|
Post by candykane on Apr 22, 2012 20:07:29 GMT -5
Lol, oldhickory, at "surrounded by normal people for once." I agree with you there. This point in the series was getting tiring for me with the girls becoming caricatures of themselves.
|
|
|
Post by zoar3 on Nov 11, 2012 22:54:46 GMT -5
I really liked Mme Dupree and how she showed/surprised her "critics," at the end. She read more interesting than the usual Mme Noelle yelling out an order or talking with an exaggerated accent. I loved when Mary said, "She's (Mme Dupree) here teaching them, isn't she?" in response to Raul's assumption that Madame is writing off the "inner city kids." I do enjoy reading about Shannon, I wished we had gotten to "see" her interact with the other members. I also really wish Tuesdays at BK had continued. Jessi came across so much more likable there. ITA (and like) what you said Oldhickory and agree Candykane about how already the girls and really plots are wearing down at this point.
|
|
|
Post by virgoscorpio on Nov 12, 2012 19:06:57 GMT -5
^ I also would have wanted to see Shannon interacting with the BSC more, especially the shopping trip with Stacey that was mentioned. I thought this was an interesting "sequel" to Kristy and the Snobs, where Kristy was being a little snotty or unfair to Shannon in this one. I was trying to think of where it could have come from, from Kristy's perspective, and settled on ... Dawn. Her fears make sense since last time a new girl came around, she had to share her best friend with her.
The beginning of this book sort of left a bad taste in my mouth. At the end of the 1st chapter, Jessi comments on how everyone in her family is slim - except for Aunt Cecilia - and she doesn't want to take after her.
I remember thinking, as a kid, that the Burger King part kind of blew my mind because now you can imagine them somewhere tangible that you have actually been in. You can experience/taste the food their eating, so it's kid of surreal. I wonder why they use certain fast food chains - like McDonald's in the LS series - and didn't just stick to made up business names.
I was disappointed with Mary's fainting scene and thought that it could have been more suspenseful and powerful, especially if they wanted to deter readers from developing an eating disorder like Mary.
I like that Jessi actually looks 11 on the cover and that the kids all look like kids!
|
|
|
Post by candykane on Nov 13, 2012 13:41:31 GMT -5
I remember thinking, as a kid, that the Burger King part kind of blew my mind because now you can imagine them somewhere tangible that you have actually been in. You can experience/taste the food their eating, so it's kid of surreal. I wonder why they use certain fast food chains - like McDonald's in the LS series - and didn't just stick to made up business names. I agree, it was easier to imagine the scene more clearly knowing exactly what the restaurant looked like, what the food was like. Not that I can't use my imagination to get a good picture of the made-up places, but you know what I mean.
|
|
|
Post by wiggir13 on Nov 13, 2012 19:32:10 GMT -5
I feel like Mary was another who just disappeared. In the end they said oh she's seeing doctors but then that's it! I would like to see her appear again being healthy but of course the bsc won't do that!!!
|
|
|
Post by zoar3 on Nov 13, 2012 19:49:56 GMT -5
^You're right, she really did. Finally (at least to me) an interesting dance school character and she up and vanishes. I also had the thought that instead of Raul and Vince, the ghostie should have used a couple of the guys Quint hung out with during Snowbound. But then what continuity we do have is often miraculous.
|
|
|
Post by candykane on Nov 13, 2012 19:57:54 GMT -5
Out of all Jessi's dance friends, I liked Mary the best and also wish she'd made another appearance later on, at a healthy weight. Come to think of it, Jessi's new friends always seem to vanish after one book - Elise and Wendy are the two others that come to mind.
|
|
oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,263
|
Post by oldhickory on Nov 15, 2012 1:44:25 GMT -5
^ jessi is kind of a crappy friend.
|
|
supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
|
Post by supprazz on Nov 15, 2012 8:12:35 GMT -5
I wish quint moved to Stamford, but he's awesome for going to Julliard
|
|
|
Post by zoar3 on Nov 15, 2012 12:10:08 GMT -5
^Jessi is not too good a friend, at least not always to Mal. She often thinks the worst of someone before hearing the whole story. I have had both family and friends do that to me and it's not a happy position to be in. You are making me think Oldhickory, that perhaps Jessi was a better friend to people she didn't spend as much time with as she did Mal. Either that or perhaps its because these people were "new," we saw more of them whereas poor Mal by now pretty much is a caricature. I'll have to think more about this. Good to see you posting, btw.
|
|
oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,263
|
Post by oldhickory on Nov 15, 2012 14:13:37 GMT -5
thanks. i think part of the reason jessi has so many one-book friends is because she is really great at making friends and being personable when she's meeting people, but once they don't have a reason to spend time together, like after the class ends, she doesn't care to keep up the work. so she doesn't have a lot of "friends", but she has a lot of people she knows. i can be the same way.
|
|
|
Post by wiggir13 on Nov 15, 2012 20:04:37 GMT -5
I feel like jessi is one of those people that are friends by geography and never really makes a true connection b/c she has too much on her plate.
|
|
|
Post by candykane on Nov 15, 2012 22:38:54 GMT -5
I feel like jessi is one of those people that are friends by geography and never really makes a true connection b/c she has too much on her plate. Reminds me of Bart Simpson saying Milhouse was his best friend because of geographical convenience!
|
|
|
Post by Sideshowjazz1 on Jun 25, 2014 17:52:50 GMT -5
A BSC book about anorexia, I never thought I'd see the day! That Mindy girl that encouraged Mary...I wanted someone to tell her to just shut the f*ck up. And my main problem was that they didn't delve deep enough into the main plot, but hey, it's a kids' book. I've read several teenage/young adult books about girls with anorexia (Summer's Dream by Cathy Cassidy, Girls Under Pressure by Jacqueline Wilson, and true story Dying To Be Thin by Nikki Grahame), and this probably takes the least direction with it.
Summer's Dream: About a talented dancer whose brain keeps berating her for being weak and useless, cannot see how thin she is, feels as if she is spinning out of control. In subsequent books in her series ("Coco Caramel" and "Sweet Honey"), she spends time at a health clinic and still fears eating too much.
Girls Under Pressure: Taken less seriously as main character feels fat in spite of losing weight, but it is more of an on/off diet with some bulimia thrown in. Eventually stops dieting after seeing anorexic friend in hospital. In later books ("Girls Out Late" and "Girls In Tears), she still feels self-conscious and is worried when her best friend calls her fat, but is relatively comfortable in her own skin, although she still hates her hair and glasses.
Dying To Be Thin: Very interesting insight on a girl who's been to hell and back with the illness, and describes how she felt.
A BIG thumbs up on the Shannon subplot. It's always nice to have Shannon in the story. I wish the books had given her more personality, but seeing her was enough.
|
|
|
Post by virgoscorpio on Dec 16, 2015 16:54:37 GMT -5
I thought it was really nice for Jessi to try to get scholarships for the needy students; however, I wished it would have come from a source rather than Watson Brewer. Just seemed too easy for me. They should have gotten sponsorship from Burger King for all of the times they met and ate there, haha.
|
|