-This book was one of my favorites! Sooo good for my underdog-loving id as a kid. The honest and hardworking baby-sitting club versus the corrupt sellout kids? The BSC becoming more fire-forged than ever? Bring it! Not to mention heaps and heaps of woobie Stacey.
-So, fun story: as ESL, I was always learning new English words from BSC books, and rereading, I suddenly remembered that for this one it was “competition”, which is what Claudia calls the Baby Sitters Agency. Will probably be finding these all over the rereads, lol.
-I love how Stacey says that Claudia is her best friend but she also doesn’t know what [she] would do without Kristy and Mary Anne, awww. The divides (at first) in the club are also interesting, character-wise: Kristy and Stacey are ferociously protective of the club for different reasons, and so they’re the ones who want to take immediate action against the agency while Claudia and Mary Anne want to wait it out.
-Mary Anne is not very close to her strict father. Hmmm, I feel like at this point, AMM was still feeling out how she should characterize Richard, since he had yet to make an on-page appearance. That said, Mary Anne is one of the first who suggests going to their parents for advice on what to do about the kids being mistreated.
-Haha, does anybody remember Mary Anne’s Atlanta Pig Farm call in Poor Mallory? This was the first thing I thought of when she had her brain wave in calling the agency.
-I don’t remember how dark Stacey’s thoughts got re: her diagnosis. Learning Maureen and Edward couldn’t have kids anymore then wondering what if she’d died and they’d been childless…those are really harsh things to think of, let alone to digest when you’re twelve. : (
- I really like the whole sense we get of families that grew up next door to each other helping each other out. Awwww at the Thomas(-Brewers) having Thanksgiving with the Spiers, and Elizabeth taking Jamie to the office.
-Uh, Charlie, you may not have a thing for Big Brother Parties but you damn well deserved one after Friends Forever #1.
-Mallory went back and forth between charges and babysitters – oh hey, foreshadowing.
-I always assumed Claudia was Jamie’s favorite, but here he cries about Kristy hmmm. I guess because she has the more dominant personality and her absence makes more of an impact. They’re all so great with Jamie here, from giving him a party to all of them giving him gifts.
-CHARLOTTE! :( Becca can’t come soon enough. Childhood bullying is really horrible. And Stacey-Charlotte almost sister feels! Stacey’s pretty great at handling sulky kids- I like how she was honest with Charlotte about money being a good bonus of baby-sitting but she also tells Charlotte how much she sincerely likes baby-sitting for her.
-Also, the way the BSC finally handled the agency was actually rather, ah, professional for 12-year-olds. I like their indecision at first because they didn’t want to ‘rat’ but also how they went to grown-ups for input, because they themselves are just kids after all. And how they all advised the charges to be the one telling their parents.
-So, this book sealed the deal for Stacey being the mature/sophisticated one early on, y/y? Stacey taking charge of what she wants from her treatment is really great, though I reckon a little psychiatry wouldn’t have hurt her after what she went through in NY (it was certainly good for Mary Anne later). And I love how she goes to Dr. Johannsen, how she says it’s MY body to her parents.
-finally, lmao @ Kristy taking the makeovers flyer from Liz and Michelle. Classic Kristy!
no subject
-So, fun story: as ESL, I was always learning new English words from BSC books, and rereading, I suddenly remembered that for this one it was “competition”, which is what Claudia calls the Baby Sitters Agency. Will probably be finding these all over the rereads, lol.
-I love how Stacey says that Claudia is her best friend but she also doesn’t know what [she] would do without Kristy and Mary Anne, awww. The divides (at first) in the club are also interesting, character-wise: Kristy and Stacey are ferociously protective of the club for different reasons, and so they’re the ones who want to take immediate action against the agency while Claudia and Mary Anne want to wait it out.
-Mary Anne is not very close to her strict father.
Hmmm, I feel like at this point, AMM was still feeling out how she should characterize Richard, since he had yet to make an on-page appearance. That said, Mary Anne is one of the first who suggests going to their parents for advice on what to do about the kids being mistreated.
-Haha, does anybody remember Mary Anne’s Atlanta Pig Farm call in Poor Mallory? This was the first thing I thought of when she had her brain wave in calling the agency.
-I don’t remember how dark Stacey’s thoughts got re: her diagnosis. Learning Maureen and Edward couldn’t have kids anymore then wondering what if she’d died and they’d been childless…those are really harsh things to think of, let alone to digest when you’re twelve. : (
- I really like the whole sense we get of families that grew up next door to each other helping each other out. Awwww at the Thomas(-Brewers) having Thanksgiving with the Spiers, and Elizabeth taking Jamie to the office.
-Uh, Charlie, you may not have a thing for Big Brother Parties but you damn well deserved one after Friends Forever #1.
-Mallory went back and forth between charges and babysitters – oh hey, foreshadowing.
-I always assumed Claudia was Jamie’s favorite, but here he cries about Kristy hmmm. I guess because she has the more dominant personality and her absence makes more of an impact. They’re all so great with Jamie here, from giving him a party to all of them giving him gifts.
-CHARLOTTE! :( Becca can’t come soon enough. Childhood bullying is really horrible. And Stacey-Charlotte almost sister feels! Stacey’s pretty great at handling sulky kids- I like how she was honest with Charlotte about money being a good bonus of baby-sitting but she also tells Charlotte how much she sincerely likes baby-sitting for her.
-Also, the way the BSC finally handled the agency was actually rather, ah, professional for 12-year-olds. I like their indecision at first because they didn’t want to ‘rat’ but also how they went to grown-ups for input, because they themselves are just kids after all. And how they all advised the charges to be the one telling their parents.
-So, this book sealed the deal for Stacey being the mature/sophisticated one early on, y/y? Stacey taking charge of what she wants from her treatment is really great, though I reckon a little psychiatry wouldn’t have hurt her after what she went through in NY (it was certainly good for Mary Anne later). And I love how she goes to Dr. Johannsen, how she says it’s MY body to her parents.
-finally, lmao @ Kristy taking the makeovers flyer from Liz and Michelle. Classic Kristy!