oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,263
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Post by oldhickory on May 31, 2011 16:47:48 GMT -5
i have a barbie blanket that i just retired a few years ago because it was wearing out. it was honestly really sad :] it would have been so sad to go through that at 3.
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Post by anzuhana on Sept 24, 2011 19:20:43 GMT -5
I liked the riding lessons. I did feel sorry for Mallory, though. Jessi was cold to Mallory but I can understand why. I wouldn't be enthusiastic if my best friend was doing something I wanted to do and telling me about it while I was unable to do it for whatever reason. And it's too bad that the students at the riding lessons weren't friendly to Mallory because she seemed really eager to make new friends. The inconsistency about how many students was irritating. I wish that the editors would've caught it.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Sept 30, 2011 1:30:36 GMT -5
I remember buying this book and liking the horse, but the most I remember about it is Mallory falling off, the girls at the class not being friendly, and having awful diarrhea the day I read it. Nothing else. Besides, I was too excited about flying somewhere the next day.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 14, 2012 14:43:06 GMT -5
The beginning of this book is really boring. There were some snarky moments, like when Claire says she's a "bareback rider" (adult humour) and when Mal is in her room around BSC time meetings and suddenly looks at her clock, gasps, and says, "The Babysitter's Club!" is sooo corny to me. It's one book that's probably in the bottom pile for me ALTHOUGH I did enjoy it more this re-read.
It taught me a lot of things I didn't know about horses, like how to put on their saddle and the fact that they are uncomfortable, horses often suck in. The reality of just how uncomfortable it would be to be pulled and prodded on your body sunk in more this time so I really respect horses.
The middle-to-last part of the book got better. So it totally beats Jessi's Wish.
Did anyone else notice the foreshadowing of the mystery series and BSC being detectives in this book? It's mentioned in the part where they're in Claud's room, during a meeting, talking about Dawn's sitting experience with Nina. Kristy says something along the lines of the BSC being detectives because they "solve mysteries".
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Post by sparklymouse on Jan 14, 2012 20:24:36 GMT -5
^Ann's book Me and Katie (the Pest) taught me a lot about horses too. I wonder if Ann rode.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on Jan 22, 2012 20:54:10 GMT -5
omg, lol. I think they actually meant the dictionary definition of "bareback" there, like, without a saddle :x
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 22, 2012 23:39:21 GMT -5
^ Yep, they did. But it's not the first thing I thought of. It was the second. *blush*
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Jan 23, 2012 21:46:48 GMT -5
^Ann's book Me and Katie (the Pest) taught me a lot about horses too. I wonder if Ann rode. She did at least briefly, and some of the horses in Me and Katie (the Pest) were named after real horses at the stable where she took lessons. I think it`s mentioned in the Ann M. Martin bio, and maybe at the back of the new-cover version of Mallory and the Dream Horse.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 24, 2012 0:27:17 GMT -5
^ Is there any change in the cover from the old cover edition to the new one? (i.e. does Mallory look any different?) I haven't seen the new cover one of this book, and often times they change the girls up (i.e. Baby Parade, Pet Sitter, Saves the Planet...should I keep going...?)
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Post by zoar3 on Oct 27, 2012 18:25:53 GMT -5
"Time" is even more "odd" (warped)? in this book than others. The story seemed to jump from the beginning to a few lessons later to all of a sudden almost 2 months had past. I understand Jessi feeling jealous. I even "get" how in her mind she may have blown up what Mal had tried to share out of proportion. (Eg. Mal gets to take riding lessons AND with her "dream" horse, plus, her parents are even paying half. All I get is normal ballet lessons." We don't know if other than "Dance School Phantom," if Jessi truly had to buy all her own ballet equipment and clothes. At the very end, two months later, on Pages 123-124, Mal and Jessi finally "talk" about Mal's horse riding experience. Jessi says: ^Jessi's "memory" either isn't too good or she truly has been bitterly jealous for two months. Mal simply mentioned the few kids she had talked to. It sure didn't sound like Mal had a good time at the one party she went to. Also, Mal had no way of knowing just how "fancy" that party would be. As I said I can sympathize with Jessi, however, she really wasn't too good a friend to Mal. In fact, on this re-read I realized much like MA in "Island Adventure," never apologizing to Dawn, Jessi never directly does so to Mal in this one. All of a sudden, Mal is apologizing to her (that was very kind of her) while Jessi nods that she felt left out all this time. Poor Mallory.
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Post by sparklymouse on Oct 27, 2012 19:40:13 GMT -5
Hmm. Jessi also acted rather snippy and jealous when Mallory went away to school right after Jessi turned down the NYC school. It seemed like Jessi liked it better whenever Mallory's life was sucking and acted threatened if something good happened to her.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Oct 27, 2012 20:24:45 GMT -5
^ for some reason, that made me think of jessi not being in support of mallory's blonde hair and trying to get discovered as a movie extra, and at the same time, jessi had gotten it, which takes me back to jessi and the superbrat when she became starstruck when derek was in town
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Post by zoar3 on Oct 27, 2012 22:18:25 GMT -5
^Now I'm thinking Jessi might need to be moved down on my sitter's list. She also didn't do much of anything to help Mal with Uncle Joe. Not that Mal really asked but she could have lent a sympathetic ear. I just realized Jessi never stood up for Mal or encouraged Mal to stand up for herself, during the Spaz girl books. I always thought Jessi's story-lines were very dull. I never got much of a handle on "knowing" Jessi herself. Now, I'm not sure I would have wanted to. To be fair, more than any of the other characters Jessi developed her one main trait (ballet) almost immediately and ran with it leaving no room (or Ghostwriter desire) for anything else.
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supprazz
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,106
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Post by supprazz on Oct 28, 2012 18:57:59 GMT -5
I've always been neutral on Jessi, but neither her or Jessi have much of a backbone when it comes to inner and outer conflicts. Though Jessi could be more supportive and was at times, Mallory didn't have enough self-respect to fend for herself either.
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Post by zoar3 on Oct 28, 2012 19:10:48 GMT -5
^That is all very true Supprazz. It just made me sad to realize that over two months Jessi didn't put aside preteen pride and/or righteousness to at least talk to Mal, say a friendly hi, or something. I know, Mal didn't exactly do that either. This is all shades of Mary Anne and Kristy never taking the time (that we know of) to rekindle their old friendship. I know part of my Jessi "fault" in this has nothing to do with her but with Ann and Co's decisions to have Mal fail at riding but Jessi win a "medal" at swimming, a sport she had never even before considered let alone invested a lot of hope into liking.
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