The Baby Sitters' Club Series

[susyhomewrecker]

I found some of my old BSC books in the attic last week, and read the beginning and end of "Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn." I was appalled by how simplistic and often clunky the writing was. I don't really remember them being that way, and I thought they were a vast improvement over the Little Sister books, which I noticed at a very young age didn't use contractions. I know they're written for kids, but I'm also re-reading the Harry Potter books, and the writing in those is just SO much better! I was disappointed.

[Deleted]

Well, the writing was better than a lot of the kids' series of that time...like Sleepover Friends or Saddle Club (not that I ever really read those), even Sweet Valley Twins (I was too young to get into Sweet Valley High at the height of their popularity).
But the Little Sister books were truly lame. Too bad the Junie b. Jones books came so much later...Ann Martin could've learned some techniques from Barbara Park in trying to write for the same aged audience.

[Mutagen]

Whenever I bring up the BSC in real life (which is admittedly not very often), the first reaction is always: "God, I hated Karen."

[linared]

God who didn't hate Karen. I think the first time I realized what an obnoxious brat she was was in the first super special, when she takes off on the ship and gets a manicure and charge it to her room. And she never gets caught! That is what is so hateful for Karen, she is always doing this horrible things and no punishment.

[ivy]

There are a few "Babysitter's Little Sister" books where Karen gets shit for something she has done. In one book she tattles on everyone for not keeping their New Year's resolutions, and in another she writes "Bring presents!" on her birthday invitations. Both times her family gets pissy at her, which was a nice change. I never liked her much, so I have no idea why I read any books about her, but I did.

Mallory needs to get an award for being the most unfortunate person who ever lived. I mean seriously, that's a big accomplishment. Plus, she deserves an award, after all she's been through.

[Deleted]

My sister and I were nuts for these books but one thing used to make us insane--how many freaking Halloweens/Valentine's/Christmases/school breaks they had all while they were in year 13 of their lives.
We used to try to make it make sense. Like, maybe the books all happen simultaneously since the girls each have their own first person stories?

[ivy]

mrsbowling said:

My sister and I were nuts for these books but one thing used to make us insane--how many freaking Halloweens/Valentine's/Christmases/school breaks they had all while they were in year 13 of their lives.
We used to try to make it make sense. Like, maybe the books all happen simultaneously since the girls each have their own first person stories?

This drove me insane too. Apparently in BSC World, it's summer or Christmas holidays about eighteen times a year.

There is a "Little Sister" book where Karen goes as a cat for Halloween. A bunch of books later and it's Halloween again, with her going as something else (a witch, I think). And get this: Karen actually mentions that "one year I went as a cat for Halloween." I was like, Um, you're in second grade now, and you were in the second grade in the book where you went as a cat, so what the hell happened? I remember being somewhat dumbfounded by the whole thing and telling my mother how stupid it was.

[linared]

I guess that it is why these type of serial books don't work after a while. No one wants to stop the cash cow even though the amount of books crammed into a year stop making sense. And they don't want to screw up the series by making the kids older, cause then it would hard to avoid mentioning edgy topics like sex or drugs would scare readers away. Of course they end up shooting themselves in the foot because the readers eventually clue in to the stupidity.

So I've starting rereading some of my old books. First up was Mary Ann's Makeover. A poster on that BSC site I linked to, said that this book embodies everything that she associates with the BSC. Random bitchiness, bad clothes, inability to accept change and weird formal dances. All of the books where the BSCers turn on each other, this one is the best. You could say that in the books where Claudia and Stacey are excluded, they at least did something to piss off the other members, but poor Mary Anne just got a boy's haircut. What is especially pathetic is that while Dawn may have (lame) reason to be pissed at MA, none of the other BSCers do. But they totally turn on her anyway. And then MA forgives everyone with barely an apology and never feels sad or paranoid that her best friends in the world turned on her inexplicably.

This book also sets up some clunky foreshadowing about how Dawn misses her dad and wants to visit. I hate Sharon so I love that at the end of the series neither of her children want to live with her anymore. And I bet that Richard would have divorced her anyway so I imagine her dying as a shut in, living in one tiny room, while the rest of her house is walled in by misplaced crap.

[Mutagen]

AHAHAHAHAHA. I hated Sharon too. Because I'm a cluttery packrat, but I never did stupid shit like leave my scissors in the butter tray.

[Deleted]

Oh I am so loving that blog with the hilarious recaps.

Something totally came to mind-- I re-read these books in my early 20s, and I had this weird literary crush on Richard Spier. Like the "pent up librarian" sexual archetype, I find the buttoned-up, uptight Richard someone I'd like to go out with and loosen up. I am so ashamed of this. But I would read these and think, dude, call me when M-A goes out to babysit and I'll come over and mess up your hair and loosen your tie. (Pre-Sharon, who I hate because I hate Dawn and she raised her. And the whole, stealing Richard thing.)