One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

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One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 4,478 ratings · 595 reviews

My name is Ruby. This book is about me.

It tells the deeply hideous story

of what happens when my mother dies

and I'm dragged three thousand miles away

from my gorgeous boyfriend, Ray,

to live in L.A. with my father,

who I've never even met

because he's such a scumbag that he

divorced my mom before I was born.

The only way I've ever even seen him

is in the movies,

since he's this meg...more

Paperback, 272 pages

Published October 25th 2005 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (first published April 27th 2004)

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Novels in Verse

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Feb 06, 2008 Valerie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Valerie by: Kim

Shelves: young-adult

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies is Sonya Sones' third book written in verse. I actually read What My Mother Doesn't Know and What My Boyfriend Doesn't Know before this one, and I loved those two so much that it's hard to judge this one fairly on its own merits.

Although I really liked this book - four stars worth - I found its premise to be a little unbelievable: After Ruby's mom dies she has to go live with her dad, who she's never met, and who (by the way) also happens to be a...more

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Oct 05, 2008 Shelbi rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone!

Recommended to Shelbi by: Ms. Cranford

Shelves: book-club

This book is amzing! I absolutley loved it, and would read it a million times! I loved thid book because it was realistic and imaginative at the same time. one of those hideous books where the mother dies is enjoyable and I liked being able to realate to Ruby being a teen just like me. I don't know how she handled her mother dying so well, I give her credit for being able to do that considering I wouldn't ne able to. I recommend this books to any girls interested in reading about a 15 year old t...more

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Feb 13, 2009 Libbi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

This was a fantastic book! It was funny, sarcastic and unique. This book was also easy to read because each page was short and sweet. I liked this book so much it only took me a few days to read. Even though i loved the whole book, i had a particulary favorite part. My favorite part of the book was when Ruby and her father finally started having a normal, father-daughter relationship. It was my favorite part because Ruby started off hating her father and not wanting to be around him, to slowly r...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Nicole M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-irp-books

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
by Sonya Sones
Ruby Milliken, a fifteen year old girl, was sent to Los Angeles, California to live with her movie star father leaving her best friend Lizzie and boy friend Ray in Boston. Ruby’s mother died early that year so her Aunt Duffy has been taking care of her. Whip, Ruby’s father, finally gets the chance to be with his daughter who her mother has kept him from. Ruby has so much anger towards Whip because he missed 15 years of her life and i...more One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
by Sonya Sones
Ruby Milliken, a fifteen year old girl, was sent to Los Angeles, California to live with her movie star father leaving her best friend Lizzie and boy friend Ray in Boston. Ruby’s mother died early that year so her Aunt Duffy has been taking care of her. Whip, Ruby’s father, finally gets the chance to be with his daughter who her mother has kept him from. Ruby has so much anger towards Whip because he missed 15 years of her life and is reluctant to accept him as her father. Anything Whip says to her she gives rude remarks back. He does a lot for her but she doesn’t appreciate it. Ruby discovers how much Whip loves her and how sorry he is that he missed a lot of her life towards the end of the book. “This time it just makes me feel like reaching over and taking hold of my father’s nice, warm, dry hand” which shows that Ruby’s view of Whip has changed and she is finally treating him as a loving father (Sones 258).
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies is a great book about a girl who has so much anger built up towards her father that finally, over time, has discovered how much Whip really loves her and that he never wanted to leave her. This book is very well written and is a easy read. The writing makes it feel like Ruby is a real person dealing with these problems. It is very detailed and descriptive and makes it easier to picture what is really going on. “The fronds are fringed with fiery red, bobbing and dancing in the soft breeze, swishing and swaying like headless hula girls” is an example of the details that makes it easier to understand and gives the reader the ability to picture what is happening better. This was a very good book and I think I would read it again!
Rating this book 1-5, I would give it a 5 because I really enjoyed reading it. It was very easy to read and well written. It is a great story and when you get into the book, it is hard to stop reading it. It is a great book for any teenager to read but I do not suggest it for younger kids due to some of the content. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies is one of the best books I have read because of the large amount of detail and description which makes reading it even better.
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Jul 26, 2008 Sandi rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: grade 8 and up

Shelves: realistic-fic, young-adult, verse-novel

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

Great story, told in verse, but it never feels short or limited, or rushed. Ruby has never known her father, but when her mother dies she goes to live with him in LA. As if it isn’t so bad that LA is a million miles away from Boston, it gets worse: her father is a famous actor. For a few months Ruby resents her dad who has never been a part of her life. She thinks everything he says is phony and for a show to impress people. He doesn’t push or pres...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Stefani rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-teen

LOVED this story! When Ruby's mom dies, she has to move to the other side of the country to live in LA with her big-time actor father, who she's never met. She has to leave her best friend and boyfriend behind.

A sweet story about grief, life, friendship, and family. I totally predicted the climax, but I think teens will enjoy it. There are plenty of relatable stories, including mentions of other popular writers and stories.

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Apr 07, 2009 Muñekiita!♫ yannerys┼ herrera rated it 5 of 5 stars

i learn alot of stuff about ete libro!!

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Aug 10, 2011 Andrew Porteus added it

Shelves: young-adult

15 year old Ruby is bitter and angry - her mother died, she has to go live with her mega movie-star father in Los Angeles (who I've never even met / because he's such a scumbag / that he divorced my mother / before I was even born) and she is torn away from her boyfriend Ray, her best friend Lizzie, and her beloved Aunt Ruby, who are all left behind in Boston, and all of whom betray her in some fashion during the course of the novel.

Ruby's first few months in LA are explored in a series of one t...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Betty rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a good book. I would recommend this book to teenagers because they are the only ones who would understand it. This book is about a girl named Ruby whos father is a movie star. She wasant raised with him and her mother died so she lives with her aunt. Her aunt sends her to stay with her dad. Ruby hates the idea of moving to L.A to live with her dad who hasant had contact with her since she was born. She thinks of him as a traitor and calls him funny names like sperm donor. She...more

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May 14, 2013 Sally Monem rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies by Sonya Sones is a captivating novel told by chapters that are poems. The poems tell the story of a girl who looses her mother, and has to move to california to live with her father, who coincidently is a movie star. The novel is a first hand account of how Ruby, the main character, dealt with all this loss, and moving to a new state with her unknown father. The story throws in some amazing plot twists that the reader does not see coming, which m...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Juliette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not usually big on ranting but as amusing as this book was, I must say this book is full of false information. This books takes place in middle-of-everything Los Angeles,California. And for some this book might be a great way to fully experience the LA lifestyle but this book is full of false facts about what it is like to be rich and live in Cali. I know this cause I happen to live in the exact location this book takes place in. I go to a private school, with the kids of famous celebs. But...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Gilberto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gilberto Zambrano
Period #5
March 21, 2013

One of those hideous books where the mother dies

The girl’s dad is a gay person he is very caring and brave with his daughter even though she doesn’t pay much attention to him. The name of this book is one of those hideous books where the mother dies written by Sonya Sones. It’s mainly about a girl, Ruby, and her long lost father. After her mother’s death she had to move in with her father that wasn’t with her throughout her childhood; well that’s according...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Rebecca Clausing rated it 3 of 5 stars

I recently read the novel One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, by Sonya Sones. As per the title, the main character has a dead mother. However, I thought this was much different than other books I have read where the mother dies. This book wasn’t as nostalgic, or depressing as some books about people with deceased mothers. I found this story line to be predictable and cheesy. The lesser characters were easy to connect to, and the poems that this book consists of were a fresh laughab...more I recently read the novel One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, by Sonya Sones. As per the title, the main character has a dead mother. However, I thought this was much different than other books I have read where the mother dies. This book wasn’t as nostalgic, or depressing as some books about people with deceased mothers. I found this story line to be predictable and cheesy. The lesser characters were easy to connect to, and the poems that this book consists of were a fresh laughable way to read a story. I found this book a quick read and even though the story line was predictable, it was a good book to read for fun.

The one thing I liked the least about this book was how predictable the plot was. I won’t tell you what happens because then if you do want to read this book, what would be the point anymore? I merely just want to warn you that this book has many plot points that the typical young adult novel has. There is a best friend relationship, as well as a first love. There is a gay best friend, as well as a loving aunt relationship. There is even a relationship formed with the father who has not had contact for years. Even though many readers could have predicted the entire story, it was a very funny one.

This book contains many witty poems that portray a slightly off kilter teenage girl. Ruby, the main character is just describing her far from average life in a way that just makes you crack a smile. Ruby’s story is so different from anything that would happen to the common American teenage girl and yet she finds a way that still makes you laugh about her plight. The poems that Ruby expresses her story in are not common strict poems. These are just like having a conversation with Ruby. They let you straight into how and what she is thinking. Maybe there are other books like this out there, but I have yet to see or read any of them.

There was one more thing that I really liked about this book. The lesser characters. These people were so easy to connect to, because they were much closer to normal people. Yes they did things like sneak around lying to each other, and then pretend that everything was all good and happy. Yes that shouldn’t happen to the normal reader, but sadly I feel like pretty much everyone lies at some point. We can just hope that we don’t lie as much as these characters do. There are other things that these smaller characters do like let a Ruby borrow a jacket when she gets wet from running through the sprinklers, or help her to gain the confidence to try out for the school play. These are things that we and our friends do every single day.

Overall I would recommend this if book for someone looking for a quick entertaining read when you want to get away from the everyday life. Perhaps a read for spring break. The funny and witty story captures an abnormal girl that in common situations. Even if it can be predictable, it is in a good way. A way that comforts the reader and makes them think that everything in life can be that steady.
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Mar 12, 2013 Haley Reed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really liked this book! The author, Sonya Sones, did a very good job at creating a great novel in poem form. When I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down! I loved to make inferences on what I think was going to happen, and then seeing if I was right! I give this book four stars because it is really good and I think many people can connect with it. It is a super good book, with many good qualities. Some of the main things that I liked were the in-verse style, the interesting story-line, a...more I really liked this book! The author, Sonya Sones, did a very good job at creating a great novel in poem form. When I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down! I loved to make inferences on what I think was going to happen, and then seeing if I was right! I give this book four stars because it is really good and I think many people can connect with it. It is a super good book, with many good qualities. Some of the main things that I liked were the in-verse style, the interesting story-line, and the vulnerable nature of the main character.

The in-verse style was really cool to read! Sometimes poems are a little hard for me to read, but this was pretty easy to understand. Most of the time, I did not even register that it was written in poem form, because it is in free verse. I like reading free verse, mostly because it can easily show what the author is trying to portray without having to rhyme, which could inhibit the point that is trying to be made. It was cool how at some points, the author would switch to letter form. The letters had an interesting effect on the story, making it more in depth and personal, in relation to the main character, Ruby.

The story was really interesting too. I think a bunch of kids can relate with moving away from all that they know, to live with someone they barely know. Sonya Sones did a wonderful job at keeping the reader engaged with little twists and turns that one won’t see coming. I don’t want to be a spoiler, so I won’t say what those twists and turns are! But they make the story even better! It was pretty cool how Sones would incorporate famous people into the story-line, even if they weren’t major characters. It was cool thinking of a normal girl getting to experience such a new and exciting world, even in terrible circumstances.

Ruby, the main character, is really vulnerable. Like it says in the title, her mother dies. I do not even know how I would make it through losing my mother. She doesn’t have anyone to turn to and I feel for her. That made her even more endearing and relatable. I feel like she coped rather well for someone in her situation, although my friends thought she was just a big brat. But I try to see it through her eyes and how she would feel, and considering everything that happened to her, I totally see where she came from. She was so relatable, that it made the story even more engaging.

So as you can see, I rather liked this book and thought it was super engaging! Once again, I gave it four stars for its awesomeness and relatable nature. I think that people 16 and up would like this book, and should definitely pick it up and start reading!
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Mar 13, 2013 Bailey Jacobs rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book and really liked how it was written in-verse. It was fun and easy to read. There were no boring and drawn out parts of it. The story line was really interesting and I loved how it was from the point of view of a celebrity's daughter. The main character was pretty cool and had a really interesting life. Three main things that made me really like this book were its point of view, its relatability, and the author's writing style.

It was really cool how this book was told by the da...more I loved this book and really liked how it was written in-verse. It was fun and easy to read. There were no boring and drawn out parts of it. The story line was really interesting and I loved how it was from the point of view of a celebrity's daughter. The main character was pretty cool and had a really interesting life. Three main things that made me really like this book were its point of view, its relatability, and the author's writing style.

It was really cool how this book was told by the daughter of a famous movie star. I've never read a book thats main character is famous or is in some way related to a famous person. Most stories are told from regular people. Since Whip Logan, the movie star, was Ruby's dad she had a different opinion about him. While most people were obsessed with him and loved him she despised him. She didn't see him as this great idol and role-model like most people in the book did. She eventually liked him in the end but at first she hated everything he did. It was interesting to see a celebrity from the view of someone who knew he or she personally. I usually just hear about celebrities from the tabloids, not from their friends and families.

I loved how easy it was to relate to this book. Ruby is about my age and this book takes place during my generation. I could relate to Ruby and her feelings since she is a high school girl like me. I have friends that went through the same struggles that Ruby goes through in the book. The classes she took at her high school are much different than mine but I could relate to her dream analysis class. Many of the terms that were mentioned in this book I had learned in psychology class. It was funny how she mentioned Freud and Gestalt therapy. I could also relate to some of the celebrities mentioned in this book, like Cameron Diaz, Queen Latifa, and Brad Pitt. It made it easy to visualize the scenes since I know what those celebrities look like.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Ruby had a good sense of humor and sarcasm. The things she said were very witty and entertaining. The humor made the hard things Ruby was going through more light hearted and interesting. I was never bored while reading this book since it consisted of emails from her best friend and her boyfriend and not just Ruby's writing. We got to read their views first hand. The only poetry books I've ever read were children's books so I really liked reading this one.

I think that this book is definetely meant for girls. I don't think a guy would get the same experience from it. Ruby talks about many issues that a high school girl would go through so I think that it would be hard for a guy to relate to. I think basically any high school girl would love this book and find it very entertaining. Overall I loved this book and would easily read it again. I hope to read more books like this one in the future. (less)

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Mar 12, 2013 Susana Duffy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book 'One of those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies,' was one of the easiest books I have ever read. It was easy to understand, it was short, and the plot was simple and predictible. Thats why i liked it.

I like this book very much as a whole because of its easyness to comprehend. I thought of it as surprising and found myslef not predicting what would happen way in advance. The plot was way unpredictable. In practically every book where the kid hates their parents, in the end they find ou...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Sophie Friedland rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 3rd-quarter-8th-grade

This book is really good. It takes place in Los Angeles, California. When Ruby's mother dies from a sickness, Ruby has to move to L.A. to stay with her father. Her parents got divorced when she was a baby, and Ruby has hated her dad for leaving them. Luckily though, Ruby's aunt has taken Ruby to the movies to "meet her father." Her father is 'the' Whip Logan." He is a famous actor. It takes Ruby a long time to adjust to life in L.A. She has to leave her best friend Lizzie and her boyfriend Ray....more

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Oct 20, 2012 Audrey rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have read four books by this author and this was my least favourite [and I thought going into it that I was going to like it a lot]. I feel like I am being harsh because this book gets such good reviews but it really wasn't as good as people say.

It was funny at times and the ending had a nice plot twist that I didn't see coming [until a few pages before it was revealed]. But for the most part it was kind of dull and rambling. The writing in this one wasn't as eloquent as it was in some of her...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Shem rated it 4 of 5 stars

After being introduced to the inverse genre of books I was a little nervous because I had never read a book written in poem format. Usually when people write poems they ruin the story by trying to rhyme too much. This book on the other hand was avoided the rhyming and was enjoyable to read because it was easy to connect with the protagonist, a good plot line and on the more negative side it was a little too girly.

Right from the start you feel empathetic to Ruby because she loses her mother; this...more After being introduced to the inverse genre of books I was a little nervous because I had never read a book written in poem format. Usually when people write poems they ruin the story by trying to rhyme too much. This book on the other hand was avoided the rhyming and was enjoyable to read because it was easy to connect with the protagonist, a good plot line and on the more negative side it was a little too girly.

Right from the start you feel empathetic to Ruby because she loses her mother; this becomes even worse because she has to move to the other side of the country to a new home. She moves to California but she never gets swept up with the fame and money. She is down to earth and actually misses her past home. She constantly writes emails to her deceased mother in an effort to heal from this great loss. It’s really easy to connect with her because most people if put in the same position would act the same way.

This book also has a really good plot line; Ruby tries to find people and friends that mirror the friends she had in her previous town. One of these people is Max who is her father’s assistant. She constantly talks to him and he gives her advice about things like her boyfriend who is troubling her. The reason she feels really close to Max is because he reminds her of her aunt Duffy who she lived with back in her old town. Her boyfriend is also really important to the plot, from when she moves she feels really insecure about herself because she thinks that he might start looking for other girls. This ends up being true because he cheats on her with her best friend.

Even though this book seemed to be positive in every way it was a little bit too girly for me. It got too emotional for me at times and every time that happened I figured it was the author trying to connect with all the females that would read this book. Girls are also a little blind sometimes from when she started talking to her boyfriend I figured he would cheat on her because that’s simply how most guys are. This is just from my personal standpoint and it shouldn't prohibit anyone one from reading this book.

In all this was a great book and worthwhile for anyone who wants to read it. I gave it four stars just because I thought it was too girly for me.
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Oct 17, 2012 Michael Osterwisch rated it 1 of 5 stars

I absolutely did not like this book. The poem format gave only a minimal plot and all the things that happened are just so cliche. The girl leaving town and asking ur best friend to watch your boyfriend. hmmm. let's just let our minds wander and come up with the same tired conclusion that the author did. Nothing surprised me and the whole story was just tired, cliched and horrible. This whole book was on of those cliche plots. It's one of those books where you'll still read it but there not much...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Alex Hughes rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book was well done. I enjoyed reading it from start to finish. It was easy to read because to the format of the text, and the story wasn't bad either. Okay, it was a little cliché but so are a lot of popular books. Ruby was an alright main character to see develop throughout the story. What I thought was dumb was that her boyfriend cheated on her just before he was supposed to visit her in California. Even more cliché was that it was with her best friend. That was probably the wor...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Rachel Morgan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies" by Sonya Sones is th first in-verse novel I have read. I personally enjoyed this novel. The style in which the story was written was amusing in how the author combined sarcasm with detailed descriptions of people, places, and events. When I first read the plot of the story I believed I wouldn't like it; however, the style of writing and the events of the story weren't as trite as I expected. Ergo, I gave it four stars.

The setting of this novel h...more "One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies" by Sonya Sones is th first in-verse novel I have read. I personally enjoyed this novel. The style in which the story was written was amusing in how the author combined sarcasm with detailed descriptions of people, places, and events. When I first read the plot of the story I believed I wouldn't like it; however, the style of writing and the events of the story weren't as trite as I expected. Ergo, I gave it four stars.

The setting of this novel helps enhances Ruby's sense of isolation. When Ruby's mother dies she is suddenly uprooted from her small town and "whipped" off to L.A. to live with her actor dad, Whip Logan. Ruby has no memory of her dad as he left the family when she was very young. Ruby attends school in L.A. with famous actors' children. These kids have all known each other for a long time and have connections that allow them to obtain such Hollywood items as movie costumes for Halloween. Ruby didn't have this knowledge and so didn't have a costume. This is one of the ways in which she felt removed from her classmates. She also emails her best friend and boyfriend from her old hometown often, and tells them how much she wants to go back home. She also talks about how her house is so big she can easily avoid her father.

Because this is an in-verse novel the reader can get a different view of the characters. Ruby's descriptions in verse are very literal; she doesn't go into behavioral aspects of the characters as much as the physical descriptions. I feel that in a traditional novel more of the personality of the individual characters would be exposed. This story is more plot than character driven. Ruby doesn't want to become socially involved in her new life. Her emails with her best friend Lizzie reveal more of Lizzie's personality that is revealed with any other character. After Ruby, Lizzie, from her old life, is the most fully developed character.

The main substance of this novel is in the plot. The plot involves Ruby trying to accept life as it is, because she can't change it back. A big part of this acceptance is Max, her father's personal assistant/partner. She feels an instant connection with Max, who urges her to try to give Whip a chance. She also sees in Max a bit of her Aunt Duffy, who she was close to. Another key part of the plot is when Ruby broke up with her hometown boyfriend. This was a connection to her old town that was severed, which gave her move of a chance to move on and accept her new life.

This is a good novel for someone who enjoys chick literature. The main character is female, and it involves romance, cliques, scandal, and gossip. All these indicative of a more feminine mindset. I liked Ruby's journey to acceptance and the way it was presented. Overall, I enjoyed this novel. The verse structure is one reason why, however, I would have liked to have seen the characters be a bit more fleshed out.
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Oct 10, 2012 Tyler Hicks rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was interesting because this was the first book I have ever read that was written with poems. One of those hideous books where the mother dies, was an interesting and depressing book, which was about a girl was forced to leave her childhood home because her mother died, and was sent to go live with her famous father who she has never seen because he divorced her mom before she was born.

This book was very interesting because something would always go wrong and she would get even more de...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Mrs.Charles rated it 4 of 5 stars

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sones, Sonya. 2004. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES. New York: Simon and Schuster Books. ISBN 0689858205

PLOT SUMMARY
Following along Sones's trademark, the story is told in verse, and poems focus on the trials and tribulations of being 15 and losing a mother. If that wasn’t bad enough, Ruby was then forced to leave behind her best friend and boyfriend and move across country to live with a father she never knew.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
As someone who has lost a mother recent...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Katiee Hoyt rated it 5 of 5 stars

this book is about a young adult novel that tells the story of Ruby Milliken who is forced to go live with her famous movie star father, Whip Logan, in Los Angeles when her mother dies. Ruby is taken away from her aunt, her best friend Lizzie, her boyfriend Ray and Boston, all of which she loves, and is forced to cope in the fake and artificial world of Hollywood. The novel is told mostly in blank verse with periodic interruptions of emails and letters Ruby exchanges with her friends. She soon f...more

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May 10, 2012 Salma F. added it

Abigail Falcon
Book Review #1
Do you like reading books about characters that have family problems and have a lot of drama? If so, I encourage you to try this book.
The main character from the book is a fifteen year old girl named Ruby. She has always lived with her mother ever since her parents separated. Her father is a famous actor named Whip Logan. The only place she has seen him is in the movies, acting on the movie. From there, she’s never met him in person. Her mother just died cause of c...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Yalenny added it

Sudden changes happen and sometimes you can't dodge that speeding bullet ready to take something from you and could possibly change your life forever.
What I mean is, when you find yourself in a possibly life altering situation that could change your life you may feel out of place. You may feel like taking chances with anything, just to try to evade the situation you have to eventually confront. For many people leaving what they already know and leaving so many memories behind to start a new life...more Sudden changes happen and sometimes you can't dodge that speeding bullet ready to take something from you and could possibly change your life forever.
What I mean is, when you find yourself in a possibly life altering situation that could change your life you may feel out of place. You may feel like taking chances with anything, just to try to evade the situation you have to eventually confront. For many people leaving what they already know and leaving so many memories behind to start a new life may be hard, and for each and every one of those people, they show or express their feelings about something differently then others. Some may feel like crawling under a bush and not wanting to come out, others many hold it in until they burst, others may take it cool and calmly, and others will get hysterical.

The way Ruby takes this is by trying to hide from her situation and tries to become invisible. She is leaving her home town in Massachusetts because her mother just died and the only person that has the right to take care of her lives in Los Angeles and it just so happens to be her father. But the matter of the fact is that she has never met her father because he divorced her mother before she was even born. And that is what scares her. She doesn't know what her father is like and the fact that she is going to meet and live with someone who not once in her lifetime of 15 years has gone to visit her is understandable. She feels a tangle of emotions. Hurt, betrayal, anger, and first and foremost, resentment. Since she never met him she is confused. She doesn't know weather to love him or to hate him.
Ruby has reasons to hate her father. He left her mother and her when it wasn't her fault, and the worst part is that he never came to visit, not once. Another reason is that he is a very famous movie star and he hasn't tryed to contact Ruby or her mother. She hates her father for all she sees.

I can in a way feel for Ruby because she is feeling confused about how to feel. I know that when you are taken to a different place, you may feel confused, but that doesn't mean that you can just hate on the entire Los Angeles. But she does. Many people shut themselves their own world when they don't feel safe to come out. For Ruby, she does shut herself in but in a way she is still functioning like a normal teenage girl

Ruby really surprises me every time I read this book. It just shows how much one can learn about other people that you never knew

What I love about this book is the fact that as you continue, you learn more and more about the characters history and that in a way really wraps things up. (less)

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Jun 16, 2011 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-in-verse, books-for-girls, young-adult-fiction, realistic, death-of-parent-or-parents, father-daughter-relationships, fathers, change, high-school, relationship-problems, relationships, friendship, homosexuality, gay-parent, funny, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 04, 2011 Farah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: abege-labil, reviewed, teenlit

Ada apa sih sama Gramedia?
Kenapa buku-bukunya Sonya Sones selalu bisa gue temukan di acara bazaar buku Sepuluhribuan?
Sama kayak buku Ssst... Jangan Bilang-bilang Ibuku, buku-yang-judulnya-amat-sangat-panjang-ini pun gue temukan dengan harga sepuluh ribu saja di bazaar sekolah gue 2 minggu yang lalu.

Padahal menurut gue buku-buku ini ide ceritanya menarik loh. Cara penulisannya juga abege banget.
Jadi inget dulu jaman-jamannya SMA dan kuliah, setiap malam gue selalu menulis dengan gaya yang sama. P...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Josie Thorpe rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies
BY: Sonya Jones
What would you do if your mom died, and the only place you could go to was your dad that you hadn’t seen ever since a baby? Well that is what 15 year-old Ruby had to do. This story takes place in L.A. Ruby had a gorgeous boyfriend (Ray), an awesome best friend (Liz), and an incredible Aunt Duffy. Although once her mom died ruby was sent to L.A. to live with her dad that she had never met, although she had seen him. On Ruby’s birthda...more One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies
BY: Sonya Jones
What would you do if your mom died, and the only place you could go to was your dad that you hadn’t seen ever since a baby? Well that is what 15 year-old Ruby had to do. This story takes place in L.A. Ruby had a gorgeous boyfriend (Ray), an awesome best friend (Liz), and an incredible Aunt Duffy. Although once her mom died ruby was sent to L.A. to live with her dad that she had never met, although she had seen him. On Ruby’s birthday her aunt would take her out and they would go see one of Whip Logan’s latest movies. That’s right Ruby’s dad was a mega movie star. Well this time instead of seeing him through a screen she would be talking face to face with him. When Ruby saw Whip at the airport knew that she would not like him, and she didn’t. In fact she hated him. Whip tried his very hardest to make her happy. He took her on this super shopping spree, her dream room, and even a huge house to live that is next-door neighbors with Cameron Diaz. But the only thing that was making Ruby happy was the back-to-back emails from Ray, Liz, and Duffy, or the occasional phone calls from them. Ruby goes to her new school and finds a friend or two. Although she didn’t quite connect with them like she did with Liz and Ray. Although Whip’s close friend becomes Ruby’s new “Aunt Duffy”. Though one day everything goes wrong in between Ruby, Ray, and Liz and it seems as if their friendship has come to an end there is only one person Ruby wants more then ever her mom.
In this book one thing that really struck me as noteworthy was “forgiveness”. If Ruby would have forgiven her dad for leaving them and took the time to find out why he did what he did, I think Ruby’s adventure from the beginning in L.A. would have been a lot better. Beside I think it would have made Whip feel a lot more comfortable if Ruby would have forgiven him and let him into her life. Throughout this book I seemed to find myself sympathizing with Whip because he did all that he could to make Ruby life and transition here the best. Ruby on the other hand just didn’t take time to acknowledge any of that.
Something interesting about the author is that she live really close Hollywood the author shared some of the same stories as Ruby went through. Like when the author was in Hollywood she was crossing the street and she got a ticket because she didn’t cross at the cross walk! Ruby did the same thing too. The author also saw many movie stars while just going to the drug store or just out walking. That is also what Ruby write to Liz about, how she goes and will just see some big time movie stars just walking down the road or something like that.
I enjoyed reading this book a lot! It was always really shocking and interesting throughout the whole book. Never did I want to not read it. I was always thinking about how Ruby would handle her situation or how I wish that I could be in L.A. and seeing all these movie stars just going off in their regular day activities. This is a good book for teen girls, definitely girls in middle school. It talks a lot about her and her boyfriend. So I definitely connects with girls my age. It was a fun, and fast read. I would recommend people to read this book because it was a good book. Besides doesn’t everyone want to know if Ruby solves the problem with her best friend, and to be able to find out what her dad has been hiding for a while now?
(less)

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About Sonya Sones

I was born in Boston and overprotected in the nearby suburb of Newton. I thought I would be an artist when I grew up. I loved sneaking upstairs to a tiny room in our attic, where I could while away the hours drawing pictures of dinosaurs. The summer I turned seventeen, I fell in love with making animated films (not to mention at least a couple of boys). Soon after, I enrolled in Hampshire College...more I was born in Boston and overprotected in the nearby suburb of Newton. I thought I would be an artist when I grew up. I loved sneaking upstairs to a tiny room in our attic, where I could while away the hours drawing pictures of dinosaurs. The summer I turned seventeen, I fell in love with making animated films (not to mention at least a couple of boys). Soon after, I enrolled in Hampshire College and began teaching animation to children all across the country, while I earned my degree, a B.A. in filmmaking and photography. I went on to teach film at Harvard University, which was pretty astonishing, considering I was only a few years older than my students and I probably couldn't have even gotten in to the school if I had applied! Then, I moved to Hollywood to work for a famous movie director as his personal assistant. But I was fired after a month, because I wasn't very good (okay, I was very bad) at bringing coffee to people. I decided to stay in Hollywood anyhow, and found work as an animator, and then as a production assistant on a Woody Allen movie called Interiors. After that, I worked as a still photographer and script supervisor on Ron Howard's first film, Grand Theft Auto.

Eventually, I became a film editor, cutting TV shows like L.A. Law and movies like the cult classic, River's Edge - which had Keanu Reeves' first love scene in it! I also edited a trailer for a movie called Urban Cowboy, with John Travolta sitting right there next to me, making suggestions. Then I met my future husband, Bennett, at a taping of a show called Mork and Mindy. Soon after, we got married and I gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Ava. I wanted to be able to spend lots of time with her, so I stopped editing. I ended up starting a small hand-painted baby clothes company instead, selling my wares to Neiman Marcus and Macy's. This was perfect, because I could paint the clothes while Ava took her naps.
But after awhile, I got tired of trying to come up with one more adorable dino design, or another darling little bunny. I needed to find something new to satisfy my creative urges. By then I had a wonderful son, too, named Jeremy. And since I loved reading to both my children, I decided to try my hand at writing books for kids. So I enrolled in a poetry class at UCLA, taught by Myra Cohn Livingston. It was Myra who set me on the path to writing my first book, Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy.

When I'm not writing, or traveling around the country speaking about writing and giving poetry writing workshops, I bake, dance, read, worry and hunt for buried treasure at flea markets and in vintage clothing stores. I live with my family, twenty-six blocks from the beach, not far from Hollywood.(less)

More about Sonya Sones...

Books by Sonya Sones

What My Mother Doesn't Know (What My Mother Doesn't Know #1)

What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know (What My Mother Doesn't Know, #2)

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus: A Novel About Marriage, Motherhood, and Mayhem

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Quotes from One of Those Hideous B...

“I know this sounds incredibly lame,
but I don't want losing my virginity
to feel like I'm losing something.
I want it to feel like I'm finding something.
I want sex to be amazing.
I want it to be life-alteringly wonderful.
And I want it to happen with someone I love.” — 82 people liked it

“But most days,
I wander around feeling invisible.
Like I'm a speck of dust
floating in the air
that can only be seen
when a shaft of light hits it.” — 29 people liked it

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