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A review by finesilkflower
Claudia and the Great Search by Ann M. Martin
4.0
Claudia becomes convinced that she was secretly adopted.
Inspired by Kristy’s adopted sister Emily Michelle, Claudia wonders if she, too, was adopted. It would explain her differences in appearance and personality from her parents and Janine, and the suspicious comparative disparity in number of baby pictures between the two daughters. After reading the book [b:Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye|12934|Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye|Lois Lowry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924385s/12934.jpg|2534075], she launches into full Nancy Drew investigation mode. She seeks out medical and birth announcement records, and actually calls some people she thinks might be her birth parents, but meets a lot of dead ends. Finally, she asks her parents, who assure her that she is not adopted and that in fact she looks a lot like Mimi did at her age.
Meanwhile, Emily Michelle is having language difficulties, so Claudia plays games with her, teaching her shapes and colors. Mrs. Thomas is impressed and hires her as a tutor; Claudia realizes may not have Janine’s brains, but she is a patient, understanding teacher.
I actually really like the plot of this book. It ends up being much ado about nothing, but that somehow makes it feel more profound, unlike most "everything has a logical explanation after all" mysteries. An adoption conspiracy is the kind of fantasy a kid might easily blow out of proportion, especially a kid with a strong feeling of alienation from her family. (It’s also, I think, the kind of thing kids just like to daydream about, as evidenced by the popularity of books like "The Face on the Milk Carton.") This is a particularly poignant story placed as it is in the continuity, the first Claudia book after Mimi’s death. Claudia’s attempts to discover the truth are thorough and inventive but still fundamentally flawed in a way that seems realistic for a kid schooled in research by mystery novels. And I do love a good research yarn.
Mild Racism Alert: Claudia supposes she might not even be Japanese; she might be Chinese or even Hawaiian. Even giving her "magical thinking" leeway, does she really think all look same?
Revised Timeline: This is where I figure out how old the baby-sitters would be if they aged. Late spring of ninth grade
Inspired by Kristy’s adopted sister Emily Michelle, Claudia wonders if she, too, was adopted. It would explain her differences in appearance and personality from her parents and Janine, and the suspicious comparative disparity in number of baby pictures between the two daughters. After reading the book [b:Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye|12934|Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye|Lois Lowry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924385s/12934.jpg|2534075], she launches into full Nancy Drew investigation mode. She seeks out medical and birth announcement records, and actually calls some people she thinks might be her birth parents, but meets a lot of dead ends. Finally, she asks her parents, who assure her that she is not adopted and that in fact she looks a lot like Mimi did at her age.
Meanwhile, Emily Michelle is having language difficulties, so Claudia plays games with her, teaching her shapes and colors. Mrs. Thomas is impressed and hires her as a tutor; Claudia realizes may not have Janine’s brains, but she is a patient, understanding teacher.
I actually really like the plot of this book. It ends up being much ado about nothing, but that somehow makes it feel more profound, unlike most "everything has a logical explanation after all" mysteries. An adoption conspiracy is the kind of fantasy a kid might easily blow out of proportion, especially a kid with a strong feeling of alienation from her family. (It’s also, I think, the kind of thing kids just like to daydream about, as evidenced by the popularity of books like "The Face on the Milk Carton.") This is a particularly poignant story placed as it is in the continuity, the first Claudia book after Mimi’s death. Claudia’s attempts to discover the truth are thorough and inventive but still fundamentally flawed in a way that seems realistic for a kid schooled in research by mystery novels. And I do love a good research yarn.
Mild Racism Alert: Claudia supposes she might not even be Japanese; she might be Chinese or even Hawaiian. Even giving her "magical thinking" leeway, does she really think all look same?
Revised Timeline: This is where I figure out how old the baby-sitters would be if they aged. Late spring of ninth grade