6/10, after reading a pretty enjoyable sci-fi/fantasy book called The Scourge I was hoping that I would enjoy this book as well but alas I didn't since this was a boring and confusing book due to the fact that there were so many issues within this and I can say for sure that other readers have experienced this problem as well, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Sophie Nieuwenleven, or Sophie for short however that last name is pronounced like New-one-lefen or something like that, I don't know. I'm not sure why she had to leave England when she was young to go to Belgium and then she goes back to England to probably find some truth about her. I didn't like the writing style in this book, it was so frustrating to read, and the beginning was slow as well but the action started to pick up quick. Why replace normal words for other ones like bucket for book, helix for head, pigeon for people and terrapin for tear? The main character had a bad attitude at times but I could understand that and she developed her character eventually. There were two plot twists and one of them didn't seem that important at first (Sophie discovers her real grandmother), but then the second plot twist was huge! Sophie's entire life was a giant lie and that was the biggest plot twist within this book and that impressed me however the ending fizzled out which was a shame. If you want an emotional story, go read The Thing About Jellyfish, Clap When You Land, or The Poet X instead of this. ( )

Ok, I agree with the other reviewers that this book took awhile to get my head around as Sophie substitutes words like "Phoenix" for "Phone" the whole way through. I found that reading it without interruptions was the best way as my brain started to substitute the correct words and get into a rhythm. Basically Sophie and her parents moved to France when she was little and when she suddenly discovers that she doesn't have a birth certificate, her father changing their last name starts to make more sense. ( )

Sophie remembers leaving England under unusual circumstances, but she’s lived a normal life in Belgium for the most part. Her father is a hard-working but not wealthy mechanic and her mother is a nervous shut-in who blasts rap music. Life isn’t ideal, but it seems normal—until it doesn’t. Sophie needs a birth certificate for school and her folks are dodgy about it. A stranger thinks he recognizes her dad and it sounds legit, but the last name is wrong. Sophie catches her mother lurking on a stranger’s profile, but the stranger doesn’t seem all that strange.

Secrets and lies force Sophie to question her memories and leave gaps in her experience that she can’t explain. The confused emergence of information and the high stakes involved with revealing the truth create anxiety. Sophie can’t keep the story to herself and she can’t share the story either. She decides to tell her story in code.

The code is simple and can be cracked using context alone, and this may be fun for middle schoolers who want an easy read. Readers who like the challenge of a puzzle will find the book lacks the extra complexity. Or maybe not. Maybe the simple word substitution does as it is intended to do. For some the code may feel like a simple find-and-replace job and gimmicky. Other young readers will like the word substitution.

Author Hayley Long pairs the code with font style and size changes. In a coming of age story, questioning identity and creating a sense of self is very much like cracking a code and trying on different personas. Long maintains the nervous tension that plagues Sophie and her family. The strain in the relationships between characters enhances this tension. Ultimately, the primary characters are both flawed and appealing.

Sophie’s story is completely engaging and thrilling and doesn’t need word substitution to create suspense. While the code interrupts the flow without adding to the story, Sophie Someone does rise above that with intrigue, likable characters and the possibility of redemption.

Sophie Someone was a fun book once I was able to get past her way of talking. This may be a stumbling block for some readers, but I highly recommend sticking it out as it is a good story. The story is about Sophie who is really not who she thinks she is and her journey of finding this out. But not only is Sophie not who she believes herself to be (both in identity and her inner self), but she begins to look deeper and see that other people are not quite what she believes them to be. ( )

Ehhh...I don't really know how I feel about this book. The story itself was good, but the writing style was hard to wrap my brain around. It made it hard for me to concentrate on what I was reading and I forced myself to finish. ( )