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Post by zoar3 on Dec 23, 2012 17:20:35 GMT -5
I found two tiny things that make this book 2 or 3% enjoyable? I loved Franklin Dewitt's character. He came across as a laid back, fun-loving, dad. He could have been labeled with the infamous "loose," and it (hopefully) would have been in a much more positive light to poor Richard. This re-read in particular, I've been getting the impression that a lot of times in the chapter 2's the narrator might be rolling her eyes at Richard's old ways, if so that makes me sad. The other thing was Carol at the carnival. Her character yes, but also that she has the distinction of eating cotton candy in front of Dawn without a nasty remark from Dawn. Dawn acted condescending toward everyone in this book not just Whitney. Aside from Kayla (Alana's) mom ignoring her daughter's rude behavior, I thought it was neat that she enjoyed baseball, maybe because I do, too and its so rare to see a BSC parent take their child (Jeff and Dawn) out to someplace fun. ITA Jack came across as quite the one-woman right after another dater. Still think someone should have mentioned Sharon's absence. Oh, I also loved when Buddy peppered the Realtor about what freezer could hold the most ice cream and checking out each of the yards, those were pure kid moments that rang very true and full of fun. The rest of this book is atrocious. Something that jumped out at me is that Dawn on one page claims she was in the Austin's kitchen, leaving Clover and Daffodil alone outside for 5 minutes. Two pages later she tells her dad she was only gone "one second."
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Dec 23, 2012 22:58:41 GMT -5
So why didn't Dawn like Kayla? Did she think she was a little snotty when Jack yelled good play? Alana was a brat though, she deserved to have food thrown on her by Dawn.
I also liked the house hunting chapter, so cute
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Post by zoar3 on Dec 23, 2012 23:37:32 GMT -5
^I think Dawn didn't like Kayla because Alana was her daughter. I think Dawn didn't like Alana (pre baseball game) because Dawn assumed that she (D) and her friends were above Alana and her clique simply because (to Dawn's knowledge) all Alana and Co did was study possibly Janine-style in terms of having conversations with big words. I am in no way excusing Alana's behavior at the game. She was rude and outright mean (A called Jack a jerk to Dawn's face). I'm simply saying before this, it sounded like possibly both girls wrote one another off in typical JHS fashion.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Dec 24, 2012 6:02:28 GMT -5
I think Dawn probably thought Alana and her friends were ditzes or possibly behaved like valley girls, and were using big words to make up for their stupidity.
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Post by wiggir13 on Jan 6, 2013 19:35:48 GMT -5
I'm not sure why I can't just skim through the books I don't like... But I read this one. The one redeeming thing for me was the dawn bra conversation. How ridiculous for some lady to be all - ill take you bra shopping b/c that one is clearly all wrong. That lady had some balls to suggest that!
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Post by zoar3 on Jan 6, 2013 19:53:30 GMT -5
^Maybe because you are hoping that the story will have magically improved? I will sometimes do that. For this, I actually did skim the Dawn stuff but read the rest. For other later Dawn books (Halloween) I'll skip "her" entirely and just read the subplot.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Jan 7, 2013 9:41:38 GMT -5
I simply think Clarice was trying too hard and had no healthy boundaries....I noticed that with Barbara too at the restaurant.
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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 Jan 17, 2013 21:19:23 GMT -5
^ I think that's fairly common for people dating a single parent....they want to make a good impression on the whole family.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Jan 19, 2013 8:34:23 GMT -5
But they just met.
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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 Jan 21, 2013 11:46:14 GMT -5
^ They want to make a good FIRST impression, then.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,270
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Post by oldhickory on Jan 22, 2013 18:08:49 GMT -5
I'm not sure why I can't just skim through the books I don't like... But I read this one. The one redeeming thing for me was the dawn bra conversation. How ridiculous for some lady to be all - ill take you bra shopping b/c that one is clearly all wrong. That lady had some balls to suggest that! that part is terrible. i cringe every time i read it, and i actually feel bad for dawn! it was embarrassing enough getting my first bra from my mom. at least jack had the good sense to shut down that conversation right away.
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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 Aug 8, 2014 23:20:43 GMT -5
I was reading this one today, and a little throwaway comment that I never noticed before jumped out at me. After Mrs. Barrett and Mr. DeWitt get engaged, it's mentioned that Kristy has been hearing all about their wedding plans because her mom is friends with Mrs. Barrett. Has this ever been mentioned before? We don't usually hear much about parental friendships in the series. Also, the macaroni and raspberry crisp at the beginning of the book just might be the best meal in the whole history of the series.
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Post by booboobrewer on Aug 9, 2014 0:36:58 GMT -5
^I'll take the lasagna and chocolate cake in #41 Elizabeth and Mrs. Barrett seem an unlikely pair.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Aug 10, 2014 10:23:19 GMT -5
The most memorable scene to me in this book is when they all go out to the outdoor concert and people are rude to Whitney.
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Post by Sideshowjazz1 on Feb 25, 2015 20:37:31 GMT -5
In my opinion, this story is pretty good, but I can't believe that some of the people are so harsh on kids with Down's Syndrome. I don't know if it's because it's behind the times or if people with those kinds of problems were treated like total freaks by the public when it was written, but the way Whitney is treated by the public is too mean. The subplot with Dawn's father trying to find a new girlfriend is fun, but it's made painfully obvious that Carol was a much better girlfriend than any other, especially because she treats Whitney with respect and has none of the other problems the other dates had. I don't know...this book isn't necessarily better than any others, but on a reread, I liked it better than some of the others.
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