There's just something about older men, or FTFO Madison Finn #16: Three's a Crowd

As school has been ending and Tie has been chewing up all my slippers, there's nothing I've felt like doing less than posting on this blog.
Wait. Does that sentence even work?
Oh well. I've just been busy. I think I read this book sometime in the beginning of May, too. I probably won't remember what the page markers even mean.

Plot: Madison feels terrible. She has the flu and is being forced to stay home for close to a week!! Not that she cares; who likes school?
She starts to go a little stir-crazy, however, when her busy mom calls Gramma Helen over from Chicago to take care of Madison, and Gramma Helen is very old-fashioned. Madison isn't even allowed to go on her laptop!!
The final straw is when Madison notices a cute guy who lives across the street. Whaaat??? How could she have not noticed him before??? His name is Josh, he plays hockey, and communicates with Madison via bedroom window (he writes notes for her to see, like, "How R U?").
When Madison finally gets back to school, she is in LUV. She follows Josh around, has lots of wonderfuly intellectual conversations with him, and ends up blowing off Hart several times. Uh oh.
One day, while at Freeze Palace with her dad, Madison runs into Josh...and his GIRLFRIEND!!! :O
She is heartbroken, of course.
Then her friends cheer her up and Madison realizes they never had a chance anyway.
Then she goes off and hangs with Hart.

More notes:
Today's Mental Floss:
If an international airliner crashed exactly on the U.S.-Mexican border, where would authorities be required to bury the survivors!!
When I first got this book, I tried to figure this out for 10 minutes and failed.

They have a big English assignment on any topic of their choosing - except for extreme sports, serial killers, video games, or biographies of current celebrities, rap stars, or sports stars.
There goes my idea.

Weird. Madison and Fiona get sick at the SAME TIME.

Egg and Fiona are so weird and couple-y. It would be super awkward to hang out with them.

Back to the mental floss: Why would anyone bury survivors??? HAHAHAHA! Dang. I wish I'd guessed that.

"Get thyselves to the nurse's office, young ladies, before we all catch your bugs, okay?"
Why is Mr. Gibbons trying to sound like Shakespeare?

Nurse Shim still creeps me out.

Whoa, they all have fevers of 102.

Aimee's sick, too!! Weeeird.

AAAAGH. I hate that you can't leave school when you're sick without parental consent, even if you live 2 minutes away. I couldn't get ahold of either parent for a LONG TIME when I got sick and they almost made me stay and suffer at school. Raaaah.
But Madison finally called her dad, like I did, so she was able to go home.

OMG!!! Madison sneezes on Hart's sweater, and I mean SNEEZES. There's a HUGE loogie on his shirt.

But Hart seems to be okay with it?

Ewww, tofu broth!!?? Who would want to drink that when they're sick? Wouldn't it just make them sicker?
My brother started eating tofu recently, and he says it tastes like a diaper, but he loves it.
Possibly because he pours Johnny's Tenderizing Seasoning Salt all over it before he eats it.

Mom: You know what? You look pale.
Madison: But I always look pale, don't I?
We were talking about that in jazz band. Paul felt the need to mention that I was the second-whitest kid in school, after him. Thanks, Paul.

Psych, Madison has bronchitis.

And her friends just have colds. How lame is that?

Madison's mom and dad always pick fights. Not awkward, or anything.
But Jeff comes over with chicken, and Fran offers him wine when she knows he doesn't drink?

"Well, I'll leave you to your chicken."
That sounds so weird, but fun to say.

Sick people just want TLC.

"It was a boy. He had red hair, or at least it appeared red under the street lamp. He wore an old corduroy jacket, ripped jeans, and lumberjack boots. The big dog sniffed madly at a hydrant."
Lol. In 7th grade there was a boy in my neighborhood with dachsunds, and I was like, "Omg, boyz!!" But he's shorter than me, now, and I don't know what happened to his dogs.

Yay!! If my grandma came over to take care of me when I was sick, I'd be so excited.
Only my grandma lives in Washington, so I see her all the time.
If Grandma Nina came over, it'd be pretty cool, though. I haven't seen her in 2 years.

Awww, Dan e-mails her. I love that boy.
Someone told me ur sick. No way b/c I am @ the clinic $ there are 5 lizards here right now and they are sick 2!!! I had 2 tell u b/c u always laff @ stuff like that.
He names the lizards Wizzy, Fizzy, Dizzy, Tizzy, and Lizzy.
-_-

Then Egg offers to pick up her and Fiona's homework.
At the end of the e-mail, he grudgingly offers to pick up Aimee's, too. Lol.

Hey, you can like 2 guys at the same time. Nothing wrong with that.

Strange. Gramma Helen got a fortune cookie that said she would be traveling to faraway places, and here she is in New York!
Connor got one that said, "You like Chinese Food."

Lol, Gramma's like, "You lay in bed, and I'll run a eucalyptus bubble bath and make some saltwater gurgle while the cold-air vaporizer charges," and Madison's like, "Whatever, Gramma, can we just play cards?"

The girls always talk about how mean Poison Ivy is, but Lindsay sends them this e-mail that's practically 8 pages of ridiculing her outfit.
I guess she never really got over the whole "Fat Camp Loser" thing.

:O HART BLEW OFF POISON IVY!!
They were supposed to work on the English project together, but he stood her up and then pretended not to know what she was talking about.
Okay, even if it is Poison Ivy, that's really mean. Hart's a jerk.

Hart might like another girl besides Ivy...but that could be anyone.
Come on, Madison, it's so you.

Chicken lemon orzo soup???
I'd rather have orange juice and crackers.

Bigwheels is all, "Omg, I found this website where you can send free e-cards!!"
Aren't there millions of those sites around??? They're not exactly a new invention, Bigwheels.

Madison tells Bigwheels about the new boy:
"I had this dream last night that he was spying on me and wanted to meet me."
Wow. That would've creeped me out.

Agh, I love optical illusions, which is what Madison, Aimee, Fiona, and Lindsay pick for their English project.

I remember reading "The Outsiders"!
"Stay gold, Ponyboy."

Egg comes over with Madison's homework, and Gramma Helen FREAKS OUT. "Did I meet this boy the last time I visited? Why are boys calling on you when you're sick in bed?"
She sounds like my dad. Kevin, Alexis, and I bought ice cream at 7/11 and my dad was like, "Who's he?? Is he your friend? Is he in band? Well, of course he's in band. Oh, hi Alexis."

WHOA. Egg apparently knows EVERYTHING about Madison's hot neighbor! His name's Josh, he's in 9th grade (ooooh, an older boy! Lol), he plays hockey, and is friends with Drew.
Then Egg suddenly gets defensive and is like, "What about Hart, Maddie?"

ROFL! "I thought you dug Hart."
Can you dig it? Yes, I can. I've been waiting such a long time for Saturday.
Sorry. Chicago moment.

Oooooh. Egg crushes all of Maddie's hopes and dreams!
Madison: Does Hart know...that I like him?
Egg: I think so. But so what? He doesn't care.
:O WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT???
Madison: He doesn't care?
Egg: I don't know what he thinks. We don't really talk about it.
EGG! THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN NOT CARING!!

What is it about older guys that make girls giggle incessantly???
Possibly because all the guys our own age aren't as hot??

Bigwheels sends this dumb list of things to do when you're sick. It's supposed to be hilarious.

Gramma's like, "A laptop? How fascinating. Show me how this titillating contraption works! I want to send an e-mail to Mabel!"

Frannie thinks work is more important than her daughter. How lame is that?

Whatever happened to Blossom's puppies? I want one.

Lindsay stalks Josh for a day and finds out the following information:
His full name is Josh Turner.
He's in 9th grade.
He plays hockey.
He also plays the accordion AND the tuba????
He's single.

Madison has cute pajama pants. I'm sort of jealous.
Then again, I have boxers!! :P

AAAAGH!! She spies Josh through her window.

He says "Hi There" and then goes to bed when Madison can't think up a fitting reply.

The secret is revealed:
Maybe I'll see him in the hallway and he'll ask me to have lunch with him at his table in the cafeteria. That would just burn Poison Ivy if I got to sit with the ninth graders at lunch!!
:P The girls at my school who are dating juniors are so annoying, like they're so much better than the rest of us. But, then again, it would be cool to be like, "Hehehe, your boyriend is 5'6". My boyfriend can drive...AND SHAVE!"

Ew. It's so nasty when you don't shower or change clothes when you're sick.

OMG, HART WAS ASKING ABOUT MADISON AT SCHOOL.
He asked Dan, which is sort of cold.
"I'm worried about the girl we both like, Dan. Do you know anything about her? Is she feeling okay?"

Hart is SUCH A JERK to have led Poison Ivy on this whole time. He thinks she's annoying and has an attitude and wishes she would just go away.
WHY DIDN'T YOU THINK THAT BEFORE??? She's shown her true colors so many times. Why do you have to be so mean NOW?

Uh oh. Would having a ninth-grader boyfriend be cooler than having HART as a boyfriend?
Maddie, say it isn't so!!

Whoas. If my kid was sick, I wouldn't go out of town until they were better.
Geez, Frannie.

Madison "talks" (via window) to Josh again, but he gets bored and turns off his lamp. BAD SIGN.

Madison wishes that Josh Turner would fall madly in love with her.
Awww.
We were watching Pam Stenzel, and she was talking about how older boys are creepy and can't get anyone to date them, so younger girls shouldn't, either.
When you put it that way, it's kind of true.

Frannie is dumping her only kid with Gramma Helen for a week, and when Madison says she wants a little time away from her overly nice old-fashioned Gramma, Fran's all, "You should be grateful, bla bla bla."
Way to justify leaving your sick kid at home. She's probably just leaving to get away from Helen, anyways. Quit being a hypocrite, Fran.

A boy comes to visit...and it's Egg. Again.

Surprise!! Hart and Drew are with him.

Wait...Lindsay made fun of Ivy's brown sweater near the beginning of the book...now Hart's wearing one.
:O!
Was Ivy wearing Hart's sweater??? So much for not liking her.
Or maybe...WHOA! This is like a soap opera!!!
And Hart is still a jerk.

Hart gives her flowers.
Madison's like, "Omg! *swoon*"
But it turns out they were from her dad and were sitting on the front porch.
Ooooooh.

Egg is so mean!
Madison: The flowers are from my dad.
Egg: Duh. Who else would send you flowers?

Surprise! Josh comes over. Madison spazzes out.

Hart tries to engage Madison in conversation, but she's like, "Uh-huh, yeah. So, Josh...."

Then she asks him [Hart] all these questions about Josh. Way to be heartless, Maddie.

Surprise! Madison's hair is a mess and her T-shirt is stained. Mwahaha. Murphy's law.

Gramma turns out to be a Betty. Who dated OLDER BOYS!!
Fran apparently dated every boy in Far Hills.

OMG, GRAMMA DATED SOMEONE FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OLDER THAN HER!! AT 16!!!
That's like me dating my brother. Only we're not related, but it's still semi-illegal, were we to have sex, but we wouldn't, but people would assume he's a pervert anyway, which he probably IS.

Mmm, this older gentlemen was named Charlie Francis. Helen liked the way he wore his ties. Euphemism for something else?

He asked her out when he was 20 and she was SIXTEEN!!!!

They also talk about Mackie, the butcher's son, and Gabriel, a boy in the church choir.
Whoas. They sound dreamy.

Madison thinks she might not like Hart as much!!

Her friends are like, "You can't forget Hart!! Btw, my brother knows Josh, want me to hook you up?"

Gramma wants Madison to go to bed at 8:30.
What? She's not 6!

Now Bigwheels is sick.

She wants to know what happened to Hart, too.
"What had happened to Hart? And what was Madison going to do about her change of heart?"

Mr. Danehy suggests Madison catch up on her science homework with the help of HART JONES.
Coincidence? Or not?

But she forgets about that when Josh comes over and talks to her!!!

Josh: Well...I have class.
Madison: See you through the window!!
Oh, Madison. You have no idea how NERDY that sounded.

Argh!!!! Hart's like, "Madison, can we talk?" and he leaves an empty seat next to him at lunch and EVERYTHING, and Madison's just like, "Whatever."
AAAAARGH!

Lindsay's like, "Let's send Fiona and Aimee an e-mail full of gossip!! Let's tell them about Josh! That's juicy!"
Excuse me, but how??? He's just a cute guy who talked to Madison once, and only to be polite.

M. C. Escher!!

"Tuesday afternoon, after turning in to Blueberry Steet on the walk home from school, Madison spotted Josh. He was way ahead of her, but Madison didn't think. She just started running.
'Hello!' Madison gasped when she caught up to him.
Josh whirled around. 'Whoa. Hello, yourself. I didn't hear you.'
Madison tried to keep from panting, but her mouth was dry from running so fast. She wiped her forehead and tried to look cool.
'Are you okay?' Josh asked. 'You're purple.'
'Oh, I have asthma,' Madison said. It was a strange lie, but it sounded a lot better than, 'Oh, I was just running to catch up to you.'"
OMG!!!! That's so hilarious!! "Oh, I have asthma!"

Josh has a pet poodle named Cuddles. Um...

Gramma Helen is confusing. First, she's like, "Fran, don't ditch your kid!" Then she's like, "Madison, you must understand your mom has a lot on her plate."

They watch Fran's new documentary, which is about AIDs. Gramma even starts crying.

Group hug!

Madison goes out to talk to Josh, and misinterprets all of his actions as, "He thinks I'm cute. He's speechless because I'm so beautiful."

BATTING YOUR EYES DOESN'T WORK.

Josh totally ditches her and is like, "Um, that's nice, I have to help my dad."
I REALLY don't think he likes you, Maddie.

Oh no!! She tries to window-chat with him, and he just goes to bed without answering.
Definitely a bad sign.

Madison tries to make pancakes. "I can't do this!!"
Sorry. Just struck me as funny.

OH NO!!! Hart tries to talk to Maddie and she's like, "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. What are you talking about?"
AAAGH!!1 MADISON FINN!!! DID YOU EVER LEARN SOCIAL SKILLS??

Lindsay: He is cute. I think you would make a nice couple.
Madison: Jeez, Lindsay! Why don't you just announce it over the loudspeaker?
Lol!!

Whatever. Aimee berates Maddie for liking someone who is "practically in high school."
You like someone who is "practically in Mensa", so shut up.

Madison reads an article entitled, "Two's Company, but three's a crowd: How do you choose when you like two?"
But she never gets to finish it, so she still can't decide.

"I think maybe it's a good idea if you're going out with that older guy. Guys our age can be such dorks."
Gusy in GENERAL can be dorks.

Madison sees Josh at Freeze Palace.
"Madison wanted to turn three shades of purple.
I'm with my dad.
It sounded so seventh grade."

Whoa, Madison and Josh have the same favorite ice cream flavor!

Too bad Josh has a girlfriend! Surprise! Her name is Remy...and he had his hand on THE SMALL OF HER BACK. You know what that means.

Madison runs out of the shop and cries the whole way home.

Bigwheels is going out with Reggie again AND her cat is having kittens.
Life is so unfair.

It doesn't seem like such a big deal, but Madison is totally heartbroken. It's really sad.
And she totally saw it coming, anyway.

Aimee is such a horrible friend.
"So that's it? That's the end of Josh? I was getting excited about the prospect of your dating some ninth grader. And then maybe you'd introduce me to some other ninth grader..."
How shallow.
Madison totally blew the Josh thing out of proportion.

HART CALLS!
Madison: What are you guys doing for your Web page project?
Hart: The Titanic.
Madison: That's deep.
Hart: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *more hysterical laughter*

Hart then proceeds to tell her how annoying Ivy is and how she's failing science.
JEEEEEERK.

OMG! He asks her out! Say no! Say yes!
She says yes.
Now they're going to the movies...as a couple...on Saturday!!!

Hart was worth the wait.
Whatever that means.

Madison's Computer Tip:
Use e-mail to keep in touch with friends and family when you're stuck at home.

Wise words.
I'm definitely DONE with the computer for now, so I'm going to chillax!!! (Nickolodeon word!) and read a while. Maybe I'll post on Monday.

Months of toil now at an end, or Pony Pals Super Special #6: The Last Pony Ride

This is it, guys. The very last Pony Pals book.



Plot: Major changes are going on in Wiggins. Lulu's father wants to her to move to Africa with him! Pam and Anna are getting too big for their ponies!!! What is going on???
First, let's deal with Pam: Pam finds it's getting a tad uncomfortable to ride Lightning. At the same time, Eleanor Whats-her-face has given Pam her horse Starfire after a tragic riding accident, forcing him (not her; she got a new horse) to retire early. Pam is torn between the pony she loves and the horse she longs to care for.
Her mom is totally NOT helping, by hinting that Lightning is a boring old nag that should be sold for glue.
In the end, Pam chooses to keep Starfire and let her mom use Lightning as a school pony, but still take care of her old pony every day.
Good choice.
Now Lulu: Her dad suddenly wants her to move to Africa with him, because he doesn't want to miss her childhood.
Hello???
Then why did you dump her in Wiggins with her grandmother in the FIRST PLACE???
Lulu begs her father to let her stay in Wiggins, with her FRIENDS, and GRANDMA, and PONY, but her dad insists she move to a country (Botwswana) with civil wars so she can make new friends. Because introverts are soooooo good at that.
Lulu has been defeated by her SUCKY FATHER!!! She decides to give Snow White to Anna, because Snow White is the perfect size for her 4'10" friend.
Anna: Basically what was just said about Lulu. She doesn't want her friends to move and change and go through puberty and that, and she doesn't want to give up Acorn. So she asks her parents if she can have TWO ponies (Snow White and Acorn), and Mike Lacey agrees to help her with barn chores so she doesn't get behind in school.
So Anna has two ponies, Lulu has no pony, and Pam has a horse AND a pony.
Not fair.
So Lulu moves to Africa, taking with her a scrapbook of all the Pony Pal's adventures. AWwww.

More notes:
Can I just say I REALLY liked this book? It was sweet.
Except for all the really bad parents.

Isn't Botswana one of the wartorn countries??

Ooh, Lulu got to ride an elephant!! How exotic!

Whatever. I could still ride ponies like Acorn in like 6th grade at 5'4". Anna is 6 inches shorter than that. She needs to suck it up. Just lengthen your stirrups, honey.

Eleanor is such a fake. "Oooh, I miss Starfire! He'll never be able to compete again!"
So she dumps him on a ten-year-old and buys a NEW horse to compete with.

Pam is 5'4", too, and she's too big for Lightning???? Lightning is 14 hands. She should be the perfect height!!

Pam's mom is so annoying. I really, REALLY despise her.

Ugh.
Eleanor: I thought Starfire and I wouldbe a team forever. Now I'm training another horse. I'll walk him around a little. Then I have to go back and ride my new horse. You'll always be my star! *sob*
-_-

Mr. Crandal shaved!!!!!!! He looks Samoan.

Starfire is so named because he has a white STAR marking on his forehead, but that marking is not evident in the illustration.

Ooh, Dr. Crandal's in on it, too.
If your daughter was happy with a pony, why wouldn't you let her be??
And if Pam isn't too big to ride DAISY and SPLASH and train numerous other ponies, she really shouldn't be too big for Lightning!

Mike: Is this something for Lulu?
Anna: Yeah. It's going to say 'Welcome home.' Pam was supposed to write it, but she's not here yet. And Lulu will be here any minute.
Mike: I'll write it for you. I print good.
Yeah, but you don't speak so well.

The writing in this book is definitely more improved than previous books, but Ms. Betancourt still has a tendency to repeat phrases.

Okay, Mr. Sanders wants Lulu to have some permanence in her life, so he's ripping her out of her comfortable life in Wiggins to live with him in Botswana...FOR TWO YEARS. THEN where are they going to move, I wonder?

Oh, it's going to be so great, Lulu! People speak English there, and you can go to school, and your dad bought an apartment for the two of you!
Oh, and you can't bring Snow White.

Pam: Did you tell your dad you didn't want to move to Africa?
Lulu: It seemed like an okay idea when I was there.

Anna: What does your grandmother always want us to do?
Lulu: Be girlie girls.
I'm glad she has such high expectations.

They let Grandma Sandy give them makeovers, then beg her to tell her irresponsible son to let his daughter stay where she pleases.

Grandma: Makeovers! What a lovely idea. I have a great idea for Anna's hair. A shade of pink nail polish would be perfect for girls your age. And there's a new aqua one with sparkles.
Lulu: I bet Pam would like that one.
Hehehe.

SHE STRAIGHTENS ANNA'S HAIR!!

I think Pam is over Lightning. She forgets what gender her pony is.

This sounds like something from a horror movie.
"Lulu's grandmother turned her attention to Lulu. 'Now I am going to give you curls,' she announced cheerfully."

Whoa, pink and silver beads totally don't go with sparkly aqua nail polish.

Moral of this story: Tomboys are better.

Charlie's back in town!! What, he's 12??? I thought he was 14. He's best friends with Mike and Tommy, isn't he??? WHY WOULD THEY HANG OUT WITH A 12-YEAR-OLD??

Uh oh. They go out to dinner at the diner, looking like girls...and see Tommy, Charlie, and Mike.
Recipe for disaster.

Tommy: Look at the Pony Pests. They're trying to be girls.
Jerk. He's probably a homophobe.
Which is weird, cuz he's gay with Mike.
Is it possible to be a gay homophobe?
I guess that's called hypocrisy.

Meow, Lulu looks like Evangeline Lilly.

Grandma: Riding helmets will crush your new hairdos.
Forsake your riding safety, Lulu! I don't care if you die in a riding accident as long as your corpse looks good!

Then she says: Don't worry about it, dear. It's you I love. Not what your hair looks like.
Which is, like, the opposite of what you've been telling her all these years.

Surprise! Starfire is Pam's now.
And her mom still sucks.

Mrs. Crandal totally drops that bomb on her, and then when Pam reacts, is all, "Sorry, I'm busy, we'll discuss this later."
Haaaate.

Anna's in denial. She doesn't realize she's too huge for Acorn (though in the picture all the girls are the same size and look aptly suited to their ponies).

WHOA!!!
Never tell Anna anything, or she might react like this:
"You're going to have a horse! You're giving up Lightning! If you have Starfire, you won't ride her at all. You're disloyal and you're bad Pony Pals. Both of you!!"
*runs away crying*

The Pony Pals decide to let her cool off on her own for a while.
THEY'RE LEARNING! HALLELUJAH!

Oh. Anna admits she's a little psycho. And sad. And resistant to change.
Awwww.


I HATE LULU'S DAD!!!
He's SO SELFISH! If he wants to be with Lulu so badly, why isn't he putting her best interests into the picture??
It's been about his career all this time, and it's STILL about his career.
He claims he doesn't want to miss anymore of her childhood, that she should remain in one place, and that they belong together.
If that's so, MOVE TO WIGGINS TO BE WITH YOUR KID, YOU SELFISH LOSER!!!
He's SUCH a jerk.
And it sucks cuz Lulu probably knows this, but she does love and her dad and wants to live with him.
This is the part of the book that made me really sad. And incensed. But pretty sad, too.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH:
Tommy: Good riddance. We have too many Pony Pests around here. We need pest control.
Mike: Stop it! Stop being mean. It's not funny.
Tommy: Good riddance to you, too. You're a bigger pest than they are.

Wow. I guess it's really over. Now Mike and Anna can hook up!!
Unless...uh oh....
Mike: He makes me so mad sometimes. He's a lousy friend.
Charlie: *pats him on the back* You can find better guys than him to hang out with. [Read: ME!]
Mike: *smile* I guess.
Awww, so much for Mike + Anna.
That would be the awesomest fanfic ever. An Anna, Mike, and Charlie love triangle.

Lulu thinks up some pretty smart ideas.
Idea #1: She wants to give Snow White to Anna, because Snow White knows Anna and giving her away is easier than selling her.
Idea #2: They can enter the 21st century (yay!) and use e-mail to communicate.
They agree to e-mail every week.
Every WEEK?? Come on. Use IM and talk every DAY.

What's with the idea that hobbies detract from schoolwork? I disagree. There can be a balance, and Anna does have a legitimate learning disability.

Mrs. Harley isn't the nicest mom either.
Anna: Acorn and Snow White shouldn't be seperated. They're best friends. They're stablemates.
Mrs. Harley: Of course they can be separated. Ponies are bought and sold all the time. You can only have one pony. That's more than most kids have. I'm sorry, Anna. You'll have to decide what pony you want.
Harsh!! I can understand the financial burden another pony would bring, but seriously??? Your kid's grades should have NOTHING to do with the decision, lady. And she has to choose? Way mean.

No way!!!
Rosalie wishes she could ride ponies more often.
Anna can't take care of two ponies.
Mike offers to take care of both ponies, in exchange for more riding time for Rosalie.
That's so nice!!!!

Basically, they make Mike do ALL the barn chores.
Whoa, that wasn't in the agreement. Anna should still help out.

Haha, we find out the Pony Pals' middle names.
Mike's middle name is John. Lame.
Charlie's is K. Huh. Like Harry S. Truman.
Pam's is Eleanor (after the famous chick who tossed her injured horse over Pam's way).
Anna's is Marie.
Lulu doesn't have a middle name. That's why she's no longer in the club and has to move to Africa.

"I heard you're moving to AFrica. It's a wonderful oppurtunity for you."
That's Mr. Harley talking. I suppose that's true, but all the same, how inconsiderate.
This girl has to leave most of her family and friends (AND PONY) to a completely different culture where there are wars and dangerous animals and excessive heat.
Not that I have anything against Africa (quite the opposite), but if I was forced to move there, I'd be cutting myself now.

How convenient. Rosalie is the perfect size for Acorn. So, in essence, Acorn is Rosalie's pony now.

Yay, the Harley's agreed!

They say goodbye to almost everyone in Wiggins, and reference quite a few of the past books. This includes:
Ms. McGee (Historical Society Chick); Mike's grandma (after they found her secret letter in the secret spot in #31); Ms. Raskins (the slacker girl in charge of St. Francis Animal Shelter); Eve Greeley and Lucky (the pony they raised from birth); Mr. and Mrs. Quinn (the old people with the old pony); Mimi Klein and Tongo (the bratty girl with her bratty pony); Mr. Olson (creepy old man/Charlie's uncle); and Mr. Remington (the cool, Harry Potter-obsessed librarian).

They throw a going-away party for Lulu, where they serve all her favorite foods: spaghetti and brownies!!!

Aw. Grandma Sandy buys them matching pony necklaces to help them remember the now defunct Pony Pals.

They have a profile in the back of the book on each character and pony.
Lulu is 5 feet, and likes detective work and spaghetti, but not fussing with her hair.
Anna is 4'10" (!!), and likes brownies and drawing, but not school.
Pam is 5'4" (at 10 years old!!!), and likes jumping and being in charge (that's for sure), but not bossy people (ironically enough).

The Happiest Pony Pal Moment:
When Lulu got Snow White and we knew we would be the Pony Pals.
I can think of happier Pony Pal Moments.
Not off the top of my head, but if I tried really hard....

The Saddest Pony Pal Moment:
When we found out that Lulu was moving.
What about when Winston died?
Well, yeah, I guess friend moving FOREVER trumps pony dying FOREVER.
Not even being sarcastic.

Awww. I miss them already.
Seriously, when did I start this blog?? Remember when it was originally JUST Pony Pals?
Well, now there are no more Pony Pals...
...AND I REALLY MISS THEM.
But I do have plenty of Madison Finns to keep you entertained. That should be fun.
Next stop: Madison Finn Super Special #1. Someone's getting married!!!

Ghost ponies are entirely probable, or Pony Pals #31: Ponies From the Past

I love how this is the only cover where Lulu actually looks 10-years-old.



Plot: Lulu and Snow White are out riding with their pals Anna and Acorn when Snow White finds a jar inside a hollow log. Curious, Lulu looks inside and finds a later from 1918 written from one young girl (AW) to another (LS). In the letter, AW talks about ponies and boys and things that the Pony Pals often talk about. Lulu feels that AW and LS are kindred spirits and takes the letter to Pam. Pam, being Pam, feels like they should further explore this "mystery": Who is LS? Who is AW? Why didn't LS ever receive the letter?
They go to the Historical Society and look up people with the initials "AW" or "LS" that were born in 1908. How do they know when the girls were born? They could have been 18, not 10!
It turns out "LS", or Lydia Simpson-Eastman, is still alive and lives in a nursing home, so the Pony Pals go visit her. She tells them all about "AW" (or Abigail Wiggins-Stevenson) and herself and their ponies, Bangles and Wildflower. The Pony Pals are shocked to discover that Lydia is Mike Lacey's great grandmother! :O
Bla bla bla, a bunch of boring stuff where they look at some more old letters. Moving on.
Abigail's letters mentioned a secret field, so the Pony Pals seek out the field and go on a ride with Mrs. Wiggins and Lydia in the pony cart and Mike on his bike. They feel like the spirits of Bangles, Wildflower, and Abigail are with them. Lame.

More notes:
Aaargh. Snow White refuses to jump over the fallen tree. She's not curious, just badly behaved.

Lulu won't open the jar until Pam shows up. I guess she learned after that "Sell the pony to Pam's mom" stunt.

Pam doesn't want to open the jar. "We shouldn't read someone else's mail." You should if they're DEAD.

Abigail and Lydia were pestered by boys named George O. and Edwin P. *gasp* JUST LIKE THE PONY PALS!!

"Even John doesn't know about our secret riding field, where girls and ponies are free."
No comment.

Abigail included a really awful drawing with the letter.

What kind of name is Bangles?

Ew, Tommy is blonde in one of the pictures. Mike is a hottie, lol. The Pony Pals are all wearing mom jeans and baggy shirts.

Acorn attacks Tommy.

Anna: Let's go. We've go better things to do than be insulted by Tommy the Teddy Bear and his sidekick, Mike.
Ooooh. Not.

Hm, AW, who lives in Wiggins. Could her last name be Wiggins?

FOR THE LOVE OF DONUTS, they're eating brownies AGAIN!

Pam is an idiot.
Ms. Wiggins: A is for Abigail. My great-aunt Abigail Stevenson. My grandfather was John Wiggins, Abigail's brother. He must be the one who put the letter in the three.
Pam: AW can't be Abigail Stevenson. We're looking for AW, not AS.
Duh, Pam, she got MARRIED.

Ugh. "Maybe the ghosts of the ponies are still in the field."

Oh, gotcha, they find Abigail's birthdate in the family Bible. I'm surprised they even are allowed to MENTION the Bible in this book.

Wait, that doesn't mean Lydia was born in the same year!

Ha ha. Lydia Simpson and Lulu Sanders. SAME INITIALS!

Okay, they look at people born in 1908, but it's not in alphabetical order?? That doesn't make sense to me.

Yeah, let's go visit an old woman and talk about the death of her baby brother!

Oh no, she's Mike's great-grandmother!! She's all, "He's a WONDERFUL boy. You would LOVE him."
Pony Pals: Um, not so much....

Bangles was a Shetland, too. Hm, how interesting.

Laaame. "Hey, here come the Pony Pals! Quick! Call the exterminator!"

Owned, Mike is all, "DON'T MAKE FUN OF MY GRANDMA, TOMMY!"

Mike and the Pony Pals dress in "silly" hats and look at the letters together.

Okay, I know what a false bottom is, but as soon as I read that I started laughing. So immature, I know. Lol.

Mike is named after his great-grandma's baby brother who died of influenza in 1908. Nice.

Lame. The Pony Pals are all, "Mike, you're George O. and Tommy is Edwin P. You're so much cooler without Edwin, I mean, TOMMY."

Lulu: Do you remember Lydia's dream? The one she wrote about in the letter?
Pam: She and Abigail were riding with three other girls and their ponies.
Lulu: Three girls like us.
Creepy....

Ew, there's a picture of Abigail and Lydia and their ponies. The ponies are hideous (as usual), but Lydia looks sort of like Lulu, only uglier, and Abigail looks like Anne of Green Gables, and it seems like she's about to cry.

Don't worry, they're nice ghosts! Yeah, right.

They keep quoting the letter and talking in creepy voices!

WHAT KIND OF LAST SENTENCES ARE THESE?
"'Thank you,' she whispered in her pony's ear. 'Thank you for leading us to the past.'"
That was too weird for me.

I have an Avalon to finish, the last one in the series *gasp*! Don't worry, there's a whole nother Avalon series, which I will read. And then we have more Pony Pals!
I still need to finish my Pony Pal collage, seriously.

It's not Christmas without selfless volunteering, or FTFO Madison Finn #10: Give and Take

I know, I should have done this at Christmas time, but you know how I am about series order!! I finally have the 6th Madison Finn, so I'm pretty excited about that. Consider this a belated Christmas present from me to you.



Plot: Fran and Jeff are fighting again. Jeff had promised to take Madison on a ski vacation, but he bailed on her at the last minute. Madison is disappointed, but hates it when her Mom disses her Dad in front of her.
Besides Madison's mom being a b**** and her dad a flake, Madison's BFFs start ignoring her, acting distant, and excluding her. Weirder than that, Ivy is being NICE!!! It's very odd.
So far, Madison is having a sucky Christmas, so she decides to volunteer at the local nursing home, where she meets Eleanor Romano, a nice old lady who is slightly obsessed with birds. Mrs. Romano hates the holidays, too, because her deadbeat kids won't visit. She and Madison bond.
So do Madison and Ivy. :O
There's a few sort of saddish parts where Mrs. Romano's Alzheimer's acts up and she forgets Madison's name, Aimee and Fiona basically just suck, and Madison listens to her parents fight over the phone. The last part sort of made me mad, because her parents act like their disagreement is her fault. Way to be crappy parents.
Finally, things start getting better. Fiona and Aimee were being distant because they were making Maddie a CHRISTMAS PRESENT!! How lame is that??? No present is worth three weeks of hell. Her parents make up and go to the Winter Jubilee concert together, and her dad takes her skiing anyway. Mrs. Romano makes Madison a hat, and Madison makes Mrs. Romano a snowman (long story), which makes her nursing home charge cry (in a good way).
Okay, lamest part in the whole book: Madison figures out that Ivy is just a fake. Whatever. Ivy was being genuinely nice the entire book, but once Fiona and Aimee come around, Madison's like, "See ya, Ivy." And you said SHE was fake??

More notes:
I just realized: how did it go from summer (book #9) to winter (book #10) and they're still in 7th grade??

The whole first two pages are an IM chat between all three friends, and Maddie and Aimee make fun of Fiona about Egg. Like always.

Jeff Finn hasn't e-mailed Maddie about details for the ski trip, so Maddie lies to her mom and says it's all taken care of. Honey, that'll come back to bite you in the butt.

I HATE FRAN FINN! "I guess it was unfair of me to assume your Dad would just propose these big plans and...well, I won't say it." That's so mean!! Why would you say that to your daughter?

And Madison has to apologize for getting mad at that comment.

Whoa, Madison lives on Blueberry Street, not Blueberry Road. Get it straight, Laura Dower.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a song? I thought that was just a poem. Try my favorite poem ever. Besides "Silver" and that one about summer.

Aaargh. Get a grip, Madison. You can volunteer without your loser friends!

Lol. Hart signs up. She gets a grip pretty quick.

Ew. Fiona is way annoying in this book.
Fiona: Maddie, do you...do you think Egg likes me?
Madison: Yes, Fiona. How many times are you going to ask me that? And Aimee thinks so too.
Fiona: *giggle* Sorry.
Madison: Are you blushing?
Fiona: Should I ask him out?
Madison: Absolutely not. Wait for him to ask you.
Fiona: But that's so twentieth-century.
I agree with Fiona on that.

Okay, Maddie's dad sucks, too. "Oh, we can't go skiing anymore. And Stephanie will be coming with us. But that's cool, right?"

Madison wants to tell her mom about her bad day, but her mom is like, "I'VE HAD THE WORST DAY EVER!" Aargh, I feel like crap when that happens. Don't you hate that, though? I wouldn't want to do that to someone ever.

Ivy has a soul????

At the nursing home, Egg gets paired with a guy who has PTSD.

There are two women left: one with an orange hat, and one who looks mean and has a lame dress. Guess which one Madison gets paired with?

Hint: It's not the one with the orange hat. That chick gets paired with Ivy.

Lol.
Mrs. Romano: I'm obsessed with birds.
Madison: That's nice.
Mrs. Romano: You're just saying that. Don't even try to lie.
Madison: I'm not just saying that. *is so just saying that*

ROFL. Ivy gets paired with someone named Mrs. Holly Wood.

Madison's friends ditch her. I would cry, too.

Bigwheels writes a lot of emo poetry. Her parents have been fighting, too. :(

Ivy's friends are lame, too. She and Madison should make a club: The Lame Friend Club.

Oh, and it turns out Fiona and Aimee ditched Maddie TOGETHER. Oh. Before I felt like crap, now I feel like mega crap! Thanks, guys!

"Madison guessed that Ivy was probably making eyes at Hart through the barrier." HA.

Lame. "Oh, sorry, Maddie, but Aimee's coming over. Sorry we can't hang out!"

Ivy seems way protective of her adopted grandparent.

OMG!! Madison finally stands up for herself!
Ivy: What a freak.
Madison: Sometimes you can be so...so...
Ivy: What? So...what?
Madison: RUDE! I can't believe you're even volunteering. Why do you bother?
OWNED!

And Ivy APOLOGIZES!

"Madison liked the word beau instead of boyfriend. She wondered what if would sound like to say that Hart was her beau."
Sorry, Maddie, but I like boyfriend 10 times better.

Okay, Mrs. Romano tells sort of a lame story about how she and her best friend would meet up every year and make a snowman together. Then her friend gets sick and sends her a snowman snowglobe instead. Then her friend dies. The moral is always tell your friends what's on your mind. Hm... I have something to say to Fiona and Aimee.
"You guys suck. Merry Christmas!"

Joanie: Why did you volunteer for The Estates anyhow? A bunch of old people? What a party!
Rose: The real reason you're doing it, Ivy, is because Hart's doing it, too. Right?
Ivy: Why don't you just zip it?
Joanie: He's such a hottie, though. I don't blame you.
Sadly, this is how junior high girls ACTUALLY TALK!

Um, Drew, wth??
"Uh...is Somkey all covered with snow?" If you're trying to impress Maddie, IT'S NOT WORKING.

Aimee flips out when Madison and Fiona say that Ivy is okay without her drones.

Aw, Madison's grandpa had Alzheimer's, too.

Dan Ginsburg plays flute?? That strikes me as kind of odd.... I picture him as more of a low brass man. I know, stereotypes!

Madison, Fiona, and Aimee discuss what they're getting their parents for Christmas. Madison tells them she's considering a snowglobe, because of Mrs. Romano, and they make fun of her!! Wth? Aimee is literally like, "Maddie, that's a horrible idea. You could do so much better." You're getting your parents a YOGA MEMBERSHIP, Aimee.

Then they go over to Fiona's together...AGAIN...WITHOUT MADDIE. And they're so obvious about it. "Oh, I um...left my BOOK at Fiona's. You can come if you want, I guess, but we can't really hang out...."

Fran keeps badmouthing Jeff, so Madison finally sticks up for him.

Madison asks her to go to the concert with her dad, and her mom's like, "Don't play games with me, young lady."

"I dunno what is going on with that guy Hart either. Sometimes I get the vibe that he likes me, and then he talks to smoe other girls."
Because if he talks to any other girl, that means he hates you.

She sees Aim and Fi (I'm only calling them that because I can't stand typing their names) in a chat room, and they're talking about her.
Aargh, this is going to be so lame, because they're just making a gift or something for her, so their mean behavior is justified.

Madison listens to her parents fight via phone, and Fran starts insulting Stephanie!! What is your problem????

Finally, Madison, who's on the extension, screams, "STOP IT!" Then she yells at both of them.

AARGH. She has to apologize to her mom AGAIN. And her mom's like, "You can talk to me, rather than letting things get to the boiling point." Um, SHE DID.

LAME. Her grandma has a recipe for gingersnaps that she calls "Fred'n'Ginger snaps". Did anyone else get that? Not laughing.

Random. Madison is talking to Fiona on the phone and Fiona's all, "Maddie, what's your favorite color? Orange? And your lucky number is 13, right?" And Madison doesn't suspect ANYTHING.

"Drew was nice. He said he'd make a goal for me, whatever that means."
Aww, Drew, you little stalker pants.

Aw, I know how you feel, Maddie. I wish it snowed every Christmas, too. It snowed THIS Christmas, though!! And today!

Okay, all Maddie wants her mom to do is go to the concert, and her mom keeps leaving her hanging! "You have to be patient, I haven't decided." Cuz you're a self-centered ho.

Hart looks cute even when he's sick and coughing phlegm into a tissue. Awwwww....

The principal gives recognition to the volunteers, and Madison's like, "Oh no, center of attention! Must hide!" Whatever. I love the spotlight.

OMG, Bigwheels is Jewish! That's so cool!

Aaargh. Lame poems and chain letters.

Fiona has a solo in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", and she has to wear antlers and a clown nose. Hawt.

Madison: That went surprisingly well. Your solo was awesome, Fiona.
Aimee: Omg, TOTALLY. I couldn't stop listening.
Duh, what else are you supposed to do?

Chet: You look hot, Aimee.
"Fiona punched his shoulder for saying that, but Aimee thanked him. She wouldn't turn down a compliment from anyone, not even an annoying boy."
He might be annoying, but he's a boy, and he called her hot.

Aww, Hart comforts Maddie about the ski trip dilemma. Ew, bad grammar. Oh well.

LOL, Drew, I love you.
Drew: Actually, my family is going skiing, too. To Switzerland. My parents have a reservation to some spa there. Anyone else want to come to Switzerland? *hint hint* Maddie? *hint hint*
He reminds me of Ryan Evans from HSM.

Madison wants to marry Hart. .....

Ivy tells her friends to shut up and is all nice to Maddie.

Maddie thinks up some crappy captions for the school website.

Lame, Aimee and Fiona made Maddie a collage box. NOT WORTH IT!

Aw, Madison makes Mrs. Romano a snowman.

Her mom ruins the moment and is all, "Well, I guess I'll go to the concert with your dad after all." I HATE HER.

And her dad comes around. Three day ski trip, woo!

Madison's Computer Tip:
Remember that chat rooms are not really private or anonymous.

Yeah. Pony Pals coming up. AARGH, I hate my library. I KNOW they have these books. WHY DO THEY LIE?

As soon as I get a boyfriend, they're making me leave, or FTFO Madison Finn #9: Just Visiting

Ooh, a Madison Finn adventure purely about boys!! Well, that, and vacations, and 4th of July, and grandparents, and friend withdrawal, but other than that....



Plot: It's summer and Madison has so many plans she doesn't even remember them all. What she's most looking forward to is the Far Hills Independence Day Extravaganza, where Hart will be....
Then her mom drops the bomb: Madison won't be spending her summer in Far Hills. She'll be spending it with her grandma, because her mom has to work and no one else wants her in their house. Bummer.
So they fly on over to Winnetka: Madison, Fran, and Phin. Fran drops Madison and Phin off with Gramma Helen and leaves for California. Gramma Helen turns out to be a lot of fun, because Madison can go on her laptop whenever she wants and there's always cool things to do.
Also, Helen's best friend has a grandson Madison's age...and he's cute. His name is Mark and Madison is in love. What about Hart? Oh well.
Madison and Mark spend a lot of time together. Stuff happens. Romance blooms. How adorable. Mark asks Madison to the big 4th of July celebration...and Madison says NO!!
She had the feeling Gramma Helen needed her or would get lonely or something, so she turned down a once in a lifetime oppurtunity. Mark is crushed.
Thank God for meddling grandmas! The grandmas insist that the two "young people" go out together anyway.
So they do. On 4th of July, Madison and Mark ride rides, run around in a maze, eat fatty fried foods (ugh, alliteration), and watch fireworks together. Then Mark kisses Maddie!!
Then he has to leave the next day. The two say goodbye and promise to keep in touch. Madison gives Mark a homemade collage a goodbye present. How...sweet.
Madison goes back home and everyone missed her, even though they insist she missed the best 4th of July ever. Best of all: There had been rumors circling that Hart would go to the extravaganza with Ivy, but he ditched her. Sucks for Ivy...but not for Madison. It appears she likes Hart again. What about Mark??
We'll find out later.

More notes:
Aaargh. My house doesn't have air conditioning either.

Bigwheels is going on a road trip through the West Coast. That's cool...except for the road trip part.

What the heck? Aimee's family can't take her, her dad is busy...call Fiona's mom!! Why would you call her grandma BEFORE you call any of her other friends? That's so mean. She's either racist or she wants Madison to miss 4th of July.

"I know she isn't ruining your Fourth of July on purpose." Are you sure???

Ooh, an extravaganza!!! Sounds...extravagant!

They see Aimee at Freeze Palace. She admits she's pigging out. Trying out bulimia this time?

"Meet me in BFFLAND and hurry." I'm sorry, but that sounds really funny.

: I could ask my mom if u can stay w/us
: no, that's ok my gramma thinks I'm coming now so I have to go she'll be sad if I don't
SHE DIDN'T ASK HER!!! Fran Finn, you stupid ho.

Lindsay, Lindsay. Always the odd man out, with your kayak.

Madison starts freaking out because Hart is splashing her. Why'd you go to the lake wearing a swimsuit if you didn't want to get wet?

I'm really not getting why Madison is so mad. Partly because she lost her favorite hairclip, I guess. Shut up, I'm not joking.

Drew is very adorable and considerate and not stalker in this one.

But he's still really obvious.

"Madison had a sudden vision of Ivy crashing into the net, into the sand, and losing her top in front of the entire world - only to slink away in shame...."
Did you want to see Ivy's humiliation...or did you want to see Ivy without a top?

Hart tells Madison he likes her T-shirt and Madison starts babbling about the sun drying it out for like 5 minutes.

Awww...Hart found Maddie's hair clip.

Fran: I met the first boy I ever liked - really liked - up at that lake house. His name was Ethan Randall. He was so cute. Well...Ethan Randall was the cutest boy I ever met. And he was so nice, too. We went for walks. We swam together in the lake up there. When I was thirteen, I had my best summer ever.
Madison: You did? What happened?
Fran: *blush of death*
They so had sex.

Gramma Helen goes grocery shopping and gets whatever Madison wants. Yay, I love grandparents.

Madison's mom set her hair on fire?

Aw, Hart sends her an e-mail. Soo cute.

Oh no, a cute boy took out the garbage and saw me!!! TRAUMA!!

Madison obsesses over her outfit, and all they're doing is going to the supermarket. Lol, I know the feeling well.

Oh no, they meet Mark in town!!!

Madison goes to the beach and meets a girl named PAM. Hmmm.... You should ask her about ponies, Madison, and see what she does.

Madison fakes sick to get out of meeting Mark.

So her grandmother brings Mark and his grandma over to HER house for lunch. Pwned.

Why did this boy make her so nervous? Hm, he's hot?

HA!! Madison thinks being 14 makes you mature. ROFL!!! I'm so proof against that statement.

Whatever. Older boys are overrated.

: Yeah and Sasha is wicked experienced too w/boys - she has done a lot I was surprised when she told me
:O Like WHAT?? Well, duh, I can guess, but knowing Madison Finn, "experience" probably refers to holding hands. Omg, Sasha's held hands with 20 boys and kissed 4 of them!!

Oh no, Hart is going on a date with Ivy! I would be crying so hard at this point. You're so strong, Maddie.

Madison reminisces about her grandpa, and it made me really sad. I miss my grandpa, too. Only mine isn't dead, he just lives on the other side of the country.

Madison makes Mark a collage to show her "appreciation" or something. *rolls eyes*

OMG Mark catches Madison sitting on the lawn in her pajamas. That sucks.

But he doesn't care how she dresses. That's so adorable.

Mark stutters.
"It doesn't have to be a big deal. I mean, I didn't mean to make a big d-d-deal out of it...."

"She wanted to scream, 'YES, OF COURSE I WILL GO WITH YOU!'"
Girls should be allowed to scream that from time to time without receiving weird looks.

SHE TURNS HIM DOWN!!
"Well, I would love to go with you, but I really think I should spend the Fourth of July with my gramma Helen. I came here to visit her, after all. It seems funny to go to the fireworks without her. Don't you agree?"

Dude, I love Maddie's grandma. "Tell him you've changed your mind." "I can't do that." "Then tell him at dinner. I invited him over."

Yay, Bigwheels sends a survey!!! I love these!! Bigwheels and I would pretty much be best friends.
Name: Victoria
Nickname: Vicki
Home: Washington State
Favorite color: Blue
Hobbies: Computers, reading
Lucky number: 8
Pets: Nope
Brothers and sisters: 1 sister + 1 brother
Favorite subject: English
I want to travel to...: Visit Madison!
Best Friend: My keypal Madison!

That's actually a pretty boring survey.

Aaargh, Mark is such an idiot.
Mark: You don't have to stay around here. If you want to be with your grandmother.
Madison: Well, no I don't. But I want to.
Wait, what??
Mark: Huh?
Madison: I want to be here. I-I mean, if you're okay with that.
Mark: Well, I'm okay.
Being considerate doesn't mean...aargh, never mind.

Mark thinks she's REALLY NICE. Hee.

Oh, but he insults her, and says he prefers going on rides alone.

Even his burps are cute! Madison's words, not mine.

She sits in Mark's lap. He's all, "Ooooh."

Whoa, Mark kissed Madison??? That's pretty intense.

What, Fiona and Aimee have already been kissed? Fiona, yeah, but Aimee? Since when?? Your brother doesn't count, Aimee.

"You know what? I think he likes you, Maddie. You can tell by the way he looks at you."
Gee, and by the way he stuck her tongue in his mouth last night.

They spend his last day on the beach together.

Who doesn't have e-mail?

Mark's in computer club???

Ha ha. Present envy.

Hart DIDN'T go out with Ivy!! Mark, who?

Madison's Computer Tip:
E-mail keeps me close to my BFFs, Mom and Dad, and even NEW friends when I go away.

How nice. I have an Avalon I have to read, then a Unicorns of Balinor, and then a CHRISTMAS-themed Madison Finn. Yeah, excellent timing, right? Not. :P