One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Reader reviewed by Calamander

This book has friends, family, and boy trouble! It's about this girl, who moves in with her movie star dad, because her mother dies. She hates her father for divorcing her mother, she hates having to move away from her boyfriend, and her best friend.... at the beginning. This is a crazy story that twist in stunning ways and leave your mouth hanging open. That's why I like it the most, and I bet you will too, just try it!

Reader reviewed by Dylana

You might think this is another one of those teen, chick books. This one was different and so good. I read it all in a day and could not put it down until I was finished. Sonya Sones is an amazing writer.
This book is about Ruby, a girl from Boston. Her mother died from a serious illness. Her Aunt Duffy is traveling with her new boyfriend and Ruby now has to move to live with her father in Los Angeles, who is the super famous actor, Whip Logan. She despises this man for not caring to be a part of her life and for leaving her mother heartbroken.
LA is like no place she's ever been to. She misses her boyfriend, Ray, and her best friend, Lizzie. She feels alone at her new school, where everyone is like Barbie and Ken.
She relies on her email to survive and talk to her friends (and write secret letters to her dead mother for comfort). But now all she wants is for her mother to stop haunting her thoughts, so she can get back to normal in life. And a few surprises and betrayals pop up, but its all for the best. And Ruby learns to love her father the way he is when she finally learns the truth about his so called "betrayal". This book was amazingly written and Ruby is a character with wit. All girls can relate to her because she is so real. I can't wait for Sones's next book.