When You Know What I Know by Sonja K. Solter - ESSENTIAL

When You Know What I Know by Sonja K. Solter, 204 pages. Little, Brown and Company, 2020. $17.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G;

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

When 10yo Tori tells her mom that Uncle Andy molested her, her mom doesn’t believe her at first. It had to be a misunderstanding. Was it? Tori is filled with shame, anger, and confusion. Her whole life has changed in a few minutes. Her every thought is consumed with the “what ifs”, until finally everyone starts believing her.

Solter writes Tori’s story in free verse; I think it was the perfect way to capture the thoughts of a child who has experienced this type of trauma. I read this from the perspective of someone who has family members who’ve experienced abuse and I would feel comfortable with any of them reading this. It does not focus on the abuse so much as it focuses on the feelings and healing from the trauma.

Reviewer: J. Rosskopf