Abby and the Secret Society Part1

[alula_auburn]

Comments

[julietvalcouer]

I have to assume that they used a Jewish kid to talk about exclusivity because going on the reaction to Jessi's family moving in there were no black people in Stoneybrook before that. (I get that a lot of New England suburbs are really really REALLY white, especially in southern New England like MA and CT-heck, I've lived there and I went to college in a town called the Shrine of the Confederacy and there was a LOT less segregating and racial tension in the latter, but Stoneybrook is apparently stuck in the 1950s or something.)

[egadthearchaeo]

I think the BSC run the police in Stoneybrook. It's the only way to explain how their police force is this incompetent. Kristy forces them all to sit on their butts doing nothing (yes, even in the past) so that the BSC can solve all the mysteries in that town and get more publicity for the club. Also, thirty years ago? Really? That would make Sgt Johnson at least 50 if not older, which I thought he was implied to be younger than that. Clearly, math is hard.

[anonymous]

I also hate the "Gee, you're so quiet!" comment. On a personal level, it annoys me to tears when people say that to me. Do they think I'll start talking now, like "Oh, right, I need to do that"?

I'm sorry, but if my kids ever told me they were planning to fix up a country club with very little supervision, etc., etc., I wouldn't let them do it. I realize this is example #135516 of the parents of Stoneybrook being completely stupid, and the writers forgetting they're writing about middle-schoolers and not a bunch of college students. In rereading the series as an adult, I see now that the writers really didn't have a handle on the characters' ages. The characters should have been in mid-high school (sophomore year, maybe?) so they could realistically date and have a bit more freedom.

And the more I reread this series, the more I think it wasn't the story of a group of girls who are entrepreneurs and best friends; it's a series about a bunch of busybodies who have inflated egos and think they can "fix" any problem.

[alula_auburn]

Yup. And a lot of the tasks they get assigned in a really offhand way are not things I would trust middle schoolers to do safely or well. I mean, I went on mission trips in high school where we were a lot more heavily supervised whenever we got within five feet of a hammer and nails.

You'd also think since Stoneybrook seems to be 75% lawyers they might be a little more hip on child labor and workplace safety laws.

[anonymous]

"You'd also think since Stoneybrook seems to be 75% lawyers they might be a little more hip on child labor and workplace safety laws"

And on working for almost pennies an hour. Again, speaking as a parent, I wouldn't want my daughter to agree to work for just a few dollars an hour, and for a few reasons. I'll just say that taking care of children is difficult, especially if they're at that age where you need to constantly supervise and keep them from hurting themselves/each other/you. It bothers me that the parents in SB were willing to exploit the babysitters and pay basically nothing for what is truly a difficult skill.

[wavvedout]

I dont care how low the membership fees are, that will still cross out anyone who simply cannot afford to pay money to belong to a country club, because how low can they really be if the club wants to have nice things and turn a profit? Oh wait, there are no poor people in Stoneybrook, my bad.

I hate the whole "dont go in the maze because, um....I said so!" thing. Its kind of like when the PMRC put together the list of the 15 most filthy songs and every kid in America went and listened to each one. (Side note: I legit LOL'd when I saw that Madonna's "Dress You Up" was on the list to be banned. Wasnt that in a Gap commercial a few years back?)

Also, I am pretty sure the girl on the UK cover is Darlene from "Roseanne".

[alula_auburn]

Seriously, about the fees. It's one of those times where Ann's cluelessness about money shines through.

haha she does look like Darlene!

[wavvedout]

Do you think AMM thought this club could be a sort of glamorous YMCA?

Whenever I see a scenario where it's clear AMM has no concept of money, I always hear Lucille Bluth say "How much could a banana cost? Ten dollars?"

[theamorty]

I will always remember a comment that someone made on here about how Ann was essentially insulting the majority of kids who read her books by implying that shy/quiet = bad.