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Post by wiggir13 on Aug 14, 2011 23:26:01 GMT -5
I love the mysteries (even though some are dumb) and I really like most of the super mysteries.
I, like others, was totally creeped out by the Stacey/Claudia chapters. I think it's pretty freaky that there are really psycho people like that out there in real life.
The gardener burglar didn't really appeal to me nor did the pregnant lady. They probably could have done a psycho ex in a regular mystery.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,257
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Post by oldhickory on Aug 15, 2011 12:35:16 GMT -5
the psycho ex-girlfriend was made so much creepier by the fact that they were in new york and there are millions of people it could be. if you're being stalked in stoneybrook, you can just turn around and see who's behind you. in nyc there are way too many people and any one of them could be after you. so creepy.
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Post by zoar3 on Aug 15, 2011 16:39:09 GMT -5
What happened to Andrew? And do gardeners really work in snowstorms? The first "question" comes when the TB's spend the night at the Stevensons. David Michael, Emily, and even Karen are all mentioned. Did Andrew stay at the Papadakises with Shannon (the dog)? The only way I can semi-justify that the Stoneybrook Police didn't think to check into both Mr. Nixon and Gandy's right off the bat was that for all they knew, neither man should have been doing gardening work.
I still enjoy the Pike parts of this SS but admit to still being very disappointed that Mrs. Pike's announcement about Mary coming to stay with them wasn't that she was pregnant. As someone said upthread, I never gave thought to how sad it was that not one person missed Mary during the time she was in CT. Unless her husband was completely swamped in Australia or unhappy in their marriage, wouldn't he have tried to call her daily? Makes no sense. I can do without the NY parts and agree with everyone who said this might have been better had it taken place solely in CT--too many storylines.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,257
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Post by oldhickory on Aug 16, 2011 0:12:49 GMT -5
i don't read LS so i don't fully follow the whole bit with andrew living in chicago for a while, but maybe this book falls during that time.
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Post by zoar3 on Aug 16, 2011 18:30:34 GMT -5
^Good idea, except Andrew was at the Big House at the very beginning when the Hsus were robbed.
Edited to ask, why weren't any, not one, of Anna's friends invited to the Hanukkah party? Surely it wouldn't have been that difficult for Nola Thacker to have made up the name of one Anna friend!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2011 21:20:50 GMT -5
Turns out that this was the only Super Mystery I hadn't read as a kid. The first three I really loved back when I read them, and I still do! So I just read this one for the first time, and, hmm, I thought it was okay, but probably the weakest of the four. The other three were just so much more exciting to me!
One thing I wanted to note though was that I thought it was so sweet seeing the friendship between Claudia and Stacey! I loved how Claudia asked Stacey about her insulin kit when they were stuck in the elevator.
Also: I always get a kick out of Kristy demanding to know whether or not the police have dusted for prints.
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Post by greer on Sept 22, 2011 0:58:26 GMT -5
^Good idea, except Andrew was at the Big House at the very beginning when the Hsus were robbed. Edited to ask, why weren't any, not one, of Anna's friends invited to the Hanukkah party? Surely it wouldn't have been that difficult for Nola Thacker to have made up the name of one Anna friend! But then the BSC would have had to interact with people outside their group!
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Post by zoar3 on Sept 22, 2011 15:12:48 GMT -5
^And that would just be stale The fact that Mrs. Stevenson invited no one, too, also jumped out at me. I understand this party may have just been for her daughters and Mrs. S participated (awesome and so nice to see a positive parent interaction) but I would have enjoyed reading about one friend she did invite. IIRC, Abby did specifically thanked everyone for coming to the Stevenson Family Hanukkah Party as opposed to just her (A's) party.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Dec 23, 2011 12:41:55 GMT -5
So I tried to start reading this again but just decided to give up, since I already know what it's about. Seriously, the only storyline that is vaguely interesting as a re-read is the burglaries in Kristy & Abby's neighbourhood. To me, the missing lady plot was stupid as was Stacey and Claud in NYC because you know, at the end, that it's Ethan's crazy ex-girlfriend (lame). Why do the NYC mysteries always end up so poorly (i.e. Jessi and the Jewel Thieves) when they are in NYC and there is more of an ACTUAL chance of a crime, and a good one, as opposed to the happenings in Stoneybrook.
Don't get me started on the cover. As a kid, I HATED the way Mary Anne looked. I was actually OFFENDED by the cover, as a Mary Anne fan. Who dressed her that morning? Richard? Seriously, it looks like her clothes came out of his closet. And WHY is Abby putting her paws ALL OVER THE CRIME SCENE?
I guess I don't like this one as much. Although it did make me look up Alice Neel artwork and the Lisa Papapapapapa website that was mentioned earlier!
I edited to add in that I, too, was ANNOYED by Jessi's handwriting? How come she gets to narrate so many Super Specials or Mysteries? Her writing must be the hardest to read and the least likely for an 11-year-old.
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Post by greer on Dec 23, 2011 14:59:00 GMT -5
Aww, I love the NYC subplot in this book! Ethan Carroll, hottest BSC boyfriend!
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Post by virgoscorpio on Dec 23, 2011 15:23:22 GMT -5
Hey greer, I loved the NYC aspect, too - the shopping, museums, and the city stuff. And Ethan. I just thought the NYC mystery was lame and wasn't a fan of the crazy-ex-plot, which is you think about it is severely mental, especially for a teenage girl. So I guess Ethan has a nut-job ex on his hands? I know they're around, but it's weird to see it in a BSC book, you know? Something I've noticed in the super mysteries is that Mallory comes across as pretty capable. In the Salem one she's eager and smart, and confident when dealing with Eileen. In this one she's the same way with Mary, trying to make her as comfortable as possible and stuff. It just makes me even more disappointed about the Spaz Girl stuff later. booboo, I think that's because Nola Thacker and Ellen Miles like Mal. Seriously. She's written into a lot of the Super Mysteries and she had Mystery 3, ahead of other popular sitters like Mary Anne, Claud and Kristy. (I know this doesn't account for her only getting 1 mystery, but I think that's more of Scholastic's to-doing over the ghostie).
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Post by greer on Dec 23, 2011 15:37:16 GMT -5
She was kind of a freak in Salem with the Mystery Notebook, though.
I think Mal and Jessi only got one mystery each because a) they were less popular and b) the editors decided they were too young to be put into dangerous situations. I mean, not like it's totally kosher to have thirteen-year-olds dealing with violent criminals, but whatever.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Dec 23, 2011 15:45:58 GMT -5
^ I agree with both of your points. I think Point A had a lot to do with it, also because after #90, Mal got 3 books and Jessi got 2. Racism? haha.
Edit: Heck, even Abby got 7 books (I believe) after #90, and she was an new member!
Edit again: I just laughed to myself thinking of a scenario where someone picks up Happy Holidays, Jessi and was like, "Oh yeah, Jessi's a club member!" (since you don't hear from her since book 82! ... That's like over 20 books!)
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Post by greer on Dec 23, 2011 16:01:19 GMT -5
I don't know why they just didn't have Jessi go to Dance NY. She must have been pissed when she gave up Dance NY to stay with her friends and Mal went to Riverbend.
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Post by anzuhana on Dec 23, 2011 16:53:48 GMT -5
^ Maybe that's why Jessi was such a brat in Mary Anne In The Middle. Maybe she wanted Mallory to pass up on boarding school so she wouldn't feel angry with herself for passing up the dance school.
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