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roseatefelicity's review
1.0
I don’t like to not finish books but I’m DNF-ing this book at 12.9% audiobook. Three essays in and I know this book won’t be my cup of tea.
crizzle's review
4.0
This was wonderfully nerdy and profound for a book of essays and art on the lasting legacy of the BSC, written by people from all walks of life ranging from mid-40s to mid-20 year olds. They write on things the BSC books got right and wrong regarding race and colorism, ableism, families, deadbeat dads, adoption, body image, LGBTQ issues (Ann M. Martin is a lesbian?!?) and more… I was so glad to see a full segment covering “Kristy and Mr. Mom” because it put to words all the weird feelings I had when I saw my daughter reading that title in the 21st century. Oooh there was also an article on the handwriting of the BSC and the history of American handwriting that was so so nerdy and soul-soothing.
A couple segments I highlighted:
Maria, a professor of children’s literature (my fave college course!) was recounting her interview for the Rhodes scholarship and was made to feel like being a scholar of children’s literature is insignificant in “fighting the world’s fight”. “Eventually I lost my temper and lashed back against the bias implicit in the idea that something associated with childhood, women’s work, the humanities, and care is necessarily trivial—when in fact these are often the bedrocks on which lives and societies are built.”
“Studying a partially ghostwritten adolescent girls’ series like the Baby-Sitters Club may seem to some like a fun nostalgia trip at best and a waste of time at worst. But analyzing children’s and young adult literature can lay bare the structures that silently shape our everyday interactions and most sacred beliefs.”
“Growing up means a lot of things for the BSC members. It means learning how to stand up for yourself and be independent (a frequent Mary Anne arc). It means being accountable to your responsibilities when you’d rather be painting or reading Nancy Drew novels (Claudia). It means honoring your body’s needs (Stacey). Cultivating sensitivity and patience (Kristy). Facing loss and uncertainty, and learning how to seek support from—and provide support for—family and friends (all of the BSC members).”
While reading this, I had the thought that every BSC reader should write their own story on how it affected our growing years!
A couple segments I highlighted:
Maria, a professor of children’s literature (my fave college course!) was recounting her interview for the Rhodes scholarship and was made to feel like being a scholar of children’s literature is insignificant in “fighting the world’s fight”. “Eventually I lost my temper and lashed back against the bias implicit in the idea that something associated with childhood, women’s work, the humanities, and care is necessarily trivial—when in fact these are often the bedrocks on which lives and societies are built.”
“Studying a partially ghostwritten adolescent girls’ series like the Baby-Sitters Club may seem to some like a fun nostalgia trip at best and a waste of time at worst. But analyzing children’s and young adult literature can lay bare the structures that silently shape our everyday interactions and most sacred beliefs.”
“Growing up means a lot of things for the BSC members. It means learning how to stand up for yourself and be independent (a frequent Mary Anne arc). It means being accountable to your responsibilities when you’d rather be painting or reading Nancy Drew novels (Claudia). It means honoring your body’s needs (Stacey). Cultivating sensitivity and patience (Kristy). Facing loss and uncertainty, and learning how to seek support from—and provide support for—family and friends (all of the BSC members).”
While reading this, I had the thought that every BSC reader should write their own story on how it affected our growing years!
miss_alaina's review
4.0
This was so enjoyable and made me want to re-read the Baby-Sitters Club series. If you enjoy the book Paperback Crush or the podcast Teen Creeps, you'll definitely enjoy this book, too.
choirqueer's review
5.0
Found my people!!
This book impelled me to immediately begin re-reading the BSC series in its entirety.
This book impelled me to immediately begin re-reading the BSC series in its entirety.
heykellyjensen's review
If you love essays and art about The Baby-Sitters Club, this is your catnip. I loved it, and I found myself thinking about so many of the characters and stories in new ways. I was especially taken by "Let's Talk About Jessi" by Yodassa Williams and how Jessi experiences racism in not-subtle ways in Stoneybrook -- as well as how Mallory served as an ally in a way that wasn't seen in books for young readers, even though she's certainly imperfect and stumbles in that role. "Skin the Color of Cocoa" by Jamie Broadeauz was a fascinating look at the inconsistent and incorrect skin tones of Jessi across the book covers of the series. Caolan Madden's "I Am My Own Mom" was a gutpunch to me in a number of unexpected ways: the exploration of deadbeat fatherhood with Kristy's dad and also the ways and means in which the books take caregiving as a series, important job and how that contrasts to today's world of caregiving seen as simply a thing someone else does to free up time for another person's "more important" work. The essays digging into queerness, both as it relates to the characters and to the writers themselves, were so powerful and thought-provoking.
A couple of pieces didn't resonate for me, but this is what an anthology does. Those pieces WILL resonate with other readers and that's why they're there.
It's nostalgic, sure, but it's also critical and thoughtful. The range of authors, queer and of color, is broad and introduced me to tons of new voices I'd not yet experienced. Again: a sign of a great anthology.
My only criticism is in the design. The art is rendered in less-than-ideal ways to FEEL scrapbook-y, but the text itself takes up a lot of space on the page, taking away any intentionality in that design feel. I wish it'd been one or the other: clearer as a book that's meant to be taken like a traditional anthology OR one that let the art take the lead in developing a fun, scrapbook-style (think [b:Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction|40093255|Paperback Crush The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction|Gabrielle Moss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528396262l/40093255._SX50_.jpg|62141050]).
A couple of pieces didn't resonate for me, but this is what an anthology does. Those pieces WILL resonate with other readers and that's why they're there.
It's nostalgic, sure, but it's also critical and thoughtful. The range of authors, queer and of color, is broad and introduced me to tons of new voices I'd not yet experienced. Again: a sign of a great anthology.
My only criticism is in the design. The art is rendered in less-than-ideal ways to FEEL scrapbook-y, but the text itself takes up a lot of space on the page, taking away any intentionality in that design feel. I wish it'd been one or the other: clearer as a book that's meant to be taken like a traditional anthology OR one that let the art take the lead in developing a fun, scrapbook-style (think [b:Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction|40093255|Paperback Crush The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction|Gabrielle Moss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528396262l/40093255._SX50_.jpg|62141050]).
finesilkflower's review
5.0
I have an essay in this book! But that's not the only reason I narcissistically gave it 5 stars - I truly enjoyed so many of the essays here, which, with the benefit of adult hindsight, are both loving and critical of the beloved series. As an adult who has continued to read BSC books from age 7 to present (see: my exhaustive reviews of every single volume here on Goodreads), it's exciting to read from other adults who take the series equally seriously.
Some of my favorites:
Kristen Felicetti's close look at [b:Claudia and the Great Search|302949|Claudia and the Great Search (The Baby-Sitters Club, #33)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1219221148l/302949._SX50_.jpg|2376121], which is one of my favorite books, one that examines family alienation and the long half-life of grief, but which, as Felicetti points out, has some odd things to say about race and adoption.
Haley Moss looks at [b:Kristy and the Secret of Susan|1382964|Kristy and the Secret of Susan (The Baby-Sitters Club, #32)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388254442l/1382964._SX50_.jpg|1781098] and the ways in which is succeeds or fails at portraying autism and speaking up for its autistic character, Susan. (As both Moss and Jami Sailor, who examines the realism of Stacey's diabetes, fascinatingly point out, disability is repeatedly described in the BSC in terms of 'secrets', e.g. ASL is Jessi's 'secret language', wtf is that about?)
Jamie Broadnax talks about colorism and the difference between Jessi's skin tone as described in the books vs. how she is consistently portrayed (as lighter-skinned) in the book covers and TV/film.
I loved the entire section on business in the series: Myriam Gurba's piece, "Kristy's Invisible Hand and Das Baby-sitters Kapital", which talks about economic concepts in the series and in 90s preteen life, might have been written exactly for me. All I ever want to do is talk about economics in terms of the BSC. The Data-Sitters Club explores the use of language in the books using machine learning techniques, which also is a project straight up my alley. Caolan Madden's piece "I Am My Own Mr. Mom" looks at the failed and inadequate dads in the series, gender, parenthood, and caregiving as labor.
Some of the pieces are just fun, like Kelly Blewett's examination of the girls' handwriting and what it says about them, or Buzz Slutzky's visual "guess the hair" quiz.
It's rare to read an anthology where literally every piece was something I wanted to read.
Some of my favorites:
Kristen Felicetti's close look at [b:Claudia and the Great Search|302949|Claudia and the Great Search (The Baby-Sitters Club, #33)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1219221148l/302949._SX50_.jpg|2376121], which is one of my favorite books, one that examines family alienation and the long half-life of grief, but which, as Felicetti points out, has some odd things to say about race and adoption.
Haley Moss looks at [b:Kristy and the Secret of Susan|1382964|Kristy and the Secret of Susan (The Baby-Sitters Club, #32)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388254442l/1382964._SX50_.jpg|1781098] and the ways in which is succeeds or fails at portraying autism and speaking up for its autistic character, Susan. (As both Moss and Jami Sailor, who examines the realism of Stacey's diabetes, fascinatingly point out, disability is repeatedly described in the BSC in terms of 'secrets', e.g. ASL is Jessi's 'secret language', wtf is that about?)
Jamie Broadnax talks about colorism and the difference between Jessi's skin tone as described in the books vs. how she is consistently portrayed (as lighter-skinned) in the book covers and TV/film.
I loved the entire section on business in the series: Myriam Gurba's piece, "Kristy's Invisible Hand and Das Baby-sitters Kapital", which talks about economic concepts in the series and in 90s preteen life, might have been written exactly for me. All I ever want to do is talk about economics in terms of the BSC. The Data-Sitters Club explores the use of language in the books using machine learning techniques, which also is a project straight up my alley. Caolan Madden's piece "I Am My Own Mr. Mom" looks at the failed and inadequate dads in the series, gender, parenthood, and caregiving as labor.
Some of the pieces are just fun, like Kelly Blewett's examination of the girls' handwriting and what it says about them, or Buzz Slutzky's visual "guess the hair" quiz.
It's rare to read an anthology where literally every piece was something I wanted to read.
umcrystal's review
5.0
We are the Baby-Sitters Club was such a fun read that really brought me back to the days when I devoured the books and TV shows and made me think that maybe I need to re-read the stories as an adult. The essays are thoughtful, fun, and show how much this series really impacted our lives.
5/5 Stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Chicago Review Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
5/5 Stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Chicago Review Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.