Customer Reviews

The Against Taffy Sinclair Club (A Bantam-Skylark Book)

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2 star:		(1)
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In a way, the book reminded me of Judy Blume's book "Blubber." I thought it was so cruel of Jana & her friends to form an "Against Taffy Sinclair" club. Sure Taffy tended to be self-important and snobby, but that doesn't give Jana the right to gang up on her. I can imagine how painful that is for a kid when a clique forms a "club for the purpose of ganging up on her. The BSC would have been horrified at this "club." In the book, the club gets together to badmouth Taffy and write awful things about her in their notebooks. Poor Taffy! I was SO glad when Taffy's mother got hold of Jana's notebook in the end and came over to Jana's place and let Jana really have it! Maybe Ms. Sinclair should have made good on her threat to take it to the principal.

This book was GREAT!! I think it's the best on in the Taffy series- it's sooo funny!!! Mrs. Haynes has a terrific sense of humor and there were numerous places in this book where I just burst out laughing! She really captures a 5th grade girl well. Yup, not right to gang up on someone just because you don't like them, but Jana did know what she did was wrong and EVEN IN THE BOOK she thought about what a horrible person she was and resolved to change for the better. (she and Taffy still get into tiffs in the future though) I don't think Jana comes off mean at all in this book- I feel sorry for her. She's just a little kid without a dad (a very normal problem today)- the parts about her dad and how she feels about him are so-- touching. :*) I think it's stupid Jana and her friends worried about how undeveloped they were compared to Taffy, though- come on! They were only 10 years old. This book makes you hate Taffy's mom- she's a witch! Poor Taffy! No wonder she's the way she is. Kind of weird how NONE of the boys (save Clarence) in her class are mentioned in this book, when they play such a big part in the rest of the Taffy series. Anyway, this book had a lot of embarrassing moments in it for Jana, but it's was VERY well written, VERY realistic, VERY funny, and had a VERY good message. You're crazy if you don't want to read it!!!

Yeah, I can see the mean part in ganging up on someone you're jealous of, but it's not abnormal. There are always enemies in schools, and I don't like how people try to compare the Fab Five with BSC. The BSC girls are NOT perfect on they are immature in their own ways too. Anyway, the book is basically about TEN YEAR OLD Jana starting a club against totally snotty and beautiful Taffy Sinclair. Jana and her friends write down all the snotty things Taffy do, and then it gets into the wrong hands and Jana gets in trouble. No, Taffy and Jana do not solve their differences and still wage war in the 6th grade. But they do make up in the 7th grade! (read Yearbook Memories) I don't think jana is a mean person, though. Maybe you'll think Taffy is misunderstood after reading this book and feel all sorry for her- well, she's no angel.

I am now 26 years old, and for some reason I was thinking today about my experience reading these books as a pre-teen. Maybe I'm being unfair; maybe I need to go back and read them again (not likely to happen). But here's what I remember of them, a good 14 or so years later:
-They hate this girl primarily because she makes a "dramatic entrance" by coming late to class.
-But the REAL reason they hate her is because she has developed (...). I remember a particularly embarrassing episode where Jana, the main character, puts cotton balls down her shirt and they fall out in class.
-A later book, THE TRUTH ABOUT TAFFY SINCLAIR, actually makes you feel sorry for the kid, whose diary is stolen and who has some kind of horrible stage mother.
That's it. One of the characters only wears red and black, I think. So in sum, what I gained from these books was a mild loathing for people with a "signature color" and a major complex when my (...)turned out larger than other girls'.
No, wait. I also remember that one of the girls was a "women's libber" (wow, that dates it!) and had a cat named 'Libber.' I believe this bit was all done in a mildly condescending tone.
For the love of god, don't buy these for your child. If you're a kid, don't read these. Read something by Lois Lowry.