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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Jan 10, 2008 21:15:52 GMT -5
There were some funny moments. Such as "Watson (the millionaire) didn't have any change for the kid's lunches. So I had to break into my piggy bank." Lol, this was the best line in that whole book ;D which I read like twenty times in my childhood at least lol. I was surprised by Watson's quick recovery as well- my uncle had a heart attack and he was out of it and depressed and very mid-life crisis esque for months before he went back to normal and even when he did fully recover, he never was the same person. Oh well, I guess some people just recover faster. I really enjoyed this book. I even liked the subplot with the Marshall's, although I didn't think it was fair to Kristy and the other girls when one of them would come and baby-sit and get more kids sprung on them without letting them know about it.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 11, 2008 1:12:29 GMT -5
I think that mental reaction to something like this all depends on circumstance and personality. My dad is a lot like Watson with personality and a high stress job and so it's interesting that he reacted a lot the same as Watson. I wouldn't say they necessarily recovered "faster" though or that they were the same person, either. I enjoyed watching Watson have to slow down and struggling with it but realizing he had to because my dad went through these exact same things. I think that's why I like this book so much. It's almost time to reread. ;D
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 11, 2008 11:29:34 GMT -5
Wanted to clarify my post that my dad’s recovery that was like Watson’s in quickness was the emotional/depression recovery. Dad’s physical recovery was much, much longer with extensive cardiac rehab, etc. but that’s to be expected since he had 5 bypasses, not just a heart attack (not that a heart attack isn’t bad enough….)
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2008 17:44:21 GMT -5
I have this book taken out from the library currently. It was weird! Why did Nannie think it ws so bad she wasn't a servant anymore?
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Post by sparklymouse on May 26, 2008 19:07:52 GMT -5
I know a lot of the conversations about this book are quite old, but I wanted to throw my two cents in there. I don't think Elizabeth was wrong for not quitting her job or going to part time. Kristy always seemed very proud that her mom worked her way up the corporate totem pole to get to where she was at. Elizabeth had to be proud of herself too, and it's ok to not want to give that up.
Watson seems like a total pushover. I can't imagine him being in charge of 600 people, but whatever. I like him more knowing that a lot of his money came from his own hard work rather than it all being inheritance.
It was sweet of Shannon, Mary Anne, and Dawn to keep Kristy company the night of Watson's attack, but I wonder if Charlie and Sam ever got annoyed that all those girls that they weren't very close to were always involved in their private family moments.
I had to laugh that the book after this is a Jessi book, and the little two page preview in the back of this one is about Mary Anne's sitting job. Just how boring is Jessi if she's not in the preview for her own book?
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Post by Karen Brewer on May 26, 2008 19:40:26 GMT -5
I have this book taken out from the library currently. It was weird! Why did Nannie think it ws so bad she wasn't a servant anymore? Some people are so used to being the "caretaker" I suppose. My grandmother is like that. Ever since my grandfather died three years ago, she feels completely lost. She always said that he drove her nuts because he was so sick and miserable, but she'd rather go back and do that than be the way she is now.
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Post by baseballchica03 on May 26, 2008 20:53:38 GMT -5
Watson seems like a total pushover. I can't imagine him being in charge of 600 people, but whatever. I like him more knowing that a lot of his money came from his own hard work rather than it all being inheritance. Maybe he's a pushover with his kids and family (read: lets Karen get away with murder) because he feels guilty about working so much. Or maybe it's just that he has a work personality that is different from how he is at home.
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Post by greer on May 26, 2008 20:58:56 GMT -5
Maybe he's a pushover with his kids and family (read: lets Karen get away with murder) because he feels guilty about working so much. Or maybe it's just that he has a work personality that is different from how he is at home. my dad is kind of like that.
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tiff85
Junior Sitter
Posts: 583
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Post by tiff85 on Mar 20, 2009 20:59:52 GMT -5
This was one of the books that I really wanted to read when I was younger even though I never got a chance to! I do agree that Watson let's Karen get away with basically everything because of his workaholic ways.
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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Mar 22, 2009 16:56:27 GMT -5
I had to laugh that the book after this is a Jessi book, and the little two page preview in the back of this one is about Mary Anne's sitting job. Just how boring is Jessi if she's not in the preview for her own book? Lol I forgot about that until you brought it up. I guess AMM and the ghostwriters were bored with Jessi too ;D. I had that same question. Maybe she was just feeling bad about not feeling needed anymore, that the family preferred Watson taking care of them than her? Idk but if I'd been her, I'd have been like, "See ya!" then I would've ran out of that house (ahem, mansion) and not look back ;D.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on May 5, 2010 0:12:25 GMT -5
Recent discovery: I have 3 copies of this book. This is especially strange because it has never been a favorite.
I reread it and my Nannie hate burns on. She moves out because Watson is home all the time? He's home because he had a heart attack; he didn't decide to be a stay at home dad. Basically Nannie got butthurt because Watson didn't immediately go back to work after having a heart attack. Nannie sucks at being a mother in law.
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Post by zoar3 on May 5, 2010 12:18:01 GMT -5
I always liked this book because it had the promise of showing how much Watson had come to mean to Kristy and the other Thomas kids. I loved when she referred to him as her father to the emergency operator. Speaking of the Thomas kids, at last David Michael had a bigger part for once as did to a lesser exent Sam and Charlie. Not my intent to sound like broken record about this, but I really do believe besides "Kristy's Big News" and maybe "Mind your Own business, Kristy!" this would have been the perfect book for the Thomas kids to discuss changing their surname to Brewer.
Nannie, was super annoying. I can understand that she felt her role of complete caretaker of house and younger kids nearly 100% of the time was altered. For whatever crazy reason she did not like that--it's possible somewhere deep down she was so lonely, so unsure of herself, that she truly only felt value by the "help" she gave the Thomas-Brewers as opposed to them loving her for her. That would be very sad but the way she is "Mom" to Emily, possible. My point is if the above was a factor, then it makes sense that okay Watson is home now, he can become main parent/head of house, I'm out of a job, so out of the mansion as well.
As for Shannon, Mary Anne, and Dawn all coming over...it made sense that Shannon did, given her location. In fact, I thought that scene was very sweet and gave me hope for Kristy and Shannon becoming closer friends later on. MA and Dawn are another story. Good for Kristy for trying to reach out to MA, despite the way MA has been treating her. This may sound mean but just my opinion, I would have been less than happy when Dawn showed up. Okay, just checked. On Page 36, is when Kristy called Mary Anne and Dawn. Ma answered, offerred K good support but ended the conversation by saying she would try to convince her dad to drive both her and Dawn over. I realize K herself told us she was calling MA and Dawn, but, shrug, was there really a need for Dawn to come, too? As someone else said, seems like too many people...and I just thought of this sort of rude to Shannon also. MA yes, she is K's oldest friend but Dawn...not so much.
The Andrew and Karen situation, like most communication between parent and kid, could have been handled more tactfully and better. I think at least at first, Karen truly wanted to continue to see that her dad was alive and all right. Simply saying to her "this is not your month at the big house" was dismissive and not very kind. She is only 7 and yes, while her type of energy may indeed not have been what Watson needed, Lisa/Seth and even Watson should have told her, it was not HER he didn't need or want, he just was trying to keep things as routine as possible, as well as have the quiet to recover for when she and Andrew did come. That said, no reason why a couple afternoons a week Kristy, Sam, Charlie, or "Nannie," I don't think Elizabeth did too much, could have helped A and K be part of their Dad's "new" life so to speak.
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scrounge
Sitter-In-Training
Boo and bullfrogs!
Posts: 414
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Post by scrounge on May 5, 2010 23:10:15 GMT -5
I've read all the Little Sister books, and I have to agree that the adults in Karen and Andrew's life were sometimes way too rigid about what days/months the kids were at which house. Of course when the plot called for it, Karen could get a ride over to her dad's neighborhood four afternoons a week to play with Hannie, but when she wants to spend some time with her dad and make him feel better, sorry champ, not till next month. Nannie moving out because she was butthurt about Watson taking over her role was stupid. Everyone was trying to rebalance and redefine their new normal after Watson's heart attack, and she could have helped flesh out how tasks would be divided instead of just sulking because Watson dared to buy pizza and she had made pasta. Speaking of which, David Michael and Emily each held a corner of the box on the way home. How competent is Watson when he's buying one pizza to feed ten people, two of whom are teenage boys? Whoever owned this book before me drew little stick figure flip book scenes in the margin so whenever I get it out I have to flip and watch the little stick figure man dunk a basketball.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on May 21, 2010 17:48:39 GMT -5
Something random I just remembered (while cooking a dinner that included pasta, so maybe not SO random): when Nannie gets all huffy about Watson buying pizza when she had already cooked pasta, doesn't she say something about how "you can't freeze pasta"?
Pasta freezes awesomely! It's one of my favorite meals to multiply because the leftovers are fabulous. Reason #452 to hate Nannie.
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Post by sparklymouse on May 22, 2010 15:45:20 GMT -5
She wouldn't have to freeze it. Just stick it in some Tupperware in the fridge and have it the next night. Or eat it with the pizza. Plenty of pizza places have pasta dishes on their menus.
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