Sophie Someone

By: Hayley Long
Location: FIC LON
Genre: Young Adult- Contempary- different

A remarkable tale of confusion and betrayal - and a very special girl called Sophie.

'Some stories are hard to tell.
Even to your very best friend.
And some words are hard to get out of your mouth. Because they spell out secrets that are too huge to be spoken out loud.
But if you bottle them up, you might burst.
So here's my story. Told the only way I dare tell it.'

Sophie Nieuwenleven is sort of English and sort of Belgian. Sophie and her family came to live in Belgium when she was only four or five years old, but she's fourteen now and has never been quite sure why they left England in the first place. Then, one day, Sophie makes a startling discovery. Finally Sophie can unlock the mystery of who she really is. This is a story about identity and confusion - and feeling so utterly freaked out that you just can't put it into words. But it's also about hope. And the belief that, somehow, everything will work out OK.

"SOPHIE SOMEONE is a tale of well-intentioned but stupid parenting, shock, acceptance and, ultimately, forgiveness, written in a brave, memorable and unique language all of its own. 
Sophie lives in Brussels in a crappy apartment with her obese, agoraphobic mother; her annoying younger brother and her dorky father. The family moved to Belgium when she was only four-years-old, and the reasons for this move never really made sense to her. Occasionally she has flash backs of panicked train journeys and wearing disguises, but her father claims she is just imagining it. Then one day Sophie discovers she is not who she thinks she is and suddenly her whole life is thrown into utter chaos and turmoil. It is a hard story to tell so Sophie must create her own language in order to do so…

This is an absolutely exquisite book from start to finish. Not only is Sophie an incredibly endearing character but the language of the book is simply fabulous. Sophie uses code in order to make her story easier to tell, so, for example, 'legs' become 'lemmings', 'brother' becomes 'bruiser' and 'friend' becomes 'freckle'. Amazingly the code is never confusing, which further highlights what an extremely talented writer Long is, and it adds an extra layer of enjoyment to reading the book. This story will warm the cockles of your 'heater' while bringing 'terrapins' to your eyes"