nothingtolose18
Sitting For The Johanssens
Mal / Sam / Price / Ben
Posts: 1,059
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Post by nothingtolose18 on Apr 6, 2008 18:52:10 GMT -5
This wasn't one of my favorite books. Might have been from the all the sports talk (another unathletic person here, macca), but also both Erin's and Abby's attitudes annoyed me. Both thought they were the best (It's been a few months since I read this book, and I only read it that one time, so I'm relying on my memory and your guys' comments). I also thought that the mentally disabled people didn't seem as though they were. I guess that the point was that everyone is the same, no matter what, but sadly, that fact is just not true. I guess if they could play on a soccer team, though, they had less mental retardation, perhaps. Overall, this book was okay. I probably won't reread it, or if I do, not soon.
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fluffycakes
Junior Sitter
A silken-haired beauty with a laugh like pealing bells
Posts: 868
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Post by fluffycakes on Dec 2, 2008 23:12:16 GMT -5
Bringing up an old thread... I tried reading this the other day, for the first time, but I only got a couple of chapters in before stopping. I just have no interest in reading about Abby's soccer team, or Abby acting like a complete hag to someone because she doesn't get to be the star. Aren't these teams for charity? Or at least, all in good fun? I know competitiveness is hard to turn off, but at least try to, Abby! Is this an actual quote? Because it sounds like something from a bad fanfic. And it sounds a little...off. I know that it's not PC to say a child "has" something. For instance, instead of saying "Susan is autistic," we should say "Susan has Autism." And I agree with this, since it supports the idea that we're not labelling anybody by their disorders/disabilities. But saying "I have mental retardation" just sounds wrong, at least, to me. They could have found a better way to put it and be PC at the same time. Ahh well, I guess that's just me being nitpicky. Maybe I'll try this one again some other time, but as it stands, I won't be finishing it any time soon.
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tiff85
Junior Sitter
Posts: 583
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Post by tiff85 on Mar 16, 2009 18:39:47 GMT -5
Abby, does act like a total jerk in this one. Why couldn't she show a little team spirit? Abby should realize that it's about team work, not about being the star all the time.
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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 Jun 28, 2009 21:38:28 GMT -5
Bringing up an old thread.. Is this an actual quote? Because it sounds like something from a bad fanfic. And it sounds a little...off. I know that it's not PC to say a child "has" something. For instance, instead of saying "Susan is autistic," we should say "Susan has Autism." And I agree with this, since it supports the idea that we're not labelling anybody by their disorders/disabilities. But saying "I have mental retardation" just sounds wrong, at least, to me. They could have found a better way to put it and be PC at the same time. Ahh well, I guess that's just me being nitpicky. I just thought that she only labeled her disorder or whatever as "mental retardation" because she didn't want to reveal what she had.
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Post by sparklymouse on Aug 11, 2009 15:04:27 GMT -5
Why is Abby's dead father such a prominent aspect of EVERY SINGLE Abby-narrated book? He always seems to play a part somewhere. This is why I'm starting to like Abby in other people's books, but I can't really warm up to her in her own. I would be more sympathetic if he had died just before she moved to Stoneybrook and it was still fresh, but she had four years to process it. The whole family needed some grief counseling. To me it is just annoying, not sad or interesting, to keep reading about Abby and her mother struggle with their feelings without doing anything about them. And to think they've lived like that for four years, . I didn't understand Abby's problem with going to her dad's grave. And she never mentioned having any problem with her paternal grandparents in Abby's Lucky Thirteen, so I didn't get why she was so reluctant to visit them. Some people are not cemetery people. I had no problem with Abby not wanting to go. Her mother should have taken the twins to see their grandparents and whoever didn't want to visit the grave could have hung out at the house while the others went. Considering her mother let her skip the trip entirely, this probably wouldn't have been an issue if Abby had just said something to begin with. I realized while reading this that it was written when soccer was supposed to be the next big thing in the US. Abby mentioned Mia Hamm, and 12 years later she is still one of only about 3 soccer players I know. Pro soccer, America is just not that into you.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2009 0:21:07 GMT -5
I had such a problem with this book and I'm a huge Abby fan. Abby became one of my favorite characters very quickly after her introduction. I think the first book I read of hers was actually Aloha Babysitters and then I went back and bought all the ones that I had missed along the way.
I digress.
But this book paints her in such a poor light. I think what bothers me the most is that the girl she's so horrifically rude to is someone with special needs. I think if the ghost writer had maybe not gone there, I could understand Abby's POV a lot more. But that really bothered me. I just... this book has no redeeming qualities to me. It's probably my least favorite book in the series.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Aug 12, 2009 22:17:44 GMT -5
I would be more sympathetic if he had died just before she moved to Stoneybrook and it was still fresh, but she had four years to process it. The whole family needed some grief counseling. To me it is just annoying, not sad or interesting, to keep reading about Abby and her mother struggle with their feelings without doing anything about them. And to think they've lived like that for four years, . Abby was a nine-year-old child when her dad died, though, and she's still only thirteen now (although thirteen in Stoneybrook is considerably older than thirteen in most places). Her mother has a responsibility to help Abby and Anna struggle with their feelings, but instead she's consumed with her own grief and her job and she pretty much lets her kids fend for themselves. Rachel annoys me, which makes me feel sad for Abby and Anna.
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starlett2010
Junior Sitter
It's been YEARS but I'm back!!!! :)
Posts: 696
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Post by starlett2010 on Aug 13, 2009 1:12:09 GMT -5
I don't mind so much about Abby's feelings about her dad (usually just skim them), but I agree, they were overused and thus start to lose their appeal. I wish they would have just kept her feelings in only a couple of books (A's portrait and BSC in the USA come to mind). I think that this book would have been so much better if a)the stuff about Abby's dad's death anniversary (that sounds weird) and b)the mental retardation stuff. I do like the fact that Abby is kind of a b*tch. She's stubborn and does what she wants to, even if it's not necessarily right. I think that it makes her seem more like a real character and less like the perfect goody goodies that the BSC were expected to be. The nice thing about Abby, though, is that she realizes when she's being a jerk. @amalia: That's an interesting idea. I never thought that Erin said that because she didn't want to reveal her handicap, just that the ghostie was too lazy to research any conditions. I like your theory better. I agree that this book is one of the worse ones. The whole mental retardation issue was dealt with really oddly. Like, they wanted to the readers to learn to treat mentally retarded people equally or something, but really, Abby wasn't treating Erin like crap because she was handicap. She was just threatened by her. And calling her stupid was out of frustration, not as a personal insult. Anyway, this book would have been so much better if they just made the moral about accepting competition and realizing that there are going to be people that are better than you. Does that make sense? I'm gonna stop now, because I'm rambling as I type.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,258
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Post by oldhickory on Jan 28, 2010 4:27:26 GMT -5
bringing up an old thread again :] just read this book for the first time and i agree, starlett. the book would have been fine without the retardation issue. it would have been easy for abby to join the regular soccer team at her school and become intimidated by a better player. the book glossed over the retardation thing EXCEPT to point out that some of the players were mentally retarded. it seemed to me like the only distinction between the athletes and partners was the fact that some of them were called a different word than the others. they actually condensed retardation to a single mention, one tiny introduction of the athletes and nothing else. other than that, i couldn't tell you anything about this book. i literally just finished reading it and nothing has stayed with me. slightly disappointed since abby is my favorite, but this book really was crappy.
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Post by rainbowgirl28 on Feb 12, 2010 2:30:20 GMT -5
Yeah I didn't think the descriptions of the special needs players were realistic at all. The story is being told from the POV of a 13-year-old. The mental capacities of the other players would have been a BIG DEAL, especially because I don't think Abby has any previous experience with them.
The book was just painful to read most of the time. It was nice of the Krushers to be so supportive of the soccer team though.
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Post by anzuhana on Jul 22, 2010 17:26:36 GMT -5
I thought that it was realistic on how Abby acted in this book in that she was jealous that Erin was the center forward, which was a position Abby previously had. But this is still not one of my favorite books.
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 26, 2011 23:04:33 GMT -5
Is this an actual quote? Because it sounds like something from a bad fanfic. That line totally reminded me of "is this because I'm a lesbian?" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serena_SoutherlynI finally read this one for the first time, and oh look it was incredibly boring! I skimmed the soccer stuff. I did like the parts about her dad. I thought it was so sad when Abby's mom told her she used to have a dream where she would pick up the phone and hear "there was an accident, but everything's okay" and how she doesn't have that dream anymore
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Post by wiggir13 on Aug 10, 2011 13:04:51 GMT -5
I swear these books just continue to tank in my reread! I thought reading another Krushers book was bad....man oh man. I feel like Abby should have been really ashamed of herself for acting the way she did especially in front of a bunch of kids that she sits for. She definitely did not set the right example! Previously in this thread, several people mentioned Abby's dad and it always being such a big deal in her books etc. I guess I can completely relate to that so I don't see it being an issue. My dad died when I was 6 and I was constantly reminded of it all the time. It is never far away from my mind and I think about him often (probably more proof that I therapy ) but I think that anyone who has a relationship with their parent and looses them so young does that. It's funny that MA's books aren't that way, but I understand that too b/c she was so young that she didn't remember really she just misses having a mom.
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Post by zoar3 on Aug 10, 2011 21:02:55 GMT -5
I couldn't even read more than a few pages of this hideous excuse for a BSC book. Yes, Dawn and Whitney was worse but this one was sure next in line! Awful. Hug again, Wiggirl about your Dad. I loved reading about Abby at the Grand Canyon in BSC in the USA. That endeared her to me and was "real." ITA that to each their own in terms if greiving and I can't begin to imagine how horrible it must have been to lose their dad, and in a way their mom, at age 9. There is no "time" in Stoneybrook so we never do (will) know how long they've truly been in CT without visiting Jon's grave. I think if we had, this would have been better in terms of showing that when the Stevensons moved they, at least in part, hoped to forget, at least for a little while the raw pain they felt daily. When that happened, they, especially Abby, had no desire to revisit it, give the feelings a chance to come back. I did like Abby's plan to leave her old cleats, I always wished we had gotten to read about her doing so.
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Post by wiggir13 on Aug 11, 2011 0:16:21 GMT -5
Me too. It would have been nice to see how she felt afterward. I had a sort of strange closure. I was so young when my dad died that I didn't remember dates or anything. As I was moving to college (only about 2 hours away), I realized that I would be driving by where he was buried and I decided to stop (I hadn't been in years b/c it was in a not so great section of town). I stopped in the office and found the grave and the date of his death was that day. At first I freaked out thinking how in the world could this be as I truly did not remember. I now like to think of it as him somehow being there for that time of my life.
I know I know it was just a huge coincidence but man talk about crazy coincidence!
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