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Post by wiggir13 on Oct 21, 2012 9:56:16 GMT -5
I think mal should have just left the house and gone somewhere else to write her stories. If you aren't there, then no one can bother you!
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scrounge
Sitter-In-Training
Boo and bullfrogs!
Posts: 414
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Post by scrounge on Oct 21, 2012 15:21:26 GMT -5
^ That's hard to do when you're eleven, though.
The Pike parents are terrible in this book, expecting Mallory to do everything for the other kids. The one that always gets me is when Claire asks her mother to make her a sandwich, so Dee hunts down Mallory and tells her to make Claire the sandwich. It had to take at least as much time to go find Mallory and give her the instruction as it would have to smear peanut butter on bread.
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Post by zoar3 on Oct 21, 2012 17:04:35 GMT -5
^ I never thought of that but you are so right. That makes Dee sound more Then later Mal has to make a second set of sandwiches (suddenly more were required) when a neighbor's dog ate the original. By then, someone should have gotten down the bread and jar of pb along with a butter knife and plate and Claire would be set. Mal totally should have gone elsewhere to write. I can understand being upset by that thought after setting everything up at home and wanting to work in your own room. Since she took the time to make a "schedule," she easily could have jotted down at least one afternoon a week that she would either spend at the school or public library. That would not have been too hard to do!
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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 Oct 21, 2012 17:40:26 GMT -5
^ I never really thought of Mal possibly going off to write somewhere else. I don't think age or lack of freedom had much to do with it. She seemed to wander around to BSC meetings and sitting jobs independently. It was so integral to the plot that she not do that when it came to writing, though. I didn't mind so much; I grew up in a tiny house crammed with siblings, so time on my own to do what I wanted was minimal. I always identified with that aspect of this book.
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 15, 2013 20:51:30 GMT -5
I like how Kristy gets indignant when David Michael's friend Carver comes over with his parents but they won't let him stay when they see no adults are around. Kristy's like "who did they think I was? An irresponsible kid?" You're petite, Thomas! They probably do think you're younger than you are. Cracked up at Boo-Boo stealing the ham from everyone's sandwiches. My cat loves ham ;D Mal was so sweet to Claire when Claire was upset over the triplets telling her that all dinosaurs were dead, which makes the "Mean Old Mallory" song worse, but that's five year olds for you! Mal's admiration of Mr. D was intense. I just read the book that AMM dedicated to a Mr. Dougherty (Jessi's Baby-sitter), who taught her how to make writing "exciting"
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scrounge
Sitter-In-Training
Boo and bullfrogs!
Posts: 414
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Post by scrounge on Mar 17, 2013 19:05:24 GMT -5
My cat loves ham too, and would totally steal it off a sandwich. I love Boo-Boo.
I usually think it's annoying how the girls win everything they enter but I was glad Mallory won this contest. She worked very hard on her project and it was nice that she got some recognition.
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Post by zoar3 on Mar 17, 2013 19:33:27 GMT -5
BooBoo, I never thought of that but you are right. Mal actually seemed more into Mr. D in terms of a "real" crush than Stacey did on Wes with her infauation if that makes sense. I actually thought Mal told us too much about what Mr. D looked like and all his moustache twirling read creepy to me. As for Mal going elsewhere to write, I had never thought of it before either. It just seemed like such an easy solution also one that might provide Mal some peace and privacy in general.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Mar 20, 2013 17:18:23 GMT -5
I discovered that my cat enjoys stealing "people food" the day she grabbed a taco off my plate (I was sitting on the floor) and ran across the room with it!
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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 19, 2014 21:22:53 GMT -5
I wish that this book had been called Mallory Pike on Strike.
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andrew
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 353
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Post by andrew on Jan 8, 2016 10:28:11 GMT -5
This was a pretty good book although I agree Mallory was somewhat to blame for her own problems (and I would have liked to see more of her talking and venting to Jessi); I especially liked that Kristy went a bit too far but unintentionally and then kind of regretted it and the other sitters didn't really try to put pressure on Mallory.
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Post by CharlotteTJohanssen on Jan 9, 2016 0:33:54 GMT -5
I remember reading this one a lot as a kid. I like that Mallory won something for working so hard. I just wonder why she never went to the library to write and then ask for some privacy at night.
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Post by merrymelody on Jun 18, 2020 23:56:33 GMT -5
Not only are the Pikes complete infants, but its bizarre that Buddy needs an adult to tell him to wear shoes while cycling. Isn't he 8 years old? Wise up!
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swizzles
New To Stoneybrook
Claudia Kishi ruels ok
Posts: 83
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Post by swizzles on Oct 6, 2020 1:02:09 GMT -5
I loved this book! I’ve always loved Mal and rarely find her insufferable. Maybe because I am a huge book-lover and my pipe dream is to be a beloved author. So a book combining her and writing is a win in my eyes.
I thought the Pike parents were insane in this one. Anyone would lose their mind with the amount of ad hoc chores thrown at Mallory. I never understood why she didn’t just go to the library after school or on weekends and hide out there?
Her creative writing teacher was also slightly weird. How odd to advise her that she wasn’t a writer until she wrote and it wasn’t enough to map out the plot. That seems like very narrow and unhelpful advice. Nonetheless I wasn’t remotely surprised to see that Mal won the prize! Of course she did.
The random scene with Kristy and Carver infuriated me. Kristy is a confident loudmouth but of all times, she chooses this one to stay silent and not let Carver’s parents know that she’s a babysitter and in charge? No wonder DM was enraged!
The Barrett circus was cute but I can’t imagine the triplets were impressed and went along with it. Or that they would enjoy the paper bag animal chorus activity. Again, willing suspension of disbelief, I guess! It’s also funny that while this whole day was a grand gesture of apology by Mallory to her siblings, Jessi got roped in and spent her day like this for free! Also crazy she shows up at 7 am on a Saturday at Mal’s house and then they head off alone to a park. Surely this isn’t safe even in fantasyland Stoneybrook?!
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Feb 25, 2021 2:19:14 GMT -5
Writing is my hobby and unlike Mal I don't take it too seriously and treat it like a chore like she does . Just because she wanted to become a writer didn't mean she couldn't have fun with the competition . It was meant to be for fun . But just like anything else she takes things way too seriously!
Since when did the Pikes have anything to do with the public library? I thought Mrs Kishi was the head librarian.
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livvy
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 394
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Post by livvy on Feb 25, 2021 2:21:27 GMT -5
I loved this book! I’ve always loved Mal and rarely find her insufferable. Maybe because I am a huge book-lover and my pipe dream is to be a beloved author. So a book combining her and writing is a win in my eyes. I thought the Pike parents were insane in this one. Anyone would lose their mind with the amount of ad hoc chores thrown at Mallory. I never understood why she didn’t just go to the library after school or on weekends and hide out there? Her creative writing teacher was also slightly weird. How odd to advise her that she wasn’t a writer until she wrote and it wasn’t enough to map out the plot. That seems like very narrow and unhelpful advice. Nonetheless I wasn’t remotely surprised to see that Mal won the prize! Of course she did. The random scene with Kristy and Carver infuriated me. Kristy is a confident loudmouth but of all times, she chooses this one to stay silent and not let Carver’s parents know that she’s a babysitter and in charge? No wonder DM was enraged! The Barrett circus was cute but I can’t imagine the triplets were impressed and went along with it. Or that they would enjoy the paper bag animal chorus activity. Again, willing suspension of disbelief, I guess! It’s also funny that while this whole day was a grand gesture of apology by Mallory to her siblings, Jessi got roped in and spent her day like this for free! Also crazy she shows up at 7 am on a Saturday at Mal’s house and then they head off alone to a park. Surely this isn’t safe even in fantasyland Stoneybrook?! She's totally insufferable in this book because she took writing way too seriously and forgot how to have fun. She was a b*tch to everyone too .
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