Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
When You Know What I Know
Sonja K. Solter · 2020
82/100
👍 Worth It
This is one of very few middle-grade books to handle childhood sexual abuse with the craft and care the subject demands — the verse format gives Tori's voice intimacy without becoming graphic, and the author's MFA work in trauma writing shows on every page. School Library Journal and Kirkus both praised it, and that credibility is deserved. Keep in mind this is firmly a 10-and-up read best approached with adult or counselor support, not a solo pick for younger kids.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Central subject is childhood sexual abuse (molestation by a family member); not appropriate for unsupervised or young readers; requires parental or counselor context for the 10-14 range. We still scored it 82; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety70
substance88
craft88
originality84
accuracy85
hype72
age-fit78
human-eye85
Penny’s verdict82
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