andrew
Sitter-In-Training
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Post by andrew on Jul 1, 2017 8:24:36 GMT -5
I liked the writing of the characters and the mood of this book quite a lot, it made it believable that there had been this previously-unknown secret from the past, but I thought it was disappointing that during Mary Anne's visit to her grandmother there wasn't even discussion let alone any conflict of that she had wanted to not return to her to Richard, that seemed a little like a dropped and ignored aspect.
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Post by Sideshowjazz1 on Nov 1, 2018 17:00:41 GMT -5
Just read this one. Did the writer of this one write the Mary Anne biography book? I hope not, because whoever wrote that must have skimmed it, because Mary Anne claims to have had a great time with her grandmother and never mentions the part of her biography that says it started off shaky. I guess I can't be mad - it's just I read the biography book so many times that I couldn't help thinking of that the first time I read this.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
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Post by cnj on Nov 9, 2018 1:23:14 GMT -5
Just read this one. Did the writer of this one write the Mary Anne biography book? I hope not, because whoever wrote that must have skimmed it, because Mary Anne claims to have had a great time with her grandmother and never mentions the part of her biography that says it started off shaky. I guess I can't be mad - it's just I read the biography book so many times that I couldn't help thinking of that the first time I read this. Actually, the Mary Anne biography does delve deeper into her visit with her grandmum. It was nice to see them bond...Verna had the same dark hair and huge brown eyes and even cried as much as Mary Anne, which was sweet.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Sept 25, 2020 12:09:55 GMT -5
This is one of my favorite mysteries. It felt more genuine, rather than the girls playing police officer.
Like many others, I get this mixed up with Mary Anne's Portrait when she visits her grandmother. I did feel bad for her - she was under the impression that all her grandparents were dead and then this all gets sprung on her. Richard was clearly grief-stricken over losing Alma but at the same time, he denied his daughter an opportunity to know her grandparents growing up. Though it sounds like it was kind of messy when he got Mary Anne back when she was a baby. I remember in her Portrait her grandmother kept making snide comments about Richard "taking you away from us" and it was really offending Mary Anne.
I totally forgot about them painting the cardboard cutouts until it was mentioned here XD Kristy saying "Whoooooa!!!!" when Logan takes his shirt off and then Mary Anne's embarrassed about it when the census taker arrives was hilarious.
I haven't read it since I was a kid. I definitely want to find it so I can read it again!
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
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Post by cnj on Sept 25, 2020 16:13:48 GMT -5
This is one of my favorite mysteries. It felt more genuine, rather than the girls playing police officer. I totally forgot about them painting the cardboard cutouts until it was mentioned here XD Kristy saying "Whoooooa!!!!" when Logan takes his shirt off and then Mary Anne's embarrassed about it when the census taker arrives was hilarious. I haven't read it since I was a kid. I definitely want to find it so I can read it again! I loved that one also!
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swizzles
New To Stoneybrook
Claudia Kishi ruels ok
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Post by swizzles on Oct 16, 2020 8:56:00 GMT -5
Ahh Kristy - what a control freak. Clearly unhappy that everyone around her had a role in Heritage Day, it was of course imperative that the BSC not only get involved, but inevitably have the best-selling booth of all! Haha. I agree with an earlier comment - these cut out figures could not have looked professional or realistic enough to merit charging money for photos. Even if Claudia is as much of an artistic prodigy as we are led to believe, all the other sitters had a hand in painting these figures! I did love this whole scene though, especially with the bewildered census taker. Hilarious!
I loved how quickly MA’s supposed eternal devotion to Logan was forgotten as soon as she got to Iowa and promptly went on a date with Bob? Seems very much out of character!
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
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Post by cnj on Nov 2, 2020 18:38:19 GMT -5
Ahh Kristy - what a control freak. Clearly unhappy that everyone around her had a role in Heritage Day, it was of course imperative that the BSC not only get involved, but inevitably have the best-selling booth of all! Haha. I agree with an earlier comment - these cut out figures could not have looked professional or realistic enough to merit charging money for photos. Even if Claudia is as much of an artistic prodigy as we are led to believe, all the other sitters had a hand in painting these figures! I did love this whole scene though, especially with the bewildered census taker. Hilarious! I loved how quickly MA’s supposed eternal devotion to Logan was forgotten as soon as she got to Iowa and promptly went on a date with Bob? Seems very much out of character! It did seem out of character for Mary Anne. I figured that maybe it was at the time that she and Logan had broken up for a while because true, she would not cheat on Logan.
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Nov 2, 2020 20:34:55 GMT -5
This is one of my favorite books. I really wish that they brought up what happened in the netflix show, maybe next season?
The heritage day plot sounds like lots of fun, I wish I went to something like that.
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
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Post by livvy on Apr 2, 2021 6:03:40 GMT -5
Mary Anne's grandparents have no legal claim to her. Richard is her father . I just love how Verna used guilt on him to try and get her way. If she really cares about her why did she wait all these years ?
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
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Post by cnj on Apr 2, 2021 17:14:07 GMT -5
Mary Anne's grandparents have no legal claim to her. Richard is her father . I just love how Verna used guilt on him to try and get her way. If she really cares about her why did she wait all these years? Verna waited because like Mary Anne, she was highly sensitive and disliked confronation. She also did not want to subject her sensitive granddaughter to tension. But it is great that she finally reached out to Mary Anne and that Verna and Richard reconciled. I loved seeing Mary Anne get to know her grandmum again. I love both Verna and Mary Anne.
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Post by oldmeanie on Sept 10, 2022 14:23:33 GMT -5
This mystery is why I decided to include the (early) mysteries in my re-read of the series. It's definitely one of the better mysteries and honestly should have been a regular series book. I'm thinking I'll read all the early ones (up to #10), then maybe a few standouts here and there where new characters are introduced. I just didn't enjoy the later mysteries that much. Maybe in future re-reads of the series (I know there will be more), I'll include them all.
So on to the actual book... it's really good. Since Wicked Stepsister, Mary Anne kind of runs hot and cold for me. Sometimes she's very likeable and sometimes she annoys me. I really like her in this book; she actually IS shy and sensitive as described. I also felt really bad for her; her discovery is pretty heavy. I have some heavy family history (not going to talk about it here, sorry), and I know a little bit about how hard that can be to deal with. It's also pretty sad. I didn't cry, but I came close when Mary Anne was talking to her dad. I also really felt for her when she missed Mimi.
I'm in the middle about the subplot. I thought it was okay. Kind of dragged on. I loved the chapter with the census taker... that was hilarious. I can't imagine what she was thinking lol. This book needed that comic relief. Also, I agree that those cardboard cutouts would NOT have looked as good as the book made them out to be.
I actually think the letters were a good way of handling her stay in Maynard (to show a larger passage of time), but I would like more scenes with Verna. I know she appears in BSC in the USA and her portrait, but I did want to see a transition scene with Mary Anne making the arrangements and possibly talking to her grandmother. Also, I just cannot buy her cheating on Logan, wtf lol. For the most part, her characterization is great in this book, but that was just weird. Bob does sound incredibly boring, though.
I also just eat up stories like this. I've never lived in a house with an attic (at least not one big enough to walk around in), but part of me always longed to just so I could find secrets like this one or in Mystery Diary. Even at 32 years old, something like this would be so exciting. Maybe not something as heavy as Mary Anne's past, but a really cool discovery of past tenants. I'm not sure I'm making any sense, I'm sick lol.
This is also one of my favorite covers on the series. Probably the best Mary Anne cover. I never grew to love her future haircut.
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andrew
Sitter-In-Training
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Post by andrew on Sept 11, 2022 10:56:25 GMT -5
It's been a while since I read the book but I think Mary Anne's date in Iowa was much more of a just a/as friend date and/or playing at having a date, I don't think it was cheating and I hope Logan wouldn't either.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
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Post by oldhickory on Sept 12, 2022 9:31:50 GMT -5
This is also one of my favorite covers on the series. Probably the best Mary Anne cover. I never grew to love her future haircut. She looks so pretty with the long hair on this cover. I love her haircut on the cover of 60 and 131, but it looks dreadful most of the time. Mary Anne in the Middle makes her look like Madeline Khan in Clue.
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Post by oldmeanie on Sept 14, 2022 14:42:30 GMT -5
This is also one of my favorite covers on the series. Probably the best Mary Anne cover. I never grew to love her future haircut. She looks so pretty with the long hair on this cover. I love her haircut on the cover of 60 and 131, but it looks dreadful most of the time. Mary Anne in the Middle makes her look like Madeline Khan in Clue. Hahaha that's one of the worst Mary Anne covers (also don't remember liking the book much if I'm being honest). I think it looks best on Fire at Mary Anne's house too, which sucks because that book is a bummer.
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