Enigma
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 128 
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Post by Enigma on Dec 17, 2015 21:22:00 GMT -5
When you re-read or reminisced about the BSC books as an adult, what were the most striking things that stood out but didn't even phase you (or you didn't notice) when you read them as a kid?
For me, it's the whole oddness of the Pike family situation (giving birth to 4 other babies, each a year apart with the exception of the two-year-gap between Margo and Claire) right after having triplets (both the medical aspects of having that many C-sections and the logistics of taking care of a 2 year old, one year old triplets, and a newborn while recovering from the C-section and doing it all over again each year with increasing brood of children under 6). Don't even mention how they listen and respect Mallory as authority figure even though she's only a year older than them. It would make far more sense to make the triplets the youngest members (okay, we're planning kid #6, oopps, we now have eight kids). Also, 5 year old triplets would logically look up to an 11-year-old as "almost grown up" and have respect and admiration for them.
I do realize Ann M. Martin was writing for kids who wouldn't notice this stuff but that's the whole point of this thread.
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mallorypike
Sitting For The Papadakis's
If I were thirteen instead of eleven, life would be a picnic...
Posts: 1,636
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Post by mallorypike on Dec 17, 2015 21:50:59 GMT -5
Yeah, same about the Pikes. Mrs. Pike, I love her, she's a great mom. But the woman is insane to have a 2 year old, 1 year old triplets, then have a fourth kid  how did she even live?! Good point about the triplets being the youngest. That should've been like that instead. Like a more realistic order of the pike kids would be: Mallory: age 11 Vanessa: age 10 Nicky: age 9 Margo: age 8 Claire: age 6 or 7 Triplets: age 5 Still kind of crazy but more realistic and not as insane. |
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Dec 17, 2015 23:56:58 GMT -5
I kept reasoning that she just wanted to even them out. Like "oh we had Mallory and triplet boys. Lets give Mallory a sister or two. Three of each!" Then Nicky came and they just tried to get the equal amount of boys to the girls. That's like the worst thing on her body though. The woman is insane for having them one after another though.
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mallorypike
Sitting For The Papadakis's
If I were thirteen instead of eleven, life would be a picnic...
Posts: 1,636
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Post by mallorypike on Dec 18, 2015 0:25:54 GMT -5
Perhaps the Pikes don't believe in birth control like the Duggars from 19 Kids and Counting? Deep thinking for a BSC book, I know, but still. Even if they didn't believe in birth control, why would they suddenly stop having kids after Claire? And why the 2-year age gap between Claire and Margo while there's a one year age gap between the others? Doesn't make sense.
One of my friends have seven sisters and three brothers. Yep, eleven kids, seven girls, four boys. He's the exact middle kid with three older sisters and two older brothers and four younger sisters and two younger brothers. Eight of them live at home. His three older sisters are in their mid to late twenties and living on their own with their own separate lives. Still eight kids are a lot!
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Enigma
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 128
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Post by Enigma on Dec 18, 2015 1:03:55 GMT -5
Perhaps the Pikes don't believe in birth control like the Duggars from 19 Kids and Counting? Deep thinking for a BSC book, I know, but still. Even if they didn't believe in birth control, why would they suddenly stop having kids after Claire? And why the 2-year age gap between Claire and Margo while there's a one year age gap between the others? Doesn't make sense. One of my friends have seven sisters and three brothers. Yep, eleven kids, seven girls, four boys. He's the exact middle kid with three older sisters and two older brothers and four younger sisters and two younger brothers. Eight of them live at home. His three older sisters are in their mid to late twenties and living on their own with their own separate lives. Still eight kids are a lot! Even if they didn't believe in birth control, Mrs. Pike could have nursed after the babies to keep from getting pregnant for a year. Perhaps after Claire, her body became infertile? And also if the age gap is exactly one year between everyone except for Claire and Margo, each sibling would be conceived only about 3 months after the prior one was born (except with the triplets were likely scheduled for a C-section at about 34 weeks). I would have made the Pike family like this: Mallory 12 Nicky: 10 (an immature 10 just like the real Pike triplets, except he doesn't "listen" to Mallory) Vanessa 9 Mark:(instead of Margo) 8 (so Nicky has one brother close enough to his age for them to be true "pals" get get into mischief together) Claire: 6 Triplets boys: 4 What are some other things you can think of? 1) Here are two more: in "Island Adventure," the girls were literally just permitted to sail "without an instructor" but still needed person with them on the boat and couldn't yet sail alone: wouldn't that mean another adult or even an adult or teen with boating experience and not probably even a friend their age, let alone small children that needed to be looked after! 2) Since the BSC seemed to have the monopoly on the babysitting in Stoneybrook and the parents needed sitters so often, what on earth did they do when everyone in the BSC went on a vacations together in all those super specials? Also what about the fact that hardly anyone needed a sitter during meeting times (esp. Friday nights) because everyone makes every single meeting unless Kristy "excuses" their absence? |
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Post by sparklymouse on Dec 18, 2015 8:20:10 GMT -5
My grandma is one of eleven. My dad one of eight. I'd have to look up exact birth years of everyone, but I know in my dad's case the oldest two are 11 months apart and the third kid is 1 1/2 years younger than the second. So I guess the Pikes probably bother me less as an adult when I really realized my own family dynamics.
Um, everyone fit into Charlie's car. People went to the doctor for every little thing. The vacations were so cheap.
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mallorypike
Sitting For The Papadakis's
If I were thirteen instead of eleven, life would be a picnic...
Posts: 1,636
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Post by mallorypike on Dec 18, 2015 23:25:45 GMT -5
^ There are a few descriptions that everybody didn't fit into Charlie's car. Like some girls were squished together or practically sitting on top of each other or a couple didn't even wear seatbelts because there weren't enough seats. Other times they do manage to fit into Charlie's car. So idk. A possible inconsistency?
I agree with Island Adventure and the sailing thing. I've thought that, but forgot to mention that here.
Other things I've thought of:
Jessi's parents allowing Jessi - an eleven year old - to babysit a school aged child and a toddler for three days. That was the 80s, yeah, and the laws were more relaxed then when it came to kids, but still crazy!
The girls winning the lottery in California Girls.
How a babysitting job was NEVER between 5:30 and 6:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during BSC meeting times.
The girls always getting a boyfriend in every super special and a lot of BSC regular books. (Kristy and Bart, Claudia and Trevor, Claudia and Josh, Stacey and Pete, Stacey and Ethan, Stacey and Robert, Mary Anne and Logan, Mallory and Ben, Jessi and Quint, Dawn and Travis though that might not count, Dawn and Lewis, Dawn and Parker, Dawn and maybe Richie in New York, New York!, Claudia and Alan in the Friends Forever books, Claudia/Stacey and Jeremy in the FF books, Claudia and Guy, Claudia and her ski instructor in Winter Vacation, Stacey and Pierre, Claudia and that smart guy in California Girls, and more I can list but too lazy to do so...)
Ann hates Mallory. Mallory is the BSC punching bag.
Dawn's mom is way too unrealistically scatterbrained. She took some serious drugs before Dawn and Jeff and Jack (their dad).
Karen is a brat.
Mrs. Barrett is a way too neglectful mom.
Dawn is annoying and aggravating later on.
Jessi always gets the leads in ballets.
Gabbie Perkins is way too advanced for a 2 1/2 year old. And Marnie Barrett is way too slow and behind for a 2 year old.
Claudia's school habits. They say that she doesn't have a learning disability, but it's pretty clear that she does.
There's many more, but that's the ones off the top of my head.
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andrew
Sitter-In-Training
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Post by andrew on Dec 22, 2015 10:28:42 GMT -5
One thing that's kind of annoying is that the sitters are pretty anti-watching television (Sesame Street, I Love Lucy and Cosby aside), I get that just watching TV with the kids wouldn't be a good message or good plot but they memorably flatly dismissed Gilligan's Island and All in the Family.
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Post by stolenbooks on Jan 14, 2016 22:55:47 GMT -5
I actually get kind of angry about the whole 11 year olds being babysitters thing. I read these books as a kid and assumed people would hire me when I was 11. I even tried to form my own babysitting club. LOL no one wanted to hire an 11 year old. Not even as a mother's helper! Maybe times were different back then, but even today, I can't see an 11 year old being hired.
I always found it weird that the triplets were 1 year younger than Mal but also had to be babysat.
The parents of all of the girls were way too relaxed at times. Not just the Pikes, but they just seemed to be able to do a lot. Some of them dated older guys. Like Stacey and Sam. Sam was 16, right? I don't have kids yet, but I know at 13, my mom would not have let me date a 16 year old. Plus, Stacey wasn't even 13 at the time, IIRC. She was like 12.
The discrepancies about what ages could do what were also annoying to me. In the first few BSC books, Mal is 10, but is actively helping the sitters when they come over. For example, in Dawn and the Impossible 3, she assists Dawn and the other sitter (forget which one) at a picnic. The triplets would never be able to do that. I know they got to be junior sitters in one book, but come on. Then Gabby and Marnie, they're a whole other story.
I didn't like that they could never have any friends outside the BSC and if they did, it was considered wrong or they ended up being bad people. I was actually so happy when Claudia made new friends when she went back to the 7th grade. And when in the Friends Forever series, they branch out.
The lottery thing was nuts. Not just the fact that they won, but the fact that all of their parents (including Richard who wouldn't let MA spend more than $2 on pizza...) let them spend it on a trip to CA.
The divorced parents didn't care about their kids. Sharon moved cross country with her kids, not caring how they would feel.I could see if she could only get a job in CT, but she clearly moved to get away from Jack. And it's not like Stacey who can hop on a train and see her dad whenever. Watson and Lisa never cared if Andrew or Karen were happy, Lisa was actually really selfish at times. Maureen and Ed argued over Stacey's hospital bed. Get a grip, all of you! You know, even though Sharon was selfish to move her kids when it wasn't job related, she did seem to get along okay with Jack.
Watson and Lisa adopting another kid when they're gone all the time. I especially didn't like it when they would go out on the weekends Andrew and Karen were there.
Kristy got too bossy and too controlling. Dawn got too whiny. Claudia got way too lazy.
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Post by stolenbooks on Jan 14, 2016 22:58:33 GMT -5
My dad is one of 6. His mom was married once, had 3 kids that are pretty fairly spaced apart (I think 2 years between each kid, which was good considering back then BC was not really a thing). Then her husband died, she got remarried and had 3 more, my dad being the youngest. Him and his siblings are each a year apart. I don't think it's weird to do something like that. I can even see them having the triplets a year after Mal.
I just can't see the following.
"Okay, so we have infant triplets, a 1 year old....yeah let's have another!" Maybe Vanessa wasn't planned, but I just find it weird. And after that, perhaps birth control would have been wise. I'm surprised there was such a gap between Margo and Claire.
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Post by sugarfrostedflake on Feb 16, 2016 4:56:34 GMT -5
The parents of all of the girls were way too relaxed at times. Some of them dated older guys. Like Stacey and Sam. Sam was 16, right? I don't have kids yet, but I know at 13, my mom would not have let me date a 16 year old. Plus, Stacey wasn't even 13 at the time, IIRC. She was like 12.
Stacey was 12 and Sam was 14 when they met. They didn't date until Stacey was 13 and Sam was 15.
Who I really question and side-eye pretty darn hard here is the Pikes: What the heck were they thinking in Sea City, letting Mallory (11) go out with Toby (15)?
The discrepancies about what ages could do what were also annoying to me. In the first few BSC books, Mal is 10, but is actively helping the sitters when they come over. For example, in Dawn and the Impossible 3, she assists Dawn and the other sitter (forget which one) at a picnic.
Mallory was definitely a sit-ee in book 5, not an actual sitter. The only way she helped in that chapter was to take a brownie away from Marnie. (The other sitters in that job were Claud and Stacey, sitting for the Pikes.)
Watson and Lisa adopting another kid when they're gone all the time. I especially didn't like it when they would go out on the weekends Andrew and Karen were there.
Do you perhaps mean Watson and Elizabeth?
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Post by stolenbooks on Feb 16, 2016 11:37:15 GMT -5
The parents of all of the girls were way too relaxed at times. Some of them dated older guys. Like Stacey and Sam. Sam was 16, right? I don't have kids yet, but I know at 13, my mom would not have let me date a 16 year old. Plus, Stacey wasn't even 13 at the time, IIRC. She was like 12. Stacey was 12 and Sam was 14 when they met. They didn't date until Stacey was 13 and Sam was 15.
Who I really question and side-eye pretty darn hard here is the Pikes: What the heck were they thinking in Sea City, letting Mallory (11) go out with Toby (15)?The discrepancies about what ages could do what were also annoying to me. In the first few BSC books, Mal is 10, but is actively helping the sitters when they come over. For example, in Dawn and the Impossible 3, she assists Dawn and the other sitter (forget which one) at a picnic. Mallory was definitely a sit-ee in book 5, not an actual sitter. The only way she helped in that chapter was to take a brownie away from Marnie. (The other sitters in that job were Claud and Stacey, sitting for the Pikes.)Watson and Lisa adopting another kid when they're gone all the time. I especially didn't like it when they would go out on the weekends Andrew and Karen were there. Do you perhaps mean Watson and Elizabeth?
I don't really see how that's any better. She was still in middle school and he was in high school. There was no reason for them to date. And yes, I meant Watson and Elizabeth. |
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Post by mistrali on Mar 29, 2016 0:54:53 GMT -5
Claudia never being diagnosed with a learning disability, Janine having an IQ of 196 (!), Charlie driving everyone everywhere, the girls acting unrealistically old, Karen being allowed to get away with stuff like digging a hole in the Engles' backyard, Dawn going back and forth between coasts like it was going out of style. And Ann's weird alt-reality California populated solely with white health-freak surfies. And yeah, the Jessi thing stood out to me too. |
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 29, 2016 21:40:59 GMT -5
I remember taking an IQ test years ago and not being impressed with my score  Maybe I should take it again now. Lol. Or maybe Janine has just spoiled it for me all these years with her insane IQ!! Maybe Ann got her CA knowledge solely from the movies. Like, the way Woody Allen depicted Californians or something. She totally admitted that she got her knowledge of camp from STORIES people told her during the writing of Summer Vacation. |
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Post by sparklymouse on Feb 26, 2021 11:15:00 GMT -5
As an adult filing taxes every year, I’m always like “who claimed that lotto win in the BSC?”
Shannon the puppy was like a $1500 gift that Shannon gave away to Kristy.
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how did she even live?! Good point about the triplets being the youngest. That should've been like that instead. Like a more realistic order of the pike kids would be:
Maybe I should take it again now. Lol. Or maybe Janine has just spoiled it for me all these years with her insane IQ!!