bsc #104: abby's twin

A lot of BSC blogs (because, believe it or not, there are more than one--there's a few in my blogroll if you want to check them out for some reason) are into reading the books chronologically. The way I've always read them, however, is to only read season-appropriate books at certain parts of the year; for example, I would only ever read Karen's Ducklings at Easter, and no time other than winter will I ever read Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation. Of course, not all the books take place in obvious seasons. When I decided to pick up Abby's Twin the other day, though, I got lucky--it's all about the BSC trying to host a winter carnival! (In my head, the dollar back in the early 90s was about ten times more valuable than it is today. I know this is patently untrue, but it is the only way all of those carnivals and parties and vacations the baby-sitters can afford make sense.)

I believe I may have mentioned that Abby is my favorite member of the BSC. Why is this? To be honest, I have no idea, since she didn't exist when I was at the peak of my obsession with the BSC (the first time around?), and didn't appear until book #89 (Kristy and the Dirty Diapers, which I have never read and judging from the title could be either hilarious or stupid--or both, as the BSC so often tends to be). She was basically a replacement for Dawn when Dawn went back to California, so I guess a lot of BSC fans don't like her very much for that reason. So while generally I do have opinions that are popular among older BSC fans (e.g. Mallory sucks, Kristy is probably a lesbian, the Pikes are the best, etc.) my love for Abby is actually pretty weird!

And I don't know why that is! She is unique, independent, awesome at everything, way less passive-aggressive than the rest of the club members, and she doesn't get crazy jealous when one of the BSC has--gasp!--other friends. Plus she has curly hair. Call me narcissistic but I think it is awesome when characters have curly hair. AND there will always be Abby's Un-Valentine, which I unfortunately do not currently own, where Abby and Kristy go to the movies on Valentine's Day in a plot twist that is SUSPICIOUSLY ROMANTIC or so I thought when I was thirteen or fourteen (I have not read it since then, but when I do, dear reader, believe me, you will hear of it). Greer of Stoneybrookite wrote about Abby in her blog and gave even more reasons why Abby is A+.

Abby's Twin makes me love Abby even more, just because it shows that Abby, while being AMAZING AT EVERYTHING, sometimes sucks. Like, in a realistic way. It is always great when that happens in children's books, because in some kidlit (and in other books and media) which I could mention but will not because I am gracious or something, the main character is all, like, "Oh, look at me, I am so smart and funny and pretty and independent and great! Don't compare yourselves to me, though, guys, I'm not that great. Sometimes I fall down stairs or say vaguely mean things which are actually just misunderstandings! P.S. don't you love how charming I am? :)"

But Abby has a buffer against being That Person!

Her sense of humor.

Like, I think she's funny, but I watch a lot of children's television and I laugh at poop jokes and my favorite joke doesn't make sense unless you've seen Finding Nemo. And I was just looking through Abby's Twin for proof that she is hilarious and then I found the following exchange, made after the BSC decides that in order to raise money they'll shovel snow for people in the neighborhood:

Kristy suddenly jumped up from her chair. She pointed toward the window with both hands. "There's our answer!" she cried. "Snow!"

"Uh..." I said, raising one eyebrow. "I don't think we can pay for supplies with snowballs. In the desert, maybe, but not in Stoneybrook."

Kristy laughed. "We'll shovel it! And we'll get or sitting charges to help us."

"Great idea!" cried Mallory.

"That is a good idea," I agreed. "You know what they say--there's no business like snow business."

So, yeah. Her sense of humor sucks. Or rocks, depending how you look at it. So... as far as character flaws go, Kristy is bossy, Stacey has diabetes, Claudia can't spell, Dawn is too much of a hippie, Mary Anne is too quiet, Mallory sucks, Jessi likes horrible pranks, and Abby sucks at telling jokes. These books really make you think about the human condition, you know?

To be honest, though, Abby's Twin is a lot about how because Abby thinks that because the way she sees things works so well for her, that she believes that's how it should work for everyone she knows. Obviously, that blows up in her face. I can relate to this a lot, being, unfortunately, one of those people who thinks she knows best, even when I know that I don't. Oh, Abby, how I know your pain... but I have learned from you that things could work out for the best! All you need is a snow-statue contest and a good hill to sled down.