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Post by aln1982 on Feb 3, 2008 16:46:33 GMT -5
I really liked her in the BSC books though... I liked her in a lot of the BSC books, too, before she moved back to CA. After that, not so much. That's why I don't like the CA Diaries, I think, along with that they are geared towards an older audience and deal with more issues and that I don't care for Dawn's CA friends. I can see how a lot of people really like them, though, so it's good Dawn got her own series, especially if she was going to be different from "old Dawn" in the BSC books. ;D
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Post by greer on Feb 3, 2008 16:53:52 GMT -5
i like ca diaries for a different reason than i like bsc. bsc i like because in a way i look up to them, i know i'm much more flawed and more irresponsible and less morally uh... strong. but in ca diaries they act like i did/would.
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Post by aln1982 on Feb 3, 2008 16:59:23 GMT -5
^ Which is probably the total opposite of how I was/would have been. ;D I'm closer to the BSC. (or at least I'd like to think so ;D) I didn't even like Stacey as a kid because she was too "bad". ;D
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alula
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 406
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Post by alula on Feb 4, 2008 2:52:17 GMT -5
How long was it between "Farewell, Dawn," and the California Diaries? I sometimes think it might have simply being a function of Scholastic wanting AMM to write (or "write") a series for older girls, since if I remember right, the CA Diaries started coming out when a lot of the 'first generation' readers were probably starting to drift away.
And really, I'm not sure anyone else could have worked as an "older" spin-off vehicle. Maybe Stacey (and we would have gotten the AMM version of Gossip Girl--that's a bit head-bendy), but I think Dawn was more "removable" from the club--when Stacey is gone, IMO, Claudia is much more lost in the shuffle than Mary Anne is when Dawn leaves. And I think in a general way, her chemistry with the club members seems to be a little more broad, so to speak. I think there's more variation in Stacey's relationships with various members (and even SMS at large) than Dawn, for example. (Like, I would say that Stacey has distinct relationships with Claudia, Kristy and Mary Anne, but except for the Dawn/Kristy tension in the early books, Dawn's relationship with everyone but Mary Anne is pretty indistinct.)
(I don't particularly like Dawn in the later books orthe CA Diaries, either--she really irritates me with some of the nasty assumptions she makes about Carol in Diary 1, and she never wins me back.)
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Post by greer on Feb 4, 2008 2:59:53 GMT -5
farewell dawn: august 1995 ca diaries #1: august 1997
i agree with your assessments. i love ca diaries, but i think dawn is probably my least favorite of the main characters in that series. she's really judgmental of sunny the whole way through.
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Post by aln1982 on Feb 4, 2008 15:47:27 GMT -5
^ I agree too. What does Dawn do to Carol in CA Diaries? I have always disliked how mean Dawn was at first to Carol so this might be another reason for me not to read the CA Diaries. Also, I really don't like reading any books all in handwriting, which I think was another thing that really bothered me when I tried the Diaries before.
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Post by greer on Feb 4, 2008 15:50:50 GMT -5
maggie's is plain helvetica so you might like hers ;D
dawn is just bratty in the series, period.
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Post by booboobrewer on Feb 4, 2008 16:15:09 GMT -5
And she tends to obsess over stuff a lot. Yeah, Maggie's entries are typed, which I like
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alula
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 406
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Post by alula on Feb 5, 2008 2:37:50 GMT -5
^ I agree too. What does Dawn do to Carol in CA Diaries? I have always disliked how mean Dawn was at first to Carol so this might be another reason for me not to read the CA Diaries. Also, I really don't like reading any books all in handwriting, which I think was another thing that really bothered me when I tried the Diaries before. Dawn overhears Carol's doctor tell her she's pregnant, but Carol asks her not to tell anyone until Jack gets home from a business trip the next week. And Dawn proceeds to get all bitchy and self-righteous about Carol OMG! wanting to discuss her pregnancy with her husband in person, and not being "excited enough" and also about her eating Mexican food and wearing tennis whites and playing mini-golf with Jeff because pregnant ladies aren't supposed to do that! I'm not a big fan of the handwriting design, either, and it also bothers me not to have page numbers.
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Lila
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 293
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Post by Lila on Feb 5, 2008 2:58:32 GMT -5
i read a bit of Dawn already, and as for the judgemental thing, yeah it seems kinda crappy of Dawn to act that way, but i try to remember Dawns age and even age doesn't have anything to do with it, per se, for people are sorta guilty of doing things, or judging their friends, family, etc and not even realize how 'bad' it could seem, since a lot ofthe times we are clouded by our own convictions.
sometimes i notice this in the BSC and even with the Karen books but then i think 'wait, these people are 13 and Karen is 7.....just what was I doing at those ages...and then it comes back to me that "oh yeah i was that selfish/bad/unpreceptive too"
most of us are reading these books and we can see the problems cuz we are so world wise and older than the BSC now
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fluffy
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 180
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Post by fluffy on Feb 5, 2008 9:00:18 GMT -5
When I read the CA books, I try to imagine the characters as different people from the ones in the BSC books. There is a Stacey's Ex-Best Friend situation when post-CD Dawn visits Stoneybrook, but I found it pretty painful to read, plus most of the passing mentions to the BSC in the books are sort of snarky.. Having said that, the book where Amalia gets attacked by the racist girls was very well-written, despite the depressing subject matter.. Didn't know Ann and Co. were capable of anything on that subject beyond 'Jessi's black'-ness and the Lowell's 'not needing a sitter anymore'. Also, the book was written by Peter L , which makes me feel even more sorry for him since the only books by him that sell well are for a ghostwritten YA series.
About the handwriting thing, I thought it was cool to read, and happily no one had huge loopy handwriting like Jessi. Also liked the pictures in the Amalia Diaries, by 'Steig Retlin'. (!!)
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Post by aln1982 on Feb 5, 2008 17:00:14 GMT -5
^ I agree too. What does Dawn do to Carol in CA Diaries? I have always disliked how mean Dawn was at first to Carol so this might be another reason for me not to read the CA Diaries. Also, I really don't like reading any books all in handwriting, which I think was another thing that really bothered me when I tried the Diaries before. Dawn overhears Carol's doctor tell her she's pregnant, but Carol asks her not to tell anyone until Jack gets home from a business trip the next week. And Dawn proceeds to get all bitchy and self-righteous about Carol OMG! wanting to discuss her pregnancy with her husband in person, and not being "excited enough" and also about her eating Mexican food and wearing tennis whites and playing mini-golf with Jeff because pregnant ladies aren't supposed to do that! I'm not a big fan of the handwriting design, either, and it also bothers me not to have page numbers. Thanks. Dawn does sound really obnoxious in this one. I actually found it from the library and put a hold on it this morning so am curious to read it and see what I think.
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Rie
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 1,998
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Post by Rie on Feb 6, 2008 3:23:18 GMT -5
^ I agree too. What does Dawn do to Carol in CA Diaries? I have always disliked how mean Dawn was at first to Carol so this might be another reason for me not to read the CA Diaries. Yeah,me too.
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Post by aln1982 on Feb 28, 2008 16:44:05 GMT -5
When during the main series did the CA Diaries start? I just read Dawn 1 and now wonder if Dawn’s personality change that I noticed in the BSC books corresponds with her new personality in the CA Diaries. If so, I wish they wouldn’t have started those (though I know that lots of people really like them ;D) because I don’t like the CA Diaries and the changes in Dawn but really liked Dawn in the early BSC books.
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Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
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Post by Penny Lane on Feb 28, 2008 16:52:10 GMT -5
I really like Dawn, and I really like the California Diaries. I like her more in the beginning, but I can actually be a lot like her. I tend to annoy people with my bitching about the lack of healthy choices and recycling. The first two CDs were released in August of 97. The same time as BSC 110, abby the bad sport, Mystery 31, and Karen's Puppet Show. The list of all the books, plus their dates is here: (not my website) www.dibbly-fresh.com/bsc/list.html
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