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Party Line #4
Rosie's Popularity Plan
Despite the misgivings of her friends, Rosie agrees to have the Party Line organize a party for the crabby and universally unpopular Jennifer Peterson, but Rosie has a complicated secret plan to make the party a success
- GenresYoung Adult
Mass Market Paperback
Published July 1, 1990
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July 8, 2024
Rosie’s Popularity Plan
Becky and Allie announce that Rosie accepted a job to throw a party for Jennifer Peterson, Allie thinks it’s going to be a flop. Rosie can’t believe there being so negative. They should be happy because they hadn’t had a job in weeks. They all agree to talk about it after school. Besides, the one for Casey turned out ok. Rosie doesn’t think giving Jennifer a 13th birthday party will be so bad/ Rosie had been paired with her earlier to do an English project. When Rosie goes to do the project Jennifer’s friendly to her (she’s got a reputation as the snobby new girl that sits by herself at lunch and never smiles). Jennifer’s house is the home of Rosie’s dream, but she’s lax about them working in the living room. Her mother is also friendly and offers them cookies. They agree on “The Ransom of Red Chief”. Rosie says she wants to illustrate a scene from the story. They decide on a poster. Rosie will illustrate the story and Jennifer will write a funny poem to go with it. Rosie decides she likes the Petersons after her mom shares her art books.
Jennifer says she knows she said she hated Canfield but she didn’t mean it. Then she starts to tell about the horrible first day she had. Rosie realizes they were all guilty of leaving her out and apologizes. Then they bond over boys and clothes, and Rosie tells her about the Party Line. Afterward, Mrs. Peterson calls and says she wants to do something special for her and that her birthday is coming up. Rosie doesn’t know that it will turn her just as unpopular as Jennifer.
Julie is preparing for her upcoming bar mitzvah and the others are going to throw her a special surprise party to celebrate. At lunch, they all talk about the dress Julie’s grandmother sent her for her big day. It’s hot pink with silver beads on the neck, cuffs, and has a big sash. Julie complains a little about how busy she’ll be between now and the big day with memorizing some lines from the torah, shopping for shoes to match the dress, and homework. While she does this Allie slips Rosie and Becky a note when they’ll meet to talk details for Julie’s party. Allie starts to talk about Dylan Mahhtews in a (crushy) way and Rosie wonders if it’s just a distraction or could Allie finally be interested in boys.
Since they don’t know Jennifer very well they have no ideas for a party. Rosie comes up with the idea to have a “Welcome to Canfield Party.” At the special meeting, Rosie realizes that she booked the party back to back. Julie will be having a sleepover at Rosie’s house. Becky wants to make chicken kiev and rice pilaf. Rosie says she’ll make green beans with almonds. So, it’ll be a dinner party. Jennifer comes up to Rosie and makes the mistake of not speaking to Allie and Becky. Jenifer says she felt weird with them staring at her. Jennifer has on this bright sweater with a lot of bows and Allie and Becky think it’s tacky. Rosie decides to give her a makeover so maybe her friends will see more to her than just on the outside. They all decide to go to the mall the next day and pick Julie a present. They decide to call Mrs. Burger to find out if Julie and she are going to go shopping. If so they’ll go the day after.
In class, Jennifer says UMPH, and Casey thinks she says WOOF, but she stands up to him and he shuts up. They’re reading this story and the teacher asks Jennifer what she thinks about it and she says “it’s magic”. This makes the class laugh because they have this inside joke from way back when about an experiment a teacher did and she asks a student what he learned and he says “its magic” So, “it’s magic” means you don’t know the answer. But Jennifer doesn’t know this. She comes over to Rosie’s later. They both love what the other one has done on the project, They work out where to fit the words on the poster, Then they just talk, Rosie explains the inside joke. Then they start talking about Casey Wyatt. Then Jennifer tells her uffda means different things depending on how you use it but it just means oops. They talk about the makeover and how Rosie got her style. (She tells her she might have got it her mom who works at Cinderella). They talk about what her dad does. (He’s a lawyer). They plan the makeover for Saturday.
Rosie asks her mom what she should do about Jennifer. She tells her that maybe she should make her friends more sensitive to Jennifer. But most importantly she should be a friend to her. At the mall, they find the perfect gift a keychain with a pink convertible attached. Rosie picks a mauve, mini, address, book (to keep any potential boyfriend's numbers). They all go in on a beautiful, lavender, nightgown. They have a little time so Rosie gives Allie a makeover with a new makeup kit she sees. The salesperson gives them a sample bottle of perfume they think would be perfect for Julie (it’s 60.00 and they’ve run out of money). Island Garden is the name of it.
Jennifer’s makeover goes great but Rosie thinks it’s more than the makeup. It’s that she’s getting more comfortable so she’s becoming more confident. Rosie is surprised to find out Jennifer knows they’re throwing her a party. Then they try out hairstyles and the clothes Jennifer never worn in her huge walk-in closet. There’s a vest that’s special to her because her other friends each had one similar but in different prints and colors. Rosie asks why she hasn’t worn any of the new clothes and she said she’d just been more comfortable wearing her old clothes that fit. She hasn’t worn the new clothes because she’s scared to try (and experiment) with new things. She thinks if she tries something out and it looks too different the other kids will laugh at her. Rosie realizes she doesn’t have friends so she doesn’t feel secure.
They talk about Jennifer’s party and decide to all wear their Welcome to Canfield sweat shirts. They decide on friendship bracelets and sunglass holders. Allie slips up and mentions they all went to the mall. Julie gets upset but Allie quickly says they all didn’t go and accuses her of being paranoid. Julie apologizes and says it's just that she’s been feeling out of the loop lately. They all plan to go to the mall to shop the next day and get her a sweatshirt like there’s.
Jennifer comes to school the next day in the clothes and hair that Rosie suggested. Everyone takes notice! The project goes off great and Allie and Julie bond with Jennifer on the embroidery she did herselef on her new shoes. She joins them at lunch at their table. It’s a little strained tho. It gets better tho because they start talking about her pet (Bear). Jennifer tho sticks her foot in her mouth and makes a comment about a dog is better than a snotty cat. Julie has a cat. Rosie tries to explain (apologize) on Jennifer’s defense, but Julie says it’s her she’s mad at because she feels like they aren’t friends anymore. They quickly make up.
Julie’s party comes first. They spend an hour preparing the food and rent Julie’s favorite action movie. Julie sees the dining room and thinks Rosie’s parents are having company but Rosie says no she’s the company. Julie is thrilled and gets a lil emotional. She loves all her presents. Rosie drew a card of what looks like her and Mark in a ballroom and they all sign in. Jennifer shows up but before it gets awkward they bring her a chair and offer her some cake. They try to explain Julie’s bar mitzvah but she’s familiar already with what it is because she had a friend that had one. Jennifer says she didn’t know Rosie was having a private party and she came by for help with her nails and to give her something from her mother. They decide to invite her to stay.
At Jennifer’s party, the first game they play is each guest has to tell a Canfield memory. Rosie tells about her first art project. Liz tells about how she said the wrong words in the first grade to the Pledge of Allegiance. Then they play “Guess Who” they pick the one who fits the object. They have a peach upside-down cake after that. They all give her presents (a Bastille tape, a blue scarf, wild socks, etc). Allie pins a Canfield button on Jennifer and she almost cries.
My Thoughts:
I think the Party Line went a little skimpy on the Welcome to Canfield Party and I think this was on purpose. We’ve read about them getting all into the theme and having cakes in the theme, decorations in the theme, food in the theme. All they did for this poor girl’s party was buy some 3.00 friendship bracelets and get her a sweatshirt. I know she’s not a kid but I think they could have given this party A LOT more thought than they did. I forgot what the cake was but it could have been in the shape of Canfield, or in the shape of Canfield Middle School since we all know Matthew is a whiz with cakes. I think part of the problem was we really didn’t get to know Jennifer all that much. She really didn’t have much of a personality other than people thought she was a snob because she hated Canfield. But who was she really? She was good and poetry. I think that’s the only detail we were given. All you could have done with that was rent “Poetic Justice”. Or I don’t know maybe all of them take her to a poetry slam? She was good at embroidery. Maybe a clothes theme party? But that was done in another book. A sewing-themed party? That sounds like something for grandmas and elderly people, not 13-year-olds. There just wasn’t anything there. That’s why this one fizzled.
Julie’s wasn’t *that* much more interesting. A dinner party with candles sounded like something Mark would have thrown for her. The sleepover was ok but it was just,put it this way if they were aiming for s” special” again they should have tried harder. Both these parties felt just thrown together (particularly Jennifers).
Rating: 5
Becky and Allie announce that Rosie accepted a job to throw a party for Jennifer Peterson, Allie thinks it’s going to be a flop. Rosie can’t believe there being so negative. They should be happy because they hadn’t had a job in weeks. They all agree to talk about it after school. Besides, the one for Casey turned out ok. Rosie doesn’t think giving Jennifer a 13th birthday party will be so bad/ Rosie had been paired with her earlier to do an English project. When Rosie goes to do the project Jennifer’s friendly to her (she’s got a reputation as the snobby new girl that sits by herself at lunch and never smiles). Jennifer’s house is the home of Rosie’s dream, but she’s lax about them working in the living room. Her mother is also friendly and offers them cookies. They agree on “The Ransom of Red Chief”. Rosie says she wants to illustrate a scene from the story. They decide on a poster. Rosie will illustrate the story and Jennifer will write a funny poem to go with it. Rosie decides she likes the Petersons after her mom shares her art books.
Jennifer says she knows she said she hated Canfield but she didn’t mean it. Then she starts to tell about the horrible first day she had. Rosie realizes they were all guilty of leaving her out and apologizes. Then they bond over boys and clothes, and Rosie tells her about the Party Line. Afterward, Mrs. Peterson calls and says she wants to do something special for her and that her birthday is coming up. Rosie doesn’t know that it will turn her just as unpopular as Jennifer.
Julie is preparing for her upcoming bar mitzvah and the others are going to throw her a special surprise party to celebrate. At lunch, they all talk about the dress Julie’s grandmother sent her for her big day. It’s hot pink with silver beads on the neck, cuffs, and has a big sash. Julie complains a little about how busy she’ll be between now and the big day with memorizing some lines from the torah, shopping for shoes to match the dress, and homework. While she does this Allie slips Rosie and Becky a note when they’ll meet to talk details for Julie’s party. Allie starts to talk about Dylan Mahhtews in a (crushy) way and Rosie wonders if it’s just a distraction or could Allie finally be interested in boys.
Since they don’t know Jennifer very well they have no ideas for a party. Rosie comes up with the idea to have a “Welcome to Canfield Party.” At the special meeting, Rosie realizes that she booked the party back to back. Julie will be having a sleepover at Rosie’s house. Becky wants to make chicken kiev and rice pilaf. Rosie says she’ll make green beans with almonds. So, it’ll be a dinner party. Jennifer comes up to Rosie and makes the mistake of not speaking to Allie and Becky. Jenifer says she felt weird with them staring at her. Jennifer has on this bright sweater with a lot of bows and Allie and Becky think it’s tacky. Rosie decides to give her a makeover so maybe her friends will see more to her than just on the outside. They all decide to go to the mall the next day and pick Julie a present. They decide to call Mrs. Burger to find out if Julie and she are going to go shopping. If so they’ll go the day after.
In class, Jennifer says UMPH, and Casey thinks she says WOOF, but she stands up to him and he shuts up. They’re reading this story and the teacher asks Jennifer what she thinks about it and she says “it’s magic”. This makes the class laugh because they have this inside joke from way back when about an experiment a teacher did and she asks a student what he learned and he says “its magic” So, “it’s magic” means you don’t know the answer. But Jennifer doesn’t know this. She comes over to Rosie’s later. They both love what the other one has done on the project, They work out where to fit the words on the poster, Then they just talk, Rosie explains the inside joke. Then they start talking about Casey Wyatt. Then Jennifer tells her uffda means different things depending on how you use it but it just means oops. They talk about the makeover and how Rosie got her style. (She tells her she might have got it her mom who works at Cinderella). They talk about what her dad does. (He’s a lawyer). They plan the makeover for Saturday.
Rosie asks her mom what she should do about Jennifer. She tells her that maybe she should make her friends more sensitive to Jennifer. But most importantly she should be a friend to her. At the mall, they find the perfect gift a keychain with a pink convertible attached. Rosie picks a mauve, mini, address, book (to keep any potential boyfriend's numbers). They all go in on a beautiful, lavender, nightgown. They have a little time so Rosie gives Allie a makeover with a new makeup kit she sees. The salesperson gives them a sample bottle of perfume they think would be perfect for Julie (it’s 60.00 and they’ve run out of money). Island Garden is the name of it.
Jennifer’s makeover goes great but Rosie thinks it’s more than the makeup. It’s that she’s getting more comfortable so she’s becoming more confident. Rosie is surprised to find out Jennifer knows they’re throwing her a party. Then they try out hairstyles and the clothes Jennifer never worn in her huge walk-in closet. There’s a vest that’s special to her because her other friends each had one similar but in different prints and colors. Rosie asks why she hasn’t worn any of the new clothes and she said she’d just been more comfortable wearing her old clothes that fit. She hasn’t worn the new clothes because she’s scared to try (and experiment) with new things. She thinks if she tries something out and it looks too different the other kids will laugh at her. Rosie realizes she doesn’t have friends so she doesn’t feel secure.
They talk about Jennifer’s party and decide to all wear their Welcome to Canfield sweat shirts. They decide on friendship bracelets and sunglass holders. Allie slips up and mentions they all went to the mall. Julie gets upset but Allie quickly says they all didn’t go and accuses her of being paranoid. Julie apologizes and says it's just that she’s been feeling out of the loop lately. They all plan to go to the mall to shop the next day and get her a sweatshirt like there’s.
Jennifer comes to school the next day in the clothes and hair that Rosie suggested. Everyone takes notice! The project goes off great and Allie and Julie bond with Jennifer on the embroidery she did herselef on her new shoes. She joins them at lunch at their table. It’s a little strained tho. It gets better tho because they start talking about her pet (Bear). Jennifer tho sticks her foot in her mouth and makes a comment about a dog is better than a snotty cat. Julie has a cat. Rosie tries to explain (apologize) on Jennifer’s defense, but Julie says it’s her she’s mad at because she feels like they aren’t friends anymore. They quickly make up.
Julie’s party comes first. They spend an hour preparing the food and rent Julie’s favorite action movie. Julie sees the dining room and thinks Rosie’s parents are having company but Rosie says no she’s the company. Julie is thrilled and gets a lil emotional. She loves all her presents. Rosie drew a card of what looks like her and Mark in a ballroom and they all sign in. Jennifer shows up but before it gets awkward they bring her a chair and offer her some cake. They try to explain Julie’s bar mitzvah but she’s familiar already with what it is because she had a friend that had one. Jennifer says she didn’t know Rosie was having a private party and she came by for help with her nails and to give her something from her mother. They decide to invite her to stay.
At Jennifer’s party, the first game they play is each guest has to tell a Canfield memory. Rosie tells about her first art project. Liz tells about how she said the wrong words in the first grade to the Pledge of Allegiance. Then they play “Guess Who” they pick the one who fits the object. They have a peach upside-down cake after that. They all give her presents (a Bastille tape, a blue scarf, wild socks, etc). Allie pins a Canfield button on Jennifer and she almost cries.
My Thoughts:
I think the Party Line went a little skimpy on the Welcome to Canfield Party and I think this was on purpose. We’ve read about them getting all into the theme and having cakes in the theme, decorations in the theme, food in the theme. All they did for this poor girl’s party was buy some 3.00 friendship bracelets and get her a sweatshirt. I know she’s not a kid but I think they could have given this party A LOT more thought than they did. I forgot what the cake was but it could have been in the shape of Canfield, or in the shape of Canfield Middle School since we all know Matthew is a whiz with cakes. I think part of the problem was we really didn’t get to know Jennifer all that much. She really didn’t have much of a personality other than people thought she was a snob because she hated Canfield. But who was she really? She was good and poetry. I think that’s the only detail we were given. All you could have done with that was rent “Poetic Justice”. Or I don’t know maybe all of them take her to a poetry slam? She was good at embroidery. Maybe a clothes theme party? But that was done in another book. A sewing-themed party? That sounds like something for grandmas and elderly people, not 13-year-olds. There just wasn’t anything there. That’s why this one fizzled.
Julie’s wasn’t *that* much more interesting. A dinner party with candles sounded like something Mark would have thrown for her. The sleepover was ok but it was just,put it this way if they were aiming for s” special” again they should have tried harder. Both these parties felt just thrown together (particularly Jennifers).
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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