Sonya Sones
Encyclopedia
Sonya Sones is an American poet and author. She has written four young adult novels in verse, as well as a novel in verse for adults and a picture book.
, Massachusetts
and currently lives near the beach in Southern California
. After graduating from Hampshire College
she taught film at Harvard University
; her other jobs have included baby clothes designer, animator, photographer, and film editor. Her style differs from most contemporary writers in that her novels are told in verse form rather than prose
. This means that they are a series of poems which, when read in order, tell a story.
Sones’ first three verse novels won numerous awards. The American Library Association
has named all three verse novels Best Books for Young Adults, and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Her debut novel, Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
won numerous awards, including a Christopher Award, the Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry, the Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award, and a nomination for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In 2004, 2005, and 2010, the ALA included What My Mother Doesn't Know
on their list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books. It was later named 31st on the ALA's list of the 100 most challenged books of the decade. In 2004, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
was chosen a Popular Paperback by the ALA and received a Cuffie Award from Publishers Weekly
for the Best Book Title of the Year.
Her fourth book, What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know
, was published by Simon and Schuster in June, 2007. It is the sequel to What My Mother Doesn’t Know, and picks up right where the other story leaves off, only it's told from Robin's point of view. It received a starred review in Booklist, and was chosen a Quick Pick by the American Library Association. It was a Booklist Top Ten Romance, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and a Books-A-Million Teen Book Club selection.
Her first novel in verse for adults, The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus, was published by Harper Collins in April 2011, and made the Los Angeles Times Bestselling Paperbacks list. It is about "a writer way behind on her deadline whose fiftieth birthday is rushing at her like a freight train," and deals with issues related to going through menopause, adjusting to an empty nest, and caring for aging parents.
Sones has participated in multiple panel discussions at the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
. She was the moderator on the panel "Young Adult Fiction: Teens and Turmoil" with Gayle Forman
, Jandy Nelson
and Cynthia Kadohata
during the 2010 event. She has also presented at the ALA, the National Council of Teachers of English, the International Reading Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and at numerous schools and literary festivals around the country and abroad. Sones' novels have been published in eight different languages.
Sones is married to screenwriter Bennett Tramer of Saved by the Bell
. The two of them co-wrote a picture book, Violet and Winston, in 2009. It is illustrated by 2006 Caldecott Medal
winner Chris Raschka
.
Biography
She was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and currently lives near the beach in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. After graduating from Hampshire College
Hampshire College
Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...
she taught film at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
; her other jobs have included baby clothes designer, animator, photographer, and film editor. Her style differs from most contemporary writers in that her novels are told in verse form rather than prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
. This means that they are a series of poems which, when read in order, tell a story.
Sones’ first three verse novels won numerous awards. The American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
has named all three verse novels Best Books for Young Adults, and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Her debut novel, Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. The free verse novel follows Cookie, a thirteen-year-old girl, whose older sister is hospitalized on Christmas Eve when she has an intense breakdown that is eventually diagnosed as manic depression...
won numerous awards, including a Christopher Award, the Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry, the Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award, and a nomination for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In 2004, 2005, and 2010, the ALA included What My Mother Doesn't Know
What My Mother Doesn't Know
What My Mother Doesn't Know is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. The free verse novel follows ninth-grader Sophie Stein as she struggles through the daily grind of being a freshman in high school, her romantic crushes and family life....
on their list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books. It was later named 31st on the ALA's list of the 100 most challenged books of the decade. In 2004, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. It is 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...
was chosen a Popular Paperback by the ALA and received a Cuffie Award from Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
for the Best Book Title of the Year.
Her fourth book, What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. The free verse novel follows ninth-grader Robin as he struggles with being an outsider at his high school and dealing with the joys of having a girlfriend, Sophie, and seeing his artistic talent recognized by his teacher and...
, was published by Simon and Schuster in June, 2007. It is the sequel to What My Mother Doesn’t Know, and picks up right where the other story leaves off, only it's told from Robin's point of view. It received a starred review in Booklist, and was chosen a Quick Pick by the American Library Association. It was a Booklist Top Ten Romance, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and a Books-A-Million Teen Book Club selection.
Her first novel in verse for adults, The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus, was published by Harper Collins in April 2011, and made the Los Angeles Times Bestselling Paperbacks list. It is about "a writer way behind on her deadline whose fiftieth birthday is rushing at her like a freight train," and deals with issues related to going through menopause, adjusting to an empty nest, and caring for aging parents.
Sones has participated in multiple panel discussions at the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is a free, public festival celebrating the written word. Started in 1996, the Festival is held on the last weekend of April hosted by the University of Southern California and features vendors, authors and publishers...
. She was the moderator on the panel "Young Adult Fiction: Teens and Turmoil" with Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman is an American writer who writes for young adults.Forman began her career writing for Seventeen Magazine in which most of her articles focused on young people and social concerns. Later she became a freelance journalist for publications like Details Magazine, Jane Magazine, Glamour...
, Jandy Nelson
Jandy Nelson
Jandy Nelson is an American writer for children and young adults and a literary agent.She received a BA from Cornell, an MFA from Brown in poetry, and another MFA from Vermont College in writing for children and young adults. She is also a published poet. The Sky Is Everywhere is her first novel...
and Cynthia Kadohata
Cynthia Kadohata
Cynthia Kadohata is a Japanese American writer known for winning the 2005 Newbery Medal. Her first published short story appeared in The New Yorker in 1986....
during the 2010 event. She has also presented at the ALA, the National Council of Teachers of English, the International Reading Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and at numerous schools and literary festivals around the country and abroad. Sones' novels have been published in eight different languages.
Sones is married to screenwriter Bennett Tramer of Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
. The two of them co-wrote a picture book, Violet and Winston, in 2009. It is illustrated by 2006 Caldecott Medal
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
winner Chris Raschka
Chris Raschka
Chris Raschka is an American author, illustrator, and violist. His Yo! Yes? was a Caldecott Honor book in 1993 but he may be most famous for his Hello, Goodbye Window, winner of the 2006 Caldecott Medal. Chris spent part of his childhood in Austria, his mother's homeland. He is a graduate of St....
.
Young adult novels in verse
- Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went CrazyStop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went CrazyStop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. The free verse novel follows Cookie, a thirteen-year-old girl, whose older sister is hospitalized on Christmas Eve when she has an intense breakdown that is eventually diagnosed as manic depression...
(HarperCollins 1999) - What My Mother Doesn't KnowWhat My Mother Doesn't KnowWhat My Mother Doesn't Know is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. The free verse novel follows ninth-grader Sophie Stein as she struggles through the daily grind of being a freshman in high school, her romantic crushes and family life....
(Simon and Schuster 2001) - One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother DiesOne of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother DiesOne of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. It is 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...
(Simon and Schuster 2004) - What My Girlfriend Doesn't KnowWhat My Girlfriend Doesn't KnowWhat My Girlfriend Doesn't Know is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. The free verse novel follows ninth-grader Robin as he struggles with being an outsider at his high school and dealing with the joys of having a girlfriend, Sophie, and seeing his artistic talent recognized by his teacher and...
(Simon and Schuster 2007)
Short stories in verse
Short stories in verse are included in numerous anthologies, including:- Love and Sex (2001) - a story called Secret Shelf
- Necessary Noise (2003) - a story called Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
- Sixteen: Stories About that Sweet and Bitter Birthday (2004) - a story called Cat Got Your Tongue
Children's Books
- Violet and Winston (Dial 2009) - written along with husband Bennett Tramer and illustrated by Chris RaschkaChris RaschkaChris Raschka is an American author, illustrator, and violist. His Yo! Yes? was a Caldecott Honor book in 1993 but he may be most famous for his Hello, Goodbye Window, winner of the 2006 Caldecott Medal. Chris spent part of his childhood in Austria, his mother's homeland. He is a graduate of St....