Sonali Matthews

"Sonali" redirects here. For the doll, see Sonali Matthews (doll). For the face mold, see Sonali Mold.

Sonali Matthews
Basic Information
Full Name	Sonali Matthews
Birth	1999
Series Data
First Appearance	Chrissa
Family Relationships
Father	Mr. Matthews
Mother	Mrs. Matthews
Sibling(s)	Two unnamed older sisters
Friends or Other Relationships
Noted Friends and Peers	Chrissa Maxwell Gwen Thompson

Sonali Matthews is a companion to the seventh Girl of the Year, Chrissa Maxwell. She was released by the American Girl Doll company in 2009.

Character

Sonali is at least part South Asian, as her mother's parents are from India. Originally, she is part of the Queen Bees (which the rest of the class calls the Mean Bees) along with Tara and Jadyn. She knew Tara from preschool, and Tara is her ex-best friend. At the start of the book, she seems to be uncomfortable with the Bees' treatment towards Chrissa and Gwen and becomes progressively more disturbed with their actions. Soon after Tara maliciously cuts off Gwen's bangs, Sonali leaves the Queen Bees. Near the end of Chrissa, she asks for forgiveness from Gwen Thompson for not speaking up and becomes best friends with Chrissa and Gwen.

Sonali appears to come from an upper-class family; her mother is a realtor and her father's profession is unknown, although in one scene his attire seems to match that of a businessman ("well-groomed fingernails" and tie). In the book Chrissa, Sonali has two older sisters, both in college. Sonali's mother disapproves of her activities with the other Bees, making her return the valentines she stole from Chrissa and grounding her for a week. The first time she appears to be proud of Sonali is when she becomes friends with Chrissa and Gwen.

Sonali has a dog named "Tofu," who likes to eat toilet paper rolls.

She is also quite smart; in the movie, Tara implores Sonali to come over to help her with homework.

Like Chrissa Maxwell, Sonali is on the swimming and diving teams. She does the backstroke on the relay team. Chrissa also teaches her how to knit after Sonali admires Chrissa's scarf.

In Chrissa Stands Strong, Sonali has a pink Motorola RAZR like Jadyn, first seen when Sonali goes to Chrissa's house to do homework.

Books

Sonali is a major character in Chrissa's two books, Chrissa and Chrissa Stands Strong.

Movie

In Chrissa Stands Strong, Sonali is portrayed by Ariela Barer. However, in the movie, Sonali is not a swimmer.

Another difference between books and movie is that Sonali does not feel bad about taunting and teasing Gwen in the beginning. However, she does change her mind about Gwen as she sees that Chrissa is befriending her.

Doll

See: Sonali Matthews (doll)

The Sonali doll.

• Face Mold: Sonali Mold
• Skin: Dark
• Hair: Black/dark brown, waist length, left part, no bangs, highlights, long, loose curls
• Eyes: Dark Brown

Meet Outfit

• Lime green tee
• Aqua knit tunic
• Denim knicker pants
• Blue ballet flats
• Lime green panties

Collection

Sonali is part of Chrissa's Collection.

Trivia

• The doll of Sonali is much darker than illustrations that show her.