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Book Review: What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones

Monday, May 23, 2011 § 45

What my Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Publisher: Simon Pulse, Simon & Schuster, New York

ISBN: 978-0-689-87603-5

With Film Version? I wish..
Number of Times Read: so many times, i lost count! (x
 
My name is Robin.
This book is about me.
It tells the story of what happens when, after
almost fifteen 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.

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

is getting it.(Excerpt from the book)


What my Girlfriend Doesn't Know is the sequel to What My Mother Doesn't Know. Whereas the latter is told in Sophie Stein's point of view, the former is told in Robin Murphy's voice. Hence, the title. It picks up after Sophie decides to publicly date Robin Murphy, the  biggest loser at Cambridge High.

An outcast, Robin experiences the typical stereotype transfer kids get from their schoolmates. He is the butt of all jokes, the guy who made every one laugh but for the wrong reasons. He is the guy whose last name people use as diss, like, "What a Murphy!" When Robin finally gets to date the beautiful and popular Sophie, it comes at a large cost. The idea of them being together is viewed by the school body as some kind of a laugh riot. People starts treating Sophie the way they always treated Robin-- an outcast. He loves being with Sophie but it pains him to see that Sophie loses her two best friends and her reputation, and all because of him. When Robin gets an invitation to audit a college art class because of his drawing skills, he suddenly finds himself 'cool', meets these university students who don't know what a "Murphy' is, and who laughs with him and not at him. Also, he meets this cute girl who really likes him. When one of Sophie's best friends eventually comes around, Robin's and Sophie's relationship reaches a dangerous point. Robin feels abandoned causing him to do something he ought have not done.
 
....
In my school days, I really wasn't one of those bullies who mistreated the transfer kid, but what always makes me sad, I realize, is that I didn't do anything to defend him. I just stood there laughing with the hooligans who pulled his pants down or grabbed and stole his latest cool toys or school supplies. But looking back now, what I did, or did not do, for the matter, is a reasonable response. I didn't want the bullies to pick on me too.

Being bullied is one thing. But being the reason why someone gets bullied is the next worst thing that could ever happen especially when that someone is your girlfriend. I admire Robin for having been able to endure the bullying for so long, not fighting back even though he badly wants to, which is a noble thing to do. But I don't know if I have the same patience and self-control Robin has. I swear if someone bullies me, I'll make sure I'll get back to him/her, make sure he/she won't come back to school in one piece!

Whereas Sophie, the whole thing is particularly tough to her since the change of her status is so abrupt. One minute she's at the highest rung of the ladder, the next, she's kicked down at the bottom. The sensible thing to do would have been to stop dating the loser, but she doesn't because she loves Robin. She has this unwavering hope that someday everything will turn out well. She clings to her love like an orchid would to a tree, for sustenance.

Now, maybe you are thinking that this novel is the dramatic underdog type, typical of teen angst. OK it tackles teen angst, but dramatic? No way. This book is so outrageously funny you wouldn't want to read it while riding on the MRT, otherwise people might start thinking you're not right in the head! Maybe it's because of Robin's way of telling his story in the form of puns or metaphors or similes or any other form of figure of speech. Whatever. All I know is that it never failed to make me laugh out loud every time I read it!

I don't like the ending, though I would have to say that it's not a heartbreaking kind of ending. It is good and I wouldn't change it if I could, but, dang, it is bitin! It left me hanging. I love reading the book but I really am hoping for the next sequel to be published soon.

Although the book looks thick, alright IT IS thick, it consumed more blank spaces than ink. The novel is what we call a novel in verse-- the story told on a series of poems. It's a very charming and unique way of writing a novel.

An outrageously funny read, What my Girlfriend Doesn't Know is something you would read while relaxing on a hammock. I just know YOU would read it because I made my friend, who has no patience in reading books, especially thick ones, read it, and he loves it! And he's twenty-three! It is fiction for teens, but aren't we all young at heart?


Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

New entries in the dictionary? bobblehead, sore-thumbish, pervy dawg, kewldood, twerp, hippopotamus thighs

You might also like: What my Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones


Witty/Funny/Mushy Quotes:

"Human beings tend to be conservative,
so if you lie, you'll probably be closer to the truth."

"Sometimes I just know things."

"The only thing worse than not getting what you want, is getting it."

"Friends don't let friends commit social suicide." 

"'There's something so great about this,' she whispers.
'About what?' I whisper back.
'About this,' she whispers.
'About this. About being outlaws.
It's just you and me against the world.'"

"When we kiss, his lips on mine are like CPR--
breathing the life back into me."♥

"I kiss her like my life depends on it." 
 
"She flashes me a smile so devastating that it could even make an atheist believe in God."

"You're thinking I'm a hopelessly romantic idiot.
And you know what?
You're right."

Smiley :
"Grace's eyes bigger than DVD's,
Rachel's mouth hanging open so wide
you could reach right in and
perform a tonsillectomy."

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§ 45 Response to “Book Review: What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones”

  • ka bute says:

    i wonder how many books you read in a week.. ;)

  • kae says:

    average is 2-3.. hehe.. i'm a voracious reader.. loll.. before, when i didn't have a job yet, it's 7/7. but it depends on how thick, or how interesting the book is. if its a real bore, i would drop it instantly and start reading a new one. when i get the time, or the patience, i would continue reading the one i ditched. hehe..

    ikaw ba?

  • ka bute says:

    pag petiks mode sa office mga 2 1/2 in a week. pero pag busy, mga 1 1/2 on the average. haha. may 1/2 kasi may pagka-ningas kugon ako. (teka, lam mo ba meaning ng ningas-kugon? hehe). after nung perks of being a wallflower, i started reading eat pray love. kaso hanggang page 40+ lang ata ako. haha. di ako maka-relate. so i watched the movie na lang yesterday. haha. oo, ako na ang tamad. ;)

    borrowed michelangelo's notebook from my officemate. sana di ako tamarin. :)

  • ka bute says:

    you almost spoiled the ending there. aarghh!! hahaha. ;)

    oddball question: will you fall for someone kahit na it might cost you ur friends and ur reputation?

  • kae says:

    ang sipag mo din pala magbasa e, gaya ko.. (x aww. di ko pa nabasa yung eat pray love hays.. saka na lang pag may pambili na.hehe.. is it any good? the movie i mean? hehe
    one of the best yung perks, right? favorite ko na yun ngayon.haha.

    sino author ng michaelangelo's notebook?

    P.S. ningas kugon means, magaling lang sa umpisa.. i know kci i googled it haha. narinig ko na yun nung high school, nakalimutan ko lang meaning nya.. (;

    P.S. ofis boy ka pala ah.. now i know.. hehe..

  • kae says:

    haha.. almost, dear. at least i dint ruin it all for you!

    hm, i would if: either i'm as naive as sophie, or i really like the guy so much.. esp if magaling mag-english yung guy tas kaya makipagsabayan sa kapilosopohan ko. he must have gotten the perfect tongue! hehe..

    so.. i'm throwing the question back at you..

  • ka bute says:

    paul christopher.

    omg, you really googled ningas-kugon? hahahaha. i thought so. that made me laugh. ^___^

    dakilang ofis boy nga ako. (don't tell me u're gonna google 'dakila' too??) hahaha.

  • kae says:

    paul christopher. right. meron kaya yun sa national bookstore? hehe..
    heyy google is my bestfriend as much as my good ol dictionary is! i just have to know what everything means.. heyy i know what dakila means.. dear ang english nun right? (;

  • ka bute says:

    so perfect match pala sa 'yo ung mga taga-BPOs. ;)

    will i fall for someone despite the fact that it might ruin my reputation and cost me my friends? yes for the reputation. no if it means losing my friends. hindi ako ma-pride na tao. of course i care about what others think about me but it's in the last line of the things i value.

    i have few but good friends. really good friends. i don't think i'll be happy without them around. :)

  • ka bute says:

    so im starting to make your blog a chatroom again. hahaha.

    dakila is noble. well, yata? haha. not really sure. ;)

  • kae says:

    BPO??? ano yun?

    hmm, what if your friends just don't understand? what if your friends are as judgmental as sophie's two bestfriends? i don't wannna lose friends too just for a guy but i wouldnt mind losing people who are too snotty, and are just plain mean. and besides, if they really are real friends, then they should have an open mind.. (;

    hmm.. quality is better than quantity. para san ang napakadaming friends kung napakababaw lang ng depth relationship nyo, right? we cant foster close relationships to just about everyone.. kahit handful lang, basta maaasahan. (;

  • kae says:

    sana naging chatroom na lang tong blog ko noh? haha..

    shocks. this reminds me of how sophie and robin met-- at a chatroom! they instantly connected, despite of the fact na they dont even know how each other look like! called it a 'cybersoul' thing. lolll.. wag ka maweirduhan hah, naalala ko lang. *wink*

    aww. FML! someone hadn't been paying attention to her filipino classes.. haha..

  • Unknown says:
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  • Unknown says:

    I want to read it. I like stories like this. Something that would make me LOL and for some reason I love teenage love stories. I guess it's because I am still young at heart like you said.

    Can I get it on National Books Store? I haven't visited it for so long. OMG you made miss reading so much.

    At naaliw ko sa chat nyo ni ka bute.. hehe.. sana nga may chat na din dito sa blogspot. lol

  • Bino says:

    ganda ng site mo ah. salamat sa pagbisita sa damuhan :D

  • Sey says:

    I'll get one when I finished the 3 books waiting for me to have time for them. Been so busy lately and don't have the time to read.

    Too harsh for Sophie to stepped down from the highest point of the ladder down on the last. I don't understand why there are stupid bullies like those idiots. I feel so sorry for Robin and Sophie as well.

    Ang cute ng converstaion niyo i Kabute parang chat na nga! hahaha!

  • kae says:

    @mayen: hehe thanks.. ginagawa nyang chatroom tong blog qoweh.. thanks thanks sa pagbabasa hanggang sa comments, hehehe..

    i love stories of this genre, too.. hmm, i bought it @ booksale.. P 100 lang pagbili ko nyan hehe.. if you are as tireless as me na magscan ng books sa booksale (hindi kci organized ang arrangement ng books dun), makakahanap ka din for sure. (;

    reading, esp cutesy stories like this, is good for the heart.. hehehe..

  • kae says:

    @bino: thanks for dropping by, (; hope you really like it as much as i love your site. hehe

  • kae says:

    @sey: ikr! like he said, ginawa nyang chatroom ulet tong blog ko. haha.. same kayo ni mayen, talagang pati comments binabasa. hehe.. thanks for reading my post, pati comments. haha

    idiots exist because smart people like us exist. kailangan, may balance in nature, ayt? haha

    hm, same tayo, madami pa kong to-read books.. im tryna find the time to read all of them. (;

  • ka bute says:

    BPO is business process outsourcing.. like call center companies. sabi mo magaling mag-english e. hehe. guys working there have perfect tounge. well almost perfect... lels.

    i know a lot who have abandoned everything, including the people who really care for them, just for their so-called 'soulmate' and 'mr./ms. right'. and they were never really happy. how could you be if you don't have anyone around you whom you can share your happiness with? db? and besides, if she/he is really the right person for you, why do u even have to give up your friends and your loved ones? luckily fo me, the friends i have are good, intelligent people. and personally, i think they are some of the best people i've ever met. ^_^

    P.S. do you know that my real name is robin? joke... ^_^ hahaha. at least we now have 2 things in common -- books and ka-weirdohan. ;)

    S.P.S. (super postscript.. hahaha). feeling ko pwede ng blog entry 'tong comment ko sa haba. un lang. ;)

    S.D.P.S. (super duper postscript).. what was your grade again in filipino? lels. ^_^

  • kae says:

    ohh.. so BPO.. thats where i might find the guy with the perfect tongue?

    hey, i wouldn't abandon everything, just the snotty so-called friends. loll.. hm, makes the two of us, glad we have good, intelligent friends.. (;

    P.S. oh really? nice name, robin.. what do u want me to call you? loll.

    S.P.S.filipino? 91 ata. taas noh? the world is so fucked up, right? haha

    S.D.P.S. my name is Sophie. (x

  • krn says:

    @karen, i like this book! anyways, you like guys with perfect tongue? that pretty explains why hmm... hehe, why mr. holden you-know-who was your ex. haha! kidding :)

  • kae says:

    @krn: well you should get a copy! hehe..

    yeah. that tongue of his, i so resent! that's exactly the reason why i'm not yet totally ready to give mr. holden up. haha (loll my bf might read THIS! sheesh!)

    thanks for taking the time to read my post.. pati yung comments.. haha..

    enjoy ba talaga magbasa ng comments? hehe.. di ko kci ginagawa yun, basta pagkabasa ko ng post, atat na ko magcomment hahaha.. masubukan ngang makapagbasa din ng comments sa ibang blog (;

  • ka bute says:

    glad to meet you, sophie. lels. ^_^

  • kae says:

    i feel the same way robinnn (x

  • iya_khin says:

    whhat daah??!! sabi ko na nawala yung comment ko eh!

    anyway ito sabi ko ulit...

    Bullies i'm not, more of the defender maybe...i hate it when someone comes to join our class then my classmates will make fun of him/her...good thing i was not being bullied back! hahaha!

    "You're thinking I'm a hopelessly romantic idiot.
    And you know what?
    You're right." - - damn right! lol

  • kae says:

    @iya_khin: na-experience ko na din yung ganyan, yung "nawawala" ang comment.. sana ma-eliminate na ng blogger yung problem na yan. (;

    yeah, that makes the two of us. i wasnt a victim of bullying too thank god..

    like that line too! thanks for dropping by, ((:

  • Anonymous says:

    Una sa lahat.. I like the conversation. yung sayo at ke Kabute. Ang cute! hehe.. parang nagbabasa lang ako ng isang script. lol..

    Anyway, I love reading books. Kaso nga lang, medyo mahirap makahanap ng magagandang books dito sa lugar ko. Medyo malayo kasi ako sa city.. and so, I could only rent (or buy) books kapag napupunta ako ng syudad.. which does not happen very often. Kapag nagawi ako sa isang bukstore, I'd check this book out. It sounds.. interesting. hehe..

    Oh, and about bullies? I really don't like them.. at kapag merong mga bullies, iwas na rin ako. sa nasabi mo nga, I don't want them to pick on me, too..

    Oh, followed, btw. :)

  • kae says:

    @leah: wow.. never thought that by creating a blog, i'd be meeting lots of book lovers here @ blogger.. thank you.

    you live at Surrey, BC? interesting. i happen to be a Canadian immigration consultant. hehe. wula lang. i am fascinated by Canada kci. someday, ima migrate dun. hehe. too bad malayo ang bookstore sa place mo. that would be a real drag for me! dang, i wouldnt be able to funtion properly pag wala akong nababasang book! (;

    yes, bullies, they, unfortunately, exist. its really better to avoid them and the mess they could get you into. (;

  • Emmaleigh says:

    wow. we're gonna be book-buddies haha I love reading books, only limited genre. I don't have that much time to sit down and read a good book with my busy sched lately.

    I should download this on my ebook.

    <3,
    Em

  • kae says:

    @emmaleigh: thanks for visiting and following! (;

    oh you have to relax sometimes, unwind, read a good book. you'll feel better. (;

    yayy.. book buddies.. more more more i want more (:

  • iya_khin says:

    punta ka sa design tapos sa add gadgets..click mo yung Followers..tapos check mo yung dropdown list ata kung ilang lang gusto mong makita sa blogroll mo..example you have 10 blogger show mo lang 5 tapos automatically lalabas yung show all!!

    gawa ka nga ng chat box mo! hehehe!

  • leigh says:

    its a very good book! i am a sonya sones fan too! you have read one of those hideous books where the mother dies? i think its so much better! nice review! though you've focused too much on the bullying! there are other interesting highlights in the book! nice review all the same!

  • iya_khin says:

    sa good reads mo yun iseset..add mo din ako sa goodreads! heheh

  • kae says:

    thanks so much! already added ya! (;

  • kae says:

    @leigh: oh, my bad! hm, well i didn't give much justice to the book. i constantly revise my book reviews because i don't want
    this-- dissatisfaction from readers--
    to happen! frankly, i'm not satisfied with the review either, there is so much to the book yet to be 'reviewed'. don't worry, i will revise it. thanks for sharing your thoughts.. (;

  • Anonymous says:

    Hello ulet, Karen... Is this comment for me?

    "you live at Surrey, BC? interesting. i happen to be a Canadian immigration consultant. hehe. wula lang. i am fascinated by Canada kci. ....."

    Hehe.. Kung para sa akin nga yan.. Nope. Nasa Pinas lang ako. I've always wanted to go to Canada pero I dunno kung mangyayari pa yun. Still, never say never.. :) Si Ms Emmaleigh, nasa Canada yan nakatira.. :)

    Yeah. Bullies do exist. They're part of life na nga yata eh.. hehe.. iwas-iwas na lang hangga't maaari. :)

  • kae says:

    @leah: yess it is for you.. thanks for replying.. oh. so it was emmaleigh. hehe. i thought it was you, yung nagappear sa traffic feed ko. yeah. si emmaleigh, she lives in Canada. (;

  • krn says:

    @karen, am here again. hehe i remember months ago when i was still consuming all my time surfing the net, we've been chatting about you. parang ganito:
    he:what's with karen?
    me:she's nice.
    he:yeah, you can get along with her pretty well.
    me:uh-huh, that's why you love her.
    hehehehe

    minsan naman, like this:

    me:how's karen?
    he:i don't know. she doesnt want to chat with me. she's offline.
    me:message her.
    he:i tried twice. :(
    me:sweet nyo.
    he:you call it sweet??
    me:yep
    he:you both are weird!

    but honestly, i think you two look good together. especially when you show your sweetness in such unique way.hahaha.i wonder why he remain single while you're having bf but still love him. haha

    ps:ang haba ng comment ko. sorry.

  • kae says:

    @krn: ahaha.. pwedeng maging post sa haba ang comment mo girl hehe..

    this is a cybersoul thing, us getting along in this cyberspace. how much more pag nagmeet tayo in person? hehe. (;

    well one time i told him i like you, because you're cool and you love books, and you write like bob ong.hehe. and he was like, how come you like her and you hate me now? lol

    he's a nice guy, just that he drives me crazy sometimes. you know, makulit and too straightforward.. pero he really can't chat me now kci i deleted him fr fb.hehe. but we're friends. he still visits me every now and then. but thats just it. were friends and i have a new bf. hehe

    what unique sweet way you talking about? i swear i dunno.. hehehe

  • Woah! Found you at Mayen's. I'm jealous because you get to read so much, so very jealous! You write beautifully. :) 16/50 is a very cool score, I think!

  • Wow this is a good review and now I am tempted to buy the book. Really interesting.

  • kae says:

    @ the blog writer: thanks! yes, reading is my LIFE.(;

  • kae says:

    @ixara: thank youuu ((: