Friends Forever Special - Graduation Day

[lilafowler]

I FINALLY read my copy of this, and embarrassingly enough, I teared up at the end. All of the handwriting d**n near drove me crazy, though, and the BSC timeline at the end seemed to have a bunch of really random events thrown in.

The plot itself was not so great -- it kind of reminded me of a sitcom trying to end on a sentimental note after churning out three seasons of crap once it stopped being fresh and interesting. Not that I think the BSC should have stopped three eighth grades ago, but, well, you know what I mean. Stacey's problem seemed kind of insignificant compared to Claudia's (did she REALLY think her mother and Samantha would get in a catfight at her middle school graduation?), and Kristy made me genuinely sad, which was weird because I'm not used to feeling genuine anything but contempt when I read a post-1993 BSC book.

[macca]

Jealous. I really, really, really, REALLY want this book and it's impossible to get.

[Deleted]

I got it from the library.

lilafowler said:

The plot itself was not so great -- it kind of reminded me of a sitcom trying to end on a sentimental note after churning out three seasons of crap once it stopped being fresh and interesting. Not that I think the BSC should have stopped three eighth grades ago, but, well, you know what I mean.

I have to agree with you about that. Graduation Day was pretty good, better than some of the other Friends Forever books I think, But if they had had a good book like that when the the series was still good, it would have been much better.

[secondhandshoes]

I had this book at one point, but somewhere during our move it got lost. I'm kicking myself now, because I could sell it on E-bay for a pretty penny.

[buffykay70]

yeah, this book was sad at the end but a bit boring to me. and kristy was a loser, she so needed to move on. it seemed like the BSC was her whole life. maybe i just dont like kristy too much.

and as for claudia failing her exam (was it the science one? i dont even remember), couldnt they give her a break, seeing as it was the last book ever. how was she gonna manage in high school if she couldnt even pass middle school?

and also, about stacey and the library book needing to be returned in order to graduate, does that actually happen? i live in australia so i dont know about the american school system but it sounded pretty odd to me.

[lilafowler]

Yeah, when I was ready to graduate high school, there were a ton of random little things that didn't keep you from graduating, but didn't let you walk with your class at the ceremony. Outstanding library books were one of them.

[starrynight]

I really sympathized with Kristy. I know what it's like to put your whole life into something, only to have to face the end of it without much to take its place....not a great situation to be in! I also liked Charlie's random chapter....it gave lots of insight into his character.
I remember when I bought this at the bookstore. I was totally shocked to see the series was ending. I hadn't bought/read a new BSC book in YEARS, but for old time's sake, I had to. I also got "BSC in the USA" at the same time.

[supernatural babe]

I just read this.

Isn't abit harsh not to allow claudia graduate unless she passes summer school- when she only failed 1 exam.

I mean, really! Is science really that important? She did pass the more important: maths and English.

Why couldn't they just graduate her normally and stick her in remedial science when in high school.


As for the writing I couldn't be bothered half the time. Charlotte johanssen has the fugliest writing. Is it possible for a 9 yr old to have next to perfect spelling?

[lilafowler]

^Looking back on it, it wasn't too realistic how Claudia was the only sitter who ever spelled a word wrong. I think the disdain all of Stoneybrook seemed to have for bad spellers is the reason that to this day, misspellings are one of my biggest pet peeves.

[ktag]

It was pretty cool reading this book, but kind of weird too. I sympathized with Kristy because it was sad that it was ending after so long. Also a little weird to think that they were all devoted to the club for technically only two years and all of a sudden they're dropping it and won't really be friends. It's just so different from the regular books.

That said, the time capsule thing was dumb. I mean, they put in three newspapers, three flyers and whatever random junk the kids thought up. Boring. Stacey being worried about a catfight (poking?!) and then an overdue library book was funny. Charlie's letter was interesting.

Claire has a stuffed bear named Ba-ba and a stuffed lamb named Baba? Real creative there, Claire. Speaking of, "ckishi" is the best screenname the artist extraordinaire could come up with?

I think being held back for failing one class is a bit harsh. If anything, Claudia should be held back because she's illiterate. Yeah, definitely a big pet peeve.

Jealous. I really, really, really, REALLY want this book and it's impossible to get.

I bought an ebay lot specifically because it had this book in it and wasn't insanely expensive. Funny how a series can print 200 million books over 15 years, and then becomes impossible to get just a few years later.

[macca]

^ it's annoying, because books 1 to about 60/70 are a dime a dozen. They're EVERYWHERE.

[ktag]

Oh, I forgot to say. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Claudia's "Who are you?" It'd even be appropriate for the letter to herself in the future. "Dear Claudia, Who are you?" Ah well.

[supernatural babe]

Can they really keep Stacey back for not returning a book?

And I thought keeping Claudia back was harsh.


And Ktag, Claudia isn't illiterate. She can read and write.


I hope they all remain mates when they get to SHS even if they splinter off.

Jessi's handwriting is terrible. It literally looks like scribble.

[ktag]

chelsie said:

And Ktag, Claudia isn't illiterate. She can read and write.

Barely. At like a second grade level.

[wanderingfrog]

Well, she can read okay. She just doesn't tend to, unless it's Nancy Drew. I do, however, agree that she can barely write.