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Post by sparklymouse on Feb 12, 2019 9:06:53 GMT -5
I’m the youngest of 3. There are much fewer baby pics of me and even fewer solo shots. But, I don’t think my mom has ever been that interested in photos. Even now with her grandkids she only wants current pictures of them and kinda throws pictures of years past off to the side.
Now a days if you have any sort of online presence you can be searched and tracked down. Claudia could Google a bunch of names and find the whole life stories of the people she thought were her birth families. It’s rather disturbing actually.
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Dec 8, 2019 1:47:35 GMT -5
This one was lame. We all know she isn't adopted but made up the idea to make herself feel better because everyone compared her to Janine.
B plot was even more lame. Why would the want a poor student tutor a 2 year old? Someone who can barely spell? It makes no sense. Claudia is just a lazy student.
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Dec 8, 2019 1:49:24 GMT -5
Oh btw I don't look a thing like my sister and we are both so different. But it doesn't mean I'm adopted! I look like my dad. The lamest of all lame books this was.
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Post by wistfuldreamer86 on Jan 11, 2020 21:23:25 GMT -5
I can see how Claudia would feel out of place in her family though, especially after Mimi died. I think it's books like these where you remember that these girls are just that, girls and not quite as grown up as they usually think they are.
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Post by merrymelody on Jun 17, 2020 13:18:24 GMT -5
This one is funny in that everyone's concerned There's Something Wrong With Emily Michelle when in the time warp, she'd only been with them, what, six months? No one seems to realise the very obvious - she spent 2.5 years in an orphanage, which was probably not equipped to offer much care beyond the basic, and spoke a completely different language. I'd cut Kristy and Claudia some slack, but I don't know why Watson and Elizabeth are so hands off with Emily Michelle in general but so concerned about her intellect. I don't want to be cruel, but it smacks of them almost viewing her as a defective purchase. Also they raised 6 children between themselves prior to this, they should have some kind of knowledge about how varied child development can be.
And also, when so many other Stoneybrook kids are ridiculously OTT talented, it's especially weird to see concern because of a very expected language delay. That's a lot more normal than two year olds performing opera pastiches, or expertly singing, or cooking without recipes, or playing softball. Let's see the Perkins girls master Vietnamese!
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swizzles
New To Stoneybrook
Claudia Kishi ruels ok
Posts: 83
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Post by swizzles on Sept 28, 2020 23:36:00 GMT -5
I kind of loved this book. The plot was ludicrous but the detective work that Claudia undertook was so entertaining. I love reading about microfiche machines - I’ve never used one myself but all my references come from 90s movies or books - so for me the nostalgia stems from reading about their use rather than any personal experience myself. I also loved how Claudia concluded that Mary Ho had to be her birth mother by default since... she didn’t answer the phone. Brilliant, Claudia. I do sympathise with her a lot - it can’t be easy living in Janine’s shadow all the time. That award sounded slightly ludicrous. Interesting how we never hear again about the newspaper wanting to follow Janine and her family to discover the daily life of a genius.
I thought it was odd how we were suddenly being told how brilliant the Perkins girls were for their ages. Is this common in other books? If so, I haven’t noticed. It seemed to be mentioned specifically to contrast against Emily Michelle. I did love the cookie-making interlude and started craving cookies. Even green ones. I agree with those saying it’s weird how Kristy is so especially worried...but not enough to swap out some of her sessions at the Papadakis’ house.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Sept 29, 2020 11:13:56 GMT -5
I kind of loved this book. The plot was ludicrous but the detective work that Claudia undertook was so entertaining. I love reading about microfiche machines - I’ve never used one myself but all my references come from 90s movies or books - so for me the nostalgia stems from reading about their use rather than any personal experience myself. I also loved how Claudia concluded that Mary Ho had to be her birth mother by default since... she didn’t answer the phone. Brilliant, Claudia. I do sympathise with her a lot - it can’t be easy living in Janine’s shadow all the time. That award sounded slightly ludicrous. Interesting how we never hear again about the newspaper wanting to follow Janine and her family to discover the daily life of a genius. I thought it was odd how we were suddenly being told how brilliant the Perkins girls were for their ages. Is this common in other books? If so, I haven’t noticed. It seemed to be mentioned specifically to contrast against Emily Michelle. I did love the cookie-making interlude and started craving cookies. Even green ones. I agree with those saying it’s weird how Kristy is so especially worried...but not enough to swap out some of her sessions at the Papadakis’ house. It's definitely alluded to. In Ghost at Dawn's House, when we first meet the Perkins family, Kristy is going on about how fun the girls are and how Gabbie calls everyone by their full name. I don't have the book on me so I can't quote directly. When she sits for them later on, Mary Anne is also blown away by how the girls know the words to so many songs. And in Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn, it's pretty much given that Myriah can compete in the beauty pageant because she can sing and tap dance and knows ballet and takes gymnastics and can even act. The family is just too perfect! I did feel bad for Claudia in this book too. She's still coping with losing Mimi and trying to figure out just why she feels so different from everyone else in her family. Though I still found it hilarious that she was convinced Mary Ho was her mom because she didn't answer the phone. Way to go, Claudia. Also super bold of her to call all those families and ask about their kids!
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Feb 7, 2021 3:33:25 GMT -5
Claudia is stupid . And jealous over Janine because she gets awards for being smart and she doesn't .
Just because two sisters are different doesn't mean you're adopted ! And Claudia's "evidence " for believing she might be adopted is also stupid .
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Post by Sideshowjazz1 on Feb 8, 2021 16:31:59 GMT -5
Just thinking about the plot of this one reminds me of this part in another book (I can never remember the author), "When Marnie Was There". Studio Ghibli adapted it. There's this bit when the two girls in it are talking about families and Anna is saying how she's adopted. Then Marnie says she fantasises about her parents being adoptive because that would prove they were kind to take in a little girl who had no family. (SPOILERS BELOW)
It later turns out that Marnie and Anna are related. The little-girl Marnie is a sort of ghost, because we find out that she was actually Anna's grandmother and looked after her when her parents died, but then got ill. Anna was around three at the time and she only finds out at the end. I'm not sure why Marnie appears to her as being the same age, but maybe it was part of Anna's development and her belief that she's always on the outside at the start.
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Post by sparklymouse on Mar 19, 2022 20:57:12 GMT -5
In case anyone needed a laugh tonight. May I present Claudia staring deeply into your soul. That is a massive scrunchie mountain on top of her head.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Mar 20, 2022 17:09:49 GMT -5
LMAO that isn't even a ponytail, that's a beehive with a scrunchie crammed into it
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,254
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Post by oldhickory on Mar 21, 2022 8:40:23 GMT -5
OMG, that's like 4 scrunchies piled up. How else do you achieve that height? Hahaha.
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Post by sparklymouse on Apr 18, 2022 21:04:17 GMT -5
That is a hideous couch pattern/rug combination! Interesting choice of pink shower shoes with her orange and black outfit. Emily looks cute in her little dress and white tennies. Titles: Joke’s big doubt Claudia does research (This sounds so boring) Where are you from, Claudia? Claudia in search of the truth
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Post by oldmeanie on Jul 20, 2022 22:16:48 GMT -5
I haven't read this one in so long. I liked it more than I thought I would. I really liked the scenes with Claudia tutoring Emily. Very cute.
I did feel like Claudia jumped to so many conclusions (like, giant Grand Canyon-sized leaps) throughout her search for her birth mother. I'm going to be honest, I don't think her Nancy Drew obsession is paying off. A for effort though? I felt a bit of secondhand embarrassment when she was making the phone calls, especially when she was like, "Congratulations!" And that project about unusual names must makes no sense. Would that ever be a thing? I thought the story about trying to find her kindergarten friend was the most believable.
I wasn't really expecting the ending to be heartwarming, but it kind of was. Her parents were super nice about the whole thing and assured her they loved her for her unique qualities, then she asked Janine to help her make dinner. Loved this. More of this please! I do know that her next book is a great one for her and Janine. I feel like they're actually a lot closer after Mimi's death.
Overall, solid. This was one I didn't reread very often, and now I'm wondering why.
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Post by oldmeanie on Feb 12, 2024 12:51:35 GMT -5
Re reading this one now. Something stood out to me this time- Watson and Elizabeth tried to enroll Emily Michelle in preschool. Isn't 2 and a half kind of young for that? I looked it up, and 3 is the recommended age.
I sort of don't love how the girls are comparing Emily Michelle to the other kids they know around the same age. I get it, sorta, but it kind of rubs me the wrong way. Like in BSCland time, the Thomas-Brewers barely adopted her. She was in an orphanage and grew up around a different language. Isn't it kind of early to be worried? I might be totally off-base, I'm by no means an expert in child development, but still.
Is it normal for 2 year old kids to draw beyond scribbles? Claudia says in-text that Gabbie and Marnie's drawings are "becoming identifiable" but that Emily just scribbles. I mean she's 2... that seems OK to me? Also, Gabbie is ridiculously precocious, so it's an unfair comparison.
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