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    Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
    Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
    Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
    Ebook164 pages45 minutes

    Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

    By Sonya Sones

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    It happens just like that, in the blink of an eye. An older sister has a mental breakdown and has to be hospitalized. A younger sister is left behind to cope with a family torn apart by grief and friends who turn their backs on her. But worst of all is the loss of her big sister, her confidante, her best friend, who has gone someplace no one can reach.

    In the tradition of The Bell Jar, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, and Lisa, Bright and Dark comes this haunting first book told in poems, and based on the true story of the author's life.

    2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA) and 2000 Quick Picks for Young Adults (Recomm. Books for Reluctant Young Readers)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperTeen
    Release dateFeb 22, 2011
    ISBN9780062044730
    Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
    Author

    Sonya Sones

    Sonya Sones has written seven novels in verse: The Opposite of Innocent, Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy; What My Mother Doesn’t Know and its companion, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know; One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies; To Be Perfectly Honest; and Saving Red. Sonya’s books have received many honors, but she was especially thrilled when she learned that she was on the American Library Association’s list of the Most Frequently Challenged Authors of the 21st Century. She lives near the beach in California. You can visit her at www.sonyasones.com or write her at sonyasones@gmail.com.

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    Reviews for Stop Pretending

    4/5

    167 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      It was short but an easy read. Sones' words tugged on the heart even with short phrases. Would read her books again
    • 4/5
      A novel written in verse, which is the perfect way to intrigue readers and really engage them with the struggle of having an older sister in a mental institution. Cookie is sensitive to both her sister and how her friends will treat her differently if they know. A very emotional read, and highly recommended!
    • 5/5
      I've always loved Sonya's books I hope Scribd can get more of her books in the future.
    • 5/5
      Sonya Sones grew to be one of my (recent) favorite authors after I read What My Mother Doesn’t Know, and soon after, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. I went out and bought all her books after I read those two. But what I didn’t expect is that Stop Pretending, Sones’ first book, is an even better book than those that came after it.

      Sones’ free-verse novel, Stop Pretending, does two amazing things that I haven’t witnessed in other free-verse novels so far. A majority of this book’s poems can be read separately from the others. They stand alone as very powerful works of poetry and don’t need the support of the “larger story.” At the same time, they all mesh together into that “larger story” that is hard to step away from, even with it being an emotional read. It’s the combination of these two effects that makes Sones such a great novelist and poet, all in the same work.

      Being that this is strongly influenced by the author’s life growing up, I feel that it helped her create the very real main character. The poems bring the reader deep into the mind of this teenager who doesn’t know how to deal with her sister’s hospitalization. This can only come from someone who’s dealt with similar issues in real life. It also allows a reader, and even society in general, to consider all sides of the situation. It’s not just the patient who needs therapy, or just someone to talk to in general. It’s all members of a family, no matter how much they try to hide it.

      Sonya Sones’ first book is by far my favorite of hers so far. It’s no wonder her books have gotten the attention they have.
    • 4/5
      A series of free verse poems about when the author's older sister had a mental breakdown and was committed to an institution, this short book flew by as I read it. The author explores all of her emotions dealing with her sister's mental illness and her parents' inability to deal with it - anger, fear, sadness, and disbelief. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      The book reminds me in terms of style of Ellen Hopkins. I read this book in 3 hours. I enjoyed this book because it explained having a family member with mental issues in a very real way. My mom had mental issues things unfortunately never really turned around for her though.
    • 3/5

      Intense, and important, especially because the author essentially is the narrator.  But the poems do nothing for me except add white space and pages (of course, that's true with most novels in verse, but still...), and the whole thing seems simplistic.  I think somebody needs to write a more in-depth book on the subject.  And maybe from a younger brother's pov, to make it more unique.  This is a quick read and might be significant to you or someone you know, so try it if you want to, but I wasn't wowed.

      (Best as I can tell, it has no triggers, but if you're doing bibliotherapy don't forget to check with your client or student first.)

    • 4/5
      Die 13jährige Cookie ist völlig fertig: Ihre geliebte und bewunderte große Schwester flippte am Heiligen Abend völlig aus und wurde kurz darauf in die Psychiatrie eingewiesen. Cookie ist hin- und hergerissen zwischen der Ohnmacht, ihrer Schwester nicht helfen zu können, der Angst vielleicht selbst durchzudrehen und dem Versuch, einfach alles zu ignorieren. All diese zum Teil auch widersprüchlichen Empfindungen hält sie in meist kurzen, aber dennoch sehr aussagekräftigen Gedichten fest.
      Wobei Gedicht hier weniger mit Reim oder metrischer Struktur zu tun hat, als mehr mit der speziellen Anordnung der Worte. Geht man darüber hinweg, lassen sich die Sätze wie poetische Prosa lesen. Sonya Sones schildert die Qual der kleinen Cookie ebenso überzeugend, wie sie durch deren Augen das Leid der großen Schwester beschreibt. Vermutlich weil sie selbst Ähnliches erlebt hat.
      Ein kleines, sehr gefühlvolles Buch ohne Kitsch über ein Thema, dass sich nur selten zwischen zwei Buchdeckeln wiederfindet. (Und nicht nur für Jugendliche geeignet!)
    • 3/5
      Review from library copy

      Based in the author's life and written in verse - what happens when a sibling has a mental illness
    • 5/5
      I loved this poetry book. I found it to be a very interesting way of documenting the authors feelings. It chronicles the months of Cookies life after her big sister has a mental breakdown and is institutionalized. It is full of emotion and demonstrates the grieving process that she goes through as she loses her sister, her family, and some friends. It describes the events that she is going through as well as wonderful memories that she has of her sister. The emotions described vary from grief, to anger, to guilt, and acceptance. They are extremely realistic and well documented. I wish this book had been out when I was growing up as it hit really close to home. I feel that it would be beneficial to read for anyone who may be going through a similar experience. The effect it has on a family is heartbreaking and a book such as this one could really help children. It is very memorable and well written. The poems often stand alone but put together tell a story. I highly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      I read this book when I was in about 5th grade and again in 8th. It's still stuck with me. I love the way Sonya tells this story and how well she's able to create so much depth and feeling in very few words. Love this story.
    • 5/5
      I have never read about mental illness written in such a beautiful way. Sonya Sones' falling rhythm poems tell the story of when her eldest sister (by seven years) had a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized. These short and powerful, easy-to-read and even easier to understand poems explicitly detail the author's feelings towards her situation, her sister, her mother, her father, her friends, herself. Devoured in a quick sitting, the impact of these poems are lasting. A beautiful way to deal with mental illness.
    • 4/5
      A girls sister goes crazy on Christmas and she doesnt know why she is mad because her sister has forgotten her name and her sister acts like she doesnt know her which makes her mad.
    • 2/5
      Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Sister Went Crazy was an okay book in my opinion. It pretty much went straight to the point. There would be a lot of things I would change though. For instance, there was no description to anyone in the book. And there is a conflict, her sisters crazy, but other than that there is nothing. She doesn't deal with it in any significant way or anything.

    Book preview

    Stop Pretending - Sonya Sones

    title page

    Dedication

    to my sister

    CONTENTS

    Dedication

    MY WHOLE FAMILY

    MY SISTER’S CHRISTMAS EVE BREAKDOWN

    THREE A.M. THAT SAME NIGHT

    NEAR DAWN

    HOSPITALIZED

    QUESTIONS

    THIN SKIN

    NEW YEAR’S EVE

    WHAT IT’S LIKE

    I WONDER

    MIDNIGHT SWING

    PAPER DOLL

    IN THE MORNING

    BREAKFAST TIME

    NOTHING HAS CHANGED

    WONDERING THROUGH THE HALLS AT SCHOOL

    IN ART CLASS

    INSTEAD OF STUDYING DURING STUDY HALL

    AT LUNCH

    THOUGHTS DURING ENGLISH CLASS

    FIRST FLIGHT

    WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF

    SINCE SISTER’S BEEN SICK

    SNAPSHOT

    FOUND AND LOST

    THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT

    THE PHONE RINGS

    MY SUPPER THEORIES AS TO WHY

    APOLOGIES

    TO THE RESCUE

    ENGLISH HOMEWORK: DESCRIBE YOUR BEDROOM

    SISTER’S ROOM

    I WISH I MAY, I WISH I MIGHT

    FEBRUARY 15th

    WHEN WE GO

    WHAT WE DO

    TRYING TO PLAY MONOPOLY

    MASS PIKE

    NO MATTER WHAT

    SUNDAY NIGHT

    LIFE ON THE WARD

    HOW I KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE

    THE LOCKED WARD

    REALITEASE

    ANOTHER VISIT WITH SISTER

    STOP PRETENDING

    THE TRUTH IS

    YOU ARE

    IN DR. SAUNDERS’ OFFICE

    SISTER IN SLUMBERLAND

    AFTER MIDNIGHT

    IT’S BEEN FOREVER

    THE YOU I REMEMBER

    LAST JUNE ON OCEAN AVENUE

    LAST JULY, WHEN SISTER AND I GOT LOST AT THE CAPE

    LAST AUGUST AT NANTASKET BEACH

    PHOTO REALISM

    SAINT PATRICKS DAY

    MOLLY, KATE AND ME

    THOUGHTS DURING SCIENCE CLASS

    MINUS

    IN ENGLISH CLASS

    DURING HISTORY CLASS

    IN FRENCH CLASS

    BOSTON

    LIKE ALICE

    ONE BIT OF DIFFERENCE

    TIRED

    LAST NIGHT THEY FOUND AUDREY BECKER’S MOTHER

    BICYCLE RIDE

    MY GUIDANCE COUNSELOR

    SLUMBER PARTY LEVITATION

    IN GYM CLASS

    OVER IT

    WHY SISTER DOESN’T CROSS MY MIND ON THE WAY HOME FROM HORSENECK BEACH

    I DIDN’T NEED TO WORRY

    MRS. ZOLLI

    KODAK MOMENT

    IN THE DARKROOM

    THE NEW BOY

    THE BEST MAY 2nd OF MY LIFE

    HE CALLS ME EVERY NIGHT

    MAYBE I WON’T BE NEEDING A DOG AFTER ALL

    HER SELF-PORTRAIT

    AFTER SCHOOL

    FIRST DATE

    BECAUSE OF JOHN

    AFTER THE DANCE

    SECRET RENDEZVOUS AT THE FULL MOON CAFÉ

    AFTER THE PARTY ON FRIDAY NIGHT

    WITH A CLICK

    PSYCH WARD RULE #37

    E.R.

    MEETING SISTER

    SISTER’S VOICES

    SISTER SAYS IT’S NOT SO BAD

    SHOCK

    AFTER SHOCK

    HAIR TODAY, THERE TOMORROW

    GOING FOR THE GOLD

    FINALLY

    GIRLS’ NIGHT IN

    MEMORIAL DAY

    TONIGHT

    DR. MILTON SILVER

    IN THE VISITING ROOM

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    AUTHOR’S NOTE

    Stop Pretending Discussion Questions

    Back Ads

    About the Author

    Books by Sonya Sones

    Praise and Awards for Stop Pretending

    Credits

    Copyright

    About the Publisher

    MY WHOLE FAMILY

    I can

    remember what

    things were like before she

    got sick: my whole family climbed

    into

    the big

    hammock on the

    moondappled beach, wove

    ourselves together, and swayed

    as one.

    MY SISTER’S CHRISTMAS EVE BREAKDOWN

    One day

    she was my big

    sister, so normal and

    well-behaved, the next she was a

    stranger

    rushing

    out the door to

    Midnight Mass, a wild-eyed

    Jewish girl wearing only a

    nightgown.

    One day

    he was my dad,

    so calm and quiet and

    in control, the next he was a

    stranger

    dragging

    my big sister

    away from the door, up

    the stairs, screaming so loud that my

    ears stung.

    One day

    she was my mom,

    so reliable and good in

    a crisis, the next she was a

    stranger

    standing

    stock still with her

    hands clamped over her mouth

    and her eyes squeezed shut, not even

    breathing.

    That day

    I sank into

    the wall, wondering what

    these three people were doing in

    my house

    and I

    shouted that they

    had to stop, even though

    I wasn’t supposed to talk to

    strangers.

    THREE A.M. THAT SAME NIGHT

    She hasn’t gone to Mass,

    hasn’t gone to sleep,

    hasn’t stopped to catch her breath—

    she can’t stop talking.

    She’s showing me her stuff,

    tons of stuff she bought,

    stuff she bought this afternoon

    when she went shopping.

    Our bedroom’s filled with bags,

    way too many bags,

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