Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
|
Post by Penny Lane on Jan 23, 2009 15:43:03 GMT -5
One of the things I've noticed, as my life changed, so did my taste in sitters. For a long time, I thought that Mary Anne's character was a little more complete, maybe a little more well written than the others, so I liked her a lot; even though I couldn't identify with her in the least. My favorite character by far though, was Stacey. I loved everything about Stacey -- she was sophisticated and pretty, popular, she was from Manhattan, and her parents were divorced. Yes, I was one of those kids who really, really, really wanted their parents to get a divorce. I still do. But that is besides the point.
At some point, I really started to like Dawn. I liked that she shared my interest in the Environment, Vegetarianism, and Sustainable Living. Because of this, I never even noticed that she was generally insufferable (at least according to people in fandom). I still don't really notice it. Of course, I could just be ignoring it, because I share that trait and would rather not be hated for it.
But the weirdest part of all is that for most of my life I have been mostly indifferent to Claudia. But lately, I've been finding that I really like Claudia. I think her books are really funny,and she offers up some great laughs. I like that she shares some similar interests in dumb mysteries and art projects, though I am not at all talented. I also like how she is laid back and kind of a loner, but isn't not pointed out in a chapter two.
So I guess my question is: has anyone else noticed things about the characters that they really like, now that you are reading it as an adult? Or even if you are still reading it as a teen, do you find that you identify with different characters as you grow and change?
|
|
|
Post by booboobrewer on Jan 23, 2009 16:41:02 GMT -5
My favorite has always been Stacey. Like a lot of people, I loved her as a kid because she was the cool, sassy New Yorker who was beautiful, wore great clothes, and had the best storylines. Now, though, I like her even more because I think she's probably the most complex and interesting character. She also has a good sense of humor and is smart and diplomatic.
I like Kristy and Mary Anne a lot more now than I used to. I always identified with Mary Anne, but she used to irk me quite a bit as a kid. I thought she was too wimpy or something. But I understand her more now reading the series as an adult, like why she'll react to something in a certain way. It's like Beth Ellen's grandmother says in "The Long Secret," that shy people can be angry people. That's definitely true. I mean, there are still things she does that bug me, but I don't actively dislike her for them.
Kristy can be pretty crazy, but after reading her portrait recently, I felt really bad for her where her father was concerned. She's learned to be blunt and to plow through things but I think she's as fragile as Mary Anne in her own way. I didn't really like her when I was younger because she was so bossy and obsessed with sports and had control issues, but I'm noticing more layers to her character when I read the books now.
And I've always loved Claudia. She seems very real and flawed. She takes her family for granted, she has low self-esteem, she's funny, she can be really cheerful but then be really moody. Like her, I love mysteries and art. She and Mary Anne are pretty much tied for my second favorite.
|
|
|
Post by sparklymouse on Jan 23, 2009 17:53:55 GMT -5
I don't really remember having a favorite character. I liked Mary Anne because she was the most like me, and I liked Dawn because she really did seem like a unique individual to my nine year old self.
I respect Kristy more now. Like Booboobrewer said, she is a bossy control freak, but she is a highly motivated person. I admire people like that.
I've also noticed how entertaining Claudia is. I think when I read Stacey's Lie I finally realized how cool Claudia is. She spent pretty much that whole vacation alone entertaining herself and she had a great time.
I haven't warmed up to Jessi at all. I will be 100 years old and still not like Jessi.
|
|
|
Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Jan 23, 2009 23:30:07 GMT -5
I haven't warmed up to Jessi at all. I will be 100 years old and still not like Jessi. Lol same ;D. I tried to get myself to like her but I just can't. Anyway back to the question at hand: Growing up, my favorite characters were Mal, MA and Dawn. I liked MA and Mal because I could relate to both of their characters at the time (and I still can today ;D) and I liked Dawn because I found her earlier books to be funny and because she was there for MA in MA Saves the Day when no one else was. Also, 8-9 year old me preferred their friendship to MA and Kristy's because I found them to be better matched as friends and I used to think that Kristy treated MA like a doormat. But that changed as the series progressed. Dawn and the Big Sleepover was the last Dawn book I liked and then after that I felt that her whole character went downhill, especially when she started coast-hopping. I didn't like that at all. And then there was that whole debacle in Stacey vs. the BSC when she spies on Stacey at Pizza Express from behind the jukebox (or something like that). Can you say immature? That just killed my like for her, among other things. Anyway, rereading these again as an adult (or late teens since I'm 19), I'm finding myself warming up to and liking Kristy more and more. I still don't like reading her sports themed books (Kristy at Bat anyone?) but I enjoy reading books from her POV because she's always sarcastic, like in Kristy's Great Idea and in Kristy and Mr. Mom when she's talking about how she had to break into her piggy bank to give everyone lunch money and she says, "Watson (the millionaire) didn't have enough money for the kids' lunches so I had to break into my piggy bank," that line always made me laugh because of how it was written ;D. So basically, while I have MA, Kristy and Mal as my favorite characters, I like all of the girls for different reasons. Except for Jessi of course. She just never interested me and probably never will. I like her and Mal's friendship but that's it.
|
|
|
Post by wenonah4th on Jan 24, 2009 11:46:02 GMT -5
I never have completely had a favorite, so it hasn't been something that could possibly change. Strange, I know!
|
|
|
Post by candykane on Jan 24, 2009 15:57:37 GMT -5
My favorite character has always been Stacey, but in the last year or so I've identified more with Mary Anne, because she lost her mom to cancer, like I did. I was an adult when it happened, so it's different than MA's situation, but I can identify with the lonely feeling that comes with not having your mom around.
|
|
|
Post by otempora541 on Jan 24, 2009 19:42:19 GMT -5
I have a theory that the first BSC book (therefoe, the narrarator) is that reader's favorite character. Y/N?
For example, I used to love MA. I thought that she was a good friend/person, had a nice family dynamic, and wore cute stuff. Now, as a 19 year old, I am fond of her still, regardless of her passive aggresiveness (it's probably because I am too.) Lately though, I think Kristy grows on me more- I have her personality and absent father/sudden stepfather thing (albeit am uncoordinated and not at all into babysitting.) Also, I am fond of Abby because she comes off as more me.
Characters I am eh about: Stacey I kinda like/hate sometimes, because she can come off as too real a 13 year old- the way she values boys more then friends, her love of fashion, but she has a secret nerdy underbelly. I liked early Claudia more, because she had geniune intrests and had more sense then a lot of them combined. Dawn... I like California Diaries Dawn then BSC Dawn. And Jessi/Mallory: I hate to say it, but it's hard to like them. I blame it on bad character developement.
|
|
|
Post by booboobrewer on Jan 24, 2009 20:42:17 GMT -5
I forgot to add that I've noticed now I like reading about Dawn more when she's talking about ghost stories or the supernatural or unexplained. Like her, I love scaring myself with that stuff.
|
|
|
Post by greer on Jan 24, 2009 21:22:19 GMT -5
Booboobrewer, I've always loved Beth Ellen's grandmother's quote, too.
When I was very young I liked Kristy, because I was a tomboy and wanted very much to be an athlete, although I was terrible at sports. I was always jealous of my brother because he was in little league.
I then liked Claudia, because she was artistic and did her own thing and dressed how she pleased. And now I like Stacey, because her stories are the most interesting to me and she likes fashion and boys, which are two things which occupy a great deal of my thinking.
I didn't like Mary Anne as a kid because I thought she was nerdy, but now I like her. I especially like her in FF because she dumps Logan. Logan is my least favorite character in all of BSC.
|
|
|
Post by icequeen on Jan 24, 2009 22:47:19 GMT -5
Mary Anne was my favourite as a kid. I was shy, quiet and very sensitive and cried over everything. I still am a little of all of those qualities but more so back then. However for the majority of my life my favourite character is Dawn. I loved that she was laid back and confident, and I moved away from my hometown when I was young and could identify with the longing for things to go back to the way they were. And I also LOVE the beach.
And otempora do you mean that whatever book your reading at the time, you really start to like the narrator? As in I like Kristy a lot in her books but sometimes not too much in other narrator's books? Or the first book you ever read, the narrator became your favourite?
|
|
|
Post by GingerSnaps on Jan 25, 2009 10:45:27 GMT -5
When I first read the books I think I liked Stacey and Claudia best, because I thought they were the most exciting. They seemed so grown-up to 8-year-old me And I always took Claudia's side against Janine as a kid. Nowadays Mallory and Abby are my favorites. I find Kristy becoming one of my favorites, too. I think I appreciate her strong character more now than I did as a kid, when I'd agree with the other sitters that she was bossy. I still love Claudia's books, although for different reasons than when I first read them. I think it helps that I don't take what the sitters say at face value anymore like I did as a kid.
|
|
|
Post by helsieboo on Jan 25, 2009 13:44:09 GMT -5
I used to love Kristy and Mallory, but now they both irritate me. Kristy is a control-freak who can't see beyond her club and Mallory, bless her little sparkly knee socks (she wishes), is nothing but an irritating moaner!
Now, I like Claudia and Dawn, Claudia being my favourite. Dawn is a little obnoxious with her food tastes and the way she turns up her nose at what her friends eat, but in all fairness, they make silly comments about her food - and a lot of it isn't really all that gross! Hummous is delicious, for example!
Claudia is my favourite now. She's so sweet, so funny and so loveable - and acts her age more than some of the others, I think.
|
|
|
Post by featherearrings on Jan 25, 2009 16:54:00 GMT -5
My favorite when I was a kid was Mallory. I related to her a lot since I had wild, curly hair, braces, loved to read and write and thought I was ugly. Once I got older, though, she kind of annoyed me. Stacey was my favorite for quite awhile after that. I thought she had the best books. My favorite now is Claudia, I think. I'm just starting to really like her. I think she's way more of an individual than Dawn is. My first book was a Kristy book (Kristy's Great Idea), but I always thought Kristy was extremely boring. Jessi is sort of invisible to me lol.
|
|
|
Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Jan 25, 2009 20:43:23 GMT -5
And Jessi/Mallory: I hate to say it, but it's hard to like them. I blame it on bad character developement. I totally get what you're saying with the character development thing. I like Mal, because she reminds me a lot of myself, but throughout the series neither her or Jessi were developed further. It just seemed like AMM threw both of them in there just so the series could have its token young people (pertaining to both), resident nerd (Mal) and token black girl (Jessi). They weren't as heavily focused on, unlike the main BSC girls. They didn't get their own portrait book (would it've been so hard to have autobiographies for them to do in 6th grade?), the majority of their book titles were crappy (and they had less books than the other characters) and I think each of them had only one Mystery book. So yeah, I totally understand why Mal and Jessi were unlikable to most.
|
|
msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
Posts: 3,618
|
Post by msstock87 on Jan 26, 2009 0:34:22 GMT -5
My favorite character actually has changed many times. I think I went through a period where each sitter was my favorite except for Jessi, Logan, Shannon. I think it was because at certain points of my life I felt like I could relate to them differently.
|
|