What My Mother Doesn't Know (2001

2001 in literature

The year 2001 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The film version of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic book, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is released to movie theaters...

) is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones

Sonya Sones

Sonya Sones is an American poet and author. She has written four young adult novels in verse, as well as a novel in verse for adults and a picture book.-Biography:...

. The free verse novel follows ninth-grader Sophie Stein as she struggles through the daily grind of being a freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

 in high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, her romantic crushes and family

Family

In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

 life.

Plot summary

At the start of the novel, Sophie finds herself dumped by her current boyfriend

Boyfriend

A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed relationships, where other titles A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed...

 Lou, then immediately falls into a new relationship with Dylan, a boy considered the height of masculine beauty by her friends. As they date, Sophie discovers she does not really love, or even like, Dylan all that much and ends their relationship in favor of another boy she meets in an internet chat room

Chat room

The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...

, Chaz. Before she meets Chaz in person, Sophie discovers he is a pervert and ends the relationship. Now on her own, she encounters an outcast classmate, Robin Murphy, at the local art museum and is astonished to realize that while he is not physically attractive or liked by her friends, she falls in love with him. The book ends with Sophie choosing to sit with Robin in the cafeteria instead of her friends.

The companion book What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know is a novel in verse by Sonya Sones. The free verse novel follows ninth-grader Robin as he struggles with being an outsider at his high school and dealing with the joys of having a girlfriend, Sophie, and seeing his artistic talent recognized by his teacher and...

, written from the perspective of Sophie's boyfriend Robin, was published in 2007.

Reception

Pages Magazine stated the novel "captures the sweet confusion of being a teen girl in love for the first time. And the second. And the third." School Library Journal said "Sones is a bright, perceptive writer who digs deeply into her protagonist's soul... Sones's poems are glimpses through a peephole many teens may be peering through for the first time, unaware that others are seeing virtually the same new, scary, unfamiliar things."

Controversy

The novel appears on the ALA’s list of most frequently challenged books in 2004 and 2005. The most common reason for the basis of the challenges is the poem “Ice Capades” which describes how Sophie is fascinated by her breasts’ reaction to a cold window pane.

Awards

• Winner of the Iowa Teen Book Award (2005–2006)
• Michigan Thumbs Up Award Honor Book (2002)
• Chosen an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2002) http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/2002bestbooks.htm.
• Chosen an American Library Association Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2002)
• Named an International Reading Association Young Adults' Choice (2003)
• Named a Booklist Editor's Choice (2001)
• Voted a VOYA Top Shelf for Middle School Readers (2003)
• Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award: YA Recommended Title (2003–2004)
• Named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age (2002, 2003, and 2004)
• Named a Texas Lone Star State Reading List Choice (2003–2004)
• Named a Top Ten Editor's Choice by Teenreads.com (2001)
• Named a Bookreporter.com Best of 2001 for Teens