So B. It

So B. It

Author	Sarah Weeks
Country	America
Language	English
Series	None
Genre	Realistic fiction
Publisher	Harper Collins
Publication date	2004
Pages	254

So B. It is a children's novel by Sarah Weeks, released in 2004. In 2007, it won book awards in Illinois (the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award^[1]) and Kansas (the William Allen White Children's Book Award^[2]).

Plot summary

Thirteen-year-old Heidi It lives in the town of Reno, Nevada with her mentally-disabled mother and their neighbor, Bernadette. Her mother only knows twenty-three words, some actually being phrases in which she does not say the words separately, and including one mysterious one, "soof," that no one can define. Meanwhile, Bernadette has a serious condition called agoraphobia, which causes her to be too afraid to go outside her house. Heidi must take on responsibilities beyond her years to provide for their households. Heidi has a lucky streak so to get extra money Heidi goes to Sudsy Duds Laundry Mat to use the slots even if Bernadette A.K.A Bernie doesn't want her to.

Heidi finally discovers a key to her past in a desk drawer. It was a camera. The developed photos reveal her mother "So B. It" at a Christmas party in New York many years before. Heidi decides to go to Liberty,New York, anxious to uncover more about her family history and to seek what the word "soof" means. Although Bernadette is anxious about Heidi leaving, she reluctantly allows her to go as long as she calls at every rest stop. During her road trip to Liberty, New York, Heidi meets several characters, including Alice Willinsky and Georgia Sweet, a kind and curious 18-year old on the bus. To get to Hilltop Home she goes to ABC cabs and asks for a ride but she has no money. The man says if she guessed the right amount of jelly beans in the jar she would get a free ride anywhere. She decided to use her lucky streak and guessed right.. When she arrived at Hilltop Home, a man named Elliot (he has a mental disorder) sees her, smiles, and called her soof, Mama's word. Then the director and father of Elliot, Thurman Hill, does not welcome her and turns her away. He also will not admit that Heidi's mother ever lived there or that he knew her. Feeling sorrowful, Ruby, who also works at Hilltop Home, takes Heidi into her own home, and she and her husband, Roy, investigate. Heidi stays there for next few days.

With their help, Heidi discovers that Thurman Hill, is her grandfather, Elliot, a mentally disabled man who lives there, is her father, and that her grandmother, who died years before, was named Diane. She finally finds out what her mother's word, soof, meant, which was her nickname for her name Sophia Demuth and her word for love.

In the end Mama dies,but everyone has their happy ending.Ruby has a baby girl,Thurman Hill gets to meet Heidi, and Heidi gets to go home with Bernie.Heidi goes to school where everyone knows her as Heidi Demuth, not a young girl with the last name "It".

Settings

Reno, Nevada- Where Heidi, Bernie, and Mama live. Heidi spends most of her life here.

Also in New York (Liberty)

Characters in this story

Heidi DeMuth (originally known a Heidi It): The main character in the story. She is kind, courageous, extremely lucky and determined.

Sophia Lynne DeMuth (called Mama by Heidi; Soof by Elliot; Precious Bouquet or just Precious by Bernadette; and So B It by herself): Heidi's mentally disabled mother. She is kind and loving, even though she has a very limited vocabulary and little ability to learn. She is afraid of buses (see Diane DeMuth).

Bernadette "Bernie" (called Dette by Sophia): Heidi's Next-Door Neighbor who is like her mother/guardian. She has agoraphobia.

Elliot Hill: Heidi's father and Sophia's best friend. He is also mentally disabled. Names Sophia "soof" because he cannot pronounce "Sophia".

Thurman Hill: Heidi's grandfather. He works at Hilltop Home, a place for the mentally disabled, where Heidi's mother lived for a year.

Ruby Franklin: A woman who helps Heidi with her quest and takes care of her for part of her journey. Her husband is Roy Franklin (see below). She works at Hilltop Home.

Roy Franklin: Ruby's husband who helps Heidi find the truth about herself. He is also a sheriff.

Diane DeMuth: Heidi's grandmother. She unfortunately died when Heidi was a baby, in a bus accident, the reason Sophia is afraid of buses.

Georgia Sweet: An 18-year old bound for college who joins Heidi for part of her bus trip. Unlike Alice Wilinsky, the first woman Heidi meets along the way, Georgia asks instead of telling, and Heidi finds herself sharing her story in detail and without embellishment.

Alice Wilinsky: The first person Heidi meets on her way to Liberty. Heidi told her that Shirley Temple taught her grandmother how to bake, Heidi actually lied to her, and Alice knew.

Alexander "Zander": Heidi's dishonest friend who lives downstairs.

Mama's words

Soof: A mysterious word that Mama and Elliot use to call Mama because Elliot can't pronounce her name (Sophia). It is also Mama's word for love.

So Be It: How Mama pronounces her own name.

Dette: Mama's word for Bernadette.

Back Soon: Not how it sounds.

Heidi: The story's main character.

Tea: Tea, which Mama makes for Heidi or Bernadette.

Done: Once Mama is finished with a task ( example: opening cans), Used by Mama when she gets frustrated

Complete list of Mama's words in order (Also the names of the chapters)

1. Heidi
2. Dette
3. Hello
4. Soof
5. Shh
6. Tea
7. Out
8. More
9. Back Soon
10. Go
11. Good
12. Again
13. Blue
14. Pretty
15. Now
16. Hot
17. Kiss
18. Bad
19. No
20. Uh-oh
21. Ow
22. Done
23. So Be It

References

Awards
Preceded by The City of Ember	Winner of the William Allen White Children's Book Award Grades 6–8 2007	Succeeded by Airball: My Life in Briefs