Hannie Papadakis: Friend or Foe?

[greer]

I always liked Hannie in the BSC books. She always seemed smart and just sassy enough. But in the LS books I've been reading, she seems kind of mean. Like when she won't let Karen be in her wedding because Karen is too ugly. Do you think Hannie just gets tired of dealing with Karen, or is Hannie not as nice as the BSC ghostwriters make her out to be?

[sugarmonkey]

I haven't read the LS books, but if Hannie only gets mean with Karen, maybe she just gets sick of Karen. I imagine anybody would.

[blossom114]

I dont know i have mixed feelings about Hannie, I like Nancy better... I'm probably in the minority there.... The whole thing with the Haircut was just...MEAN Lol

[aln1982]

^ Totally agree about the haircut thing. I think that gave me a really negative impression of Hannie that is hard to shake. I also think Hannie can get kind of mean or maybe bratty would be a better word. I suppose, though, all kids can be and there are other times when I thin she's really nice, a great friend, and I really like her. You're not alone, Blossom, as I think I like Nancy a little better in the LS books. I do like Hannie in the BSC books, though. In the LS books, she kind of bothers me. I'm not exactly sure why so I'll have to think more about this next time I read a LS book with her in it.

[msstock87]

Hannie was a little bit of a brat in the LS books but I think that has to do with 1) her age and 2) I think her and Karen had somewhat similar personalities in some aspects which could cause conflict at times.

[alula]

I liked Nancy better, too! I thought her relationship with Karen's adopted grandmother, whose name I can't think of, was very sweet, and I felt for her when she was homesick at camp. I wish they had baby-sat for her and Danny, although I guess maybe the little house wasn't in the regular BSC neighborhood.

I forgot how much of a little Bridezilla Hannie was, lol. That's a reality TV show waiting to happen. I honestly can't remember enough to make a real judgment. In some ways, I think maybe Hannie and Karen were the more dominant friends of the Three Musketeers compared to Nancy, so they may have clashed more?

[Karen Brewer]

I thought Hannie, for the most part, was a decent friend to Karen. With the exception of that instance in Karen's Haircut, of course. ;D Ironically, I've never really cared for Nancy much. I'm not sure why.

[booboobrewer]

Karen and Hannie also got into an actual rolling-in-the-dirt, hair-pulling fight at school (Karen's Carnival) when Hannie wants to spend the money they earn on new rollerskates and Karen doesn't. Also in their summer super special Karen wants the Three Musketeers to do everything together and Hannie doesn't. Nancy gets mad at Karen too, but Hannie blows Karen off first.

Maybe Nancy gets along a bit better with Karen because she's an only child (until Danny) and more likely to welcome her company than Hannie would, who after all is a middle child...she did seem to get easily exasperated with Sari I think.

It's funny because sometimes I'll think of Nancy as the shyest of the three, but she is always saying she wants to be a singer/actress when she grows up, so she must like the spotlight as much as the other two...

[sotypical42483]

lmao, love the title of this thread. I LOOOOOOOOVE Hannie. She cracks me up. Yeah she's a bit brutal in Karen's Haircut, but she's SEVEN. I can def see Karen saying something similar to her if the roles were reversed. Plus Hannie is all roly poly and adorable. Even her name is cute. Anyway Hannie actually stands up to Karen and I love that about her. I haven't read as many LS books as a lot of you but I always got the impression that Nancy was weak and pretty easy to intimidate. Hannie never seemed like that and that's why I liked her the most.

[greer]

Another thing about karen's haircut--with all the dressup clothes that hannie and karen have, wouldn't there be at least one wig between them? My sister, for instance, has a very lovely (*cough*) Hannah Montana wig. Hannie could have just said, "OK Karen, you can be in my wedding, but you should wear this Lovely Lady wig and keep your mouth closed so no one sees your missing teeth."

[aln1982]

^ ;D Wonder if my little cousin knows about the Hannah Montana wigs because I'm surprised she doesn't have one. Of course, mom said she got a surprise last week when my cousin walked out of the bathroom wearing some blonde "Marilyn Monroe" wig ;D
Agree about Hannie's brattiness coming from her being 7. I'm not sure why I don't like her more in the LS - maybe because I always tend to side with Karen. Or maybe it was just the mood I was in earlier.
I've noticed, though, that Hannie always tends to be good at things while Nancy is the one who is scared - Hannie is the good swimmer, the good rider, etc. while Nancy is always homesick and afraid. I don't think that comes from Nancy being an only child, either, because I'm an only child and much more assertive, independent, etc. Actually, I'm a lot more like Hannie. If anything, I think the difference might be in their parents. The Papadakises always seem more outgoing and maybe less reserved. Not sure, though. (and realize that wouldn't be the reason Hannie just happens to be naturally better at things. I really shouldn't fault her for that as I hate it when people get mad because someone happens to be good at everything....)

[greer]

I really like the Papadakis family in general. They're really fun and seem the least "ritzy" of all the big house neighborhood families.

[aln1982]

I like the whole family, too. Actually, I like Hannie a lot better today, especially after reading a LS book. Not even sure why I don't like her as much as Nancy. I guess maybe I'm just kind of indifferent on both her and Nancy but Nancy seems more like the underdog (even though it is unusual for me to like that kind of character) Who knows.... ;D

[dawnomite]

I never really liked Hannie that much when I read the LS books as a child, but these boards have caused me to appreciate her more and more as a cute little pigtailed chubby cheeked kid. Maybe it's how the adult me would react to her vs. how I would have as a child.

[aln1982]

I know everyone on here keeps referring to Hannie as pudgy and chubby but I've always pictured her as almost slim. I don't ever look at illustrations or covers, though. Is she shown there as chubby (that's never caught my attention) or described like that or is it just that everyone else has a different mental image of Hannie?