A review by ssshira
Claudia and the Great Search by Ann M. Martin
3.0
this is my first time reading this book!
for a bunch of totally ludicrous reasons, claudia develops a theory that she is adopted. she tries to find evidence of it and even tries to find her "birth parents". meanwhile, emily michelle brewer is having a rough time -- she is having attachment problems (which makes sense because her birth mother died and she got sent to live with a new family pretty recently) and she is having language acquisition problems (which makes sense because she only heard vietnamese up until she came to the united states pretty recently). claudia tutors her and she does really well.
highlights:
-claudia's elaborate paranoia is so funny and in character. "maybe someone had stolen me from a hospital and sold me to a crooked lawyer who had let mom and dad (the people I thought were my real parents) adopt me for a huge sum of money. then mom and dad took me home, but later they found out that I was stolen, only they were afraid to return me. maybe we all had different identities now. we were incognito and on the lam."
-in general, claudia thinking she is adopted is a really annoying plotline. it's believable as a sort of manifestation of the personal fable/exactly how adolescent psychology works. but it's still annoying. so why did I put this under highlights? because claudia is such a little wannabe nancy drew in this book, and I love it. it's like she's so bored with her life so she needs to concoct these elaborate mysteries to solve, and while that's an annoying teenager thing, it's still SO CLAUDIA that I find it charming.
-all the emily stuff is really well-done. I like how concerned kristy is, and I like how david michael is upset that emily is getting so much attention. also claudia is a really good teacher, unsurprisingly (I mean, she taught art in [b:Claudia and the Sad Good-bye|399806|Claudia and the Sad Good-bye (The Baby-sitters Club, #26)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174438107s/399806.jpg|2227699] and in general she is really good with kids and good at anything she cares about).
lowlights:
-once again a reference to mary anne becoming secretary only because she has good handwriting. SHE WANTED TO BE SECRETARY! ann, do you not remember [b:Kristy's Great Idea|233722|Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club, #1)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389241314s/233722.jpg|2302767]? you WROTE that book!
-claudia talks about how being a teacher (to emily michelle) is hard and how she has more respect for her teachers who probably had to work extra hard to help her. I do not believe that claudia could be that conscious of her teachers' feelings. she is way too self-centered for that.
-the perkins girls (ages 5 and 2) know how to bake cookies because they are unbelievably perfect.
-once again stacey being tired is referenced. what is this foreshadowing?! AGH!
claudia outfit:
-"I...was dressed in one of my usual wild outfits -- a very short black skirt, an oversized white shirt with bright pink and turquoise poodles printed on it, flat turquoise shoes with ankle straps, and a ton of jewelry, including dangly poodle earrings. My long hair was swept to one side in a high ponytail held in place with a huge pink barrette."
claudia's "evidence" that she's adopted and the explanations that her parents give her:
-there are very few baby pictures of her compared to a ton of baby pictures of janine - because she's not the first child (and first children tend to have more photos while second children have fewer)
-she acts differently from her family - because that just happens in families! people are different!
-she doesn't look like her family members - she actually looks just like mimi did when she was thirteen
-she finds a locked box in a desk and assumes her adoption papers are in there - it's actually full of cash that her parents keep around for emergencies
-she can't find a birth announcement in the microfiche of the stoneybrook news - the announcement is in the gazette, a paper that was discontinued a while ago
snacks in claudia's room:
-mini chocolate bars under the quilt at the foot of her bed
-pretzels behind her pillow
for a bunch of totally ludicrous reasons, claudia develops a theory that she is adopted. she tries to find evidence of it and even tries to find her "birth parents". meanwhile, emily michelle brewer is having a rough time -- she is having attachment problems (which makes sense because her birth mother died and she got sent to live with a new family pretty recently) and she is having language acquisition problems (which makes sense because she only heard vietnamese up until she came to the united states pretty recently). claudia tutors her and she does really well.
highlights:
-claudia's elaborate paranoia is so funny and in character. "maybe someone had stolen me from a hospital and sold me to a crooked lawyer who had let mom and dad (the people I thought were my real parents) adopt me for a huge sum of money. then mom and dad took me home, but later they found out that I was stolen, only they were afraid to return me. maybe we all had different identities now. we were incognito and on the lam."
-in general, claudia thinking she is adopted is a really annoying plotline. it's believable as a sort of manifestation of the personal fable/exactly how adolescent psychology works. but it's still annoying. so why did I put this under highlights? because claudia is such a little wannabe nancy drew in this book, and I love it. it's like she's so bored with her life so she needs to concoct these elaborate mysteries to solve, and while that's an annoying teenager thing, it's still SO CLAUDIA that I find it charming.
-all the emily stuff is really well-done. I like how concerned kristy is, and I like how david michael is upset that emily is getting so much attention. also claudia is a really good teacher, unsurprisingly (I mean, she taught art in [b:Claudia and the Sad Good-bye|399806|Claudia and the Sad Good-bye (The Baby-sitters Club, #26)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174438107s/399806.jpg|2227699] and in general she is really good with kids and good at anything she cares about).
lowlights:
-once again a reference to mary anne becoming secretary only because she has good handwriting. SHE WANTED TO BE SECRETARY! ann, do you not remember [b:Kristy's Great Idea|233722|Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club, #1)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389241314s/233722.jpg|2302767]? you WROTE that book!
-claudia talks about how being a teacher (to emily michelle) is hard and how she has more respect for her teachers who probably had to work extra hard to help her. I do not believe that claudia could be that conscious of her teachers' feelings. she is way too self-centered for that.
-the perkins girls (ages 5 and 2) know how to bake cookies because they are unbelievably perfect.
-once again stacey being tired is referenced. what is this foreshadowing?! AGH!
claudia outfit:
-"I...was dressed in one of my usual wild outfits -- a very short black skirt, an oversized white shirt with bright pink and turquoise poodles printed on it, flat turquoise shoes with ankle straps, and a ton of jewelry, including dangly poodle earrings. My long hair was swept to one side in a high ponytail held in place with a huge pink barrette."
claudia's "evidence" that she's adopted and the explanations that her parents give her:
-there are very few baby pictures of her compared to a ton of baby pictures of janine - because she's not the first child (and first children tend to have more photos while second children have fewer)
-she acts differently from her family - because that just happens in families! people are different!
-she doesn't look like her family members - she actually looks just like mimi did when she was thirteen
-she finds a locked box in a desk and assumes her adoption papers are in there - it's actually full of cash that her parents keep around for emergencies
-she can't find a birth announcement in the microfiche of the stoneybrook news - the announcement is in the gazette, a paper that was discontinued a while ago
snacks in claudia's room:
-mini chocolate bars under the quilt at the foot of her bed
-pretzels behind her pillow