|
Post by Kylie90210 on Mar 5, 2014 0:15:30 GMT -5
Just read this for the first time, and apart from dawn’s snide little comments, and Kristy, I liked it. Although I’ve never experienced something similar, I don’t think it’s hard to see this happening in real life. Kids will always ostracise anyone who is different, and people do get carried away with their sports teams! Some of these kids were ridiculous though. Alan Gray was horrible. I loved Sharon and Richard though. I also appreciated the little mentions of Stacey.
|
|
|
Post by zoar3 on Mar 5, 2014 12:29:01 GMT -5
I haven't read this in forever but seeing a post reminded me of the second BSC reference in real life I saw yesterday. The elementary school across the street from me (actually I think it's now K-8th) had pajama day on their billboard out front. I hope it will be more fun and go over better there than it did for some students at SMS.
|
|
|
Post by wenonah4th on Aug 10, 2015 6:35:05 GMT -5
Does anyone else think of the PTA meeting in *Field of Dreams* about that meeting with the parents?
|
|
pe2422
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 8
|
Post by pe2422 on Apr 22, 2016 4:45:03 GMT -5
One of my favourite books believe it or not! Unfortunately the book fell short and two main areas that are Paramount to me.
First let me list the things I like. I do think this book came across as very realistic in the fact how the school was sodivided. You could tell that both students feel very passionately about the issue on both sides of the spectrum. Dawn herself acknowledged that her side was just as bad as the opposite.
Unfortunately I think this book is plagued by two major problems. The first being well I can definitely see a division like that in real life and in the high school, I find it very very hard to believe it would happen about something as trivial as school spirit. In my high school kids dress up all the time for spirit weeks and stuff but nobody really cares about who does or who doesn't. If the subject the whole school was divided about was a little more hot button issue that I can understand it, but I don't think you could put that in The Baby-Sitters Club book LOL. The other thing I hated about this book was how out of character kristy in particular was. I mean kristy the one who will execute somebody for being 20 seconds late to a meeting will not allow herself to work with her best friend since they were babies over something such as school spirit. That comes across as completely opposite to her dictator like qualities before as well as her obsessive Devotion to The Baby-Sitters Club
|
|
|
Post by booboobrewer on Aug 31, 2016 16:17:20 GMT -5
Agreed. Mimi Snowden, too. I liked when Sharon was like "we never liked her" because she and Richard went to high school with Cindy. Her name makes me think of Cindy Sherman, the concept artist. Has anyone ever tried goat's milk? Dawn has it with her breakfast.
|
|
|
Post by Sideshowjazz1 on Sept 23, 2017 16:57:46 GMT -5
School Spirit Month was blown completely out of proportion. Who cares if everyone wears the same colour or pyjamas to school, anyway? I don't have anything yellow in my wardrobe, either, because it doesn't match my skin tone. Why should the whole club be split over this?
And why are the PARENTS making such a big deal over it? I mean, so being proud of daughters who stand up for what they believe in makes someone not fit to be a parent or crazy? I thought the way the parents acted was really disgusting. I mean, at least the kids are pretty immature have an excuse. They're only thirteen, so you kind of expect them to be cliquey and hate everyone who doesn't think that way. Can't parents at least be tactful about it?
Finally, there's the point that wearing pyjamas or a certain colour has nothing to do with school spirit. Yeah, it's fun, but if it's not an activity that promotes school spirit, people should be allowed to choose not to participate.
|
|
charjo
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 58
|
Post by charjo on Sept 24, 2017 6:28:58 GMT -5
And why are the PARENTS making such a big deal over it? I mean, so being proud of daughters who stand up for what they believe in makes someone not fit to be a parent or crazy? I thought the way the parents acted was really disgusting. I mean, at least the kids are pretty immature have an excuse. They're only thirteen, so you kind of expect them to be cliquey and hate everyone who doesn't think that way. Can't parents at least be tactful about it? So growing up, I lived adjacent to(and was part of the school district of) a town that was basically Stoneybrook. The town itself was middle/upper class with lots of community activities /big library/huge outdoor pool and recreation area, even a main street that was only like 3 blocks long- it was a really great place to raise a family, and not a place people moved from once they lived there. (Heck, I'm an adult now and live one town over) When I was in school I would say that at probably 3/4 of the kids had at least one parent who had grown up in the town /went to the same school/even had some of the same teachers - my 7th grade gym teacher called me by my mom's name more often than my own! (To be fair she had worked at his summer camp 3 years in a row and we look a lot alike) Point being, I assumed these parents took it so seriously because it was already their rilvery - we know from the text that that is true of Sharon and Cindy Sherwood, so it completely makes sense to me that these parents are super invested because it is their own history.
|
|
|
Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Sept 30, 2017 15:11:17 GMT -5
This book just makes me think how horrible everyone would act if they gave them uniforms lol.
|
|
|
Post by fluffernutter on Oct 19, 2017 0:34:11 GMT -5
Just got this book along with a few others from Goodwill. Just from the comments, it makes me think of The Wave by Todd Strasser (also based on true events at a Palo Alto high school in 1967). Anyone else read that, or seen the movie? I don't think any parents got involved, but things did get pretty out of control with people harassing and threatening those who didn't participate, and there was a lot in the book about school spirit and all that, which unfortunately didn't end up helping their football team win. So I guess it's not completely unrealistic for the students to get carried away, but there's really no excuse for the adults.
|
|
oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,270
|
Post by oldhickory on Oct 19, 2017 9:21:48 GMT -5
^ That sounded really good and I was about to thank you for your recommendation. But then I realized I watched the German version (Die Welle) a few years ago and I loved it! I don't speak German at all but it was a really thought-provoking movie. I wouldn't have recognized the parallels with this book without you pointing it out.
|
|
|
Post by booklover85 on Oct 19, 2017 22:33:14 GMT -5
I was just going to put down a headcanon about why Mary Anne was terrified to wear pajamas on Pajama Day about her owning a nightie, but I remembered that Mary Anne is only 13 and Richard would throw it out if he sees her wearing it . So, I'm guessing her pajamas have little cat faces printed all over it.
As for the whole town fighting each other, they are just looking for an excuse to fight.
|
|
|
Post by oldmeanie on Feb 14, 2023 1:26:55 GMT -5
I'm so sorry to anyone reading this review- ugh, I just hate this book (I think it's tied with Jessi's Gold Medal for my least favorite. Gold Medal is boring and School Spirit War is infuriating). I really wanted to have a newfound appreciation for it (I kind of like reading books I didn't like when I was younger to see if my opinion changed), but nope! Didn't happen.
The first chapter is kind of obnoxious from the get go- Dawn commenting on Mary Anne's diet and being kind of a wet blanket about sports- but it's a late Dawn book, I can deal with that. It just gets worse, though. I think having an entire MONTH dedicated to school spirit is ridiculous. We did have Spirit Week at my high school, but it wasn't a big deal. I want to say MAYBE a quarter of students participated and no one cared either way.
Mary Anne and Logan are annoying as hell in this book. Mary Anne just won't shut up about the pajamas- and I felt it was out of character when she didn't even comfort Dawn after having a bad day, like wtf. Logan was just, "uwu it's supposed to be about baseball." Kristy is INSUFFERABLE and downright nasty. In the last Barrett-DeWitt chapter (more about that later), Kristy wonders "if she’d ever feel friendly toward Mary Anne, Mallory, and me again." WTF?! She'd ditch her oldest friend over SPIRIT MONTH?! REALLY?!
Can you tell this book actually makes me mad lol.
Claudia is OOC too. I can see how she'd have fun thinking of different outfits for all the dress up days, but I just can't see her getting so mad at the anti-spirit club members. She doesn't do much, but it still doesn't feel right to me. I think part of the issue with this book is that everything is black and white- both anti and pro-Spirit kids care WAY too much. In reality, there'd be many who wouldn't care at all. Ugh. And wtf is up with Jessi in this book? I wonder if she's pro-Spirit just so she can fit in more. Upon re-read, I'm noticing she's not the greatest friend to Mal. Getting mad at her over this is ridiculous.
A bit nitpicky, but I didn't see anyone else bring it up and it's always bothered me. I don't understand why most of the kids seemed to wear ALL yellow. If we had a color day, the vast majority of people who participated wore, say, a yellow shirt with jeans. I also feel like yellow isn't a super common color to wear- I don't even own anything yellow (well, a gray shirt with a Pikachu on it is the best I got)! On the cover, it looks like Kristy is in a yellow dress (not confirmed, but still, OOC). Did this bother anyone else or am I the only one lol? I guess it bothers me that kids would likely have to buy clothes just for this event. Maybe this isn't a big deal in Lawyerville, I mean, Stoneybrook, but in my city, many kids couldn't even afford to participate.
It's also ridiculous that Dawn was put on the news over not wearing yellow. That doesn't seem right either- I think Sharon was right to be angry here.
The adults just blew this out of proportion too, saying kids who don't follow Spirit Month will get into drugs and etc. It's just beyond bonkers.
The subplot was actually not horrible. Normally Barrett-DeWitt crap annoys me, and I think it normally would, but I think in comparison to the main plot it was more tolerable. Seriously. That being said, I do not buy the outcome. There is no way those kids would prefer to share a room. I think it's supposed to be sweet, but I'm just like... nah, there's no way that would happen. I'm guessing it didn't last. It's a dumb subplot, but I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would.
I better stop before this turns into a novel.
|
|
|
Post by Sideshowjazz1 on Feb 14, 2023 2:15:47 GMT -5
^But only she is "awesome." (According to Dawn, of course and/or MA if she's not mad at her stepsister). Back in the 80's and early 90's jean jackets were (much more)? popular than they are now so maybe that was part of Dawn's denim look. Didn't one of the Arnold twins end up getting a pink denim skirt during their shopping trip or was it a jacket? Eleven years later and you're right. Marilyn Arnold bought a "pink jeans skirt" on the shopping trip in #21 because she thought that was "grown-up". That was the kind of clothes she wanted. Carolyn had taste in slightly cheaper clothes that she considered "cool".
|
|