livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Jun 26, 2022 13:16:52 GMT -5
I just finished this book and, while it wasn't my favourite, I did quite enjoy it. I agree that Kristy was a pretty unfair to Mallory and Jessi about missing meetings - I mean, it's surely no big deal for Mallory to miss one meeting per week just for 6 weeks. I think it Kristy's response would have made more sense had the writers made it so that Jessi was going to non compulsory extra dance events and missing meetings and maybe even forgetting sitting jobs because she's got too much on her plate. If Jessi was biting off more than she can chew and thus becoming unreliable and letting the club and it's clients down then I think it would make more sense for Kristy to give her an ultimatum of attend the meetings or leave the club. I understood Kristy's feelings however but felt especially bad for Mal and Jessi. Kristy's Fall into Fall Festival was pretty wacky, but then the characters are only 13 and the readers in the 8-12 range, so I don't think it's unrealistic, besides Kirsty's was drawing at straws a bit in her desperation to remain relevant and reassert herself. I also understood Kristy being so shaken after Jackie's fall since she seemed to be already feeling pretty insecure with regard to Abbey being president and members not attending meetings etc. I think the whole idea of the club being too big a commitment and a struggle to manage was realistic to me and also interesting to read about, as much as I didn't like them breaking up. Overall, I did really like this one, although it's not among my favourites. I also love the shiny silver cover! Abbey and Mallory were great in this one too, I liked the way Mal was so willing to give up her writing club for the BSC and the pressure she felt to so, I also really liked her loyalty. I thought Abbey was funny and that she balanced Kristy out really well with her relaxed and fun manner and Kristy's stressed, inflexible and serious state of mind. In, this way, I think this book really established Abbey's relevance, purpose and value in the club and what she had to add to it as a new member. I think that, as much as Abbey and Kristy clash, they ultimately balance one another out really well. How about using paragraphs??
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Post by sparklymouse on Jun 26, 2022 17:41:45 GMT -5
If your only reason to reply to someone is to insult them then you should probably just skip it and move on.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jun 27, 2022 19:17:48 GMT -5
If your only reason to reply to someone is to insult them then you should probably just skip it and move on. Word.
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Elsie13
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 126
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Post by Elsie13 on Jun 28, 2022 4:22:33 GMT -5
I got excited because I had an email notification that someone had quoted me and I haven't been on in ages and thought 'yay! a discussion!' haha I may as well respond now that I'm here! I didn't actually know how to use paragraphs to begin with because I thought that if I pressed enter the message would send even though I hadn't finished - pretty ignorant, I know, but I've got it figured out now
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Post by booboobrewer on Jun 28, 2022 10:28:19 GMT -5
It is good to see you anyhow!
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Elsie13
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 126
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Post by Elsie13 on Jul 27, 2022 0:00:28 GMT -5
It is good to see you anyhow! Aw, thank you! I really need to check up more often. I'm about to watch the new series of the show so I'll have to come back more after then!
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swizzles
New To Stoneybrook
Claudia Kishi ruels ok
Posts: 83
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Post by swizzles on Jul 30, 2022 23:03:13 GMT -5
I loved this book! I remember being 10 and giddy like a magpie about the shiny metallic cover. Actually, if I’m totally honest, looking at it now at the tender age of 35- it’s still one of the most stunning covers!
I really enjoyed how the BSC were finally allowed to act like actual 13 year olds (or 11). For the majority of the series, these girls have been portrayed as wise beyond their years, with the occasional hiccup here and there. This was a refreshing read - accusations, tantrums and dramatic exits. Perhaps one of the most realistic turn of events!
I really love the tension between Abby and Kristy. Kristy is definitely being unfair, and I get the sense that most of you agree. But as a type A control freak myself (is it at least self-aware if I own it?), I do sympathise with her. The BSC is her baby; she probably felt jittery enough handing over the reins while she was on holiday in Hawaii, but to come back and find that executive decisions had been made without her and people started taking rules lightly… probably made Kristy physically ill. I love reading about how she has to adapt and deal with this and learn to respect other points of view. It’s a great thing to explore with teen/pre-teen readers.
I felt awful for Mal and Jessi. This book really made them seem a lot younger (or perhaps more accurately- how I think actual 11 year olds would act!) Kristy is so bent out of shape over extra-curricular activities etc. but at no point is it ever explained why no sitters ever have to miss a meeting…because they’re on a sitting job! One of the greatest mysteries to me, along with the endless cycle of 8th grade.
I also loved how reluctant Stacey and Claudia were to return. They’ve always been portrayed as slightly too cool for this crowd at times, and I think it is incredibly realistic to outgrow certain friends or interests in a natural way. Of course that wouldn’t work for the longevity of this series.
As a few others have said, I liked reading about what people were doing with their free time. There’s some lovely descriptions about gardening and outdoor sports - I’m not sporty at all but I found the writing evocative and felt a sense of peacefulness.
So glad I found this in a secondhand bookstore 😊
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Aug 1, 2022 9:00:33 GMT -5
I really love the tension between Abby and Kristy. Kristy is definitely being unfair, and I get the sense that most of you agree. But as a type A control freak myself (is it at least self-aware if I own it?), I do sympathise with her. The BSC is her baby; she probably felt jittery enough handing over the reins while she was on holiday in Hawaii, but to come back and find that executive decisions had been made without her and people started taking rules lightly… probably made Kristy physically ill. I love reading about how she has to adapt and deal with this and learn to respect other points of view. It’s a great thing to explore with teen/pre-teen readers. I appreciate seeing another opinion on Kristy. I'm not really impressed by people like her (authoritarians being bossy - not type A people in general) and they usually make me want to disagree out of spite. This is a good reminder that she's doing what she thinks is right, not that she's being bossy for the sake of having power.
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Post by oldmeanie on Apr 25, 2023 11:53:04 GMT -5
I thought I'd kind of hate this one. But I don't, just because it's so interesting to see the premise of the BSC challenged. Also, idk why I keep writing novels.
I don't understand why they changed to Thursdays because of Jessi's class. It feels confusing for the clients (knowing from experience working retail... customers take FOREVER to adjust to any change) and they should have just excused her from Fridays (also, later in the book, the class was changed to Thursdays. I thought Jessi had ballet Tuesdays and Fridays always. Starting to see inconsistencies there. Maybe she meant there would be 2 classes on Fridays? It in very convenient that the class was chanhed at the end). Abby made a really good point... the clients can't see everyone who's there.
I do find Kristy very rude and OTT when she blows up at lunch after Stacey and Claudia reveal they have appointed and Abby is considering marching band (to be fair, I think Abby might have just been pulling her leg). Her thoughts on this in text: "What was going on here? Had the Baby-sitters Club suddenly dropped to bottom priority? I wanted to jump up and scream at them." Then what she actually says to everyone:
“Our clients depend on us,” I shot back. “That’s why they keeping calling back. Our motto was, ‘One call, seven sitters’ — remember? Not, ‘One call, four or five sitters who bothered to show up and a couple of others out shopping.’ ”
It feels so... distasteful? Not sure if that's the right word. But it feels messed up after a couple of the members mentioned doctor appointments. There isn't anything they can do about that. Earlier, Stacey mentions she'll be missing a Friday meeting because she's visiting her dad in the city, and Kristy asks her to reschedule. This feels almost OOC to me even for Kristy. Stacey has done this a few other times in the series, I'm sure of it, and it hasn't been an issue. Also, none of the things anyone mentioned were as trivial as shopping (although Mary Anne and Abby are late because of a shopping trip, which feels OOC).
Kristy is just a massive jerk in this book and comes across as totally unreasonable. I felt so bad for poor Mal when she mentioned her creative writing group and then offered to give up the opportunity. Even though it's temporary.
I was trying to see all this through the lens of a business owner (even though I'm so not business-minded at all), and I can see how all this would get to Kristy, I just think she goes about it the wrong way. I can see how in her mind, they made a commitment to attend meetings, but even at a real job, things like doctor appointments are excused and sometimes other commitments show up. So if she wants to be a business owner, she definitely needs to learn flexibility. BUT all this is sort of a moot point because they're still kids!
The Fall into Fall thing sounds so silly. Her fake maple sugaring idea is hilariously bad (another commenter pointed this out, and for some reason I just started laughing and couldn't stop), and the leaf sculpture just sounds impossible. A fall-themed block party sounds fun if it's done right, but idk what Kristy was thinking with her silly ideas.
As others have pointed out, Kristy comes across as a bit of a dolt in this book. And I don't really know why Lerangis gives her this trait. Early Kristy was never a dolt. And in this book, she even mentions she enjoys reading. So how is she so dumb?! I will say I laughed at "Picasso's theory of Einstein." This book actually has some decent humor in it. Abby is on point.
“Let’s vote,” Abby announced. “All in favor of Thursdays say, ‘Cheese.’ ”
“Cheeeeeese!” cried everyone but me and Mary Anne.
“All opposed say, ‘Crackers,’ ” Abby went on.
“Uh, excuse me,” I said. “Did I miss something? I thought I was the president, and you were my temporary replacement.”
"Abby bowed her head low. “Sorry, my liege.”
"They were all giggling like monkeys."
I wonder how much of this was Kristy's guilt over Jackie's accident. I did feel bad for her, but after her behavior at the last meeting, I just couldn't sympathize with her. I also think that they should have slept on the idea of disbanding the club instead of just choosing to do it right away. I'm surprised they didn't.
The Stoneybrook parents' reactions did feel sort of OTT. I do think the BSC's reactions to the parents letting other kids sit is kind of... messed up.
Mary Anne and Claudia's fight is dumb and I'm on Mary Anne's side. That's all I'm going to say about that.
Them all showing up to see Jackie at the hospital after his second accident in the book (poor kid) and Jackie apologizing for breaking up the club was kind of sweet. Him bringing them back together kind of felt like the story came full circle.
I've rambled enough. So I obviously didn't hate this one, even though I hated Kristy herself in it (this might be the worst Kristy book for her character). The drama is just too good and Abby brings some much-needed levity. Entertainment wise, it's like an 8, ngl. I think I would give it a 5 overall, though, because Kristy is just so infuriating and I KNOW she isn't as stupid as Lerangis makes her out to be lol.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Apr 25, 2023 15:16:18 GMT -5
It's been years since I read this but I remember how final and poignant it felt when Claudia recorded the answering machine saying the BSC had broken up!
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Post by booklover85 on Apr 29, 2023 22:47:41 GMT -5
With the exception of Jessi and Mallory, nobody came out looking good in this book. Kristy was out of her complete mind and Claudia acted like a total cow.
However, I did enjoy the part of the cover where Stacey had her finger pointed near Kristy's face. Kristy definitely deserves by the way she has been acting throughout the whole book.
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Post by m0drnmoonlight on Apr 30, 2023 10:28:04 GMT -5
This is another book where Kristy just gets so extreme with the BSC and how she runs it. It's up there with her yelling at Mallory turning down a job in Jessi and the Bad Babysitter because she feels sick and then ordering her to get to a doctor because the BSC can't afford to lose another sitter
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Post by oldmeanie on May 1, 2023 11:05:45 GMT -5
Honestly, I don't think Kristy is that great of a leader. I think she is very organized and has good ideas (although she has too many ideas tbh, tone it down on the carnivals and stuff), but she just isn't reasonable. Guilt tripping Mal when she was sick, guilt tripping Dawn for her long visit to California, and basically her entire behavior in the first few chapters of Haunted House and of course this book... ffs, these girls are 13 and 11! They need some freedom to explore other interests.
Even real jobs can be flexible about other commitments sometimes (not all the time I will say... my first boss at my job almost didn't want me to attend a ONE HOUR therapy session a week, even though I'm part-time and only get 25 hours a week and don't even have consistent days off. Like come on now, they accommodated school. Luckily they're better about this now. My work experience has soured my opinion on Kristy tbh, because I imagine her being one of those managers).
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on May 2, 2023 10:59:50 GMT -5
She also overreacts. It doesn't make sense to change established business hours to work around one person's conflict, one day a week. (To be fair to Kristy, this was the club's suggestion. Her idea was to force Jessi out of ballet, which is worse). Just treat Jessi like an associate member on Fridays. Instead Kristy runs full steam ahead without thinking through how the changes would impact anybody. She reminds me of this letter on ask a manager.
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Post by oldmeanie on May 2, 2023 11:45:02 GMT -5
She also overreacts. It doesn't make sense to change established business hours to work around one person's conflict, one day a week. (To be fair to Kristy, this was the club's suggestion. Her idea was to force Jessi out of ballet, which is worse). Just treat Jessi like an associate member on Fridays. Instead Kristy runs full steam ahead without thinking through how the changes would impact anybody. She reminds me of this letter on ask a manager. Right? The Thursday meetings make no sense. She shouldn't have allowed that change and should have just excused Jessi. I feel like she was much more flexible and realistic in the beginning (and she herself was late to meetings a couple of times). Yeah that letter sounds like it was written by Kristy lol.
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