celaeno
Sitting For The Papadakis's
I have to share a room with Vanessa
Posts: 1,514
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Post by celaeno on Jul 31, 2013 21:52:54 GMT -5
This was the last Portrait book I needed, and I finally found it at a thrift store!  I've been wanting to read this for so long. On the back of my copy, we see the start of Abby's report at the top and it says "...we would arrive two weeks earlier than scheduled" (which made me think "That's not that remarkable"). Then we see the same text at the start of chapter two, but they changed it to "...we would arrive a month earlier than scheduled". Does everybody else's copy do that? |
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Post by zoar3 on Jul 31, 2013 22:00:23 GMT -5
^Yes, mine says the same thing. I never noticed that before. But hey this is Stoneybrook and 13 years of 8th grade are the same year with different spins.  |
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celaeno
Sitting For The Papadakis's
I have to share a room with Vanessa
Posts: 1,514
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Post by celaeno on Aug 4, 2013 11:58:34 GMT -5
Do you think it's normal for a parent to surprise their kids by buying a new house in another state and not discussing the idea of moving until the house has already been bought? (The only time my family moved was when I was too young to remember, so I don't have any personal experience to compare it to.) Stoneybrook parents do seem to like surprising their kids with major life changes - "Surprise, we adopted another kid" or "Surprise, I am moving our family away from everything we've ever known".
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Post by candykane on Aug 4, 2013 14:33:40 GMT -5
Do you think it's normal for a parent to surprise their kids by buying a new house in another state and not discussing the idea of moving until the house has already been bought? That seems to happen often in books. I was just re-reading Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret and that was exactly what Margaret's parents did. She came home from summer camp, and her parents informed her that they now owned a house in New Jersey and would be leaving NYC. My guess is that it was more commonplace a generation or two ago to not involve kids in family decisions or even inform them of big changes in advance. Maybe AMM and Judy Blume were drawing from their own experiences in that regard. |
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Post by greer on Aug 4, 2013 18:33:49 GMT -5
Do you think it's normal for a parent to surprise their kids by buying a new house in another state and not discussing the idea of moving until the house has already been bought? That seems to happen often in books. I was just re-reading Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret and that was exactly what Margaret's parents did. She came home from summer camp, and her parents informed her that they now owned a house in New Jersey and would be leaving NYC. My guess is that it was more commonplace a generation or two ago to not involve kids in family decisions or even inform them of big changes in advance. Maybe AMM and Judy Blume were drawing from their own experiences in that regard. Ann never seemed to have moved, though. I do think that the generational difference theory is spot on, though. (Although my dad's parents bought the house next door to their old one when he really, really didn't want to leave his neighborhood as a small child, so who knows ) |
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Post by oldmeanie on May 27, 2023 12:29:22 GMT -5
This is my favorite Abby book for sure, even though it's heartbreaking. I feel like it flows pretty well... none of the stories feel random and it feels like one whole story, all of them necessary. I think part of this is because all the characters before have had many life-changing moments covered in the series previously (the Schafers and Spiers getting married, Kristy's mom getting married, Mimi dying, Stacey being diagnosed, etc).
I like that it's all about her family. And honestly, it's really sad (most of my favorite books in the series are sad. Not sure what this says about me). Jon Stevenson seems like such a great dad, and how he was killed was just... awful. Tbh, I was worried about reading this book, because my brother was killed the same way. But it was kind of healing, if very depressing? It's hard to explain. I think it's realistic how Rachel, Abby, and Anna grew apart after Jon's death. I cried through "Without Dad," the vacation chapter, and even at the very end.
It's interesting that it's all about Abby's family since in the main series they feel so distant (not as in super cool, although I think Abby and Anna are lol, I mean emotionally distant. I kind of miss "distant" and "dibble" BTW, it's middle school silliness and I wanted more of it). It tells me that Jon was really the glue that kept the family together and that Abby really craves a close-knit family. I think she also acts super OTT sometimes to cover up her sadness, something I can totally relate to (I feel like her first appearance is among the most OTT she's ever acted, which makes total sense. Think about it, she's leaving behind all her Long Island friends, her childhood home, and it feels like really saying goodbye to her dad). It was so sweet how she hugged her mom in the last chapter. I'm not the biggest fan of Rachel Stevenson (I'm also not a big fan of how she left "clues" about their big move. Idk about that), but at the same time, I understand why she is the way she is. And I'm glad that they seem to be making an effort to get closer.
Abby and Anna have some healing to do, too... I read a comment in this thread how there seems to be some tension between them. I agree. It's sad how they were so close as young kids and drifted apart after his death. I agree, their first grade teacher was stupid lol.
I headcanon that Abby and Kristy are best friends in high school. Weird that one is my favorite and the other my least favorite in the late series, but I think Kristy needs someone to challenge her.
I can't believe it, but I might give this one a 10? That feels crazy for a late series book, but it just feels right.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,071
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Post by oldhickory on May 30, 2023 10:36:44 GMT -5
most of my favorite books in the series are sad. Not sure what this says about me)...... I can't believe it, but I might give this one a 10? That feels crazy for a late series book, but it just feels right. It's because sad books have an impact! The late series books can be really unrealistic and OTT, but grief is unfortunately a universal experience. It's why I like Abby a lot in general. She doesn't really have fluffy books. |
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Post by oldmeanie on Jun 4, 2023 9:59:51 GMT -5
most of my favorite books in the series are sad. Not sure what this says about me)...... I can't believe it, but I might give this one a 10? That feels crazy for a late series book, but it just feels right. It's because sad books have an impact! The late series books can be really unrealistic and OTT, but grief is unfortunately a universal experience. It's why I like Abby a lot in general. She doesn't really have fluffy books. It's actually kind of amazing how much character development she got and how complex she became in a shorter time than the other girls. In a way, being introduced so late might have been an advantage, because she never had the chance to be flanderized. |
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I've been wanting to read this for so long.
