|
Post by aln1982 on Dec 10, 2007 17:15:07 GMT -5
^ I know it did come across that way but don't think she actually meant for it to. I wonder if she was trying so hard to please the PC interests that she ended up making it into a bigger deal by focusing on it. I know how that is with trying so hard not to offend someone that you actually offend them more. (not sure if this makes sense)
|
|
|
Post by candykane on Jan 23, 2008 20:06:31 GMT -5
This book is one of my favorites. My copy of it is a first printing and it's all beat up from being reread so many times. I was so happy Stacey came back to Stoneybrook because she was my fave. For some reason, I always really liked the chapter where they went house-hunting. That and the chapter that followed with the sleepover. I agree with others who said the divorce seemed out of the blue. Why did they have to have another "divorced kid" in the series? We already had Kristy and Dawn at that point.
|
|
|
Post by greer on Jan 23, 2008 20:42:03 GMT -5
i like the house-hunting chapter too.
|
|
Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
|
Post by Penny Lane on Jan 23, 2008 20:51:02 GMT -5
Me too. I especially liked the description of the rundown houses, as it is proof they do exist in stoneybrook! And the tacky neighbors!
|
|
wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
|
Post by wanderingfrog on Jan 23, 2008 22:35:18 GMT -5
Why did they have to have another "divorced kid" in the series? We already had Kristy and Dawn at that point. I think it's partly because Kristy and Dawn's parents are already divorced when we meet them. With Stacey, we already know her family as a unit and go through the whole divorce process with her.
|
|
|
Post by greer on Jan 24, 2008 2:04:54 GMT -5
ann wanted to match the ratio of divorced vs married parents in the club to the rate she saw in the classroom when she was a teacher.
|
|
|
Post by murderedmymuse on May 19, 2008 20:54:51 GMT -5
It's been mentioned above about how Stacey has to choose between her parents, but at least both her parents wanted custody of her. Remember the Adrian Mole diaries? I think the first book was called 'The Secret Confessions of Adrian Mole Aged 13 & 3/4' or something like that. Adrian's parents get divorced and neither of them want custody of him. Harsh. Adrian was a bit of a drip, but he wasn't that bad.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 21, 2008 18:29:12 GMT -5
As a kid, this book was one of my favorites. Actually, I have to admit, it still is. Stacey was always my favorite babysitter growing up, so I was ecstatic when I saw this book in the bookstore for the first time. Also, as a child of divorced parents, I really could relate to this book. Funny thing is, I expect my parents would say that in the perspective of my sister and I, their divorce came out of noowhere. My mother has been telling me for the past 15 years or so that "they never fought" or when they did "it was so quiet, you couldn't possibly have heard us." Parents are so interesting that way - they always assume kids can't hear or see what's going on. I remember when my mother told me she and my father were getting a divorce, I was not at all surprised. I could see the signs from a mile away and my sister remembers moments when I was a young child of the two of us sleeping in her bed because I was so disturbed by their fighting.
Luckily, I never had to deal with custody issues (I guess). My parents unilaterally decided what to do with my sister and I. For at least 6 months after the divorce, I spent the majority of time with my dad and just weekends with my mom. Later on, she decided she wanted more time with us, so they arranged to switch off weeks. A decision that messed my life up later on.
I have been very lucky in that my parents are still very good friends and are still very close. I thank my lucky stars everytime I read a Stacey book that my parents were not like hers! At least my parents thought about my sister and I more than themselves (for the most part), I've always thought that Stacey's father came off as extremely selfish.
|
|
wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
|
Post by wanderingfrog on May 22, 2008 19:53:21 GMT -5
This book is one of my favourites, too. Would you like to know something extremely dorky about me? Would you like to know what one of the happiest moments of my life was? I'd just gotten home from the dentist's, where I'd had a couple of teeth pulled. I had very tenacious baby teeth and only a few of them fell out on their own; all the rest were pulled. When one of your baby teeth falls out, you bleed for like half a minute. When it's pulled out, you bleed for hours. Since this was basically shaping up to be the crappiest day ever, I was soooooooooo thrilled when the local children's bookstore called me to tell me that the new BSC book had arrived. I actually jumped up and down and shouted with my mouth full of bloody gauze. Maybe I'd had some teeth yanked out, but STACEY was coming back to the BSC, darnit! Yaaay!
|
|
starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
|
Post by starrynight on Jul 18, 2008 14:41:22 GMT -5
That's a great story...I probably would have done the same thing in your situation!
|
|
|
Post by candykane on Oct 31, 2008 12:45:30 GMT -5
I thought of this book today when doing laundry, of all things. I was putting a load of white clothes in and thought of Stacey panicking and asking her dad if he knows that you're supposed to wash white clothes in hot water and colored clothes in cold water...haha. She also said something to her mom about who was going to take care of their lawn, because neither one of them had ever mowed the lawn before. So I wonder what they did do about the lawn? I can't picture Stacey mowing it, for sure. Maybe they hired the Pike triplets to do it.
|
|
|
Post by sparklymouse on Oct 31, 2008 14:51:22 GMT -5
I wash everything in the same water temperature. Whatever the middle setting is, warm/cool or something.
It would be easy to find someone to do their yard work. Just go to the grocery store and look at the community bulletin boards they have up. Or if that didn't work I'm sure Kristy could get names of guys from Charlie and Sam.
|
|
starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
|
Post by starrynight on Feb 12, 2009 11:22:09 GMT -5
I'm reading this one right now, and I'm reminded again of how much I like Stacey's "voice" in the earlier books in the series. I wish I'd been more like her at that age! As a "divorced kid," it's interesting to me to read about Stacey's reaction to her parents' split. When my mom told me she and my dad were getting divorced, I was basically like, "Thank goodness; it's about time." Even though I can sympathize with kids (or adults!) who are really upset about their parents splitting up, I can't really identify because that wasn't my experience. It's funny that the BSC has helped me to be a more understanding person!
|
|
tiff85
Junior Sitter
Posts: 583
|
Post by tiff85 on Mar 16, 2009 18:57:37 GMT -5
I remember reading this. I was so glad when Stacey finally came back to Stoneybrook. Stacey looks like Dana from Step-By-Step on the book cover!
|
|
|
Post by sugarandspicexx on May 24, 2009 8:22:47 GMT -5
I'm almost finished this one at the moment.
As a child my parents faught a lot but I was kind of used to it so I never worried too much except after a few particularly bad ones though my dad had almost walked out a few times. The few times it really looked over I was devastated and pretty scared, I bet divorce isn't easy on kids.. However in some ways I probably have to say I might lack a little sympathy having my father die just after I turned 12. I would still have sympathy for divorced kids but would think "that sucks.. but their dad just lives somewhere else, he's still alive though - you can see him and speak to him still."
For this reason I really like when Stacey puts things back into perspective when she realises it isn't the end of the world, for example she isn't as bad off as Judy the homeless woman. Although she is going through a tough time.
Definately a problem that would have faced many target audience readers at the time and was handled I believe realistically and well.
|
|