The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

by Alan Sitomer

Book Overview

Sonia Rodriguez was born in the United States, but her parents are Mexican immigrants who came to California before she was born. Her father has three Social Security numbers, her mother is pregnant... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1423110722
• ISBN13: 9781423110729
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 11 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 8

Customer Reviews

Sonia Rodriguez

Every teenage girl I have given this book to take home and read has returned in a day or two with positive responses. They always give it a high rating and make comments like, "This book is so true." or "I cried at the part about her uncle." Teenage girls have so much on their plate these days. Sonia is an inspiration. If you have reluctant readers in your class, discover Alan Sitomer's amazing stories about teens surviving urban, California life. I have a whole class set of Homeboyz, another Sitomer must read. The class settles into the book and reads in silence for the rest of the in-class reading time. Reluctant readers are hooked by Sitomer's stories.

i think the book was awsome loving romeance famliy based

it only took me 5 days to read it a book take you by suprize i loved it.

pretty good, definitely recommended.

Sonia Rodriguez is a first generation American citizen - her parents were both born in Mexico and came to the United States illegally. Her father works three jobs and her mother stays home - mostly watching soap operas all day, leaving Sonia to do the cooking and cleaning and watching over her younger brothers. When Sonia isn't being her mother's slave, she tries to study while avoiding the advances of her alcoholic uncle ("drunkle"). When Sonia starts to rebel by putting more energy and effort into her schoolwork than she does into her duties at home, her mother decides she needs to spend the summer in Mexico with her grandmother and cousin to learn the importance of la familia. Although her summer in Mexico is much better than she could have ever anticipated, Sonia comes home to an even worse situation than she left - her mother has given birth to twins, which gives Sonia about three times the work she previously had, leaving absolutely zero time for school work. Still, she is determined to succeed in school and be the first person in her family to earn a high school diploma. All she needs to do is balance cooking, cleaning, being a mom to twin newborns, and passing all her classes. Oh, and she also has to worry about her "drunkle", whose advances have become much less subtle and more scary by the day. I "read" The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguezas an audio book and it definitely kept me interested for my drives to and from work. I felt a lot of empathy for Sonia and found myself rooting for her throughout the entire book - I started to care about her and was really hoping for the book to end with her graduation from high school and entrance to college (don't worry, I won't tell if it happens or not!). Even though I have no experience living the kind of life described in this book, I had no problem relating to Sonia and her situation; I just felt like she was a very relatable character and seemed pretty realistic. Most of the other characters (except her father) annoyed me, and I truly don't know how realistic they were, but they definitely added a more colorful, harder-edged element to the story - especially her "drunkle". I have to admit that I did get a little frustrated with Sonia that she never could seem to stick up for herself. It's probably just me, and it's probably a cultural disconnect, but I don't get how she could let her family treat her so terribly and never say anything about it. To me, families support each other, they don't treat one another like slaves, and they certainly don't verbally abuse one another constantly. Her family broke her spirit and abused her constantly, yet she never once stuck up for herself - I had a hard time connecting with that aspect of the book. But like I said, perhaps it is just a cultural disconnect that I simply can't appreciate. The book is overall pretty harsh, but it is a very engrossing read and ultimately inspiring. I would definitely recommend The Secret Story of Sonia Rodr

Enjoyable and Unique

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez tackles what is now a very controversial subject - illegal immigrants from Mexico. While I'm sure you all have your own opinions on the subject, I know I do, this book was definitely an eye-opener. The cast of characters was...well, interesting. Sonia, despite the whole immigrant part, was extremely easy to relate to. Her family members were realistic, despite their idiocy at some points. (Mainly her mother and aunt.) The plot was also enjoyable and unique. I'd never read anything about Mexicans, especially not illegal ones, so it was refreshing, and as I stated above, eye-opening, to do so. Sitomer captured a raw truthfulness that many authors would not have been able to do. But, that's not to say the book didn't have it's flaws. For one, it was extremely rushed at the middle and towards the end. I think there was a total of thirty or less pages spent in Mexico and after she decides to finish school, it all goes by with a blur. The character of Geraldo was also extremey cliche' and unrealistic. Sure, he's every girls' dream guy but, unfortunately, no male would ever act like he did. Those things aside, I really did enjoy this and if you're looking for a good book to make you think, this one is it.

The Compulsive Reader's Reviews

Sonia's family is low-income, low-minded, and not entirely legal immigrants from Mexico. They take her ambitions to graduate and continue school as a personal offense and a sign that she doesn't care about her family enough. To rectify this, they send her to Mexico to live with her grandmother and cousin to reinforce their "family first" ideals. What Sonia learns instead is that while family is important, so is being successful and achieving your goals. When she returns home, it is with newfound determination. But when life's issues begin piling up and a romantic interest gets in the way, Sonia will find her dreams of rising above her current status threatened. Sharp, wise, and extremely insightful, The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez is an eye-opening and attention grabbing book. The straightforward style and compelling voice make this a book that many teens will be able to draw connections with from the text to their own lives. The characters are wonderfully developed and described, making them the feature that stands out the most in the novel. Sonia especially easily wins readers over with her heart and honesty, and earns readers' sympathies with all that she endures. The only things that didn't measure up to the rest of the book was the very short amount of time spent in Sonia's time in Mexico, but it in no way detracts from the overall reading experience. The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez is an inspiring and realistic look at one girl's struggle to find her identity and place in life, and is sure to popular among teens from many backgrounds.