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Use this forum to discuss the May 2023 Book of the Month, "Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures" by Catherine A. Pepe
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Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno
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Re: ***Spoiler Alert—do not answer this question until you have finished the book***

Post by Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno »

It was quite evident, at first, that Tiffany was the culprit. She came across as being quite meanspirited in my opinion. The fact that she was being blackmailed by Justin was sad and put her in a pretty bad place.
Real courage is when you know you are licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what! (To kill a Mockingbird - Atticus Finch) Harper Lee.
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Post by MsH2k »

Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno wrote: 23 Jun 2023, 07:50 It was quite evident, at first, that Tiffany was the culprit. She came across as being quite meanspirited in my opinion. The fact that she was being blackmailed by Justin was sad and put her in a pretty bad place.
It is understandable—but not flattering—to be jealous when another person enters an existing friendship you have with someone. (I will admit I have been guilty of this crime. :eusa-shhh: ) But Tiffany’s reaction when she found out what was in the notes showed that her jealousy was fueled more by hurt feelings than vindictive intent.
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Post by Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno »

MsH2k wrote: 23 Jun 2023, 13:21
Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno wrote: 23 Jun 2023, 07:50 It was quite evident, at first, that Tiffany was the culprit. She came across as being quite meanspirited in my opinion. The fact that she was being blackmailed by Justin was sad and put her in a pretty bad place.
It is understandable—but not flattering—to be jealous when another person enters an existing friendship you have with someone. (I will admit I have been guilty of this crime. :eusa-shhh: ) But Tiffany’s reaction when she found out what was in the notes showed that her jealousy was fueled more by hurt feelings than vindictive intent.
I guess feeling cast aside or maybe even ignored by someone you believe to be a friend can be quite hurtful, but there are better ways to handle it. I feel like she might have too. Her run-in with Justin was probably just a convenient inconvenience that she used to vent.
Real courage is when you know you are licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what! (To kill a Mockingbird - Atticus Finch) Harper Lee.
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Post by Monale Bariyima Ueh »

I also thought it was Tiffany as Justin Green had not been mentioned. I thought she did it out of jealousy. However, she was still connected to the notes. This highlights the story's unpredictability which I enjoyed.
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Post by Monale Bariyima Ueh »

I also commend Tiffany for coming clean and admitting her involvement. It takes courage to attempt to right our wrongs. She could have felt remorseful and stopped in private without ever coming clean coming and probably stop Justin by threatening to report him.
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Post by Monale Bariyima Ueh »

This also shows how one wrong deed can spiral into a path we never envisaged taking. Justin will never had made her place the notes if he did not have the knowledge of her cheating. While cheating is bad, she never planned to be part of bullying but her one wrong action implicated her and led her down that path.
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Post by MsH2k »

Monale Bariyima Ueh wrote: 27 Jun 2023, 02:23 This also shows how one wrong deed can spiral into a path we never envisaged taking. Justin will never had made her place the notes if he did not have the knowledge of her cheating. While cheating is bad, she never planned to be part of bullying but her one wrong action implicated her and led her down that path.
You raise an interesting point. Tiffany’s bad decision to cheat placed her in a position for something else bad to happen to her (blackmailing), which ushered in another bad situation (bullying). As I was thinking about this, I realized the action that could have started this all was the jealousy that Tiffany had toward Mary Grace and Penelope’s budding friendship. I think bad decisions ultimately originate in the heart.
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Post by Success Azuka »

I thought it was Tiffany. Funny enough, at some point I had to change my answer to Justin because arrows kept pointing at him. It was a lovely read I must say.
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Post by Samantha Barnes 3 »

I thought it was Tiffany who wrote the notes at first because she was the only one who seemed displeased with Mary Grace's presence. I am very glad that I was not right.
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Post by Helen Akoth »

I didn't guess right. I too suspected that it was Tiffany. I was surprised that it turned out to be someone else—Tiffany. A pleasant surprise at that!
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Post by Atieno Magero »

I also thought Tiffany wrote the notes. I was shocked to discover that it was actually Justin who was behind the notes. That was an interesting twist. I like that the story is strictly against bullying and that both Justin and Tiffany were given appropriate punishments and correction for their mistakes.
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Post by Yasmine M »

Everything was pointing at Tiffany as the bully. That's because we were looking at the situation through Mary Grace's perspective. A plot twist indeed.
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Post by Yasmine M »

Everything was pointing at Tiffany as the bully. That's because we were looking at the situation through Mary Grace's perspective. A plot twist indeed.
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Post by Jennifer Coxon »

I agree that I thought it was Tiffany. It gave more depth to the story with it being Justin though.
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Post by Zippy Kerubo »

In my understanding I guess it was Justin's doingsand he forced Tiffany to put that letter on Mary's Locker
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