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* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: There's a complete lack of cell phones among the teenagers, immediately dating the book to the 90s. Aishling also refers to "fourpence", showing that it was published before Ireland adopted the Euro in 2002. The lack of social media is a giveaway too; for example Cindy would probably discover [[spoiler: that Robbie knew Aishling from posts on his Facebook]]. Alva is also a fan of ''Boyzone'', who had their heyday in the 90s. Bob and Aishling reference the film of ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'', which was released in 1995, and it's said that Margaret and Philip had to get their divorce legalised in the UK - as Ireland hadn't legalised divorce until that year[[note]]As it's said that Philip left Margaret for Naomi, and Gavin is only three years old, that puts their divorce in 1992 or 93[[/note]]. Margaret's reason for marrying Richard - fear that Philip might get a conservative judge to declare that he get custody of Alva - could only be plausible in the 90s. In the 2000s the Irish courts became rather infamous for ruling in favour of the mother.
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Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
** Any non-Irish readers (or younger Irish readers) would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelled 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". For many years, it was expected that anyone from a foreign country who migrated to Ireland was expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Nowadays, with a larger rate of actual immigrants in Ireland, this sentiment has largely died out.
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** Any non-Irish readers (or younger Irish readers) would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelled 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". For many years, it was expected that anyone from a foreign country who migrated to Ireland was expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Nowadays, with a larger rate of actual immigrants in Ireland, this sentiment has largely died out.
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** Philip leaving Margaret for Naomi in the past could be less about SecondLove - if one does the math involving Gavin's age. It's possible he and Naomi were a fling that suddenly resulted in a pregnancy and Ireland at the time had very conservative laws regarding pregnancy. Abortion was illegal and laws allowing women to travel to the UK for them weren't passed until 1992. The Magdalene Laundries were still in operation too, so Philip leaving Margaret might have been more pragmatic. The fact that they're having trouble in the middle of the story suggests it.
* NeverLiveItDown: Aishling's treatment of Bob is what prevents a lot of readers from sympathising with her.
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* TheWoobie: Margaret has to put up with a really awkward situation. She's a single mother supporting two teenage daughters, while also clashing with her ex-husband. Part of the reason she marries Richard is because she's worried that her ex might take legal action to have Alva taken off her.
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* TheWoobie: ValuesResonance: Imelda's disability is quite incidental, she's portrayed as a CoolAunt to Cindy, avoids any InspirationallyDisadvantaged tropes and Richard's embarrassment of her is seen as bad from Cindy's POV.
* TheWoobie:
** Margaret has to put up with a really awkward situation. She's a single mother supporting two teenage daughters, while also clashing with her ex-husband. Part of the reason she marries Richard is because she's worried that her ex might take legal action to have Alva taken offher.her.
** Richard loses his wife to a terminal illness, and his first romance after that results in an unplanned pregnancy. So he essentially has to provide for two more teenage girls, with another baby on the way. The whole thing happens in the space of a year.
* TheWoobie:
** Margaret has to put up with a really awkward situation. She's a single mother supporting two teenage daughters, while also clashing with her ex-husband. Part of the reason she marries Richard is because she's worried that her ex might take legal action to have Alva taken off
** Richard loses his wife to a terminal illness, and his first romance after that results in an unplanned pregnancy. So he essentially has to provide for two more teenage girls, with another baby on the way. The whole thing happens in the space of a year.
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* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: After Aishling dumps him a second time, Bob finally calls her out for the crappy way she treated him.
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* OneSceneWonder: Emma, Cindy's AlphaBitch of a classmate, only appears in one sequence where she teases her about Margaret marrying her father. But it's an especially memorable part - mostly for her KickTheDog of asking if Margaret sleeps in her mother's bed.
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Wrong word.
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
** Any non-Irish readers (or younger Irish readers) would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelled 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". For many years, it was expected that anyone from a foreign country who migrated to Ireland was expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Nowadays, with a larger migration rate, this sentiment has largely died out.
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** Any non-Irish readers (or younger Irish readers) would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelled 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". For many years, it was expected that anyone from a foreign country who migrated to Ireland was expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Nowadays, with a larger migration rate, rate of actual immigrants in Ireland, this sentiment has largely died out.
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I think it's safe to say we don't hold a toxic attitude to foreigners anymore.
Changed line(s) 15,16 (click to see context) from:
** Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations.
** Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting. Alva is fourteen and has also had champagne a few times.
** Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting. Alva is fourteen and has also had champagne a few times.
to:
** Any non-Irish readers (or younger Irish readers) would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt spelled 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing For many years, it was expected that anyone from a foreign country is who migrated to Ireland was expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations.
pronunciations. Nowadays, with a larger migration rate, this sentiment has largely died out.
**Also Cindy also mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting. Alva is fourteen and has also had champagne a few times. While this would have been illegal at the time, this would be completely socially unacceptable in Ireland today.
**
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Not Designated Hero, because she is portrayed as the wrong one in the "dumping Bob" situation. She even gets a What The Hell Hero from Bob himself and she admits that Bob has all the reasons to be angry at her.
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** It's easy to see Aishling as a massive hypocrite, for the reasons detailed under DesignatedHero. She has NoSympathy for Cindy at all. In spite of the girl's abrasive temper, she's lost her mother and had her father dating one of her teachers within a few months. Aishling does not go to that school, both her parents are alive and her life is barely affected by Margaret's initial romance with Philip. She actually treats Bob horribly, for the same reasons she criticises Cindy for.
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** It's easy to see Aishling as a massive hypocrite, for the reasons detailed under DesignatedHero.hypocrite. She has NoSympathy for Cindy at all. In spite of the girl's abrasive temper, she's lost her mother and had her father dating one of her teachers within a few months. Aishling does not go to that school, both her parents are alive and her life is barely affected by Margaret's initial romance with Philip. She actually treats Bob horribly, for the same reasons she criticises Cindy for. Then for some reason, she's ''horrified'' when Bob started dating Cindy even if ''she'' (Aishling) is the one who dumped him twice and treated him horribly. To some readers it comes off as LaserGuidedKarma.
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* DesignatedHero: Aishling slips into this on more than a few occasions. She abruptly dumps Bob for no good reason at all other than simply not enjoying bowling. Then she calls him out of the blue when she thinks Alva might be pregnant and strings him along for another few weeks before dumping him again.
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* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** The narrative seems to frame Cindy as being essentially very bratty, when she's actually got a legitimate reason to be annoyed. It's one thing to not like the woman her father is seeing. It's another for him to announce that he's gotten her pregnant and that she and her two daughters will also have to move into their house. Cindy is actually remarkably mature about the whole thing; while she doesn't pretend to be happy, she just grits her teeth and says they'll all have to make the best of it.
** It's easy to see Aishling as a massive hypocrite, for the reasons detailed under DesignatedHero. She has NoSympathy for Cindy at all. In spite of the girl's abrasive temper, she's lost her mother and had her father dating one of her teachers within a few months. Aishling does not go to that school, both her parents are alive and her life is barely affected by Margaret's initial romance with Philip. She actually treats Bob horribly, for the same reasons she criticises Cindy for.
** As noted under ValuesDissonance below, Margaret's reason for marrying Richard - fear that Philip might take legal action against her - is pretty flimsy. One must wonder if she's using it as an excuse. Or perhaps she's worried about the girls at her school seeing her as a hypocrite.
** The narrative seems to frame Cindy as being essentially very bratty, when she's actually got a legitimate reason to be annoyed. It's one thing to not like the woman her father is seeing. It's another for him to announce that he's gotten her pregnant and that she and her two daughters will also have to move into their house. Cindy is actually remarkably mature about the whole thing; while she doesn't pretend to be happy, she just grits her teeth and says they'll all have to make the best of it.
** It's easy to see Aishling as a massive hypocrite, for the reasons detailed under DesignatedHero. She has NoSympathy for Cindy at all. In spite of the girl's abrasive temper, she's lost her mother and had her father dating one of her teachers within a few months. Aishling does not go to that school, both her parents are alive and her life is barely affected by Margaret's initial romance with Philip. She actually treats Bob horribly, for the same reasons she criticises Cindy for.
** As noted under ValuesDissonance below, Margaret's reason for marrying Richard - fear that Philip might take legal action against her - is pretty flimsy. One must wonder if she's using it as an excuse. Or perhaps she's worried about the girls at her school seeing her as a hypocrite.
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** Margaret marries Richard partly because she's afraid that a conservative judge will rule against an unmarried woman raising two daughters. This is Ireland before divorce was even legal. In the 2000s such an attitude would be gone completely, and a court would be more likely to rule in favour of the mother than the father - especially with Philip's alcoholism to think of.
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Added line(s) 6 (click to see context) :
* FridgeHorror: It's mentioned that Philip pays for Aishling and Alva's school. Thus giving him a very easy target to attack Margaret with if things aren't going his way.
* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
** Cindy and Aishling bonding at one point. Cindy comes home from drinking with Imelda with just one shoe, and it's said that Aishling lets her into the house and the two have a good giggle about it. It does suggest that there is potential for the two to become friends.
** Bob appears to be a genuine NiceGuy. Despite the nasty way Aishling treated him, he immediately comes to her aid when she thinks Alva might be pregnant.
* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
** Cindy and Aishling bonding at one point. Cindy comes home from drinking with Imelda with just one shoe, and it's said that Aishling lets her into the house and the two have a good giggle about it. It does suggest that there is potential for the two to become friends.
** Bob appears to be a genuine NiceGuy. Despite the nasty way Aishling treated him, he immediately comes to her aid when she thinks Alva might be pregnant.
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* ValuesDissonance: Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting. Alva is fourteen and has also had champagne a few times.
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* ValuesDissonance: UnintentionallySympathetic: Aishling has very little sympathy for Cindy in her diary. The narrative also seems to view her as a brat who needs to mature. This is a girl that first has had to deal with her mother suffering from a terminal illness, dying from said illness, her father remarrying and three new people moving into her house all in the space of a year. More superficially she also had to do her Junior Cert - which is quite a stressful experience for a fifteen-year-old.
* ValuesDissonance:
** Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words andpronunciations. pronunciations.
** Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting. Alva is fourteen and has also had champagne a fewtimes.times.
* TheWoobie: Margaret has to put up with a really awkward situation. She's a single mother supporting two teenage daughters, while also clashing with her ex-husband. Part of the reason she marries Richard is because she's worried that her ex might take legal action to have Alva taken off her.
* ValuesDissonance:
** Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and
** Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting. Alva is fourteen and has also had champagne a few
* TheWoobie: Margaret has to put up with a really awkward situation. She's a single mother supporting two teenage daughters, while also clashing with her ex-husband. Part of the reason she marries Richard is because she's worried that her ex might take legal action to have Alva taken off her.
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Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
* JerkassWoobie: Cindy. Let's face it - you're fifteen and your mother has just died of an illness and your father marries one of your teachers in less than a year because he's gotten her pregnant. Then they all have to move in together. Her temper is a little understandable.
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* JerkassWoobie: JerkassWoobie:
** Cindy. Let's face it - you're fifteen and your mother has just died of an illness and your father marries one of your teachers in less than a year because he's gotten her pregnant. Then they all have to move in together. Her temper is a littleunderstandable.understandable.
** Alva, as annoying as she can be, she's also a young girl who still misses her father and apparently cries every night.
** Cindy. Let's face it - you're fifteen and your mother has just died of an illness and your father marries one of your teachers in less than a year because he's gotten her pregnant. Then they all have to move in together. Her temper is a little
** Alva, as annoying as she can be, she's also a young girl who still misses her father and apparently cries every night.
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* AngstWhatAngst: Cindy has this reaction to her father after her mother's funeral. She feels as though they should keep the shutters closed and is annoyed when he doesn't seem to be more sad. She eventually learns he's putting on a brave face.
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Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
* ValuesDissonance: Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting.
to:
* ValuesDissonance: Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting. Alva is fourteen and has also had champagne a few times.
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Changed line(s) 2 (click to see context) from:
* JerkassWoobie: Cindy. Let's face it - you're fifteen and your mother has just died of an illness and your father marries one of your teachers in less than a year because he's gotten her pregnant. Then they all have to move in together. Her temper is a little understandable.
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* JerkassWoobie: Cindy. Let's face it - you're fifteen and your mother has just died of an illness and your father marries one of your teachers in less than a year because he's gotten her pregnant. Then they all have to move in together. Her temper is a little understandable.understandable.
* ValuesDissonance: Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting.
* ValuesDissonance: Any non-Irish readers would probably be a little shocked at some of the casual racism displayed in the book. Cindy's mother was American and Cindy frequently recalls her father trying to get her to stop pronouncing her words with an American accent. He also insisted her name not be spelt 'Cyndi' because it was "too American". It's simply an Irish thing that anyone from a foreign country is expected to lose their accent and start using Irish slang words and pronunciations. Also Cindy mentions her friends going out drinking after getting their exam results - her friends would be fifteen at the time which would be a surprise to anyone not familiar with Irish drinking culture. Cindy herself also gladly has plenty of wine at meals without her father objecting.
