wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Jan 15, 2012 19:49:24 GMT -5
That is a really funny comparison with Jeannie. I don't know what Haley looks like on that cover, though. I don't want to think about it.
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 16, 2012 15:41:37 GMT -5
^ She looks like she has a sourpuss face.
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celaeno
Sitting For The Papadakis's
I have to share a room with Vanessa
Posts: 1,514
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Post by celaeno on Jun 30, 2014 19:52:33 GMT -5
I like when Claudia spends her Saturday on her bed, eating Cheez Doodles and reading a Nancy Drew book. Sounds like a perfect day to me. I also liked the part at the end where Josh and Claudia sail boats on the pond. That sounds like fun. This book takes place in March, and early in the book Claudia is dying clothes outside and her dad is about to cut the lawn. In Connecticut, those are definitely not activities that would be going on in March. You'd be more likely to be shoveling the snow off your sidewalk.
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andrew
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 353
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Post by andrew on Mar 4, 2019 15:22:51 GMT -5
I thought most of the interactions and conflicts felt pretty in-character. Kristy and the others were a little too panicky that a lot of the clients would abandon the club.
This book felt and was shorter and faster-paced than most others but that was kind of nice. Likewise that Claudia wasn't discovered in her fibs about when her father's birthday was and that the romantic relationship ended on pretty friendly terms, Josh not being angry or surly.
9-year-olds and younger organizing a one-team local basketball association was pretty goofy but kind of nice and unusual that they did come up with it on their own, though with having Kristy as coach, rather than that Kristy on her own came up with another thing that a lot of the girls got into.
The book also kind of highlighted again how much the sitters expect the kids to be really good and are puzzled and frustrated when they aren't. It was interesting to see how Haley's lies tended to get more outlandish and the sitters doing some discussion of when they should report on the kids or not but I might have preferred, even if it was more cliched, the standard if you lie a lot people eventually won't believe you resolution rather than just the solution is to get a tutor.
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Jul 11, 2022 12:06:07 GMT -5
I didn't mind this one. It's probably the only later Claudia book I like. I loath most of her later books .
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Jul 11, 2022 12:06:32 GMT -5
I liked that Josh and Claudia had a solid friendship before they starting dating. He seemed very sweet and reliable. Sometimes the best relationships come from friendships!
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Post by oldmeanie on Aug 30, 2023 14:07:55 GMT -5
First time reading this one.
It's all right. I liked it a little more than I thought I would. The conflict was pretty interesting, although I definitely preferred the Josh subplot. I like him a lot as a character, but tbh, I never really "bought" his relationship with Claudia. They did seem more like friends to me.
I'm not sure why, but I've never been a big Haley Braddock fan. I guess she always sort of came across to me as on the grumpy side (not sure why this bothers me. I am too). It's definitely true in this book. Her lies are honestly kind of dumb. Idk what she was going for tbh. I'm not sure it's realistic that the other charges would turn against the BSC (not horribly, but it was there). Kristy's fears felt sort of silly to me. It felt more like a worry they'd have in the early series when the club was still being established.
I don't remember having weekend homework until 6th grade. It was a really big deal when it happened. I think 9 is too young for weekend homework tbh, unless it's catching up. I can see why Haley would hate that. She still acts like a pill and is just so aggressive in this book.
Idk, the main conflict was interesting (I do like it when the kids actually act like brats and give the BSC a challenge), but I just don't 100% buy it.
Is it normal to FORGET your father's birthday? I always knew when my mom's birthday was, along with my aunt and sister. They all raised me (at least somewhat), and I always remembered their birthdays. The Kishis seem close, so it's just odd. Maybe Claud thought it was later in the month? She also never admitted to Josh that she lied to him, and Mr. Kishi's birthday is never really addressed again. Pretty sloppy writing.
Maybe Claud forgot since it's been about 10 years since he last had a birthday. That's understandable.
I kind of liked the GSBA stuff. Idk, it's a fun idea.
Now for the weird stuff:
Kristy invites Josh to stay for a BSC meeting. Since when is she this lenient (although I've noticed she actually is more chill in recent books)
Kristy has Stacey fill in for Haley in the GSBA practice. She's unnecessarily harsh on her. I would've been so mad if I was Stacey! How awkward. There's also a weird quote:
"And, despite not being the ultimate sportswoman, [Stacey'd] been playing basketball longer than most of the other girls had been alive." Stacey has been playing basketball since she was 4 years old? I don't buy it. She's not terribly athletic, and I don't remember playing basketball at all until later elementary.
This quote is just funny: "'You can’t trust anyone over nine,' Sara said with a sigh. 'Once a kid becomes a two-digit number, something changes.'"
"Vanessa seemed to be angry with me too. I’d known her just as long and as well as I’d known Haley." Quote from a later chapter. That's just untrue. The Pikes were one of their earliest clients. The Braddocks didn't become clients until the second year of the BSC.
This one gets a 5. I'm actually tempted to put it lower, but I don't think it's bad.
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,263
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Post by oldhickory on Aug 30, 2023 14:30:51 GMT -5
Claudia and Josh are the middle school romance version of coworker friends. Their relationship existed because of proximity only.
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Oct 16, 2023 13:50:13 GMT -5
Vanessa was really occ here. She used to be a nice kid. Maybe she's missing Mallory?
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