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Post by aln1982 on Sept 12, 2007 16:20:08 GMT -5
^ To each his own ;D Agree Booboo and greer about loving Alan in these books. I think this one and Genius of Elm Street are my favorite "Alan" books - except maybe the one where he is Kristy's "slave". ;D I can't remember who was involved in the haunted house war. Was it girls vs. boys? I can't wait for Halloween to reread this one
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Post by sotypical42483 on Sept 13, 2007 13:18:26 GMT -5
Maybe I'll re-read some Alan books, I feel like such a loner being the person who doesn't like him, lol. Any other books he is prominently featured in?
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Post by aln1982 on Sept 13, 2007 16:52:46 GMT -5
I know he's in MA and 2 Many Babies but just for a chapter. Also Queen of 7th Grade and maybe Jessi's Gold Medal. I can understand, though, how people can be alone in not liking characters. There may just be something about that character ;D I have mine, too, I think ;D
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Post by sugarmonkey on Sept 13, 2007 18:27:32 GMT -5
Hey Sotypical, I don't like Alan either, so you're not alone! I always picture him as average height, super short hair, pudgy, loud, and obnoxious.
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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Sept 13, 2007 20:35:38 GMT -5
It's been a long time since I read this book but I liked it. It was the first and only time I remember MA getting into any kind of trouble. I thought it was sweet that she brought Logan over so Jake Kuhn could have a father-like figure to play with him.
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Post by liss31d on Sept 14, 2007 1:04:01 GMT -5
It's really odd how different interpretations of characters can be! Because I've always thought of Alan has being scrawny with dark hair and goofy looking expressions. This was before I had even watched the BSC movie, who does have a similar look to what I had imagined. I don't know why, but I always imagine Alan getting better looking as he gets older...
I don't get why the BSC always seem to get mad at Mary Anne to the point of most of the club rallying against her.
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Post by aln1982 on Sept 14, 2007 7:43:23 GMT -5
^ I was about to say that I picture Alan as thin, brown haired and kind of cute ( I think I'm actually picturing the guy I know who he kind of reminds me of) ;D As for the club being against MA, I don't remember them getting mad at her in many other books (other than MA's Makeover) and in this one, she had made a mistake and wasn't doing anything to fix it - just because she refused to simply speak up.
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Post by liss31d on Sept 14, 2007 12:39:42 GMT -5
I guess I'm thinking of Mary Anne's Makeover and Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery. In Makeover, they are horrible to her and in Bad Luck Mystery, they blame Mary Anne for causing the bad luck by throwing away the chain letter, despite the fact that they had told her to throw it away! Also in Mary Anne Misses Logan, they blame her for starting the Toilet Monster problem at the Kormans' House, even though it was Melody who came up with the idea. I know Mary Anne was talking about tickle monsters, tiptoe monsters and stuff, but that was just for fun. Sometimes I do think she gets a hard time from the club.
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Post by sotypical42483 on Sept 14, 2007 13:04:03 GMT -5
I picture Alan as Screech from Saved By The Bell
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Post by booboobrewer on Sept 14, 2007 13:31:44 GMT -5
I always picture Alan as skinny with straight dark hair...I guess I got it from the illustration in Starring the Baby-sitters Club where he and Logan are swordfighting (I'm pretty sure that's him).
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Post by aln1982 on Sept 14, 2007 16:22:56 GMT -5
I guess I'm thinking of Mary Anne's Makeover and Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery. In Makeover, they are horrible to her and in Bad Luck Mystery, they blame Mary Anne for causing the bad luck by throwing away the chain letter, despite the fact that they had told her to throw it away! Also in Mary Anne Misses Logan, they blame her for starting the Toilet Monster problem at the Kormans' House, even though it was Melody who came up with the idea. I know Mary Anne was talking about tickle monsters, tiptoe monsters and stuff, but that was just for fun. Sometimes I do think she gets a hard time from the club. Okay. I haven't read Bad Luck Mystery for a while and always thought they more teased her about the toilet monster thing (like "look what you started ;D") but haven't read that one for a while either. I can see why you might think the club gives her a hard time. I just couldn't have a lot of sympathy for her in this book because I did feel that she was to blame. Of course, I am not one to be shy about speaking up for myself so it is hard for me to relate to someone like MA who is.
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Post by liss31d on Sept 15, 2007 7:22:34 GMT -5
Yes I do agree that MA was to blame in this for not speaking up sooner, but the BSC were being pretty obnoxious about the situation, like giving her some silent treatment and jumping in to take jobs so MA couldn't take any. Towards the end Stacey said that their reasons for being so bitchy to MA was that they were worried that "the whole world was going to fall apart" because of what she did... nice
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Post by aln1982 on Sept 15, 2007 16:52:12 GMT -5
^ Now that's a bit dramatic ;D Like I said, I haven't read this one for a while so my opinion might change some once I do. I'm forever having new insights (usually depending on my current mood ;D)
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Post by virgoscorpio on Nov 8, 2009 17:20:02 GMT -5
Since most of us are in agreement that the plot was lame, and Mary Anne didn't break the rules too much - I wanted to point out some of the things that I DID enjoy in this novel.
I liked how Mary Anne was the character chosen for this book, partially because she is the character most likely to NOT break the rules. *How* Mary Anne broke the rules was also pretty realistic: she didn't really do too much damage and she had good intentions in the first place. That is so like her. So it really should have been titled Mary Anne's Mix-up? or something similar.
It was also annoying how all the other BSC members shunned her after-the-fact. Wouldn't they know Mary Anne and who she was? And her relationship with Logan and how that functioned? To be able to realize that Mary Anne wouldn't have Logan over to do anything irresponsible? That annoyed me too, especially since Mary Anne always has time to listen, sympathize, and be compassionate for their friends whenever they are in sticky situations.
I LOVE LOVE LOVED the autumn atmosphere in this book. I live in Canada, and autumn is definitely the best season. With Hallowe'en over last week, it was nice to re-visit some Hallowe'en cheer.
The cover of the book is cute. Logan looks cute and how I pictured him. Jake Kuhn kind of looks like I did when I was his age (but don't worry Jake - if you turn out anything like me, you'll be a model someday! haha)
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Post by zoar3 on Jul 19, 2010 22:53:30 GMT -5
ITA that MA should have cleared it with Mrs. K in the beginning and yes, that I was disappointed the "rules" truly had not been broken (or at least been made more interesting). Also that the BSC Members, especially Kristy, were awful to MA. I don't think this has been mentioned. Logan had come over 3 other times before being "caught." Even after his initial visit, Jake was immensely happier and in a better, more cheerful mood. I believe that afternoon was when he helped his sisters with the Skeleton show. All that said, I know Stoneybrook is a land where children and parents rarely talk. Even so, wouldn't Mrs. Kuhn have asked Jake what had made him so MUCH happier? Wouldn't she be thrilled to wanting to do her part to keep it up? Even if she is a dunce and did not, unless a pact of secrecy was formed between MA, Logan, Jake, and or Laurel, and Patsy (to NOT tell Mrs. Kuhn) is it really believable that not one of the kids would have mentioned his visit? Even during the skeleton, Herman show, Jake realistically could have acted out him and Logan playing soccer or basketball. I did like the fall feel to the book though.
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