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Post by stolenbooks on Mar 10, 2015 1:42:18 GMT -5
That's good question about Karen & Andrew staying at the Big house, around Mother's Day. I think, it's in one of LS books. Not sure, which one. Might be in Stepmother or different LS books. Maybe, someone will know. This is a book, I want to re-read again, closer to May or closer to Mother's Day. I know that it happend in Karen's Stepmother (or something like that) but it was because May was a Big House Month. This was supposed to take place before Karen and Andrew convinced Lisa to let them go back into the courts so they could see Watson more-I only know because Emily Michelle was part of their reasoning I believe. So this was obviously a weekend with Watson, yet they wouldn't get to see Lisa on Mother's Day. Odd. I now want to reread it as well and I know I actually own it...but it's at my mother's house in another state. Argh. She's coming to visit, maybe I'll ask her to bring it with her. On another note...Karen later names her rat after Emily, a rat of all things. I just find that hilarious. It's supposed to come off as sweet, but I would be offended if someone named a rat after me.
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 10, 2015 14:56:10 GMT -5
Well, Emily was too young to know. And how long would Emily Jr. live? lol
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Post by stolenbooks on Mar 11, 2015 3:03:53 GMT -5
I guess that's true lol. I didn't mean it more towards hurting Emily's feelings, I just meant it more about how Karen probably really felt about Emily Michelle. Especially after she started living there full time.
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 11, 2015 23:53:17 GMT -5
Oh yeah I agree with that!
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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 Mar 18, 2015 10:58:40 GMT -5
We have tons of cheap parking lot/church carnivals in my hometown and that's how I picture them. I would never go on the rides but the food is always good. I never understood why they waited until the day before either. Especially since, doesn't most adoption agencies want to see the family before they pass them through? Especially on international adoptions? Maybe it was just a different time but one of my childhood friends had a sister adopted from China. They all were "interviewed" (my friend was fairly young so she just played while they spoke with her parents and then saw how happy she was growing up in their enviroment) and then when they were going to get the said baby, her parents flew to China to get her, while my friend stayed behind with her grandparents. The book overall was very cute but a lot of it just didn't make sense. They all knew how Karen gets about certain things and I feel they definitely should've told them all up front. Also, is this yet another Mother's Day that Karen and Andrew spent at the "Big House" instead of at "The Little House" with their own mother? This was before they were doing monthly visits. I have to chime in here because my little sister was adopted from China also. Any agency that would not visit the family and speak to all the members before arranging an adoption is negligent at best. I was 15 when we started the process and I had to get a physical to prove I was being taken care of, interviewed a bunch of times, and since the process took so long, I had to have a background check and get fingerprinted once I turned 18. We didn't get matched with a baby until I was 19 and we went to China to meet the baby when I was 20. My sister is a couple years younger than me so she had to do all the same things but didn't turn 18 until right before we left for China and got to avoid the background check. It's a scary process but all of it is done to protect the baby. And since my parents were divorced, my sister and I really only lived with my dad half the time. That there were four children living with Elizabeth and Watson full-time that were neither interviewed nor informed is completely baffling. I know I have said all this before. But really. There are a lot of books that are unrealistic but this one is so wrong that it makes me wonder whether why they published a book without doing any research.
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Post by greer on Mar 18, 2015 11:13:52 GMT -5
^i'm going to assume that the 80s were more lax, but not THAT lax.
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Post by zoar3 on Apr 10, 2015 23:38:11 GMT -5
I had recently read Karen's Carnival and wanted to read about my very favorite BSC Carnival at Sudsy's!I had also read Kristy and the Walking Disaster last week and in that book Jamie tightrope walks on a baseball bat. This book really is sweet and funny, too. Jamie is the star for me always with his "Oh Give Me a Comb," and other songs. It is a lot of fun reading how the BSC plan the Sudsy's putting and also invite Stacey. One thing that jumped out at me was Stacey tells Kristy her mother wishes she could come to CT for the weekend also. What if Maureen had? I know this is Stoneybrook but I still could see Maureen asking Stacey to ask the BSC if a parent chaperone might be handy and she'd come and help. I do know that would make more sense for a parent the charges actually knew to come, just the idea. I also, and maybe because I still like very early Maureen, Ed, and Stacey had the thought of how simple it could have been for Maureen to have gone to Stoneybrook and then shared with Ed how much she enjoyed her visit and the quieter pace of live. IDK that could have offered a tiny bridge between them and maybe gotten them talking instead of fighting? I always enjoy reading the BSC lists of groupings. Pages 71-72 What do all of you think of the groups? Mal got the potentially most challenging but it fits and too bad we never read about those three boys hanging out otherwise. I think Stacey's group may be the easiest and could have helped Vanessa open up a bit. I wish Andrew had been asked to invite a friend, someone he knew and/or in Jamie's group. I know Hannie couldn't come but this time around did wonder if Nancy had been invited. Maybe Watson like he was in Karen's School Trip could have been a Carnival Trip Dad. LOL, the thought of Watson and Maureen as the two parent chaperones! Maybe not. Kristy: Karen, Andrew, and Shea Claudia: Myriah, Gabbie, and Jamie Mary Anne: Jenny, Claire, and Margo Dawn: Suzi, Nina, and Archie Jessi: Matt, Haley, and Nicky Mallory: Buddy, David Michael, and Jackie Stacey: Charlotte, Becca, and Vanessa I will just say with Emily I have enjoyed her character much more in the LS books because we get to know her a little and outside of Nannie. I hope Emily did enjoy her welcome home cookies
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Post by wistfuldreamer86 on Oct 22, 2018 16:31:27 GMT -5
Overall, I really liked the book despite how unrealistic the adoption process was. I admit that it made me tear up a bit. It was great that they decided to adopt a child instead of bringing another one into the world. And I like how Emily Michelle was that missing piece of the puzzle for them. I guess Watson and Elizabeth just like the chaos of a full household, lol. I liked seeing more of Kristy/Andrew bonding in this one. It seems like when Karen is around, it's all about her so I liked that we got more from Andrew in this one.
I also liked the group activities, it seemed like a lot of fun. I like the books where all the sitters are together with the kids.
And this is random but I was surprised that Dawn helped make the cookies...
Speaking of Dawn, I liked the reference to Claudia/Dawn/Stacey getting together to make presents for their mothers. Too bad we didn't get to see it, that would've been an interesting scene.
I think Stacey's parents let Stacey leave NYC for Mother's day weekend because they were fighting. That's the impression I got anyway.
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LovelyDay
New To Stoneybrook
just a sweet girl
Posts: 137
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Post by LovelyDay on Oct 23, 2018 16:21:25 GMT -5
In the grand scheme of things, I liked this book too. The adoption has always driven me crazy though. It never takes that quick! I personally know someone who's adopted and that has sisters who were also adopted, and the process takes well over a year. Just like you wistfuldreamer86, I also liked how Watson and Elizabeth didn't just have another baby. The Kristy and Andrew bonding is always nice to read about. Stacey being in Stoneybrook for mother's day made me sad. I just thought that Maureen would've wanted her own daughter with her on mother's day. I mean, I always want to be with my mom on mother's day!
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Post by booklover85 on Oct 31, 2018 21:05:45 GMT -5
In the grand scheme of things, I liked this book too. The adoption has always driven me crazy though. It never takes that quick! I personally know someone who's adopted and that has sisters that were also adopted, and the process takes well over a year. Just like you wistfuldreamer86, I also liked how Watson and Elizabeth didn't just have another baby. The Kristy and Andrew bonding is always nice to read about. Stacey being in Stoneybrook for mother's day made me sad. I just thought that Maureen would've wanted her own daughter with her on mother's day. I mean, I always want to be with my mom on mother's day! I read theories on the BSC-Snark community that Watson and Elizabeth might have adopted Emily Michelle from the black market. I think that's the only explaination why they adopted Emily so quickly.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Nov 1, 2018 9:04:24 GMT -5
I read theories on the BSC-Snark community that Watson and Elizabeth might have adopted Emily Michelle from the black market. I think that's the only explaination why they adopted Emily so quickly. That's silly. They probably were planning it for a few months, but didn't tell the kids until it became finalized.
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andrew
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 353
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Post by andrew on Nov 10, 2018 11:42:38 GMT -5
I think in many ways this felt like Ann Martin's most personal book, she wrote & conveyed really well Kristy's lingering missing-mixed-with-anger about her father, her uncertainty about being in the new family with these new people (mixed with really wanting the new family situation to work and surprise and disappointment when there were some conflicts), how she kind of missed or at least felt left out of the more traditional family and yet was also really proud and admiring of her mother for finding happiness and all the family members for coming together.
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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 4, 2019 10:59:30 GMT -5
I read this one for the first time in a long while, and I actually REALLY liked it. There were so many sweet moments that resonated with me for the first time, and some fun interactions that don't happen any other time. I loved the club hanging out with Kristy's siblings at the end, and the discussion of Mr. Pike watching Marnie and being the substitute dad for the Barretts. And even though it was sad to see Mimi struggling, it was obvious how much the sitters all loved her. Claudia and Mary Anne were particularly close with her, but I like the parts where Kristy has those interactions too.
There were also a couple of parts where people were clearly trying to diffuse awkwardness. Like Jessi saying how much her sister would like the carnival event, and Kristy says she knows that's true but also knows Jessi is only saying it because they felt awkward talking about mother's day around Mary Anne. And later in the book where Mimi wanders in and nobody is sure what to say, Jessi again breaks the tension by talking about how much she enjoys living in Stacey's old house and she invites her to come for a visit. Jessi is really a rock star in this book. Plus the scene where Stacey is back and the older girls are thrilled but Mallory and Jessi are standing in the doorway not sure what to do. There are plenty of fights and snarky comments throughout the whole series, but this is the closest thing I can remember to general awkwardness/not knowing the right thing to say/innocent foot in mouth-ness between members of the club. It seems really natural and normal.
Like Andrew said right above me ^^^ this felt like a personal book. It wasn't part of the machine that cranked out books once a month. This was actually Ann's voice speaking and she touched on some tricky subjects with a lot of grace (subjects that the later books would have glossed over or made over-the-top).
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Post by wistfuldreamer86 on Jul 17, 2019 18:50:24 GMT -5
That's silly. They probably were planning it for a few months, but didn't tell the kids until it became finalized. That's likely. It's not like parents tell their kids everything and there's reason for it. They probably didn't want to say anything until they were sure the adoption would go through. Though they should have talked to the kids about it beforehand but ultimately they are the parents and its their decision.
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swizzles
New To Stoneybrook
Claudia Kishi ruels ok
Posts: 83
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Post by swizzles on Sept 25, 2020 8:36:21 GMT -5
Really enjoyed my re-read of this today. Though, I thought AMM & co missed a great opportunity to discuss how to sensitively talk about Mother’s’ Day in front of people like Mary Anne, perhaps by having Kristy ask her outright. It’s not like Kristy is afraid to ask blunt questions. Instead, we have repeated mentions of Kristy not being able to look Mary Anne in the eye, while simultaneously bulldozing ahead with gusto about plans for the occasion. I did love it near the end when MA decided she was using the day to celebrate her dad - wish we could have seen this.
I loved reading about Sudsy’s carnival but did also roll my eyes at the insane altruism of the BSC, emptying out their treasury to fund the outing for 21 kids! The haunted house was adorable, but I thought out of character for Karen aka the faithful descendant of Ben Brewer to not enjoy the thrill of fear and to want out. I also thought it was hilarious how Margo insisted on going on a ride and true to nature, promptly hurled. Poor Margo. I’ve always liked her most in team Pike.
The insanity of having a secret adoption sprung on a household has already been discussed a lot here and the only thing I’d add is to say I always wonder about how a child in this situation would feel about being plucked from their home country (and continent!) and culture and be made to assimilate elsewhere. Lots of arguments to say they will have a better life, but I think it’s a huge and interesting grey area. Naturally, beyond the scope of this series! I also agree with those who thought it was insane the BSC was invited round to welcome EM. How about some personal family time? Wouldn’t surprise me if they rocked up to witness a birth (had it happened that way)!
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