Ally Pastore
What My Mother Doesn't Know
Sonya Sones
Realistic Fiction/Novel in Verse
Holiday
Just Finished- 288

           1. I have just finished the book What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones. This book was so good!  The ending of this book was very intriguing and made me want to read the sequel.  What My Mother Doesn't Know starts after the main charactor, Sophie, is dumped by her boyfriend, Lou.  She quickly moves on, and starts dating another boy, Dylan.  As she falls for this guy, she realizes shortly after, that they don't really have much in common.  Ever since school started, she has kept her eye on this one boy Robin.  The only problem is, Robin Murphy is not exactly the "dating type".  He doesn't really socialize much and is not very attractive.  This book ends when her best friends, Grace and Rachel see Sophie sitting with Robin at lunch.  It surprised me how they did not give the friends' reactions.  It almost made me upset that the ending wasn't given away! Sonya Sones was very clever to do that because then you want to read the next book.

          2.  Before I read this book, I had never read one of Sonya Sones's books before, but I heard good things.  I was impressed my her writing style, which is one of the reasons why I liked this book.  It kept me interested and pulled me into the story.  Sonya Sones pulled me into the book by using specific adjectives to describe situations and using language that I can relate to.  All throughout the book, I felt like I was Sophie and going through the same things that she went through.  My favorite part about Sonya Sones's writing, especially in this book, was the plot.  It was easy to follow and fun to read.  It didn't feel like I was reading a book because it felt like it was really happening.

          3.  One of the many themes in this book was betrayal.  It was something that I noticed throughout the book and seemed like one of the main themes.  In What My Mother Doesn't Know, Sophie betrays her mother and her friends.  Sophie betrays her mother by lying to her.  In the beginning of the story, Sophie and her mother go out to buy a dress for the halloween dance.  Her mother wanted her to wear this pink dress with big "disgusting" flowers everywhere.  Sophie liked the "gorgeous" black elegant dress.  Her mom was very disappointed and started to cry when Sophie didn't like the dress that she picked out.  Feeling sympathetic, Sophie bought the flower dress for her mother. But decided to buy the black dress on her own and switch dresses when she left the house.  Forgetting that she was wearing the black dress, Sophie got into the car when her mother came to pick her up.  I guess you will have to read the book to find out what happened! Sophie also betrays her best friends Grace and Rachel.  While they were on vacation, Sophie dates Robin.  Its not like Sophie lies to her friends, but she doesn't exactly tell them the whole story.  Sophie tells them all about the boy and all of the adventures they went through, but what she doesn't tell them is that the boy is...Robin.

         4. My favorite character this book is Robin.  I love Robin because he's very nice to Sophie and treats her right.  Robin isn't only Sophie's boyfriend, he becomes her best friend.  She realizes that she has found someone that listens to her, doesn't judge her, someone who she can "laugh hysterically" with, and loves her for who she is. They have a lot in common and Sophie always seems happy when she is around him.  Robin knows that kids talk about him behind his back, but he doesn't seem to care what other people think.  He has a great personality and has a big heart! I loved watching (or reading) Robin and Sophie fall in love.

         5.  My least favorite character is Chaz.  Chaz is a boy that Sophie met over chat.  Sophie used to chat with him every night on the computer.  But what she doesn't know is that Chaz turns out to be a freak and really inappropriate.  Chaz pretends to be nice to her and I was convinced that he was nice too.  Just before Sophie planed to meet him in person, she finds out that he is not who she thought (or wished).  I was really disheartened because I thought that he would be kind and sweet, but that was not the case.

         6.  The ending of this book was definitely not how I expected.  I wished that the ending was given, but instead, the author left me hanging.  I understand that that was a good way to make the reader want to know more, but I was disappointed to not know the end.  The end of this book ends on the first day back from winter vacation.  When Grace and Rachel wave her over to sit with them at lunch, she peers over at Robin at the other end of the room, sitting alone.  Robin smiles when Sophie looks over.  Sophie walks right past Grace and Rachel and sits with Robin.  She sits across from him and holds his hands.  I really had hoped to see her friends' reactions, but I guess I'll have to read the sequel!