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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Oct 28, 2007 21:41:56 GMT -5
The part I don't like about this book is how in the end, Abby and Anna come out with that box of their dad's. While it's good that they finally talk about him (after four freaking years), they then proceed to set out his belongings in their new home. And it's not even normal things like pictures or knick-knacks. It's his eye-glasses and bathrobe. That seems so odd to me and rather unhealthy. After four years, why does Mrs. Stevenson want her dead husband's bathrobe hanging on the back of her bathroom door? That part was really creepy. I mean I liked that they went through his things but putting out things like glasses and a bathrobe was a little over the top. I really don't care much for Abby or this book but I loved her Portrait Book. I teared up when I read the chapter about her dad. I also liked reading about her and Anna when they were little. I actually liked Anna, because she was more like me; shy and reserved. I wished that they would've featured her more in the books even if she wasn't a BSC member. It seemed to me that she was "the twin sister only mentioned in chapter 2's", with the exception of Abby's Lucky Thirteen and Abby's Twin when Anna has that back problem (I think that's what it was about). Another odd thing that was in Abby's portrait was the chapter where they arrived at Stoneybrook and they all go to stay at the Thomas-Brewer house for a night and Kristy actually warms up to Anna first before Abby. Considering that Abby and Kristy had a lot of things in common that was unusual for me to read.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Oct 28, 2007 22:14:11 GMT -5
^ Well, Kristy doesn't like anyone stealing her thunder, and Anna is nice and quiet. Also, reading about the same evening in Kristy and the Dirty Diapers, it seems that Kristy is kind of taken aback by Abby's weird sense of humour.
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Post by sugarmonkey on Oct 30, 2007 11:00:12 GMT -5
Anna is more like MA which could be why Kristy warmed up to her.
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Post by aln1982 on Oct 30, 2007 15:50:29 GMT -5
^ I was thinking the exact same thing. I can see how Kristy and Abby would definitely clash since they are both very competitive people. Sometimes opposites complement each other better. I was disappointed that they never developed a relationship between Kristy and Anna.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Oct 30, 2007 17:12:55 GMT -5
^ I wish Anna had been featured more, although I can understand why she wasn't, considering she wasn't a BSC member.
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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Oct 30, 2007 20:35:11 GMT -5
^ I was disappointed that they never developed a relationship between Kristy and Anna. I was too. It seemed that Anna just fell through the cracks after Kristy and Abby became friends. It would've been cool to see Kristy and Anna hang out once in a while or something, even though Anna wasn't a BSC member.
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Post by aln1982 on Oct 30, 2007 23:41:08 GMT -5
^ Agree. I know they made Anna and Shannon friends but they (meaning the authors not the girls) could have at least involved her in some more BSC activities. I liked it when she did get involved in a few books with helping the Krushers' band. In fact, that was the only part of the band I liked. ;D I think it would have been interesting if Anna had joined the BSC, too, but I guess two new members was too many.
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Post by sparklymouse on Sept 27, 2008 19:06:27 GMT -5
I've finally reached the Abby era! It took me forever. I must say that the major asthma attack and the fear of being an orphan both in her intro book was a bit much. Regarding the dead dad's stuff in a box, I was mostly disturbed that Abby and Anna's mom threw away EVERYTHING of his except those few things. The twins were plenty old enough when he died to pick out some meaningful things of Daddy's to keep. Hell, my cat died this year and I saved more of her stuff than Mrs. Stevenson did with her husband's.
The carnival! It sounded like everthing there was $1. A buck for a polariod with a goat (Die already, Elvira. Or at least grow up and become a more mature goat. Blah.) or for a little cupcake or a generic fortune stuck in a pop bottle. I don't know, I guess the price was right. The crap that the Pikes were selling sounded worse than those awesome BSC buttons. (I wonder how they decided which sitter had to do the free baby-sitting for the Papadakis kids. I would force Kristy to since it was her great idea.) I don't think 13 year olds are authorized to run carnival rides.
Overall I don't like Abby yet. Maybe she'll grow on me. Even though I don't think she's funny, I like that she's supposed to be a little sarcastic and jokey. (That's probably not a real word...) But do people take everything so literally in Stoneybrook? It seemed like everything Abby said was met by a blank stare, a pause, then an "Oh, I get it. Ha ha!"
(Spell check tells me that "jokey" actually is a real word! Awesome! ;D )
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Sept 28, 2008 21:00:11 GMT -5
(Spell check tells me that "jokey" actually is a real word! Awesome! ;D ) And also a Smurf. ;D
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Post by booboobrewer on May 10, 2009 2:31:36 GMT -5
If that had been the case, it would have been like Mary Anne making a new friend in Dawn and leaving Kristy out, only now Mary Anne would be the one left out and coping with Dawn's permanent move to CA as well. Would anyone have liked to see this Kristy/Anna/Mary Anne triangle rather than the Kristy/Abby competitiveness that actually happened in the series?
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Post by greer on May 10, 2009 6:55:37 GMT -5
I can't really see Anna and Kristy being friends, because they don't have anything in common and Anna seems to do her own thing and doesn't want to be around someone so bossy.
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tiff85
Junior Sitter
Posts: 583
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Post by tiff85 on May 10, 2009 14:33:03 GMT -5
It also surprise me too that Kristy was closer to Anna than Abby at first. Well maybe opposites attract. Kind of like Kristy and Mary Anne.
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Post by zoar3 on Oct 24, 2009 22:42:06 GMT -5
I liked the Pikes' carnival chapter and thought the reunion between Mrs. Stevenson and her daughters was super sweet. When I was going through a very dark time in my life, during early college years, it often meant a lot to me to wear a jean jacket that belonged to a friend--sort of reminded me that I wasn't all alone. Perhaps in a much stronger way, that's how Mrs. Stevenson feels about the robe? Abby, I still don't like her. BUT at least in this book she was honest enough to admit it. On page 3, when she comes home to the empty house from school she says, "Loud music makes me less lonely." That sums up her charcater very well. She purposely is brash, at times rude and at other's expenses (the imitations), and loves to be the center of attention with her jokes because at heart, she's afraid if she's more like Anna, there might come a time when her sadness about her Dad truly overwhelms her. If all that makes any sense? I don't think any of them have dealt with his death at all. Anna, I wish she had been made a BSC member instead. At the very least an Associate. I also have to agree with you, sugarmonkey, from a couple years ago that while certainly asthma can be unpredicable, on that particular day it seemed apparent that Abby set herself up for a bigger attack by the basketball and even possibly spending too much time indoors with all the Papadakises pets before moving outside. Hannie running across the street freaked me out! I would think that incident (though Abby had no control of Hannie doing that) would be more a concern to Kristy than Abby's asthma...though Kristy definitely had a valid point that it was a good thing Linny and Hannie were older. What if Abby had really only been sitting for Sari? I don't wish bad things on anyone, even fictional characters I don't care for but that is a scary thought. I'm glad that never did happen. On a much lighter note here's a puzzler for all fans of the time warp! This book takes the prize on that! The first day of the story (it does not say what day of the week it is) is a school day but NON BSC Meeting Day. A.K.A. Tues or Thurs. The very next day is a BSC meeting during which MA takes the call from Mrs. P requesting a sitting for "the day after tomorrow." Mallory immediately speaks up saying neither she nor Claudia can do it because they will be Pike-sitting. MUCH later in this book is C/M's notebook entry which lists this afternoon as a Tuesday! How could the first 4 days be: 1. school but no bsc 2. school yes bsc (Pap. call) 3. school no bsc 4. school and then Papadakis job (I gather no bsc though the job was only from 3:30-5). 5. A school day! Remember, lol, the Papadakis job was supposedly on a Tuesday! The other "mystery" is it says Abby's mom was taking the 11:45 train from NY to Stoneybrook. The NEXT sentence it says she took the 12:45 train! (When Abby overhears the annoucement). Ah the joys and perils of even trying to deduce logic in BSC days/dates!
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Dec 9, 2009 20:57:46 GMT -5
abby is my favorite sitter and this is my favorite book. this is one of the newer books that i actually read when i was younger, and i reread it last night. it's SO refreshing to have someone who has the nerve to disagree with kristy, and isn't best friends with another bsc member. it makes her seem so much more real. that and the fact that her family ISN'T all warm and lovey dovey. kristy and watson didn't used to get along, MA and her dad were always sullen and somber around each other, but then all of a sudden these families solve all their problems and everyone is happy. that isn't real life. people can love each other without being demonstrative. i think that is the reason i like abby so much -- she's isn't your boring typical bsc member.
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
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Post by starrynight on Dec 15, 2009 14:40:21 GMT -5
Maybe it's because I've never had an immediate family member die and I don't really know how it works, but I don't think it was at all creepy that the Stevensons put their dad's personal stuff around the house. It was just their way of keeping his memory alive, and keeping him a part of the family, even though he wasn't actually with them anymore. I don't see anything wrong with that.
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