One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
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Age Range
12+
ISBN
0689858205
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Another Novel in Verse From the Master
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5.0
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We meet Ruby at the airport, where she is flying across the country to meet and live with her father after her mother's death. Oh yeah, her father is a Hollywood star (think Tom Cruise) and Ruby is furious with him for never contacting her before her mother's death.

This is the only one of Sonya Sones' novels in verse that I haven't read and it held up to the high standard I have come to expect from her. Although the tone is light in the book, it features some lines that I will be pondering long after finishing the book. One is, "Worry is negative prayer." I am a big worrier, so this is a quote for that side of me. Another is:
"And I flat out refuse
to have one of those lives
that I wouldn't even want
to read about."
I want to hang that quote up in my classroom to inspire students (and me) to dream bigger and do more.

Despite the title, this isn't really One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. First, the mother has died before the book began. Second, although Ruby misses her mother and is devastated by the loss, she expresses it in a unique way: she continues to email her mother's old address, with messages full of "LOLs" and "How are things in the casket? Not too damp, I hope." This is the aspect of the novel that I liked least. Since Ruby is still early in the grieving process, I don't think she would be at the place where she could make crass jokes.

I also found it a bit difficult to pity Ruby, moving into a gorgeous mansion with a man who is bending over backwards to make her happy. She may be upset at him for missing such a large chunk of her life, but her father so obviously cares about her and wants to make her happy that it just ends up reflecting poorly on Ruby.

Despite these nitpicks, I enjoyed One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. Simply put, Sonya Sones writes what I want to read.
Good Points
Sones' writing is always fantastic.
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I loved the way it was written!!!
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Alexis

I loved this book. It was really easy to get through because it was kinda written in poem form. I think that Ruby had a hard time moving in with her non existent father, but the book worked well. Ruby had to leave her life and her best friend and her boyfriend. She moved to Hollywood to live with her ultra famous father who she never met before. Ruby is amazed by how he says he wants to be a good father now that she is 15 years old. She makes a couple new friends at her new school. Everyone there is the offspring of someone famous. I think this book is a very well written book. It is easy to follow and has some suspense. Sonya Sones doesn't let you forget about Ruby's life before her mother died. This book is a great read for teen girls.
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One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
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4.0
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4.0
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Reader reviewed by Colleen Driscoll

A good book I recently read is One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, by Sonya Sones. Sonya Sones is an excellent author who creates stories using poem form. Her stories always intrigue me with their interesting and unique plot lines. Although the title makes it actually sound like one of those hideous books where the mother dies, it is far from that. This book is about a girl named Ruby whose mother dies from cancer and she is dragged across the country, to California, to live with her movie star father, Whip Logan. The whole story is told from Rubys perspective. Throughout the book she longs to be with her best friend, Lizzie, her boyfriend, Ray, and of course her recently passed mother. The story has the emails Ruby sends to her friend, boyfriend, and even her dead mother in it which really helps for the reader to get to know the real Ruby. She never seems to give her newfound father a break and just sees him as a scumbag who divorced his mother before she was born. She ignores his constant attempts at creating a relationship, meanwhile creating a friendship with her fathers assistant Max. She always talks with Max and he is like her diary, being such a good listener, except unlike a diary he gives her advice on what to do in many situations with her father. In the end an earthquake causes a secret to be revealed and leaves us, the readers, with a satisfying conclusion. This was a page turner book that I strongly recommend reading if you need a break from everyday writing!
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all too real
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by becca

This book is an all too real story. This is a story of what can happen to any girl at anytime and anywhere in the world and sadly it does. This book has made me so greatful to have a mother who is there for me whenever i need her.I couldn't imagine what this girl is going through. I truely love this book.
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Strong and powerful
Overall rating
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
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Reader reviewed by abscae

Well, one thing is apparent. This book is anything but apparent.

Sonya Sones blows me away with all her other books, and she doesn't fail this time around either. In fact, I have to admit that this is the one book that I love to bits, and my favorite out of her collection.

Ruby moves across the country to the infamous Whip Logan's house. Why? Because he is her father. The father that divorced her mother before she was born. The father that she came to hate. The father that was never a father. She is bitter, bitter for having to leave everything she knew and loved and belonged to behind for a man that she barely knows. She is bitter for the death of her mother, and resists any attempts of bonding from Whip. She cages herself in her room, writing in desperation to her dead mother. Writing to find solace. And then the earthquake comes, and so do the revelations.

Written in beautiful prose, this book left me heartbroken and changed. Strong and powerful, I hope it'll leave you changed as well.
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Much More than what the Title says it is
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Stephanie

After reading this book, you will want to rush to the library to get your hands on every novel-in-verse you can find, even if you didnt used to like poetry.

But of course, you will be let down, because no other novel-in-verse can really compare to this one.

Reading the title, I had expected something depressingly deep and serious. However, Sonya Sones third novel-in-verse is surprisingly snarky and fun, all the while managing to be poignantly real. 15-year-old Rubys mother has just died, and shes going all the way across the country to L.A. to live with her Oscar-winning actor father, Whip Logan, who abandoned her and her mother before she was even born. Needless to say, Ruby is excited not a whit, especially as this move takes her away from her boyfriend Roy, her best friend Lizzie, and her mothers grave.

At Whips extensive mansion, Ruby determinedly avoids Whips bonding advances, instead favoring his personal assistant, Max, who has a big heart. She also has trouble adjusting to her very unique school, especially her Dream Interpretation class, because her head is almost always wrapped up in missing Roy, Lizzie, and her mom. Perhaps, though, a shocking severance from her East Coast life will wake her to new possibilities in her new home.

Ruby is funny, emotional, and someone you definitely want to be friends with. I highly recommend this book.
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One of Those Wonderful Books by Sonya Sones
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Alexandra

After her mother dies, Ruby is dragged 3,000 miles across the country to live with her father, whom she has only seen on the big screen. She has to leave her best friend, aunt, and best friend behind in Boston and go to L.A., where they give tickets for crossing the street. She is determined to give her father the cold shoulder-- after all, he did ignore her for fifteen years, but she befriends his assisstant, which is some comfort. Her new school is like the biggest game of charades ever, and she's not sure where she fits in, but it's certainly not in Dream Interpreting class, where she can never remember any of her dreams. It takes a natural disaster-- an earthquake, to be exact-- for Ruby to realize where, exactly, she fits in. This book, despite the title, is not at all hideous or sad. In true Sonya Sones style, it is funny, touching, and written in free verse.
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A really wonderful book really
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4.0
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4.0
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Reader reviewed by safia

This is the story,
of a girl,
whose mother has died.
The girl,
she moves to L.A.,
away from her boyfriend,
away from her best friend,
to live with her famous movie-star father,
whom she's only seen in movies,
but never actually met.

This book,
is her thoughts,
and emotions.

'One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies' is a story that has been told many times though maybe in different forms. Girl has famous father, girl's parents are divorced. Girl loses mother, girl moves town and misses best friend/boyfriend. Girl feels alone and so on and so on. Yep, heard it all. But this story is special because it's broken down into simple poems. It's predictable, but lovely anyways.
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One of those great books where Sonya Sones is the author :)
Overall rating
 
5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Grace

I've read Sonya Sones' previous two books, which were great, but this one is the best. I love Ruby's sense of humor and metaphors. :) The ending is the best because it makes you feel sad, then you understand, and it leaves you with a warm feeling. This is a great, well-written book, and every teenager should read it.
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Not hideous at all
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by linda

Don't lot the title deter you, it's really not a hideous book though the mother does die. Ruby is flying all the way to L.A. after her mother dies and she is sent to live with her father who she hasn't seen in years, well at least not face to face. You see, Ruby's dad is one of the biggest movie stars in the world but that won't make Ruby love him. She absolutely hates him for leaving her mother when she was born and she especially hates the way he is always so nice and understands what she is thinking. In the end everything is fine, though Ruby is a little surprised.
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