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 b... read full description
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Jun 04, 2008
Alyssa
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People often write about what it's like to experience mental illness, but witnessing it is hardly ever writen about. Stop Pretending is the story of a girl who watches her sister decend into desperation, and the confusion that comes with watching someone you care about become unfamiliar to you. The book is written in a series of poems that paint a picture of the internal struggles she went through. It was interesting to watch the girl begin to question herself based on her sister's experiences.
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May 23, 2008
Christie
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Stop Pretending is a story of a young girl that suffers from a mental disorder. She grew up as a normal girl in a loving family and had an excellent relationship with her younger sister. Suddenly, she starts hearing voices in her head. It gets so out of control that she must be placed in a mental institution. The story is actually not told through the eyes of this girl, but by the younger sister, Cookie. It is an extremely emotional story written in free verse. Cookie recalls memories with
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Nov 04, 2009
Nileishka
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This is one of my favorite Book's because this book taught me alot one of the things that this book taught me was No matter what happens keep your head up high this book is really intresting is about a girl that her big sister had a nervous break down && now every one says she unormal just because her sister turn a lil bit crazy && people that she thouqht would be there for her was never there they just left her all alone with no body support buht her parents this also taught me that dont care a
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Jun 02, 2008
Heather
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Stop Pretending was an interesting but confusing book. I had to re-read that book over and over and i still dont get some of it. I liked how the family started to go and visit the one who went crazy. I also felt bad for the "normal" sister because she wasnt getting the attention that she wanted. I also liked how she kept the advice she got from her teacher. I hated how all her founds like disowned the "normal" friend because her sister went crazy. I think that people shouldnt
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Mar 30, 2009
The subtitle of Stop Pretending says it all: "What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy." In a sequence of short, intense poems based on the author's own experiences, a 13-year-old girl suffers through her shifting feelings about her sibling's mental illness. She recalls the terror of the Christmas Eve when Sister was suddenly transformed into a stranger; the horror of visiting Sister in the hospital and finding her rocking on all fours; the fear that her friends will find out; her o
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May 23, 2011
Julia
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LOVE LOVE LOVED this book, and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting to. Poetry isn't typically my forte, but this I thought was beautiful. It related her feelings in an honest simple way, including only the imagery that she felt or saw-it didn't feel forced or like it was trying to impress someone with how many big words she could write or how much feelings she could burden you with, like some other poetry is. It just felt honest-there were good days for her [and her sister and family] and
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Apr 03, 2011
Patricia
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In celebration of National Poetry Month I am devouring Verse Novels all month long. Stop Pretending is an amazing read and a great place to start this month off right. Cookie is forced to deal with something that many pretend does not exist, or at least many can ignore. Cookie can't ignore her sister's mental breakdown and her stay in the Psych Ward. When her sister is committed Cookie's world starts to unravel - her parents are either fighting or pretending everything is alright. She becom
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Jan 19, 2011
Alissa
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Stop Pretending was a book that looks at a sisters point of veiw on her older sister (whom shes suppose to look up to)when she snaps, and goes crazy. her older sister does not make sesne, hardly remembers people who love her most. It Really paints a picture in your mind with every word that is written; at some level, "stop pretending" could be considered poetry, but to me i just took it as a diary by a 13 year old girl and the struggles she goes thrugh while in this position. The book
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Jul 07, 2010
Realteenreviews
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The Gist
This book is a collection of poems that make up a story about a girl who has schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disease that makes you hear voices, see hallucinations, smells odors that other people don’t smell, and even feel things like fingers grabbing your arm even though nobody is around. It is a very serious condition and the main character in this book has a sister who has it. Cookie’s sister had always been normal. Then one night, completely out of nowhere, her More...
This book is a collection of poems that make up a story about a girl who has schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disease that makes you hear voices, see hallucinations, smells odors that other people don’t smell, and even feel things like fingers grabbing your arm even though nobody is around. It is a very serious condition and the main character in this book has a sister who has it. Cookie’s sister had always been normal. Then one night, completely out of nowhere, her More...
Jun 17, 2010
Angela
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I loved this book! I never read a book of poetry that told a story before. Sonya Sones uses poetry as a way to express her emotions during the time her sister spends in a psychiatric ward. The book reads like a journal, but in the form of poems. The second poem in the book describes her sister’s mental breakdown on Christmas Eve. Subsequent poems describe how she hides this fact from her friends for a short time and how they react when she finally tells them. Sones also writes about her visits t
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Jun 02, 2008
Zach
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This is a complicated book because it is full of diary enteres, but once you start reading it, you start thinking what if this happened to me or i wonder what it would be like to have a crazy sister. If you think you are an outcast yourself then you should definally read this to get your mind off things that are bad right now and look and read of what this girl has to deal with her family and her sister. I liked this book because it was way different then all the other ones at the time.
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Jun 10, 2011
Ashley
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This was a cute book of poems for a middle school girl. I wasn't terribly impressed by the poetry itself, but it was varied and honest. It actually reminded me a lot of the poetry I used to write in middle school. I wasn't terribly convinced by the sister's insanity, however. I think it might have helped to know what her mental issue was because, in this day and age, people don't just "go crazy", we actually diagnose them with something. I felt like a 13-year-old would be able to handl
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May 13, 2008
Jlawton
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I enjoyed Sonya Sones style of writing. This is the first book I read with the unique prose style. I learned to be more conscious about judging people by his/her family members. At one point, the sister felt people were pointing and staring at her because her sister went to a mental institution. She questioned herself and had doubts about what her life will entail. Will this happen to here? Her self worth was caught up in something she had no control over.
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May 11, 2011
Brianne
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This was an amazing book! I could not put it down. It is all poems and it is very quick and easy to read. There were so many emotions going throughout this book from, not only the author, but for the reader as well.
This book was written in poem form because the authors sister had been put into a psychiatric ward. She went through all her thoughts and put them in poem form so she could express how she was feeling. It's incredible how much strength this 13 year old girl had while she More...
This book was written in poem form because the authors sister had been put into a psychiatric ward. She went through all her thoughts and put them in poem form so she could express how she was feeling. It's incredible how much strength this 13 year old girl had while she More...
Jun 21, 2010
Nancy
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These poems illustrate a girl’s journey of discovery when her sister was placed in a psychiatric ward and diagnosed as manic-depressive. Her once close family became strangers as her mother retreated into depression while her father turned to the TV to block out the pain. Sonya describes her feelings of fear, hopelessness, sorrow, and lonliness as she processed her sister’s madness. Going through the grieving process, she documented feelings of weariness, anger, and pain. After a time, small gli
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Feb 14, 2011
i thought this book was very emotional. i thought it was very emotional for the girl who always had her sister with her and now she felt all alone without her. i think she saw her sister go crazy at such a young age that she was so confused about it. ontop of it she had to see her parents stressed out and she had no attetion. it was either about her sister or something about the hospital. i think it was good that she started loving herself because she realized it was something she had to do. she
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Dec 28, 2010
Karen
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Sonya Sones wrote this novel about a young teen whose older sister is hospitalized for a psychiatric episode from her own personal experience -- and it shows. The writing is powerful and heartfelt. I'm an enormous fan of novels in free verse, and this one did not disappoint. It's amazing how effectively a multitude of short poems can convey emotion and tell a coherent story. The book is a quick read but one that leaves a strong impression. My only question was why there was no mention of med
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Jun 02, 2009
This book was a really good book. it caught my eye. one second her sister is a normal person, living a normal life. the next day she's gone into a crazy stage and was put in the psych ward. Her younger sister AKA Cookie, is the one telling the story and the troubles that she faces in school. at first everything was normal because Cookie kept her life out of conversation. But one day she wanted to know what her friends would say or how they would act if she told them that her sister was crazy. Sh
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May 31, 2011
Taryn Brittany
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After Cookie's older sister has a mental breakdown and ends up being hospitalized, Cookie struggles with accepting the situation. She worries not only about her sister but also about how her friends and classmates will react when they hear about her sister. Cookie fears that she will also develop mental illness. As the family adjust to their new reality, Cookie visits her sister often and tries to reestablish the connection they once had.
This short novel-in-verse packs a powerful pu More...
This short novel-in-verse packs a powerful pu More...
Mar 23, 2010
Tarah
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I have just finished Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones. This is the 3rd book I have read by Sonya Sones, and she again leaves me astonished by her powerful writing, honesty, and realism-expressed trough out her book. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy is an autobiography filled with strong themes and issues. The main character and narrator’s name is Cookie she tells an inspiring story growing up with a manic-depressi
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Jun 28, 2011
Asenath
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Apr 16, 2009
Anajairi
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I loved reading this book i actually cried when i read this. This book is about a girl that has a sister with needs. i Started crying because i have a younger and older sister and i thought of my sisters having needs and my parents not always caring or visiting her at the center. This book is very intense and i would love to read it again and i think i will when break is over. The ending of the book is nice because the whole family is at the center and there all playing a baord game and laughi
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Jun 27, 2011
Jolene
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Good little book. Fast read, maybe 40 minutes. I thought the poetry would be lame-O, but I ended up liking it quite a bit. The medical care in the story seemed dated and when I read about the author I saw that she was writing from personal experience--about 20 years ago. Sones captures a moment that sent her family reeling into an upheaval of emotions, highlighting the stress each family member felt going through this experience, ultimately coming together again in a new way. It left me with que
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Jul 06, 2011
Jasmyn
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this was very good but it reminded me about my sister when she was in a car accident and she had broke her harm and i allways wanted to be just like her and she is one of my heros. it seen in the begginng of the book that she said before she got sick that the family climbed into the big hammock. i could tell that christmas eve wasnt going to be the same because of her sister getting sick. her sister had really went crazy around 3:00 am that same night like she wouldnt stop talking hasnt catch br
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May 24, 2011
Haylee
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I felt so connected to this book. Although my sister is far from crazy, I look up to her, just like the speaker in this story. I'm not a huge fan of poetry, but having this story told in verse spoke more to me than an actual written novel would have. I felt like I was the speaker in the story, wanting to have a normal life and just BE normal. After reading this book, I acknowledge that no one is normal. We all have our differences and weird querks about us. I would definitely recommend this book
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Dec 10, 2009
James
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Cookie doesn’t come from a normal family. She has a sister, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like she does. Her sister had a mental breakdown and now lives in an institution. Now, Cookie doesn’t only have to worry about fitting in at school, but she also has to fit into her new family situation. Her parents cry all the time and she has no one to talk to. She’s worried it could happen to her so she hides the truth from her friends for long time. When she spends time with her sister, she yearns for h
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Jun 03, 2008
Miranda
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A crazy book! I can't imagine having a sister and having her be okay one day, and totally crazy the next. It's sad that the girl doesn't understand how it has happened or why. She just knows her sister is crazy and in the hospital. A book that's hard to put down!
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Aug 03, 2009
Hilary
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When Cookie is 13 years old, her older sister has a nervous breakdown and ends up in the hospital. Told in verse, Cookie relays her thoughts and feelings to get her through the difficult times that follow. Sones uses a variety of poetry techniques to tell her story. From free verse, to rhymes to lists, you feel her anger and pain. Strong imagery (inhaling the pink scent of spun sugar, the salty tangs of popcorn and beer, the beats of a hundred different radios passed us by.) put the reader i
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Jun 08, 2011
I think that this book was very emotional. I think it was crazy how the girl and her sister were so close, and her sister developed a trait that made her crazy. It was sad that the girl was humiliated by her sister, cause she didnt want her sister to have any influence on what people percieved her as. I also think i would feel so bad if that happen to my sister, i wouldnt deny my sister or be humiliated though. I would have accepted my sister no matter what. I think that the girl was just too yo
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Feb 10, 2009
Kali
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VOYA Evaluation Code: 5Q; 3P
A) Pre-Reading/Anticipatory Thoughts
I'm not sure why I am so intrigued by stories of mental illness; however, this one is no different. I initially picked up this book and thought it could be of no value because it is so small. I flipped through the book and realized it was a story composed of poetry. The fact that it was not the traditional format of a book made me want to read it. I anticipate enjoying a different reading experience. I also have a feelin More...
A) Pre-Reading/Anticipatory Thoughts
I'm not sure why I am so intrigued by stories of mental illness; however, this one is no different. I initially picked up this book and thought it could be of no value because it is so small. I flipped through the book and realized it was a story composed of poetry. The fact that it was not the traditional format of a book made me want to read it. I anticipate enjoying a different reading experience. I also have a feelin More...
