What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know - Softcover

Sones, Sonya

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1442493844 ISBN 13: 9781442493841

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013

Synopsis

A teen boy confronts the complications of love in this relatable free verse novel featuring a new cover and larger trim size.

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.

Picking up where What My Mother Doesn’t Know leaves off, this is the story of what happens next—told from the perspective of Murphy, Sophie’s new boyfriend. And even though Murphy’s thrilled to be with Sophie, the consequences of their relationship—and the temptations outside of it—force him to consider everything he knows about love. Told in free verse and brimming with authenticity, this novel provides unique insight into the mind of a young man.

About this title

About the Author

Sonya Sones has written five YA novels-in-verse: To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story), Stop Pretending, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, What My Mother Doesn’t Know, and its companion, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. Her books have received many honors, including a Christopher Award, the Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award, and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize nomination. But the coolest honor she ever got was when What My Mother Doesn’t Know made it onto the American Library Association’s list of the Top 100 Most Banned Books of the Decade (to see why, see p.46). She lives near the beach in southern California, and only tells the occasional fib. Visit her at SonyaSones.com or follow @SonyaSones on Twitter.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In What My Mother Doesn't Know (2001), 14-year-old Sophie, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, teen, describes her surprise when she is drawn to Robin, the school-appointed loser who makes her laugh. In this sequel, Robin picks up the narrative in rapid-fire, first-person free verse as he describes their school's reaction to the relationship: "They're gawking at us / like Sophie's Beauty and I'm the Beast." Sophie compares the two to outlaws: "It's just you and me against the world." But after Sophie's friends dump her, Robin feels guilty for the "random acts of unkindness" she endures: "Sophie may feel like an outlaw, / but thanks to yours truly, / what she really is / is an outcast." A talented artist, Robin finds escape in a Harvard drawing class, where a new friendship threatens his closeness with Sophie. The story of a thrilling and faltering first love may be familiar, but Robin's believable voice is distinctive, and Sones uses her spare words (and a few drawings) to expert effect. From bad puns to breathless accounts of locking lips to anguished worries about losing Sophie, Robin reinforces the picture of an awkward, likable, intelligent, and realistically flawed young man. Many teens will see themselves, and they'll cheer when Sophie and Robin thwart the bullies and reclaim their social standing. Like Sones' other titles, this is a great choice for reluctant and avid readers alike. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1442493844
• ISBN 13: 9781442493841
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320