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Post by wistfuldreamer86 on Aug 19, 2018 13:23:14 GMT -5
Read this for the first time in over a decade and I actually forgot who the mystery callers were. But it seemed pretty obvious anyway. I don't think it was supposed to be a huge mystery though. The girls were just busy freaking themselves out over nothing, which seems pretty realistic for their age group. It was fun reading about the ribbon code again, lol. And it was especially funny that Kristy, who made everyone rehearse it repeatedly, couldn't remember it when she actually needed to. It was cool to see Kristy/Claudia bonding a bit here. I always like to see the girls interact with someone besides their "best friend". I also liked Mary Anne's burglar alarm that Kristy's family busted into. lol. That had to be embarrassing for Mary Anne. But at least she knew the Thomas' quite well. I liked seeing that "inventive" side to Mary Anne in this one. And of course, I liked all the Mimi scenes in this one. She's such a sweet lady and so helpful. I like that she encouraged Claudia to try harder with Janine and gave her another perspective on her sister. And that little bonding moment with Claudia/Janine at the end was sweet. It must be hard for someone as smart as Janine to socialize with others. Of course, Claudia doesn't get that because she's more creative than bookish. And she's 12. I also like that they hinted that Claudia is smart, she just doesn't apply herself because Janine is a genius an why bother? But like others have said, if Janine really is a genius, why isn't she in college? I think this book did well at hinting at the future conflict with the BSC in book #4. With Claudia taking jobs without asking others.
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Post by eternalstudent on Sept 19, 2019 18:35:18 GMT -5
I just finished reading this book for the first time in years. Overall, I would have to say that within the context of the original 4 book miniseries, this one is probably the "weakest" purely because it is more of a general mystery book involving all of the girls and not just about Claudia as a person. I guess what I mean to say is that compared to books 1, 3, and 4, this one seems like it doesn't have much character development for Claudia aside from a few scenes where she tries to get along with Janine.
It's not a bad book in the series, it just seems like more of a throw-away plot in comparison to the other books. And of course it's pretty obvious now in 2019 that this book unintentionally dated itself with the whole now-obsolete premise of "burglar calls the landline of a house to see if the owner is away" scenario, which is another reason why it probably wasn't revived in the graphic novels.
But like the previous poster said, I also found it interesting that the big fight is being foreshadowed here already.
My copy of this book is, unfortunately, the reprint with the new cover. I remember seeing the original cover at a second hand bookstore back in 06, but still being picky about wanting the new covers. I really regret not getting the original cover then!
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LovelyDay
New To Stoneybrook
just a sweet girl
Posts: 137
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Post by LovelyDay on Sept 20, 2019 16:57:57 GMT -5
I just finished reading this book for the first time in years. Overall, I would have to say that within the context of the original 4 book miniseries, this one is probably the "weakest" purely because it is more of a general mystery book involving all of the girls and not just about Claudia as a person. I guess what I mean to say is that compared to books 1, 3, and 4, this one seems like it doesn't have much character development for Claudia aside from a few scenes where she tries to get along with Janine. It's not a bad book in the series, it just seems like more of a throw-away plot in comparison to the other books. And of course it's pretty obvious now in 2019 that this book unintentionally dated itself with the whole now-obsolete premise of "burglar calls the landline of a house to see if the owner is away" scenario, which is another reason why it probably wasn't revived in the graphic novels. But like the previous poster said, I also found it interesting that the big fight is being foreshadowed here already. My copy of this book is, unfortunately, the reprint with the new cover. I remember seeing the original cover at a second hand bookstore back in 06, but still being picky about wanting the new covers. I really regret not getting the original cover then! It’s the exact same way for me. Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls is my least favorite out of the original four because like you said, it was barely about Claudia.
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Post by eternalstudent on May 6, 2020 17:37:46 GMT -5
But I guess the book is meant to reflect Claudia's love of Nancy Drew (currently re-reading the entire BSC series in self-quarantine so am posting again!) and within the context of the 4 book mini series, it does stand out as a mystery. I kind of get annoyed that despite there being a separate BSC mystery series, there would still be regular BSC books with mysteries. And I also dislike that Mystery #5 (Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic) is relegated to the mystery series when the plot kind of affects the main series, as it deals with MA's childhood - but I digress
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bsc
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 21
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Post by bsc on Jul 6, 2020 21:01:09 GMT -5
I’m reading it right now and I just laughed out loud at where sam says to Mary Anne “you could start another business of your own. Mary Anne’s surefire alarm systems.” I loved Mary Anne’s burglar alarm systems.
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Post by Honeybee on Jul 13, 2020 22:41:21 GMT -5
I re read this book. I forgot that Alan & Trever was behind the those calls, that no said anything on the phone. Until the girls called the cops. Alan got in trouble.
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Post by sparklymouse on Mar 30, 2022 18:06:52 GMT -5
Claudia's track suit looks very comfy. She looks like she's in a hotel lobby. She's glowing like there's a ghost behind her. ETA another one: The kid's jammies are cute with the little patches on his knees.
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Post by sparklymouse on Apr 4, 2022 20:53:18 GMT -5
Cute. I like both of their outfits even though Kristy would never wear that, and Claudia's is five different colors. "Claudia" She may have a mermaid tail. Let's say she does. She got the Mallory treatment on this one. Woof.
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Post by sparklymouse on Apr 6, 2022 18:17:31 GMT -5
These are what my computer tells me that some of these titles are translated into English:
Claudia and ghostly calls Klaudie and Phantom of the Phone Joke and the nasty phone calls Valerie and ghost calls Mysterious anonymous calls Julie and the Ghost Visitor Claudia and the Ghost Visitor Claudia and the mysterious phone calls Claudia and the Phantom Telephones Claudia and the mysterious caller Claudia and the ghost of the phone Claudia and the mysterious phones Who wants to scare Cindy? Claudia and the ghost calls
Pretty consistent.
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Post by sparklymouse on Apr 8, 2022 15:10:28 GMT -5
That is a fat, odd looking baby. She's pouring soup on his head. The phone is very wide.
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Post by anzuhana on Apr 8, 2022 15:31:26 GMT -5
The baby's strange appearance was the fist thing that jumped out to me. I kinda like the phone due to its color and shape. I see there are nine buttons. I'm seeing two arrows (one left pointing arrow on the lower left corner and one down pointing button on the right corner. I think the button above it is the star button). I wonder what the other buttons are and where numbers 1-9 are (maybe in the handset) as well as where the answering machine is.
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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 Apr 9, 2022 13:27:56 GMT -5
I'm never around babies, but this one seems like an unusually large baby. Someone that big on your lap would be a toddler. Is it supposed to be Jamie?
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oldmeanie
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 426
Member is Online
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Post by oldmeanie on Jun 20, 2022 18:38:44 GMT -5
The red ribbon stuff never gets old lol. I like this one and I actually disagree with it being the weakest of the original 4. I like that Kristy and Claudia become closer friends and that Claudia and Janine are able to bond a little.
I remember liking Janine as a kid, but I think she actually IS annoying in the early books. Maybe it's just me, but it felt like AMM was trying too hard to make her sound smart. Like later on in the series, I feel bad for Janine and feel like Claudia is too whiny about her family (although Mrs. Kishi really shouldn't be weird about Nancy Drew). In this book, I actually DO feel a bit bad for Claudia and understand more where she comes from. I think this is a good book for establishing her family dynamic (although all the first 4 books are).
I didn't notice any editing changes in this one. One annoying thing about the Kindle versions is that there seems to be more editing mistakes. Oh, and the notebook entries are just italicized, no handwriting. I know some people would prefer this, but I kind of miss the handwriting. Weirdly, the Kindle Super Specials had handwriting.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jun 24, 2022 22:27:35 GMT -5
Did anyone celebrate Red Ribbon Week in school? Drug awareness? I don’t know if it was just a Texas thing.
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Post by sparklymouse on Jun 25, 2022 15:52:28 GMT -5
I'm not familiar with Red Ribbon Week. We had DARE.
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