Most helpful customer reviews
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Tug of War - ABCs of Divorce, Nov 8 2005
By A Customer
Andrea (Andy) at 10 is living out of a suitcase. She alternates her weeks between her divorced parents. Her father has remarried Carrie, a post-Woodstock flower child who has 5-year-old twins Zen and Crystal from a previous marriage. She is pregnant with her third child, a girl. Andrea tries to make sense out of this by going through the ABCs of divorce, with each chapter going down the alphabet. Andrea's mother has also remarried. Andrea dislikes her widower stepfather and calls him the Baboon. He has bratty Katie, 10 who is thoroughly spoiled; Grant, 12 and Paula, 14 who are pleasant and reasonable. I just hated the way Andrea's mother defended Katie regardless. She wouldn't even LISTEN to Andrea's side! Katie treated Andrea badly with impunity and that bothered me. Even though one could sympathize with her fear of dying in her sleep, because as Grant explained, Katie was told when their mother died that death "was like going to sleep." Still, that doesn't excuse her execrable treatment of Andrea and her malicious sneakiness. People who glorify Other People's Children to their own and let themselves be conned and beguiled by Other People's Children make me tired. Sneaky Katie lies; destroys Andrea's things and ridicules her for being inordinately attached to her stuffed rabbit, Radish. I think Katie was a grade-A brat. I disliked the way Andrea's parents used her as a pawn against each other. When the girl became ill and couldn't leave one home for another, once again her natural parents try to use her against each other. Another thing that bothered me was the way each parent spoke against the other's new spouse to Andrea. I thought that was way out of place. I also disliked the Baboon's parents because they excluded Andrea and made a big point of buying presents for their natural grandchildren. Andrea's school work suffers; she and her parents see a counselor who talks down to Andrea and is generally irksome. I didn't like the cloying, annoying way she spoke to Andrea. In time, Andrea accepts the fact that she is the link in two extended families; Katie will continue being allowed to get away with murder, but at least she has the twins, Grant, Paula and some kind neighbors who have moved into her former house on her side. The house she pines for is called Mulberry Cottage. That in turn makes me think of the inane song, "here we go 'round the mulberry bush." Plenty of thorny characters in this story.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Tug of War - ABCs of Divorce, Nov 2 2005
By A Customer
Andrea (Andy) at 10 is living out of a suitcase. She alternates her weeks between her divorced parents. Her father has remarried Carrie, a post-Woodstock flower child who has 5-year-old twins Zen and Crystal from a previous marriage. She is pregnant with her third child, a girl. Andrea tries to make sense out of this by going through the ABCs of divorce, with each chapter going down the alphabet. Andrea's mother has also remarried. Andrea dislikes her widower stepfather and calls him the Baboon. He has bratty Katie, 10 who is thoroughly spoiled; Grant, 12 and Paula, 14 who are pleasant and reasonable. I just hated the way Andrea's mother defended Katie regardless. She wouldn't even LISTEN to Andrea's side! Katie treated Andrea badly with impunity and that bothered me. Even though one could sympathize with her fear of dying in her sleep, because as Grant explained, Katie was told when their mother died that death "was like going to sleep." Still, that doesn't excuse her execrable treatment of Andrea and her malicious sneakiness. People who glorify Other People's Children to their own and let themselves be conned and beguiled by Other People's Children make me tired. Sneaky Katie lies; destroys Andrea's things and ridicules her for being inordinately attached to her stuffed rabbit, Radish. I think Katie was a grade-A brat. I disliked the way Andrea's parents used her as a pawn against each other. When the girl became ill and couldn't leave one home for another, once again her natural parents try to use her against each other. Another thing that bothered me was the way each parent spoke against the other's new spouse. I also disliked the Baboon's parents because they excluded Andrea and made a big point of buying presents for their natural grandchildren. Andrea's school work suffers; she and her parents see a counselor who talks down to Andrea and is generally irksome. I didn't like the cloying, annoying way she spoke to Andrea. In time, Andrea accepts the fact that she is the link in two extended families; Katie will continue being allowed to get away with murder, but at least she has the twins, Grant, Paula and some kind neighbors who have moved into her former house on her side. The house she pines for is called Mulberry Cottage. That in turn makes me think of the inane song, "here we go 'round the mulberry bush." Plenty of thorny characters in this story.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
When the parents split up, where do you fit in?, Mar 19 2001
Andy West's parents have divorced and have started new lives with other partners. Andy is to spend one week with her mother and the "Baboon" and his miserable children. While there, she is forced to share her step-sister Katie's room, and Katie goes out of her way to make Andy miserable. On the weeks Andy stays with her dad and his "new agey" wife Carrie, she shares a room with 5 year old twins Zen and Crystal, and their mess. To add to the misery, Carrie is pregnant. The only one who understands's Andy's confusion is her constant companion Radish, a tiny toy rabbit. Radish understands how Andy misses the tiny cottage she and her parents shared. Radish understands how hard it is to make people you barely know, your family. Radish understands how hard it is to remember all your schoolwork and belongings when you stay at two places. All Andy wants is a place for her and Radish to feel at home. One day she and Radish discover a tiny, hidden garden, that they long to make their own. This is a sensitive story of divorce and one child trying to cope with events out of her control. Once again, Jacqueline Wilson has displayed an uncanny understanding of the needs of a child, and a true ear for dialog. This is a sweet book and a must read for anyone you know who has been touched by divorce.
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