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Post by oldmeanie on Jun 8, 2023 14:37:43 GMT -5
I just finished Don't Give Up, Mallory, and the marching band subplot was so boring to me that I kept putting the book to the side whenever a sitting chapter came up lol (I'm not skipping subplots in my re-read). I'm not sure if it's the worst, but for me, it's one of the worst. I know there are other contenders, but most of the fairs/ carnivals/ events etc run together. I prefer the more small-scale (and therefore character-driven) subplots like the Corrie Addison one in Claudia and the Sad Good-Bye (that's not my favorite subplot, but it's an example of a good one).
Edit: and the record-wreckers subplot in Kristy + Bart= ? It was just Lerangis at his most obnoxious. His subplots tend to be the most annoying. Not sure what's worse, annoying or boring lol.
Most Barrett-DeWitt subplots are a slog, too. They get along, they don't get along, they get along. It is not as interesting as AMM and the ghosties seem to believe.
I'm sorry that I post so much XD. I can talk about this series forever. And even though I rant a lot, I really do enjoy it! Every book has some redeeming quality to it.
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Post by anzuhana on Jun 8, 2023 15:46:05 GMT -5
Don't be sorry that you post so much, it's good for conversation. I also like reading the ratings you give different books. It's different.
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Post by sparklymouse on Jun 8, 2023 19:09:51 GMT -5
Anything with goats. And I like goats.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,263
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Post by oldhickory on Jun 9, 2023 8:57:27 GMT -5
Ugh, remember when they had to babysit the goat for like three weeks? They took her on sitting jobs and everything. That was so dumb and I'd be pretty mad if the babysitter brought a petting zoo to my house.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Jun 10, 2023 10:14:50 GMT -5
I'll add the subplots that went nowhere before they were quickly resolved. Like Margo shoplifting in Jessi and the Bad Babysitter. Jessi sees Margo shoplift, frets about whether she should tell Mallory, finally tells Mallory who's all WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING, Margo confesses and returns the toys she shoplifted, end scene.
Also in Kristy's Big Day when at the end of every chapter she wonders what to get her mom and Watson as a wedding gift then decides on the family tree that looks like a school project Karen made.
Seconding the DeWitt hate. They were all SO annoying and ruined the Barretts for me, who I loved!
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Post by oldmeanie on Jun 10, 2023 14:13:33 GMT -5
I hope the formatting of this reply isn't super weird. anzuhana, I'm glad you like my ratings! I wish I'd started that earlier tbh. sparklymouse, I have no idea how I forgot about Elvira! Those plots were always a drag. Ugh, remember when they had to babysit the goat for like three weeks? They took her on sitting jobs and everything. That was so dumb and I'd be pretty mad if the babysitter brought a petting zoo to my house. Yeah, I have no clue why the sitters thought it was okay to bring a farm animal into someone's house without asking. That was truly bizarre. One parent wasn't happy about it (can't remember who), but the rest just thought she was adorable so they didn't care. I love animals (I love goats too), but this would annoy me to no end. I'll add the subplots that went nowhere before they were quickly resolved. Like Margo shoplifting in Jessi and the Bad Babysitter. Jessi sees Margo shoplift, frets about whether she should tell Mallory, finally tells Mallory who's all WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING, Margo confesses and returns the toys she shoplifted, end scene. Also in Kristy's Big Day when at the end of every chapter she wonders what to get her mom and Watson as a wedding gift then decides on the family tree that looks like a school project Karen made. Seconding the DeWitt hate. They were all SO annoying and ruined the Barretts for me, who I loved! I kind of liked the Margo shoplifting subplot, just because it was so different, but it needed more development for sure. The final project looked... yeah, like s first grade project lol. Tbh, that's one thing I noticed about early books... most of the illustrations weren't great (in Baby-sitters on Board and Winter Vacation in particular. The realistic ones didn't start until Island Adventure), so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt that it looked better irl. I hope so at least lol.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Jun 11, 2023 11:39:35 GMT -5
Yeah, I liked the BSC confronted with a kid shoplifting but there was no development. It was just Jessi fretting for a few chapters about whether she should tell Mallory, then she does and Mallory gets Margo to confess.
The illustrations in New York, New York I know were done by Ann's father, since he was a cartoonist for the New Yorker! I remember being surprised those looked so different from the other Super Specials I read at the time.
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lydifarr
New To Stoneybrook
Tutoring Emily Michelle
Posts: 14
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Post by lydifarr on Aug 9, 2023 20:04:39 GMT -5
I hated the DeWitts.
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Post by booboobrewer on Aug 10, 2023 0:11:39 GMT -5
Ugh, remember when they had to babysit the goat for like three weeks? They took her on sitting jobs and everything. That was so dumb and I'd be pretty mad if the babysitter brought a petting zoo to my house. This is funny to me because I watch the Real Housewives of Miami and one of them (who is Martina Navratilova’s wife) has a farm full of animals she takes care of. And she brought her goat to another housewife’s dog’s birthday party.
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Post by fernmariposa919 on Aug 29, 2023 12:16:18 GMT -5
Off the top of my head, the worst subplot I can think of is the Toilet Monster. I think it's from Mary Anne Misses Logan? First of all, I couldn't stand the Korman kids. They were just so boring. And why is Sari afraid of everything? Cats, water fountains...who's afraid of adorable kitties (I mean, I may be biased because I have an adorable kitty cat) and it's water with the fountain! Give me the Delaney's anyday! Also, Bill and Melody are way too old to believe a monster lives in their toilet. Aren't they nine and seven? Now if this was a subplot for four-year-old Jamie Newton, I would find it more believable (but still pretty stupid).
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Aug 29, 2023 18:05:45 GMT -5
Off the top of my head, the worst subplot I can think of is the Toilet Monster. I think it's from Mary Anne Misses Logan? First of all, I couldn't stand the Korman kids. They were just so boring. And why is Sari afraid of everything? Cats, water fountains...who's afraid of adorable kitties (I mean, I may be biased because I have an adorable kitty cat) and it's water with the fountain! Give me the Delaney's anyday! Also, Bill and Melody are way too old to believe a monster lives in their toilet. Aren't they nine and seven? Now if this was a subplot for four-year-old Jamie Newton, I would find it more believable (but still pretty stupid). Oh god, I totally forgot about the Toilet Monster!
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Post by oldmeanie on Aug 30, 2023 11:32:36 GMT -5
That subplot was worse because it didn't even relate to the main plot. And it is in Mary Anne Misses Logan.
The Kormans are so boring! They had exactly one interesting subplot (in Claudia's Big Party, when Bill and Melody were fighting). The Delaneys were actually interesting, partially because they were weird. It's just fun to have obnoxiously rich clients. I like the whole down-to-earth rich person thing, but the Papadakises and the Thomas-Brewers had that covered already imo. Nothing about the Kormans stands out to me.
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Post by fernmariposa919 on Aug 30, 2023 12:41:15 GMT -5
That subplot was worse because it didn't even relate to the main plot. And it is in Mary Anne Misses Logan. The Kormans are so boring! They had exactly one interesting subplot (in Claudia's Big Party, when Bill and Melody were fighting). The Delaneys were actually interesting, partially because they were weird. It's just fun to have obnoxiously rich clients. I like the whole down-to-earth rich person thing, but the Papadakises and the Thomas-Brewers had that covered already imo. Nothing about the Kormans stands out to me. Yes, I agree with everything you said. The Delaneys had exorbiant wealth that they showed off with their huge fish fountain, purebred Persian cat, and tennis courts among other things. Nothing about the Kormans seemed like they would live in this ridiculous mansion (and why would they buy a house with a feature that scared their two-year-old daughter? So stupid). They were so boring. And Sari was the most annoying two-year-old. I liked the Delaneys because at least they were something different form their other clients. Honestly, you could replace Bill, Melody, and Sari with Jake, Laurel, and Patsy or Buddy, Suzi, and Marnie.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Aug 30, 2023 19:38:57 GMT -5
That subplot was worse because it didn't even relate to the main plot. And it is in Mary Anne Misses Logan. The Kormans are so boring! They had exactly one interesting subplot (in Claudia's Big Party, when Bill and Melody were fighting). The Delaneys were actually interesting, partially because they were weird. It's just fun to have obnoxiously rich clients. I like the whole down-to-earth rich person thing, but the Papadakises and the Thomas-Brewers had that covered already imo. Nothing about the Kormans stands out to me. The only thing I think of with the Kormans is in Karen's Newspaper when the Three Musketeers are going around the neighborhood looking for news and Bill answers the door and says the family bought a new blender LOL
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,263
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Post by oldhickory on Sept 1, 2023 9:33:21 GMT -5
Nothing about the Kormans seemed like they would live in this ridiculous mansion (and why would they buy a house with a feature that scared their two-year-old daughter? So stupid). I hate to defend rich people, but the baby will grow up and stop being scared of stuff, and status symbols are forever.
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