History YMMV / RamonaQuimby

** When Henry agrees to play Joseph in the Christmas pageant despite being busy doing other things, is he just being agreeable (which would be in character), or is it because Beezus is playing Mary? It could also be CharacterDevelopment because in his debut ''Henry Huggins'', he did all he could to get out of playing the lead in the Christmas play but seems to have realized it's not a big deal now that everyone is more grown-up. [[note]]Although that's debatable, since his only reason for not wanting to be in the play was because he disliked AllJustADream stories.[[/note]]

* ToyShip: While people don't tend to write fanfiction about the series, Ramona is sometimes speculated to have a crush on both Yard Ape and Howie. Beezus and Henry in the early books.

** Aunt Beatrice and Mrs. Quimby laugh about how they had a feud that was started because Beatrice wrote on every page of Dorothy's autograph album. Readers nowadays may need to know an autograph album is exactly what it sounds like: a notebook that collects quotes and sayings from people.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Readers who grew up with Louis Darling and Alan Tiegreen's illustrations reacted this way to the late 2000s reprints. The new illustrations attempt to modernize certain things (characters wear helmets when riding bikes, for example), but they [[UnreliableIllustrator sometimes clash with the text]].

** Aunt Beatrice and Mrs. Quimby laugh about how they had a feud that was started because Beatrice wrote on every page of Dorothy's autograph album. 2010 readers may need to know an autograph album is exactly what it sounds like: a notebook that collects quotes and sayings from people.
** Mrs. Quimby is a homemaker for a long time, until she takes a part-time job to pay for an extension to the house, and then a full-time job when her husband gets laid off. There's also a bit where Mr. Quimby tells off Ramona for wanting a sheep costume for a Christmas pageant without asking if her mother has the time; Ramona then wishes her dad could sew. In the 2010s, she'd have to balance having a job with housework. Presumably, Ramona would be taught to sew if she wants her sheep costume, or Mr. Quimby could do it since all he's doing is smoking and collecting unemployment.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Ramona herself, whose series is a spin-off of the Henry Huggins series. Additionally, the first book ("Beezus and Ramona") was written from Beezus' perspective; Ramona simply took over the series thereafter.

* AccidentalAesop: It's okay for older kids to set boundaries with younger kids even if the younger kid is only pushing said boundaries because they like the older kid so much. In an early book, Mrs. Quimby tells off Ramona for interrupting Henry and Beezus's checkers game, sending her to her room to think about manners. Later, the Quimbys agree that Ramona doesn't have to hang out at Howie's house because it's not fair that his grandmother scapegoats Ramona for the mischief that Howie's little sister Willa Jean causes. They instead have the girls come home. When Willa Jean calls and begs Ramona to return for after-school playdates, Ramona is portrayed as in the right for politely turning her down. The latter case could also be seen as an Aesop about how to treat your friends, since part of the reason Ramona doesn't like hanging out with Willa Jean is because Willa Jean is often not nice to her when they do play.

** When Henry agrees to play Joseph in the Christmas pageant despite being busy doing other things, is he just being agreeable (which would be in character), or is it because Beezus is playing Mary? It could also be CharacterDevelopment because in his debut ''Henry Huggins'', he did all he could to get out of playing the lead in the Christmas play but seems to have realized it's not a big deal now that everyone is more grown-up.[[note]]Although that's debatable, since his only reason for not wanting to be in the play was because he disliked AllJustADream stories.[[/note]]

** The cab driver who looks "doubtful" when picking up the stomach-flu-afflicted Ramona in "Age 8": Was he [[NeatFreak not wanting her to throw up again in his car]], or was he afraid of catching her germs?

* AngstWhatAngst: Ramona doesn't seem to mourn [[spoiler: Picky-picky's death]] much beyond [[spoiler: his funeral.]] Probably justified, since [[spoiler: the cat]] never cared much for rowdy little Ramona, so she was never as attached to him as Beezus was, and the news of Mrs. Quimby's pregnancy provides an immediate distraction too. At least she does feel sad at the thought of [[spoiler: leaving his grave behind]] when it seems that her family is going to move.

*** The last chapter finally has Susan facing comeuppance for her snobby and bratty attitude. Ramona had specifically said she didn't want to invite Susan to her party because the girl would ruin it with her "[[ThePerfectionist Miss Perfect]]" attitude. She's proven right when Mrs. Quimby invites Susan against her wishes; Susan takes out an apple after Ramona blows out the candles and says her mother wouldn't let her have any because the cake has germs from Ramona. While Ramona understandably fumes and the kids are briefly grossed out, Daisy takes a big bite out of her slice of cake and says, with a decisive look in her eyes, who cares if the cake has a few germs, it's not like they ate food off the floor or something. This helps the kids regain their spirit, and they call out Susan for being rude. Even though they then comfort Susan for subsequently crying about how no one likes her, and Ramona forgives Susan for being a {{Jerkass}} on realizing how much of it is her mother's influence, it's the only time that she actually faces consequences.

* CatharsisFactor: Daisy ends up being the one telling off Susan in "Ramona's World" for her behavior, and it's the first time the lecture actually sticks. While she doesn't know why Ramona dislikes the other girl, since she moved that year and didn't know about the owl debacle, she soon understands why when Susan pulls out an apple after Ramona blows out her birthday candles and says that the cake now has germs on it, so her mother told her not to eat any. Daisy gives a DeathGlare to Susan and eats the cake, saying that it's perfectly fine. The causes the other kids invited to dig in as well and they join in when calling out Susan for being rude. Yes, this drives Susan to tears and she seems oblivious that it was her own rudeness even if she was parroting her mother, but it was well-deserved.

* HarsherInHindsight: Beezus can't help but be amused when Ramona thinks their dad mowing the lawn is his job when filling out a library card; she quickly tells the librarian where their dad works, since Ramona is too little to know better. A few books later, Mr. Quimby loses his job in a company merger and spends days around the house moping or at the unemployment office getting paychecks.

** There's a bit where Ramona vanishes while Beezus is getting a snack and watching her. Beezus briefly panics that Ramona might have gone outside and started wandering again to explore the world, since she had explained about Christopher Columbus to her. Then she realizes she hasn't checked the basement and goes down.
** Ramona shoves her doll Bendix in the oven while Mrs. Quimby is baking Beezus's birthday cake, causing it and the cake to start burning rubber, while pretending to be Gretel. Beezus is more angry and saddened that her cake is ruined, but Mrs. Quimby in hindsight realizes that Ramona could have easily started a house fire. She chides Ramona and says she knows better than to play with the oven because it's dangerous.

** [[spoiler:Picky-Picky's death. Beezus goes down to the basement to check on him because Ramona forgot to let him out, and Ramona realizes she didn't hear him meowing. Beezus screams, and she realizes that Picky-Picky must have died in his sleep. They conspire to bury him before their parents come home, since their dad asked them not to worry their mother. Mr. Quimby looks guilty when he finds out later, saying he would have taken care of the funeral if he had known]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Ramona's father once gets accepted for a job teaching in a far-away part of the state, and the possibility of moving and what it would mean for Ramona (leaving behind her friends, her school and even Picky-Picky's grave) is brought up. However, later on in the same book, Mr. Quimby reveals that he instead took a promotion to manager at the store where he's working.

*** Possibly a case of DeliberateValuesDissonance - Cleary understood how hurtful words from grown-ups could leave a traumatic impression on a child, even if unintentional, when talking about how Ramona overhearing the word "nuisance" from her teacher was based on Cleary being called a "nuisance" by one of her own teachers. So it's likely she understood how "nobody likes a tattletale" could be problematic by discouraging children from getting help with real issues.

** In the fifth book, Beezus wants a haircut like "that girl who figure-skates on TV." This is almost certainly a reference to 1976 Winter Olympics gold medalist Dorothy Hamill, who was known for her haircut that allowed her hair to float gracefully as she skated.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The reprints with new illustrations got this reaction from readers who grew up with Louis Darling and Alan Tiegreen's illustrations. The new illustrations attempt to modernize certain things (characters wear helmets when riding bikes, and computers and flatscreen [=TVs=] are seen in the background), but they [[UnreliableIllustrator sometimes clash with the text]].