“I spend the other half feeling intimidated and stupid”……BSC # 108: Don’t Give Up, Mallory

Memory Reaction

This was just after I stopped reading.

Revisited Reaction

The book starts with Mallory getting her mid-term progress report and seeing she has all As. Unfortunately, her classmates also see this and start making fun of her for being a “brainiac.” She’s embarrassed, but still pleased about it. She’s also pleased with her new Short Takes class – it’s about children’s literature, which is obviously her thing. But, when the class starts, she finds out it’s all discussion. The dork in her is upset that they’ll be no writing, and she’s not a fan of having to talk in class a lot.

At first Mal tries to speak up, because the class is graded on participation. But she doesn’t get called on a lot, and then she loses confidence in her ideas. Part of the problem is that the teacher (a young, “cool” teacher) lets two of the obnoxious guys in the class call out their answers. He also seems to favor the boys when calling on students. The first couple of times he does call on Mal, she gets flustered and doesn’t speak up, she doesn’t even correct him when he calls her “Valerie.” It keeps happening, and eventually, she keeps looking away to avoid being called on.

Eventually, Mal gets courage to tell the teacher she thinks he’s favoring the guys. At first he tries to brush her off, but he still makes an effort to call on girls the next day. Then in class he suddenly realizes she’s right, and apologizes to the class as a whole (he doesn’t mention her accusation). That’s the part that totally lost me. I can’t see a teacher ever doing that, and it comes off as the book trying to make everyone learn a lesson or something. Anyway, Mal does a great job on the one paper they do have, so she gets a B+ in the class.

I expected to feel bad for Mallory based on the back of the book summary, but I really didn’t at all. First of all, since when is Mal shy? She’s quiet, but I don’t remember her being afraid to talk in class or stuttering when she’s called on. She’s not as outspoken as Kristy, but she’s not as shy as Mary Anne. Secondly, the whole thing’s really her fault. She stops raising her hand. She avoids getting called on. When I was in school, I was super-shy, but if a teacher told us we were graded on participation, I raised my hand and spoke up because I was a dork like Mal that wanted straight As. And yeah, the teacher’s favoring the guys, but that’s mostly because they jump in with answers all the time. In the real world, there are going to be people who are more outspoken, or people who might be favored, and you deal with it. Now, to be fair, Mal admits that it’s partially her fault. But she still annoyed me. Maybe I’m getting old and just can’t relate to middle school problems anymore.

Meanwhile, Mallory’s still Secretary of 6^th Grade, and is working with the other class officers on a fundraiser. Apparently, the sixth grade class always has a fundraiser, and then leaves the money to the school to do something special. I’m not sure why sixth graders would be gifting something to the school, it seems more like something the graduating class would do. But whatever. It’s not like anyone actually graduates from the place anyway. Mallory finds out that a few years ago, the class’s monetary gift of $1,000 got re-classed to pay for fixing pipes or something, instead of making a student lounge. Mallory encourages the other class officers to go with her to talk to the vice-principal about how unfair that was, and he agrees that if they raise $1,000 this year, the school will match the donation to make up for what they did a few years ago. And they not only make $1,000, they break the school’s record, thanks to all Mal’s work. So, she does get to be competent at something. This is nice, because while she’s always the butt of some jokes, I like Mal.

There’s also this silly subplot about how Buddy Barrett’s jealous that Lindsay (his step-sister) gets to march in the Memorial Day parade with her Brownie troop. Since only “groups” are allowed to march, he told the parade organizers that he has a marching band. I’m not sure why they took an eight-year-old’s word, but again, whatever. Buddy asks the BSC to help him form one. They jump into it like always, and soon all the regular clients want in. They help them make handmade instruments, but realize the kids sound horrible when they try to play. Mal gets the idea to give all the kids kazoos and hide them in the instruments. Then the day of the parade they get way more kids than they expected, because parents of their clients just drop off their kids, even though they hadn’t been involved in the preparation or talked to any of the BSCers about it. But it goes well enough in the end.

High/low

I know kids tease, but the making fun of Mal for having straight As seems a bit over the top.

There’s a subplot with a girl in Mal’s class trying to act dumb and agreeable so that boys like her, and Mallory telling her it’s not right to do that. It’s the feminist message of the book, and probably the whole reason for it existing.

Claud outfit: “She was wearing denim overall shorts, a short black T-shirt, red-and-white pin-striped stockings that came over the top of her knees, red thick-soled patent leather shoes, and a black felt derby.”

I love that they mention “All the Children of the World,” the band they started in that book with the racist client. (I’m being serious – I really like references to past books).

The teacher starts class by talking about how they’ll be no papers, and even tells Mallory to put her notebook away because he doesn’t want kids taking notes. But then he goes, “oh, wait there will be one essay.”

Since when do teachers give out progress reports in class? In my school they mailed them to our parents. If they’re giving them out in class, I would at least expect an envelope in order to avoid kids seeing other people’s grades.

Claud’s outfit for “building” instruments: “Shorts and a rainbow tie-dyed T-shirt. Her hair was pulled into a thick pony tail held by a matching tie-dyed scrunchie…she sported her favorite work shoes, red high-top sneakers.” That may be the tamest Claud outfit ever. How boring.

Stacey’s outfit for the same thing: “Jeans with rolled up cuffs, an oversized denim work shirt, and a painter’s cap turned backwards.” Also pretty tame.

When Claud and Stacey show up for a sitting job, Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt seem surprised to hear about the whole making instruments and forming a band thing. Shouldn’t the girls have cleared it with them before agreeing to help the kids?

In Mal’s class, the kids are talking about projects to “further the cause of children’s literature,” and her suggestion is to arrange to have SMS students read to little kids. The teacher is…surprisingly down on it. But he loves suggestions like making a poster or giving books to a library in underprivileged areas. This was the one time when I felt for Mallory in the whole thing, I thought her idea was better than the others. It also made me think of this book.

Mallory takes one of the class officers into the basement of the school to find evidence of what happened to the old donation, I think it’s the same place they snuck into in some other book (Maybe this one?). But that time, it was records from 20 + years ago. I can’t imagine records from only five years ago being stored in a basement.

The scene also dates the book, because today you’d have someone hacking into the school’s computer to “investigate.”

Some guy in Mal’s class makes a Jurassic Park reference, as though it’s current…but that movie came out way before 1997, when the book was published.

It’s kind of annoying that parents in town just drop their kids off at the beginning of the parade and expect the BSC watch them/let them join the “band.” BUT, can you really blame them? Look at everything else these girls do.

However, I don’t buy that Mrs. Newton would be one of the parents who did this. She just drops her 4-year-old off near the parade start, watches him walk over toward Kristy and wave good-bye? With no contact with Kristy first?

Also, Kristy was already planning to watch the Barrett-DeWitt and Papadakis kids by herself before the parade started…that’s way more than their usual limit. That’s why the other kids showing up is a big deal.

Mallory and the other class officers work on the fundraiser and talk about what to do with the money. It feels like there should be more people in on that decision, aren’t there members of student council that aren’t the officers? They should be involved.

Again, why are sixth graders talking about what people will remember them for?

“It must be ear-piercing season in Stoneybrook!”…….BSC # 21: Mallory and the Trouble With Twins

Memory Reaction

This wasn’t a book I owned, so I didn’t read it that many times. I do remember what happens because every time the Arnold twins were featured, we got the background story on how Mallory helped them start wearing different clothes. And the other main plot of this book is that several of the girls get their ears pierced, which is mentioned in almost every book. I also remember thinking that Mal’s parents must be really strict, because I got my ears pierced when I was six.

What this book really makes me think of, is a scene from one of the BSC Videos. It’s the one where Claudia’s trying to sell her jewelry, but Karen steals it because she wants more attention. However, at some point there’s a reference to the Arnold twins. One of the girls complains about the twins using a secret language and Jessi volunteers for the job, saying she can use Pig Latin to tell them “ime-tay or-fay ed-bay” or “time for bed.” It’s truly burned in my brain as though I saw it yesterday. I’m not sure why that part is and not other things.

Revisited Reaction

Mallory feels like she’s babyish/nerdy/whatever and wants to cut her hair, get her ears pierced, get new clothes, wear contacts…..and generally just not be 11. This seems to be the background of almost every Mallory book, but I guess this is the first time it’s fleshed out.

This is the book where we’re introduced to the Arnold twins, who become regular clients. Mallory gets a steady job with them that’s supposed to last couple months. Her first day, she makes the mistake of saying they look cute dressed alike and the twins turn into brats. They take off their bracelets with their names on them, so Mal can’t tell who’s who, and they babble in a made up “secret language.” When Claudia sits for them, the twins switch places, so that Carolyn ends up at Marilyn’s piano lesson, which pisses off the teacher and Mr. and Mrs. Arnold.

Eventually, Mallory thinks to use Pig Latin when sitting for them, to show them what it’s like when someone leaves you out of a conversation. She ends up teaching the girls how to speak it, and bonds with them. The twins tell her they hate dressing alike and being called “adorable,” and they’re annoyed with people who can’t tell them apart. Mallory encourages them to talk to their mother about this and of course, Mrs. Arnold agrees to let them start picking out their own clothes and dressing differently (because parents will agree to do anything if a BSC member recommends it). Mallory goes shopping with them to pick out some items, and as soon as the girls dress differently, their friends at school try to tell them apart. So, everyone is happy.

The twins’ success convinces Mallory to talk to her own parents, and she gets permission to get a “cool” haircut and have her ears pierced. Then Jessi gets the okay to get hers done, and Claudia gets permission to get a second hole in one ear. The BSC all goes to get this done together, because in BSC land, stores will pierce holes in 11-year-olds ears without their parents around. At the last minute, Dawn ends up getting two holes done in her ears. Afterwards, all these new piercings get mentioned in the character descriptions in every book.

High/Lowlights

• We open with the entire Pike family driving to the mall in one car. Don’t they normally use two cars when the whole family’s traveling? Or is that just on vacations? Either way, ten people in one car’s a tight fit.

• Mallory says that Kristy only asks if people have been reading the club notebook on Mondays, but I could swear she does it much more in later books.

• Speaking of the notebook, Claudia sat for the Arnolds on Saturday, and by Monday’s club meeting everyone had already read about it in the notebook. How exactly did they get that done? Do they pass the book around at school or just read it before the club meeting?

• Claudia ends up drawing two different smiley faces on the twins’ hands to tell them apart. I guess I see why she did it, but it seems a bit mean to do. It’s like she’s marking them.

• I kept thinking that one of the girls should just ask Mrs. Arnold how to tell the twins apart (they have a mole on different sides of their faces).

• Mallory books always have a lot of outfit descriptions. Here’s a Claudia one: “A T-shirt she’d painted herself, tight blue pants that ended just past her knees, push-down socks, and no shoes. From her ears dangled small baskets of fruit.” She’s in her room at the time, I assume she wore shoes to school.

• Mary Anne actually has a worse outfit: “A short plum-colored skirt over a plum-and-white striped body suit. The legs of the body suit stopped just above her ankles, and she’d tucked the bottoms into her socks…the neat thing about her outfit was that she was wearing white suspenders with her skirt.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use the word “neat” to describe suspenders.

• Dawn: “This cool oversized blue shirt. One of the coolest things about it was that it was green inside, so that when she turned the collar down and rolled the sleeves up, you could see these nice touches of green…she was wearing a green skirt – and clogs.” I remember that outfit, I always thought a shirt like that seemed cool.

• We get a mention of how (ever since she broke it) Claudia’s leg hurts when it’s going to rain. Is that believable? I’m honestly not sure. I do know they mentioned this in some books, but I think the references to it died out as the series went on.

• Do I even have to mention the unrealistic-ness of kids getting their ears pierced without a parent present?

• After the twins switch places on Claudia, the Arnolds tell her how disappointed they are in the job she did. When Claudia’s telling the BSC about it, she says they “scolded” her. It just seems really off. Does anyone really use that word? Let alone someone who can barely spell their own name…

• Also, it seems a bit bitchy of Mrs. Arnold to yell at Claud for this. This was the first day she met them, and they lied about who’s who. How was she supposed to prevent that?

• Mallory keeps describing how Mrs. Arnold’s over-dressed, or at least over-accessorized. She calls it “fussy” and talks about how she has matching everything. I guess this makes sense considering how she dressed the twins, but I don’t remember her being described that way later on.

• Mallory’s reading the book Dicey’s Song. I haven’t thought about that book in ages, but I definitely read it. I believe I read the whole series.

• As a kid, I loved hearing the description of how to speak Pig Latin in this one. I’m not sure if I knew how to speak it before then or not, but either way I liked seeing the explanation written out.

• Google actually has a search page in Pig Latin.

• One of the twins’ gifts is “jump sticks,” which makes me remember how much I wanted one as a kid.

• I know how they always say the Arnold twins are different people, but they don’t really tell us that much about them in this book, just that Marilyn’s musical and Carolyn’s into science. That’s not an in-depth description of their personalities, it’s just a list of their hobbies. However, I think we’re given more in-depth descriptions later on in the series, so I won’t complain too much.
• Mrs. Arnold seems a lot like Mrs. Prezzioso in this book – the twins are always wearing dresses that are super frilly. What kind of parent has the time to always make sure their kids are dressed up and looking nice? Don’t these kids ever run around outside?
• While shopping, Marilyn tries on a $135 mohair sweater. Who puts clothing that expensive in the children’s section of a department store?
• Mary Anne complains that her dad won’t let her get her ears pierced, but I thought in other books she didn’t even want them.
• When Mallory asks if she can use her baby-sitting money on clothes, her parents are like, “of course,” as long as she’s sensible. So, what’s with all the complaining about how she can’t wear the clothes she likes? I’m sure her parents wouldn’t want her to wear anything too slutty, but it doesn’t seem like they need to pre-approve every outfit. I think they just don’t want to be the ones to pay for the “cool” (and impractical) things.
• Mrs. Pike actually seemed fairly laid back about the ear piercing thing. I don’t know how many times Mallory’s supposed to have asked before, but in this one she pleads a little and swears to never wear anything “wild.” Her mom just says, “oh, I got mine done when I was twelve, you’re close to that. But you need to wear fun, crazy earrings sometimes or what’s the point?”

“We’ll videotape your old-fashioned Christmas preparations”…..BSC # 92: Mallory's Christmas Wish

Memory Reaction

I think I only read this once, since it’s definitely from the later end of the series. But I do have a pretty vivid memory of it. Specifically, I remember thinking it didn’t make sense. As I’ve said before, that’s a reaction that is directly related to how late a BSC book was published. Anyway, the deal in this book is that the Pikes get on some reality-like show, and I remember thinking how the Pikes kind of screwed the production company/tv station. Mr. Pike supposedly had it in the contract that they could just give back the money and call the whole show off…..but it seemed unbelievable that that would be the case. .

I also remember the gift that Vanessa gives Mallory in some kind of secret Santa exchange. Mallory says she wants the greatest Christmas book of all time, and Vanessa gives her a blank notebook, with a note, “It hasn’t been written yet, get to work.” Which just seems really sweet, I think that’s why I still remember it.

Revisited Reaction

Mallory has the idea that her family should have an “old-fashioned Christmas,” meaning making a lot of gifts and decorations, having a lot of holiday themed meals, etc. Her family likes the idea, so they plan on doing it. Then Vanessa enters a contest a local TV is having, about a “special way” of celebrating the holidays. The winner gets to have their own little reality show – they’ll be filmed throughout the month of December, for a special that will air NEXT Christmas. They also get $10,000 for their trouble. Clearly, the Pikes win, and they agree to do this. But after awhile, they all start to get a little annoyed with it. The director of the TV program, Mr. Henry, keeps making them reenact scenes that the cameras missed or read lines he has written. Then they cause chaos while visiting Santa at the mall, because Mr. Henry tries to get the Pikes to the front of the line. On Christmas Eve, the Pikes finally reach their breaking point. They end up giving back the $10,000, kicking out the camera crew, and having Christmas on their own.

There’s also a minor sub-plot involving Stoneybrook Manor, the senior citizen home Mallory’s Uncle Joe lives at. The Manor’s having some craft sale/fundraiser and of course the BSC volunteers to help out, so we get to see all sorts of preparation scenes. Meanwhile, Uncle Joe, who was supposed to go to the Pikes on Christmas, cancels when he finds out about the camera crew (but shows up after they’re kicked out).

High/Lowlights

• I’m not sure kids would be so into the idea of an “old-fashioned Christmas.” I would think they’d still be worried about not getting enough gifts with a rule like that. But maybe I was just a shallow child.

• Speaking of being a child, when I was 7-ish I visited Santa at the mall and told him I wanted all the BSC books that I didn’t already own…And he asked me what the BSC was. I remember being very confused about how he couldn’t know such a thing.

• The Pikes version of the Twelve Days of Christmas: “Twelve velociraptor eggs, eleven socks-a-sticking, ten bags of Snickers, nine leaping wombats, eight soggy tacos, seven bologna-and-peanut butter sandwiches, six silly-billy-goo-goos, five hornet stings, four crawling nerds, three stooges, two curdled gloves, and some garbage in a bare tree.”

• Mallory says when her dad was out of a job her family used up ALL their savings. But at the end of that book, weren’t Mr. and Mrs. Pike all, “thanks for trying to raise money kids, but didn’t you know your dad was getting severance?” Also, there’s a thing called unemployment payments. I’m sure it’s expensive to raise eight kids, but if they really went through all their savings then, they couldn’t have very much to begin with.

• Of course when they call the senior citizens’ home to volunteer at their fundraiser, they get asked to run the “day care.” Because there can’t be an event in Stoneybrook with out a BSC-run day care.

• There’s actually a spelling mistake in Jessi’s notebook entry. She writes, “I NOW that I will never again….” Unless I am reading her horrible cursive wrong, that’s definitely an error. Has that ever happened in a non-Claudia chapter.

• The whole contest seems so random and badly timed. Mallory gets the idea about the “old-fashioned Christmas” the day after Thanksgiving, (which means Vanessa entered the contest after Thanksgiving). So, the station has time to run this whole contest, select a winner, and get in several weeks of filming before Christmas. But after all that, won’t be airing any footage for a year?

• There’s this weird scene where Jessi’s in a store with Aunt Cecilia (that seems like a craft store or thrift shop), and she’s digging through a box of old frames. Aunt Cecelia’s all, “Do you think your parents are made of money?” Which is weird cause it isn’t an expensive thing. And because Jessi’s spending her own money.

• The BSC gets some of kids they sit for to make crafts to sell at the fundraiser/sale. How many people are really going to buy crafts that seven-year-olds made? I know it’s for a good cause, but still. People would probably prefer to just give money.

• Claire’s the only Pike who believes in Santa….and apparently, even she is starting to doubt. Isn’t that surprisingly cynical of the Pikes? I would think Margo, and maybe Nicky would still buy into that whole story.

• The department store the Pikes visit is named “Lears.” Hmmmm, I wonder what it’s supposed to be modeled after.

• Kristy’s height is apparently 5’0. Which doesn’t really seem that short. I was shorter than that in eighth grade, and I wasn’t the shortest person in my class. Granted, I was about the fourth shortest. But they usually make it seem like Kristy’s sooo much shorter than everyone else. Mallory herself is 5’1, which actually seems tall for an eleven-year-old.

• Mr. Henry makes the Pikes attach a video camera to the roof of their car when driving home from getting a Christmas tree, in order to get a point-of-view shot. As in, the point-of-view of the TREE. WTF?

• I think this may be the first time Mal says that she and Jessi don’t like being called Junior members. I kind of see their point. They really do just as much as everyone else.

• Kristy’s desperate to get the BSC on film in the special. She ends up offering the director three nights of baby-sitting for five minutes of filming. At least that girl’s consistent.

• The Pikes might want to tell their kids that a) there’s something in the world called taxes, and b) even if there weren’t, $10,000 isn’t enough to buy a Ferrari.

• Is my family just abnormally late, or are the Pikes abnormally early? Uncle Joe comes over on Christmas, and after eating, opening gifts, and playing games he leaves….at 2:30 pm.

• Like they did on one Thanksgiving, the BSC just shows up at the Pikes house in the afternoon. Do none of these girls have families of their own that require them to stay home on holidays?

• This was written in 1995, way before the reality TV craze. So, I guess the Pikes thought being filmed would be like a documentary and are disappointed. Mr. Pike ends up accusing Mr. Henry of “filming a lie,” by staging/recreating scenes, instead of really objectively filming a “traditional wholesome Christmas.”

• As I was re-reading this, the deal with the TV station makes even less sense then I remembered. I would think that the station would make the Pikes pay a fee for backing out…the station hasn’t just lost money filming, it’s gotten screwed out of a show for next year.

• According to Nicky, the secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies is to use twice as much brown sugar as white sugar. Is it weird that I’m tempted to try that?

• Mallory says that on Christmas, after the BSC left, she fell asleep and her dad had to carry her to bed – something that hasn’t happened in years. Now, I guess this book may have been written years after the one where she got Mono, but she was definitely carried to bed once in that one.

“If only I were thirteen instead of eleven. Life would be a picnic.”...BSC # 29: Mallory and the Mystery Diary”

Memory Reaction

I was so jealous of Mallory when I read this book. I know, that sounds crazy. But this was another book where one of the girls discovered some secret in their attic/basement/house. I think technically, Mallory discovered the secret in Stacey’s attic, but it still seemed cool. I don’t really remember what the specific mystery was, just that they resolved it by finding a painting in the attic that was painted over another painting.

Also, this book is where I learned what a séance is. Clearly, the schools just were not doing their job with that.

Revisited Reaction

Mallory and Claudia are helping Stacey unpack after moving back to Stoneybrook, and they find an old trunk in the attic. Stacey and her mom don’t want it, so Mal brings it home with her. Now, the trunk is locked and Mal refuses to let anyone break the lock off, because it is so pretty. But when Vanessa threatens to talk all in rhyme until she finds out what’s inside, Mal gives in.

The trunk is mostly full of old clothes, as well as a diary. It was written by a twelve-year-old girl named Sophie in 1894. In the second half of the year, Sophie’s mother died giving birth to a little boy. Soon after, Sophie’s “Grandfather Hickman” accuses Sophie’s father (Jared) of stealing a portrait of the mother (his only daughter). Grandfather Hickman never approved of Jared and uses the missing painting as an excuse to write the whole family out of his will. In her final entry, Sophie vows that she will find the real thief, and writes that if she doesn’t, she’ll come back and haunt her house (that Stacey is now living in).

Mallory believes this, because not only does she believe in ghosts, but she thinks that some one would still care about something they wrote as a twelve-year-old when they die years later. She asks Stacey if she has seen signs of ghosts, but Stacey has only heard a few noises that she attributes to the “country.” So, the BSC tries to solve the mystery the old fashioned way. But they really have no way to go about this, so then they try having a séance. Shockingly, that doesn’t work either.

Meanwhile, there’s a subplot involving Buddy Barrett, who’s having trouble reading. Because they can’t see a problem and not get involved, the BSC offers to tutor him, and Mal gets the job. It starts off bad, but Mal gets him to improve by letting him read comics and Encyclopedia Brown mysteries (which makes me all nostalgic). This gets Buddy excited about reading, which makes him better at it, etc., etc. But more importantly, this leads to Buddy wanting to see the diary. He also asks to search the trunk, and finds some more papers at the bottom. Amazingly, this includes a “confession” where Grandfather Hickman confesses that the portrait was never stolen; he just had it painted over because looking at it depressed him. And he was too embarrassed to tell anyone, so he said it was stolen. Grandfather Hickman was a bit of a jackass.

Mallory guesses that the confession and the diary ended up in the same trunk because Grandfather Hickman owned both houses, and someone in the family must have been throwing different things from different places into the trunk for storage. So, they guess that maybe that same person moved paintings to Stacey’s. They search Stacey’s attic again to see if they can find the missing portrait, and of course, they do. Even though the damn thing’s painted over. They are able to figure out what it is, due to a chip in the paint. It’s all pretty most contrived. I mean, what are the chances that a) the diary and the confession, which were written years apart, by different people, and in different places, end up in the same trunk; b) That the trunk itself ends up in the same place as the painting, which had been hanging somewhere else; and c) That the painting they are looking for is not only chipped, but chipped in a spot that makes it clear what is painted underneath? It’s so ridiculous it is distracting.

High/Lowlights

• Mal writes in her journal that she feels like she has been eleven for a decade. Imagine how she’ll feel after another 100 books or so?

• The title is kind of a stretch because the book isn’t really a mystery, and the girls certainly don’t solve anything. They read the resolution on piece of paper that tells them everything they needed to know. And they need Buddy to do that, because Mal was apparently incapable of looking at the bottom of the trunk herself.

• Buddy has trouble reading Green Eggs and Ham. Now…I know people read at different levels, but when I was eight, I was reading BSC books. So, if Buddy’s still struggling with Dr. Suess, shouldn’t someone have noticed the problem a lot sooner?

• Kristy gets inspired to explore her own attic after Mal’s discovery. We’re told that Watson’s mansion has an entire 3rd floor that isn’t being used, and THEN an attic/fourth floor that runs the entire length of the house. That means the place really must be huge. If all the people in Kristy’s house have their own bedroom, it has got to be at least ten rooms, plus more on the third floor and fourth floors?

• Is it my imagination or are there always more outfits than usual described in Mallory books? She does a run through of the whole club (except Kristy, who was in jeans and a turtleneck – shocking stuff).

• Jessi: “A long, heart-covered sweat shirt over her dance leotard and a pair of pink pants that…were held up at the waist with a drawstring.”

• Mallory: “Boring old jeans, but a top that I liked a lot – a big white long-sleeved T-shirt that said I (heart) KIDS across the front.”

• Mary Anne: “She was wearing a very cool short printed jumper over a striped shirt…the jumper was white with a small red print, and the shirt was white with narrow, widely spaced stripes.”

• Claudia: “Jeans, a plain white blouse, a pink sweater, white socks and loafers. She said she’d gone back to the fifties for the day.” She should do that more often.

• Stacey: “A short-sleeved blue-and-white jumpsuit with cuffed pants. Parts of it were striped, parts were solid. On her feet were high-topped sneakers laved only halfway up so that she could roll the tongue down of the shoe.”

• Dawn: “Her outfit was fairly normal – pants and a baggy sweat shirt – but on her head was a small straw hat.” A straw hat? WTF?

• It is ridiculous how much of a difference Mallory supposedly makes with Buddy in a couple weeks.

• How come everyone in BSC land has an attic that you get to by going up a flight of stairs? I always had the kind that pulled down from the ceiling.

• Buddy Barrett’s teacher is a bit of a jerk. He sends a note home to Mrs. Barrett explaining that Buddy’s having trouble reading. In it, he suggests that Mrs. Barrett spend “quality time” with Buddy reading. Because it can’t be his fault for not being a good teacher. And he’s completely justified in critiquing how a single, working mother spends her time.

• Kristy only agrees to have a séance if she can be the “channeler.” Mal wanted to do it, since it was her idea, but goes along with Kristy because, “that’s the sort of thing that happens when your friends are older than you.” I think it is just the sort of thing that happens when your friends are bossy and controlling. And when you let them walk all over you.

• Kristy gets all dressed up with clothes Karen found in their attic to play the channeeor. And she gets all into it, pretending to have spoken with Sophie. Which seems really out of character for her.

• Poor Mal is disappointed because she thought a séance would really work. When my friends and I played with a Ouiji board, none of us thought it was actually going to work, we just thought it would be fun.

• Stacey’s worried about going in her attic, and Claud asks if she’s afraid of the “boogeyman.” And Stacey says yes, because “they didn’t have the boogeymen in New York.” Which seems like an odd answer. I would think being from New York made her too “sophisticated” to believe in the boogeyman.

• Mallory tells Stacey that if her house isn’t haunted, it must mean Sophie cleared her father’s name. Kristy’s actually the voice of reason and tells Mal it might also mean there’s no such things as ghosts. But then she turns around and asks to be the channeler/leader of the séance.

• It is kind of sad that even though this is a Mallory book, the mystery is really about Stacey’s house.

• Dawn’s apparently jealous of someone else having a ghost, because she tries to tie the Sophie mystery to Jared Mullray, the ghost that supposedly haunts her secret passage. Her reasoning is that Sophie’s father’s name is Jared, but that really shouldn’t mean anything since that Jared lived in her house, not Stacey’s.

• It turns out that “Grandfather Hickman” is actually Old Hickory, who is some famous ghost in Stoneybrook, and his grave is the site where Cokie and Co. tried to scare BSC once. Which is kind of a ridiculous coincidence. I mean, what are the chances that the diary Mal reads is connected to a semi-famous person?

• I don’t think they actually tell us the story of Old Hickory in that book. It turns out he was some rich guy who left all his money to a long-lost nephew, but demanded that no fancy tombstone be set up (because it was a waste of money). But the nephew had one made anyway, and so Old Hickory haunts the cemetery. It seems like a lame reason to haunt somewhere.

• Mary Anne and Dawn are all excited at the end because their parents go out to celebrate their “25th date” as adults. Which I guess is foreshadowing to the next book when they get married. However, isn’t 25 dates a kind of lame thing to celebrate? It also doesn’t seem like a long enough time to be on the verge of marriage.

• It’s really kind of unbelievable that these girls believe in ghosts. They’re always being described as super mature, but then they go and freak out about ghosts.

“Was Ghost Cat really a ghost after all?”……BSC Mystery # 3: Mallory and the Ghost Cat

Memory Reaction

I wasn’t a huge fan of this one, because I am not a cat person at all. So, I HATED reading a book all about one. It is like the book about Jessi pet-sitting for that family with a zillion animals.

I can’t really remember the details of the plot, but I remember how after awhile I noticed the 8th graders in the series had all gotten a second or third mystery book, and Jessi and Mal only had one each. I guess they thought it was to unrealistic to have 11 year-olds running around solving crimes? Thirteen-year-olds doing it makes much more sense.

Revisited Reaction

Mal gets a bunch of sitting jobs for a new client, the Craines, a family with three little girls. When she is at their house, she hears meowing, and thinks they must have cat. But, the girls tell her they don’t have any pets. I know, it is off to a thrilling start. When Mal and the girls keep hearing the meowing, they decide to search the house. The Craines think it must be a “ghost cat,” because they keep hearing it but not seeing it. Then, Mal takes the girls into the attic, and they see a white cat that got in through a hole in the wall. Mrs. Crane lets the girls take care of the cat while they look for the owner. They decide to name it “Ghost Cat.”

At her next sitting job for the Craines, Mallory takes them back to the attic where they find a box of old letters. They look through them and it turns off they are from a guy who used to live in the house (the person he was writing to, gave them to the relative that lived in the house next). One day this guy found a white cat and adopted him. When the cat died, the guy “was never the same again.” Mal decides that the cat they found must actually be the ghost of this cat. She actually tells the girls this, and invites Dawn over to “test” whether the theory is true. Of course, the tests show it was a real animal. Then, the real owner is found, and he comes to pick up the cat. And he looks a lot like the pictures of the old guy who used to live in the house. So, this adds to the ghost speculation, but it is the end of the story.

There is also a subplot, where Mal’s Great-Uncle Joe is staying with the Pikes. He is living in a nursing home in town, but Mr. Pike invites him to spend a few weeks with the family. Joe doesn’t exactly take to having eight rowdy children around all the time, and the kids, as well as the rest of the BSC are upset about this and think he’s mean. Uncle Joe finally starts to warm up to the kids, right before he moves out. However, we also find out Uncle Joe has the early signs of Alzheimer’s, so there’s not really a happy ending on that storyline.

High/Lowlights

• I can remember this scene vividly. Mallory is making English-muffin pizzas for her family’s dinner, and goes into a long explanation of how much she likes artichokes.

• When Mal finds out Uncle Joe is staying with them, her first question is to ask if her parents will still need her to baby-sit. Cause all teenagers want to spend their free time taking care of their younger siblings.

• Jordan Pike likes to eat peanut-butter-and-banana-and-salami sandwiches. What is it with the Pikes and their weird food combinations?

• Not a lot of outfits in this one, the only one we get is for Claire Pike. She likes a dress that looks like Lucy’s from Peanuts. Well, she is certainly no Suri Cruise.

• On an unrelated note, does anyone else find the existence of a Suri Cruise Fashion blog, just a little creepy?

• The welcome sign for Uncle Joe says, “Welkome Uncle Jow!” But, we can’t blame Claudia for it, Margo and Claire made it by themselves.

• When the kids are hanging the sign, the triplets get a hammer and nails. Why would they need that for a paper sign? And what kind of baby-sitter lets kids make holes in the wall for no real reason?

• The Craines are new clients because their Aunt Bud, who usually sits for them, broke her leg riding her motorcycle. When Mal meets her, she assumes she will have tattoos and wear leather…and wonders what to do if Aunt Bud offers her a beer. (Bud) turns out to be totally normal though. And Bud is a nickname for Ellen.

• When they are looking for the cat, Mal asks the kids if they are allowed in the attic. They say “yes,” but only if an adult is with them. Of course, Mal decides she qualifies.

• When Claudia meets Uncle Joe, she actually calls him, “Uncle Joe.” And unlike what usually happens in BSC-land, he gets pissed and yells at her to call him Mr. Pike.

• Karen and her friend are playing that stupid “Lovely Ladies” game. I always thought this was an excuse to dress-up, but it turns out they actually run through some lame dialogue, where they call themselves “lovely ladies” a million times. And they say the same thing every time they play. Now, I thought Karen was supposed to be imaginative. When I was little, my friend and I would act out different parts/scenes when we dressed up, and would put on “shows” for our parents. What is the fun of doing the same thing over and over?

• I remember this part too….and I think it may have happened in a Sweet Valley Twins book. (Or some other similar series). Mrs. Pike insists on cooking only plain food, all the time, for Uncle Joe (and by extension the whole family). Then at the end, Uncle Joe reveals that he actually loves spicy food, and sneaks hot sauce at every meal.

• How is it responsibly baby-sitting to bring Dawn over, tell a 6-, 4-, and 2-year-old that their pet might be a ghost, and then perform “tests” like pouring flour on the floor to see if the cat leaves footprints?

• Karen goes on a sitting job with Kristy, so she can play with Melody Korman. But Melody pretends to be a cat all night, so Karen gets bored and goes home early.

• This book is WAY to heavily cat-themed.

• Dawn has all these ghost-busting “gadgets” that she sent away for. Mallory can tell they are cardboard, so I don’t know why Dawn would think they would work. I bet even Claud wouldn’t think that.

• This mystery is really the lamest ever. Seriously. I can’t even figure out what it actually was. I know I complained last week that an actual mystery was too ridiculous, but there is a fine line between trying to figure out what psycho is stalking you and trying to figure out where some cat noises are coming from.

• After Ghost Cat is returned to his rightful owner, the Craine girls think the man was a ghost too. And Mallory decides she can’t come up with an argument with this. She then declares the mystery “solved” because the owner and cat were reunited and happy.

• The Craine girls tell Mal that after the cat is returned home, they haven’t heard meowing from the attic. Um, how is that evidence that the cat was a ghost? I mean, they think it is because sometimes it sounded like the cat was in the attic when it wasn’t. But that could just be the house. Evidence of there being a ghost would be if the noises did continue after the physical cat left.

• Mr. and Mrs. Craine decide to get a cat of their own, and the girls pick one out that looks like Ghost Cat. Cause that isn't predictable or anything.
  

• At least this book gives an explanation for why the Craines need a million sitters for this book and then are never heard from again – their usual sitter is Aunt Bud, who can sit again once her broken leg is healed.

• It is really sad to think about this guy writing letters, who is never the same again after his cat died. I mean, this is in the same book as someone having Alzheimer’s. It’s rather depressing.

“Novels. Fiction. I suggest you look up the definition of those words in the dictionary before you go about hurling accusations”….. BSC # 80: Mallory

Memory Reaction

This book makes me think of an episode of Hey Arnold! So, my memories might actually be about that show, not the book. Although, honestly, they may have the same plot. I don’t think writers for either were that original.

But anyway, the basic story I am thinking of is that Mal meets her favorite author and is disappointed by her. But then Mal acts all spunky or cute or whatever and wins the heart of said author. Like I said, not that original.

Revisited Reaction

Mal has a new favorite author, Henrietta Hayes (HH, for the rest of this post). By sheer coincidence, HH lives in Stoneybrook. Since Mal needs to do a school assignment on something connected to her dream career, she comes up with this project where she’ll interview HH to write about her life. Then Mal will write a play herself, that kids will perform.

Mallory tries sending letters to Henrietta, but keeps getting form letters back. She finally decides to go to HH’s house and knock on the door. Mal tells HH she was inspired to do this by the character in her books. This succeeds in not only getting an interview, but a part time job as her assistant. This is not as outlandish as it seems, Mal is just performing random tasks at HHs house, not working in an office or anything.

Anyway, Mal has decided that all writers must write things that are true about their lives. I don’t know why, since she has demonstrated writing talent in the past, but she has. And this causes two problems:

The first is that she is crushed when she finds out about HH’s real life – mainly that she grew up in foster care and had a child who died – because this means Mal’s favorite books are all “lies.” When HH tells her she is an idiot and that there is a difference between novels and biographies, Mal storms out.

The second problem is that Mal is writing her own play based on her family, and chooses to highlight the most annoying traits of her brothers and sisters. Since the Kids’ Club from the elementary school is performing it, her siblings end up hearing about the play and get pissed off. Mal is convinced that she can’t change it, because writers have to tell the truth. Finally, her mother convinces her to change it.

Mal talks to HH again who explains the concept of fiction to Mal. She tells her that good writers can write about true emotions without literally only writing about things that really happened. And during the whole experience, Mal inspired HH to write a “reunion” novel about characters from her previous books.

High/Lowlights

• Mal’s assignment is 80% of her English grade for the marking period. That seems like a really high percentage for the type of project it is.

• Awe, poor Mal really has no self-esteem. She says she might not put an author picture in her (future, potentially published) books so she won’t spoil the book for kids.

• Vanessa Pike has a Skip-It. I really wanted one of those as a kid.

• So, Henrietta Hayes does not exist (at least not as a writer). But, I wonder if she is supposed to be representative of a real author. Ann M. Martin seemed to like mentioning real books and writers when possible.

• Mallory references writing the letter to an author that shows up in the flashback Super Special.

• Mal says Mary Anne and Dawn didn’t have a lot in common when they met….but they sorta did, didn’t they? That was why they bonded so fast.

• Mal is like the kid in a Christmas Story….she thinks that her teacher will say her proposal for the project is the greatest he’s every heard, and he thinks it sucks. Or, he thinks it needs revisions.

• Weren’t Mal’s siblings in Kids Club? In this one they aren’t, but hear about the play through their friends. But I swear Vanessa and Nicky were in the club.

• Ms. Hayes is actually much nicer than I remembered her. She only gets bitchy when Mal starts asking questions about her dead child. Which, is pretty much an acceptable time to be bitchy.

• When Mallory shows up at HH’s house, the woman just lets her in. Would an author just let in some strange kid? Has she ever hear of stalkers?

• And Mal just goes inside a strangers house? Just because she is a published author doesn’t mean she is safe.

• Mal thinks it is cool that Ms. Hayes uses a teapot to boil water and not a microwave like in her house. It seems like a random detail to throw out.

• Even the other girls in the BSC tell her that her play is unfair to her siblings.

• I know Mal is easy to make fun of, but she has always been shown to be reasonably intelligent. At least in terms of school. However, she seems to have lost all her brains in this one. Besides the whole “writing the truth” thing, she thinks she can write about Henrietta Hayes’s life based soley on the interview. When her teacher tells her to do research, Mallory is all, “but why wouldn’t she just tell me everything I need to know?”

• It is weird, because Mal is all upset that HH’s books aren’t true, but when her siblings complain that she is making them look bad in her play, she claims artistic license. It is sort of a contradiction.

• Mal is horrible at the whole directing kids in a play. Seriously. She changes her mind every two seconds about what she wants the characters to do, and she can’t seem to keep any semblance of order. Which again, is unlike Mal, who usually can handle baby-sitting a lot of kids.

• Mallory actually says, “What would Ernest Hemmingway think of Henrietta Hayes?” As though Ms. Hayes did this incredibly awful thing by writing something that wasn’t a mirror image of her real life. I mean, really. It is not like she claimed it was a memoir.

• Mal is a bit insensitive… Danielle Roberts has to start missing rehearsals cause she has doctor appointments (because she has cancer), and Mal is all, “Oh, I knew we shouldn’t have given the lead to the sick girl.”

• In the revised version of the play, Danielle does get to perform. To play Mal she wears, “a bright red corduroy jumper with a white blouse underneath.” Do you think that is an intentional callback to her outfit in this book?

• When she is told she can’t write only the truth, she says she doesn’t know what to write. Again, really?

• Even when Danielle does perform, Mallory makes a point of saying she looks pretty, “despite the dark circles under her eyes.” Nice.

• Mal gets a mention on the acknowledgements page of Ms. Hayes book….but she is looking at manuscript of the first three chapters of the book. Rough draft manuscript. Who includes acknowledgements there?

“Cooties, cooties, Mallory has the cooties”…..BSC # 69: Get Well Soon, Mallory!

Memory Reaction

This book is where I learned what Mono is. In fact, it is where I learned it existed. As a result, every time I was over-tired in high school I thought I had mono (although I never actually did have it). It also made me think that mono was some horrible disease. And, not that it is a great one, but I don’t think it was as bad as it was portrayed in this book. At least, not typically. No one I actually knew had as bad a case as Mallory. I remember her not being able to baby-sit for multiple books…which must have been months BSC time. The few people I knew who had it missed much less school.

Revisited Reaction

Mallory has been sick a lot and has been extremely tired, and she finds out that she has mono. She starts to feel a little better, but the doctor tells her that she has a serious case, which may drag on for months. She is out of school for weeks, and is barely allowed to get out of bed. I think she only leaves the house twice in the whole book….both times to go to the doctor.

Her parents tell her that even when she goes back to school, she won’t be allowed to participate in extra activities like archery or baby-sitting. Mallory tells Kristy she has to “drop out” of the club. I am not sure why they have to be so official about it, but I guess it is in character. Even though this is right after Dawn went to California, the other girls decide not to “replace” Mallory.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t make Mallory feel better, since the BSC is in the middle of planning a Thanksgiving charity event where they bring kids to visit the senior citizen home. So, when they ask Mallory to help out by making phone calls from home, she blows it off. She is hoping that if she is rude enough, they will replace her. But, the BSC doesn’t let her get away with it. Then, after the senior event, recreate it to show Mallory how much they love her.

Meanwhile, the Pikes were supposed to go to New York City for Thanksgiving to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. But since Mal is still sick, the whole family can’t go. Her siblings are pissed about it, but by the end don’t seem to mind. Mainly because they didn’t see the relatives who invited them on TV (meaning they didn’t miss their own shot at being on TV).

High/Lowlights

• This book takes place between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Which makes it yet another Halloween that the BSC celebrates.

• I actually remember this part really well. Vanessa is practicing her “waves” for the parade and explains that there are three types, “the windshield wiper,” “screwing in the light bulb,” and “the flap.” I think I may have practiced the different “types” myself when I first read it.

• Mal’s doctor tells her she might have “mononucleosis.” I know that is the official name, but does any one really call it that? Even doctors? (At least when they are talking to kids).

• Awe, I feel bad for Mallory. Her brothers keep teasing her for having the “kissing disease” and she is worried kids at school will think she kissed Ben Hobart. It is pretty normal for eleven, but at the same time, I think the whole exchange sums up everything about Mal’s character.

• This book is short on outfits, but we do get to hear about Mal’s pajamas: “They’re made of white flannel with tiny pink rosebuds printed all over them, and pink lace at the collar and cuff.”

• The BSC actually changes Mallory’s status to “honorary member” since she isn’t allowed to sit. It is even changed on the back of the book where they list the girls names – I think it stays like that for multiple books. It just seems so unnecessary. Would it be SUCH a big deal to keep calling her a “Junior Officer”? It is not like she has to act as president or anything.

• So, the BSC is doing this charity thing for a senior citizen home. It seems…. convoluted. They raise money to put baskets together as gifts, so they ask for sponsors. But they don’t make enough money, so the kids all promise their parents they’ll do chores in order to get the extra money. Then on top of this, they set up some kind of carnival for the senior citizens to give them something to do.

• Mrs. Pike’s cousin is the one who gets them tickets to the Thanksgiving parade. Now, these are tickets to bleacher seats. Now, I can see someone getting a few extra tickets. But getting ten tickets to just handover to the Pikes and all their bratty kids?

• When they make baskets to give to the senior citizens, the BSC encourages the kids to pick out toys as gifts. I understanding the thinking, and the wanting to do something different, but it also seems a little…. insensitive.

• I know people eat dinner early on Thanksgiving, but the Pikes eat really early. They eat their appetizers (stuffed mushrooms and vegetables and dip) while watching the parade. Which starts at about 9:00 am on the east coast. Not only is that early…but how early did Mrs. Pike wake up to have things done that early? Maybe my family is the weird one, but it seems unrealistic.

• On Thanksgiving, the BSC stops by the Pikes to visit Mallory. Now, this is nice of them, but I wonder how realistic it is that all of them were allowed. I mean, when I was a kid we went to my grandmothers for the day…and it was not in town. Are we supposed to believe that none of these girls had plans like that?

• So, we do have one regular outfit, another Mallory one: “A blue velvet skirt with a matching bolero jacket and a white silk blouse.” Not as fun as a Claudia one, but not as embarrassing either.

• Mal’s parents almost make her eat dinner on the couch because she is too weak to sit up at the table. Okay…. seriously? It is not like she would be running a marathon, she would be sitting at a table eating dinner. How much energy could that take? I mean, this is almost four weeks after she was diagnosed. Is she really so sick that after all that time, she can’t even sit up at a table?

• Dawn calls from California on Thanksgiving, and says how it doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving there because it is seventy degrees. But I distinctly remember her complaining about seventy-degree weather when she was back in Connecticut. There is just no pleasing that girl.
  
  
• This book is actually kind of boring, because we get everything second hand. Mallory lies to Jessi and Claud about not doing work for the carnival/charity/thing to get them mad at her. But we don’t see them fight. We just hear them tell Mal she made them fight. It is sort of lame…the fights between the girls are always the most fun.

“But his job is important”……..BSC # 39: Poor Mallory!

Memory Reaction

I remember two things about this book. The first, is how the Pike kids all went out and tried to earn money for their parents, when Mr. Pike lost his job. I was probably younger than Mallory when I read it, and I still thought they were idiots for thinking baby-sitting money, or paper route money, or whatever, would be that much help to her parents.

The other thing is that there is this subplot about how Mallory is picked on in school because of the situation. Like, girls in the cafeteria sat around making fun of her for it. I know teenager girls can be bitchy, but I didn’t (and still don’t) think sixth-graders would use that is a reason to pick on someone. There are many, many other things that they could use as an excuse before that.

Revisited Reaction

Mal’s dad gets laid off. They keep saying he got fired, but he actually gets laid off. When a hundred people are let go from the company for financial reasons, it is not the same is being fired.

But anyway, after he loses his job, the Pikes are all worried about what to do for money, and Mal decides to give all her baby-sitting money to her parents. She also encourages her siblings to earn money somehow, and to try to use less electricity. The BSC helps out by giving Mallory a regular month-long job for the Delanys (Max and Amanda), these rich snobs who live near Kristy. The Delanys have a pool, so their house is a popular one for neighborhood kids to hang out in. Unfortunately, most of these kids don’t actually like spending time with Max and Amanda. When the Delanys start to realize this, they get upset. But Mallory comes up with a plan, where they tell kids they can’t use the pool, then see if the friends come. Only one bitch-in-training doesn’t show up, so the Delanys figure out who their real friends are.

In the meantime, Mallory is getting made fun of in school about her dad. These students at SMS must be kinda lame if that is the only thing they can think of as an insult for Mal. Or for anyone, really. By the end, Mal stands up to them and tells her “friends” they suck, and decides her only true friends are the BSC. Oh, and her dad gets a new job, so there is a happy ending.

High/Lowlights

• This book takes place during the school year, but the kids swim in the pool all the time over a month long period. I want to know what month this is taking place in, that it is warm enough to swim so much.

• When Mallory and her siblings tell their parents they were worried about money, Mr. Pike is all, “You do know I was getting severance pay, right?” So the triplets get annoyed at Mal for telling them they could lose their house

• And really, why didn’t Mr. and Mrs. Pike tell the kids that?

• When Vanessa hears that her dad might be getting laid off, she is all “But Dad’s job is important. No one could fire someone who is important.” Well, is the company wants to save money, they are going to get rid of people making the most money.

• My company just laid off a bunch of people (thankfully not me), so this book was a little depressing.

• Apparently, Claudia thinks eleven is a hard age, because your parents can’t decide if you are a baby or not. I guess by thirteen they will decide you’re an adult?

• I must have known this subconsciously, but didn’t remember it: “Dibble” is short for Incredible.

• Speaking of the word dibble, Mallory uses it more times than you would think possible.

• Why does everyone say Mary Anne’s job is hard? She is responsible for the record book, but she doesn’t actually have to remember everyone’s schedule. She just writes it down. Even Claudia could do that.

• Mallory decides she has to study extra-hard so that one day she can get a scholarship to college. Her parents have eight kids, she’ll probably need one no matter what.

• Vanessa makes money by styling hair on the playground. And apparently makes a decent amount.

• Mrs. Pike starts temping when Mr. Pike loses his job, and tells Mal she might have to sit for free. I guess that two-sitter rule isn’t always enforced, huh?

• The Delanys have a rule that if a baby-sitter is there, the kids can only use the pool if one of the next-door-neighbors is home. How much good is that really going to be? Unless the neighbor is outside, they won’t be able to do something during an emergency.

• Stacey takes a job at the Delany’s and wears her bikini because she is watching them in the pool. That seems…unprofessional or something.

• Apparently, Mrs. Pike likes computers and knows a lot about them. Now, remembering this book was published in 1990, how much experience could she really have with them? She hadn’t been working since she had kids (which is 11 years), and they don’t have one in the house.

• So, Mallory comes home from school one day and her dad is on the couch watching TV. And her reaction is, “I hope he wasn’t watching all day. The electricity bill will be too high.”

• What’s the obsession with I Love Lucy? David Michael wants to play “job agency” because he saw it on an episode of I Love Lucy.

“Time to saddle up your horse and head back to the corral”…BSC # 54: Mallory and the Dream Horse

Memory Reaction

The main thing I remember from this one is how Mallory gets invited to a party that a girl in her riding class is having…and she goes all by herself. I would never have had the nerve to go to a party for someone I barely knew, when I didn’t know anyone was going to be there. However, I can’t recall if I was impressed or horrified by her.

Revisited Reaction

Mallory’s love of horses has led to her wanting her own horse to ride. Since, that will never happen to a girl with seven siblings, she settles for the next best thing: riding lessons at some stable near Stoneybrook. Mal and Jessi both ask their parents if they can sign up, but only the Pikes agree.

So, Mallory starts her classes and sees this white Arabian horse that she loves. She also awkwardly tries to make friends with her classmates, but they all blow her off. After her first lesson she calls Jessi all excited about how great they are, but Jessi is jealous so she kind of ignores Mal. This confuses Mallory, because she isn’t smart enough to figure out why her friend wouldn’t want to hear about all the fun she is missing.

After a couple lessons, Mal falls off her horse. But instead of getting back on, like the expression says, she goes home and cries and her parents take her to the doctor. After this, Mal is always really nervous at class, and feels awkward on the horse. She also gets invited to the party of someone in her class, but stands out like a sore thumb and doesn’t talk to anyone. Eventually Mal tells Jessi that she is miserable, Jessi tells Mal why she was mad, and they make up. Then Mallory has to ride in this horse show where she takes 6^th out of 12^th place. Her parents are excited, and offer to pay for more lessons, but Mal admits that she no longer wants to ride. She still totally loves reading about horses though.

Meanwhile, the younger Pike kids are putting on a talent show and recruiting kids from the neighborhood to be in it. It is about as lame as when the BSC does it, only they laugh at it (in a oh, isn’t it cute way).

Also, Nina Marshall suddenly has a “blankie” that she insists on carrying around with her. This makes it hard to make friends at her nursery school, because even little kids can be clique-ey. Finally, it rips apart in the dryer, and Nina freaks out. Fortunately, Dawn gets the wonderful idea to give Nina small pieces of the blanket to stick in her pocket.

High/Lowlights

• If Nina Marshall had always insisted on carrying her blanket with her, why have we never heard about it before? Wouldn’t it have been in the stupid BSC notebook they all have to read?

• Mallory and Jessi make this big deal out of how to ask their parents about riding lessons. Like, they script out what they will say, plan to do chores first, etc.

• Mal is really a crappy friend. She keeps babbling excitedly to Jessi, without even figuring out why Jessi wouldn’t want to hear about it.

• Nina Marshall had her first day at preschool, and Mrs. Marshall tells Jessi that Nina wouldn’t really talk about. But of course, Jessi gets Nina to open up. She’s a baby-sitter and obviously knows more about kids than a parent!

• I hate when they try and compare Jessi being black to stupid things like carrying a blanket around. Kids at preschool are picking on Nina because of her blanket, and Jessi is all, “I know what it is like to be picked on, people do that to me because I’m black.” There is a major difference between kids teasing each other and out and out racism.

• Mallory thinks she will automatically be friends with her classmates at riding school, and they all ignore her. She actually gives her phone number to all these people, and then is surprised they don’t call her. This includes two guys, and I am thinking they thought she was hitting on them and ran away scared.

• Mal’s parents take her to the hospital after she falls off her horse, and call their family doctor to meet them. Even in the eighties, would a family doctor show up at a hospital on a Saturday? The guy shows up in a golf outfit, so it is not like he was working.

• A girl in Mal’s riding class invites everyone to her birthday party, and Mal goes even though she doesn’t really know anyone and the other people in class already know each other. I have to give Mal credit, because I wouldn’t have done that in middle school – but then she stands around by the punch bowl all night, not talking to anyone.

• Mal doesn’t know what to wear, so she opts for conservative: “A brown-and-gold kilt, a matching gold sweater, and penny loafers.” Mal should give up this dream she had of being cool.

• The girl who invited Mal to the party doesn’t even remember her name. That hurts.

• Mal calls Jessi to blab about how “awful” the party was, and you can tell Jessi wants to slap her or something.

• When Jessi finally tells Mal why she is mad, Mallory can’t believe it came across like she was bragging. She usually isn’t that clueless is she? I think I figured it out, even as a kid.

• So, Mal talks about how there are six kids in her riding class for most of the book, which confused me because I remember it ending with her in 6^th place – and Vanessa telling her that meant she was better than half the class and worse than half the class.

• During the show, Mallory does start saying there are twelve people in the class. It makes me feel good to know I wasn’t totally making things up.

• There is this part where Mal says that Charlotte and Becca refused to be part of the talent show after their experience with Little Miss Stoneybrook. But, um, Becca was not in the talent show. Only Charlotte. And why does the BSC keep being surprised about Charlotte and Becca declining to perform in something?

xxx