What My Mother Doesn't Know (207-260)

Summary:

Sophie starts to dream about her future, and Murphy is part of her future. She now starts to look at peoples personalities, and not just their looks. Murphy is always on her mind and she soon is invited to meet his parents. When she meets Murphy's mother she finds out that she is also Jewish, and they connect instantly. Sophie finds out that Murphy's name isn't Murphy, it's actually Robin. People only called him Murphy  because they thought he was loser. After she spends the day at his house, they make another date, they are going to the movies. They continue to make dates. One of their dates is at the Charles River, they watch the sunset go down and talk about how they feel about one another. Winter slowly arrives in Boston and the first snowfall brings a foot of snow. Sophie and Robin spend a day building snowmen and going sledding.  As school vacation begins to end Sophie does not know how to tell her friends that she loves Robin, she's afraid of how they'll react. In the end Sophie shows her friends who she loves, she runs to Robin and holds his hands, smiling at him. She finally grew  out of  the fear and she realized that she needed to grow up and think about what really mattered to her, her happiness.

Quote:

"I come to the sudden and very startling realization that all I want for Christmas is Murphy."  (Sones 223)

Summary:

This quote truly shows the growth that Sophie has gone through. Children tend to want toys for Christmas, but Sophie wants Murphy. She is capable of understanding what someone could mean to her. This quote also shows that what she wants for Christmas is not a material, but actually something that she could have forever. Overall, Sophie has grown a lot and she makes decisions based on her thoughts, not from what she sees. She does not mind what the rest of the kids at her school have to say about her, all that matters now is her happiness. Sophie has grown from being a judgmental girl, to a thoughtful young woman.

What My Mother Doesn't Know (156-206)

Summary:

Sophie starts to obsess over finding the boy that danced with her at the Halloween Party, that is the only thing that has been on her mind. Since she has no clue who it could have been she starts to believe that maybe he was just a jerk anyway, just to make herself feel better for a while. Zak, Sophie's  best guy friend asks her out and she says yes. In the back of her mind Sophie wishes that she didn't, so a couple days later she tells him that it would be better if they just  were friends. Hanukkah is celebrated in Sophie's family, but  this year it's not the same, it's not celebrated with as much love. Sophie misses being able to celebrate her culture, a sign that she is growing up. This shows that she knows what is important to her, religion. For Christmas Break all of Sophie's friends are going on vacation, but Sophie isn't. She decides to have a vacation of her own, she roams the city of Boston.  As she is exploring the Museum of Fine Arts, Murphy, the biggest nerd at her school, see's her and talks to her. They end up going out to get pizza and they go ice skating afterwards. When Sophie gets home she hopes that Murphy will call her, and when he doesn't she gets worried that he might never call. He calls the next day and they set up another date, one that Sophie looks forward too. During the date everything feels perfectly normal for Sophie and she loves that she can be herself with him, everything just feels right. This shows that Sophie is not childish anymore, and how she does not care about looks anymore, but she cares about personality.  

Quote:

"This door was opening up inside me that had never been opened before, and his soul was walking right in." (Sones 158)

Summary:

This quote shows how deep Sophie felt about her mystery man. Sones uses a personification, describing Sophie's feelings.  Sophie has grown a lot since the beginning of the book because she now looks at people's personalities instead of their looks, usually grown people do this. Her mind is not only thinking about one thing, boys, but instead of her art and her setting around her. She has made an effort to grow up and she has chosen to make Murphy a part of it, unlike before. Since Murphy was a geek at her school she never wanted anything to do with him, fearing her reputation would be ruined. Though now she realizes that it does not matter what people thought of her or Murphy, all that mattered was her happiness.

What My Mother Doesn't Know (103-155)

Summary:
Sophie is feeling like she doesn't belong with Dylan anymore. She looks at him as a child now, not as an adult, and she wants to be able to have a serious relationship. When they break up, Sophie feels bad, but she can do nothing about it, she moved on. Halloween is coming up and Sophie and her friends are going to a Halloween party, Sophie want's to be the center of attention. She goes shopping for a Halloween outfit with her mom and ends up buying a flower pot costume, when she actually wanted to buy a stunning black dress which her mother did not approve. As the Halloween party date arrives, Sophie goes back to the store and buys the black dress that her mother forbid her to buy, and wears it to the party. Sophie dances with a boy in a mask, and she continuously thinks about who it could have been after the party. As Sophie waits for her mother to pick her up, a couple of tenth grade boys laugh at her and when her mom pulls up and sees Sophie in the dress she yells at her and tells her to hurry and get in the car. When they get home they shout and scream at each other, and finally her mom takes the dress and tears it into pieces. They don't talk to one another for days, and once Sophie finally is tired of it, she makes up with her mother.

Quote:
"He'd just look into my eyes and know how it feels to be buried under an avalanche of guilt." (Sones 153)

Summary:
Sones describes Sophie's feelings very accurately, and in this case she uses a hyperbole. Sophie believes that her dream man will just know how she feels, without even asking. This shows that she is still a child at heart, because this is one of the things she wished for. On the other hand, she understands what's right from what's wrong. Sophie slowly realizes that she is not a child anymore and she is going to have to act like a grown-up soon. She slowly stops fighting with her mother and learns that her mother will help her get through everything. Sophie is slowly growing up, mentally and physically.