Stop Pretending

What Happened When my Big Sister Went Crazy

By Sonya Sones

Published by: HarperTeen

Summary: This is a collection of blank verse poems written by the author at the age of 13 when her older sister was suddely hospitalized for manic depressive/bipolar disorder. The series of short peoms reveal the author's feelings about visiting her sister in the hospital, the new family dynamic, the fact that she misses the way her sister used to be coupled with the worry that she will be next.

Personal Review: This is a short but powerful compilation that explores deep issues in few words. It provokes the reader to be sympathetic to the narrator and to wonder what he or she would feel or do if someone they love fell victim to a mental disease.

Exerpt:

My Sister's Christmas Eve Breakdown

One day

she was my sister,

so normal and well-behaved,

the next she was a

stranger

rushing

out the door to

Midnight Mass, a wild-eyed

Jewish girl wearing only a

nightgown.

One day

he was my dad,

so calm and quiet and

in control, the next he was a

stranger

dragging

my big sister

away from the door, up

the stairs, screaming so loud that my

ears stung.

One day

she was my mom,

so reliable and good in

a crisis, the next she was a

stranger

standing

stock still with her

hands clamped over her mouth

and her eyes squeezed shut, not even

breathing.

That day

I sank into

the wall, wondering what

these three people were doing in

my house

and I

shouted that they

had to stop, even though

I wasn't supposed to talk to

strangers.