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Post by baseballchica03 on Nov 4, 2006 20:36:22 GMT -5
whenever I go back and read this one, it hits me like a ton of bricks! I just reread this one for the first time since I was a kid, and I was really struck by how different it is. In one chapter, Mary Anne is biting her nails, and Kristy yells at her and says something like, "How do you ever expect to be able to wear nail polish if you do that?" Our Kristy? Caring about nail polish? And Stacey practically swoons over Sam, which is odd, given books like Shadow Lake where she can't stand him and suddenly comes around at the end. I really loved Janine's comment about The Apostrophe Thing because I have that debate internally all the time. Is it the Babysitters Club or is it the Babysitters' Club?
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Post by bscfan24 on Nov 4, 2006 22:15:49 GMT -5
^^I think, technically, it's supposed to be "Babysitters'" since there's more than one babysitter. I mean, it's *everyone's* club.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Nov 5, 2006 19:18:47 GMT -5
^^I think, technically, it's supposed to be "Babysitters'" since there's more than one babysitter. I mean, it's *everyone's* club. In a way, both are correct. It's a club of "babysitters" plural, but it's also a club belonging to the babysitters'.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Nov 5, 2006 21:02:23 GMT -5
It's so much easier just to shorten it to BSC, heh.
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Post by aln1982 on Jun 1, 2007 8:00:08 GMT -5
Just reread and was surprised how little I remembered of it. I actually didn't read it for the first time until a few years ago. Anyway, it just seems somehow different from other BSC books - all of the first ones do. I did like it okay, though it is not one of my favorites. I saw a lot of the closeness between Elizabeth and her kids that people have been talking about but that I had trouble seeing before. I really enjoyed Kristy coming to accept Watson and loved the part where she had to kiss him on the cheek. I like watching their relationship grow and think he's such a great guy! I felt for Stacey with not being sure if she should tell about her diabetes and liked how Claudia was supportive of her. Kristy made me mad jumping to the conclusion that she was anorexic but that is such a common assumption.... I also liked reading about MA and Kristy's relationship and how they were different from Claudia and Stacey, though I disagree that they are more "immature". Loved the baby-sitting chapter with the Feldmans and thought it was so cute how Jamie cuddled up next to Claudia while she read to him. Also liked reading about Kristy sitting for Karen and Andrew for the first time and about MA's sitting job with them. Lots of good parts in this one but not one of my favorites- maybe because it just doesn't have the same "feel" for me as later books.
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inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
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Post by inge on Jun 1, 2007 9:50:53 GMT -5
I feel exactly the same way about this one, aln. I like it and it's very well-written, yet it's not one of my favorites. I think that's because I started reading later books so I wasn't used to this kind of BSC book. I'm glad I didn't start with this one, though, because I think I would've gotten really dissapointed in the later books if I read this one first.
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Post by liss31d on Jun 1, 2007 13:53:22 GMT -5
I think it's also because the characters aren't fully developed yet. It's only the first book and I think it took a while to mould them into the characters we've come to know. I think the characters were personally at their best and most realistic in the middle part of the series. By the 70s, I think that's when the characters started getting very stereotyped (probably due to being heavily ghost written) - e.g. Dawn being overly vegetarian and obnoxious about others' eating habits, Claudia being more stupid, Kristy getting more dictatorish, Jessi being only a ballerina, etc... The one who didn't live up to stereotype was Mary Anne who became more passive aggressive as the series progressed.
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Post by aln1982 on Jun 1, 2007 15:53:37 GMT -5
^ I totally agree, Liss. I think most of my favorites are between #s 25 and 80 (rough estimate) with a few of the early ones - Dawn and the Impossible Three, Boy Crazy Stacey and a few later ones - Kristy and Mr. Mom. It does take a while in any series to "get to know" the characters - definitely more than one book. It did provide some interesting background, though some of it was changed later
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msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
Posts: 3,618
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Post by msstock87 on Jun 2, 2007 1:54:45 GMT -5
This book isn't one of my favorites, but I like it because they seemed like more normal 12 year olds in this book. It just has an overall different feeling to it than the later books and it was a bit of a nice change. I loved seeing how it was shown how Kristy started to accept Watson. It seemed like a natural reaction for a 12 year old.
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Post by Kylie90210 on Aug 21, 2007 22:29:11 GMT -5
I agree with pretty much all the comments about the BSC being 12 in this one, for a change It does have a different feel, and I love it, but I dont know if I can say it's better. It's like 90210, which has different feels to all the era's... But I still can't pick a favourite!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2007 12:08:52 GMT -5
In the (British) version of this book I used to read when I was a kid, Sam described Stacey as a 'cute girl'. I found the US version second-hand a while ago, and Stacey is now a 'foxy chick'. I never thought 'cute girl' sounded like the sort of phrase Sam would use, anyway. Why didn't they keep things like MA's nail-biting throughout the rest of the books? Little traits like that just make the characters more believable.
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Post by aln1982 on Sept 19, 2007 23:12:35 GMT -5
^ I had forgotten about the nail biting. I would have liked this since I am a nail biter, too. So is my dad. In fact, my grandma just said something to me yesterday and I was like "ugg, I'm TRYING to quit, okay?" Not an easy habit to break at 25 ;D So totally agree that little traits make believable characters. I hadn't realized MA and I had that habit in common but now I don't feel so bad ;D
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Post by sotypical42483 on Sept 20, 2007 12:19:42 GMT -5
"cute girl" sounds much more tolerable than "foxy chick". were they living in the 70s?!
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Post by aln1982 on Sept 20, 2007 17:02:37 GMT -5
^ Agree. I can't stand it when guys call girls "foxes, foxy, or chicks" (Dawn moment ;D)
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Sept 21, 2007 10:19:34 GMT -5
^ I feel the same way. I don't like being called babe, sweetie, chick, ect. I don't really consider myself a feminist, either. I'm just me.
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