Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym) is the 59th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series.
Back Cover Summary[]
Mallory has never been a sports person. In fact, you could say gym is her least favorite subject. But now Mal's worst subject has turned into an absolute nightmare. Gym class has gone co-ed!
Mal feels totally gross in her ugly, oversized gym suit. And once the boys find out she can't play volleyball, they decide to make her life miserable.
Mal's always hated gym. But she's beginning to hate boys even more!
Summary[]
Mallory hates gym, but now she hates it even more, since the new game is volleyball. After getting clobbered with a ball and and getting stepped on, Mallory decides it's time to call it quits. She’s not going to play, even if it means detention for her. She talks to Ben Hobart, her boyfriend, and he convinces her to try it again, but the other team keeps targeting the ball at her. So she still does not play. After her mom finds out about her detention, Mallory talks to Ms. Walden, who tells the other team to stop targeting the ball at only Mallory. But now, Mallory must play volleyball. Soon the game changes to archery, and Mallory is happy because she is good at it. She tries out for the team and gets in. Her brothers bake her a cake, and she realizes that boys aren’t so bad after all.
Subplot[]
Mallory and Ben Hobart trades their brothers because Mallory's brothers were getting on her nerves and vice versa.
Characters[]
Mallory's Family
- John Pike
- Dee Pike
- Mallory Pike
- Pike Triplets: Jordan, Adam, Byron
- Vanessa Pike
- Nicky Pike
- Margo Pike
- Claire Pike
BSC Members
Kids
- Johnny, James, and Mathew Hobart
- Kerry and Hunter Bruno (mentioned)
- Jamie and Lucy Newton
- Becca and Squirt Ramsey
- Jackie, Shea, and Archie Rodowsky (mentioned)
- Buddy, Suzi, and Marnie Barrett (mentioned)
- Charlotte Johanssen (mentioned)
- David Michael Thomas, Karen, Andrew, and Emily Michelle Brewer
- Bill Korman (mentioned)
- Norman Hill (mentioned)
Pre-teens
- Ben Hobart
- Helen Gallway—girl in Mallory's gym class
- Chris Brooks, Glen Johnson, Robbie Mara, Tom Harold,Noah Fein—students in the boys gym class
Teenagers
Adults
- Louise Bruno (mentioned)
- Ms. Walden
- Mr. De Young - boys gym teacher
- Cecelia Parker (mentioned)
- Mrs. Newton
- Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey (mentioned)
- Mr. Zizmore
- Mrs. Rodowsky
- Natalie Barrett (mentioned)
- Dr. Johanssen (mentioned)
- Mr. and Mrs. Hobart
Locations[]
- Kishi House
- Pike House
- Newton House
- Hobart House
- Brewer/Thomas House
- Stoneybrook Middle School
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Sesame Street
- Return of the Master Killer
- A Slice of Death
- G.I. Joe
- The Care Bears
- GameBoy and Nintendo
- Operation (board game)
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Jessi's Baby-sitter, where Byron thinks of the Pike lending library.
- Jordan plays the piano, which is first mentioned in Dawn and the Impossible Three.
- Adam talks about his pen-pal from Dawn and the Big Sleepover.
- Mallory's dislike of sports is carried over from Dawn Saves the Planet and Jessi's Gold Medal
Inconsistencies
- Glen went from being Glen Johnson to Glen Brown unless there are two boys named Glen in the same gym class.
- Buddy and Suzi Barrett are said to be seven and four years old, when they were aged up to 8 and 5.
- It's mentioned the Newtons live on Bradford Court as and the Perkins Family's dog runs through the Newtons' yard and then immediately goes into Claudia's yard, however the Perkins lives across the street from Claudia.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
Boy, can I relate to Mallory’s feelings about gym class! Gym was definitely my all-time least favorite subject in school. I hated it in kindergarten and all the way into college. Like Mallory, I wasn’t particularly coordinated, and I could always think of a thousand other things I would rather be doing. But the worst part about gym for me was that, like Mary Anne, I was shy and hated being singled out. In gym class, I felt that everyone was looking at me. I’m glad that I’ll never have to take another gym class. However, I recently took up cross-country skiing, and I do exercise every day. And that’s important.
Trivia[]
- This is one of the few times where Logan Bruno comes to a BSC meeting.
- Mallory makes the archery team at the end of the book.
- Ben Hobart is part of the SMS Express in this book.
- Mallory has never liked gym.
- Squirt is going through his "terrible twos."
- The Rodowsky kids only half painted Bo's doghouse.
- James Hobart loves to exgerrate.
- Jessi sees the bright side of everything according to Mallory.
- Mallory makes the SMS archery team by the end of the book. She notes there is something romantic and adventurous about shooting with a bow and arrow. It appealed to the writer in her.
- Ten kids including Mallory are on the SMS archery team.
- Jessi can’t lie well.
- Mallory’s detention takes place on the same day it’s assigned, and her parents receive written notification of it in the mail. In real life, if a student gets detention, most schools send a note home with the student for a parent or guardian to sign, and the student serves their detention the next day.