ktag
Junior Sitter
Posts: 694
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Post by ktag on May 5, 2006 7:02:06 GMT -5
Why would any of them NOT go to Europe?? I know we always talk about how unrealistic it is for the entire club to go on vacation together all the time. But seriously...a choice between going to London and Paris...and babysitting at SES? Gee. The early chapters about Stacey's reaction to the urn and the prospect of wearing Kristy's or her mom's clothes had me cracking up the whole way through. "Stacey would rather wear tinfoil than my kind of clothes. Outside of gym class, I do not believe a T-shirt or sweatpants have ever touched the skin of Anastasia McGill." ;D Mallory being related to Shakespeare, and Jessi just happening to be around when a girl conveniently sprains her ankle so she can dance while on vacation? Whatever. The original title of Mallory's story? "If Life Is a Barrel of Monkeys, I Must Be a Banana." To quote Claudia: Oh. My. Lord. LMAO
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Post by lovelylemontree on May 6, 2006 1:54:15 GMT -5
I read European Vacation for the first time a few months ago. My feelings on it are rather mixed. I love Stacey and Kristy's chapters. Their first chapters are the best with Stacey discovering she has the wrong luggage and it contains human ashes. Then Mrs. McGill freaks out and orders Stacey to wash her hands (for whatever reason). And then Stacey freaks out because she has to wear Mrs. McGill's clothes. That chapter made the entire book for me. It's too bad the whole Super Special wasn't just about the three of them. This is one of my favorite parts:
Kristy and Stacey really should have been paired together in more books. They're great.
I really enjoyed all of Kristy's chapters because of her rivalry with Michel. Somehow, he was so much less annoying than Cary Retlin and Alan Gray. Definitely the best boy Kristy's ever been paired with. It's a shame he couldn't have made another appearance in the series.
Other than the Stacey and Kristy chapters, I wasn't crazy about this Super Special. Abby's chapters were okay, but stepping on the prince's foot just wasn't as funny as she thought. I skipped all Jessi's chapters because I hate ballet and I hate Jessi.
I didn't like that the book once again recycled the plot of Mallory wasting a vacation writing in her stupid notebook. And her being related to Shakespeare was so lame. I'm sure Mallory will spend the rest of her life bragging about it, thinking everyone's totally impressed. They won't be. The best part of Mallory's chapters is that we finally learn that Mrs. Pike's real name is Diana. I can't believe it took until Super Special #15 to find that out.
What was the point of half the BSC staying in Stoneybrook? Those chapters really disrupted the flow of the story. I wanted to read about the adventures in Europe, not about another stupid day camp.
It vaguely annoyed me that Mrs. McGill was suddenly referred to as Ms. McGill. I don't recall her being called that in any of the other books. It seemed so random. But I really enjoyed the stuff between her and Mr. Dougherty, her growing irritation and his constant obliviousness.
And one final, silly complaint - I wish the BSC had been sent somewhere in Europe other than England and France. In books, movies, and t.v. shows, people always visit England or France. I would have preferred reading something other than the usual visits to Buckingham Palace/the Louvre/Eiffel Tower. But then, I've always been more interested in Central and Eastern European countries, so I'm sure it's just personal preference.
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Post by booboobrewer on May 6, 2006 18:05:30 GMT -5
In total agreement about the Stacey-Kristy-Mrs. McGill chapters. Made me laugh out loud.
Mal's journal projects on every trip she goes on get SO irritating, but maybe since by this late date in the series the babysitters have become so cemented in their "roles" that they think that's all they should be able to do...Mal and her writing, Jessi finding an event to dance in, etc. But...then they have Claudia the artist working at a playground camp where she doesn't have to do anything particularly artistic (I think.) Maybe they just didn't want to exercise that kind of effort on the junior sitters, though.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on May 7, 2006 0:45:35 GMT -5
Oh, I totally agree about the Kristy and Stacey chapters. I like the Kristy ones more than the Stacey ones, actually... She's funny in this! She's still pushy and loud, but she's more likeable than in some other instances.
It's cool how Susan appeared again... Continuity always gets points in this series. But yeah, the Stoneybrook chapters were kinda crap.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
Posts: 3,664
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Post by Amalia on May 7, 2006 2:25:07 GMT -5
I agree with the above about Kristy and Stacey's chapters.
Worst line: *Claudia says an insult to Cokie* and MA says, "Man, I wish I could have thought of that." That just struck me funny. I think that line was put in there to give Claudia SOMETHING she could seem intelligent in because her not being intelligent in other things is so widely known.
Oh, and I loved the war veteran storyline where he had to scatter his friend's ashes in the sea.
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Post by supernatural babe on May 23, 2006 11:36:53 GMT -5
I really didn't get that insult!!
I liked the Kristy chapters best.
Jacquie, What a loser.
Janine was a b*tch. So was Jerry!!
Since when did Stacey care at how much an outfit cost? She practically goes into one when she describes Cokie's love of expensive clothes.
As for shopping at Harrods- Come on! Harrods is not the only clothes shop in Knightsbridge. That are cheaper too. And just as nice or nicer. 2. The Tops cost about £1000 if you're lucky. So for the same woman to have kicked up a stink about a diamond ring, spent a good £7 grand on just 2 outfits. 3. Why no mention of the dress-code you have to have to even enter Harrods? It's highly unlikely they all would have got in anyway.
Not to mention, High st Ken is just down the road from Knightsbridge (admittedly you have to catch a bus). Also you cant go to london without going to Waterloo, Oxford St, Bond St etc.
Instead we hear about 'Lord's Cricket Ground'..I'm pretty sure that you don't just turn up and sit down. There needs to exchange of tickets.
I did like the pictures in this book though. They all looked nice. Except for Michel- who for some reason, looked like one of Mickey mouses cartoon friends. (Pluto?)
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on May 23, 2006 16:09:17 GMT -5
This one was fairly entertaining....mostly because I'd like to see London someday! I liked Stacey's chapters best....I'm also a history nut, so the WW2 stuff was nice to read about. it was kind of touching how she went to help that guy scatter his friend's ashes.
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Post by lovelylemontree on May 24, 2006 19:56:30 GMT -5
I'm a WWII buff, so I enjoyed that storyline, too.
I remembered something else that occurred to me while reading this SS. I believe this is the only SS where the BSC are constantly under adult supervision. (Aside from the Kristy/Michel chapter, but that was an accident). In one chapter, Mrs. McGill is adamant about not allowing Mallory to wait alone for her cousin. I wonder if she was aware her daughter had been permitted to run wild throughout the U.S.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on Jun 2, 2006 14:32:24 GMT -5
Is this the one with the reference to the Baby-sitters Club wet t-shirt contest?
I thought that was slightly risqué for a BSC book.
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Post by lovelylemontree on Jun 2, 2006 15:18:08 GMT -5
Yes. Cokie says something like, "If it isn't the Baby-Sitters Club wet t-shirt contest. Not that anyone would notice."
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Jun 2, 2006 18:28:45 GMT -5
Yes! And then either Claudia or Mary Anne says something like, "Stuff it, Cokie." and she replies, "I don't have to!" I also thought that was a lot more adult than most of the books get.
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Post by lovelylemontree on Jun 2, 2006 18:33:57 GMT -5
Then Claudia says, "Between the ears you do!" and Mary Anne's totally impressed.
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ktag
Junior Sitter
Posts: 694
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Post by ktag on Jun 2, 2006 18:54:53 GMT -5
"I wish I could have thought of that!" Great scene.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jun 3, 2006 4:08:25 GMT -5
It would have been a cool bit of continuity had they mentioned Mrs. McGill's former French love interest Jean-Paul (from Stacey and the Mystery at the Empty House) while she was in Paris. It didn't seem like she had much fun on the trip, acting the part of the stressed-out chaperone since the other one, Mr. D, was so flaky.
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Post by morbiddadestiny on Jun 13, 2006 4:23:18 GMT -5
best line in the entire book:
"The Berger kids were pretty cool. For the first time, we were all talking together, getting to know each other. I did not, however, tell them about my ancestry. I didn't want them to treat me like a celebrity or anything."
...i swear, it's like they write the mallory snark FOR us. this could have easily been a line from mallory pike: college girl.
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