The Baby Sitters' Club Series

[stargirl]

Yes, and I'm pretty sure at the end of the series her dad was getting remarried.

[iwantquail]

How did it end, how did it end? I think I grew out of it around the time Jessi arrived as well. ITA that they all seemed much older than twelve -- in my mind, they'll always be fifteen-ish, I think.

Does anyone remember one of the BSCers having a (gasp!) revealing bathing suit? It was a bikini, I think, and maybe even a racy one. Special note was made. I feel sure it must have been Dawn or Stacey, the wild-living outsiders.

[polygal]

It was definitely Stacey with the revealing bathing suits. They would make special mention of it when they went to Sea City or California, or any of the other vacations they went on where it was beach weather.

[lyrasilver]

I totally remember that one. And Stacey was all, "My skimpy bikini is totally racy and hot. Mary Anne had a bikini on, too, but she's so flat chested that she barely fills it out." Shut up, Stacey. I think that was the one where she has a crush on the lifeguard who's way too old for her, and her little girl dreams are crushed when she realizes he's just using her to run errands for him during his shift. Mary Anne and Stacey were always going to Sea City with the Pikes, who needed two mother's helpers because they had so many kids.

My favorite book was the super special where they go to Disney World. I always though that when I turned thirteen, I'd be able to go on fun vacations with my friends and find TRUE LUV everywhere I went. Yeah, not so much. Thanks, Ann M. Martin.

[Deleted]

[My favorite book was the super special where they go to Disney World. I always though that when I turned thirteen, I'd be able to go on fun vacations with my friends and find TRUE LUV everywhere I went. Yeah, not so much. Thanks, Ann M. Martin/quote]

Mine was the Summer Camp super special.

Claudia-pothead artist rooming with fellow pothead Dawn-wacky hikjinks ensue.
Kristy-varsity softball star coming to terms with her sexuality
Stacy-still scarred from her parents' divorce becomes a struggling Hooters waitress in NY, while trying to find love
Jessi-after her ballerina dreams are crushed, she shakes her ass to become the best video-ho of them all and finds love with an aspiring gangsta-rap star.
Mary-Anne-gets discovered as a model and dumps deadweight Logan, Begins partying with the Hiltons and possibly Jessi.
Mallory-a nervous breakdown after getting a D on an English paper causes her to go to therapy and finally get some meds. Gets bitch-slapped by Jessi. Or Dawn. Or Kristy. (I never really could stand Mallory)

That made my day. But in all reality Mallory should knocked up by her professor after getting that C-, then get backhanded by the others.

[Deleted]

Quite honestly, Mary Ann's dad drove me nuts. BRAIDS? WTF?

And remember when they got competition from older babysitters, who smoked and let three year olds play in the road? *gasp*

[spinsterliz]

Looking back on it now, Mary Anne's dad was a freak of Papa Joe Simpson porportions. What kind of father forces his teenaged daughter to wear her hair in braids? What a weirdo.

I'm not sure why I even read these books. I never thought they were that great, really. I hated a lot of the characters, particularly Dawn. Why did she have to bring up being from California every second page? The way she whined about being "far away from home," you'd think she was from Russia or something. I bet that made the other gals feel realllly good, always having to listen to Dawn complain that she wished she lived in a different state far away from them. Who'd be friends with someone like that anyway?

The way Stacey's diabetes was treated was ridiculous. They acted like she'd go into shock if she ate one M&M. Diabetes is not like having a severe allergy. Junk food is not going to instantly kill someone who has diabetes. She was a fool to eat rice cakes while her friends ate chocolate. (And, looking back, it was pretty rude of them to do that in front of her, if her sitch was really that dire.)

Confession: I liked Mallory. Yes, the High Geek of Stoneybrook. What can I say? I felt bad for her. Horrid family, ugly, unpopular, stuck with braces, not allowed to wear cool clothes, broke, stuck with only that show-off Jessi to hang out with...the poor girl!

[Deleted]

Well, to be fair, she was only 12 at the time.

Yeah, you'd think that they'd get things like oh, popcorn and doritos for Stacey to eat. And wouldn't Claudia have ants?

[marywebgirl]

Thank you! With all that crap all over her room you'd think she'd be overrun with ants and mice. And Janine (loved her!) did it, too, so their house should have been infested. Didn't Dawn the "neat freak" even mention that once?

[stargirl]

I've always thought that Ann Martin did a pretty decent job with somewhat dimensional characters, considering the constraints of a series where by definition they can't really grow up or move on (the BSC never would've made it intact through the first term of high school).
Certainly better than some other popular girls series at the times--I was really too young to be into Sweet Valley High at the height of its popularity, but I did read its spinoff geared for the preteen set "Sweet Valley Twins;" my friends and I would have these detailed discussions over which twin was more spoiled/annoying--really, it was just that they were so two-dimensional that they were so tightly placed into cookie-cutter character types that made the twins so unappealing (to me anyway). What we always said we liked about the BSC was how realistic the characters were (comparatively!). I could definitely relate to stuff like Claudia getting yelled about her bad grades, Mallory desperately wanting pierced ears, Mary Anne being so shy around cool kids/boys. I could not, however, relate to playing hooky in sixth grade to go to the mall to catch an appearance of a teenage soap star heartthrob (something Jessica did, but of course, all that happened to her was that she was grounded for the weekend, or something. Boo-hoo.)

Anyway, I read that originally the BSC was only supposed to be a four-book series, but due to popularity it continued. I thought they stayed pretty good until #35 or so, when Scholastic started using ghostwriters. But by that time, I'd pretty much outgrown the series.