I think it's plausible. I mean, it's the BSC series we are talking about here and it isn't exactly known for off-the-beaten track subplots. While it's certainly not a plotline I would use in a book, it's absolutely something I could see happening in the BSC (I mean in #102, they had a
princess come to Stoneybrook
- case in point). To me, it sounds like something that would totally pop up in a BSC book, particularly for a character such as Mary Anne. I also haven't read the Sweet Valley books and don't really know why that's relevant here.
The Earl's daughter idea sounds nice, but if you have all of your own ideas to answer your own questions that are so much better than everyone else's, why post questions in this thread to begin with?
I believe that the idea of this thread is to pose fun and interesting questions and then enjoy seeing what others come up with - and that includes enjoying the fact that others come up with different ideas to oneself - and to then enjoy coming up with one's own ideas in answer to questions that others ask. It's that simple. It's about interacting and sharing. Others won't always come up with the same ideas that you would have come up with and they won't always come up with ideas that you even like and that is completely okay - but it's important to still give those ideas breathing space.
Mostly true there, but the BSC does sometimes go off the beaten track.
In the well-to-do part of Stoneybrook, eg...most of the people there are not snobbish or image-obsessed and their houses are not pristine, staid mansions.
I love that in Watson and Elizabeth's household, despite being wealthy, they all have routine chores, clean up after themselves and are not overindulged with too many material possessions.
I like that they don't have maids, servants and cooks doing all the work.
I
love that Charlie and Sam are not merely given new, shiny porsches or lambourginis for their sixteenth birthdays the way Sweet Valley kids are given.
It's wonderful that the Thomas-Brewer kids are good with their Junk Bucket and their regular non-luxury cars.
I absolutely love Nannie's Pink Clinker! It's so neat!
And I like that Watson is not a stereotypical, stuffy millionaire.
And I think it's sooo wonderful that even in the well-to-do area, Stoneybrook doesn't have a stuffy country club as a huge theme either the way Sweet Valley does.
Even with Mary Anne and the little princess, Victoria loves fast-food places and when Mary Anne and Ms. Rutherford take her to Washington Mall, while Victoria buys lots of things, they're mostly everday toys and they eat at Friendly's for dinner and not some fancy, stuffy place.
And when the BSC and Victoria go to NYC, they visit the Pizza Hut and go to the
NON-fancy places, not just the Wall Street areas.
So, while the princess visit storyline is commonly used in many books, there are unconventional twists to this BSC story.
And in this BSC book, thankfully
none of the BSC falls in love with some prince older brother or cousin of Victoria, which would likely happen in a Sweet Valley or Fabulous Five book.
Another outside-the-box fact in the BSC series...divorce and stepfamilies are common and are not seen as pitiable, which back in the late 1980s/early 1990s was not common.
And the amiable divorce...the Brewers are a wonderful example of a good divorce where the ex-spouses don't hate each other the way most other books featuring divorced parents did back then.
The BSC books had a range of friendly and not-so-friendly divorces.
Those are just some of the ways the BSC series does explore unconventional routes.
That's why I see Stoneybrook and the BSC as generally very liberal, unconventional, pro-feminist, ahead of its time and very progressive, more so than many other book series and not at all conservative, not judgemental and not prudish.
Even Ann Martin herself stated in an interview that she intended for her BSC series to be pro-feminist and to have her girls have a range of interests
besides of boys, dates and clothes.
I like to read others' ideas, but I also like posting my own alongside others' ideas.
That's why I have much fun with reading and writing fanfiction.
I love reading others' fanfiction, but I also love posting my own and having others read it.
The prince idea could be widely used, but add an interesting twist.
Perhaps the prince is secretly gay, confides in Mary Anne and Mary Anne still offers friendship and support and helps him come out in a safe environment or something akin to that.
I like to add an unconventional tweak to conventional plotlines and I like to encourage others to do so also...to think outside the conventional box so to speak.
Glad you liked my bookstore Earl's daughter idea.
I would love, just
love for Mary Anne to visit one of Diana's memorial sites.
She and Lady Diana are alike in so many ways...they both cry so easily, they're both compassionate, they both love to read, they're both teachers, they're both shy and quiet, they're both introverted, they both have many fears and they both have huge eyes.
I also put forth my ideas to encourage other people's imaginations off the beaten track.
I absolutely love reading unconventional ideas and fanfictions that have unconventional, unexpected plotlines.
Totally agree, I like seeing the different ideas people have that are different from mine even though I don't always agree.
Me too...I like posting my ideas
alongside others' ideas.
I also like encouraging others to think outside the box and encouraging others to be creative.
I don't think it's truly creative to merely copy conventional, commonly overused plotlines.
I love taking the BSC's storylines and having them develop a huge range of new interests, especially during high school, university and adulthood.
Anyway...onward...what if Susan started speaking outside of naming days of the week and singing while under Kristy's watch?
Would maybe the Felders and the BSC have had a little celebration before Susan went back off to school?
Maybe Susan's mum would be relieved and not as stressed...?