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Post by spazgirl on Mar 7, 2006 21:23:14 GMT -5
I'm about halfway through this and its typical BSC fluff. Poor Lou, I feel for the girl having to deal with the always-happy-babysit-your-sick-mother people of Stoneybrook. But I really haven't gotten into her story yet so I'll just go to the subplot.
The auction. Another example of the powerful school spirit exhibited at SMS. My school had crap events like that and unless participation was mandatory, not many people cared. I guess the aspect of new state of the art computers is exciting though. From the time it was annouced I was guessing SOMEONE would say "free babysitting" or something like that, but the girls still seem puzzled as what to donate.
And didn't we already see this playhouse/fort storyline in Shadow Lake?
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 8, 2006 1:49:40 GMT -5
I felt sorry for Lou as well. Sure, she wasn't Myriah-and-Gabbie-Perkins-Perfect, but she didn't seem THAT terrible. Just because she didn't worship the BSC like every other client.
The subplot was yet another example of the BSC kicking ass and beating Cokie Mason. Boring.
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jen
Sitting For The Johanssens
Posts: 1,156
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Post by jen on Mar 8, 2006 5:33:48 GMT -5
Know what I don't get? How free baby-sitting hours could be worth more than Cam Geary's jacket.
I also don't get how many celebrities replied and sent stuff. Must be a special Stoneybrook celebrity thing... Do celebrities even read fan mail these days?
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Post by spazgirl on Mar 8, 2006 9:36:51 GMT -5
Cam Geary's jacket is more valuable than babysitting hours, but I was expecting them to look a the obvious.
It is odd that celebrities would recieve, read, and reply to the mail at ALL. The fact that it happened so fast is unbelievable.
Although I'd bid pretty high for Jazzy Prince's shirt. Some type of hybrid of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2006 12:09:40 GMT -5
Lou is a unique character in the BSC canon and I really enjoyed her presence, so different from the Charlottes of the world...
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Post by booboobrewer on Mar 13, 2006 18:45:10 GMT -5
I just read this book yesterday! I have more sympathy for Lou now that I'm older. Reading about her backstory again with her mom and dad and dog Jingles kind of touched me -- and I also realized that the part during Dawn's sitting job where she goes and sits in Hannie's room and cradles the doll and opens up to Dawn, that she might have gone to Hannie's room to apologize to her for putting batter in her hair. And that after finding she wasn't there, she sat down and got lost in her thoughts and started to cry for not just all that's happened to her, but all the rude things she's done while in Stoneybrook. I thought that was subtle and sweet. (Maybe that's obvious and all, but I didn't pick up on it when I was a kid.)
The last chapter with the auction was kinda fun. Although I don't get why Kristy bid on that autographed picture of her sports heroine, when they pointed out at one of their meetings that you can write to any celebrity and get an autographed pic of them and not have to pay a lot for it.
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 26, 2006 17:41:01 GMT -5
I just reread this one and hesitated to post for fear of standing totally alone but this book disturbed me. I thought Lou was more than just "not perfect." I saw a very troubled little girl who was crying out for help. Though I felt bad for her, I also felt really bad for Hannie and Linny and for Karen when Lou wrecked her playhouse. They tried to be nothing but nice to her and didn't deserve her treatment. I know that she had problems but I think a big problem with society today is that we tend to excuse kids' unacceptable behavior (to me, jumping up and down on someone else's sofa with an animal in a pillowcase is unacceptable) by giving them an excuse - they are from a broken home, they were picked on, etc. Just my opinion on the matter. I was glad to see the BSC be firm but sympathetic to Lou.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 26, 2006 19:19:17 GMT -5
I agree, the cat-in-the-pillowcase incident was unacceptable. But it's a fairly well-known fact that foster kids are often... difficult. Through no fault of their own, of course. Many have been abused, abandoned, hurt, betrayed etc. Most adults struggle to cope with such situations, so it's well beyond the capacity of most children to handle them rationally.
I guess it's only natural that they feel the need to be tough in order to survive. But 13 yr old babysitters are not equipped to deal with these circumstances IMO. I also felt bad for Hannie, Karen etc. They were far from snobby brats, but perhaps Lou saw them as overpriveleged rich kids with perfect lives and was subconciously bitter towards that? Either way, it wasn't right, but as I mentioned before, troubled kids aren't renowned for being rational!
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 28, 2006 10:46:57 GMT -5
I’m glad that I’m not the only one who thinks that the cat incident was unacceptable and realizes that many foster kids have major problems. The Papadakises should have known what they were getting in to. I think the BSC really did the best they could for not having any training with handling troubled kids. What could a sitter really do with a kid like that? Glad I don’t have to deal with a “Lou.” As for Lou seeing the kids in the neighborhood as “lucky rich kids” and being bitter towards them, I definitely agree. Unfortunately, this is a common false perception that I think is reinforced by the media’s stereotypical portrayal that kids are either poor, abandoned, abused, orphaned kids (the “Lous”) or that their only problems are loneliness, broken home, dealing with a celebrity parent, etc. that actually come from being rich. A perfect example of a situation of a “lucky rich kid” with a real, non-stereotypical problem is Stacey’s diabetes. While I really appreciate the books emphasizing how much she can do, diabetes is a lot bigger deal than “just having to take insulin and stick to a diet.” I know that they did mention stuff like Stacey being tired and not feeling well but she seemed to have enough energy to do quite a bit. Woah… sorry for going on. Having trouble switching my mind out of essay mode this morning, I guess. Maybe I need to go read about some Pike pandemonium or play “Let’s All Come In.” On a positive note about this book, Karen and the girls’ playhouse sounded cool. I liked the idea of painting it the different pastel colors. Reminds me of my playhouse that I had when I was a kid that I painted peach on the inside. The outside might have been more interesting if it was purple instead of grey.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 28, 2006 16:26:05 GMT -5
I hate hate hate those stereotypes, particularly the one about being a "middle class kid from a two-parent home" and therefore having a perfect life. Uh, no. Just no. That's all I can say. Stacey's diabetes, in particular, sounded very severe. But it never seemed to affect her life much beyond the insulin injections (ew! ) and not being allowed to eat Claudia's junk food.
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 28, 2006 17:24:35 GMT -5
So glad to hear you agree. I'm really thinking about the diabetes thing right now because my aunt who has it went into the hospital yesterday with heart troubles brought on most likely by diabetes. Fortunately, she's okay but I know how many complications the stupid disease causes for her and I know how many awful things go along with chronic illness - especially exhaustion which they seemed to mostly ignore with Stacey. I am pretty happy with the way that the books did handle her diabetes for the most part. Just wish it would have played a little bigger role.
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Amalia
Sitting For The Braddocks
Her Original Point of View
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Post by Amalia on Mar 31, 2006 4:23:31 GMT -5
I hate hate hate those stereotypes, particularly the one about being a "middle class kid from a two-parent home" and therefore having a perfect life. Uh, no. Just no. That's all I can say. . Yeah. There was a school shooting in Colorado a few years ago and didn't the two kids both have a set of two parents each? And the diabetes. I agree. I think that the diabetes was there as a tool for if a kid has a disease or something Stacey can relate to him/her. And she parlayed her experience with the disease into a good volunteer job as an advisor for kids who have the disease in that one book where the girls all volunteer for something.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 31, 2006 22:39:35 GMT -5
Oh yeah, that was Jessi's Wish. Boring book, though.
I agree that Stacey was included as the token "sick" kid who also managed to be Ms Sophisticated. They didn't seem to want her disease to interfere with her life too much, though.
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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 1, 2006 1:20:07 GMT -5
Well, in the beginning of the series the storylines did bring up her sickness more. I think that was part of the reason why Ann wanted to get rid of her early on in the series - because she was becoming more associated with her sickness and that might have made her lose her appeal. But when she got rid of Stacey I heard that fans wanted her back, so Ann brought her back. Just rambling, don't mind me, just felt like posting.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Apr 1, 2006 3:19:41 GMT -5
Nah, I enjoy your rambles... Stacey was such a huge hit with the fans... probably the reason I didn't like her that much. I've always tended to go against popular opinion. Much prefer Mallory's awkward realism to Stacey's flirty boy-crazy "sophistication".
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