When You Know What I Know

Name: When You Know What I Know
Brand: Hachette Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Sonja K. Solter
ISBN: 9781549184284

Author: Sonja K. Solter

Narrator: Caitlin Kelly

Unabridged: 1 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers

Published: 03/24/2020

Categories: Children's Fiction, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

This harrowing, and ultimately hopeful novel in verse sensitively depicts a girl's journey through the aftermath of abuse.

One day after school, on the couch in the basement, Tori's uncle did something bad. Afterward, Tori tells her mom. Even though telling was a brave thing to do, her mom still doesn't believe her at first. Her grandma still takes his side. And Tori doesn't want anyone else—even her best friend—to know what happened.

Now Tori finds herself battling mixed emotions—anger, shame, and sadness—as she deals with the trauma. But with the help of her mom, her little sister, her best friend, and others, can Tori find a way to have the last word?

From debut author Sonja K. Solter comes a heartbreaking yet powerful novel that will strike a chord with readers of Jacqueline Woodson and Tony Abbott.

Reviews

Goodreads review by destiny ♡ on February 09, 2020

This one hurts, but wow, what an important place in the world this little book has found. As a survivor, reading books about trauma and healing is a very cathartic act for me, so I tend to pick them up every so often. I think this was my first middle grade book on the subject, so I wasn't sure how m......more

Goodreads review by Claude's on December 29, 2021

CW: off page non-described sexual assault by family member Well that was a powerful middle-school verse novel about surviving trauma. Tori was an exceptionally well written character and I was drawn into her journey of fear, shame and anger. This is quite a heavy topic to tackle in a middle-school nov......more

Goodreads review by Gemma on May 18, 2020

This really is a must read. And I believe should be on school reading lists too. I will certainly be asking my girls to read it. It is so heartbreakingly sad, and unfortunately so real. Very well written.......more

Goodreads review by Amy on October 12, 2019

Many thanks to EdelweissPlus and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review purposes. All opinions are my own. This is one of those books that is gut-wrenching. The novel, told in sparse verse, details the year following Tori's abuse. Her uncle did something bad and Tori tell......more

Goodreads review by Milton Public on October 30, 2021

Tori's uncle did something bad, but when Tori tells her mom, she doesn't believe her. Now Tori doesn't want to say any more about it to anyone, but will her bottled up emotions reach a breaking point?? Find it today: [URL not allowed] Jayme A. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMP......more

Quotes

"Written with leap-off-the page boldness and sensitivity, Sonja K. Solter's When You Know What I Know is as fresh and profound a story of hope in the aftermath of tragedy as I have ever read. Young readers will hang on every word of Tori's confusion, pain, and hard-won renewal. A triumph!"—Tony Abbott, author of The Summer of Owen Todd and The Great Jeff

"Solter emphasizes the emotional effects both of the molestation and of the disparate reactions she encounters when others hear about it. This offering of hope after trauma is, importantly, unromanticized."—Kirkus Reviews

"A difficult but important read, giving a voice to sexual abuse survivors and helping others see the complexity of emotions and the hard work that goes into the healing process."—School Library Journal

"The book is smart."—The Bulletin