#14: Hello, Mallory

Thoughts before reading:

Unpopular opinion time! I actually have always really liked Mallory. We'll see if that changes as an adult now, of course, but as a kid? She was a favorite, right after Stacey and Dawn. I just related to her so much, I couldn't not like her. For the same reason, I read almost all of her books. Like her, I was the oldest child of a large family, and I was always stuck taking care of my younger siblings. My parents also treated me like a baby and wouldn't let me dress how I wanted or wear make up. I loved to read and write, and wanted to be an author. I always felt like the awkward ugly duckling, hating my hair, legs, and pretty much everything in between. I, too, hated boys and gym. You get the idea. Mallory's books made me feel less alone, especially during hard times when I needed them most. I've been looking forward to re-reading them and seeing what I think now.

I definitely read this one as a kid, and I remember liking it. Plot wise, all I can really remember is the really hard test the BSC gives Mallory that almost stops her from joining. Really unfair, since they already asked her to join in the last book. This wasn't an all time favorite though, and I never owned it until now.

The basics:

Mallory is babysitting for two of her seven siblings, Nicky and Claire. Right after her dad gets back home with the triplets in tow, Nicky breaks his finger playing volleyball with Buddy Barrett. The Pike parents rush him to the ER, leaving Mallory in charge of her other six siblings. No other babysitter has ever watched so many of them alone (they always hire two sitters), so Mallory is really proud of herself. She's been invited to a BSC meeting already, to see about joining, and can't wait to tell them.

The next day at school, there's a new girl in Mallory's homeroom. She learns her name is Jessi Ramsey, and her family has just moved to Stoneybrook. People are giving her a hard time because she's black, a rarity in their school. Mallory's interested in her though, having never had a best friend and really wanting one.

That afternoon, Mallory attends her first BSC meeting, and gets a trial job sitting with Claudia. She tells the girls her story about sitting for her siblings, but instead of being impressed, they scold her about Nicky's finger. Kristy decides she has to make her a babysitting test, to be taken at the next meeting.

On her way to the test a few days later, Mallory walks by Jessi's house out of curiosity. She introduces herself to Jessi, who's playing outside with her sister Becca and baby brother Squirt. (Real name John Phillip Ramsey Jr.) Things go well, they have a lot in common, and Jessi also loves kids.

The babysitting test turns out to be impossibly hard. None of the questions are useful or relevant, and the BSC girls didn't even know the answers prior to writing it. They ask things like how to use a tourniquet, and make her draw a picture of the digestive system. Needless to say, she doesn't pass. She also fails her trial sitting job with Claudia over a few clumsy mistakes that Claudia is very hard on her for. Kristy tells Mallory she can only join if she passes another test. Understandably, Mal is very fed up, and she quits instead.

While moping about the BSC at school, Mal runs into Jessi. They get into talking about how they both feel like outsiders, which leads to them deciding to start their own babysitting club, Kids Incorporated. After school they make fliers on a toy printing press, advertising two sitters for the price of one as a gimmick to make up for their young ages. Mrs. Pike hires them right away. 

Dawn's sitting for the Barrett kids when she sees Mal and Jessi sitting for the Pikes, which means the BSC lost out on the job. She also notices a flier for KI on the Barrett's fridge. She tells Kristy, who's furious, of course. During the next KI meeting, Kristy calls them and tells them they're copycats. She won't admit that she was wrong still though, just acting like a bully instead. 

The BSC is still really struggling without Stacey though. They finally realize they were unfair to Mallory and that Nicky's finger was an accident, after thinking about all the past times Mal has really helped them. Kristy calls her again and invites her to join. She does another trial sitting job with Claudia, and passes this time (even though she would have failed before, no doubt. Jamie falls off a swing and cries a little, which would have sent the BSC on a rampage earlier in this book). 

Timeline:

All we know is that it's a few months into the school year.

My thoughts:

This book was a little crazy, because after 13 books of reading from the BSC's various POVs, you see them from the outside looking in...and it's not flattering. They are terrible to Mallory in this book. I know the babysitting test is notoriously outrageous and unfair, but still, yikes. They obviously knew that they had to look up the answers, so what were they thinking? This feels like a case of 8th graders bullying a 6th grader just because they can easily be superior. Mary Anne and Dawn don't say much, but Kristy and Claudia are such bullies in this book. Suddenly they have forgotten about all the mishaps they've had sitting? What about any job with Jackie Rodowsky? Claudia especially is just trying to act big. She can't pass much of any test, and can't even call the digestive system by the right name. Also, Shannon Kilborne? Kristy let her bully into the club without knowing a single thing about her ability.

I really just felt bad for Mallory the whole book. There wasn't anything she could have done in the situation, since the test was so random. More than anything I was just surprised she still wanted to join the BSC by the end. Then again, I remember how amazing 8th graders seem when you're in 6th. Even after everything they did, she was still flattered. I was proud that she refused to join unless they also took Jessi though.

We've also spent 13 books so far hearing about how the Pikes don't set rules for their kids, how they just let them do what they want, etc. Only to now find out they have a ton of rules for Mallory about clothes, makeup, pierced ears, and even glasses? In her eyes, her parents are actually pretty strict and won't let her do much. I guess everyone feels that way at 11, but that doesn't change the fact that these rules exist. So which is it? Are they actually strict behind closed doors or just hard on Mallory for some reason? I had strict parents and rules about clothes and makeup, but even my parents with their tons of rules allowed pierced ears and alternatives to glasses. 

One of the other big storylines in here is Jessi's family not being accepted in Stoneybrook. It says she's the only black kid in the whole 6th grade. No neighbors come to welcome them to the neighborhood, kids tease Jessi and Becca, nobody wants to be their friends, and Jessi's even nervous to join ballet with the white kids. There's even a scene where a neighbor girl wants to play with Becca and gets scolded by her mom. I didn't remember any of this racist stuff, and was really caught off guard by it. Was everyone really this racist in the 80s? Was New England really this white washed at the time? If so, I had no idea.

So far I really liked Mallory and her point of view. Her enthusiasm about joining the club and being included was really sweet, and she still comes across as an average sort of relatable kid. I enjoyed her enthusiasm about books and writing. She was very much the self entertaining oldest child that I was. Her POV came across as really young but trying very hard, which made it endearing. 

Misc:

*I never knew Mr. Pike was a lawyer. He must make really good money to support his huge family on one income. 

*Mallory says all of the Pikes have dark brown hair, but I thought most of them, including her, had red hair? Or am I just remembering wrong?

*Too bad Mal thinks being 11 is "a real trial", since she'll be 11 for decades. Try being an adult with a full time job- that's the real trial. 

*Mal says she guesses she's lucky that she gets paid to watch her own siblings. Yes, you really are. I did it my entire childhood for free.

*Jessi's family moves into Stacey's old house, something I never realized before. 

*Jessi seems intended to be the "funny one", but I think this is forgotten in later books? I remember her being really quiet and serious. 

*Mrs. Perkins has her baby in this book, Laura Elizabeth (they are the family that moved into Kristy's old house next to Mary Anne).

*When Dawn tells Kristy about Kids Incorporated, Kristy's first response? "She doesn't even know the first thing about tourniquets!" LOL, let it go Kristy!

*Even better, when Kristy calls KI to bully Mallory, Mal asks her if she needs a babysitter! Haha, go Mallory! That was awesome.

*There's another book listed in the back that never happened: #32, Claudia and the Mystery of Stoneybrook.

*Did Kristy really think the Pikes would hire her club anymore after how they treated Mallory and wouldn't let her join? That would be really unfair to Mallory since she is usually the second sitter anyway.

Books mentioned:

*Mallory is reading Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers, Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting, and the Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford all at the same time. I enjoyed this detail, since later on she seems to read pretty much only horse books. 

*A Morgan for Melinda by Doris Gates is Mal's favorite horse story. 

*Impossible Charlie by Barbara Morgenroth is Jessi's favorite horse story.

*The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis

*The Lightning Time, by Gregory Maguire

My rating:

4.5 stars, I actually really enjoyed this one.