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Monica Turns Up Trumps

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#1: Monica Turns Up Trumps Author: Rachael,

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:28 am

Please discuss here:

#2: Author: Guest,

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 1:58 pm

Well since no-one else has spoken, I say my piece. I enjoyed this book. It provides a lot of background to the Marailliar (spelling wrong) and McNab families, as well as others who join the CS when it moves to Hereford. There are two main plot threads, the first is Monica being removed from her beloved school (shades of Heather Leaves School) for not doing well and attending a much smaller, but more challenging school and not initially fitting in. Secondly, her two cousins from Africa return 'home' for an English education and the eldest, Vicky, finds it difficult to settle into a different home environment, where her opinion is no longer valued or considered. Vicky and Monica rub each other the wrong way, which is finally resolved when Vicky borrows one of Monica's string of beads for a party, which Monica values as a present from Venice, and then loses them (plot I've read somewhere). After much searching, and soul searching by Vicky they turn up in the flower bed and Vicky apologises to Monica and relations begin to improve. There are some good scenes at their school and it shows Monica slowly adopting to a new ethos of working hard. All in all even if it was a CS connector, a book I'm glad I've read. Even well honed plots are handled well and seem fresh and realistic. Ellen (at work)

#3: Author: Kate, Location: Ireland

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:31 pm

Anonymous wrote:

After much searching, and soul searching by Vicky they turn up in the flower bed and Vicky apologises to Monica and relations begin to improve.

Wasn't there a vague suggestion that they didn't actually turn up in the flowerbed and that Aunt Peggy in fact ordered new ones in an effort to restore the peace? Or was that just me reading too much into things?

#4: Author: Joey, Location: Cambridge

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:13 pm

Aunt Peggy did order some new ones, but they were given as a Christmas present. It did occur to me that if the originals hadn't turned up she might have planted them, but that might be me reading too much into things! I liked this book, and not just as a CS connector. I thought Monica's gradual reform was very realistic, as was the characterisation of all three girls. I liked the home and school aspects of the story. It's always nice to get the background of characters who later turn up at the CS, and conversely I can see why EBD wanted to write more about the Marilliars & McNabs.

#5: Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:16 pm

She'd ordered new ones, then the original ones turned up and then everyone got terribly nice to each other (sorry don't want to spoil the plot too much) I really enjoyed this, it was the first non CS I'd read and probably due to the connecting characters felt very much of the series. The characters seem pretty believable and the reformations aren't an all at once job, but more gradual.

#6: Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!!

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:38 pm

I really liked the story too (despite spending half the book shouting 'look in the flower bed!') It was good to the see the background to Monica and her relationship with her cousins, though having read other EBD's since it bares quite a few similarities with both Heather Leaves School and Stepsisters for Lorna, but then I think EBD does changing family dynamics quite well. I also likedthe Christmassy scenes at the end, its a good book to read at Xmas!!

#7: Author: Catrin, Location: Wirral (holidays), Oxford (term)

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 6:54 pm

I didn't spot that they were in the flower bed till everyone else found them! I really liked the book - I thought it was a bit more Angela Brazil than EBD (The Youngest Girl in the Fifth, in particular) and I read it straight through three times on a long train journey.

#8: Author: Joyce,

Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 9:06 am

I read in another thread that it was pretty obvious where the necklace was. "it is?" I thought. Went back and re read and re read the chapter and finally found a snippet which could have been an explanation. Aunt Peggy orders a new necklace but I could never figure out whether it arrives by Christmas or not as Monica's presents are listed but the necklace is not there. The description of it was pretty nice though and I can fully understand why Vicky was tempted to borrow it.

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