So B. It

Rating:
Summary: RichiesPicks.com: SO B. IT
Review: "I know you're out there somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere
I know I'll find you somehow
And somehow I'll return again to you"
--The Moody Blues

"If truth was a crayon and it was up to me to put a wrapper around it and name its color, I know just what I would call it--dinosaur skin. I used to think, without really thinking about it, that I knew what color that was. But that was a long time ago, before I knew what I know now about both dinosaur skin and the truth."

The truth about her mother's background and past is as totally unknown to Heidi as is the true color of dinosaur skin. That is due to the fact that there are a grand total of twenty-three words, sounds, or short phrases that her mother is capable of articulating.

"One thing I knew for a fact, from the time I knew anything at all, was that I didn't have a father. What I had was Mama and Bernadette, and as far as I was concerned, that was plenty. Bernadette started off being the next-door neighbor, but that didn't last very long. My mother loved me in her own special way, but she couldn't take care of me herself because of her bum brain. Bernie once explained it to me by comparing Mama to a broken machine.
" 'All the basic parts are there, Heidi, and from the outside she looks like she should work just fine, but inside there are lots of mysterious little pieces busted or bent or missing altogether, and without them her machine doesn't run quite right.'
"And it never would."

"Now the time has come to speak
I was not able
And water through a rusted pipe
Could make the sense that I do"
--Suzanne Vega "Rusted Pipe"

When Heidi's mother appeared on Bernadette's doorstep in Reno twelve years earlier with baby Heidi in her arms, Bernie's repeated questioning of who they were elicited the same response again and again from the mother: "So be it" and "Heidi." Thus, they became So B. It and Heidi It. Bernadette, who has since been raising and homeschooling Heidi while caring for Heidi's mother, has her own incapacitating disability--she's plagued by a phobia that prevents her from ever leaving the pair of attached apartments that the trio share. Meanwhile, Heidi has her own unusual quality--a gift that falls into the realm of magic.

But it will take more than just magic to uncover the truth of her mother's origins. While most of those twenty-three words are common ones, there is one--soof--that is uniquely Heidi's mom's.

"[O]nly Mama knew what it meant. And she wasn't telling.
" 'What is soof, Mama?' I'd whisper as I sat on the edge of her bed at night gently scratching her back. I hoped it might slip out of her mouth and onto her pillowcase as she closed her eyes and relaxed into the rhythm of my scratching.
"Sometimes I'd sit down next to her on the couch, open up a magazine, and flip through the pictures, pointing at things--a baby, a dog, a car.
" 'Show me soof, Mama. Is this soof? Is this?'
"Mama would smile her sweet, wide smile and pat my knee the way she always did when I sat close to her.
" 'Tea, Heidi?' she'd say. 'Tea?' "

When vital clues to the mystery of her mother's past appear, Heidi embarks upon a lone cross-country trip to search for that elusive truth.

"I'd be lying if I said that given a choice, I wouldn't rather know than not know. But there are some things you can just know for no good reason other than that you do, and then there are other things that no matter how badly you want to know them, you just can't.
"The truth is, whether you know something or not doesn't change what was. If dinosaurs were blue, they were blue, if they were brown, they were brown whether anybody ever knows it for a fact or not."

In the manner of some great award-winning stories of previous years in which young characters journey to discover who they are, Heidi's solitary quest touched my heart and made me just want to hug this wonderful young woman.

(And that's the truth.)

Richie Partington

Rating:
Summary: Soof...
Review: Although this theme has been covered in many books, I thought Sarah Weeks produced a work that was original, intriguing, funny, sad, and satisfying. Although prehaps unrealistic in places, it is rings truer than many books in other places as Heidi learns to see past mental defficiencies, lies, smiles, and fear to the people and the love underneath. My only criticism would be that it ends too quickly and hodgepodgedly, but otherwise, this book was a good read.

Rating:
Summary: SO B. IT is a great read.
Review: Heidi knows her mom loves her. But because of her mother's mental disability, she is unable to care for herself or her daughter. Their loving neighbor, Bernadette, helps out and is a vital part of their family. Bernadette finally manages to teach Mama how to open cans, but tying shoes is beyond her capabilities. Mama can't read or tell time. She knows 23 words. One of Mama's words, "soof," is a mystery --- no one knows what it means, and Mama is unable to define it.

Heidi lives in Reno and so is able to wield her incredibly reliable lucky streak at the laundromat slot machine when her babysitting money doesn't quite cover their needs. How did Heidi and her mom end up in Reno, living in the apartment next to Bernadette? Bernadette tells Heidi about their mysterious appearance at her door when Heidi was just one week old. Heidi's mother was able to tell Bernadette that her baby's name was Heidi. When asked for her own name, Mama says, "So be it." Since Bernadette believes everyone should have a middle name (or at least an initial), she dubs Mama "So B. It." Heidi is known as "Heidi It."

The truth about her mother's identity eats away at Heidi. She simply cannot rest until she pieces together Mama's past through clues that appear over the years. Why is her mother terrified of buses? Why do rainy days make her anxious? When Heidi finds some old photos of her mother at a Christmas party held at Hilltop Home in Liberty, New York, she decides she must travel there alone in order to discover who her mother truly is. The trip is a frightening yet exciting adventure for determined, courageous Heidi.

SO B. IT is a great read. The mystery is intriguing; the characters are quirky yet believable. If you're a sucker for a quest story with heart, the way I am, I predict you'll be "So Into It!"

(...)

Rating:
Summary: A Page Turner
Review: I never thought I could get into a story about a girl with psychic ability living with her mentally retarded mother and an agoraphobic woman who hadn't left her apartment in decades. It all seems so bizarre.

But great writing made me believe in the setup, hook, line, and sinker. The main character, Heidi, is so well drawn and likeable, and her agoraphobic caretaker is so funny and sweet, I kept turning the pages of this book to find out if they'd be okay. Also, there is a good mystery at the heart of the book which makes this a fast-paced read.

Every character is a little strange-- the boy who's a liar, the childless couple, etc. But they're all so fully described that the whole time I was reading I felt a part of Heidi's world. I was sorry the book ended.

Rating:
Summary: impossible but plausible
Review: The opening question is about the color of truth. Come back and read these first two pages again after finishing the book. The author posits that truth is the color of dinosaur skin and that we don't know what color dinosaur skin is even though it is usually pictured as green.

All through the book 'Dette is reasoning with Heidi that truth may not be ascertainable, while Heidi in her adolescent intensity plows through seemingly insurmountable odds to perservere and find the truth. The author combines mystery, character, and discovery in a "can't put it down" read.

Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming New Teen Fiction
Review: Thirteen-year-old Heidi knows that her life is anything but conventional. Sure, her Mother loves her dearly, but seeing as how her Mother is stricken with a mental disability, it is extremely hard for her to take care of Heidi, or even show her how much she cares about her. That's where Bernadette comes in. Bernadette (Dette) is Heidi and her Mother's next-door neighbor, in the apartment building that they reside in in Reno. Dette's Father died a few year ago, leaving her some money, as well as well as agoraphobia, meaning that she can't go outside for fear. Everything is absolutely fine, until Heidi's Mother utters a mysterious word, soof, that begins to haunt her. Heidi quickly realizes that she must learn the truth, and uncover the secrets about her past. And soon she is on a cross-country journey doing just that.

Filled with dramatic twists and turns at every corner, Sarah Weeks has proved that she can not only write comedy well, but heart-warming, touching stories, that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished. Heidi is an amazing, heroic character, who finds the good in all, while at the same time having to deal with such a serious issue at home. Her Mother is kind and friendly, and someone whom you feel for greatly, as you realize just how hard it is for a person to have a mental disability. And Dette. Dette is a Godsend, who helps out with chores, and taking care of both Heidi and her Mother. All together they create an amazing force against the mental disability, proving that you can overcome even the biggest obstacles. A must have read for all, especially if you're looking to read an uplifting story.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper