Status Updates From Logan's Story (The Baby-Sit...

I was wrong; there are no lessons about communication. There IS surprisingly thoughtful analysis of how Logan's reacting to the boys' teasing and how he realizes he's been letting it change his behavior, so that saved it for me at the last minute.

Mary Anne also comes off like a pretty good girlfriend here, which is nice. The last couple chapters were much stronger than the rest of the book.

It also sucks for Logan that Shannon refused to fill in because she has schoolwork or drama club or something, while HE has football and is trying out for the track team and gets roped in. Why he doesn't just say no to them is so weird. The book is so episodic, too-- Logan babysits, he gets picked on, repeat. I'm sure we'll all learn lessons about communication by the end, but it'll be a trek there.

Then there's a subplot where Kristy wants to have a booth at this health fair to get new clients.

She says this roughly three pages after telling Logan they HAVE to have him fill in because they've gotten a rush of new clients and are overbooked.

And she wants more new clients.

The fact none of the characters pointed that out is insane.

ALSO the plot itself is irritating because Dawn's gone back to CA because Jeff's appendix burst (yikes-- and this never is mentioned again), so Logan has to fill in. This means he has to skip football practice, and Kristy claims he has to because he has a commitment to the BSC. Whaaat. No, he has a commitment to his school, his team, and his coach, and KRISTY of all people should understand that.

I read this one once about twenty years ago, and I haaaated it. I thought it was mainly because the copy I got from the library smelled weird (and I remember reading it at some fair I didn't enjoy or something), but no, it turns out the main reason is the plot is just tiring. Logan's picked on by guys over gender stereotypes, and the whole thing is REALISTIC, and that's what makes it unpleasant to read.