Review Detail

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.