My Titus 2 Order is Here!

[Handmaiden of Dog]

Well Sparkles, perhaps Sarah doesn't want to work that hard on her books.  If she never really wanted to write novels and she got assigned the task by her father, then perhaps she is doing the least amount of work possible.  She strikes me as a color inside the lines type artist.  Rather than go to the trouble of deciding what to paint, choosing the composition, and doing the drawing herself, she just chose to color in a coloring book.  That is she used her own life and experiences to write a semi-autobiographical series and didn't  bother fleshing out the characters or the plots.

[anjulibai]

Okay, so they rest of the Epilogue (Which Sarah doesn't call, and it's beginning to annoy me). NOTE: The book is at home and I'm at work, so I'll get some specific quotes later

I guess Joey (who is the character in Christmas Comes to Sunflower) is apparently working for Dad Moody with Mitch. They doing some work for Mr. Gibson, who appears to be running an illegal dog sitting business. I infer this because he has no idea how many dogs he's watching (9 or 10) and he mentions casually putting some kennels in the back of his property, which seems off. He's also hired the Moodys to do the work, which makes me wonder about permits. 

Mr. Gibson has some bizarre speech patterns. Lots of lazy vowels and hanging gs (I think that's what it's called). Not sure if this is meant to make him seem eccentric or uneducated. He then thanks the Moodys for saving his soul and lists all the people that were saved in the books. It's rather a non-sequiter, and the scene just abruptly ends. 

Then it's suddenly that evening at the Moodys' home and they are getting ready for a marshmallow roast. Lots of talk about how fast to roast the marshmallows and technique, which is odd. Some joking about there not being enough marshmallows, and eating too many. 

Also, and proof that Sarah has no idea what life is like in Africa: Mitch comments that this will be Mollie's last marshmallow roast because he doubts you can get marshmallows in Africa and besides, it's probably too hot.  

Mollie then gets all misty-eyed about leaving and tells her parents she's so greatful to them for sheltering her and raising her to love the Lord. The last line in the series is Mom Moody saying "God is good". 

What I found interesting about this last chapter is that people keep asking Mollie if she's thinking about Lucas and she never is. Who Lucas is as a person is not fleshed out at all. 

I'll try to post some exact quotes when I get home tonight. 

[iweartanktops]

You can't get marshmallows in Africa?? And it's probably too hot?  

I can't. 

Thanks @anjulibai for enduring that ignorant, awful writing for us! Cheers to you! 

[blessalessi]

But, but... surely it is well known that "Africans" eat only cold food, because of the perpetual heatwave.  And they won't ever have marshmallows unless the Lord leads a missionary family to take some over, maybe for a special Christmas treat! 

[Georgiana]

Althaea officinalis (marsh-mallow,^[1] marsh mallow, or common marshmallow) is a perennial species indigenous to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, which is used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient Egyptian time evolved into today's marshmallow treat.

 

But you probably can't get any.  

[sparkles]

Maybe Sarah learned everything about Africa (it's all one big place, you know) from that dimbulb who went there (Kenya, I think) with her husband on a mission and got all bent out of shape because OMG! They weren't running around barefoot and half-clothed and there was a mall and everything! The nerve!

[iweartanktops]

Whoever said she might as well be writing about Mars was absolutely correct! Poor Sarah is clueless. 

[socalrules]

So no details on how super sheltered Mollie met the preacher from Africa? How did they court if he has a church in another country. So they have no problem with their daughter moving to another country with a man she barely knows? Like that could happen to Sarah or her sisters. Of course we learn little about the Mollie's groom-to-be because, since he isn't a Moody, he isn't important. You only matter if you are immediate family.

[anjulibai]

So no details on how super sheltered Mollie met the preacher from Africa? How did they court if he has a church in another country. So they have no problem with their daughter moving to another country with a man she barely knows? Like that could happen to Sarah or her sisters. Of course we learn little about the Mollie's groom-to-be because, since he isn't a Moody, he isn't important. You only matter if you are immediate family.

Which Mollie will no longer be, in addition to living on the other side of the world. 

There was nothing at all about how Mollie met him, at least not in that chapter. I'll let you all know if he shows up in the rest of the book. 

[blessalessi]

If that is the 10 years on chapter, then won't Mollie just be an 11 year old baking cookies and schlepping round Colorado in the rest of the book?

[Rosie]

It doesn't matter that Sarah knows nothing of living in Africa. Chances are, nearly all of her readers know nothing about living in Africa either.

I'm surprised Steve allowed Sarah to write about daughters getting married as that has not happened in the Maxwell house. Sarah shouldn't be thinking of husbands, she needs to focus on her "work".

The fact that she calls the place she is moving "Africa" says it all.  Africa is a continent.  What country is she moving to?

[anjulibai]

If that is the 10 years on chapter, then won't Mollie just be an 11 year old baking cookies and schlepping round Colorado in the rest of the book?

Probably, but Sarah could certainly write that the Moodys became family friends with a boy Mollie's age. 

I'd don't know, we'll see how what's there. 

[Trynn]

Okay, so they rest of the Epilogue (Which Sarah doesn't call, and it's beginning to annoy me). NOTE: The book is at home and I'm at work, so I'll get some specific quotes later

I guess Joey (who is the character in Christmas Comes to Sunflower) is apparently working for Dad Moody with Mitch. They doing some work for Mr. Gibson, who appears to be running an illegal dog sitting business. I infer this because he has no idea how many dogs he's watching (9 or 10) and he mentions casually putting some kennels in the back of his property, which seems off. He's also hired the Moodys to do the work, which makes me wonder about permits. 

Mr. Gibson has some bizarre speech patterns. Lots of lazy vowels and hanging gs (I think that's what it's called). Not sure if this is meant to make him seem eccentric or uneducated. He then thanks the Moodys for saving his soul and lists all the people that were saved in the books. It's rather a non-sequiter, and the scene just abruptly ends. 

Then it's suddenly that evening at the Moodys' home and they are getting ready for a marshmallow roast. Lots of talk about how fast to roast the marshmallows and technique, which is odd. Some joking about there not being enough marshmallows, and eating too many. 

Also, and proof that Sarah has no idea what life is like in Africa: Mitch comments that this will be Mollie's last marshmallow roast because he doubts you can get marshmallows in Africa and besides, it's probably too hot.  

Mollie then gets all misty-eyed about leaving and tells her parents she's so greatful to them for sheltering her and raising her to love the Lord. The last line in the series is Mom Moody saying "God is good". 

What I found interesting about this last chapter is that people keep asking Mollie if she's thinking about Lucas and she never is. Who Lucas is as a person is not fleshed out at all. 

I'll try to post some exact quotes when I get home tonight. 

Do that. I need ideas for the Doody fAmily.

[Naga Viper]

@Trynn Are you still looking for a different surname? How about Flanders?

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Moodys-Sarah-Maxwell/product-reviews/0966910753/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#RL3D6SRA3Z6XQ

[VodouDoll]

You can't get marshmallows in Africa?? And it's probably too hot?  

I can't. 

Thanks @anjulibai for enduring that ignorant, awful writing for us! Cheers to you! 

In the Moody book Sarah gave away on Amazon the family met a woman who was a missionary in Indonesia. This character claimed that Indonesians had no idea what soap was and didn't wash their clothes until she, the missionary, showed up to teach them. Sarah also wrote about the Moodys going to church to hear a different missionary preach a sermon about Africa. This preacher says that Africans get really excited to meet "white [men] who are Christians" and calls the Ivorian in his story a "native man."

The Moody books are kinda racist, is what I'm saying. I felt so uncomfortable reading those passages and have no idea what she could've been thinking when she wrote them. She's grossly, pathetically ignorant about anything outside of Levenworth, KS.

[Seven Severn]

In the Moody book Sarah gave away on Amazon the family met a woman who was a missionary in Indonesia. This character claimed that Indonesians had no idea what soap was and didn't wash their clothes until she, the missionary, showed up to teach them. Sarah also wrote about the Moodys going to church to hear a different missionary preach a sermon about Africa. This preacher says that Africans get really excited to meet "white [men] who are Christians" and calls the Ivorian in his story a "native man."

The Moody books are kinda racist, is what I'm saying. I felt so uncomfortable reading those passages and have no idea what she could've been thinking when she wrote them. She's grossly, pathetically ignorant about anything outside of Levenworth, KS.

And that ignorance is by Steve's design, of course. Anything that isn't white, middle-class, American, Steve-approved (the last being the most important) culture doesn't really exist and if something doesn't exist then what's there to know? Making assumptions and making up stuff about far-off places is a-ok  because what part of the target audience is going to really care? As long as it fits into their preexisting narrative then there's no reason for any of them to raise an eyebrow.

[Trynn]

@Trynn Are you still looking for a different surname? How about Flanders?

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Moodys-Sarah-Maxwell/product-reviews/0966910753/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#RL3D6SRA3Z6XQ

Maybe. I'm not seeing how you get Flanders from that link....

I'm almost certain I'll go with Doody..... Or Broody.... Noodley? Although I'm almost really attached to Trudy and Judy Doody.....

I haven't written it yet, but my head cannon has a different take on the scene with the missionary woman.... Perhaps next time I am procrastinating. Maybe. If my new kindle shows up. My old one got stolen. and then I need a case before I use it because otherwise I'll break it in 10 minutes.

[FunFunFundie]

I feel like Sarah wrote these books to try and show Fundie children a "perfect" family.  

According to Keeping Our Children's Hearts, she was doing it because there is nothing out there that meets her father's standards (i.e., all books are forbidden from them), and so she wanted to write something that would be permissible.  This means wholesome good fundie fun, but also nothing that would lead to "dangerous appetites" like having any of the women work or having dad seem ineffectual, letting anybody show anger or eat too much, etc.

[iweartanktops]

@VodouDoll thanks for the information! That's not surprising but it really bothers me! It's particularly disturbing that these books are selling and other fundie parents are okay with reading this garbage to their children! More fundie SOTDRT ignorance being spread around! All while the kids are learning "character qualities." What's the point if racism is taught along with them? 

Sorry, I have more to say but I'm not feeling well at all today. I'm probably not very eloquent. 

[Naga Viper]

 

Maybe. I'm not seeing how you get Flanders from that link....

 

I'm almost certain I'll go with Doody..... Or Broody.... Noodley? Although I'm almost really attached to Trudy and Judy Doody.....

 

I haven't written it yet, but my head cannon has a different take on the scene with the missionary woman.... Perhaps next time I am procrastinating. Maybe. If my new kindle shows up. My old one got stolen. and then I need a case before I use it because otherwise I'll break it in 10 minutes.

The review compares the Moody kids to Rod and Todd Flanders, the vapid, personality-free, God-bothering kids from The Simpsons.

[socalrules]

Sarah's ideas of Indonesia and Africa sound like something a kid that has only read picture book about animals or something similar to the Jungle Book. She may not even know Africa is a continent. Soap was new to people in Indonesia? Does she know that they have universities? Running on water? Electricity? Does she really believe that Africa and Indonesia are basically filled with people living in the wild and are shocked to see th wife man? Does she know there are even wife people from various countries in Africa? 

 I am sure she thinks these people will be saved, in more ways than one, when the white evangelical Christians arrive. She must have been raised to believe every stereotype, particularly the negative ones. What is more maddening is that Steve and Teri know that none of this is true and they allow her to look foolish. All of her stereotypes are racist, the problem is that I am not sure she even understands that.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

I still call them the Noodys in my head, because then everything they do is funnier if you imagine them naked.

 

What I found interesting about this last chapter is that people keep asking Mollie if she's thinking about Lucas and she never is. Who Lucas is as a person is not fleshed out at all. 

Proof that Sarah has never been in love.  I think a woman about to be married and go off to a different continent to live would be able to think of nothing but her bridegroom and the whole new life fast approaching.

[defraudingjezebel]

I still call them the Noodys in my head, because then everything they do is funnier if you imagine them naked.

 

Proof that Sarah has never been in love.  I think a woman about to be married and go off to a different continent to live would be able to think of nothing but her bridegroom and the whole new life fast approaching.

That is a really good thing to point out. I often wonder about how fundies conceptualize love and marriage. Through all of the "helpmeet" nonsense it is clear to see how they understand the dynamics after marriage, but what constitutes love and how does one choose a spouse? Of course, love means totally different things to different people but the Maxwells are particularly interesting because they're so culturally isolated. Do they have a concept of romantic love or do they view it more practically? Do fundie women believe in sex for pleasure (and not just for the sake of men's pleasure)? Aahhh its so complicated and complex but so personal that few of them talk about it at length! 

[Naga Viper]

Duh—I should just bring over the relevant part of that Amazon review. [smacks head]

Tween sibs Max, Mollie, and Mitch are ostensibly the stars, but their overly earnest, chore-loving ways render them as interchangeable as Rod and Todd Flanders from The Simpsons. Kids don't generally care about naturalistic speech patterns, but they notice when the dialogue is this off-kilter:

"This is hard work—but I like it!"
"I enjoy it too! Good, hard work will build our muscles and make us strong."
"Iron helps us play!"

One of those is a Simpsons quote. The other two are actual lines from the book. These people are not great conversationalists.

[nausicaa]

Sarah's ideas of Indonesia and Africa sound like something a kid that has only read picture book about animals or something similar to the Jungle Book. She may not even know Africa is a continent. Soap was new to people in Indonesia? Does she know that they have universities? Running on water? Electricity? Does she really believe that Africa and Indonesia are basically filled with people living in the wild and are shocked to see th wife man? Does she know there are even wife people from various countries in Africa? 

 I am sure she thinks these people will be saved, in more ways than one, when the white evangelical Christians arrive. She must have been raised to believe every stereotype, particularly the negative ones. What is more maddening is that Steve and Teri know that none of this is true and they allow her to look foolish. All of her stereotypes are racist, the problem is that I am not sure she even understands that.

I used to follow a blog written by a very sheltered fundie girl in a rural area in the South. She was writing a book and shared an excerpt in which her protagonist's boat washes up on the shores of Africa. He's in trouble because the Africans are cannibals who want to cook him up for a special celebration and then shrink his decapitated head to put on the top of their chief's scepter.

I feel gross even typing that out.