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Post by Kylie90210 on Mar 19, 2017 18:38:51 GMT -5
Questions for discussion:
Is this the only book that starts off retelling past events?
If Janine is a genius, why is her younger best friend graduating and she isn’t? Shouldn't Janine have been ahead and not just taking College classes?
Is this the only time Stacey is described as ‘quite thin’? It kind of stood out to me. She must be noticeably thin to have Kristy mention it?
Did anyone else form an image or opinion of New York based on Stacey and these books? Did that change if/when you got older and visited?
Does anyone else think it’s a bit rude of Kristy to think kids who don’t leave toys everywhere and want to learn about butterflies are boring?
Shouldn’t Elizabeth (and all the parents) be checking on the adults they don’t know? 12 (even 13) is awfully young!
What was everyone's impression of Karen in this book?
I wonder what reason Elizabeth gave Watson for not accepting his proposal yet and whether it bothers him?
How much junk food and pizza can $9 buy back then?
What do you guys think about Kirsty getting upset with Claudua for taking jobs, but not with MA who is asked to sit for the Pikes?
How long has it been since Watson and Lisa divorced if things like insurance haven’t been worked out?
Great lines:
I got to my feet. "I'm sorry, Watson," I mumbled. I walked out of the kitchen and started up the stairs. When I was halfway up, I yelled over my shoulder, "I'm sorry you're such a terrible father!"
Ahh the infamous ‘sheep are in’ line… such a classic!
Inconsistencies:
Kristy says she broke her ankle last summer – does this fit in with The Summer Before?
Elizabeth is Edie here…
Food to note:
Kristy's snowman sandwich
Chinese food takeaway Watson brings
Fondue and bread
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 19, 2017 19:30:31 GMT -5
I suppose I could see Kristy playing dolls before she her life became consumed by the club haha.
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mallorypike
Sitting For The Papadakis's
If I were thirteen instead of eleven, life would be a picnic...
Posts: 1,636
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Post by mallorypike on Mar 19, 2017 19:31:48 GMT -5
Chapter One Is this the only book that starts off retelling past events? Ummm, only 1 other book that retells past events is Babysitters' Remember... I also thought 100 words was a LOT, but now...man, that's very little! Yeah, Kristy and Claudia knew MA pretty well since they've grown up together, but Stacey had only been around for a few weeks, so she couldn't possibly know MA well... Kristy definitely wasn't as tomboyish in the early books. She played with dolls, played dress up, and wore dresses!!! Other thoughts I have: Kristy didn't behave like the perfect student she became in the later books. I mean, in the beginning of the book, she jumped out of her seat and shouted "Hooray" or something like that in class. She got punished by writing a 100-word essay on decorum. This wouldn't happen in the later books, for sure... Chapter Two Yeah, Kristy was much more relaxed and loose in the early books. I mean, she ditched a BSC meeting in #4! I know, Elizabeth and Watson hadn't really been dating for very long. The author should've written it as 9 months at the very LEAST! Other thoughts I have: It was so cute how Kristy was so excited when she came up with her Great Idea. Chapter Three Omg, I totally agree that Claudia's outfit sounded AWFUL! Those two colors don't go together at ALL! But back then when I was a kid, it sounded totally awesome. I think Janine should've graduated in this particular year and had gone to college for the rest of the books. I mean, she was already taking classes at the community college.
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Post by sparklymouse on Mar 19, 2017 21:36:09 GMT -5
What more could she have really said on the subject? One hundred words is a solid paragraph. "Sorry I was rude. I need to show my teacher respect and not distract my classmates. Blah blah blah." The teacher didn't even care, lol.
Four months, huh? How long were they together before they got married?
I kinda like oddball color combos.
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 19, 2017 21:55:48 GMT -5
Great Idea was August 1986 and Big Day was July 1987.
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mallorypike
Sitting For The Papadakis's
If I were thirteen instead of eleven, life would be a picnic...
Posts: 1,636
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Post by mallorypike on Mar 19, 2017 22:14:44 GMT -5
Yeah, that's only 11 months. Actually I think the wedding was in June?
What's silly is that in the later books, the BSC mentioned that Elizabeth waited a long time to marry Watson when it was actually a very short period of time (10 or 11 months). Same with Sharon and Richard; I think they were dating for about a year then they got married. Also, Ms. Barrett married to Mr. DeWitt about a year after her divorce. Why are there so many woman in Stoneybrook who got married so fast?!
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sarish
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,618
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Post by sarish on Mar 20, 2017 20:10:34 GMT -5
Especially after divorces! I am nervous to date again, let along marry someone and it have been nearly two years since we split (way less than that since we legally got divorced which was back in Dec. Didn't stop him - he married again shortly afterwards).
I always loved this book, but it is still not in my top 10 or even 20 of favorites. I forgot that Kristy wasn't really the model student in the earlier books! It was a surprise to read that decorum part all over it!
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Post by sparklymouse on Mar 20, 2017 22:36:20 GMT -5
I don't particularly want to get married, but if I did then I have it in my head that we would have to date at least two years before I'd consider an engagement.
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 21, 2017 0:14:23 GMT -5
It's funny because there are couples who marry after knowing each other a short time and spend their lives together and there are others who get married after dating for years and end up divorced. I guess it's different for everyone. Me, I have trust issues so I really don't know lol
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Post by Kylie90210 on Mar 22, 2017 20:29:25 GMT -5
Maybe it seems like a long time because of their age? That said, twenty years in grade eight is really a long time haha!
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Post by greer on Mar 23, 2017 14:29:17 GMT -5
They only have two years to work with over the course of the entire series. Both of Dawn's parents remarry and Dawn's dad manages to have another kid by the time the series is over...
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Post by sparklymouse on Mar 23, 2017 22:28:26 GMT -5
Yeah, but book 6 was still following a real timeline. Elizabeth and Watson really did marry that fast.
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whycad
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 31
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Post by whycad on Mar 30, 2017 6:11:45 GMT -5
I just started this last night, after a week long BSC fan binge (reading, updating my collection spreadsheet, just generally dorking out). Kylie, so glad you're doing a chronological read along, I've never done that before! Anyway, I love KGI and the first few books bc you can really hear Ann's voice, and get a strong sense of how she meant for the series to be set up. So far in KGI I am struck by just how idyllic Stonybrook is, it's such a huge part of the nostalgic appeal. I love when Kristy comes home from school and she and Mary Anne and David Michael go wading in the brook. I remember as a kid wanting that so badly, just like in Calvin and Hobbes too, where the kids could run off and be in the woods. Also it's funny all the little differernces the characters have, where they haven't hardened into into their own stereotypes yet! Like Kristy wearing a dress, or Claudia being kind of distant (honestly just makes Claudia even cooler, in my eyes lol).
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mallorypike
Sitting For The Papadakis's
If I were thirteen instead of eleven, life would be a picnic...
Posts: 1,636
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Post by mallorypike on Mar 30, 2017 17:43:13 GMT -5
Yeah, this book along with the first ten or so definitely had a different feel than the later books. This is the most nostalgic, sweetest book in the BSC in my opinion.
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Mar 30, 2017 21:58:30 GMT -5
While this isn't my favorite of the original series, it is certain nostalgic and Kristy acts very different from what I remember.
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