What My Mother Doesn't Know (52-103)

Summary:

Her boyfriend, Dylan comes over and Sophie enjoys being able to spend time with him. Her mother also doesn't mind Dylan coming over being she trusts Sophie. Sophie believed she was in love with Dylan. When she would watch movies with him, she would watch him, not the movie, and she would embrace his beauty. When Dylan finally leaves and it gets dark Sophie goes up to her bedroom and looks at her ceiling, wondering if Dylan is looking up at his ceiling thinking about her. The next day her best friends, Rachel and Grace come over.  They sit on her bed, laughing and talking, taking turns popping zits on each others backs, and Sophie feels left out, just as a child would. She even wishes she had zits on her back, hoping to fit in. A couple days after, Sophie gets into a childish fight with Dylan because he buzz-cut his hair and she didn't like it, though they make up with a kiss. During class, instead of paying attention Sophie watches Dylan. In Art class the teacher asked the students to draw one another, people were allowed to pick their own partners, Sophie picked Murphy.  When they start to draw one another, Sophie feels a connection when they look at each other, but she doesn't want people to know since Murphy is a looser. Grace falls in love with a new boy named Henry, and she talks about him all the time. When he finally asks her out, she adds on that she talks to him on the phone for hours, this makes Sophie feel uneasy because she has never talked on the phone to Dylan for more than twenty minutes. Sophie goes to the county fair with Dylan but then wishes she went with her friends instead. The things she used to love about Dylan has started to annoy Sophie and she admits that she's dating Dylan for his looks not his personality. When she goes on a double date with with Grace and Henry she feels how she's lost connection with Dylan, like they've grown out of their relationship.

Quote:

"And my heart sank all the way to China." (Sones 80)

Reaction:

The quote above explicitly shows how Sophie felt, the background setting to this quote is when Grace told Rachel and Sophie about how she could talk to her boyfriend, Henry, for hours on the phone. Sophie felt letdown, since the longest she's talked to Dylan on the phone was for twenty minutes. This shows that it was like a competition to Sophie, even though Grace was her friend. Sophie always wanted to fit in no matter what it cost her. This quote is a hyperbole, Sophie didn't actually mean that her heart sank all the way to China, she meant that she felt really bad. It shows how childish Sophie is, how she thought she loved Dylan, even though she really had no idea what love was.  Overall, Sophie was still a child in her mind, she didn't know what she wanted or better yet, what she needed. She just wanted to have more than everyone else, to be on top.

What My Mother Doesn't Know (1-51)

Summary:
Sonya Sones starts off her Bildungsroman story by introducing the reader to the main character, Sophie. She is the type of girl that does not know what she wants in life. For example, Sophie likes many boys at once and does not know how to commit to one relationship. Her two best friends, Rachel and Grace are very supportive of her, and in return Sophie tells them everything that occurs between her multiple relationships. Sophie likes Zak, Danny and Dylan, and because she is only in eighth grade she does not realize that boys are not her only intention. Though, the only reason why Sophie wants attention is because she is the only child in her family. Her parents frequently fight, her father drives off with his car, and her mother cries. This occurs almost everyday and Sophie can do nothing to help,  this makes her feel helpless. Sophie is the type of girl that is starstruck by every boy she meets, not knowing how to make up her mind, just like a child. When a child needs to make a decision they do not know which to pick, thus making them just want both of the things that they asked for. Sophie is also very worried about her appearance, she feels like giggly blond girls have an advantage, they get more attention. Sophie has brown hair and eyes, she is also very tall. Overall, Sophie is just a girl that does not know exactly what she wants just yet.

Quote:
"We didn't know that we'd just become best friends. But we had." (Sones 12)

Reaction:
The quote that I picked is perfectly showing how Sophie is just a child. Children don't pick best friends, it just occurs, usually naturally, just as what happened with Sophie, Grace and Rachel. In my opinion, Sophie seems to be totally dependent on her friends for everything, especially support, and as young children we aren't independent. People become independent as they grow older and mature. Sophie has not matured yet and this quote displays this though. To continue, Sophie does not seem to know what she gets herself into, she does not think things through, which gets her into trouble. She also does not understand why her parents fight and why they want to divorce. As the story will continue Sophie will soon realize why people do the things they do and why certain people care and others don't, she'll grow to learn what she wants and what she actually needs.