#3 Mary Anne's Big Breakup

[anzuhana]

I found this book enjoyable. I'm glad that Mary Anne dumped Logan for good. This book is the book that actually made me dislike Logan and the Mary Anne/Logan pairing. The comments he made in chapter 13 made me imagine a relationship between the two of them where Mary Anne is subservient since she won't be allowed to express her opinions or her opinions will be ignored. I can see a relationship between them in which Logan is verbally/mentally abusive towards Mary Anne and when she talks to her about friends about this, they tell her that everything's fine or that her feelings are caused by something else.

I didn't like that he sat down on the couch when Mary Anne said that she thought it was time for him to go. She had to get his coat and give it to him for him to actually get up. That gave me the impression that if Mary Anne and Logan were in a relationship when they were older and were in a fight, Logan would expect Mary Anne to apologize since in his mind, he would be right and that she was the cause of it.

Thoughts?

[otempora541]

I don't really see why so many people think Logan is going to be abusive. I think the behavior is very much what happens after the first long serious relationship (which is what I'm going through with my ex now).

I thought it was weird how entire teams avoided Mary Anne. Thats a whole lot of boys who don't like Mary Anne! Very odd.

[greer]

I don't think he was going to be abusive. Just lame and boring. I do think his family was more traditional than most American families in terms of gender roles though.

[anzuhana]

I do agree that his family was more traditional, though. I might rethink Logan being absuive once I reread the book.

[starrynight]

^ Maybe the traditionalness (which I totally missed) is a Southern thing? I'm not from there, and I don't want to offend anyone who is, but the Southerners that I HAVE known (especially the men) tend to be a little more traditional.

[Kylie90210]

I did always enjoy Logan and Mary Anne during the series, but I'm not phased by their break up. It seemed like it was time. I don't think Logan was doing what he was doing on purpose, more like Mary Anne did let him make the decisions for so long, he got used to it. But I was surprised by all the boys at SMS's reaction. The sports teams ignoring her, and Pete Black and Dave Griffin asking her out.

[starrynight]

^ Yeah, that was surprising. I never got the impression that Mary Anne was Ms. Popular and had boys just dying for her to be single so they could ask her out. Maybe dating someone like Logan made her cooler in the eyes of other people.

[virgoscorpio]

I think it was to show that even though Mary Anne wasn't OVERTLY popular, she was deep down. Guys probably really like her because she is 'pretty and nice' (as she was noted in the books by Pete Black), and more of her inner-beauty than, let's say, her sense in fashion or hair or 'hotness' factor.

Mary Anne is definitely girlfriend material to guys. And gay-best friend material for gay guys (Claudia and Stacey get runners up in this).

[Kylie90210]

^ I can agree with that... she certainly is girlfriend material. I totally see Claud as more gay best friend material than MA though... I feel like she'd be a blast to hang out with, and wouldn't ditch her gay BFF for a boyfriend.

[anzuhana]

I reread the book and I changed my opinion on Logan becoming abusive. But I still think that it's for the best that Mary Anne dumped Logan. Also, I like how Dawn told Mary Anne that she was busting loose and I like how she encouraged Mary Anne to find the real her.

[sparklymouse]

I was actually on Team Logan for the first half of this one. He lost me a bit towards the end when he just wouldn't let it go. At that point I wanted to scream "TAKE A HINT, LOGAN! SHE DOESN'T LIKE YOU ANYMORE!!!!" But during the breakup scene at the restaurant I was definitely with Logan. He asked for the check without asking her if she was ready to leave and then made a sarcastic comment about how he was taking charge again. And Mary Anne's thought bubble was all "He was right, he did do it again." STFU, Mary Anne! She just dumped him (in a public place!) and was stabbing herself under the table so she wouldn't start bawling. That sounds like a fun dinner. She's lucky he didn't leave her there with the full check to pay.

I thought it was rather hilarious that all Logan's teammates started snubbing Mary Anne because that totally happens with middle school breakups. Not whole teams, that's rather impressive, but friends snubbing exes of friends. Unfortunately Mary Anne had to be a big hypocrite and be upset about both that and Kristy being friendly with Logan.

Stacey's inability to understand why someone doesn't need male attention 24-7 never ceases to amaze me.

Pg 62 "I nodded, remembering when I thought of Logan as one of my best friends. There was also a time when I'd thought of my stepsister, Dawn, as a best friend. Then she'd moved away." Interesting. Sounds like Dawn and Mary Anne grew apart pretty easily.

[lilafowler]

I can understand MA being hurt by Kristy talking to Logan. It's not entirely rational, but after being shunned by three teams' worth of boys, it was probably an extra punch in the gut seeing Kristy and Logan talking. I can see her feeling, like, "the football, baseball, and track teams aren't enough? He needs Kristy, too?" Plus, it's her best friend. Like Leslie Knope says, uteruses before duderuses!

Stacey and her allergy to an empty vag is completely ridiculous, I'll grant you that. Though I guess it could be considered foreshadowing for her boy-craziness backfiring on her in Stacey and the Boyfriend Trap?

ETA: I'll never be able to deal with this board changing "girl thingy" to "girl thingy".

[booboobrewer]

See, I don't know why the boys' reactions was such a big deal anyway. Mary Anne was never known for having a lot of guy friends. And here she's saying hi to his teammates and getting all anxious. Strange.

Kristy bugged me in this book. Constantly saying how she thought Logan was so great. Who cares, your best friend needs some comfort. And the "what if he did?" when Mary Anne asks her if Logan asked her to the dance. PLEASE. If the situation was reversed Mary Anne would not react that way. Look at Kristy + Bart = ? She was very nice to Kristy in that one. Also, Kristy being like "don't worry, this isn't a sitting job" when Mary Anne joins them for apple picking. I know the club is markedly different in FF but it's so...un-Kristy-like!

I don't know why there was no Dr. Reese mention. She obviously would have been able to help Mary Anne sort out her feelings about the fire, the breakup, the anxiety she felt about everything.

[wiggir13]

^I also didn't like how Kristy tried to talk up Logan. Clearly MA had been talking with her about her issues so she should have just tried to understand and STFU. I was glad to see MA break up with Logan too b/c it just seemed to me like she had grown up and he hadn't.

[oldhickory]

i don't get where people get the whole logan is abusive thing. i feel like MA's attitude towards him just changes when it serves the plot.