with these topics. For example, what exactly does it mean to be a friend? Does it mean acting cool and saying the right thing all the time? Or does friendship mean being open and honest with one another, always giving support, and accepting each other? Yet this book not only stretches its readers to ponder personal issues, it focuses on an issue that most readers have never encountered personally: knowing someone who is affected by a mental illness. Most teenagers, even adults, have never dealt with a person who has a serious mental illness, much less a loved one. Most people do not want to even think that a mental illness could affect them. Stop Pretending brings into light that this could happen to you or someone you know. In Stop Pretending, Cookie's sister was a regular teenage girl, until one night she snapped unexpectedly. The book also shows that more people are affected by mental illness than the reader probably realizes. In Stop Pretending, Cookie, her parents, and her sister are all affected by this mental illness. Yet Cookie kept her struggles to herself because of fear that if anyone knew, they may reject her. I wonder how many people in the world keep issues like this as their secret? The power of this book is that Stop Pretending allows all these issues to be explored by the reader, while still being inside the comfort zone of a book. Stop Pretending brings the reader out of his or her tightly knit personal world into a realm that he or she had never experienced before. It makes the reader struggle with unfamiliar and uncomfortable issues. It broadens the reader's horizons by letting the reader see someone else's thoughts. It may also encourage him or her to be more considerate towards people who are going through tough times. This book, though in poetic form, is an easy read. The poems flow effortlessly together and create a coherent story. I would recommend this book to people who wish to gain more knowledge and understanding of people with mental illness and their families. Teenagers, middle school and older, would also enjoy and learn from this book. Finally, this book is recommended to anyone who wants to experience of the power of poetry.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK!
Review: Wonderful story! What could be more tragic than a teenage girl who has lost her friends, her sister, and all hope? Just like that. Cookies sister went crazy. Not being able to think, Cookie is drowning in confusion. Her family is falling apart and everything goes down hill from there. This is an AWESOME story! You have to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Stop Pretending.. A good book..
Review: Stop Pretending The novel I read is called Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones. This book is good about explaining how Cookie feels about her sister being crazy.
Cookie's friend, Molly, isn't a good character because she is mean to Cookie when she finds out that Cookie's sister is crazy and in a mental hospital. I liked Sarah because she stuck by Cookie's side even though her sister was crazy. The theme is don't judge a book by its cover. This means that when looked at Cookie know her sister was crazy doesn't mean she crazy even though she acts like it sometimes. I liked most of the book, but if I had to choose just one part it would be when she gets her camera and takes pictures of her sister through her eyes. The part I didn't like is when Molly passed a note that made fun of Cookie. I'm very satisfied with the end of the book, but I'm not going to tell you if it sad or happy.
The author was a very unique way of writing her stories because she has many poems put together to make a story. The way that she writes keeps you interested. The vocabulary is pretty easy. I suggest this book for girls 10 to 13 because it is about a girl and it is difficult to see through her eyes if you are younger than ten. I strongly recommended this book because it is based on a true story, which makes you think of other people. I give this book a ...[five] stars.
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Summary: Out of the blue
Review: This book is about a 12 year old girl who goes through nothing imaginable. She has a sister who is about 16 and "out of the blue" she goes crazy. This book is written in all poems. It is mostly about the 12 year old girl dealing with the fact that her sister is crazy. She is trying not to let anyone know, butsomehow they find out and she has no friends. The first 2/3 of the book is really sad but it is touching. In the last third of the book she gets a boy friend and things start to turn around. I can't tell you if her sister gets better, but everyone is happy in the end.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a great book....I'm not pretending
Review: What happens when your big sister goes crazy and ends up in a mental institution? What happens when all your friends ditch you because they think you're crazy too? That is what this story is about. Cookie's sister, who she has always looked up to, is diagnosed with a mental illness. All Cookie's friends ditch her, because they think she might be crazy too. While having problems with friends, the once close family is now suffering. When they try to spend time with their older sister she ends up having a fit.
This book sheds light on the fact that if someone you know, or someone in your family is diagnosed with mental illness, it hurts you too. Stop Pretending is a true life story. The author Sonya Sones went through this in her life, and this book is a collection of her poems. I would recommend this book to older kids and adults that are interested in mental diseases.
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Summary: Stop Pretending, beautifully written inspirational poetry!
Review: I am 15 and on my High School's Speech and Debate team. When I first joined I wanted to compete in Poetry. You have 7-10 minutes to read your poem(s). I wanted to read a dramatic poem, and asked our speech coach for help. She handed me this book and told me to select a few poems from it and then time it, then add more poems or sut some to fit within the time constraints. I wanted to read the whole book. Regretfully I had to cut. And Cut and cut.I was so disapointed that I couldn't read all the beautiful dramatic poems in this book. They are all so heartfelt and inspirational, telling the reader that there is hope, and making you think twice about saying some sick joke "And at the cafeteria table Kate said 'alright, which path does a mental patient take to get out of a forest...they pychopath!' they all laughed
but i just sat there..." She talks aboutloosing her friends when they find out, about the dramatic night when her family was transformed into stangers, the sanitarium, the time her sister helped her, and now she can't help her sister...and the dramatic time she says she shares 'not a single smae gene, not a singe INSANE gene" with her sister... A truley Dramatic book about a tragic story and the inspirational truth it holds for millions. I reccomend this for anyone who is going through hard fmaily times and anyone else.
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