jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Apr 24, 2006 1:19:06 GMT -5
It's got a couple of posts in the "Worst Books" thread, so it's time for its own thread Unless there already is one and I'm just blind. I liked seeing more of the Stevenson family in this. Their extended family is one of my favourites to read about. I also liked the whole family tree project, even though we don't really see that much of it. I wasn't such a fan of the seriousness of the subject, but it was all right. The baby-sitting subplot in this was great! How the Pikes build a beach in their backyard because they couldn't go to Sea City. How many summers is it, now?
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
Posts: 3,664
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Post by Amalia on Apr 24, 2006 3:11:16 GMT -5
Yeah, serious issues in the series always seem so forced to me. It seems as if they are telling me to feel sad instead of making me feel sad with its prose.
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Post by lovelylemontree on Jun 7, 2006 23:28:26 GMT -5
I just finished this one. I thought it was rather boring. I skimmed through quite a few parts. I'm not really an Abby fan, although she's all right in her own books, but her family bored me. They just weren't that interesting.
What is up with Mrs. Stevenson's sister? In Abby's Lucky Thirteen, Abby says her mom is an only child. Then in this book, Abby says her mom and grandparents had been long estranged from Miriam. So, did Abby lie in the previous book? Or did she have no idea her mom's sister existed?
Exactly. I honestly didn't care if Gram Elsie had cancer. She'd only made one previous, brief appearance in an earlier book. What did I care if she died? The cancer plot would have been much stronger had it been one of the girls' mothers. That could have been an interesting book. If it was Mrs. Stevenson, Abby would worry about becoming an orphan. If it was Mrs. Brewer, Kristy would worry about if she'd stay with Watson, or be sent to her father. There would be so many potential storylines with any of the girls. As usual, Ann M. and the ghostwriters missed the boat.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2006 15:09:47 GMT -5
IIRC, Abby and Anna believed that their mother was an only child until Mystery #28, Abby and the Mystery Baby, when Miriam is "discovered."
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Jun 8, 2006 17:17:17 GMT -5
I thought it was strange that they used the word "breast" so many times in this book. Even if they WERE discussing cancer, they never would have done that earlier on in the series.
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Post by greer on Jun 8, 2006 18:24:36 GMT -5
^i don't agree. Earlier in the series they talk about bras (and bust developers!) and stuff, which they never do later.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on Jan 15, 2007 11:56:25 GMT -5
Read this one for the first time. I thought it was kind of boring, but I was expecting Abby to be wrong and Gram Elsie to actually have a cancerous friend or something. I know the BSC are fabulous mystery-solvers, but that's when they have, like, suspects and clues. Usually, when they assume something, they're way off -- like Jessi thinking Aunt Cecelia was going to get married.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Jan 16, 2007 21:42:47 GMT -5
Or Claudia assuming she was adopted...
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2007 1:10:29 GMT -5
This is one book that I have always wanted to read. I have a copy of it coming soon. Abby always annoyed me until i read her portait book and learned a bit more about her. I am really looking foward to reading the Pike family sub plot.
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Post by aln1982 on Jul 20, 2007 0:01:40 GMT -5
Is this the one where Abby's grandma has breast cancer? I was getting ready to reread but this morning, they found a malignent lump in my grandma's breast so I wanted to ask how this book ended before reading it. Does all go well for Abby's grandma? I don't want to make the same mistake as I made when I read Karen's Granddad on the day my dad had open heart surgery ;D Anyone remember this book and if it would be "safe" for me to read right now? ;D
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Lauren
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,026
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Post by Lauren on Jul 20, 2007 0:06:35 GMT -5
aln- I'm so sorry to hear that about your grandmother. Hope everything turns out ok.
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Post by aln1982 on Jul 20, 2007 0:12:14 GMT -5
^ Thanks. We don't know much now but will find out more after her appt. this morning. Guess she's had this for 14 years and the dr. just now bothered to mention it. Sorry, I'm getting off topic.... Did this book mention much about Abby's grandma's situation? I guess I might just have to reread it no matter what ;D
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Lauren
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,026
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Post by Lauren on Jul 20, 2007 23:58:07 GMT -5
How's your grandmother doing? Sorry if I'm being too nosy.
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Post by aln1982 on Jul 21, 2007 0:02:18 GMT -5
^ You're not. Thanks for asking. She saw the dr. today and has an appt. scheduled with the surgeon to talk about when to have the lump removed. Hopefully she won't need radiation because it's only very tiny. Of course, she will probably opt to have it because she just loves having things wrong with her (I know this sounds mean but it's true ;D) and is actually kind of in her glory right now with all the sympathy. Abby's grandma seemed the total opposite with not wanting anyone to know. Don't know which I would prefer.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2007 13:30:54 GMT -5
I haven't read this one, but I am actually going through breast cancer treatment right now (I have been since last November and should finish treatment around this coming November). So anyway, I am actually very curious about how they handle the subplot with Abby's grandmother. aln1982, I wish your grandmother the best! And I know you're joking about your grandmother leaving the lump in but that did alarm me for a bit. Just from what you said and from what I know (and my treatment might be a little different because I'm younger) it sounds like she is a candidate for a "lumpectomy" which means they remove the lump instead of the whole breast, and is a pretty quick recovery and not too difficult of a surgery. Although she probably will need radiation (I understand it goes hand-in-hand with lumpectomy). But if it means anything, radiation (though I haven't gone through it myself yet, almost everyone tells me) is a "walk in the park" compared to chemo. Again I wish her/you the best and I would be interested to know how everything turns out!!
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