andrew
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 353
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Post by andrew on Mar 29, 2018 21:07:42 GMT -5
OK writing of Mary Anne for the most part but she seemed a bit rude at times and it was disappointing that she wasn't upset at the culprit at the end. Who the culprit was wasn't very believable given that the tricks I think would have more likely backfired, gotten more bad publicity, than succeeded.
Alex was annoying in being so conceited about his ancestor and anti-Poe and "Dalton" was a little too cutely similar a middle name to Allan.
I love Star Wars and it's a bit sad to think it (let alone on the big screen) wouldn't entertain and capture the attention of kids watching it.
Edit to add: This book did have some nice eeriness.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,234
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Post by oldhickory on Mar 30, 2018 9:47:57 GMT -5
I agree with you on everything. I couldn't really believe that their reaction to being tricked was basically a shrug. The bookstore owners scared the hell out of a bunch of kids (who were a major part of the bookstore opening on time) just to get publicity. They are the Stoneybrook equivalent of that family that pretended their son was in the balloon. They wasted everyone's time and got no comeuppance.
This may be minor, but I really didn't like that everyone called Benson Dalton Gable by his full name, every time he was mentioned. That is a long name! Just call him Gable. It feels clumsy to me and that's not how people talk in real life. I do like the book in general though. I think it was proper spooky and there were a lot of nice references to Poe, even though some of them were totally unsubtle.
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andrew
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 353
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Post by andrew on Apr 9, 2018 23:22:51 GMT -5
This may be minor, but I really didn't like that everyone called Benson Dalton Gable by his full name, every time he was mentioned. That is a long name! Just call him Gable. It feels clumsy to me and that's not how people talk in real life. Yeah, that only (kind of) works with Edgar Allan Poe because he was actually a real writer and a great writer. With Gable I think some times they were distinguishing him from Alex and his father (often referred to as Mr. Gable) but if they had to do that if it wasn't obvious then just Benson Gable would be better. This book also had Kristy saying No Way to letting the kids watch TV though it was rainy, they were bored, David Michael wanted to and at the moment she hadn't thought of anything else to do. Although I think Stacey at one point did let the Cates kids watch TV.
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Sept 4, 2022 9:11:57 GMT -5
If I don't read a BSC book in one sitting it usually means it's boring and hard to get through. And it's mostly the Kristy sports books.
And this one. I love bookstores but found this one dull. Took me a week to finish lol.
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Post by oldmeanie on Jul 27, 2023 11:03:03 GMT -5
This one didn't hold my interest much (even though it should have! Haunted bookstore, come on) and seemed to go on forever. After looking at this thread, I read that it's the longest book in the series (I think minus the Super Specials/ Super Mysteries). According to Amazon, it's 208 pages (I can't tell on the Kindle. Page counts are inaccurate and for some reason, sometimes it's just "location" instead)! Like why?! It doesn't really have much to say in this 208 pages. I think that's why Dog Trainer wasn't so bad for me- at least it was short.
I do like the atmosphere in the book. Constant rain while trying to open a mystery bookstore is pretty cool. I haven't read Poe lately, but I enjoyed his work while reading it in school, so I liked the references. The new characters were alright- they didn't really stand out much to me. I did like how Tom and Gillian were resistant to the whole thing and that they liked to troll Ms. Spark. The movie chapter was fun, although the triplets are an example of why I don't always look forward to going to the movies anymore XD.
It's also totally realistic that the BSC held a rainy day festival, and on the day of the festival, it's sunny af. This kind of thing 100% happens in real life. The mud pie thing was kind of weird, though, and yes the parents would be mad about the mess! I find it sort of OOC that Stacey recommended it and made one herself. That so doesn't seem like something Stacey would do.
Besides that... honestly, meh. The Benson Dalton Gable (really should have shortened that name) stuff just wasn't as interesting as it could have been. I think everything was intriguing in the beginning and it just meandered too long. The fingerprints on the coffee cups were kind of cool to read about, though.
It seemed like Mary Anne's project was a big deal in the beginning. I loved reading about her getting creeped out by Poe's stories. Then it just kind of... fizzles out. I know she tells her teacher about her project idea, but I honestly can't remember what it was even though I just finished the book XD.
This one gets a 4. It needed to be shorter, not because it was too hard to read, just because there really wasn't enough to say to warrant 208 pages. But it's not terrible and has good atmosphere. I was just kind of disappointed because I really wanted this one to be good. The setup sort of reminded me of Music Box Secret, which I loved, so I had high hopes. Oh well.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jul 28, 2023 11:22:16 GMT -5
Constant rain is romantic when you’re just reading and sipping tea on the couch. I spent a long weekend in NYC this April and it literally never stopped raining, and it was so annoying. I have a bad left foot that acts up with weather changes (like Claudia’s leg!)
The triplets are an example of why I’m not sure I want kids. Imagine getting pregnant with not one but three boys and they’re like these guys. No thanks.
They should have called him “The BDG.” It did all go on for too long, but I think the stuff between Alex and Professor Kingsolver was pretty funny and this would have made a good stand alone/YA book with all the side characters that were involved.
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Post by oldmeanie on Jul 28, 2023 20:00:37 GMT -5
Constant rain is romantic when you’re just reading and sipping tea on the couch. I spent a long weekend in NYC this April and it literally never stopped raining, and it was so annoying. I have a bad left foot that acts up with weather changes (like Claudia’s leg!) The triplets are an example of why I’m not sure I want kids. Imagine getting pregnant with not one but three boys and they’re like these guys. No thanks. They should have called him “The BDG.” It did all go on for too long, but I think the stuff between Alex and Professor Kingsolver was pretty funny and this would have made a good stand alone/YA book with all the side characters that were involved. We got an unusual amount of rain in Central California this past winter, and omg can I relate to rain fatigue. We had a leak in the roof too. Now that it's so hot, I sort of miss it lol. Right? The triplets are so annoying sometimes. I suppose that's realistic for their age, though. I would hate to be in that theater! Professor Kingsolver's superstitions were pretty funny. Fun character for a mystery. I agree, the side characters stole the show in this one.
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