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Post by zoar3 on Jun 21, 2011 21:24:16 GMT -5
^LOL, that is funny, Wiggirl. One of the worst, well really saddest, parts of this story is that Will has been taking care of the mansion for 40? years. He probably made this choice for a bit of comfort and sense of connection to Dorothy. I wanted to give him a hug.
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Post by wiggir13 on Jun 21, 2011 23:28:03 GMT -5
I know! I imagine this poor guy sinking his life's fortune into buying this house to pine away for the women he loved and she's just needlepointing a town away!
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Post by greer on Jun 22, 2011 6:58:16 GMT -5
If she came back, I would have told her where she could go. WTF how were we supposed to see it as romantic or whatever?
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Post by zoar3 on Jun 22, 2011 11:12:13 GMT -5
^ITA both Wiggirl and Greer. Also, isn't it hard to believe that not ONE person ever recognized Dorothy, of course it had to be Karen, and said to Will, "Hey, I think she's alive" or to Dorothy, "Will is pining away for you. If nothing else you should let him know you're alive." Greer, I don't think there is anything romantic about what she did. Zip.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 2, 2012 15:26:35 GMT -5
This is the FIRST time I read this book. I bought it off of Amazon for 6.50 CND *blush* It is one of the last books for me to collect of the entire series, and interestingly enough, was one of the few books I didn't have growing up.
With that being said, I liked the first half of the mystery. I loved the rain and storm descriptions, since I love a good storm, and I also enjoyed the haunted mansion aspect. I also like the cover and the illustrations of Kristy, DM and Karen (and of the setting). Especially DM, since I don't like how he is pictured on some of the books. In this cover, he looks similar to how I imagine him PLUS he looks like Kristy on the cover, which is a big plus.
What I didn't like was how BSC books try to shove feminism down little girl's (or kids) throats. And this is coming from a male feminist. The ending totally ruined what could have been a really good BSC mystery. If they wanted to show that "women should be independent and can make their own choices", they could have done it another way. It's ridiculous that Dorothy lived about an hour from her childhood home and no one noticed. I think this is one example of how the writers underestimate a child's intelligence and comprehension level.
How ironic that all of the bridges washed away. How can the bridge just wash away but is safe for cars, vans, etc to drive on?
Overall I liked this book but there were many, many WTF moments!
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 2, 2012 18:49:24 GMT -5
^ I totally agree. Now that I think of it, the writers sometimes do a crappy job of bringing the story together so even the small things make sense. I guess I pictured the bridge as a rickety wooden bridge made with uneven planks or something.
Does anyone remember when the bridge collapsed during the storm on the night Dorothy was planning to elope? That means it has collapsed before, AT LEAST one other time. You'd think that a family who has enough money to buy a secluded mansion could pay for a concrete bridge or something.
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Post by booboobrewer on Feb 16, 2012 20:57:53 GMT -5
I thought it was weird how Bart's father called Claudia. How does he even know her? lol
Elizabeth's "wake up" punch sounded like throw up punch, really...orange juice mixed with lemonade, among other things...yikes.
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Post by zoar3 on Feb 16, 2012 21:03:29 GMT -5
^That was sort of creepy. Plus, how would he even gotten her phone number let alone know who she was? Lol to the punch, it didn't sound very good to me, either. The main thing I still don't get about this book (besides how awful Dorothy was) was the complete lack (to our knowledge) of immediate police involvement. Redfield was what maybe half an hour from Stoneybrook? I realize that can be much longer in the country but still. I've said this before, but also always wondered how Will expected Dorothy to call him if he had no phone. IIRC, the phones at the mansion didn't work or were there not any? I haven't read this book in forever.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Feb 16, 2012 23:46:10 GMT -5
^ Maybe because Claud's phone is the BSC phone too. So that would mean it's on flyers all over town and would be easy to get (say from the grocery store, library bulletin board, community center, etc.) I'm sure Bart's parents know about the BSC and know Claud's last name is Kishi, so she'd be easy to look up. In that sense, I don't find it that weird. It would have been just as weird if Bart's dad called any other member, right?
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Post by booboobrewer on Feb 17, 2012 1:59:16 GMT -5
Lol, good point, virgo. Definitely makes more sense now!
zoar, there were no phones at the mansion or in Will's cottage.
Btw, according to Dorothy's diary, she was eighteen in 1935, and the book is from 1993...did Dorothy and Will seem like they were both almost 80 to you guys?? I thought they were much younger than that, but that date caught my eye this time.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Feb 17, 2012 11:36:17 GMT -5
^ I agree. You'd think if Will was 80ish they would have mentioned something about him being "really old". I guess I figured he was in his 60s...70s at the most. Maybe he was a really young and fit 80 year old?!
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Post by zoar3 on Feb 17, 2012 11:53:49 GMT -5
^Thanks, BooBoo. Wow! I never thought of either of them as 80. ITA with you, Virgo, that mid 60's sounded much more reasonable. Perhaps like Sgt. Johnson in "Secret Society" (the dates were way off making him MUCH older than he should have been, the timing in this was either off or "forgotten" as well. Dororthy "could" have been born in 1933 and turned 18 in 1951. That time period was also one in which women traditionally did not have many options for their lives. Dororthy at 60 and Will at 61 (he was one year older, wasn't he)? would have worked better. IDK, still not a fan of that pairing due to Dorothy!
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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 Jun 30, 2012 17:12:33 GMT -5
Despite the big WTF-ending that kinda ruins the book, I think this book might be in my top 5 because it contains a big haunted mansion and a torrential thunderstorm, two things that I absolutely love. I actually read this book this week when we were having one of those unbelievably crazy rainstorms, so it was really fun reading about them being stuck in an insane downpour at the same time as we were.
I also like books that show them doing things that typical middle school best friends do, like having slumber parties (two in this book!) while ordering pizza and doing makeovers and stuff.
In this book, Dorothy is an elderly woman who owns a sewing shop, and right after this book came #66 Maid Mary Anne, where they introduce an elderly lady (Mrs. Towne) who sews a lot so that Mary Anne can take lessons from her. They should have just reused Dorothy instead of creating yet another one-time character! It always pleased me when there were threads of continuity across the books.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jun 30, 2012 17:30:02 GMT -5
^omg, yes they should have re-used her! I would have liked hearing more about Sew Fine.
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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 Jun 30, 2012 20:56:01 GMT -5
^And it would have been interesting to hear about the results of her going to see Will...
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