#89 Kristy and the Dirty Diapers

[aln1982]

I searched for this one and couldn't find a thread. That surprised me. Thought there was one but I've done this before
I always forget this is the book where Abby is introduced. I understand why she bugs Kristy – some jokes are fine but she goes overboard. It’s almost like she’s constantly on stage. I really like Anna, though, and actually wish that Kristy would have found more in common with her and that she would have joined the club. I do like the tension between Kristy/Abby, though, and it is a good replacement for the Kristy/Dawn tension.
The uniforms were hideous and embarrassing. I felt for the kids and Kristy, too, because she was just trying to do something to make things better for the team. The Davis Diapers guy was a jerk and I was glad she told him to shove it. He kind of reminded me of Uncle Dandy from Genius on Elm Street but I’m not sure why.
I liked this book pretty well. Not one of my favorites but about in the middle.

[sugarmonkey]

I. Hate. Sports Books. I did skim the sports parts of this one so I could see what happened with Mr. Davis. I like the way Abby and Kristy told him off. Kristy should've been the one to instigate it though, not Abby.

Drusilla bored me, yet another kid the BSC takes credit for helping.

It did seem like Abby was constantly trying to be the center of attention. I figured this was partly true but couldn't be as bad as Kristy made it seem. It WAS Kristy the loud mouth bulldozer that was narrating. After reading about Kristy's attempts for attention in Claudia/WSTO and We *Heart* Kids Club I assumed that Kristy being put off by Abby wanting to be the center of attention was partly because Kristy seems to relish the spotlight as well. That being said, Abby did step on Kristy's toes a bit with the Krushers. But, I liked how Abby used humor to teach. When Kristy pointed out that some of Abby's techniques caused minor trouble I first thought bad of Abby, then I realized that Kristy tends to be hypercritical of other people when kids are involved. Plus, Kristy didn't like Abby so Kristy probably was a little harder on her than she might have been on other people.

The allergy talk was irritating. I really didn't know what to think of the scene where the Stevensons are actually moving in. Did they really boss the movers around and were that picky, or was it suppose to be a joke that the movers caught on to? Mrs. Stevenson's wink didn't seem to let on that she had a sense of humor only that she got a kick out of being a pain.

[Deleted]

I hate Sports books too but I actually enjoyed this one. Everyone's always hatin' on Abby. Lol. Actually, I think she's my favorite because I can relate to her most. Oh yeah, I have no off-button at work, and I'm sure that probably annoys everyone.

[Amalia]

^ I thought it was a little strange when Abby started trying to be the center of attention when her family was a guest at someone else's house.

[aln1982]

^ Agree. And it was a bit annoying but I think that's how Abby deals with things and how she copes. In a way, I wonder if she might subconsciously act like the big comedian to cover up her real feelings - like sadness over losing her dad. I think that Kristy doesn't really mean to be the center of attention (not that she isn't totally competitive) but that she's just like that by nature. Abby is mostly, too, but I think she tries to make herself that way at the same time. (If that makes sense.)
Looking at the book with these thoughts, I found Abby slightly rude and annoying. It would be interesting, though, to read the story from her perspective as I'm sure she found Kristy rude and annoying ;D
As for Druscilla, I just don't care for her. I tried to feel sorry for her but she just wasn't a likeable kid to me.

[Penny Lane]

Really? This is the only thread on this book? It seems like we have multiple pages on all the books.

Anyway, so I just finished this one. I've been trying to clean out my room and pack some stuff and pack some stuff away for storage, but I can't help myself when it comes to "short" books. They make a nice distraction.

So this is the intro to Abby. Interesting, I didn't like her very much in this book. I usually like Kristy in her own books (but not at all when it's not her narration, especially in the mysteries). I felt kind of bad for Kristy, because it was the beginning of a new year, her eighth or ninth time through the 8th grade, and suddenly she's being upstaged by the new girl. I think Kristy might have some insecurities -- she seems to actually kind of want to be pretty (some of the earlier books + snowbound). Abby coming along, taking over her spot as tomboy, one of the guys (with a nickname) in just a few days -- well, that kind of sucks for Kristy. Plus she mentioned how Abby and Anna seemed sophisticated and mature, so that was another blow to Kristy.

I didn't really understand why the Stevenson's had to spend the night at the Brewers. Also, where did they sleep? At the beginning, they said it was a 9 bedroom mansion, but later they mentioned a guest room, which really doesn't make any sense if everyone has their own room. (Plus the bedrooms on the third floor, and the rooms in the attic) I'm really confused about the size of this house. I understand that the Stevenson's electricity was off, and I understand offering them dinner -- but why does that mean they have to spend the night? I would not want to sleep that close to Karen and Co.

I liked the subplot too. I wish these girls would stop trying to force these kids into group activities, sometimes kids just want to be left alone. I was kind of happy when Drusilla quit the team, because Kristy kind of beat her into it. And yay for consistency from Peter L. -- mentions of the kids taht Kristy drafted in Sea City, Here We Come!

It was so obviously a Peter L book -- complete with his catchphrases of "Harrumph" and "honest." I'm getting to the point where I just sort of "know" which ghostie I'm reading, without even checking. (And i'm not even cheating, I haven't read most of these later books before)

It seemed really quick how they suddenly drafted Abby and Anna into the BSC. I wish Anna would have decided to join as an associate (or instead of Abby). I liked how Anna found Jessi to talk to at the meeting. I wonder what Mal did while they were chatting? Probably wrote in her journal about how she needs a nose job

[aln1982]

^ I also wish Anna would have joined. I had forgotten about Jessi talking to Anna at the meeting but that sounds like an interesting combo for a friendship - dance and music kind of go together. ;D

[lyricalangel]

I wish Anna would have joined as well. I would have liked to see more of her.

[Amalia]

^ I liked Anna better than Abby, too.

[inconstant heart]

I skimmed this book a while ago (the Druscilla plot bored me) and I really did not like Abby. It *did* seem like she was upstaging Kristy, as Penny Lane said, and I resented her for that (Kristy being my favourite character). I also didn't like her because in a sense, she 'replaced' Dawn.

Like mcpon, I liked Anna better than Abby, because Abby is a bit of a carbon copy of Kristy, to me. She's opinionated, loud, sports-mad (and I don't care that she's a 'natural'- that doesn't make much difference when these characters are defined by their hobbies and two or three traits). I think Anna would have made an interesting addition to the club- she could have been good friends with Jessi, MA and Shannon, I think.

I don't actually hate Abby, by the way. Just disliked her in this book.

Um... the book itself? I felt terrible for Kristy and her Krushers, but I liked that some of them decided to wear them to support her (Jackie, I think?). The company rep was a jerk the way he basically put the kids down- uh, they're not in an actual league! They're just playing for fun, and besides, they're all so young!

Can't remember much more, but Peter L's characterisation of the girls really irritates me. He makes them so snarky, and while they probably are occasionally, being teenagers, I doubt they are constantly snippy in their attitudes to their friends, family, etc. as he shows them to be.

Did he write any books for Jessi or Mal?

[aln1982]

^ I agree about Abby, Druscilla and the rest of the kids. Also about Peter. ;D I'm not sure if he wrote any Jessi or Mal books but I think he did as he wrote a lot of later ones. Abby did grow on me after this book (especially in her own) but it didn't give a very good impression of her. I thought it was interesting how the perspective of the first encounter with Kristy was different in this one than in Abby's Portrait. That makes sense, though. ;D

[inconstant heart]

^ Hmm. I've never read Abby's Portrait, but that sounds like it'd be an interesting read. Abby grew on me too in her books (especially when she stood up against Stacey and everyone else on the dating issue).

I'd like a Peter L. book for Jessi or Mal. I'm going to see if I can find out whether he wrote one.

[aln1982]

^ Just looked - Jessi's Big Break and Mal's Christmas Wish (probably others too ;D)

[booboobrewer]

Also Happy Holidays, Jessi, Jessi's Horrible Prank, and Jessi's Gold Medal.

[aln1982]

^ I guess he did write some of theirs that I liked. ;D (except Horrible Prank - that's one of my least favorites )