mckay
Junior Sitter
Posts: 672
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Post by mckay on Oct 22, 2007 18:42:33 GMT -5
^ Barbara didn't find out until the assembly? I didn't remember that but it is awful! I really felt bad for Barbara, even though we didn't know her before this book, and was glad to see her show up again in Secret Friend. I didn't remember the thing about the picture, either. That is a bit strange. I did have lots of people who weren't very close friends give me their school pictures but I never carried them. I never carried many pictures, though. I tried for a while but my wallet and everything is such a mess without them even ;D I thought Mary Anne looked for her after and said that she must have gone home. I always thought that she would have just stayed home if she already knew...I'll have to dig this book out and see what it says exactly.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 6, 2008 17:35:04 GMT -5
I liked this one better than usual, probably because I skipped the parts I really don’t like (especially the whole subplot which I completely skipped this time ;D) and focused on the parts that I do like. One thing I really enjoy is MA and Sharon’s relationship and how Sharon is so supportive of MA and MA lets Sharon comfort her. I always like seeing the two of them get along as I think Sharon is really there for MA when she lets her be. The project MA’s group was working on sounded like fun. Did it mention how it turned out? (I must have skimmed that part too. ;D) I do wish that Amelia had been at least prominently mentioned in a book before this one. Was she and I just don’t remember it?
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mckay
Junior Sitter
Posts: 672
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Post by mckay on Jan 6, 2008 22:46:00 GMT -5
I only remember Amelia being MENTIONED once, maybe twice, before this book, when suddenly she and MA are BFFs.
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 1, 2008 18:03:28 GMT -5
I can really relate to this book right now. Last week, some of my friends' dad died in a car accident (I had never met them but was friends with his wife and kids for several years even though I haven't seen them for a while). Then yesterday I found out that a friend who was only a few years older than me and one of the nicest, most fun guys I've known died unexpectedly. Apparently, he was having trouble breathing and they took him to the hospital and he just died. They found, I guess, that he had leukemia and didn’t know it. I wasn't close with him and haven't seen him for years but he was definitely a great guy and friend and I'm really upset about this - more than I was at first. My grief keeps coming out in weird ways, too, where I'm getting upset and crying over other things but not able to cry when I think about him. This is also scaring me because since I've graduated, I've lost three of my classmates, too, and a kid I tutored who was only a senior last year. And last May, a good friend of mine (though one I haven't seen for years and rarely kept in touch with) died. So, I can really relate to the emotions this book dealt with about losing someone young and in an unexpected way. Even though I didn't really care for this book, I think it did a realistic job dealing with the range of emotions that people show with grief. Sorry for the long, personal story on this post. I probably should have put it in the "venting" thread or somewhere but just wanted to explain how realistic this book seems right now to me. ;D
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 1, 2008 18:30:31 GMT -5
I'm very sorry, aln
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Lauren
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,026
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Post by Lauren on Mar 1, 2008 18:34:31 GMT -5
I'm sorry you've had to go through that aln. I can relate as my best friend growing up died in a car accident the summer before our senior year and I had another close friend who was murdered in 2003.
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Post by greer on Mar 1, 2008 19:06:56 GMT -5
i'm sorry, aln.
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Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
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Post by Penny Lane on Mar 1, 2008 19:16:55 GMT -5
I'm sorry aln.
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 2, 2008 16:26:35 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! You're support means a lot. ;D I am really starting to understand why MA was so upset over Amelia, even though she didn't know her well. I know that some people (including myself when I first read this book ;D) I think that actually adds to the feelings of grief - the loss of "what might have been" and missed opportunities to become a better friend with someone you liked already but weren't super-close with. That's kind of how I'm feeling right now.
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sarish
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,618
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Post by sarish on Mar 2, 2008 20:29:38 GMT -5
I am so sorry aln! I know it is a little late, but better late than never right. A boy who I knew since I was 10 recently died. He was one of the nicest people, I never heard him say a harsh word to anyone and he always had a big hug and a compliment to give. He made up something called "The Swan Club" when we al went out on the playground and pretended to be swans and we all had swan names that began with the letter, "B". I can totally relate to your above statement, aln!
and wow gracie! That is intense...I am sorry you had to lose two close friends!!!
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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Mar 2, 2008 20:54:02 GMT -5
I send my condolences Aln .
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Post by helsieboo on Mar 3, 2008 5:04:55 GMT -5
I don't think it was so unrealistic - I think the shock impact more than anything is why the students took it so badly...
I'm a tenpin bowler and there was a girl in our youth bowling club. She didn't come often as she was a little older and she only came to two tournaments with us. I think I only spoke to her a couple of times and knew her to say 'hello' to only. She was killed in a horrific car crash and it shook us to the absolute core. I cried over it, despite barely knowing her. So, I don't think the reaction is so unrealistic.
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Post by Sweet City Girl on Mar 3, 2008 14:08:51 GMT -5
Aln, I'm so sorry. I send my condolences. And I'm sorry about your friends, Gracie. I haven't actually read this book yet, but based on what I do know, I can understand the kids' reactions to Amelia's death. I myself am very sensitive to death in general, even if it doesn't directly affect me, so I think I'll be able to identify with Mary Anne a lot in this book.
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lyricalangel
Sitting For The Newtons
Logan's love-bunny
Posts: 1,918
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Post by lyricalangel on Mar 3, 2008 15:01:42 GMT -5
I'm sorry, aln. I lost two college friends to cancer. One was my age and sang in several groups with me. The other was 41. She was my voice teacher and a good friend. Her husband is still one of my closest friends. Their daughter is now 11. She's a great kid.
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 3, 2008 16:46:00 GMT -5
Thank you again, everyone, and sorry for your losses as well. As for this book and the fact that MA had a picture of Amelia, I can also understand this more now. My mom was looking for a picture last night of the friend that just died and we were kind of sad when we realized we didn't have any with him in them. I'm glad MA at least had a picture of Amelia. About carrying the picture in her wallet, I can see MA being the type to practically carry around a photo album, anyway (I do that too ;D) ;D
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