It’s a good metaphor tho, because the situation is never going to get better if you don’t eventually pull the door. And afterwards, no matter what the damage was, you’ll have a working cabinet, whatever plates you could salvage, and a place to start putting new plates.
Re-creating my first webcomic from 12 years ago, "Hair Expectations vs Reality."
I can't help but feel all kinds of emotions after re-visiting the original comic: the one that started it all. A lot has changed since then, and I feel so fortunate to still create art and tell stories for a living. Thanks for your support, and sticking around for so long ❤️
okay, this is my thoughts on raquel saves the wedding! this is coming first because i read it before the diary, but they are definitely intended to be read the other way around. oops!
i will probably make another post about some things that come up about samantha's world, but this post is going to try and stick to this book as its own product (but there's definitely going to be some overlap because this book is way too invested in intertwining raquel with samantha in a way that makes little sense to me)
(in case you haven't guessed, the tldr is that i think this book did not exactly stick the landing)
lots of thoughts, spoilers, and quite a bit of me being critical under the cut!
first of all, WHERE is the glossary for the spanish in this? i understand glossaries can be a way of othering and that there are some great conversations to be had about making a deliberate choice to not include one... but that's clearly not what's going on. ag has historically included glossaries because they are an important reading support for this level of readers. they're also still absolutely trying to market themselves as an Educational Product based on the advisory board bs they pull at the end (yes i AM still salty about this book's nostalgia baiting, why do you ask), so like... where is the glossary!!! make it make sense!!!
what's with all the taylor swift references. like i am a fan of her music and i am still weirded out by the amount of references
okay so the above pic has raquel randomly speaking directly to the reader? i initially thought this part was just taken from her diary, but that turned out to NOT BE THE CASE so i have NO IDEA WHY THIS HAPPENED (it never happens again!! ag where have all your editors gone!)
harper/jordan are kind of intriguing as cornelia/gard parallels (do we think there's any chance jordan was named that as like an easter egg for gard's actor? like almost definitely not but i'm going to pretend lol). of course, we like barely get to know them because this story goes in five thousand directions but it's fine i guess
i am so glad that there's lots of illustrations of all sizes throughout the book but i reaaaaally can't get over how bland this era of illustration is compared to what the brand started with
there's way too much going on in this one book!! like why are we doing ocean-stewardship + mexican heritage + sloan having issues + uncovering parkington family history + deejaying + pickleball+ wedding? it literally cheapens every one of these plots AND makes the amount of time spent on samantha really feel weird because, like, she's not the main character here! (like unfortunately she is. but she's not supposed to be!)
really personal ick but i HATE how much phones are mentioned throughout the story; most of the time it literally adds nothing to the plot either so like whyyyyyyyy
FUNNIEST WAY TO BRING UP SAMANTHA'S PARENTS DEATHS THANK YOU AMERICAN GIRL
annnnnd immediate shift to something i hated about this book: raquel has this crazy-perfect-therapy-speak whenever she talks to sloan about the issues they're having. it's so jarring to have this ten-year-old suddenly have Perfect Conflict Management skills and it feels like an adult has suddenly possessed her body. do y'all remember how some of the girls would fight in older books? if not, let me quickly show you an example and compare it with another bit from this book (i could say a lot more about this and what it means for the ag books as a whole but i'm going to let the contrast speak for itself for the moment):
okay quick shift to a suuuuuuper nit-picky issue, but why are we having snickerdoodles at samantha's house??? why not gingerbread??? (could it be perhaps because we are too afraid to mention a certain girl samantha shared that gingerbread with?)
also also. why is a letter that samantha wrote to agnes and agatha in her things that are stored in the attic? like i understand it's For The Plot, but it makes no logical sense and the same thing could've easily been accomplished and made sense by just having the letter be from the twins to samantha
"no way--samantha would be a deejay?" had me CACKLING
okay so the pickleball plot ends up being a mixed bag for me. i love that there's some real fear and worry that they wouldn't actually accomplish the donation goal... and i do not like how quickly and perfectly it gets solved. having the other kids donate their winnings OR their dad help would've maybe felt a little less unrealistic but could've been tolerable, but having all of them come through in the end felt like a massive fantasy. again, this plot would've really been served by having it not have to be resolved in like two chapters! let raquel stumble and have to problem-solve a little more!
i am also #hater re. the veil plot line. it's a) a lazy callback that really adds nothing to the story other than more samantha talk and b) that veil would've YELLOWED by then! it's not going to be pristine enough to wear! they literally acknowledge that sam's white sailor suit has yellowed with time, why are they acting like that wouldn't have happened to lydia/cornelia's veil!
okay FINE, i might've teared up a little at the above quote!! like, guys, they've gotten to be GIRLS together!!! AAHHHH
uuhhhhh raquel ends up RANDOMLY CHOOSING harper and jordan's first dance song when she has to fill in as deejay???!? girllllllll...
yay for the reader questions! i do actually really like this as an addition to the ag books (though the one about grandma meg versus abuela rosie makes me confused since i feel like we barely got to know either one of them)
for those of you who have the new book that comes with the samantha doll, can you tell me if the end section on samantha in this book is pulled at all from that? it really feels like it could be just reused from whatever that book is:/ (also this end section on samantha is literally just an ad but for like... products that don't exist anymore??? someone please tell me what the strategy is here)
okay as much as i'm not sure we should've been cramming the dolphin plot line into this book, i do like the ending nonfiction section! it reminds me a lot of real stories that were shared in the ag magazine
to be clear re. the advisory board, i might be a hater about them trying to prop up their educational credentials, but i do also love the transparency of having the advisory boards listed. getting to read their bios is neat! i just wish they had, ya know, been able to contribute to a book that was actually good
that is it!! i hope you had fun reading my thoughts--do come share yours!
Right, okay, hi there OP I am sorry I need to borrow your post for a second. I'll give it right back, no worries.
SOOOOOO: Reth.
This is about Reth. He is 100% that character because he literally tells you he is trouble. He tells you he has a bad reputation. And he does. And yes, being with him brings some troublesome dynamics because of his work but Reth?
Reth isn't dangerous.
Reth isn't the bad guy.
He is far from it. He was the jittering young boy, gritting his teeth, hoping that one day what he does bring him enough money to be able to stop doing what he does. And he's not that young anymore but apart from that, he is still that same person. He craves loves and affection, he gets flustered and anxious and he wants nothing more than for everyone to be happy. Even if he isn't. He is far from being a terrible person and yet he believes he is because of the things he's forced to do.
Gosh, my poor baby. I just want him to be free. Not just from the [redacted because spoilers] but also after [redacted] has done this big thing for him in the L5 quest...I want him to feel free to finally find that person again that doesn't have to constantly adapt and survive.
Okay bye. You can have your post back. I just needed to vent about my baby again.
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