Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

Rating:
Summary: Thank you, thank you, a million thank yous, Ms. Sones!
Review: Finally, a book that looks at the implications of mental illness as viewed by the sibling of one who is ill. As a parent of a mentally ill child, I am so thankful that Sonya Sones wrote this. Whether your family has been touched by a mental illness or not, you will find this book to be a incredible work of literature. The prose poem writing style and the heartfelt emotion of this story will guarantee that this book will occupy a place in your memory, and your heart, for a very long time!

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Inspiring
Review: "Stop Pretending" is a powerful story, unsparing in its depiction of the grief, pain and sense of helplessness mental illness can cause within a family. Yet the book is inspiring and ultimately life-affirming as the central character struggles to survive the crisis and offers love and support to her hosptialized older sister. The poetry is direct and evocoative, never sentimental or falsely optimisitic. Although the lead character is a teenager, the book is a riveting read for adults (like myself) as well.

Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: The book "Stop Pretending" was great,it deals with love,friendship,and family. The author expresses feelings in the book very well,and the book is very easy to read,it is in poem format. The book takes turns,like one minute you will be reading about this and then it changes and you read something different. The main character in the book tells how she would hate to be like her crazy sister and while you read it you can sort of relate to her by the way she describes what she is talking about.While you read you can put yourself in the character's position and really enjoy the book even more.This book is a true story,the authors sister really did go crazy ,but got helped.This is an excellent book for all ages,my teacher read it and he loved it too.

Rating:
Summary: This book may help you
Review: My mom gave me this book and recommended I read it. I'm 15, and my younger sister has gone through a turmoil of events relating to mental illness and it has been very hard for me. Reading this book was very helpful, as it made me realize I'm not the only one experiencing these things. The poems are very insightful and emotional and make for a wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS A VERY MOVING BOOK!
Review: I read this great book in one sitting. I'm fifteen years old. I showed it to my mother and she read it in one sitting, too. I think it's a fabulous book for any age, but it's maybe too intense for kids under twelve. It's based on the true story of what happens when the older sister of a thirteen year old girl has a nervous breakdown and has to be hospitalized. It's written from the point of view of the younger sister, in really beautiful and easy to understand poetry , but reads like a fast-paced novel. It made me cry four times. And laugh ,too! If you liked "Girl, Interupted", you'll LOVE this book.

Rating:
Summary: worthwhile
Review: I bought this book for my 14.5 year old daughter as a Christmas present. When I received it I quickly scanned it and thought it might be depressing so I put it away and decided not to give it to her. I intended to mail it back, but I forgot. Recently she told me that she found it in the guest room closet and started reading it, as she had nothing else to read. Low and behold, she loved it. I realized that I ought to read it myself in case she had questions and to see if it was, indeed, depressing. While I don't think it the best book I've read recently, I would say that it is certainly worth reading. It's well written and steady and it surprises me that it is the author's first book. I'm not so sure that it would be a good book for just any adolesent, however.

Rating:
Summary: A "Must Read" for All
Review: This book is a "must read" for all as mental illness is present in many places. It so deeply gets to the core feelings of loved ones who are affected by mental illness in a family. This book also helps families to feel that they are releasing emotions of fear, anger, frustration, loss and sadness just by reading the passages. It almost has a medicinal feeling of help for these emotions. I greatly admire the author and her sister for the giving spirit of their revelations of mental illness.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent Book Everyone HAS to read!
Review: This book is wonderful! Once I started to read it, I couldn't put it down, and I finished it all in one afternoon. The rest of the afternoon I walked around in a daze, unable to stop thinking about STOP PRETENDING. It is a powerful book, not hard to read, captivating, and a great story! I hope Ms. Sones writes another book really soon, because I can't wait to read it!

Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL!
Review: Ms. Sones' writing touched me deeply. She allows the reader a glimpse of a world that is both moving and disturbing. I couldn't put the book down and as soon as I finished reading it, I turned to the first page and began again. With only a few words, she paints pictures so true and so deep, I was immersed in her experience. I would recommend this book for both adults and teens. It is the perfect example of the power of poetry.

Rating:
Summary: This is a VERY good book!
Review: I really liked Stop Pretending, even though I had to wait all afternoon for my mom to finish it. She kept saying "Oh, this is good! This is GOOD!" and then took the longest time to say she was done. Well, it was worth the wait because it WAS very good. The girl in the book sounded so real to me and she wrote all about her feelings which no one in her family really understood because they were so worried about their own feelings. No matter what, she loved her sister, and this is what made me really love the book. She never made what was happening to her sister sound easy and I know it's hard to admit how aful it is when someone in your family is sick, because you start to feel selfish if you do. When my brother was hit by a mailman he was in the hospital for a long time and my mom and dad spent all their time with him. Then he came home in a body cast for six months and he took up a lot of my parents time then too. I completley understood, but no one really understands how worried the other kids are too. I know that's different, but the worry is the same because you don't know whats happening and everyone sort of forgets to tell you. Anyway, this book is really, really good and I hate the word "crazy" because no one is really crazy, they're just sick. It's more ok to be sick in other ways than to be sick mentally. At least that's what a lot of kids think. Maybe grown ups too. I also liked the way this book was written because it was so pretty, even though the subject wasn't very pretty. I think a lot of kids should read this book because they will like the character a lot and it is about stuff they don't read about all the time. I'm going to do a book report on it as soon as Amazon sends me my copy.

Thank you for writing this book, Sonya Sones. I hope you write more books for kids like me that love to read!

Annie Hendershott age 14