What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones Review

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones- Read May 27th

📚📚📚

This is the second time that I have read this novel. I read it again because I wanted to read it before reading the second book. I did enjoy this book and have always enjoyed the way that Sonya Sones writes. I have read many of her novels in verse and am looking forward to read more. This one is my least favorite of all of her books that I have read though I did like reading it. My favorite would be Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. That novel is amazing. I love reading books in verse. Sonya Sones writes some of the best that I have ever read.

What My Mother Doesn't Know is about a fourteen year girl who finds three loves over the course of the novel. She learns about herself and these boys. Each meaning something to her at certain points of her life.  Sophie is a sweet girl that at certain points of the story got on my nerves but in the end I really did feel for her. I remember when I was fourteen and the feelings that I had for certain boys that at the time I felt were true love. I could really connect to this novel even though I'm about ten years older than Sophie.

Now I'll go over the sequel for this book. There will be spoilers for the first in it so if you have not read the first book do not read my review below.

What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones- Read May 27th and 28th

📚📚📚📚

This is the second book in a duology. I will say that I enjoyed this book much more then the first which I was happy about. In this book, Sonya focuses on Robin's perspective after the first book's plot. Robin is having to deal with the aftermath of his relationship with Sophie after the school finds out. Robin has always been made fun of since he had moved into town in third grade and now everyone is making fun of both of them for dating. I thought that this novel was very realistic and that Sonya really got the voice and thoughts of this teenage boy down pact. I really felt for Robin and for Sophie in this book. Also, I would have loved to have a word with the bullies in this story.

I would recommend picking up this book if you enjoyed the first but even if you did not completely love it you may enjoy this book more. Robin was a great protagonist for this book and I am very happy that I picked it up. It does not fall into the sequel craze in Ya contemporaries where the second is just a rehash of the first book with a different perspective. It continues on with the story and I believe that it was better than the first. 

Myths, Verse, and the Minotaur (Review of Bull by David Elliot)

🌟 Bull by David Elliot- Read May 18th 🌟

📚📚📚📚📚

"Mommy has a little calf.

      Little calf.

      Little calf. 

Mommy has a little calf.

His nose is black as tar.

She calls her calf Asterion .

       Asterion.

       Asterion.

That's my name —  Asterion.

I'm Ruler of the Stars. " - This is just one example of the beautiful writing in this book. It is also on the image of the bull head on the cover. 

 I adored this book. This looks to be the month of Greek mythology (so far I have read three and am at least reading one more) and the month of favorites. One of the greatest aspects of this book is the fact that it was written in verse. I can not imagine how long this book would have taken to write let alone contemplate. I love the idea of writing in verse myself, since I love writing poetry and I love reading it. The author explains at the end the types of verse that he used throughout for each character. Everyone of the characters speaks differently and brings new layers to the story. 

Another aspect I loved about this book was the way David retold the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. For those that do not know the myth I'll give a quick synopsis. Minos the king of Crete gets Poseidon the sea god angry. So Poseidon takes out his anger by making Minos' wife interested in a bull and ultimately has a child, Asterion with the bull. This bull grows up and is eventually placed in a Labyrinth by his stepfather the king, to take revenge on the Athens. This is one good example of Greek mythology for you 

What I really liked about David's book was that, yes he stuck to the myth but he added character and motivations to the story that were not already there before. He explained at the end his process in writing this and I loved that he did this at the end. This is one of my all time favorite Greek myths and he added a layer to the story that made me love it so much more. Asterion, the Minotaur becomes a tragic character in this story that I loved. In the original myth he really never had much of a character but in this David makes the character have new dimensions. I felt bad for him. 

David also made the story so funny and tragic throughout which added a great mix to the plot. Overall this was a creative retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also loved Poseidon's character in this. He is so darn funny. Definitely a favorite of the year. 

Also the cover is great.