History YMMV / RamonaQuimby

** Ramona herself definitely counts as well during her {{Age Appropriate Angst}} moments.

** ''Beezus and Ramona'': Ramona hopping around in her paper bunny ears; Ramona plunging her doll into Beezus's birthday cake in the oven while playing ''Literature/HanselAndGretel''.
** ''Ramona the Pest'': Ramona splashing in the rain in her new red boots; Ramona pulling Susan's curls.

** ''Ramona and Her Father'': Ramona putting a crown of burrs on her head and Mr Quimby having to cut them out of her hair; Mr. Quimby and Ramona drawing "the world's longest picture"; Ramona playing a sheep in the church Christmas pageant.

** ''Ramona Forever'': [[spoiler: Picky-picky's death]]; Aunt Beatrice's wedding.
** ''Ramona's World'': Ramona falling through the floor of Daisy's attic; Daisy and the other girls telling off Susan at Ramona's birthday party.

** The narration mentions there was one time Ramona tried walking to find the end of the rainbow without telling her parents or Beezus. After making it as far as the supermarket, the police bring her home. While Mr. Quimby only remarks that Ramona has too much imagination sometimes, it's hinted it was LiesToChildren so that Beezus wouldn't freak out.

** The earlier books in the series vs. the later books. Are they all equally appealing in different ways? Are the later books such as ''Ramona Quimby, Age 8'' and ''Ramona Forever'' especially good because Ramona is older and more relatable to the target audience of readers? Or do the later books lack the charm of the earlier books because the more mature Ramona is less prone to making funny mistakes?

** ''Ramona's World'': Ramona falling through the floor of Daisy's attic; Daisy telling off Susan at Ramona's birthday party.

** ''Ramona the Brave: Ramona destroying Susan's paper owl; Ramona being chased by a German Shepherd and throwing her shoe at him.

* {{Squick}}: Whenever Ramona feels nauseous, it's described in great detail, including her expression, her internal monologue, etc.

** Mrs. Quimby is a homemaker for a long time until she takes a job out of the house 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.

** The scene where Ramona nearly falls through Daisy's attic. She's trapped for a bit until Daisy's brother can rescue her, and feels guilty that the floor and ceiling are damaged. Daisy's mother tells her that doesn't matter; what's important is that Ramona was not hurt.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Daisy. Some readers consider her a ReplacementScrappy for Howie and a forgettable GenericGirl while others like her for being a NiceGirl who finally gives Ramona a prominent female friend her age to bounce off of, as well as the fact she provides a CatharsisFactor and SugarWiki/AwesomeMoment calling out Susan for her rude behavior at Ramona's birthday party, especially since that is the only time Susan [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty faces any consequences]].

** Although the Quimby parents don't use corporal punishment, some of Mr. Quimby's grandmother's sayings make reference to it ("First time [doing something annoying] is funny, second time is silly, third time is a spanking"). With studies showing the [[https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2017/12/the-fourth-r/547583/ negative]] [[https://www.handinhandparenting.org/2013/08/whats-the-problem-with-spanking/ effects]] of spanking and similar punishments on children, that would be substantially more controversial these days.

*** Roberta gets her head stuck in the kitten penthouse that Ramona has on loan while catsitting. It's scary, but Ramona remains calm, realizing that since Roberta is crying and has her mouth open, her head can't get out of the hole, so she needs to be pacified. So she sings Roberta's favorite rhyme to calm her down, "The Three Little Kittens," and pulls her baby sister out of the cat hole gently. A subtle but telling display of maturity, ingenuity, and love, showing how far Ramona has come from the BrattyHalfPint she used to be, so long ago.

** 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 they 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]]
** Hobart teasing Ramona about her name with the song "Ramona" and jokingly calling her Howie's girlfriend. Howie even tells him to knock it off, with annoyance. Was Hobart being InnocentlyInsensitive and thinking he was funny, or did he want to get a rise out of his nephew? She even notes that he stops doing it when he proposes to Aunt Bea, much to her relief.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments:
** "Ramona's World"
*** Roberta gets her head stuck in the kitten penthouse that Ramona has on loan while catsitting. It's scary, but Ramona remains calm, realizing that since Roberta is crying and has her mouth open, her head can't get out of the hole, so she needs to be pacified. So she sings Roberta's favorite rhyme to calm her down, "The Three Little Kittens," and pulls her baby sister out of the cat hole gently. A subtle but telling display of maturity, ingenuity, and love, showing how far Ramona has come from the BrattyHalfPint she used to be, so long ago.
*** 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.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

** Although the Quimby parents don't use corporal punishment, some of Mr. Quimby's grandmother's sayings make reference to it ("First time [doing something annoying] is funny, second time is silly, third time is a spanking"). With studies showing the [[https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2017/12/the-fourth-r/547583/ negative]] [[https://www.handinhandparenting.org/2013/08/whats-the-problem-with-spanking/ effects]] of spanking and similar punishments on children, that wouldn't fly nowadays.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: 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.
* HarsherInHindsight:

** Ramona starts crying with Beezus when the latter finds out that Ramona tossed her doll into the oven while Beezus's birthday cake is baking; the cake is ruined as a result because the doll burns in the batter. Was it TearsOfRemorse over MyGodWhatHaveIDone because she went too far while pretending to be Gretel, or was it a case of OhCrap? Ramona had already ruined one of Beezus's cakes already by tossing the eggs in the batter, so she was in the doghouse. Plus, as Mrs. Quimby puts it when [[GoToYourRoom sending her to her room]] as punishment, Ramona is ''not'' allowed to touch the oven since she's only a toddler.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Ramona's father once gets accepted for a job teaching in Oregon, 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.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Daisy. Some readers consider her a ReplacementScrappy for Howie and a forgettable GenericGirl while others like her for being a NiceGirl who finally gives Ramona a prominent female friend her age to bounce off of, as well as the fact she provides a CatharsisFactor and SugarWiki/AwesomeMoment calling out Susan for her rude behavior at Ramona's birthday party, especially since that is only time Susan [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty faces any consequences]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Daisy is either a likable NiceGirl who finally gives Ramona a prominent female friend her age to bounce off of, or a ReplacementScrappy for Howie and forgettable GenericGirl.

* ContestedSequel: "Ramona’s World" is either a good finale to the books or an unnecessary continuation after the SeriesFauxnale "Ramona Forever" that doesn’t have as much charm as the earlier books.

* ReplacementScrappy: How some fans felt towards Daisy replacing Howie as Ramona’s best friend in "Ramona’s World".

* HilariousInHindsight: Ramona often has ideas and behaviors that may be regarded as eccentric and offbeat by others. And she lives in [[Series/{{Portlandia}} Portland]].

** Ramona starts crying with Beezus when the latter finds out that Ramona tossed her doll into the oven while Beezus's birthday cake is baking; the cake is ruined as a result because the doll burns in the batter. Was it TearsOfRemorse over MyGodWhatHaveIDone because she went too far while pretending to be Gretel, or was it a case of OhCrap? Ramona had already ruined one of Beezus's cakes already by tossing the eggs in the batter, so she was in the doghouse. Plus, as Mrs. Quimby puts it when sending her to her room as punishment, Ramona is ''not'' allowed to touch the oven since she's only a toddler.
** 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 they everyone is more grown-up.
** Hobart teasing Ramona about her name with the song "Ramona" and jokingly calling her Howie's girlfriend. Howie even tells him to knock it off, with annoyance. Was Hobart being InnocentlyInsensitive and thinking he was funny, or did he want to get a rise out of his nephew? She even notes that he stops doing it when he proposes to Aunt Bea, much to her relief.

* 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.
* ContestedSequel: ''Ramona’s World'' is either a good finale to the books or an unnecessary continuation after the SeriesFauxnale ''Ramona Forever'' that doesn’t have as much charm as the earlier books.
* 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.
* FridgeBrilliance: Can be found [[Fridge/RamonaQuimby here]]

** Both Beezus and Ramona agree on one thing; it's wonderful that Aunt Bea lives nearby because her visits always brighten their days. In ''Ramona Forever'', they find out that Aunt Bea is marrying Howie's Uncle Hobart and moving to Alaska with him. Neither of them is thrilled about this, though Beezus decides to deal with it by throwing herself into the wedding preparation. As Ramona puts it in the Canadian TV show, she doesn't want her aunt to leave because they won't even see her. Aunt Bea has to reassure her that she will still visit and come for the holidays and that she will miss both of her nieces.

** ''Ramona's World''

*** 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 "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.

* ReplacementScrappy: How some fans felt towards Daisy replacing Howie as Ramona’s best friend in ''Ramona’s World''.

* ToyShip: Ramona with both Yard Ape and Howie. Beezus and Henry in the early books.

** In ''Beezus and Ramona,'' which was published in 1955, an exasperated Beezus thinks about how fed up she is with reading Ramona's favorite book (a story about a talking steam shovel) over and over again, because she doesn't like how whiny the steam shovel is in the story or having to make the silly growling sound effects while reading it. She comments to herself that girls aren't supposed to like machinery anyway. This viewpoint probably wouldn't go over very well with modern readers, since it's become much more accepted for girls to like boyish things in the 21st century, and vice versa.

** ''Ramona the Brave'' has a big moment. Ramona "scrunches" (read: destroys) Susan's paper bag owl, and her own, because Susan copied Ramona's design. Ramona did not feel she could tell Mrs. Griggs about this because Mrs. Griggs always says, "Nobody likes a tattletale." So what ends up happening is, Mrs. Griggs makes Ramona apologize to Susan in front of the class. This is ValuesDissonance on two counts. One, a twenty-first century audience might well cringe at this discipline, because its focus is on humiliating the child in trouble, rather than working out the problem. Also, Mrs. Griggs' [[SternTeacher constant refrain about tattletales]] seems to communicate, "Don't come to me with your problems." Mrs. Griggs also fails to make a distinction between tattling, and telling an adult when something is truly wrong. Her message, again, is socially isolating and humiliating: "If you do this, no one will ever like you."

** In ''Ramona the Pest,'' the student's have to draw a picture of their house. "Davy's house looked like a clubhouse built by some boys who had a few old boards and not enough nails. It leaned to one side in a tired sort of way." Granted, this could also just be meant to suggest that Davy is bad at drawing.

** Shortly after Ramona starts kindergarten, Mrs. Quimby and Mrs. Kemp decide that Ramona and Howie are ready to start walking to school by themselves, despite presumably only being around 5 years old. In this day and age, this would never be considered acceptable given how prevalent the fear of child predators is among parents.