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Post by m0drnmoonlight on May 4, 2021 13:34:09 GMT -5
Mallory kind of got screwed with the gifts, didn't she? Jessi gets tickets to the ballet, Mallory gets a photo album to fill with pictures of her siblings so she can be reminded that her parents use her as live-in nanny. The ghostwriter was sticking with personality traits, so why couldn't Mary Anne get Mallory a new journal and some fancy pens or a gift certificate to a bookstore or something? Mallory herself didn't mind getting the photo album...she could fill the album with pictures of her friends just as well...no one told her that she "had to" use the album for her siblings. And I don't believe her parents are mean enough to use her as any live-in nanny. They always paid her and they usually consulted with her to make sure that she didn't have any other plans. True that Mary Anne could have gotten Mallory a gift card or a journal...but Mal loves photos of her loved ones, so there waa nothing wrong with the album. Mary Anne has an enormous heart and can read people so well. It's been years since I read it but I remember Mary Anne saying "She can fill it with pictures of her siblings since she has so many!" And I know Mallory would appreciate the gift, she isn't ungrateful. I just felt like a photo album is so cheap compared to the other gifts Mary Anne got. Kristy and Abby get new baseball gloves, Dawn gets TWO pairs of earrings. Mallory's personality traits are "big family" and "loves to read and write" so I guess the ghostwriter went with the former for this book. Also, Mary Anne must have spent a fortune! Baseball gloves aren't cheap, she gets a bread maker for Sharon, an entire art kit for Claudia (though I pictured one of those ones little kids get with the waxy crayons LOL). No wonder she took the job at the mall!
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on May 4, 2021 13:59:15 GMT -5
Mallory herself didn't mind getting the photo album...she could fill the album with pictures of her friends just as well...no one told her that she "had to" use the album for her siblings. And I don't believe her parents are mean enough to use her as any live-in nanny. They always paid her and they usually consulted with her to make sure that she didn't have any other plans. True that Mary Anne could have gotten Mallory a gift card or a journal...but Mal loves photos of her loved ones, so there waa nothing wrong with the album. Mary Anne has an enormous heart and can read people so well. It's been years since I read it but I remember Mary Anne saying "She can fill it with pictures of her siblings since she has so many!" And I know Mallory would appreciate the gift, she isn't ungrateful. I just felt like a photo album is so cheap compared to the other gifts Mary Anne got. Kristy and Abby get new baseball gloves, Dawn gets TWO pairs of earrings. Mallory's personality traits are "big family" and "loves to read and write" so I guess the ghostwriter went with the former for this book. Also, Mary Anne must have spent a fortune! Baseball gloves aren't cheap, she gets a bread maker for Sharon, an entire art kit for Claudia (though I pictured one of those ones little kids get with the waxy crayons LOL). No wonder she took the job at the mall! LOL. I suspect it was no cheapy album that Mary Anne bought for Mallory. And Mallory loves her siblings anyway and no, her parents do not exploit her. Mallory is not some hapless, chronic victim here the way some fanfics depict her as.
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Post by sparklymouse on May 4, 2021 17:01:42 GMT -5
It's been years since I read it but I remember Mary Anne saying "She can fill it with pictures of her siblings since she has so many!" And I know Mallory would appreciate the gift, she isn't ungrateful. I just felt like a photo album is so cheap compared to the other gifts Mary Anne got. Kristy and Abby get new baseball gloves, Dawn gets TWO pairs of earrings. Mallory's personality traits are "big family" and "loves to read and write" so I guess the ghostwriter went with the former for this book. Also, Mary Anne must have spent a fortune! Baseball gloves aren't cheap, she gets a bread maker for Sharon, an entire art kit for Claudia (though I pictured one of those ones little kids get with the waxy crayons LOL). No wonder she took the job at the mall! OMG, those bread makers were so trendy. Every thrift store that I go to has about five of them lined up on a shelf. I don't see Sharon being a big bread maker, either.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on May 4, 2021 18:06:07 GMT -5
It's been years since I read it but I remember Mary Anne saying "She can fill it with pictures of her siblings since she has so many!" And I know Mallory would appreciate the gift, she isn't ungrateful. I just felt like a photo album is so cheap compared to the other gifts Mary Anne got. Kristy and Abby get new baseball gloves, Dawn gets TWO pairs of earrings. Mallory's personality traits are "big family" and "loves to read and write" so I guess the ghostwriter went with the former for this book. Also, Mary Anne must have spent a fortune! Baseball gloves aren't cheap, she gets a bread maker for Sharon, an entire art kit for Claudia (though I pictured one of those ones little kids get with the waxy crayons LOL). No wonder she took the job at the mall! OMG, those bread makers were so trendy. Every thrift store that I go to has about five of them lined up on a shelf. I don't see Sharon being a big bread maker, either. Maybe the bread maker was for both Richard and Sharon...or Sharon could be making bread for special occasions like holidays.
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Post by oldmeanie on Jul 2, 2023 14:58:58 GMT -5
I actually enjoyed this one! It's never boring. Even the subplot is alright.
I remember that the physical copy of this book had a metallic gold cover on it for some reason. Lol. Why? That's so random. #100 had a metallic silver cover, but it makes sense because it's a milestone.
I normally like Richard a lot (he is actually my favorite BSC parent), but I think he dropped the ball here. He should have told Mary Anne about interest before she went shopping, and recommended to her that she keep regular track of her spending. Or just went with her to keep her spending in check? It's weird that he was so cold about the whole thing. Definitely feels a bit OOC after the other Mary Anne books. Making her pay interest pretty much forever after this isn't a fair lesson to a 13yo girl at all. Wtf Richard.
Something is fishy about this job lol. Don't businesses do background checks? And ask for ID? And on applications, you put your birth date, not your age. Weird. I guess since it was only for 2 weeks, they weren't really caring. Mary Anne was super lucky that she even got her check when she did... most of the time, you have to wait a week or two to get your check. I think so anyway... I had to wait 3 weeks to get my first paycheck at my job because of how the pay period works. I remember that I was super stressed because I needed to buy new clothes for the job but couldn't afford them.
There is also no way that Mary Anne passes for 16. The hiring manager definitely dropped the ball here. Mary Anne also worries about Logan looking "sort of young" when she's hanging out at the mall with him and Dawn (and hides from her). How does Logan look too young but Mary Anne looks 16? What? Make it make sense!
Other than the flawed premise, honestly, this is really good for late series. I really like how realistically tired Mary Anne is and that she made a couple of scheduling mistakes (she solved them quickly, but still). I like how there is distance between her and Dawn and the mention of Dawn's CA friends. I do think Dawn is snobby in the beginning, but her explanation makes sense (it was super messed up for her to make all those little kid middle school comments though. Hello, Mal and Jessi exist). It's actually very interesting and realistic that Dawn and Mary Anne would grow apart a bit, although they do reconcile in the end.
I really like how Mary Anne invites Angela to her house for Christmas. It is a legitimately sweet moment. I also feel like Angela is leaving something out, like for some reason I have the feeling that she came out as bi or lesbian. Idk what it is exactly, I guess it just feels so true to many LGBT teen stories and her friends come across as a found family. I'm probably reading too much into it, but the reasons for getting kicked out don't really add up. Mary Anne doesn't comment on unusual makeup or clothing, which was one of the reasons she was kicked out. She was kicked out for "being who she was." Anyone else get this feeling?
No matter what, I feel awful for her and I DESPISE parents who throw their kids out on to the street. For any reason. Just disgusting, abhorrent behavior, and they have failed as a parent. You love your kids and support them no matter who they are and you like it! Sorry they don't fit the perfect little world you created inside your head.
(I'm not speaking to anyone here directly. The topic just boils my blood. I guess more so than I thought it would)
I wanted to see everyone's reaction to the gifts and see more interaction with Angela and the Schafer-Spiers. It ends kind of abruptly.
I found this passage! I thought it was in #85, but it's here. As a vegetarian, this is a big no:
“Did you make it with beef or tofu?” I asked, concerned that the answer might be tofu. (Dad tries to be fair to Sharon.)
“Both,” he replied, getting up from the couch.
"Okay, I thought, fair is fair. I’d pick out the tofu. Sharon would pick out the beef. Dad would eat both, and we’d all eat the vegetables."
NO. It doesn't work like that! This goes beyond cross contamination (not all vegetarians/ vegans care about this), it's INTENTIONALLY cooked in the same pot, a stew nonetheless, and the beef flavor would absolutely seep into the tofu and veggies. Yuck! With something like this, there is no choice but to make two separate dishes. Sucks because it's more work, but you also want something edible. Lol.
I feel like I rambled/ ranted a lot. Hopefully it makes up for my shorter reviews lately. I liked this one quite a bit and it was never boring. 7.5 feels about right.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,262
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Post by oldhickory on Jul 7, 2023 10:18:33 GMT -5
The weird metallic cover stuck with me too. I got this book later in life, when I was buying the newer books online to fill out the series, it something about the unusual cover (on top of the extra effort it took to find it) made the book seem less like a regular BSC book.
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Post by oldmeanie on Jul 7, 2023 13:28:38 GMT -5
The weird metallic cover stuck with me too. I got this book later in life, when I was buying the newer books online to fill out the series, it something about the unusual cover (on top of the extra effort it took to find it) made the book seem less like a regular BSC book. Yeah I wonder what was up with the metallic cover. I personally think this is one of the better late series books, but tbh, there isn't really anything special about it. I don't even think it's a series anniversary or anything. At least it's pretty lol.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jul 8, 2023 21:33:10 GMT -5
Maybe it was spiced up because it was the holidays
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