Ally Pastore

What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know

Sonya Sones

Novel in Verse/Realistic Fiction

Just Right

 64

1.         I just started reading the sequel to What My Mother Doesn’t Know, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones. Right now, the narrator, Robin Murphy is facing the tragic reality that his girlfriend, Sophie might brake up with him (or vice versa).  This is because Robin thinks Sophie is WAY out of his league, which I think is true.  He is starting to think that their relationship is too good to be true.. that Sophie is too good for him.  Robin is sort of like the school geek.  He is made fun of everyday because of the way he looks and acts.  When Sophie and Robin are holding hands in the hallway, everyone laughs and shakes their heads.  Robin thinks that-as much as he loves her-Robin will dump her because he doesn’t want Sophie to be embarrassed anymore.  I just finished the part where Robin gets excepted in an art class at Harvard University.  I wonder how that will go!


2.       After just finishing the first book, What My Mother Doesn’t Know, I immediately wanted to read          the next book.  Once I started to read the sequel, I fell in love with it. I love reading the book in Robin’s prospective because you get to learn more about his life and personality.  This book is different from the first book because you really get to see Sophie and Robin work together and collaborate as a couple.  It is also more about their romantic relationship.  The author slowly starts to pull you into the story by adding plot twists and using descriptive adjectives to really “paint the picture” in your mind. 

3.        One of the main themes in this book is love and sacrifice.  This is a major theme because even though Sophie and Robin’s love for each other is very strong, Robin knows that he might have to sacrifice that.  He knows that he might have to sacrifice their relationship because Sophie is getting teased in school and even her best friends have turned against her. He tells Sophie that he understands that he isn't the most ideal boyfriend.  He thinks that it is best for her and her reputation if they brake up.   Sophie listens to him but will not do it.  She tells him that she doesn't care what other people think or how she is treated, as long as they are together.

4.        My favorite character is still Robin. Robin is the sweet, caring, fun and compassionate boyfriend of Sophie, who is always there for her.  This book makes me love him even more because it is written in his prospective.  When I get to read every little detail about what he is thinking, I really start to understand the character.  I also get to learn more about who he is, outside of his relationship. I love his personality because he is a very real person and doesn’t care about other opinions.

4.        Since I just started this book, there are not that many characters.  I don’t really mind any of the characters, but if I had to pick my least favorite character (or characters), it would be Sophie’s “best friends”, Rachel and Grace.  They are kind of act like the same person in this book because they both think the same thing when they find out that Sophie is dating Robin.  They both turn against her and say that this is not normal.  I think that if they were really her friends, they would be supportive of her, even if they don’t 100% approve of him.  There is even a time in the book where they bully her about him and try to convince her to dump him.  I was very upset when this happened because Sophie ran away and started to cry.  The worst part about that was that Robin was there listening to the whole conversation.  

5.         My prediction is that Robin will go to the art class at Harvard University.  I think he will do well as an art student, but I wonder if the students know that he is in high school.  They might think he goes to Harvard too.   Will the students there like him? Or will he just be another school joke that doesn’t have friends?  Will this class affect his relationship with Sophie? It is very hard to tell because Sonya Sones may make plot twist or do something very unexpected. I guess I will have to read the book to find out!