mckay
Junior Sitter
Posts: 672
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Post by mckay on Mar 30, 2007 19:34:52 GMT -5
I personally thought it was kind of dumb that the teacher had to be OMGSEXIST!!1! Why not just have him favor the boys he knew from coaching, or allow all of the outspoken kids to bulldoze over the quieter ones? What I thought was really sexist was having the girls be all polite and demure in class while all the boys were wild and yelling. I would have preferred it to be just a group of students (all-male if you want, doesn't matter) than ALL the boys in the class being "bad" and all the girls being "well-behaved."
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 30, 2007 21:33:49 GMT -5
I thought Justin Price was an 8th grader? Maybe you're thinking of Price Irving? Justin's the sixth grade class prez, he and Mal and the other officers gather to hold meetings in the book. They also dance together in Winter Vacation and she knows him because they're in the same math class.
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Post by aln1982 on May 25, 2007 19:18:32 GMT -5
Just reread this one (getting in a "Memorial Day" mood) and liked it just as well as I did the last time. I love how the BSC is so supportive of Mal - I wish I had them for friends I can really relate to being made fun of for being a “brain” (though this never kept me from speaking up) and was glad for a BSC book that had a character facing this same thing. I was proud of Mal at the end for standing up to the teacher (wish she wouldn’t have gotten the B, though. That would have killed me, even though I have been there before with the same feelings she had about it) I also really liked her talk with Sandra. My best friend is a “Sandra” (uncomfortable shoes and all) and it always drives me crazy how she is pretty smart but has actually convinced herself that she is a moron to the point where she can’t succeed at anything and is having trouble finishing school. I think this book presents a good message about this kind of stuff. The one thing that I don’t care for is the subplot of the band. Some of it is cute but I can’t stand the Barrett-Dewitts as a family and just couldn’t get into the whole marching band thing. The part about the parade and Kristy the Drill Sergeant was funny, though. One question is where were the Rowdowskys? Weren’t they in that All Kids Band in Keep Out Claudia? But I liked the main plot so well that the subplot didn’t matter and I did like parts of it – like the name “Buddy Barrett Marching Band.” Was that what they ended up being called, anyway? It was pretty cute that Buddy is the one who came up with the idea but I’m not exactly sure why he called the BSC meeting for help. Maybe he hoped they would organize something for him since they always do stuff like that???
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msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
Posts: 3,618
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Post by msstock87 on May 26, 2007 0:29:03 GMT -5
I liked this book because it dealt with issues that I think a lot of shy teenagers or kids deal with. I would never speak up and always had confidence issues. I liked seeing Mallory go through some of the stuff I went through.
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Post by liss31d on May 29, 2007 6:40:29 GMT -5
Poor Mal, being 11's not a fun age... it's one of the worst ages for being teased for being smart. When I was her age I got straight 'A's and I got teased about them and getting house point awards (but never as badly as Mal did), but so did some others as well, so i wasn't the only one. Now it's very different, at this age it's seen as cool to be smart as it's coming up to getting good grades in your A-Levels ;D (in the UK system they're exams you need to get into university).
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Post by morbiddadestiny on Jun 19, 2007 22:17:43 GMT -5
from my original separate thread before i knew this one existed: so i'm at my parents' house (which is where my huge, shelved BSC collection resides) and i just reread "don't give up, mallory" (my mother passed me by reading it and said, "don't give up, mallory? awww!") and i have to say i enjoyed its realistic portrayal of middle school issues. good things: -the cover! finally, all the kids look like actual sixth graders, including mal, who doesn't look like carrot top on steroids for once. just a normal, maybe a little bit awkward, sixth grader. -it seemed that there were tons of little plots all weaving in to a bigger theme. it wasn't just "main problem, sitting job, main problem, sitting job." the sandra hart being afraid to speak up because boys wouldn't like her subplot was cute, and it tied in well to the "fundraising" issues as well as mallory's problems in class (the boys monopolizing the class AND people thinking she was a brain) -there wasn't some perfect ending with mallory acing the class bad things: -the buddy barrett marching band. its unbelievable that the BSC actually seems to enjoy putting together these events. not to mention that i've never been a barrett fan. -this book contained one of those instances in which a sitter is having problems and keeping them bottled up, and all of a sudden "everything pours out". i hate how the books always use this expression, followed by a bunch of symptoms of the problem. "all of a sudden everything poured out. how i felt intimidated in class. the kids calling me a brain. my lack of sparkly sweatshirts. etc. etc."
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Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
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Post by Penny Lane on Aug 5, 2008 11:03:38 GMT -5
Okay, Mal.
1.) talk to your parents. My parents and grandmother would have marched down there and demanded that the teacher show exactly what he used to determine a grade. His system was completely arbitrary and basically based on whether or not he liked you. 2.) Shut up. You have no right to be lecturing other people on how they act. 3.) When you get the chance to talk -- talk. You complain that you didn't have a chance to speak up, then you get a chance and you don't take it.
However, I totally get her feelings. It happened all the time in my political science classes. Boys are louder and get way more time to answer questions, plus they are so overpowering and talk over people. It really shouldn't be happening in grade school though.
The subplot was really, really stupid and I skimmed over most of it.
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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 Aug 5, 2008 17:41:18 GMT -5
^Ugh, I agree, I hated the subplot and just skimmed right over it.
This is one of those books where I find Mal really annoying because she doesn't stand up for herself until the end. I liked this book okay, but I felt that it was one of the Mal books that really foreshadowed how she was going to eventually react to the Spaz Girl incident.
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Post by sparklymouse on Jul 21, 2009 12:26:35 GMT -5
I was really surprised that we finally got a book that dealt with Mal's class secretary position. SMS is so intense. Sandra said part of the reason she acted the way she did was because after she was elected to office she felt like everyone was watching her. I don't think I even knew who all my class officers were from year to year.
I'm glad Mal had the nerve to confront the teacher but it was rather lame that he had this big epiphany in the middle of class after he was rude to her. The guy couldn't even get her name right. Did he not notice that there was no Valerie in his grade book or did he just make up one grade for each person at the end?
I didn't really understand the sub-plot. Apparently anyone in Stoneybrook can be in the parade if they want to? I thought they bought the kazoos because the goofy instruments the kids made didn't work very well, but then everyone still had their goofy instruments with them during the parade. So did they strap all those cardboard things to them and then play the kazoos anyway or what? Someone up thread mentioned that the Rodowsky boys weren't there, but I was more curious why Kristy's siblings weren't involved. Becca and the Pike kids all were, so that seemed odd to me.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jul 21, 2009 13:55:00 GMT -5
I thought they hid the kazoos in their instruments and played them like that?
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
Member is Online
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Post by oldhickory on Nov 30, 2009 15:10:46 GMT -5
isn't 11 way too young to be going to school in heels? i remember one time in middle school i wore these chunky clogs and my gym teacher told me that spice girls shoes weren't appropriate for my age. i was so embarrassed. i wouldn't have worn them during gym class anyway.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
Posts: 3,664
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Post by Amalia on Dec 1, 2009 3:40:26 GMT -5
I personally thought it was kind of dumb that the teacher had to be OMGSEXIST!!1! Why not just have him favor the boys he knew from coaching, or allow all of the outspoken kids to bulldoze over the quieter ones? What I thought was really sexist was having the girls be all polite and demure in class while all the boys were wild and yelling. I would have preferred it to be just a group of students (all-male if you want, doesn't matter) than ALL the boys in the class being "bad" and all the girls being "well-behaved." ^ Well, maybe the story came off in those ways because it was told from Mallory's perspective? I dunno.
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lilafowler
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,163
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Post by lilafowler on Nov 22, 2010 14:24:19 GMT -5
Bringing up an old thread because I was able to read this book in its complete form (the first copy I got my hands on was missing a few pages) and it still depresses me when I'm older than an adult in the BSC universe. Sexist Mr. Cobb "graduated from Princeton last year" so probably only 23. Reading about how he favored the raucous boys made me imagine him to be a bro-ish douche when he was at college.
The idea of an 11-year-old in heels is kind of gross and reminds me of Toddlers and Tiaras. That said, clunky 2" heels aren't going to make anyone look more feminine, but points for trying, Sandra! Maybe if I'd started with training heels in the sixth grade, I wouldn't have to restrict heels to times the only walking I do is to and from a car.
God. Listening to some jock go, "Duh...um..." for two minutes sounds agonizing. Some of my friends from college had student athletes in their classes and were always complaining about their dim contributions to class discussions and how much harder they made group projects.
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Post by anzuhana on Jan 9, 2011 19:10:07 GMT -5
I like the book for the reasons you mentioned.
I also like that Mal confronted Mr. Cobb. Also, how did he not notice that there was no girl in the class named Valerie?
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Post by virgoscorpio on Jan 10, 2011 12:36:46 GMT -5
I liked this book! It's one of my favourite Mallory books. I really like reading about the Short Takes classes, whenever they are mentioned in any of the books.
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