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Post by rabbitbongo on Oct 4, 2018 14:23:41 GMT -5
I remember reading the BSC books when I was 10-12 years old and thinking how much I liked Dawn and Kristy, Mary Anne was boring, how I didn’t understand anything that was written about Stacey’s health and that Mallory was a miserable spoil sport.
Now as an adult Mallory has actually become one of my favourite characters and I feel so sorry for her! I also now have a good perception of Stacey’s health. Dawn has gone from the top of my list to the bottom - she’s selfish and awful towards MA. However, the character that I have changed opinion on the most is Jessi. As a child I had no opinion on Jessi, she was just a character; but now after reading Super Special #8 I am shocked by her flirting behaviour (at the age of 11!) when she already has a sort of boyfriend, and in Super Special #9 she is ridiculously arrogant. Perhaps it’s just the ghostwriters but these actions have led me to have a very negative opinion on Jessi.
How have your opinions on BSC members changed?
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Post by sparklymouse on Oct 5, 2018 17:28:56 GMT -5
As a kid I liked Mary Anne because I thought she was the closest to my personality. (I hadn't read the second half of the series where she was angry and had mental health struggles.) When I read the books as an adult I just adored Claudia. I think adult me just liked as little personal drama as possible, and Claudia provided that best.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
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Post by cnj on Oct 6, 2018 0:51:10 GMT -5
As a kid I liked Mary Anne because I thought she was the closest to my personality. (I hadn't read the second half of the series where she was angry and had mental health struggles.) When I read the books as an adult I just adored Claudia. I think adult me just liked as little personal drama as possible, and Claudia provided that best. Mary Anne NEVER had 'mental health' issues; she was stable and mostly happy...very sensitive, but stable. Seeing a psychologist is NOT a sign that you're 'mentally ill.' |
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Post by sparklymouse on Oct 6, 2018 18:52:39 GMT -5
As a kid I liked Mary Anne because I thought she was the closest to my personality. (I hadn't read the second half of the series where she was angry and had mental health struggles.) When I read the books as an adult I just adored Claudia. I think adult me just liked as little personal drama as possible, and Claudia provided that best. Mary Anne NEVER had 'mental health' issues; she was stable and mostly happy...very sensitive, but stable. Seeing a psychologist is NOT a sign that you're 'mentally ill.' I didn't say she was mentally ill. She dealt with depression and anxiety, which are mental health issues. It's not an insult. |
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andrew
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Post by andrew on Oct 7, 2018 12:26:31 GMT -5
As a kid I didn't feel much one way or the other about Dawn, passionate about the environment but otherwise pretty average, now I see more of her negative qualities. I find Kristy a little less likeable, a little too demanding and insensitive but still usually (or often enough) reasonable and interesting. I like Claudia more though, mostly from having read more of her earlier books and seeing that she really does struggle, sometimes trying though sometimes not, both in schoolwork and with family expectations.
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Oct 8, 2018 1:12:43 GMT -5
As a kid I liked Mary Anne because I thought she was the closest to my personality. (I hadn't read the second half of the series where she was angry and had mental health struggles.) When I read the books as an adult I just adored Claudia. I think adult me just liked as little personal drama as possible, and Claudia provided that best. That pretty much sums up my thoughts. I related a lot to Mary-Anne and in some ways I still do (I have some anxieties as well) but Claudia is fun to read about. She doesn’t really cause much pressure. |
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
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Post by cnj on Nov 1, 2018 9:07:14 GMT -5
Mary Anne NEVER had 'mental health' issues; she was stable and mostly happy...very sensitive, but stable. Seeing a psychologist is NOT a sign that you're 'mentally ill.' I didn't say she was mentally ill. She dealt with depression and anxiety, which are mental health issues. It's not an insult. Mostly because of what was going on with Logan and also the house fire and all...not because of anything internal. ...she was angry and had mental health struggles... Mary Anne never had unusual anger issues either. Like most of her friends, she went through lots of the typical teen angsts and all...not at all unusual. |
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on May 26, 2020 12:16:55 GMT -5
I was never a huge fan of stacey or Claudia. Both of them are moving up my list of favorite sitters. Mary Anne and Kristy is still one of my favorites though.
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Post by sparklymouse on May 26, 2020 12:40:41 GMT -5
I can appreciate Kristy more now. I wish I had her energy and drive. I think everyone should have a friend like Claudia. Someone who will just give you a candy bar and some weird fruit piece shaped homemade brooch at any moment.  |
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Post by gertiethedino on May 26, 2020 20:21:32 GMT -5
I liked Mary Anne a lot growing up, but surprisingly she has been the one that my feelings of have dropped the most during my current re-read - particularly how her emotions go from mild to 100 depending on someone else's actions. I'm not saying there isn't some level of realism there for an admittedly sensitive teenage girl, but I've found myself rolling my eyes as some of the conclusions she jumps to more often than other characters.
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LadyDru
Sitter-In-Training
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Post by LadyDru on May 29, 2020 9:11:59 GMT -5
I used to love Kristy..that's also my name (though it is spelled differently)..not so much anymore though..I still enjoy her books, though..and I feel all the characters have their good and bad moments.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Nov 10, 2020 14:41:22 GMT -5
As a kid, Kristy and Dawn were my favorites. Now I can't stand either of them LOL. Kristy is mean and bossy and Dawn is obnoxious and self-righteous.
My favorites now are Mary Anne and Claudia. Mary Anne and I are very similar and Claudia is just so fun. And I really love how Claudia can be very level-headed and take-charge when she needs to be.
Also to comment on another discussion, in the Chain Letter book, Mary Anne admits (I forget to which sitter) that she's seen Dr. Reese because she was struggling. She didn't elaborate but I think she mentioned she had been going through a rough time.
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Apr 28, 2021 18:55:01 GMT -5
I know it’s only been a year but in my last reread I’ve been enjoying Claudia books a lot more! And not liking Mary Anne as much, she’s been annoying.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
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Post by cnj on Apr 29, 2021 9:30:24 GMT -5
As a kid, Kristy and Dawn were my favorites. Now I can't stand either of them LOL. Kristy is mean and bossy and Dawn is obnoxious and self-righteous. Disagreed...Kristy can be bossy, but she is not really mean. And I don't think Dawn is self-righteous, although she does get a bit preachy about the environment and health foods, which yes, sometimes got on people's nerves. Re-reading also, sometimes, Dawn teased sensitive Mary Anne a bit too much and occasionally treated Mary Anne like a younger child, but it wasn't that different from any other older sibling teasing a younger sibling. My favorites now are Mary Anne and Claudia. Mary Anne and I are very similar and Claudia is just so fun. And I really love how Claudia can be very level-headed and take-charge when she needs to be. Me too!!! Mary Anne has a creative streak in her and both of them often feel "different" and misunderstood by mainstream society. Also to comment on another discussion, in the Chain Letter book, Mary Anne admits - I forget to which sitter - that she's seen Dr. Reese because she was struggling. She didn't elaborate but I think she mentioned she had been going through a rough time. I remember Mary Anne seeing Dr. Reese several times throughout the books. In Mary Anne and the Memory Garden, when she sees Dr. Reese again, she talks about seeing Dr. Reese shortly after her dad and Sharon married because she was overwhelmed by the big changes in her life as most highly sensitive people are. I'm so glad therapy is not shunned or stigmatized in these books the way it is in so many other series. Seeing a therapist, contrary to common misconception, is not a sign of "craziness" or "instability." I'm so glad Mary Anne sees a therapist...I also hope in adulthood, she's read books on the wonderful trait of sensitivity. Mary Anne is in excellent company because approximately twenty percent of the human and animal population worldwide and probably universe-wide shares her trait. Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Diana and Oprah Winfrey all are highly sensitive individuals just like Mary Anne. That's a large part of why I get irked when some people trash Mary Anne without understanding this trait that may seem "strange" or "weird" to the non-HSP.😩😩😩 And the individuals listed above reached out to others, became highly successful and helped a huge, wide range of humanity, including the poor and people in "rough" areas. That's why I see Mary Anne often reaching out and helping the toughest kids from some of the roughest ghettos of NYC instead of remaining mired in a narrow, sheltered, "upper-class" circle. I see the rest of the BSC also growing in knowledge of this trait since none of them are ignorant or stagnant. And I actually suspect several of the other BSC members have traces of high sensitivity in them. HSPs like Diana, Oprah and Mary Anne care too much to not help a wide range of humanity worldwide. 💓💖💗💟💞💜💚💙💝☺🤗 |
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Post by oldmeanie on May 18, 2022 19:51:46 GMT -5
Kristy used to be my favorite, and I do like early Kristy a lot as a character. I really don't like late series Kristy, though. She is way too inflexible. I really didn't like her in Baby-sitters Haunted House or Kristy's Worst Idea (why in the world did Jessi absolutely HAVE to be at Friday meetings?). I remember her being insufferable during the Bad Girls arc too. It's like she forgets they're still kids and need time to be kids. Early series Kristy understood that.
I like Jessi a lot more as an adult now, although she's probably WAY too mature for her age.
Mallory is becoming my favorite. I like Stacey way more too because I realize there's more to her character than fashion and boys.
I always liked Dawn despite how weird she gets in the later series (she and Kristy probably suffered the most from flanderization). I was always neutral about Shannon and disliked Logan. I always liked Claudia and Abby too. Mary Anne is weird... I like early Mary Anne a lot more than late.
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