Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
Posts: 3,664
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Post by Amalia on Mar 18, 2006 22:57:06 GMT -5
I just got done reading this. My favorite line: "And Mal had been allowed to buy high-top sneakers with beaded designs on the side!" Ah Mal, Mal, Mal . . . When Aunt Cecelia said, "I was afraid I wouldn't be as good a sitter as you, Jessi," the line just struck me as a total lie. I think she was just saying it to make Jessi feel better because she felt a little bad for making Jessi feel so angry at her that she even told her parents about it. Like it was said above, she didn't even tell her parents when she was being threatened, having her stuff stolen, etc. in Dance School Phantom. So maybe not telling parental figures their problems is an unwritten rule in their family. Aunt Cecelia didn't tell about the jokes. And when Jessi did, Aunt Cecelia figured that Jessi was really, really bothered by the way she babysat her.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 19, 2006 1:29:30 GMT -5
Oooh Mal! What a lucky little devil ;D
Word. Talk about patronizing bullshit. It's highly unlikely that a stuffy middle aged aunt would be intimidated by an eleven yr old's baby sitting skills. I also like your theory re the Ramsey's unspoken rule. Those Ramsey parents certainly expected their CHILDREN to fend for themselves!
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Mar 22, 2006 1:07:35 GMT -5
Isn't that a bit of a BSC thing, though? Not getting parents or adults invovled? Stacey kept stuff from her mum in the Fashion Victim mystery, Claudia didn't let her parents interfere in "Claudia and the Middle School Mystery"... I think in most of the mysteries, actually, they don't tell their parents things in case they get worried. I didn't think it was just a Ramsey thing.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 22, 2006 6:27:17 GMT -5
No, it definitely wasn't just a Ramsey thing, but it does seem like there have been a few occasions in the Jessi storylines which would normally require some parental intervention. Also, the Ramsey's were the ones who left the kids alone all weekend, so they have a worse reputation ;D
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Mar 23, 2006 4:25:46 GMT -5
I just reread this one today - I love the bit where Becca was saying how awful Aunt Cecilia was when the Island Adventure episode occurred. "She raced to Stoneybrook and took charge, completely ignoring Jessi!". Yeah, what a cow!
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 23, 2006 5:34:22 GMT -5
Awww, she was undermining the 11 yr old babysitter's authority. Disgraceful.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Mar 23, 2006 7:17:33 GMT -5
I'm amazed at how often Jessi whined about not needing a sitter, because she IS a sitter. And then being a totally crap sitter with Jackie Rodowsky. Funny, I never disliked Jessi when I first read the book... Well, I disliked what she did to Jackie, but I was on her side with the Aunt Cecilia battle. Guess it's a sign I'm getting old
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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 Apr 23, 2006 0:51:22 GMT -5
I was surprised to see Charlotte getting 3rd place. What happened to the BSC's tradition of winning? Or is that only for the sitters.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Apr 23, 2006 1:02:40 GMT -5
Third place was pretty good, I thought! I got the impression that most the charges that entered weren't the "serious" science nerds, so winning any sort of award was pretty good.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Apr 23, 2006 19:19:37 GMT -5
^ still, the BSC is usually renowned for winning against the odds.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Apr 23, 2006 23:56:32 GMT -5
Maybe that doesn't apply to their charges?
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inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
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Post by inge on Apr 24, 2006 9:52:36 GMT -5
No, because that would seem weird
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Post by sugarmonkey on May 29, 2006 12:14:02 GMT -5
Aunt C was horrible. And the excuse that she was strict because black people have to prove themselves more? I don't see how not allowing Jessi and Becca to walk Squirt up and down the block because it's cloudy, or not letting Jessi ride her bike to Mal's house because it MIGHT rain, or choosing the girls outfits, or redoing Jessi hair so J could be someone Aunt C could be "proud of," in anyway relates to them growing up to be "Kind, responsible," etc... Um, because the roads get slippery in the rain Jessi can't ride her bike when it MIGHT rain, and that is suppose to teach her how to prove herself despite her race? It's sounds more like Aunt C's paranoid, or just looking for a way to control the kids. But, I'm white so what do I know about growing up black in the U.S.
My theory is the reason it took Jessi's dad so long to get mad is because Aunt C is his OLDER sister. She'd probably always dominated him, and depending on how much holder she is, could've been like a second mother to him.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on May 29, 2006 19:34:57 GMT -5
^ obviously the race-paranoia thing runs in the family! I don't see how race was even remotely connected to anything in the storyline, but I guess Scholastic didn't want us to forget - for even a moment - that Jessi was a BLACK character.
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Post by sparklymouse on May 29, 2006 23:52:42 GMT -5
I guess some of the stuff was a judgement call, but even I was ticked off when Aunt C wouldn't let Jessi go to the BSC meeting. There is no way that she didn't know Jessi went to meetings on specific days and that her parents actually expected her to be at Claudia's. And Jessi had been dancing forever so I'm sure she could fix her own d**n hair.
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