Your ideal prefence in division of years at SMS

[zoar3]

I've been thinking of the Charges and if they had been allowed to age even just one year what a difference to the storylines it could have made. I'm on my zillionth re-read I have actually reached Kristy and the Dirty Diapers and am sorely tempted to go back to the beginning. Only, in my obsessive BSC state of mind, I am wishing more and more that "beginning" had been different, provided greater detail.

How early would you have enjoyed reading about the girls? I mean starting at what age/Grade? SES days or just more of a division at SMS and some SHS?

We know as written, the Series covered 14 of the girls 15 years at SMS. 13 of those years being in 8th Grade. Poor Claudia still barely passed! Oh, did I get off topic? Anyway...

I'm actually thinking of either a massive Super Special or possibly better "early day" Portrait type book on Kristy, Claudia, and Mary Anne. It could start just before 5th Grade. The girls last year at SES and be a true "BSC (or pre BSC)! Remembers." In this case, of their early childhood and growth as friends.

I'd love more in depth info on the Thomas kids just after Patrick left, aside from the chores Edie foisted on them. Perhaps then David Michael would not have essentially been written off. I THINK his birthday might have been in February. If he was 6 1/2 years younger than Kristy (August). Lol, maybe the mystery of Nannie might have been cleared up as well.

Mary Anne, more detail about her and Richard along with those secret days in Maynard. Also, her conversations with Elizabeth and Mimi. Yeah, her so-called bff with Kristy, too.

Claudia, more Mimi! Mr. Mimi?

In general, we'd get to read about their interactions with future clients and neighbors!

The actual "Series" or first true "year" could be SES, 5th Grade. Age 10-turning 11. We'd get to read about them graduating SES, Sam Thomas SMS. Mal would have been 8 going on 9 so in 3rd Grade. I think a lot of us would have enjoyed younger Mal/BSC Members. More of an illustration on how she became a club member. All right enough rambling, here's my first thoughts. Aside from some type of "prequel."

2 years of 5th Grade, including Graduation and the summer before starting SMS.

2 years of 6th Grade, just to "broaden" intro to SMS, maybe create fuller characters, friendships outside the Club and also, lay groundwork for "Associate" or replacement members not named Abby! Shillabers, Amelia, Barbara Hirsch, Gordon Brown, etc.

Because 7th Grade was so pivotal, maybe 3 years? I added the "year" so we could have a greater Brewer backstory as well as Schafer, McGill ones. So that's already 7 years.

All right, infamous 8th Grade, how about 6 years? Plenty of room for additional voices while also *gasp* allowing time to in the 6th year at least advance!

Then, conclude with 2 years of 9th Grade. Same total of 15 years.

Any thoughts?

[booboobrewer]

I'm not sure I would have wanted to read a whole about them pre-BSC. Some aspects would have been nice (K/C/MA friendship, Mimi and Mr. Mimi, how they met their early charges like the Newtons, etc.), but on the whole I think I'm fine with beginning at 7th grade. What I really would have enjoyed was more SHS thrown in...reading about the girls in high school would have been fun, as well as interactions with Janine, Charlie, and Sam. One of my favorite parts about Starring the BSC was that Sam and other high schoolers were involved in the play with them, and I really liked the feel/tone of that one.

[fairy3lf2]

I would like it if it continued for five years and the girls graduated from high school at the end. I feel like the fact that the characters couldn't age restricted the series. It would have been great if the clients could have aged. Older ones could have even taken over as BSC members (like Vanessa, Charlotte and Becca)

[zoar3]

BooBoo, I wouldn't want too much pre-BSC either, just a few books, or at least a Super Special. I mentioned a year of 5th grade because I think it could have developed both the girls and storylines to have shared their transition from SES to SMS.

Fairy3lf2, for some reason, the fact that we never saw them finish high school never bothered me. I was more caught up on (disappointed in) that they never even got to SHS. Still, if the Series had continued a true-er original way as opposed to FF, I would have definitely read about their high school days.

[sparklymouse]

The problem with going back in time is that only Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne and Mallory were even in Stoneybrook at that time. And Shannon, if she counts. That's not a lot of club members.

I do like the idea of clients aging and possibly outgrowing the need for sitters.

[digigirl02]

I think it would be nice if they had them in seventh grade for another couple of years, or maybe even begain with them in sixth grade for a year. Then have the majority of the series in eighth grade with one year(or maybe two if you count FF and CD)as freshmen. So like this
6th-1 year
7th-3 years
8th-9 years
9th-2 years

[zoar3]

Cool to read everyone's thoughts. Digigirl, like your breakdown, with the addition of one year of 5th Grade, so lol they could have spent 8 years as 8th Graders.

Sparklymouse, interesting point. I don't mind that the others had not moved to SB yet. But then, you guys know how I feel about Dawn, Abby (ideally she'd never have come) and, of course, Jessi! That said, I'd have enjoyed more interaction between the core group of girls before the other came. It might have been harder and/or (hopefully) less likely for MA to write off Kristy the way she did for Dawn or even poor Mal to have been made into as big a scapegoat as she was if she'd had a greater history with the others.

I think if the Fire had to occur it should have been after the final (true end) of 8th Grade during the summer before 9th. The "FF" replaced by a deeper, more mature "original" Series but still including the charges.

[wiggir13]

Aug 7, 2010 20:10:31 GMT -5 zoar3 said:

I think if the Fire had to occur it should have been after the final (true end) of 8th Grade during the summer before 9th. The "FF" replaced by a deeper, more mature "original" Series but still including the charges.

I would have loved to see that with the FF series. What I would have loved from there is to see which of the charges starts their own BSC or just takes over from the girls.

[peppermintraymaker]

I like the series starting with 7th grade ("The Summer Before" is a good addition and I like it, but that's definitely as far back as I'd want the series to go!) and I wish it had gone through the end of high school. I agree that the FF series would have been better as a "BSC in High School" type of thing and that's really what I was expecting to read about when I started reading it. I'm okay with the bulk of the years being 8th grade, but I would have liked it a lot more if the main series had ended with them in, say, 10th grade, with FF having gone longer than 12 books and encompassing 11th-12th grades.

[zoar3]

The Summer Before is a good addition. The only "problem" is that it really doesn't apply to the rest of the Series. I wish it had. We actually saw how much MA cared about Kristy as well as take action "Kristy Day" to show her bff that. I loved that David Michael was more of a real character. Unfortunately, the MA from TSB, is not the MA even from book #4. :/ I wish the McGills had been better developed and yes had gotten a dog! I just think TSB almost makes the characters becoming cariactures as the series progressed worse.

[u4me]

I don't think I'd want them graduating high school. I wish the BSC series would have ended with them graduation 8th grade and then Friends Forever pick up from there. At least get them through 9th grade. I wouldn't want to see them start driving (then poor Charlie wouldn't get a mention!) and I don't want to read about my innocent BSCers giving up their V-card.

[oldhickory]

i LOVED the feel of the series early on, and i would have loved if they spent more time in seventh grade. if they could have split if 50-50 (or just a little more even, instead of nine 7th grade books vs 120 or so 8th grade books) that would have been wonderful. even though i would never let a 12 year old baby sit my kids, 7th graders babysitting is a LOT more believable than 8th graders babysitting in between winning the lottery, taking vacations, runnings fairs.. etc.

[wiggir13]

Apr 10, 2011 20:22:53 GMT -5 u4me said:

I don't think I'd want them graduating high school. I wish the BSC series would have ended with them graduation 8th grade and then Friends Forever pick up from there. At least get them through 9th grade. I wouldn't want to see them start driving (then poor Charlie wouldn't get a mention!) and I don't want to read about my innocent BSCers giving up their V-card.

Hahahahha! Sad thing is nowadays people have already given that up before elementary school is done!

[oldhickory]

^ that's gross and disappointing.

[wiggir13]

It's horrible! I feel really sorry for kids these days that they really don't have a childhood. Things seem so different for kids nowadays