It must be true, I saw it on Youtube, or Pony Pals #36: The Pony and the Haunted Barn

Wanna know what's sad? I started this book A MONTH AGO! IN FEBRUARY! It was so boring, however, that I left the last 30 pages unread and left the book under my dresser, convinced I'd finish it one of these days.
Well, now it's Spring Break, basketball is over, and I actually have some free time, so here we go with this book. I might just summarize it, seing as I don't remember why I marked any of the following 90 pages.



Plot: We all know that Pam Crandall does not believe in ghosts. Yet one day, as the Pony Pals explore an abandoned barn in Morristown, something keeps freaking out the ponies, and one of these "ghosts" touches Pam!
Lulu and Anna are all set to believe that it's the ghost of Mr. Warner, who was so sad after his pony ran away, followed by his house burning down.
Pam, rational as ever, refuses to believe it was a ghost. She suggests all manner of realistic things, such as Tommy and Mike, the wind, and their own twisted 10-year-old minds.
The Pony Pals insist that Pam be "more openminded".
Pam retorts that THEY'RE the ones who aren't openminded, because they won't believe it's NOT a ghost.
Smooth, Pam.
The girls go back to snoop around the barn even more, but they can't find the barn!! They draw maps, retrace their steps, use bloodhounds, but it's no use; the barn just cannot be found!
No worries; the Pony Pals switch directions and head to the Historical Society, where they find out more about Mr. Warner, the "ghost" of the barn they found. It seems that the death of his wife and child, not the loss of his pony, were the reasons for his retreat from society. He died of a heart attack, not of a broken heart.
Finally, the Pony Pals are able to find the barn...or the ruins of the barn. It turns out the Warner barn has been ruined for some time, but the day they visited was the anniversary of the day it burned down. :O Spooky...sort of.
Pam still doesn't believe in ghosts...or so she says. She admits to Lightning that if she ever does meet a ghost, she hopes it's a nice one.

Okay, that was a waste of 20 minutes. Oh well.
I have Madison Finn #13, but I'm hesitant to read it, even though it's due in a couple days.
It's just that I've put 3 other Pony Pals on order, and I might be able to buy MF's #11 and #12, and possibly Pony Pals #25 (FINALLY).
It probably won't happen soon, though, so you'll see #13 in a couople of days, followed by Avalon's #3 and #4 (after which there will be no more Avalons because the rest of the series was never published), then the entire Madison Finn series (practically, anyway). Should be fun. Or not.

It's the circle of life, or Pony Pals #34: The Pony and the Lost Swan

Pony Pals, Pony Pals, oh how I missed you. It's been nothing but unicorns, magic, and teenagers for a long time. I've been missing you guys, as well as Maddie Finn.



Plot: Lulu and Snow White are riding with their friends by Lake Appamapog when they find swan feathers. Lulu is obsessed with swans, so they look around to see if they can find any, and lo and behold, there they are, out on the lake! The Pony Pals name the swan and her three cygnets stupid things and admire the beautiful scene for a million years.
Then Mr. Kline comes by in his truck and tells them about the swan's mate, which was shot with a bow and arrow last week. He also instructs them to warn people not to leave their fishing line lying around, as it could kill the swans.
The Pony Pals go out and bother Tommy, because he likes to fish.
The next day, the Pony Pals go to visit the swans again...and find Friendly and Bottom Up, two of the cygnets, all by themselves!! Where are White Feathers and Slowpoke? White Feathers would never leave her babies by themselves!
They put the two babies in a box and take them to the animal shelter.
Later, they find White Feathers tangled up in fishing line. Curse you, Tommy Rand. They send her to the animal ER, too.
White Feathers is reunited with her babies and slowly recovers, but they still can't find Slowpoke! Hm, maybe she died. But the Pony Pals are convinced the cygnet is still alive.
She is. Back to her mother she goes.
After White Feathers recovers, they take the swans back to the lake and put up a sign warning people not to leave their fishing line lying around. Everyone gathers to watch the swans frolic in the water. Joyous days.

More notes:
The copy the library gave me was a hardcover. Seriously, a hardcover Pony Pals! Ghettofabulous.

I hate that bad behavior is written off as "curiosity".

How descriptive Pam. "Swans are really beautiful and big."

"The babies are adorable, but they're brown, not white." Kind of like 101 Dalmations. "WHERE ARE THE SPOTS?"

Uh oh, these swans don't have a father. Irresponsible swan fathers, never pay child support.

Lulu: *looking at the mother swan* White Feathers. She's White Feathers.
Pam: How do you know her name?
Lulu: It just popped into my head.
Anna: It's a perfect name for her.
Hm, maybe because she has WHITE FEATHERS.

Ugh. Lulu sang to some swans in England and they started dancing. Like a ballet. Ha. Swan Lake. Okaaay, enough of that.

They sing, "Make New Friends, but Keep the Old." THAT'S A GIRL SCOUTS SONG!

They name the babies Friendly, Slowpoke, and Bottom Up (because she resembles a shot glass).

ROFL. I love how blunt Mr. Kline is.
Anna: I wonder where he is now.
Mr. Kline: The male was killed last week.
Pam: That's so awful.
Lulu: How was he killed?
Mr. Kline: He was shot with a bow and arrow. His mate was very upset.
They should try to solve the mystery of this swan's murder. Like on "Monk".

OMG!!!
Mr. Kline: There were four cygnets the last time I was here. I guess one of them didn't make it.
Lulu: Was the cygnet shot with a bow and arrow, too?
Mr. Kline: I don't think so. I bet a snapping turtle got it. They go after cygnets and goslings. Or a hawk could have swooped down and taken it.
I love how he's casually chatting about death with 10-year-old girls!! This is hilarious!

Tommy: Let's go, Mike.
Mike: Sure. We're out of here, buddy.
Buddy? They're so gay together. Or at least Mike likes Tommy, like Dumbledore liked Gellert.

Ooh, the Pony Pals get in a fight with those rowdy boys.
Tommy: The BORING Pony Pests!
Anna: The DUMB, RUDE Bike Buddies!
Oh dear, this is getting heated.

They eat grilled-cheese-and-TOMATO sandwiches. This is an improvement. At least they're getting their vegetables.

Snow White gets caught in some fishing line. Heh.

How random. Friendly and Bottom Up pop out of nowhere.

Lulu is the best detective. Acorn is the best pony detective. They should work together.
That's seriously how sentences go in this book.

Dang, White Feathers has fish hooks stuck in her body. Ouch.

Pam isn't the best problem solver. "If we cut the fishing line, she could swim away with the hooks. If we take out the hooks, she could bleed."
How about you take her to the ANIMAL HOSPITAL.

I find it hard to believe that Ms. Raskins is the only one working at the shelter right now. Take a break and save the swan. "No, I'm busy, you irresponsible 10-year-olds need to bring it to me yourselves."

They enlist the help of Mr. Kline.

Whatever. This swan would be attacking them. Swans are MEAN. But White Feathers sits calmly while they remove pieces of metal from her flesh.

Whoa, since when is Mr. Kline a fireman? He owns a hardware store!

"We don't want to frighten her by bringing her indoors. There's a hawk in the examining room."
HA. That could end badly.

In the picture, there are THREE babies, but in the story, one is still missing. Way to go, Paul Bachem.

Ms. Raskins is lame. She complains about being overworked and understaffed a lot. How many animals could there be in Wiggins, Population 24?

The Pony Pals have to take care of White Feathers themselves. Laaame.

White Feathers almost chokes to death on some food because of some fishing line. And she lets Lulu cut it off her. THIS IS NOT TYPICAL SWAN BEHAVIOR.

Lulu has such a connection with animals. Not so much with people.
Actually, that's true of me, too.

First there were four swan babies. Then there were three.
ROFL.

Anna thinks Slowpoke is lost forever. Lulu reprimands her friend for being such a pessimist.
Actually, Lulu, it's called realism.

"The Pony Pests are everywhere. Call the exterminator!"
Ha. Ha. Ha.

Oh dear, Tommy starts mimicking Anna. What a jerk. Wait, these boys are how old??

Uh oh. Mike agrees to be more careful with his fishing line, but Tommy refuses. Come on, Mike, convince your boyfriend to obey.

EW, Mike looks exactly like this kid I used to HATE in 6th grade.

They find Slowpoke. She was pretending to be a bump on a log. No lies.

The Pony Pals do these late night watch things quite often and never seem to get tired.

Lulu thinks of their adventure with White Feathers as a horror movie with some happy parts. Hopefully it will have a happy ending. Darn. I was looking for a gory ending.

LAME. They decide to make a sign about the swans, and assume that Mr. Kline will donate the supplies they need because they cost a lot of money and it's for a good cause. The Pony Pals, I've noticed, aren't exactly smart about money.

Anna: Where's your bad-boy buddy?
Mike: Stop saying Tommy's bad. You just don't know him like I do. He's a great guy.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAY WHEN YOU'RE IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP! MIKE IS GAY FOR TOMMY!

They suspect Tommy of killing the male swan!! :O

It wasn't him. But the Pony Pals want to assume it was. Because they're prejudiced.

Everyone surrounds the swans and sings "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" to them. LOL. Then the book ends with the typical thanking of the ponies. "Thank you. Thank you for saving the swans." How redundant.

That one wasn't as good as "The Magic Pony", where Mike is even gayer for Tommy, Rema straightens her hair, and Anna decides to be an actress. What drama. Oh, and we learn the real reason behind Mr. and Mrs. Lacey's divorce!!

Bad behavior implies illness, or Pony Pals #33: What's Wrong With My Pony?

Yay, I'm back! I haven't posted for a while because I was reading a bunch of "Unicorns of Balinor" and some really tedious "Avalons" and I didn't want to post knowing those would come after this. Oh well. I've got some new Pony Pals, too, so that makes me feel a little bit better.



Plot: Lightning, Pam's usually well-behaved pony, is acting up! She bites her friends, attacks Pam, and almost tramples several people! Pam thinks Lightning is jealous because Pam rode Splash for all of two seconds. Right. That was her problem in book 6, too.
The Pony Pals, who are a tad smarter than Pam, suggest that Lightning has some disease or illness that is making her act up. Hm, could it be Equine ADHD?
They look online and find a page on "Lyme Disease". The symptoms listed on the page match Lightning's symptoms exactly!!
Dr. Crandal isn't convinced. He sends some of Lightning's DNA to the lab...and she has Lyme Disease!
I always thought Lyme Disease was one of those diseases that you have for the rest of your life. I read it in a Brio story. I guess they were wrong.
The rest of the book, Pam whines about how much she misses her pony and how she's never going to get better.
But she gets better. Obviously. Hurray.

More notes:
The Crandal twins are five again. They shall forever be five, I think.

Isn't Splash difficult every day?

Yeah, Splash is an Appaloosa. Why is he chestnut in the picture?

Mrs. Crandal's students have differing opinions on what a "circle" is. "Ride around in a circle." "Okay! *ride side by side*"

Pam believes she has a special connection with ponies....

Lightning doesn't want to put the saddle on. She must have woken up from a bad dream. So much for a special connection, Pam.

AAAAGH, NO, LIGHTNING IS NOT JEALOUS THAT YOU RODE ANOTHER PONY!!!

Lightning bolts and Lulu's like, "Pam, you shouldn't ride so fast!!!"
Ha. Lightning BOLTS. Wow. That's a good one. -_-

Whenever a pony is behaving badly, the Pony Pals assume something is physically wrong with it. Maybe it's just a badly behaved pony!!!

Anna thinks Pam's jealousy theory is stupid.

Lightning almost tramples Pam. I was really hoping she would. But, of course, she didn't. Darn.

Pam falls and hurts her arm and her "backside". I remember a teacher I had who always said "gluteous maximus" and nothing else. She also didn't want boys and girls to hug each other. "Save those for your mommies."

OMG! Best Pony Pals dialogue EVER! It doesn't even sound like they're talking about a pony!
Pam: I got dumped, now I have to get back on. Lightning an dI have to work this out. I can't let her get away with it.
Anna: But your butt. It will hurt to ride.
Pam: I have to do it! Don't you understand?
Anna: Don't be mad at me. I didn't dump you!
ROFL!!!!! Pam got dumped. Wait...did she just come out? I like how Anna slipped and said "butt".

Lulu: We decided you should go first. In case you have more trouble.
Pam: I don't want to go first.
Anna: It's two against one. So you have to go first. That's the Pony Pal rule.
Pam: That's for a Pony Pal Problem. This isn't a Pony Pal Problem. It's my problem with Lightning.
Pam's controlling behavior has rubbed off on her friends.

Lightning bucks Pam off. If she keeps this us, we could be rid of Pam by the end of the book!

"Lightning's not just mad at you. She's mad at everybody." Awww, poor emo Lightning.

Whoa!! Lulu and Anna both admit they were wrong!! Progress.

But then they insist that Lightning is a Pony Pal problem. So much for that.

GUESS WHAT THEY'RE EATING FOR DINNER AT THE CRANDAL HOUSE. NO, GUESS.
SPAGHETTI. AGAIN.

Jill touches Pam's injured arm and Pam screams. Her parents are worried she is in an abusive relationship. Pam's excuse: "I bumped it."

Pam's theory: Lightning doesn't like me anymore.
Or maybe she never liked you and is just starting to show it.

Anna suggests that Pam is too big for Lightning. So what, she should get rid of her? Actually, that's probably a good idea. Lightning kills. Ha. I wasn't even trying to be funny (not that I succeeded).

The Pony Pals keep saying "butt". WHat foul language! Soon they might start saying, "Shut up," to one another!

NOTHING IS PHYSICALLY WRONG WITH LIGHTNING.

There they go, spying again.

Pam didn't tell her parents about Lightning because she thought it was her fault.

Anna: Don't hug her. Her arm is sore from falling off Lightning.
Way to go, Anna. She gives Mrs. Crandal a heart attack.

Ohhh, THAT'S why Lightning is so crankky! She has Lyme disease and her legs are sore!

Pam: How could Lightning have Lyme disease? There aren't any ticks around now. It's winter and everything is frozen.
Dr. Crandal: She could have been bitten months ago. Some people and animals don't get sick right away.
Like with HIV/AIDS!

Dr. Crandal won't say if Lyme is curable. Right. Lightning's a goner.

Oh dear, Lightning might have this for the rest of her life.

Pam wishes on a star that her pony will heal.

And it RHYMES! "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight. Please let my pony, Lightning, be all right."
Heh.

The Pony Pals are really mean to little kids.

Pam refuses to think of others and ride Splash for Jill, even though Jill won't be able to go riding UNLESS Pam goes first. But Pam's all, "NO, I have to watch Lightning!"

Then Pam starts bossing Jill around.

Now Pam wants to skip school so she can stay home with Lightning. So far, Lightning isn't that sick: her muscles hurt, and she's cranky, but she's eating and drinking normally and can take care of herself. Just leave her alone, Pam.

Pam is such a drama queen. "I may never ride Lightning again."

HA! She writes up a progress report for Lightning. "Is she lame? Yes." Hahahahaha.

Pam is such a loser!! She's basically never going to ride Splash for her sister, but makes it seem like JILL is the selfish one. She's 5 years old!! Of course she's selfish! Your pony's not going to die if you decide to ride another one!

Oh no. Pam is turning into a not-very-nice person. Well, you weren't exactly Ms. Congeniality before, Pam.

Jill writes her a letter. Even though they live in the same house. Yeah.
Deer Pam. I want to bee like yu. I want to talke to pones to. I heart yu. Jill. I want Litnin to bee better too.
I hate the exaggerated five-year-old spelling problems and handwriting.

The tickle-torture machine? Sounds ominous.

:O The Pony Pals are passing notes in class? OUTRAGEOUS!

Pam misses riding, so her mom allows her to ride Sterling (apparently her horse, though we've never heard of him before today), but Pam wants to stay with Lightning. Whatever. I'd take a beautiful HORSE over a cranky PONY any day.

Okay, so that's it. I have a much better Pony Pals that I can do maybe Monday, because tomorrow's THE SUPERBOWL (woo, go Giants!!).
Ew, I have a way boring Unicorns of Balinor, the next to the last one, but I'm taking out all the sticky note markers and just summarizing it, because that series BORES ME.

Of course the Native American girl has to bond with a mistwolf, or Avalon: Web of Magic #3: Cry of the Wolf

Okay, I'm trying to finish this pretty quickly because I have a Christmas Eve service to go to in about an hour (I'm starting this at 2:51, but knowing me, I'll probably finish around 4:00).



As you can see on the cover, this is the first glimpse we've seen of Stormbringer, the elusive mistwolf, and that little hottie (psh) in the back there is Zach. It looks like Adriane has a lip ring...psyche, that's an indentation on my book.

Plot: Adriane and Stormbringer are bestest friends and they tell each other everything. Storm admits to Adriane that she's lonely and wishes she weren't the last mistwolf alive.
Well, it turns out she's not. A bunch of mistwolves pop through a portal into Ravenswood and whisk Stormbringer away. Storm doesn't want to leave Adriane, but come on. She tells her "pack mate" that she will always be able to find her.
So Adriane is heartbroken and convinces her friends to reopen the portal so she can contact Storm...and gets pulled inside and dumped in the Shadowlands! Sucks for you. In the Shadowlands, she meets a deranged ape thing named Scorge who is looking for his magic rock. No comment. He runs away and Adriane finds the rock, which can move on its own and seems to understand everything she says. They become BFFs and Adriane dubs him Rocky.
Then imps attack them, obviously after Rocky! A boy named Zach appears on a griffin named *snicker* Wind Dancer and saves their butts.
Bla bla bla. Zach feeds Adriane and they talk. Adriane finds out that Zach's parents were mages and they were killed and a bunch of FASCINATING stuff.
A bunch of scary, magical creatures keep attacking them. They must REALLY want that rock. Adriane saves them all this time, but Windy is greviously wounded. They fly through another portal into the Fairy Glen and Windy dies.
But that's okay, because there are Fairimentals in this new portalicious place, and boy, do they like to talk! Turns out "Rocky" is a dragon egg. Hmm, sounds vaguely "Eragon"-ish. They also reveal Adriane's real quest (she'd been very vague on details with Zach) and he flips out, because he was raised by mistwolves.
Whaaaa? Adriane drags the story out of him: Zach was raised by mistwolves, but in order to prove himself to one wolf brother, he tried to kill the creature that destroyed his parents, and in the process led several mistwolves into a trap. Adriane's all, "Awww, that sucks, but you have to be strong," and a bunch of moving stuff. Sort of awkward/boring. She also finds out that Zach has never had a birthday party; this is important (sort of). Then Adriane leaves to go on her quest. By herself. All on her owney.
And she gets attacked by magical creatures. AGAIN. But Zach and Rocky save her, Rocky hatches into a baby dragon and imprints on Adriane, so Adriane renames him "Drake". Phew. That's a lot of information.
Not done yet. Adriane somehow gets captured in order to save Zach and Drake, and is taken to the dark sorceress that we met in book #2. She throws Adriane into the dungeon. Figures. There Adriane meets a bunch of fellow prisoners who are suffering from the Black Fire (don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but it's a magical disease that Lyra had, and a million of the animals in Ravenswood had, and it's pretty serious, but apparently really easy to cure because Emily does it ALL THE TIME, but anyway....). One of them is Silver Eyes, a mistwolf Zach had thought he'd killed. Guess you were wrong!
The d-flies come back and open a portal, allowing Emily to heal all the animals. Neither she nor Kara go THROUGH the portal to try to HELP Adriane, they just sit behind their computer and heal through the internet with magic. LAAAME. So Adriane, now strong, leads the animals on a revolt. They get out of the castle. Yay!
But it turns out it was a trap. The manticore from book #1 has a trillion soldiers behind him and he's mostly likely going to kill them all, but Zach and the mistwolves save them all. Yaaaaaay???
Then Adriane throws a birthday party for Zach. It's touching. Then she goes home. I REALLY suck at summarizing.

More notes:
Adriane and Storm are running through the woods together. What is this, Pocahantas?

Ugh, way to reference "George of the Jungle". "Adriane! Watch out for that....tree."

Now they're rolling down a hill together? Like Anakin and Padme?

Dang. Turns out Adriane's parents abandoned her at Ravenswood so they could travel the world. That sucks.

Adriane believes she's a wolf. Why isn't she being locked up?

Ooh, never mess with a mistwolf named MOONSHADOW. Rawr.

Turns out there are billions of mistwolves. Storm just missed them.

Lame. Storm's all, "Oh, thanks for the fun times, I'm going to leave forever now!"

Okay, that Marcus guy is kind of an idiot. "It's beauty and the beast!"

Oh. Dragons must be real because Ozzie's cousin's friend's friend's brother-in-law's neighbor's cousin's schoolmate's grandma saw one!

"Dragons are very rare and powerful magicla creatures. They have long been extinct on Aldenmor." FORESHADOWING!!

Okay, here are the dragonflies and their colors.
Barney = purple
Fiona = red
Goldie = yellow
Fred = blue
Blaze = orange

"Instead of playing our regular 'Throw the Shoe at the Dragonflies' game that you all love so much, I have a special new game for us to play. It's called the 'Open the Portal' game! Yay!" Heh.

Emily grabs Adriane to prevent her from being sucked in and Ozzie is just hopping up and down. Thanks for the help, Ozzie.

Oh no. Scorge talks like Jar Jar Binks.

"You're not from around here..."
"No, I'm from...over the rainbow."
Right.

Adriane, you do realize you're talking to a rock.
"Is that what you are, Rocky? A pet rock? Yes, you are! Who's the good widdle pet rock? You! That's who!"
Then again, I'm talking to a fictional character....

"Let's rock and roll!"
No comment.

Ha. Rocky goes bowling.

Ew, Zach starts poking Adriane and pulling her hair. You're not 2.

I think this is supposed to show us how witty and edgy Adriane is.
Zach: Where are you from?
Adriane: Over the rainbow.
Zach: How old are you?
Adriane: One hundred and fifty.

WHAT KIND OF NAME IS WIND DANCER?? That reminds me of that Sky Dancer show I loved so much.

Okay, that's sad, because Christopher Paolini BASICALLY copied this book with the whole, "It's not a stone, it's an egg," deal.

Okay, Zach needs to get out more.
Adriane: What do we do? Sit on it?
Zach: *laughing uncontrollably* No, I don't think it's a chicken.

"A human had killed his pack mother. But the only other human here was Zach."
Then it must have been Zach.

Zach destroys the map to the Fairy Glen. Psycho.

Zach suddenly has a sword?? Question mark?

Oh, it's an Elven Spirit Sword. I wonder, did ELROND make it for you? Or was it passed down from father to son from the great warrior Isildur?

Okay, I started laughing when Windy died. I felt bad, but Adriane was all, "BUT THESE FLOWERS HAVE HEALING MAGIC! THEY CAN HELP HIM!" Then she falls to her knees and is all, "[Vader]NOOOOOOO![/Vader]"

I REALLY doubt that the Fairimentals are wearing any clothes. "Heart of Avalon" has a naked water Fairimental on the cover.

Adriane: My friend...that I'm looking for, is not exactly human.
Zach: What is she?
Adriane: A mistwolf.
Zach: *flips out* A MISTWOLF!?? *runs away*
Um, what was up with that?

Uh, creepy, they commune with trees.

They're looking at a picture of Zach and his parents.
Zach: That's me.
Adriane: The baby I take it.
....

No, Adriane, your parents have never been killed by a manticore, don't try to relate.

"You're everything I've always dreamed of being. Strong, confident, independent. And you understand what's going on around here. How are we supposed to figure this all out without your help?"
Wow. Flattery works, too.

"How can I help? You need a knight, a hero, like Zach."
What gives you the impression that he's a hero? I was under the impression that he's an angry, pubescent teenage boy.

"'Human,' Moonshadow said to her. With a start, Adriane realized the pack leader was talking to her."
Well, yes, seeing as you're the only human in sight.

"And I like your name, Drake. It's so smooth, like a rock star. Rock star, get it?"
ENOUGH WITH THE ROCK PUNS!!

Okay, they're attacked by things that look like Rocksteady and Bebop from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Zach rescues her. Again. How convenient.

THOSE ARE SO NOT ORCS!! LIES!!

Oh, you shouldn't assume that dragons are horrible monsters. That's discrimination. OBVIOUSLY you've never been to diversity training, Zack.

"Zach's butt was suddenly crisped with soot." Mmm, delicious.

Some more Jedi fight scenes. Aww, Adriane, you're so selfless!

She just randomly faints. Nice.

The dark sorceress looks like the falcons from "Snakecharm" and "Falcondance".

Okay, the dark sorceress isn't really evil, if all she does is capture teenage girls and tell them wolves are stupid.

"Oh, how is your friend kara? I'm looking forward to meeting her again." FORESHADOWING!!

Adriane has the Black Fire now. She is going to die. Wait! What's that sound?
POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!
Yay, the dragonflies are back!

Aw, Silver Eyes doesn't blame Zach.

Gee, how will we get out of the castle? Don't worry, Lyra knows how! AARGH! Why can't they figure stuff out for themselves? Heh, coming from someone who is practically failing math....

Oh dear, the manticore is back.

Violence and blood.

Aaaaand now you're outnumbered.

Okay, lame.
Adriane: Save yourself!
Storm: I would not be able to go on without you.
Adriane: Really?
Storm: Yes.
Adriane: I love you, Storm.
Storm: I love you, Adriane.

A magic net is about to fall on them...but at the last moment, all the mistwolves turn to mist, rendering them invisible! Wait, invisible things can still be caught by nets.... Doesn't make any sense.

Manticore: I will kill you as easily as I killed your parents, boy!
Moonshadow: Then you will have to kill me as well!
Awww, Moonshadow comes through for Zach. Wth, manticore, why would you ADMIT that? They'll be taking you to Fairy Alcatraz.

Oooh, Adriane looks so fashionable in a purple leaf.

Zach is kind of creepy. "What, he likes his tummy rubbed!"

Awww, a hamster-size dog.

Zach gets a magic jewel! It's a dragon stone! Now he's bonded to Drake! Yay!

Ha. Kara hits on Zach.

YES! I did it in LESS THAN AN HOUR! w00t!!! Okay, now I have to go to church. Seeyas!

Let's name all of our horses after Hallmark card values, or Horseshoe Trilogies #1: Keeping Faith

I'm sure that title was supposed to be "clever", seeing as it had a double meaning and all.
I would much rather be playing Sims (although I do have to do homework), but I'm sort of behind schedule-ish. Like I even have a schedule. Oh well, tomorrow I'll post a Pony Pals. But this book was so ridiculously boring.



Plot: Josie Grace lives with her mommy and daddy in a little house in England, where they have stables that Mary Grace (her mother) uses to teach in. They also have three beautiful horses; Faith, Hope, and Charity (gag).
But all that is changing.
When they first moved into their house, they didn't have much money, because teachers and riding instructors don't get paid very much, but the little old lady who owned the house let them rent it and the stables for very little money. Unfortunately, she just died, and now her mean old nephew is taking over the property and throwing the Graces out. Harsh. Since they probably won't be able to find [cheap] accomodations for their horses, the Graces will have to sell them, starting with Faith.
Josie is beside herself. Faith has been around even she was born!
Bla bla bla, they meet a few potential buyers, but they either don't know how to take care of a horse or they want to ride her too hard; Faith is old and would rather be a pet or companion than a show jumper. Finally, it's between two families: the Hyde-Whites, a very rich family that has many horses; or the Randalls, a very boring family that happens to be moving to Scotland. Josie doesn't know which is worse: if Faith goes to the Hyde-Whites, she will be adequately cared for but not loved; if she goes to the Randalls, she has to move to Scotland!
Enter Anna Marshall. Anna is Josie's bubbly loud-mouthed best friend, also a horse freak. When Josie tells her about the potential buyers, Anna freaks out; she knows Harriet Hyde-White and the girl is a snob!!! That girl doesn't deserve a horse! She convinces Josie to think so, too, and the two concoct a plan to keep the Hyde-Whites away forever.
The facts are these: Anna met Harriet at a gymkhana event a million years ago and Harriet called Anna's horse Hope (another one of Josie's beloved equines) ugly. Forget that it's been several years since the incident. Forget the fact that Josie herself admitted that Hope wasn't the best-looking animal in the world. No, Harriet was and is a snob, and that's all that matters.
When Harriet and her father come to look at Faith, Anna tells Harriet that Faith bites people and that's why she's being sold. Harriet flips out and tells her father, who in turn gets pretty POed and cusses out Mary Grace, then hops in his Porsche and leaves. Mary Grace is all, "Wth????" Then Ben, Anna's twin brother, comes in with a nasty bite mark on his arm. Turns out it's just makeup he was planning to use to scare Harriet, but there turned out to be no need.
So Mary Grace bans the Marshall twins from their house.
Then the Randalls call and say that they're not moving to Scotland, so they can't buy Faith. Whaaat?? That makes no sense. Now there are no buyers for Faith.
Enter Jill Atterbury. Jill was in a horrible car accident that badly injured her legs. She'd had a horse before the accident, but her parents sold it right after; I forget why, but I think it had something to do with either hospital bills or the doctor saying something like, "She shall never ride again."
Mary Grace and Josie visit the Atterburys, who are very nice people. Jill is funny, easy to talk to, and loves horses. Even I liked her, which is saying something. She meets Faith and falls in love, so Josie gives her "permission" to buy Faith. :P Like it was even your decision. And Jill gives Josie her "permission" to visit Faith. Ha. Now everyone's happy. Yay.
Too bad they'll have to sell Hope in the next book. Just saying.

More notes:
Anna and Josie met when Anna was the new girl in school and Josie had to cart her around the school. Ugh, don't you hate that? I've had to do both and I'm not very good at either. Just saying.

Josie is really mean about bad riders. "You're really getting the hang of the rising trot." "It's about time...."

Wait a minute. They make it sound like Mrs. Wetherall's nephew is such a horrible person, but it's HIS property and he has the right to do what he's doing. Besides, it seems fair. He could've upped the rent.

Ha. Teachers don't get squat. Never become a teacher.

:O Mary Grace tells the story of how she first found Faith, and she convinces Faith's owner that her son is too fat to ride!!! That's so mean!!!!

And she blows ALL her savings on Faith. Yeah, she and her husband are newlyweds and he's a TEACHER, so they don't have that much money to BEGIN with. Nice going, stupid.

Oh, and the husband's cool with it.

Josie brags that she's never had her dad as a teacher. Shut up, I have. XP

Here it is, on page 18, in black and white:
Even Josie had to admit that Hope was not the most beautiful horse in the world. She had a long, straight face with rather small eyes, and an especially broad back.

Oh. No. They're eating SPAGHETTI for dinner.

Mr. Grace jokes about selling his daughter. That is so not funny. Like, seriously, people do that.

Wth, there's a character named Emma who sounds just like me when she rides. "Can't we canter now? This is boring!"

Josie is all mad that Faith might move to Scotland because "she'll never see her again". Yeah, that's generally what happens when you sell an animal.

Mr. Hyde-White might not be a nice guy, but he knows his stuff.

AAAARGH! Just because people don't talk to other people doesn't mean they're stuck up! SHE'S JUST SHY!!

Shut up, Anna; where Faith goes is not your decision.

Okay, Anna AND Josie have both called Hope ugly. This is the "really mean thing" Harriet said to Anna:
"It'll take more than a braided mane to make the creature you're on look halfway decent."
I can see how that's kind of mean, but if they've admitted she's ugly, why is it a big deal? I'm probably going to get beaten up for this.

Isobel really bugs me. I don't know why, but she REALLY does.

Anna thinks out loud, so she's talking about Josie probably never seeing Faith again, and Josie's all, "THANKS FOR RUINING MY DAY!!!" Geez, PMS?

I LOVE PALOMINOS!

Ha. "She has a marvelous seat." Not as marvelous as my seat. I'm rather proud of it.

Yeah, so they're "cold" and impersonal people. But they're also rich and local, and Faith will be treated well. Suck it up, Josie. You need the money anyway.

Mary Grace is way cool. She tells Josie to suck it up, too.

They have to pay for the school bus???

"Come on, it's the first time we've been late this week."
"Well done! It's only Tuesday!"

Josie, you're a pushover.

You are, too, Ben.

AAARGH, this is the third time someone has used the word "immaculate" in conversation!!! WHO EVEN SAYS IMMACULATE!!!?? NOT 12-YEAR-OLD GIRLS!!! Which reminds me of gross Bratz boy....

:O I would be soooo mad if my parents sold my horse. Even if I couldn't ever ride again, I'd still keep him as a pet/companion/BFF/friend.

Aaargh, they make Harriet sound like such a snob. They also make it sound like me. >:P

Ha, Ben and Anna get banished. Losers.

I think Mary Grace is drunk. She starts babbling about Mr. Hyde-white and how she wants to "teach that rascal a lesson".

Anna: I never thought Harriet would make such a fuss!
Now you're blaming her?? Yeah, people tend to get mad when it turns out they're being conned.

WHAT IS IT WITH PEOPLE??? Josie tells Anna about Jill, who can't ride, wanting a horse.
Anna: What, is she crazy or something?
HELLO! SHE CAN KEEP IT AS A FREAKING PET! RIDING ISN'T THE ONLY THING TO DO WITH HORSES!

Jill isn't weird about her disability, and she's an optimist. She's also funny. I like her already.

SHE HAS POSTERS OF HORSES ALL OVER HER WALLS. Jealous.

Way to be sensitive, Josie.
Jill: That's my favorite [poster]. I lie in bed sometimes looking and it and imagining I'm on his back, riding off into the sunset.
Josie: Doesn't that make you feel worse?

AAAGH, MIDNIGHT: another super obvious horse name.

I don't think I've ever described anyone or anything as a big soppy marshmallow.

NO, JILL, NO! Oh well. She lets Josie come visit Faith whenever.

Ugh, Mary Grace justifies Anna's behavior. "You saved me from selling Faith to the Hyde-Whites."

Ugh, and it ends with Josie sobbing and saying, "Perfect." SHUT UP.

That was sooo boring. Tomorrow I'll post another Pony Pal, followed by the second Avalon, which is about Kara, so it should be interesting.

I got two pickles, hey hey hey, or Pony Pals #24: Unlucky Pony

Aaargh, this book was so sad. Actually, it mostly sucked, but there was one part that seriously brought tears to my eyes. Yeah, Jeanne Betancourt gets a new illustrator, but fires her and gets a new one in the next book!! Then in #27, it's back to Paul Bachem!! Will we ever be free?



Plot: Remember Lucky? The annoying bratty pony with no mother? The one the Pony Pals finally got rid of? Well, he's back, and more spoiled than ever. Aaargh. Eve Greeley, his owner, is putting up with some pretty dangerous behaviors. Her parents want to get rid of him, so the Pony Pals decide to help Eve train Lucky.
Surprise! Lucky is a brat! He even tramples through someone's corn field!
Eve is pretty sad, but is surprisingly mature about the whole thing, and decides to give Lucky to the Pony Pals rather than see him shipped to a new owner. :*(
Yay! The Pony Pals think up a new plan! Lucky can live at the Crandal's for the time being! Lightning will show him who's boss! And Eve can ride Daisy! Yay!
What promised to be a realistic picture of life with ponies is once again disappointing. But hey, what did you expect from Jeanne Betancourt?

More notes:
Nice, Jeanne. Copy the intro of #3.

Pam insinuates that Eve is retarded because she has crappy handwriting.

Surprise! A new illustrator!! Anna looks normal, but Pam looks at least 60 and Lulu looks like a super model. I wonder who the illustrator's favorite character is.

Another example of Pony Pal hypocrisy: Anna and Lulu gallop up to Pam. I thought that was "dangerous".

AAAAAAAAAAGH! This is the worst letter ever. How old is this girl?:
Dear Pony Pals,
It's me. Eve Greeley. [great way to not use a comma or colon] I adopted the baby pony from you. I named him Lucky. You said that was okay. [GET TO THE POINT!]
Lucky is so cute. He is full of energy. All he wants to do is play and kick and run around. He loves treats.
Do you remember Freckles? [Yes, I could never forget that name.] She doesn't want to play with Lucky anymore. [HA!] But Lucky plays with me.
My dad and mom say Lucky is too hard to handle. But I love him. [AAAAAAAGH!] I want to train him, then I can ride him some day. [What? There should definitely be a so in there.]
Can you help me train Lucky? Please? My dad says it is okay. Our telephone number is 354-90000. [That telephone number does not exist. There should only be 3 zeroes. Get your facts straight, Jeanne.] Please help Lucky and me. [LUCKY AND I! LUCKY AND I!]
Your friend,
Eve
P.S. Lucky will be one year old next week.

Way to repeat yourself.

WHY ARE THEY SUDDENLY ON VACATION!!?? Wait a minute! It's been a year since they took care of Lucky. ALL OF THEM ARE STILL TEN YEARS OLD!!! How many summers have passed since then?? THEY'RE FROZEN IN TIME!

Heh. I remember the first time the ponies met Lucky. Acorn and Lightning tried to kill him.

Omg, Jeanne totally worships Lulu in this one. She's all talking about Lulu is soooo saaaaad not to have a mother, so that makes her love baby animals with no mothers. *sob sob sob* Not. :P

I'm really trying to figure out how Snow White could've gotten trapped in that barbed wire.

Continuity error. Anna got Acorn when she was 9, not 10.

Pam spells "cozy" wrong, and Anna puts too much food in Lucky's feed bin. Didn't she freak out when a 6 year old overfed Acorn?

OMG!!! THE GREELEYS GET IN AN ACCIDENT! THE VIOLENCE! THE VIOLENCE!!

But no one is seriously hurt. Lucky has a cut on his leg.

Whatever. This illustrator can't draw black people. Pam looks like a boy with a huge mouth.

Yeah, let the Pony Pals go find Lucky. Smart.

They care more about the station wagon than they do the Greeleys.

LOL, the Pony Pals are friends with a police officer. They haven't been doing time, have they?

Okay, I thought Lucky wasn't badly hurt, but they find enough blood on the ground to fill a horror movie.

OMG, Pam is such a pessimist!! She keeps thinking Lucky will bleed to death!

Bla bla bla, another examples of how ponies are AAAALWAYS right.

BAY AND BROWN ARE NOT THE SAME THING!!!

Aaagh. The guy's mad because the pony's trampling his corn. Give him a break.

LOL!
"'I'll give you five minutes,' the man said. The corners of his mouth turned up in an evil grin. 'And since it's your pony, you're responsible for the damage to my corn crop.'" OMG THAT'S SO CONNIVING AND HILARIOUS! The Pony Pals never have to pay, tho. :P

Pam starts singing "All the Pretty Horses" to lure Lucky towards her. Wth? Is she trying to seduce him?

Yeah, that's right. It's not just a shallow cut on the leg, Dr. Crandal.

The farmer calls her an idiot and questions her methods. LOL it's cracking me up.

Ooookay, this is so not how I pictured Mr. Farmer. He looks like one of the people that heads the Star Wars conventions.

He's right, you know. Isn't this rescue mission making Lucky more spoiled?

Okay, I REALLY hate how the Pony Pals are all calling Lucky spoiled and badly behaved, but Acorn does a lot of these things and it's "cute". Lightning bites people, and she's "sick". Snow White gets sick all the time. Whatever. That's so a cry for attention. I just wish their ponies threw the occasional shoe or seemed at least a little normal.

Eve looks like a Cabbage Patch doll.

IT'S NOT A DEEP CUT???? Then where did all that blood come from????

"That pony should have been named Trouble instead of Lucky." Right. Ha ha. Rolling around on the floor here.

Go Freckles. Knock some sense into that boy.

EWWWW, how creepy does this sound??
"But even if I had time, I'm not that interested in ponies. I prefer little girls. And cats. I like cats."
OMG!!!!! Lock all your doors and windows, children. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!

Eve totally makes it sound like she's in an abusive relationship rather than having pony trouble.

Lame. They won't let Eve in their club. Wasn't she like 9 in SS1? That's not that much younger. And yet they group her with Mimi and Rosalie. :P

SERIOUSLY, read this. If you didn't know it was about a pony, you would think this was off of Dr. Phil or something.
Anna: What else does he do that he shouldn't?
Eve: He pushes me. Once he stepped on my foot. It hurt.
Anna: If he pushes you, Eve, elbow him. You have to be firm with him.
Lulu: What else does he do that you don't like?
Eve: Sometimes he scares me. I think he's going to kick me. I'm even afraid to brush him.

Lucky's being spoiled isn't all your fault, Eve. It's actually the PONY PALS fault. I love how their not taking responsibility at all.

LAME, Lulu looks like a supermodel in every picture.

AAAAAAAAAAAAGH THEY'RE HAVING SPAGHETTI!!! AGAIN!!

Weren't Jack and Jill 6 a while back? Did they go back in time?

Lame. They watch "Black Beauty" and Eve cries. Way to go.

Eve cries herself to sleep.

Just because Eve loves Lucky doesn't mean she should get to keep him. I loved Howard (the only other dog I've ever had, and I had him for a grand total of three days), but he bit Nathan's face off. Man up, Eve.

NOT EVERYONE LIKES PONIES! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL!

Since when is Lightning Supermom? Didn't she attack Lucky the first time she met him? And wasn't Snow White the one who was all matronly? What's with the Lightning/Lucky BFF thing going on?

Susan Royer Rigby (new illustrator) can draw horses and ponies pretty well...but I miss Vivien Kubbos. She was da bomb, even if she did mix up Lulu and Anna.

Wait, Lucky is a year old? The pictures make him look like a newborn.

LOL, they decide to let Lightning teach Lucky to behave. It totally reminded me of the song "Smack" by Ugly Duckling. SMACK! You needed that, I'LL TEACH YOU HOW TO ACT. LOL cracks me up.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH the worst Anna drawing yet!!! The people in it look like SMURFS!!

Wouldn't throwing a birthday party for Lucky make him MORE spoiled?

WHAT? Pam says Eve won't be able to ride Lucky for years. Um, don't people start riding their horses at age 2?

Lucky attacks Lightning. He's so brave.

Aaargh. Eve is a great rider. I want someone to ride badly and see what happens. Wait. Rema was a bad rider and a snob. I guess the moral of this story is if you can't ride, you're an awful person. I guess this means I would not fit in in Wiggins.

Pam is the biggest pessimist EVER.

If the horse is biting and kicking your mother, HE IS NOT MAKING PROGRESS!!

Ew, an awful drawing of Pam with a really huge face.

Retarded. Lulu is being all sneaky about a present. We never actually find out what it is.

This part is so sad! I felt for Eve. Me and feel probably don't go in the same sentence, but for realz...
Dear Pony Pals,
I have a present for you. It is Lucky. [Okay, this might be sad, but COLONS!!!] I can't take care of him. You will love him and train him. He'll play with your ponies. Please let Lucky be a Pony Pal. [Since you won't let Eve be one. :P]
Your friend,
Eve
Awwwww. This is the first time in Pony Pals history that any character has shown even an ounce of maturity!

And then we see Eve's pitiful drawings of ponies. They're pretty bad and they ruin the mood.

Aaargh. They decide to board Lucky for free. WHAT'S WITH ALL THIS "FOR FREE" STUFF?

They say "yummy".

I've never seen silver sprinkles.

I THOUGHT PONY PAL TRAIL WAS A SECRET!

Lol. They make "Lucky's #1!" jokes.

Retarded. Mr. and Mrs. Greeley go for it.

Aaargh. I just wanted the parents to get rid of Lucky and have the characters actually GROW for a change. But no. No no no no.
OMG!!! I found my ancient (like, 6th grade) end to the Pony Pals. It was written like 10 years after the whole series. Lulu marries Mark, Pam marries some dude, Anna marries Charlie, and Tommy and Mike get trampled in a Winnie the Pooh parade. That was the only part I liked. It was pretty badly written. Anna was all abusive, Pam was in love with herself, and Lulu kept saying, "Omigosh! Acorn! Omigosh!" Aaagh. I love the part about the parade, though. Made my day.

Goodbye old paint, or Pony Pals #19: Moving Pony

Yes. All ponies move. I think we're supposed to get from the title that the pony in question is leaving town. Whatever. Lulu's jeans are too short. Then again, so are mine. I need some new ones.



Plot: Sandy Nation and her mother Maria's are moving (ON HORSEBACK???) from Powell to Reston, but they stop in Wiggins when Maria's horse gets injured. The Pony Pals assume that because Sandy has a pony, she is an amazing person, and try to become "friends" with her. But Sandy hates everyone and doesn't want to move.
Bla bla bla, about 50 pages on Sandy grumbling.
After an unsuccessful barn sleepover (This is how they become friends with people; they invite them over for a sleepover and are shocked to discover this is too much, too soon.), the girls decide to go to the river to swim. But during their lil adventure, Sandy leaves, saying she wants to go back to the Crandals' house and talk to her mom, or something.
But on their way home, Lulu discovers that Sandy was trying to go back to Powell! The Pony Pals follow her and find Sandy with a broken ankle. They help her and convince her not to go back to Powell. Um...that's it.

More notes:
Another horse? It's a miracle!

I would be crabby, too, if I had to camp in the rain with my mom for three days.

Anna, we know you're an ignorant person. Kindly try not to display your ignorance.

Pam thinks they're criminals.

It's like if there's another pony in town, it has to be the same breed as the Pony Pals' ponies. Dandy was the only exception.

They introduce themselves and each of their ponies. I don't think the nice people care.

CONTINUITY! In every other book up till now, Lulu's mother died when she was 4. In this one, they say 3. What's up with that?

Maybe she died on the day before Lulu's 4th birthday. Big question: HOW DID SHE DIE??

The pony's name is Raffle. I used to think that was the coolest name ever. But I like Waffle better.

Ew, horse named Willow. And it's a boy. Watched any Val Kilmer movies lately?

So messed up. They're moving to Reston. Maria's husband and sons took the car, and since they don't have a horse trailer, they're RIDING to Reston. WTH?? Isn't there a service that takes your horses to wherever in a trailer? I'M SURE THERE IS! Or you could BUY one.

Mrs. Crandal knows Maria. It's a small world....

Sandy: Can I call Liana now? You said I could.
Maria: Honey, don't you think it will just make you sadder?
Lulu: *Who is Liana and why would talking to her make Sandy sad?*
Gee, I can figure that out. Can't you?

Sandy doesn't want to make new friends because you're in a cult and she doesn't want to move. Leave her alone.

Okay, Sandy's just being annoying. I've noticed whenever there's a new girl in town, she's mean, shy, and self-centered. WHY IS THIS???? Are there no extroverts out there that want to move to a small horse-worshiping town?

Anna: That Sandy sure is bossy.
Like you're not....

I love Vivien Kubbos' drawings of ponies. Take that, Paul Bachem!!

Sandy looks like Dorothy Hammill with blonde hair. And Raffle is way adorable.

Sandy doesn't want Raffle outside with the other ponies. Duh. Lightning bites.

OMG, THEY'RE HAVING SPAGHETTI AGAIN! It's like our family and pasta. We're not even Italian. THAT wasn't stereotyped.

Anna compares Sandy to Rema Baxter. Can't make the connection. Rema's a desperate fiendish loser. Sandy's just mean.

Sandy's crying herself to sleep...cuz she cannot keep their attention. Sorry, Bethany Dillon song.

Pam: I don't think she knows how to make new friends.
I've heard that excuse before. Either she's a complete idiot or she knows very well what she's doing. And I think she just hates you.

Mmm, blueberry muffins.

Ew, this is so obviously a jab at Sandy.
Mrs. Crandal: It looks likeyou're stuck here with us, Maria.
Maria: I don't mind. I'll watch you teach and get some more ideas on how to run a riding school. Besides, I like making new friends.
Mrs. Crandal: Me, too.
We get it. You're daughter is a freak.

Lulu thinks Sandy is fatty because she takes a lot of food. Methinks she's running away.

Raffle tries to kill Acorn. But we don't know why. Because Acorn is the friendliest pony in the world!!

Ew, Liana's pony was named Peaches.

Sandy: Liana's my best friend in my whole life.
That sentence doesn't really flow.

Sandy is galloping on muddy ground. So the Pony Pals gallop after her to tell her to slow down. What's wrong with this picture??

Adorable picture of Acorn. He looks like he's supposed to.

Anna tries to use the whole, "It's three against one," tactic on Sandy. But Sandy basically tells her to screw off.

Sandy's being all nice. Because she doesn't want them to suspect anything. Duh.

Anna takes it seriously.

Anna also strips. Bad pictures.

Now they figure out that Sandy is a liar. Took you long enough.

You are not a good detective, Lulu. Gotta hit 'em with a dose of reality now and then.

Lulu tries to think like Sandy Nation. She makes Sandy sound all whiny. It's pretty funny.

Agh, they're calling it pony plop again.

No, Pam, don't go for help. Let's try to find Sandy ON OUR OWN with NO ADULT SUPERVISION. Losers.

Look, a huge pony imprint in the ground.
Anna: Maybe a fox got in a fight with another animal.
Are you serious?

I'm really confused as to why you can't ride with a sprained ankle. You could just mount on THE OTHER SIDE.

She sprained her ankle, I don't think she cares where help comes from.

Lulu mistakes a bracelet for a bird.

Why is Raffle wearing a halter? Is it under his bridle? Because how else did she ride there?

Sandy tries to convince the Pony Pals to help her get back to Powell. So if the police get involved, they'll get in trouble for helping a minor escape???

EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO WRAP AN ACE BANDAGE!!

You can SO ride with a sprained ankle. Just mount on the side requiring your nonsprained foot and make your horse walk.

Ew, Sandy has two other friends and they solve problems together. Like the Pony Pals.

I have to admit, Sandy planned ahead.

Anna is shocked Sandy would have the balls to stay in the woods alone.

We have to hear stuff about Lulu's move from England. :P

RESTON AND POWELL AREN'T THAT FAR APART??? Then why is there this big drama???

You don't like Sandy, stop lying.

Sandy made fun of Pam. I like this girl.

Sorry, guys, but if you want to be my friend, you have to be smart AND brave. :P What is this, Harry Potter?

"Don't put your feet in the stirrups. That would hurt." JUST LOWER THE STIRRUPS!!! IT WILL NOT HURT!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh. Lulu pulls the biggest guilt card of all: "I don't have a mother, so you should be grateful that you do!!!" Unbelievable. MANIPULATION!!

The world is a cruel, cruel place, or Pony Pals #16: The Missing Pony Pal

AAAAAAAAAAAARGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! THIS BOOK SUCKED! I wish I could give it an F! I wish I could give it lower than an F! I wish I could ban every this book from every library and every bookstore in the world. AAAAAAGH! It SUCKED SO BAD!



Plot: Oh boy! A gymkhana! Lulu and Snow White LOVE gymkhana! But when practicing pole bending, Snow White leans too far and she and Lulu topple over. Lulu ends up bruising her thigh and Snow White sprains a tendon.
The next 70 pages are a bunch of CRAP on how AWFUL Lulu FEELS about EVERYTHING that she EVER DID, including get born. Haaaaate.
The Pony Pals try to convince Lulu it was an accident, but she doesn't believe them and literally runs into the woods (DURING A STORM!) after vowing never to ride again.
She comes back, unfortunately, and realizes that she is a big IDIOT and that it was an accident and she needs to STOP BEING SUCH A FREAKING WIMP. So then the Pony Pals win all the gymkhana games. BOOOOOOOO!

More notes:
I literally marked every single page.

I'm tired of the mention of Lulu's stay in England, and Lightning's valiant kitten rescue.

Pole bending race. Sort of self explanatory. Or at least easy to explain.

They leave Lulu lying on the ground after she falls.

Pam looks like Mrs. Laners....

Lulu has to go to the hospital. In an ambulance. Whatever.

She has NOT been living in Wiggins a short time. She's experienced like 6 summer vacations!

Why do Anna and Pam have to be exact opposites? Black, white. Tall, short. Smart, dumb. Bad artist, good artist.

I think Lulu DID hurt her brain in the fall. Or maybe it's always been like that.

Grandmother Sanders = ridiculously old fashioned. I bet she still wears petticoats.

How does the doctor know she has a big bruise on her thigh? Did he take off her pants?

Lulu thinks Snow White might be dead. Right.

Thank you for making the situation worse, Dr. Crandal.

THEY'RE EATING SPAGHETTI AGAIN!

Ponies don't moan. Or have nightmares.

WTH???? At the gymkhana, there will be a costume parade. Anna's ideas include a banana and...I'm not sure what that is. Also an artist and THE PONY COULD BE A PALETTE! HAHAHAHAHA!

Lulu would not be a good princess. Actually, yes she would. She whines a lot, but doesn't do anything about it.

Lulu keeps dwelling on stupid Snow White. "Omg, I almost KILLED my pony. *sob sob sob*"

Who's Paint? Since when do the Crandals have more than 2 riding ponies? I thought Mrs. Crandal didn't NEED a third pony!!!! WHO IS PAINT???

That's right, Lulu. Acting like a *itch will make everyone feel better.

Anna and Pam look like they want to kill Lulu.

IT'S A RACE! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GO FAST!
Lulu: Uh-uh! Safety first!
AAAAGH! SHUT UP!

Omg. Lulu = no sense of humor. Because riding is serious business. And you're not allowed to have fun with ponies.

I have nothing bad to say about Pam and Anna this whole book. I actually feel REALLY sorry for both of them.

Oooh, burn.
Pam: We need to have a Pony Pal meeting right now.
Lulu: About what?
Anna: About YOU!

They called Splash A GIRL. Um, Splash is A BOY. And Splash is NOT A NICE CALM PONY. Remember? Always rushing ahead?

Lulu is scared of squirrels.

Maybe Snow White is ignoring you because you're so FREAKING ANNOYING!!

Grandma Sandy, NOT HELPING.

YOU DIDN'T ALMOST KILL YOUR PONY! HORSES FALL DOWN IN LOTR ALL THE TIME!

THE PONY PALS ARE ACTUALLY APOLOGIZING!!!!! Well, Lulu isn't. But Pam and Anna are apologizing to her!!!! Huh. I'm proud of them.

They call Acorn a girl, too.

This totally reminds me of "Wizard Angst". "I QUIT MAGIC!"

Yeah, running into the woods is smart.

Where's the comma? "Lulu stop!"

Oh no, you're breaking all 5 Safety in the Woods rules!

OMG, Lulu almost gets struck by lightning. I cracked up laughing when I read that part.

They almost get hit by lightning again. And ANNA IS TALLER THAN PAM!!

Good thing Lulu knows how to track. The ONE thing she ever does right.

I don't think your ponies care that you are gone.

You don't have to ride to be a Pony Pal. I could be a Pony Pal if I wanted. I mean, I love ponies, I don't understand people, and I have no social skills.

Oh. We just got trapped in the woods for 2 hours. Want to go get lunch at the diner?

Anna just told Lulu to shut up. GO ANNA!

And then Anna starts crying. Yeah.

Aaaah, Lulu is not being a leader! THAT'S why Snow White is acting weird!

"My leader is back!" Totally reminds me of, "Take me to your leader."

The sack race has nothing to do with weaving in and out of poles! Stupid.

Yeah, that's right, BE SELFISH! Now your friends can't compete in the gymkhana games. Jerk.

Oh, such a sacrifice.

They win because Lulu grows a brain.

They lose every other race.

They describe Lulu's outfit to the slightest detail. And the picture is so not worth that 1000 words.

Lulu does not deserve all this special attention.

That SUCKED. Aaaargh. Tomorrow, #17 where they find another cat.

Who put that tree there?, or Pony Pals #15: The Blind Pony

Looking at the title, I REALLY wonder what this book could be about. I mean, a blind pony is definitely out of the question. And on the cover we have a very adorable pony tripping over its feet while Pam watches on with a shocked expression on her face. Lightning looks exactly the same as she did on the last cover. Dandy's back is way smaller than it should be. I don't think it can support him. Paul Bachem = worst illustrator ever.



Plot: Mrs. Baxter sells more property, because she can, and another old couple move into Wiggins! Their granddaughter Kim is visiting them for the summer and she's the Pony Pals age and she owns a pony, so she must be Mother Theresa. The Pony Pals try to become friends with her, but Kim is not very friendly and doesn't want the Pony Pals to mess with her pony.
After much investigation (like 2 hours worth), Pam finds out a shocking secret: Dandy, Kim's pony, is BLIND!!!
For some reason, Kim hasn't told anyone about this interesting development, and so far no one has noticed??? I think they would notice if the pony bumps into walls. But I digress. Now Kim is forcing Pam to keep her secret.
But the other Pony Pals find out. They always do. But they also decide to keep Kim's secret.
There is a bunch of secret keeping and frienship and doctoring (Mr. Crandal discovers Dandy's eyesight can't be restored; big whoop), and then they all decide to train Dandy to let Kim be his eyes.
Surprise! Kim's parents come earlier than expected with a new riding instructor and are shocked to find about Dandy's not so stellar (or lack of) vision. But the Pony Pals save the day and show that people/ponies with disabilities are worth everyone's time. Yeah, no heavy message there. Not like I think disabled people are worthless, but I don't use ponies as an allegory to support them. Moving on.

More notes:
Mrs. Baxter: *bla bla bla about the Wright family* Her name is Kim Wright.
Pam: I bet you want us to be friends with Kim.
Mrs. Baxter: You guessed it. I told her all about the Pony Pals. Kim is your age. But there's something else she has in common with you.
Pam: She has a pony?!
I can't wait for the day Pam is wrong, and Mrs. Baxter says, "No, actually, she's black."

An AWFUL picture of Lightning: Her head is bigger than her entire body and her legs are too thin. And Pam looks like Rudy from "The Cosby Show".

So what, she doesn't ride her pony over? Not that strange. Actually, yeah, you could ride a blind pony just as easily as a nonblind pony.

DANDY! Best pony name ever, right up there with Acorn, Tongo, Mushroom, and Bubble.

Ballin. Kim is studying French over the summer. Lucky.

There goes Anna with her snob business again. She really needs a new perspective.

They act like Kim is such a jerk. Maybe she's just shy. Or she doesn't like you.

Oh no, Kim won't let Dandy interact with Lightning!! Wait, is this the same Lightning that frequently bites people? I wonder why she's so afraid of her....

SHE JUST WANTS TO GO LAST! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT???

Dandy bumps into a tree. Lol.

Lulu and Anna are being all mean to Kim, and then blame her for a bad time.

Um, Kim, Dandy doesn't speak English, so telling him, "There's a turn coming up," might not be that helpful.

Ha. Grandma manipulation.

Why is it weird to lead your horse into a stall?

DANDY IS HUGE IN ONE PICTURE! At least 16 hands. Um, pony?

Ugh, fluff on feelings and loving ponies and personality.

Why do we need to know how many jokes Pam told?

Dandy runs into a doorway.

Pam is all spazzing out because she can't tell her Pony Pals! Like she tells them everything. Sorry, but there are some things I wouldn't want to know unless you needed to borrow a tampon or something.

I've had friends leave a sleepover while everyone else is sleeping. It's not that weird.

Ooh, they're going to spy on Kim! How mature.

Lulu and Anna are nodding sadly. I nodded sadly for about ten minutes after reading this. It's way fun.

Yeah, another instance where they're suddenly all nice after being such hos before and no apology is necessary.

Yeah, why IS Dandy's blindness a secret? You can still ride a blind horse. And possibly show. There was that whole book on the blind dog that did agility contests. Sure, he did them really SLOW, but.... Agh, that was a sad book. I'm going to cry.

It was called "The Soul of the Silver Dog", if you want to know.

Another book about parent expectation. But Kim doesn't want to ride in a horse show! She just wants to speak French! What is this, "High School Musical"?

OMG, Kim apologized. And they didn't. Jerks.

Two sleepovers in a row? What?

WHY WOULD YOU PUT A BLIND ANIMAL TO SLEEP? YOU DON'T PUT BLIND PEOPLE TO SLEEP!

Lulu actually wrote a complete sentence for once.

THOSE DANG KITTENS AGAIN! They reference "Too Many Ponies" every chance they get. SO ANNOYING.

It takes Dr. Crandal forever to figure out Dandy is blind. "Well girls, he is definitely blind." Yeah. Like we didn't know that.

This is suddenly all medical drama-y. "Can you cure him, Doctor?"

Kim is such a nerd. She studies all the time.

Dandy looks like he's going to fall on his face in one picture. He's all about to trip.

Yes, screaming, "UP!" at him really does work.

All this diner talk makes me want a chocolate milkshake. And not the crappy kind I make with a spoon.

Why is it funny that Pam sounds just like her mother? Her mother's really mean.

OMG, MRS. CRANDAL REMINDS ME OF CLAIR HUXTABLE!!!

I'd want my daughter to have a blind pony. Actually, it would be preferable not to have one in the first place, but I wouldn't make her get rid of it.

Ugh, chapter nine is titled, "The Wrights are Wrong."

I can speak French, too! I know what tres bien means!

Mr. Wright looks like Richard Gere. And Mrs. Wright is blonde. And they look apalled. Kim is all, "Why me?"

Mr. Wright: Blind!
Mrs. Wright: What do you mean?
I mean he CAN'T SEE.

So lame.
Mr. Wright: What's anyone supposed to do with a blind pony?
Pam: Take care of him.
Lulu: Be his friend.
Anna: And love him.

Heh. Dr. Crandal's name is Robert.

Why do all the married women in this series insist on keeping their maiden name? "I'm Laura Thompson Wright." "I'm Cynthia Prindle Stewart."

Pam rubs Lightning's upside-down heart for luck. That's so Saddle Club-y.

Lol I totally pictured Kim's parents being all "Anchorman".
"You rode a blind pony? That's amazing! I'm not even mad."

It's not that hard to keep your grades up and ride at the same time.

Kim is sad that she has to leave Wiggins. DON'T BE!

Omg, there's this contest entry form in the back of the book that I filled out when I was like, I don't know, 8. It's in crappy cursive and I used a fake name.

1) What is Anna's pony's name?
Acorn.

2) What do the Pony Pals call their riding trail?
Pony Pal Trail

3) On whose estate do the Pony Pals often ride their ponies?
Mrs. Wiggins estate (yes, I realize she is single and her name is Ms.)

4) What kind of pony is Lulu's pony, Snow White?
A Welsh Pony

Circle one: girl
Name: Karen halls (lies)
Birth date: 2/17/94 (lies)
City: Venice
State: California (wtf?)

I was a WEIRD kid when I was little. I remember really hating the name Lauren and I'd always want to change it to Kristen, Karen, Candace, or some crappy K name. I like Anastasia for a long time, too. Soooooo cool. Not.
Yeah, if I had won that contest, I would've received 6 months of free riding lessons. Darn.
Well, the deadline was 1997 and I filled this out 2001ish. My grandma gave me this book. Lol. Cool beans.

I really wish I had "Circus Pony", but that will most likely never happen. Ugh, so not excited about "The Missing Pony Pal" now, because it's about a stupid gymkhana accident and Snow White gets hurt and is all wimpy and the illustrations show Anna as being taller than Pam. What??? I'll go do homework or something now.