Sonya Sones’ “What My Mother Doesn’t Know”

This book is a little bit different. It is a poetry novel. I found it extremely readable and the verse form did not put me off at all. If anything, it enhanced the emotional involvement. That’s good news for the teen reader as well. Emotional involvement is always important. Poetry novels also have the advantage that they are quicker to read – even though they stay with you longer. An efficient process, therefore.
If this hadn’t been a poetry novel, because of its content, it would be “chicklet-lit”. Chicklet-lit is like chick-lit but for the next generation down – for the young adult. It already has a little more gravitas than the Bridget Jones style novels. In this form, though it really takes off. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as close to a protagonist as I do to Sophie in this novel.
Is it something I’d like to have a go at myself? I certainly think so. It is definitely something I’d recommend to my students. It would be fantastic for their Final Portfolio, an important final year module.