macca
Sitting For The Newtons
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Post by macca on Apr 13, 2006 2:17:57 GMT -5
Ah okay. I haven't read the Spaz Girl books to be honest, it just sounded to me like she was being bullied horrendously (and had been forever, despite the lack of continuity there ) and finally decided to go to Riverbend. I'd like to read those later Mallory books, they sound interesting.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2006 7:31:25 GMT -5
Yes but this would have been nothing that the bsc couldn't handle.
I mean in Stacey's secret friend, the bullying of Tess Swinhart was horrendous. She even broke her ankle because of the bullying. The Bsc was able to help Tess out when they humiliated and blackmailed King and Alan.
So they would have atleast stopped the teasing..or found a way to do so.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
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Post by jen on Apr 13, 2006 8:44:50 GMT -5
Hm, that's true... Ah, well, they had to use *some* plot device to get Mallory off to boarding school!
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
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Post by Amalia on Apr 20, 2006 1:52:32 GMT -5
^ Yeah, I remember on the back of one book (the part of the book where Ann comments on the particular book) she talked about how her editors thought that she should send Mal to boarding school. I wonder forget why they wanted to get rid of her.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
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Post by macca on Apr 20, 2006 2:20:30 GMT -5
^ probably to get rid of all the members - except the four originals - for the Friends Forever series. Also, Mallory was never exactly a favorite among the fans.
Personally I don't think they should've had sixth grade members at all. Why couldn't they all just be eighth graders? Eleven yr olds as babysitters is just... dumb.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
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Post by jen on Apr 21, 2006 5:28:23 GMT -5
Actually, you make a good point... *why* did they introduce characters that were two years younger?
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
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Post by Amalia on Apr 23, 2006 20:23:54 GMT -5
^ Yeah, huh.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
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Post by macca on Apr 23, 2006 22:49:43 GMT -5
Personally I think it was because they wanted to have Mallory, who had originally been a baby-sittEE and is now a baby-sittER! zOMG!
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
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Post by jen on Apr 24, 2006 0:16:15 GMT -5
And she would've felt lonely and intimidated by all those big eighth graders, and they didn't have a token black character yet, so ta da! Jessi was born.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
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Post by Amalia on Apr 24, 2006 0:56:40 GMT -5
I agree. And so there would have been a character kids of that age could identify with and pretend it is them that is awed by those big eighth graders and at the same time being among their ranks. At least that was sort of how I felt when I was little.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
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Post by jen on Apr 24, 2006 1:14:46 GMT -5
I never actually thought of them as younger. I mean, yeah, it was mentioned in every book, and they couldn't sit late, but we never actually *saw* that much. They were pretty equal in terms of what they could do... Just sometimes in the dramas among the older members, they'd be sidelined a bit.
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Amalia
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Post by Amalia on Apr 24, 2006 1:37:13 GMT -5
To me it kind of showed their age when they were intimidated by the eighth graders. They sat on the floor and were junior officers and just kind of stayed to themselves when the rest were having fights. It was as if they were watching those girls fighting just like how we are reading about them fighting. I dunno.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
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Post by jen on Apr 24, 2006 1:59:15 GMT -5
But in terms of baby-sitting and stuff, or when they were doing group events, Mal and Jessi were always equal.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
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Post by Amalia on Apr 24, 2006 2:06:46 GMT -5
^ Yeah, true. I dunno. Mal seemed younger to me. She seemed to look up to the eighth graders and wished for the day she could be 13 so she could wear sparkles, get pierced ears, etc. And Jessi seemed as if she was mature for a 6th grader because she became a disciplined person by taking ballet. So took that disciplined attitude towards other areas and could be counted on to be more responsible than other 6th graders. (*whispers* To be honest, I don't know what we're talking about. I'm lost. )
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Post by liss31d on Nov 21, 2006 8:59:35 GMT -5
I don't think she left just because of the "Spaz girl" thing. It definitely brought it to a head, but sometimes I think that for Mal, it was inevitable that she'd leave. Although she won Young Authors Award and was secretary of the 6th grade, I get the impression that she's generally been made fun of for being smart (think of Don't Give Up Mallory) and before Jessi arrived, it seemed like she had very few friends. She says in Mary Anne in the middle that the main reason she wants to leave is that she feels it's an opportunity to mature and be herself, "not to be one of the 8 Pike kids, not to be be Spaz Girl, not to be one of the 7 babysitters with no real job title..." Another point she should have added to that is not to be expected to babysit for your siblings 24/7 Maybe leaving would make her parents appreciate her more. Also, she researched the school and it looked like somewhere she'd really enjoy, a school that specialises in the arts. It made her realise that she didn't like the teaching style at SMS. Besides Mallory hates boys (and gym), and it was an all-girls school so that would make her happy as well ;D The teasing most likely would have gone after a while, but in ways I think it was a good idea for her to go. Many kids go to boarding school, as it suits some better than others. I get a feeling Vanessa may even join her in a few years for her poetry talent...
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