What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

by Sonya Sones

Fourteen-year-old Robin Murphy is so unpopular at high school that his name is slang for "loser," and so when he begins dating the beautiful and popular Sophie her reputation plummets, but he finds acceptance as a student in a drawing class at Harvard.

• ISBN10: 0689876025
• ISBN13: 9780689876028
• Publish Date: 5 June 2007 (first published 1 June 2007)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Edition: Reissue ed.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 291
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I really enjoyed What My Mother Doesn't Know, so I was excited to pick up its sequel. In What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know we get into Robin's head. Getting the male perspective is somewhat rare, especially from female authors, so that definitely intrigued me more. I was also curious about him from the first book, since he was loner, and his classmates used his last name, Murphy, as an insult.

The tone of this book is very different than the previous. Sophie's book was light and humorous, but Robin's is heavy and slightly depressing. Their new relationship has not been easy, as their classmates ridicule them, some even think it's some kind of joke. Even Sophie's supposed best friends give them dirty looks and refuse to hang out with her as long as she's dating "Murphy." I felt so bad for Robin, since he's worried about how this is effecting Sophie despite the brave face she puts on. He's used to be shut out by others, but now he's bringing her with him. Also while sweet, it was also a little sad how Robin did things just to make Sophie happy. It was like he was trying too hard to make her like him, even though she clearly already does.

It's not all gloom and doom. There's still some very funny lines sprinkled throughout, especially when Robin gets a crash course in life drawing (and we're not talking trees!). Although when things seem to looking up, they actually crash to rock bottom. I felt more of an emotional connection with this one, and enjoyed it a lot more than the first. I'll definitely be checking out more books by this author.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.