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->''I am Ariel, the Adopted.''
Ariel Jardell is thirteen years old and a bit too perceptive for her own good. Now that her mom Roberta has had a child of her own, she's ready to dispose of Ariel, and Ariel knows it. Her father David is well aware the little boy, Caleb, is not his and that Roberta has been seeing an old boyfriend, lawyer Jeff Channing. One night, Roberta has a strange dream, and wakes to find that Caleb has suddenly died. And Ariel takes one look at her and says ''Is Caleb dead?''....
Written by hardboiled detective author Lawrence Block and marketed as a horror novel, this is a very subtle story about the scapegoating of a "different" child, communication failure and the destruction of a family, with supernatural elements crawling in at the windows.
----
!! Provides examples of:
* BlackComedy: Erskine is fond of this.
* {{Bookworm}}: Ariel. She's got all the Oz books, plus young-adult novels, and cites several books she loved but didn't finish, including Rosalyn Drexler's ''I Am The Beautiful Stranger''. She's also read at least some of Literature/MobyDick and actually did finish Poe's ''The Purloined Letter'', which is where she gets the idea to keep her diary in a school notebook. (She talks about knowing better than to keep it in one of those ''[[SecretDiary My Secret Thoughts]]'' books around Roberta.) Creator/SylviaPlath and ''her'' book ''Ariel'' are mentioned several times.
* CreepyChild: Roberta thinks Ariel is. Also, Ariel's klutzy friend Erskine Wold. Ariel hints that Erskine may turn out to be BeautifulAllAlong behind those NerdGlasses: "What he should really do is get contact lenses when he's older. His eyes are really quite attractive."
* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, and Erskine has some of this too.
* {{Diary}}: Ariel keeps hers in an ordinary spiral notebook.
* DreamingTheTruth: Ariel may have done so, but she may also be dreaming what she fears.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Jeff and Roberta]].
* GameShow: After seeing Jeff (not knowing who he is) at Caleb's funeral, Ariel begins to think of him as a host for ''TheDatingGame'', then imagines a new show, ''The Funeral Game'' -- pick the right coffin and win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Forest Lawn.
* HauntedHouse: Itself a character in the story. Ariel's family has just moved into the big old house in an older section of Charleston, South Carolina. While Ariel loves it, Roberta comes to believe it is conscious and evil.
* HellIsThatNoise: Ariel's flute, to Roberta -- but especially at the climax.
* HeyYou: Roberta rarely uses Ariel's name. She speaks of "the child".
* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: Jeff and his, er, gun.
* JailBait: Ariel, to Jeff as he goes off his rocker.
* MagicalFlutist: A spooky version thereof. It's never described just where Ariel got her tin flute. She plays it all the time. David enjoys it as did little Caleb, but Roberta hears it as HellIsThatNoise. Or maybe Ariel is just a DreadfulMusician -- but at the end it's [[spoiler: what finally drives Roberta to suicide.]]
* MindControlEyes: Ariel learns to make people who fear her obey her by "making her eyes look like those of the lady in the portrait" she's found.
* OutOfClothesExperience: Ariel lights candles and contemplates the lady in the portrait. She begins to do it without being aware she's doing it, and when she comes out of it she's naked and being yelled at by Roberta.
* PuppyLove: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
* SanitySlippage: First Roberta, then Jeff, both becoming obsessed with Ariel.
* {{Sleepwalking}}: Everyone in Ariel's family does this at some point, either because they're tired, drunk, or.... something else.
* SpookyPainting: Found in Ariel's attic and "adopted" by her. May or may not be a portrait of Grace Molineaux, who may or may not have been an AxCrazy murderess and/or Ariel's former reincarnation.
* TheAlcoholic: David becomes a functional one of these. But he also loves Ariel, so things may work out for him. Roberta is hooked on prescription sleeping pills.
* TheBeautifulElite: Jeff Channing comes very close to being one of these. Ariel and Erskine say "he's got those television good looks."
* UnableToCry: Ariel, in front of people. Part of the communication breakdown is caused by Roberta's belief that Ariel never cried for her brother. She actually did, but alone in her bedroom.
----
Ariel Jardell is thirteen years old and a bit too perceptive for her own good. Now that her mom Roberta has had a child of her own, she's ready to dispose of Ariel, and Ariel knows it. Her father David is well aware the little boy, Caleb, is not his and that Roberta has been seeing an old boyfriend, lawyer Jeff Channing. One night, Roberta has a strange dream, and wakes to find that Caleb has suddenly died. And Ariel takes one look at her and says ''Is Caleb dead?''....
Written by hardboiled detective author Lawrence Block and marketed as a horror novel, this is a very subtle story about the scapegoating of a "different" child, communication failure and the destruction of a family, with supernatural elements crawling in at the windows.
----
!! Provides examples of:
* BlackComedy: Erskine is fond of this.
* {{Bookworm}}: Ariel. She's got all the Oz books, plus young-adult novels, and cites several books she loved but didn't finish, including Rosalyn Drexler's ''I Am The Beautiful Stranger''. She's also read at least some of Literature/MobyDick and actually did finish Poe's ''The Purloined Letter'', which is where she gets the idea to keep her diary in a school notebook. (She talks about knowing better than to keep it in one of those ''[[SecretDiary My Secret Thoughts]]'' books around Roberta.) Creator/SylviaPlath and ''her'' book ''Ariel'' are mentioned several times.
* CreepyChild: Roberta thinks Ariel is. Also, Ariel's klutzy friend Erskine Wold. Ariel hints that Erskine may turn out to be BeautifulAllAlong behind those NerdGlasses: "What he should really do is get contact lenses when he's older. His eyes are really quite attractive."
* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, and Erskine has some of this too.
* {{Diary}}: Ariel keeps hers in an ordinary spiral notebook.
* DreamingTheTruth: Ariel may have done so, but she may also be dreaming what she fears.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Jeff and Roberta]].
* GameShow: After seeing Jeff (not knowing who he is) at Caleb's funeral, Ariel begins to think of him as a host for ''TheDatingGame'', then imagines a new show, ''The Funeral Game'' -- pick the right coffin and win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Forest Lawn.
* HauntedHouse: Itself a character in the story. Ariel's family has just moved into the big old house in an older section of Charleston, South Carolina. While Ariel loves it, Roberta comes to believe it is conscious and evil.
* HellIsThatNoise: Ariel's flute, to Roberta -- but especially at the climax.
* HeyYou: Roberta rarely uses Ariel's name. She speaks of "the child".
* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: Jeff and his, er, gun.
* JailBait: Ariel, to Jeff as he goes off his rocker.
* MagicalFlutist: A spooky version thereof. It's never described just where Ariel got her tin flute. She plays it all the time. David enjoys it as did little Caleb, but Roberta hears it as HellIsThatNoise. Or maybe Ariel is just a DreadfulMusician -- but at the end it's [[spoiler: what finally drives Roberta to suicide.]]
* MindControlEyes: Ariel learns to make people who fear her obey her by "making her eyes look like those of the lady in the portrait" she's found.
* OutOfClothesExperience: Ariel lights candles and contemplates the lady in the portrait. She begins to do it without being aware she's doing it, and when she comes out of it she's naked and being yelled at by Roberta.
* PuppyLove: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
* SanitySlippage: First Roberta, then Jeff, both becoming obsessed with Ariel.
* {{Sleepwalking}}: Everyone in Ariel's family does this at some point, either because they're tired, drunk, or.... something else.
* SpookyPainting: Found in Ariel's attic and "adopted" by her. May or may not be a portrait of Grace Molineaux, who may or may not have been an AxCrazy murderess and/or Ariel's former reincarnation.
* TheAlcoholic: David becomes a functional one of these. But he also loves Ariel, so things may work out for him. Roberta is hooked on prescription sleeping pills.
* TheBeautifulElite: Jeff Channing comes very close to being one of these. Ariel and Erskine say "he's got those television good looks."
* UnableToCry: Ariel, in front of people. Part of the communication breakdown is caused by Roberta's belief that Ariel never cried for her brother. She actually did, but alone in her bedroom.
----
to:
Ariel Jardell is thirteen years old and a bit too perceptive for her own good. Now that her mom Roberta has had a child of her own, she's ready to dispose of Ariel, and Ariel knows it. Her father David is well aware the little boy, Caleb, is not his and that Roberta has been seeing an old boyfriend, lawyer Jeff Channing. One night, Roberta has a strange dream, and wakes to find that Caleb has suddenly died. And Ariel takes one look at her and says ''Is Caleb dead?''....
Written by hardboiled detective author Lawrence Block and marketed as a horror novel, this is a very subtle story about the scapegoating of a "different" child, communication failure and the destruction of a family, with supernatural elements crawling in at the windows.
----
!! Provides examples of:
* BlackComedy: Erskine is fond of this.
* {{Bookworm}}: Ariel. She's got all the Oz books, plus young-adult novels, and cites several books she loved but didn't finish, including Rosalyn Drexler's ''I Am The Beautiful Stranger''. She's also read at least some of Literature/MobyDick and actually did finish Poe's ''The Purloined Letter'', which is where she gets the idea to keep her diary in a school notebook. (She talks about knowing better than to keep it in one of those ''[[SecretDiary My Secret Thoughts]]'' books around Roberta.) Creator/SylviaPlath and ''her'' book ''Ariel'' are mentioned several times.
* CreepyChild: Roberta thinks Ariel is. Also, Ariel's klutzy friend Erskine Wold. Ariel hints that Erskine may turn out to be BeautifulAllAlong behind those NerdGlasses: "What he should really do is get contact lenses when he's older. His eyes are really quite attractive."
* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, and Erskine has some of this too.
* {{Diary}}: Ariel keeps hers in an ordinary spiral notebook.
* DreamingTheTruth: Ariel may have done so, but she may also be dreaming what she fears.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Jeff and Roberta]].
* GameShow: After seeing Jeff (not knowing who he is) at Caleb's funeral, Ariel begins to think of him as a host for ''TheDatingGame'', then imagines a new show, ''The Funeral Game'' -- pick the right coffin and win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Forest Lawn.
* HauntedHouse: Itself a character in the story. Ariel's family has just moved into the big old house in an older section of Charleston, South Carolina. While Ariel loves it, Roberta comes to believe it is conscious and evil.
* HellIsThatNoise: Ariel's flute, to Roberta -- but especially at the climax.
* HeyYou: Roberta rarely uses Ariel's name. She speaks of "the child".
* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: Jeff and his, er, gun.
* JailBait: Ariel, to Jeff as he goes off his rocker.
* MagicalFlutist: A spooky version thereof. It's never described just where Ariel got her tin flute. She plays it all the time. David enjoys it as did little Caleb, but Roberta hears it as HellIsThatNoise. Or maybe Ariel is just a DreadfulMusician -- but at the end it's [[spoiler: what finally drives Roberta to suicide.]]
* MindControlEyes: Ariel learns to make people who fear her obey her by "making her eyes look like those of the lady in the portrait" she's found.
* OutOfClothesExperience: Ariel lights candles and contemplates the lady in the portrait. She begins to do it without being aware she's doing it, and when she comes out of it she's naked and being yelled at by Roberta.
* PuppyLove: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
* SanitySlippage: First Roberta, then Jeff, both becoming obsessed with Ariel.
* {{Sleepwalking}}: Everyone in Ariel's family does this at some point, either because they're tired, drunk, or.... something else.
* SpookyPainting: Found in Ariel's attic and "adopted" by her. May or may not be a portrait of Grace Molineaux, who may or may not have been an AxCrazy murderess and/or Ariel's former reincarnation.
* TheAlcoholic: David becomes a functional one of these. But he also loves Ariel, so things may work out for him. Roberta is hooked on prescription sleeping pills.
* TheBeautifulElite: Jeff Channing comes very close to being one of these. Ariel and Erskine say "he's got those television good looks."
* UnableToCry: Ariel, in front of people. Part of the communication breakdown is caused by Roberta's belief that Ariel never cried for her brother. She actually did, but alone in her bedroom.
----
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''I am Ariel, the Adopted.''
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[[WMG:Examples of:]]
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!! Provides examples of:
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* {{Bookworm}}: Ariel. She's got all the Oz books, plus young-adult novels, and cites several books she loved but didn't finish, including Rosalyn Drexler's ''I Am The Beautiful Stranger''. She's also read at least some of Literature/MobyDick and actually did finish Poe's ''The Purloined Letter'', which is where she gets the idea to keep her diary in a school notebook. (She talks about knowing better than to keep it in one of those ''[[SecretDiary My Secret Thoughts]]'' books around Roberta.) SylviaPlath and ''her'' book ''Ariel'' are mentioned several times.
to:
* {{Bookworm}}: Ariel. She's got all the Oz books, plus young-adult novels, and cites several books she loved but didn't finish, including Rosalyn Drexler's ''I Am The Beautiful Stranger''. She's also read at least some of Literature/MobyDick and actually did finish Poe's ''The Purloined Letter'', which is where she gets the idea to keep her diary in a school notebook. (She talks about knowing better than to keep it in one of those ''[[SecretDiary My Secret Thoughts]]'' books around Roberta.) SylviaPlath Creator/SylviaPlath and ''her'' book ''Ariel'' are mentioned several times.
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* UnableToCry: Ariel, in front of people. Part of the communication breakdown is caused by Roberta's belief that Ariel never cried for her brother. She actually did, but alone in her bedroom.
to:
* UnableToCry: Ariel, in front of people. Part of the communication breakdown is caused by Roberta's belief that Ariel never cried for her brother. She actually did, but alone in her bedroom.bedroom.
----
----
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Dead Little Sister was renamed. Check to see if the example actually fits before readding.
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* [[DeadLittleSister Dead Little Brother]]: Caleb, obviously.
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* CreepyChild: Roberta thinks Ariel is. Also, Ariel's klutzy friend Erskine Wold. Ariel hints that Erskine may turn out to be BeautifulAllAlong: "What he should really do is get contact lenses when he's older. His eyes are really quite attractive."
* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, and Caleb has some of this too.
* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, and Caleb has some of this too.
to:
* CreepyChild: Roberta thinks Ariel is. Also, Ariel's klutzy friend Erskine Wold. Ariel hints that Erskine may turn out to be BeautifulAllAlong: BeautifulAllAlong behind those NerdGlasses: "What he should really do is get contact lenses when he's older. His eyes are really quite attractive."
* [[DeadLittleSister Dead Little Brother]]: Caleb, obviously.
* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, andCaleb Erskine has some of this too.
* [[DeadLittleSister Dead Little Brother]]: Caleb, obviously.
* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, and
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* TheBeautifulElite: Jeff Channing comes very close to being one of these. Ariel and Erskine say "he's got those television good looks."
to:
* TheBeautifulElite: Jeff Channing comes very close to being one of these. Ariel and Erskine say "he's got those television good looks.""
* UnableToCry: Ariel, in front of people. Part of the communication breakdown is caused by Roberta's belief that Ariel never cried for her brother. She actually did, but alone in her bedroom.
* UnableToCry: Ariel, in front of people. Part of the communication breakdown is caused by Roberta's belief that Ariel never cried for her brother. She actually did, but alone in her bedroom.
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* DeadpanSnarker: Ariel, and Caleb has some of this too.
Added DiffLines:
* GameShow: After seeing Jeff (not knowing who he is) at Caleb's funeral, Ariel begins to think of him as a host for ''TheDatingGame'', then imagines a new show, ''The Funeral Game'' -- pick the right coffin and win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Forest Lawn.
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* BlackComedy: Erskine is fond of this.
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* DeadBabyComedy: Erskine is fond of this.
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* CreepyChild: Roberta thinks Ariel is. Also, Ariel's klutzy friend Erskine Wold.
to:
* CreepyChild: Roberta thinks Ariel is. Also, Ariel's klutzy friend Erskine Wold. Ariel hints that Erskine may turn out to be BeautifulAllAlong: "What he should really do is get contact lenses when he's older. His eyes are really quite attractive."
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* PuppyLove: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
to:
* PuppyLove: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
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* {{Bookworm}}: Ariel. She's got all the Oz books, plus young-adult novels, and cites several books she loved but didn't finish, including Rosalyn Drexler's ''I Am The Beautiful Stranger''. She's also read at least some of MobyDick and actually did finish Poe's ''The Purloined Letter'', which is where she gets the idea to keep her diary in a school notebook. (She talks about knowing better than to keep it in one of those ''[[SecretDiary My Secret Thoughts]]'' books around Roberta.) SylviaPlath and ''her'' book ''Ariel'' are mentioned several times.
to:
* {{Bookworm}}: Ariel. She's got all the Oz books, plus young-adult novels, and cites several books she loved but didn't finish, including Rosalyn Drexler's ''I Am The Beautiful Stranger''. She's also read at least some of MobyDick Literature/MobyDick and actually did finish Poe's ''The Purloined Letter'', which is where she gets the idea to keep her diary in a school notebook. (She talks about knowing better than to keep it in one of those ''[[SecretDiary My Secret Thoughts]]'' books around Roberta.) SylviaPlath and ''her'' book ''Ariel'' are mentioned several times.
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Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* TheBeautifulPeople: Jeff Channing comes very close to being one of these. Ariel and Erskine say "he's got those television good looks."
to:
* TheBeautifulPeople: TheBeautifulElite: Jeff Channing comes very close to being one of these. Ariel and Erskine say "he's got those television good looks."
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* Sleepwalking: Everyone in Ariel's family does this at some point, either because they're tired, drunk, or.... something else.
to:
* Sleepwalking: {{Sleepwalking}}: Everyone in Ariel's family does this at some point, either because they're tired, drunk, or.... something else.
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Renamed trope
* PuppyLove: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
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* ToyShip: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
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Added DiffLines:
* ToyShip: Ariel and Erskine, although they agree they don't want to "do that" because they're friends.
