Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

Though I know what it's like to be driven crazy by a sister, I don't know what it's like to have a sister who has such problems. With this book you go into the mind of Cookie, whom the author has based on herself. This book was truly a wonderful read, and what made it really great and original was that instead of chapters, it was composed of poems. I love poetry as well as books, and combining the two made this all the more better and all the more worthwhile. You can tell that Sonya Sones truly wrote it from the heart, especially since she went through the same exact thing. In fact, I think it says in the book that she wrote the poems while her sister was going through it. It's like she's cracked open her heart and let you look right into what she was feeling ( not to be graphic or anything ). A truly inspirational and loving novel. Read it immediately.

This book is wonderful! Once I started to read it, I couldn't put it down, and I finished it all in one afternoon. The rest of the afternoon I walked around in a daze, unable to stop thinking about STOP PRETENDING. It is a powerful book, not hard to read, captivating, and a great story! I hope Ms. Sones writes another book really soon, because I can't wait to read it!

Ms. Sones' writing touched me deeply. She allows the reader a glimpse of a world that is both moving and disturbing. I couldn't put the book down and as soon as I finished reading it, I turned to the first page and began again. With only a few words, she paints pictures so true and so deep, I was immersed in her experience. I would recommend this book for both adults and teens. It is the perfect example of the power of poetry.

superbly written, as well. Considering the truthfulness of the subject matter, it could have easily fallen into the dark and depressing. Yet, Sones manages to show us that as life falls apart, it just as readily goes on. And the first person point of view, in poetic form, completely eluded a sense of hopelessness, while still grasping a young girl and her sisters reality head on. I enjoyed this book thoroughly as an adult, reading it all in a sitting. My fourteen year old daughter was equally drawn in, and never left her chair, from beginning to end. It is not every true story that manages the ring of truth, but this one is above board on all accounts, bringing the often untouchable subject matter of mental illness out in the open. Beautifully written, I highly reccomend it.