starlett2010
Junior Sitter
It's been YEARS but I'm back!!!! :)
Posts: 696
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Post by starlett2010 on Jun 9, 2009 3:08:47 GMT -5
The Cheplins were so annoying. If Mrs. Cheplin wanted an older sitter, why didn't she ask how old the sitters were when she called to set up the "interview?" It just seemed so stupid that she didn't and then bitched about it to Stacey. The whole probation/bribing with money thing was really annoying. I think Mrs. Cheplin was a total control freak and was just testing Stacey; just waiting for the chance to yell at her to make herself feel superior.
One thing that bothered me, though, was that it really didn't seem like the housework was that unmanageable or extreme. I mean, didn't Dawn clean the whole Barrett's house while she was sitting? Well, I guess since Stacey only had 2 hours, it was pretty unreasonable to think that she could manage that.
I really didn't like the ending. I wish Stacey would have told Mrs. Cheplin off, but I guess there really wasn't much Stacey could complain about since she had known the terms of the job beforehand and was being paid extra. I'm surprised that Kristy didn't scold her about taking on more than she could handle and freak out about losing business.
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Post by greer on Jun 9, 2009 5:38:56 GMT -5
I don't really understand why Mrs. Cheplin didn't just hire a housekeeper in the first place, if she oculd afford to pay Stacey so much extra money.
Also, did the Cheplin kids ever show up again? Dana was friends with Vanessa.
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starlett2010
Junior Sitter
It's been YEARS but I'm back!!!! :)
Posts: 696
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Post by starlett2010 on Jun 9, 2009 15:49:28 GMT -5
I don't really understand why Mrs. Cheplin didn't just hire a housekeeper in the first place, if she oculd afford to pay Stacey so much extra money. Also, did the Cheplin kids ever show up again? Dana was friends with Vanessa. Yean, that is a good point. Mrs. Cheplin should have just hired a live-in housekeeper, since she was obviously incapable of cleaning her own house and rearing her own children. I think the Cheplins were mentioned in passing in another book, but I don't think we ever actually saw the sitters sit them again. I could be wrong, though.
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Post by greer on Jun 9, 2009 20:01:54 GMT -5
Well, I know the BSC refused to sit for them ever again.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on Jun 16, 2009 23:30:13 GMT -5
the necklace robert gave stacey always sounded really pretty to me Fact: I straight up ripped off this idea for my mom's birthday present one year. I should send Suzanne Weyn one to thank her.
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inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
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Post by inge on Oct 8, 2009 6:36:09 GMT -5
I just got my hands on this one (and yay, do I love acquiring English books of a number higher than #66 - never got to read those as a kid!) and for all the 'higher number' hate that seems to be going around I thought it was a pretty good book. I've recently been in a situation like Stacey's so I could relate to her and hate Mrs. Cheplin with her she is asking too much but I understand that Stacey wants to prove herself so badly that she does not complain. And when she finally confronts this woman, of course she would make it out to be Stacey's fault - not her own, and she will probably go through many 'babysitters' without ever wondering if maybe she was asking too much. I didn't like Dana much but I thought at times Stacey was kind of dangerous in handling her - like sometimes not taking her claims to feel sick seriously. Of course she was faking it a lot but what if something would have gone wrong during her first piano class etc..? I liked Adam for the biggest part of the book, like how he instantly took a liking to Stacey and was talkative and stuff. I like people that talk a lot (since I'm pretty quiet myself) But agree that in the end he totally overreacted when he was crying and stuff. As for the subplot, I actually thought it was pretty funny ;D
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tiff85
Junior Sitter
Posts: 583
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Post by tiff85 on Jan 30, 2010 15:05:57 GMT -5
I just got finished reading this. I didn't like Mrs. Cheplin at all. If I were in Stacey's shoes, I would have told Mrs. Cheplin off, collected my money and left. Mrs. Cheplin had a lot of nerve. I loved Logan and the romantic surprise he had in store for Mary-Anne
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,254
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Post by oldhickory on Feb 16, 2010 2:24:53 GMT -5
i really hate this book, but for some reason i end up reading it over and over again. i find myself getting frustrated FOR the characters, and angry that none of them stood up for themselves. stacey is usually so pushy, so it seemed pretty out of character for her not to blow up at mrs. cheplin. and if i were logan, i would be soo furious. a home-cooked meal by a couple of kids wouldn't cut it if i were expecting a fancy pants dinner at chez maurice. another thing that bothered me is the fact that stacey took dana to dr. johannsen's house instead of the hospital. it just makes no sense. calling an off-duty doctor who has no medical equipment on hand won't make dana's blood sugar change (i don't remember if her blood sugar was too high or too low at the moment), and stacey should know better than anybody else that you don't mess around when you have diabetes. no wonder mrs. cheplin didn't trust stacey.
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Post by zoar3 on Feb 24, 2010 23:45:07 GMT -5
I dislike this book as well. To me it was another sad reminder that the parents in Stoneybrook (generally) do absolutely nothing to stop a situation that is not a good one for their child to be in--Stacey being the child, Mrs. McGill the parent. Surely, Maureen must have had some notion of what Stacey was up against at the Cheplins. I know 13=18+ in Stoneybrook but come on a young teen should not be slaving away day after day like that. Plus while Stacey was cleaning, no one was watching Adam or Dana.
Of course there is the Stacey earning money to take Robert to an NY Show. Lol-ing at the image of 2 13 year olds showing up at such a performance unaccompanied. Maureen would allow that but not Robert to come into the livingroom? Makes no sense.
The worst part for me was how Stacey handled Dana's diabetes scare by insisting she take her to Dr. J. Whoever drove them there should have known better. If Dana were truly experiencing an insulin reaction, she needed immediate attention. Sure 9/10 Dr. J was home Monday afternoon. What if that time she wasn't? Stacey should have tried to call a couple neighbors to take them to the hospital and then, if need be, 911.
Kristy hate mail subplot was odd. Super sweet of Logan though.
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Post by wiggir13 on Jul 25, 2011 20:44:37 GMT -5
The redeeming part of this book is when the kids call Kristy - Crusty Toenails. For some reason that just made me laugh. I dislike the cheplins and really find no redeeming quality about them. I feel like Stacey probably should have listened to Kristy when she said don't take the job. It is a lot of time to give up when you are a kid and just want to hang out with friends....but I forget they aren't really kids The subplot I actually liked and found it funny that 8 year olds would be interested in the love lives of 13 year olds. After all, how did the kids know MA and Logan are dating??? Perhaps they read a chapter 2?
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Post by zoar3 on Jul 26, 2011 17:21:08 GMT -5
^Lol-ing at the image of some of the charges reading a chapter 2; that'd be a great intro to a fanfic. I just hurriedly skimmed and my opinion on this has not changed. I understand that Stacey had to take Dana's blood sugar reading the afternoon prior to carting her off to Dr.J's. The other times? If I were Dana, I'd have...well I'm not into violence for any reason, but in this fictional case it's tempting. Dana was annoying as was Adam. It would have been more interesting reading about Stacey mentoring one of the kids she temporarily worked with in "Jessi's Wish" than the random, un-likeable Cheplins. Their "Acorn" street name was cute, though, too bad they weren't.
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Post by anzuhana on Sept 18, 2011 12:36:54 GMT -5
Mrs. Cheplin was rather annoying. If she didn't think that Stacey was doing a good job, she should've found another sitter. Stacey should've said something about the large workload since she was having difficulty with it and I would've liked it if she told off Mrs. Cheplin in the end. I did like Stacey and Robert's and Logan and Mary Anne's double date.
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Post by booboobrewer on Sept 18, 2011 14:46:35 GMT -5
Haha, yes, me too. Reading this thread again makes me want to reread the book, which I haven't done in years.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 9, 2012 21:54:29 GMT -5
I thought this book was pretty good. At least it builds up and stays relatively consistent. Stacey's problems at the Cheplins build and build until the scene where Dana has her emergency. And for a BSC book, to be relatively stable plot wise, I think that's a good thing.
Some comments:
- LOL @ the kids calling Logan a "dirty bum". To be honest, I was surprised that they added that in there.
- I liked the subplot involving Valentine`s Day and the Logan, Mary Anne and Kristy mix-up. The only annoying thing was how suddenly Dana`s good friends with Vanessa Pike?! I know they added that in so that Stacey had an excuse to be at Logan's house and therefore narrate what was happening, but it annoyed me. And why was 4-year-old Jenny there? How can she help?!
- How can Stacey cook so well at 13? All of these girls are such good chefs suddenly.
- For some reason, Adam reminds me of a boy who could potentially grow up to be gay. I got that vibe from him for some reason. I thought he was cute *except* for him needing help cleaning up his room. Mama Cheplin really needs to teach her kids independence.
- I REALLY loved the descriptions of the Cheplin's home, especially the woods part (and the window that overlooks the woods). My dream house would be surrounded by woods.
- I also liked hearing about winter, and the winter scenes (since it's winter now).
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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 Jan 9, 2012 21:59:57 GMT -5
I keep wanting to read "Cheplin" as "Chaplin."
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