Welcome to the discussion post for week four! Don't panic if you haven't finished Mary Anne Saves the Day yet - we're all in different time zones, so things will be a little bit staggered. The post doesn't have an expiry date on it, so just comment whenever you're ready.
This is the post to discuss your reading of Mary Anne Saves the Day.
What was your favourite part? What was your least favourite part? Any memorable quotes you'd like to share? What had you forgotten about since the last time this book was read? If someone wrote a fic set during the timeline of this fic, what should they write?
There are no mandatory questions or points of discussion for this - anything you want to talk about in relation to this week's book, go ahead!
Next week's book is BSC #5 - Dawn and the Impossible Three.
This book is for the real Claire and Margo, Claire DuBois Gordon and Margo Méndez-Peñate Margo Méndez-Peñate is a grown-up and Googleable now.
Dad hates when people say yeah. He also hates shut up, hey, gross, retarded, and a long list of other words that creep into my vocabulary whenever I’m not around him.) This is an interesting mix of register/offense levels! :p
We sat down and bowed our heads while Dad said grace. At the end, just before the “Amen,” he asked God to watch over Alma. (Alma is my mother.) He does that before every meal, as far as I know, and sometimes I think he overdoes things. After all, my mother has been dead for almost eleven years. I bless her at night before I go to sleep, and it seems to me that that ought to be enough. I like having this quiet, off-the-cuff portrayal of religious characters.
(What’s an ascot?) My reaction exactly!
Actually, they’re really good kids, but their parents have raised them liberally (according to my father), and without batting an eye, they do things I’d never dream of. For instance, Claire sometimes takes off her clothes and runs around the house naked. No one pays a bit of attention. After a while, she just puts her clothes back on. Also, although each of the kids has to be in bed at a specific time, none of them has to turn out the light and go to sleep until he or she feels like it. As long as they’re in bed, they can stay up as late as they want. And they don’t have to eat any food they don’t like. I feel like this is only in part "they're less strict than Mary Anne's dad" (probably true) and more "you have to pick your battles with eight kids"?
“Chuck Norris!” yelled Adam and Jordan. What the heck, Chuck Norris was a thing at the time this book was written?! Oh man.
The doctor will be here soon, though, and he’ll help you feel better. He or she, I mean. Even in the midst of all this Mary Anne still tries to encourage the toddler that women can be doctors too!
-Re: the word, I was thinking that Richard is right to hate "retarded" but the rest are pretty inoffensive!
-I like having this quiet, off-the-cuff portrayal of religious characters. I like this too! It reminds me of one of the Super Mysteries where they all went to church together on Christmas. Though I do wonder how they they dealt with this when he married Sharon.
-Chuck Norris before he got memetic!
-Even in the midst of all this Mary Anne still tries to encourage the toddler that women can be doctors too! It made me grin a lot. And she was right and the doctor turned out to be a lady!
I think it's interesting that Kristy and Mary Anne have the same curfew. In this re-read I am not really feeling that Richard is OMG SO STRICT.
How relaxed! It's "just barely 5:30" when Kristy and MA stroll in and Stacey's not there.
Oh, I hate when they fight. I do love that (a) Kristy didn't realize Stacey was talking about her when she made her bossy know-it-all comment and (b) she thinks she can push Mary Anne around. I bet she always has, and this is kind of cathartic. But MA is sad right afterwards. :(
Poor Mary Anne is just so SAD. Her interactions with Richard are painfully sad and awkward. Wanting a kitten poster. :( Waiting for Kristy to come to the window. :(
And she's anxious about the others having made up without her. She just breaks my heart. The note to Claudia! I love that MA and Claudia are the first to make up. They're another pair I don't often see.
Dawn! She needs someone, too. <3 I love how MA makes a friend all by herself but I'm sad she forgot about Claud. And Dawn is such a good friend, really. I'm often hard on her, but it's so hard to be new, and I think she thinks/guesses MA has no friends from the start, but is really sweet about it.
I totally forgot about this horrible meeting. I was honestly expecting them not to have it - I actually thought MA making a date with Dawn was going to mean she missed the meeting. But KRISTY missed it! That surprised me.
I do think it's kind of funny that they have a plan in place "while we're mad at each other" as though they expect to stop.
MIMI. I had always remembered Mimi and Mary Anne were close, but I didn't remember that they were THIS close. This is just wonderful.
Oh, but then it takes a turn for the worse. Poor Claud. I'm sad for her feeling like she's losing something special with Mimi and I'm mad for her horning in on Mimi and Mary Anne. And I forgot how worse it gets from here. Kristy and Mary Anne at the Pikes is painful and the way Kristy continues to treat Mary Anne is really making her hard to like.
Maybe when I stopped avoiding things, he would notice. This is so awesome and mature of her. I love it.
MA does beautifully during her crisis and so does Dawn! I love how quickly they've hit it off and how easily they work together after having known each other just a short time.
The way they behave at Jamie's party is just so awful. It makes me really disappointed in them. The new mature Mary Anne! At least everyone has their bad turns in this, and no one comes out looking particularly good. At least they finally made up. That was all torture to read.
In this re-read I am not really feeling that Richard is OMG SO STRICT.
I'm getting less "strict" and more "doesn't know what to do with a 12-year-old girl". It's pretty clear he doesn't know how to let her grow up, IMO. I can see how Mary Anne and her friends would interpret that as strict, though, especially when she compares the rules she has to follow (about her clothes, and her room, and so on) to what her friends get away with.
How relaxed! It's "just barely 5:30" when Kristy and MA stroll in and Stacey's not there.
Getting "The Look" from Kristy hasn't been introduced yet. ;)
I totally forgot about this horrible meeting. I was honestly expecting them not to have it - I actually thought MA making a date with Dawn was going to mean she missed the meeting. But KRISTY missed it! That surprised me.
Me too! I have a line in my notes that says WHOA, KRISTY DITCHED A MEETING??
The way they behave at Jamie's party is just so awful. It makes me really disappointed in them. The new mature Mary Anne! At least everyone has their bad turns in this, and no one comes out looking particularly good. At least they finally made up. That was all torture to read.
I haaaate that scene D: If it didn't end well, I think I'd have to skip it all together.
And she's anxious about the others having made up without her. Yeah, this. As one who was a quiet kid myself, I totally get this anxiety over everyone liking each other and possibly hating you.
I was just like WHOA when they got physical at the party – smushing stuff in each other’s faces, just, huh? Girls, stop acting like you’re twel- oh wait. :p
This one tugged at my heartstrings. Mary Anne and Richard's interactions were so sad. And Mary Anne is still a pretty lonely kid here; she's very dependent on Kristy still. It was nice to see her make friends with Dawn.
Speaking of: first glimpses of Dawn and the Schafer family! I liked the set up for Richard and Sharon's upcoming romance (and the fact that neither Dawn nor Mary Anne knows who Camus is). Dawn must run up her family's electrical bill like crazy, though, with those 100-watt light bulbs. ;)
Mrs. Prezzioso is so weird. I forgot exactly how ridiculous she was. I mean, if I had to extrapolate some sort of characterization, I would probably say that she's a nuevou-riche type. Mostly, like Mary Anne, I just think she's ridiculous.
“You mean some twelve-year-olds are ready to date and other twelve-year-olds still need baby-sitters?” This struck me as kind of self-aware, seeing as I think we've all mentioned that the BSC girls are, in many ways, very mature and responsible for their age. (Even if they're also silly or immature.)
I think Mary Anne breaking out of her shell a bit and making friends with Dawn was also really interesting in the effect it had on Kristy. Her reactions seemed very "Mary Anne made a friend without me????". I've always been aware that Mary Anne would have been unlikely to meet Dawn without the fight, because she needed that push to be brave, but I noticed this time around that Kristy probably also needed the fight. Without it, would she have let MA make another friend? I don't mean in a total domineering way, but in a has-had-a-lifetime-of-being-the-leader-of-their-twosome-and-doesn't-know-anything-else way.
Also, yeah, Mrs P :-| I find it really weird that she's introduced as a friend of the Pikes, and that MA knows them a bit from seeing them at the Pike's house. That combo is really hard to imagine!!
It's interesting too to think that this all leads to Mary Anne and Dawn becoming stepsisters later, and Kristy had complicated feelings about that.
I find it really weird that she's introduced as a friend of the Pikes, and that MA knows them a bit from seeing them at the Pike's house. That combo is really hard to imagine!! Right?! I’m picturing fussy Mrs. P. not knowing what to DO with Jenny when they go over to the Pikes’ place (8 kids, bound to be a huge mess with sticky tabletops etc.) and telling her not to touch anything under any circumstances.
Yeah, it really got to Kristy that Mary Anne made another friend. And it continues later, when she still gets bothered that Dawn is Mary Anne's other best friend.
I find it really weird that she's introduced as a friend of the Pikes, and that MA knows them a bit from seeing them at the Pike's house. That combo is really hard to imagine!!
I can imagine Mr. P as a friend of the Pikes, but not Mrs. P. They're just so... everywhere. Loud, and messy, and loose on rules (because who has time to be strict with 8 kids?). Although it would probably be good for Jenny.
This one tugged at my heartstrings. Mary Anne and Richard's interactions were so sad.
I definitely teared up. I have a lot of complicated feelings about Richard and MA's relationship. When she went to hug him and was then all "no, we're not huggers", but then she came back downstairs with her hair out and he "folded her into his arms", MY HEART. ♥
-- The dog and bone earrings are Stacey's!! I'd misremembered them as Claudia's.
-- So I decided to google the colorforms from Mary Anne's kidkit, since she was really specific about it. Turns out it's Miss Cookie's Kitchen (not Mrs), and unless a newer version exists, it's pretty vintage!
-- "The shattered eggman" is such a great description of Humpty Dumpty <3
-- One of the things Mary Anne noticed when she was looking into Kristy's window (and Kristy was ignoring her) was that she was talking to her mother. I feel like this is a callback to Kristy's Great Idea, where Kristy says that her mum makes time to talk to each kid one-on-one every day <3
-- Fun fact: whenever I see any mention of Camus, I think "oh, Richard Spier's yearbook quote!". Nice job, self. Much literature, very knowledgable.
-- Is this the first pizza toast? If so, awww! I feel like one might have happened in Kristy's Great Idea, but my copy is out of arm's length and I don't feel like looking it up ;)
One thing that really stood out to me in the scene where Richard is talking about losing his case (and Mary Anne is trying to find a moment to ask if she can have a later curfew) is how lonely Richard must be. Richard's frustration about it all really came through to me with illustrations & facial expressions, and it made me so sad for him. He needs an adult to be his support for these sorts of things, not his twelve year old daughter :(
He needs an adult to be his support for these sorts of things, not his twelve year old daughter :( Seriously. My notes say, Richard, please make some adult friends! I always headcanoned that he and Edie helped each other out some over the years (the previous book does describe the Spiers and the Thomases having dinner together), but she has longer hours at work or she's busy with her own kids, so he just unloads his end of the day troubles on Mary Anne. :(
"Mary Anne Spier, for someone who's so shy, you sure can be — "- and that’s the book in a nutshell!
-Mary Anne really reaches the end of her rope in this book. Not surprising, what with all the little digs at her shyness and her “babyish-ness”, how she’s always being talked over and told off for not speaking up…all that stuff builds up and really hurts after a while. Something that strikes me is the scene where she’s alone in the house, slamming things and thinking how it feels good — lots of pent-up anger, girl!
-It’s really sad when she talks about wanting to take down her posters. But at the same time, I amused myself thinking that Richard probably fears she’ll put up "rebellious" posters of rock stars or whatever, but all she really wants is kittens!
-Lol @ the thought of Peter Rabbit on Sam and Charlie’s bedrooms
-Okay, Mary Anne says Kristy stayed home when her 'parents got divorced' but I’m guessing it’s just shorthand for when Patrick skipped town. I always thought Edie just sent him the papers later.
-Kristy and Mary Anne doing their I-have-a-new-friend posturing reminds me of the He’s Eating Another Boy’s Grapes! bit on Boy Meets World. :D
-Oh my gosh, Mary Anne’s attempted note to Kristy is SO mean compared to the one she composes for Stacey and Claudia! I’d totally forgotten about it. It’s almost like Mary Anne trusts Kristy to still like her at her worst, so she’s meaner.
-Awwww, Mary Anne and Dawn bonding over mutual loneliness. I know Mary Anne was partly spurred on by the fight, but I love the image of them giggling over other kids in the school cafeteria. And watching the Parent Trap! I believe that becomes a favorite movie once they become stepsisters.
I also like how it’s a cue that Dawn is sad over more than just the lack of friends when she says something like 'if my dad were here, he’d need to bend to enter the doorway.'
-Mary Anne’s insights over the Prezzioso family are also really interesting – I forgot how it’s ONLY Mrs. P. who is the prim and fastidious time and how Mr. P and Jenny actually the fancy clothes. They are going to attend a TEA, wtf?!
-Mary Anne and Dawn do indeed act like a dream team in handling the Jenny crisis, it’s great. And super nice of Mr. P to pay them both.
-I FORGOT THAT RICHARD AND SHARON MEET IN THIS BOOK! I remember the photo albums and such but I forgot they actually MEET! How cute is it that Richard acts vague and dazed right after? :D
-The scene where Mary Anne takes out her braids has stuck with me after all these years. I’m thinking Richard was probably struck by how much she looked like Alma. </3
"Mary Anne Spier, for someone who's so shy, you sure can be — "- and that’s the book in a nutshell!
Ha, yes! Maybe that should have been the tagline ;)
But at the same time, I amused myself thinking that Richard probably fears she’ll put up "rebellious" posters of rock stars or whatever, but all she really wants is kittens!
Lmao I was thinking the same thing during that scene. Kittens, Richard! Kittens!
Mary Anne’s insights over the Prezzioso family are also really interesting
The Prezziosos are fascinating. As an adult I find myself way more interested in the adult characters and their various marriages/relationships/friendships and whatnot, but the Prezziosos' marriage intrigued me even as a child.
The scene where Mary Anne takes out her braids has stuck with me after all these years. I’m thinking Richard was probably struck by how much she looked like Alma.
I had that thought too. It's simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking </3
-The scene where Mary Anne takes out her braids has stuck with me after all these years. I’m thinking Richard was probably struck by how much she looked like Alma.
- Kristy’s been like my sister, and Mrs. Thomas is like my mother.
FEELS. ♥
- Surprised by Kristy being the job-hog! She's such a stickler for the club rules.
- “Maybe I am shy,” I said loudly, edging toward the door. “And maybe I am quiet, but you guys cannot step all over me. You want to know what I think? I think you, Stacey, are a conceited snob; and you, Claudia, are a stuck-up job-hog; and you, Kristin Amanda Thomas, are the biggest, bossiest know-it-all in the world, and I don’t care if I never see you again!”
DAMN that escalated fast, but GO MARY ANNE! I love it when she sticks up for herself. This book may be my absolute favourite for this very reason.
- I love how carefully Mary Anne writes her apology note to Claudia. She uses fresh paper and her best pen, and makes sure the creases are neat!
- Claudia was leaning on her elbows, her hair falling over her shoulders, whispering to Trevor. He was listening with a smile on his face. They looked very private and very cozy.
AWwww :D
- I wasn’t sure that I had ever made a new friend all on my own.
Awwww :(
- Burnt Hill Road feels like the wrong sort of address for Mrs Prezzioso
- I *love* learning BSC parent names! Nick and Madeleine Prezzioso! I want fic about them. Was she always classy and a bit out of Nick's league? Did she take pity on him when he asked her out, and then fell in love? Maybe she wanted to take care of him because he reminded her of a lost puppy.
- Richard is a criminal lawyer! This makes me ridiculously happy, because I think John Pike is like a corporate lawyer and he works for a tile company or something? Come on John, that's boring. But damn, Richard is straight-up Atticus Finch. Omg now I want fic where he gets on the bad side of the wrong people and SHIT GOES DOWN. Maybe in the right circumstances he turns into Liam Neeson from Taken.
- They go on to talk about an appeal, but I didn't think the prosecution could appeal if the defendent was found not guilty? Get it together, Richard.
- Mary Anne doesn't like tea! This clashes with my headcanon. And several things I've written in fic. .... CANON BE DAMNED.
- Mary Anne and Mimi, oh my gosh. ♥
- Mood whiplash when Claud overhears the "my Mary Anne" comment D:
- PIKES ♥ But ugh, so frustrating that Kristy is being so obnoxious she won't talk to Mary Anne even while at a job.
- “He spelled ‘all right’ all wrong,” Dawn remarked. I think of this line ALL THE TIME. I absolutely cannot bring myself to write 'alright', and whenever someone else does, I think of Dawn.
- THE SCENE WITH RICHARD AND MA FEEEEELS ♥
- Omg the scene at the Newtons is so awkward and horrible, I hate it so much D:
- Then I said, “Dad? Did you ever know someone named Sharon Porter?” Dad choked on a mouthful of carrots and had to drink some water before he could answer.
Omg ♥ And he gets all dreamy and vague for the rest of the evening. Oh Richard. ♥
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stoneybrook2016-05-22 09:56 am
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Dad hates when people say yeah. He also hates shut up, hey, gross, retarded, and a long list of other words that creep into my vocabulary whenever I’m not around him.) This is an interesting mix of register/offense levels! :p
We sat down and bowed our heads while Dad said grace. At the end, just before the “Amen,” he asked God to watch over Alma. (Alma is my mother.) He does that before every meal, as far as I know, and sometimes I think he overdoes things. After all, my mother has been dead for almost eleven years. I bless her at night before I go to sleep, and it seems to me that that ought to be enough. I like having this quiet, off-the-cuff portrayal of religious characters.
(What’s an ascot?) My reaction exactly!
Actually, they’re really good kids, but their parents have raised them liberally (according to my father), and without batting an eye, they do things I’d never dream of. For instance, Claire sometimes takes off her clothes and runs around the house naked. No one pays a bit of attention. After a while, she just puts her clothes back on. Also, although each of the kids has to be in bed at a specific time, none of them has to turn out the light and go to sleep until he or she feels like it. As long as they’re in bed, they can stay up as late as they want. And they don’t have to eat any food they don’t like. I feel like this is only in part "they're less strict than Mary Anne's dad" (probably true) and more "you have to pick your battles with eight kids"?
“Chuck Norris!” yelled Adam and Jordan. What the heck, Chuck Norris was a thing at the time this book was written?! Oh man.
The doctor will be here soon, though, and he’ll help you feel better. He or she, I mean. Even in the midst of all this Mary Anne still tries to encourage the toddler that women can be doctors too!
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(Anonymous) 2016-05-24 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)I would say he was in his prime at that point? It was before Walker Texas Ranger, but he was in a lot of movies in the 80s.
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(Anonymous) 2016-05-26 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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-I like having this quiet, off-the-cuff portrayal of religious characters.
I like this too! It reminds me of one of the Super Mysteries where they all went to church together on Christmas.
Though I do wonder how they they dealt with this when he married Sharon.
-Chuck Norris before he got memetic!
-Even in the midst of all this Mary Anne still tries to encourage the toddler that women can be doctors too!
It made me grin a lot. And she was right and the doctor turned out to be a lady!
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(Anonymous) 2016-05-24 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)I think it's interesting that Kristy and Mary Anne have the same curfew. In this re-read I am not really feeling that Richard is OMG SO STRICT.
How relaxed! It's "just barely 5:30" when Kristy and MA stroll in and Stacey's not there.
Oh, I hate when they fight. I do love that (a) Kristy didn't realize Stacey was talking about her when she made her bossy know-it-all comment and (b) she thinks she can push Mary Anne around. I bet she always has, and this is kind of cathartic. But MA is sad right afterwards. :(
Poor Mary Anne is just so SAD. Her interactions with Richard are painfully sad and awkward. Wanting a kitten poster. :( Waiting for Kristy to come to the window. :(
And she's anxious about the others having made up without her. She just breaks my heart. The note to Claudia! I love that MA and Claudia are the first to make up. They're another pair I don't often see.
Dawn! She needs someone, too. <3 I love how MA makes a friend all by herself but I'm sad she forgot about Claud. And Dawn is such a good friend, really. I'm often hard on her, but it's so hard to be new, and I think she thinks/guesses MA has no friends from the start, but is really sweet about it.
I totally forgot about this horrible meeting. I was honestly expecting them not to have it - I actually thought MA making a date with Dawn was going to mean she missed the meeting. But KRISTY missed it! That surprised me.
I do think it's kind of funny that they have a plan in place "while we're mad at each other" as though they expect to stop.
MIMI. I had always remembered Mimi and Mary Anne were close, but I didn't remember that they were THIS close. This is just wonderful.
Oh, but then it takes a turn for the worse. Poor Claud. I'm sad for her feeling like she's losing something special with Mimi and I'm mad for her horning in on Mimi and Mary Anne. And I forgot how worse it gets from here. Kristy and Mary Anne at the Pikes is painful and the way Kristy continues to treat Mary Anne is really making her hard to like.
Maybe when I stopped avoiding things, he would notice. This is so awesome and mature of her. I love it.
MA does beautifully during her crisis and so does Dawn! I love how quickly they've hit it off and how easily they work together after having known each other just a short time.
The way they behave at Jamie's party is just so awful. It makes me really disappointed in them. The new mature Mary Anne! At least everyone has their bad turns in this, and no one comes out looking particularly good. At least they finally made up. That was all torture to read.
The fist pizza toast! Yay for Dawn!
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I'm getting less "strict" and more "doesn't know what to do with a 12-year-old girl". It's pretty clear he doesn't know how to let her grow up, IMO. I can see how Mary Anne and her friends would interpret that as strict, though, especially when she compares the rules she has to follow (about her clothes, and her room, and so on) to what her friends get away with.
How relaxed! It's "just barely 5:30" when Kristy and MA stroll in and Stacey's not there.
Getting "The Look" from Kristy hasn't been introduced yet. ;)
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Me too! I have a line in my notes that says WHOA, KRISTY DITCHED A MEETING??
The way they behave at Jamie's party is just so awful. It makes me really disappointed in them. The new mature Mary Anne! At least everyone has their bad turns in this, and no one comes out looking particularly good. At least they finally made up. That was all torture to read.
I haaaate that scene D: If it didn't end well, I think I'd have to skip it all together.
And YAY, first pizza toast!! :D a true milestone!
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Yeah, this. As one who was a quiet kid myself, I totally get this anxiety over everyone liking each other and possibly hating you.
I was just like WHOA when they got physical at the party – smushing stuff in each other’s faces, just, huh? Girls, stop acting like you’re twel- oh wait. :p
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This one tugged at my heartstrings. Mary Anne and Richard's interactions were so sad. And Mary Anne is still a pretty lonely kid here; she's very dependent on Kristy still. It was nice to see her make friends with Dawn.
Speaking of: first glimpses of Dawn and the Schafer family! I liked the set up for Richard and Sharon's upcoming romance (and the fact that neither Dawn nor Mary Anne knows who Camus is). Dawn must run up her family's electrical bill like crazy, though, with those 100-watt light bulbs. ;)
Mrs. Prezzioso is so weird. I forgot exactly how ridiculous she was. I mean, if I had to extrapolate some sort of characterization, I would probably say that she's a nuevou-riche type. Mostly, like Mary Anne, I just think she's ridiculous.
“You mean some twelve-year-olds are ready to date and other twelve-year-olds still need baby-sitters?” This struck me as kind of self-aware, seeing as I think we've all mentioned that the BSC girls are, in many ways, very mature and responsible for their age. (Even if they're also silly or immature.)
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Also, yeah, Mrs P :-| I find it really weird that she's introduced as a friend of the Pikes, and that MA knows them a bit from seeing them at the Pike's house. That combo is really hard to imagine!!
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I find it really weird that she's introduced as a friend of the Pikes, and that MA knows them a bit from seeing them at the Pike's house. That combo is really hard to imagine!!
Right?! I’m picturing fussy Mrs. P. not knowing what to DO with Jenny when they go over to the Pikes’ place (8 kids, bound to be a huge mess with sticky tabletops etc.) and telling her not to touch anything under any circumstances.
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I find it really weird that she's introduced as a friend of the Pikes, and that MA knows them a bit from seeing them at the Pike's house. That combo is really hard to imagine!!
I can imagine Mr. P as a friend of the Pikes, but not Mrs. P. They're just so... everywhere. Loud, and messy, and loose on rules (because who has time to be strict with 8 kids?). Although it would probably be good for Jenny.
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I definitely teared up. I have a lot of complicated feelings about Richard and MA's relationship. When she went to hug him and was then all "no, we're not huggers", but then she came back downstairs with her hair out and he "folded her into his arms", MY HEART. ♥
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-- So I decided to google the colorforms from Mary Anne's kidkit, since she was really specific about it. Turns out it's Miss Cookie's Kitchen (not Mrs), and unless a newer version exists, it's pretty vintage!
https://au.pinterest.com/pin/81627811970435271/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jxOnsC5FDg
-- "The shattered eggman" is such a great description of Humpty Dumpty <3
-- One of the things Mary Anne noticed when she was looking into Kristy's window (and Kristy was ignoring her) was that she was talking to her mother. I feel like this is a callback to Kristy's Great Idea, where Kristy says that her mum makes time to talk to each kid one-on-one every day <3
-- Fun fact: whenever I see any mention of Camus, I think "oh, Richard Spier's yearbook quote!". Nice job, self. Much literature, very knowledgable.
-- Is this the first pizza toast? If so, awww! I feel like one might have happened in Kristy's Great Idea, but my copy is out of arm's length and I don't feel like looking it up ;)
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One thing that really stood out to me in the scene where Richard is talking about losing his case (and Mary Anne is trying to find a moment to ask if she can have a later curfew) is how lonely Richard must be. Richard's frustration about it all really came through to me with illustrations & facial expressions, and it made me so sad for him. He needs an adult to be his support for these sorts of things, not his twelve year old daughter :(
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Seriously. My notes say, Richard, please make some adult friends! I always headcanoned that he and Edie helped each other out some over the years (the previous book does describe the Spiers and the Thomases having dinner together), but she has longer hours at work or she's busy with her own kids, so he just unloads his end of the day troubles on Mary Anne. :(
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-Mary Anne really reaches the end of her rope in this book. Not surprising, what with all the little digs at her shyness and her “babyish-ness”, how she’s always being talked over and told off for not speaking up…all that stuff builds up and really hurts after a while. Something that strikes me is the scene where she’s alone in the house, slamming things and thinking how it feels good — lots of pent-up anger, girl!
-It’s really sad when she talks about wanting to take down her posters. But at the same time, I amused myself thinking that Richard probably fears she’ll put up "rebellious" posters of rock stars or whatever, but all she really wants is kittens!
-Lol @ the thought of Peter Rabbit on Sam and Charlie’s bedrooms
-Okay, Mary Anne says Kristy stayed home when her 'parents got divorced' but I’m guessing it’s just shorthand for when Patrick skipped town. I always thought Edie just sent him the papers later.
-Kristy and Mary Anne doing their I-have-a-new-friend posturing reminds me of the He’s Eating Another Boy’s Grapes! bit on Boy Meets World. :D
-Oh my gosh, Mary Anne’s attempted note to Kristy is SO mean compared to the one she composes for Stacey and Claudia! I’d totally forgotten about it. It’s almost like Mary Anne trusts Kristy to still like her at her worst, so she’s meaner.
-Awwww, Mary Anne and Dawn bonding over mutual loneliness. I know Mary Anne was partly spurred on by the fight, but I love the image of them giggling over other kids in the school cafeteria. And watching the Parent Trap! I believe that becomes a favorite movie once they become stepsisters.
I also like how it’s a cue that Dawn is sad over more than just the lack of friends when she says something like 'if my dad were here, he’d need to bend to enter the doorway.'
-Mary Anne’s insights over the Prezzioso family are also really interesting – I forgot how it’s ONLY Mrs. P. who is the prim and fastidious time and how Mr. P and Jenny actually the fancy clothes. They are going to attend a TEA, wtf?!
-Mary Anne and Dawn do indeed act like a dream team in handling the Jenny crisis,
it’s great. And super nice of Mr. P to pay them both.
-I FORGOT THAT RICHARD AND SHARON MEET IN THIS BOOK! I remember the photo albums
and such but I forgot they actually MEET! How cute is it that Richard acts vague and dazed right after? :D
-The scene where Mary Anne takes out her braids has stuck with me after all these years. I’m thinking Richard was probably struck by how much she looked like Alma. </3
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Ha, yes! Maybe that should have been the tagline ;)
But at the same time, I amused myself thinking that Richard probably fears she’ll put up "rebellious" posters of rock stars or whatever, but all she really wants is kittens!
Lmao I was thinking the same thing during that scene. Kittens, Richard! Kittens!
Mary Anne’s insights over the Prezzioso family are also really interesting
The Prezziosos are fascinating. As an adult I find myself way more interested in the adult characters and their various marriages/relationships/friendships and whatnot, but the Prezziosos' marriage intrigued me even as a child.
The scene where Mary Anne takes out her braids has stuck with me after all these years. I’m thinking Richard was probably struck by how much she looked like Alma.
I had that thought too. It's simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking </3
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Omg, my thoughts exactly </3
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FEELS. ♥
- Surprised by Kristy being the job-hog! She's such a stickler for the club rules.
- “Maybe I am shy,” I said loudly, edging toward the door. “And maybe I am quiet, but you guys cannot step all over me. You want to know what I think? I think you, Stacey, are a conceited snob; and you, Claudia, are a stuck-up job-hog; and you, Kristin Amanda Thomas, are the biggest, bossiest know-it-all in the world, and I don’t care if I never see you again!”
DAMN that escalated fast, but GO MARY ANNE! I love it when she sticks up for herself. This book may be my absolute favourite for this very reason.
- I love how carefully Mary Anne writes her apology note to Claudia. She uses fresh paper and her best pen, and makes sure the creases are neat!
- Claudia was leaning on her elbows, her hair falling over her shoulders, whispering to Trevor. He was listening with a smile on his face. They looked very private and very cozy.
AWwww :D
- I wasn’t sure that I had ever made a new friend all on my own.
Awwww :(
- Burnt Hill Road feels like the wrong sort of address for Mrs Prezzioso
- I *love* learning BSC parent names! Nick and Madeleine Prezzioso! I want fic about them. Was she always classy and a bit out of Nick's league? Did she take pity on him when he asked her out, and then fell in love? Maybe she wanted to take care of him because he reminded her of a lost puppy.
- Richard is a criminal lawyer! This makes me ridiculously happy, because I think John Pike is like a corporate lawyer and he works for a tile company or something? Come on John, that's boring. But damn, Richard is straight-up Atticus Finch.
Omg now I want fic where he gets on the bad side of the wrong people and SHIT GOES DOWN. Maybe in the right circumstances he turns into Liam Neeson from Taken.
- They go on to talk about an appeal, but I didn't think the prosecution could appeal if the defendent was found not guilty? Get it together, Richard.
- Mary Anne doesn't like tea! This clashes with my headcanon. And several things I've written in fic.
.... CANON BE DAMNED.
- Mary Anne and Mimi, oh my gosh. ♥
- Mood whiplash when Claud overhears the "my Mary Anne" comment D:
- PIKES ♥ But ugh, so frustrating that Kristy is being so obnoxious she won't talk to Mary Anne even while at a job.
- “He spelled ‘all right’ all wrong,” Dawn remarked.
I think of this line ALL THE TIME. I absolutely cannot bring myself to write 'alright', and whenever someone else does, I think of Dawn.
- THE SCENE WITH RICHARD AND MA
FEEEEELS ♥
- Omg the scene at the Newtons is so awkward and horrible, I hate it so much D:
- Then I said, “Dad? Did you ever know someone named Sharon Porter?”
Dad choked on a mouthful of carrots and had to drink some water before he could answer.
Omg ♥ And he gets all dreamy and vague for the rest of the evening. Oh Richard. ♥