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Post by Kylie90210 on Apr 23, 2017 21:27:58 GMT -5
I believed in Santa until around age 9 or 10. My brother revealed to me a few years later (who at the time was the same age I was) that he stopped believing around 5 but put on a good front. I didn't read this one before then, but I had read other books where it was hinted that he wasn't. It was sort of like sheesh, these are directed at elementary school kids, some of whom still probably believe. Though I got into a debate around last Christmas about this topic and the general consensus was, it's okay to say these kind of things and for authors to include them in books because just because kids read them or hear people say he's not real, doesn't mean they'll stop believing. I sort of believe in that, because we had jerky kids even in the earlier grades saying that he wasn't real and we were just kinda like "Whatever you say, you're getting coal." Still doesn't mean Ann/ghostwriter should've included it. Funny you say this, as the way I found out about Santa (and etc) was because of Claudia's Portrait book!! I was devastated.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Jun 22, 2021 23:43:19 GMT -5
Jessi's story was just stupid! Of course Santa can be any race, but what he can't be is an 11-year old girl. So dumb. I thought Jessi's storyline was cute...and who knows, perhaps for very small children, Santa can be an eleven-year-old girl. That book showed real creativity there. I always loved how Jessi got into the holiday spirit in the holiday books.
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Post by oldmeanie on May 16, 2022 22:40:15 GMT -5
This one wasn't as bad as I remembered. Mallory and Ben's fight and Jeff's chapters saved it from being boring. I remember the Mary Anne and Dawn fight being a bigger deal, but it didn't actually take up that much time. It also seems out of character to me for Dawn to be THAT absent-minded. Why would she just assume that Mary Anne was going to be a bridesmaid and buy her a (fugly) dress without talking to ANYONE about it? WTF?
All the dresses in the California wedding were hideous! I'm not into fashion, so I guess I just don't get it?
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on May 17, 2022 8:53:30 GMT -5
It's not just you. This was in the 90s so all wedding dresses were hideous.
It's been said, but Dawn is way out of line! Carol would be well within her rights to ask that Mary Anne change clothes. I think Dawn was playing dumb and was actually being malicious with the matching dress situation.
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Post by oldmeanie on May 18, 2022 15:36:24 GMT -5
It's not just you. This was in the 90s so all wedding dresses were hideous. It's been said, but Dawn is way out of line! Carol would be well within her rights to ask that Mary Anne change clothes. I think Dawn was playing dumb and was actually being malicious with the matching dress situation. The weird thing is, I remember that being a bigger deal in this book, but it weirdly wasn't. I wouldn't be surprised if Dawn was being malicious (especially given her behavior in #72, although I do like that book), but it the whole dress situation was so odd to me. It's bizarre that it was never discussed that there were no bridesmaids, only a maid of honor. It felt like not much was discussed at all aside from it being a beach wedding. Wtf?! Maybe Carol is kind of absent-minded as well, because I don't think she objected to Mary Anne's dress at all. Weird and unrealistic. At least Carol is about as far from a bridezilla as possible?
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Post by fernmariposa919 on Mar 1, 2023 18:14:37 GMT -5
Oh, I have a lot to say about this one. This one is just bizarre to me. Why are Mary Anne, Claudia, and Kristy invited to Jack and Carol's wedding (who they've only met once?) Why does Natalie Barrett have a thirteen year old as one of her bridesmaids? Why do Mal and Ben have the stupidest fight of all time? So many things to say...and luckily I did: thebookshelfofsara.blogspot.com/2021/06/east-west-marriage-fest.html
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Mar 2, 2023 9:49:23 GMT -5
Why was Stacey Mrs. Barrett's bridesmaid? If anything, it should have been Dawn but she obviously wasn't there. Did she just figure the other blonde would be a good stand-in?
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Mar 3, 2023 20:59:36 GMT -5
I though that was way to random to have Stacey step in.
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Post by oldmeanie on Mar 8, 2023 15:22:00 GMT -5
Oh, I have a lot to say about this one. This one is just bizarre to me. Why are the Mary Anne, Claudia, and Kristy invited to Jack and Carol's wedding (who they've only met once?) Why does Natalie Barrett have a thirteen year old as one of her bridesmaids? Why do Mal and Ben have the stupidest fight of all time? So many things to say...and luckily I did: thebookshelfofsara.blogspot.com/2021/06/east-west-marriage-fest.htmlYour review is hilarious and I agree with your points 100%. Extremely weird for the BSC to be at Jack and Carol's wedding, very weird for Stacey to be Natalie's bridesmaid (I guess Stacey did get close to the Barretts in the Sea City super special, but it's very underdeveloped), and UNBELIEVABLE that they couldn't find someone older than 11 to be a mall Santa. I thought the same thing about Jack, too, that he was organized. It definitely feels like an inconsistency. I'm not sure why Mrs. Bruen's hours would be doubled either. And yes, Mary Anne is insufferable in this.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Mar 9, 2023 9:46:13 GMT -5
Mary Anne coming to the wedding makes sense to me. She's the plus one for a member of the wedding party. Everything else about this book is delusional though and I hate that I just defended it.
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Post by oldmeanie on Mar 9, 2023 13:52:38 GMT -5
Mary Anne coming to the wedding makes sense to me. She's the plus one for a member of the wedding party. Everything else about this book is delusional though and I hate that I just defended it. I can maybe accept Mary Anne, although it is awkward. Kristy and Claudia have no business being there, though. Despite how ridiculous and random this book is, I didn't hate it for some reason and I thought I would.
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