What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

From the Publisher

My name is Robin.

This book is about me.
It tells the story of what happens
when after almost 15 pathetic years of loserdom,
the girl of my dreams finally falls for me.

That seems like it would be
a good thing, right?
Only it turns out to be
a lot more complicated than that

Because I'm not gonna lie to you --
there are naked women involved.
Four of them, to be exact.
Though not in the way you might think.

Don't get me wrong -- my girlfriend's amazing.
But the way things have been going lately,
I'm starting to believe that the only thing worse
than not getting what you want,

is getting it.

Publishers Weekly

Returning with a sequel to the well- received What My Mother Doesn't Know, Sones delivers another engaging story about young love, this time from the boy's perspective. This free-verse novel opens with 14-year-old Robin worrying that he will soon be dumped by his girlfriend, Sophie (star of the previous book), who is being ostracized at school for dating "the guy whose last name people use as a diss." ("Let's face it./ I'm the type of guy/ who doesn't even have any buddies/ on my buddy list," Robin says.) But Sophie is her own person and together they form a plan to rise above the derision by laughing at themselves. Robin is believable and endearing as he struggles to make sense of his devotion to his "amazing girlfriend," his nascent sexuality and his attraction to Tessa, a girl in his art class at Harvard who is refreshingly unaware that he is the butt of jokes at his high school. When Sophie catches him kissing Tessa, Robin has to do something dramatic to win her back. Concrete poems and comics punctuate the text, adding interest to the form. The author's fans will be delighted to have a new installment written with the same raw honesty and authentic voice as the original. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 12-up. (June)

VOYA

This book picks up almost immediately where What My Mother Doesn't Know (Simon & Schuster, 2001/VOYA October 2001) left off. Popular Sophie and outcast Robin-better known by his last name, Murphy, which has become synonymous with "loser"-have just spent an amazing winter break together falling in love. Now it is back to reality-school. Robin is nervous that Sophie will ignore him, even expects her to do so, but when Sophie joins him for lunch, Robin's happiness is only dampened by the fact that her association with him has now made Sophie a pariah as well. Even Sophie's two best friends have abandoned her, so it becomes Sophie and Robin against the world. Unfortunately their classmates are not the only problem that they face. As Robin starts taking a college-level art class and Sophie's friend Rachel sees the error of her ways, the couple spends time apart and it could be the downfall of their relationship. Sones's wonderful free verse comes from Robin's point of view this time, but it is just as authentic and heart wrenching as Sophie's voice in the first book. Teens will devour this book and again will be left wishing for more at the end. Both Sophie and Robin are unforgettable characters, and their trials and triumphs are completely recognizable and easy to relate to by teens their age. It is not necessary to have read the first book to understand the second, so buy multiple copies-it will fly off the shelves.

KLIATT

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2007: This is a sequel to What My Mother Doesn't Know, telling the story of Sophie and Robin's romance from Robin's point of view. Since he has always been a social outcast, he is used to it; but it kills him to see Sophie become an outcast once she reveals to their high school world that the two are a couple. Sones writes Robin's story using poetry throughout, in the poetry-novel format. Sophie is swept away by her romance with Robin, sharing their love of art and their intelligence, but she is hurt when her friends reject her. The social bullies have always picked on Robin, and now they add Sophie to their victim list. Robin finds a way to feel good about himself when he starts taking art classes at nearby Harvard University and is accepted easily by the college students, who don't know he is a high school freshman. Things get better at high school for Robin and Sophie, and Sones (through Robin) tells how that happens. This is a good choice for creative students who sometimes feel ostracized in high school. It deals honestly with sexual feelings. Strong emotions of love, of humiliation, anger, and shame drive the poetry and the reader forward. Reviewer: Claire Rosser

Leah KrippnerCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up
This sequel to What My Mother Doesn't Know (S & S, 2001) stands completely on its own. Robin's life at Cambridge High School is miserable. The arty outsider's last name becomes the pejorative slang of the school-as in, "Don't be such a Murphy." His lot improves, however, when popular Sophie becomes his girlfriend despite the detriment to her reputation. Better still, the freshman is invited to audit an art class at Harvard. It is his homecoming; for once, he is the comedian rather than the butt of jokes. One of the college freshmen even shows some romantic interest in him. Written as a novel in verse, this title is a fast-paced, page-turning romp that gives authentic voice to male youth even when it is painfully truthful.

Kirkus Reviews

Six years after What My Mother Doesn't Know sizzled onto the scene, Sones returns to continue the story of teen sweethearts Sophie Stein and Robin Murphy. Her signature free-verse poems give class-loser Robin voice this time, allowing him to describe his feelings as Sophie's public acceptance of him makes her a social pariah; as he explores the physical and emotional roller-coaster of first love; as he remakes himself from outcast to one-of-the-cool-crowd when he audits a Harvard art class-and finds himself attracted to one of that cool crowd. The excruciatingly painful dynamics of the high-school in-crowd receive a thorough treatment, as does Robin's ambivalence with them: He recognizes Sophie's pain at her rejection by formerly close friends, but at the same time, he understands that this very rejection makes her need him all the more. Robin emerges as an appealingly flawed character whose desires-for love, for acceptance, for sex-will be instantly recognized by readers. If this offering lacks some of the intensity of its predecessor, it nevertheless provides both an opportunity to revisit two likable characters and the advantage of a fresh viewpoint. (Fiction/poetry. YA)

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