Friends Forever Special #2: Graduation Day

 

Thoughts before reading:

I can't believe I'm on the very last book! A little over a year, and 200+ books later, I've made it to the finish line, and graduation, at last. I thought I'd feel some accomplishment, but instead I feel strangely sad. 

The basics:

SMS has a tradition where the graduating 8th graders write a letter to themselves at the end of the year, which the school will save and mail to them in 4 years, when they're graduating from high school. (Actually a pretty cool idea.)

The Pike kids are also making a time capsule, which gives Mary Anne the idea to work on a time capsule involving more kids, in all their neighborhoods. They decide they will open it in 7 years, when the oldest of their charges (the 10 year old's like the Pike triplets) are about to leave for college. (This is such a weird thought, since these kids have never aged at all. This book is blowing my mind a little.)

Claudia's planning a BSC only party after graduation. 

Stacey has an overdue library book she doesn't remember, and can't graduate until she turns it in, so she ends up having to buy a new copy. She also helps Claudia study for her math and science finals. She ends up getting a C+ in math and an F in science. She'll still graduate, but will have to retake the class in summer school. (MAYBE this is why she should've been left in 7th grade!)

The time capsule is buried in Mary Anne's backyard. Predictably, they have to dig it up right after to get a stuffed animal out for Claire... she put in her Ba-Ba, who she can't sleep without. 

Dawn arrives back in Stoneybrook (again) for graduation. Sunny isn't mentioned. 

At the BSC party, everyone talks about their friendships, what's changing, and what isn't. They all get caught up reminiscing, and everyone decides to meet up in 12 years for a BSC reunion, and see what everyone's been doing with their lives. 

Timeline:

We've gone back in time to May 31st and then early June.

Misc. thoughts:

*No ghostwriter!

*This book is dedicated to all the BSC readers, which I thought was nice.

*Opens with Kristy talking about returning to SMS to do 8th grade again, because she's not ready for high school... LOL, is this an inside joke? Irony? 

*This is written in diary entries again, like Everything Changes, and similarly hard to summarize as a result. There's not much plot to this anyway, it's mainly just looking back and forward. It does have a real sense of finality though, especially since this is the first time since book #9 or so that time's acknowledged properly again. 

*Apparently this time around, Charlie was unorganized and sent his college apps in too late to get into a really good school. Seems unfair, since he was doing better at this at least one of the other times through.

*Kristy is REALLY afraid of change. I was like this as a kid too, so I actually sympathize with her for once. Her whole first section, where she talks through her normal 8th grade day in detail, for instance? I did this exact same thing in my diary.

*Mary Anne is actually really excited and ready for graduation, which surprised me. She is still obsessing about Logan though, to my disappointment.

*Stacey and Claudia are getting along better, but still don't fully trust each other. It's too bad things end this way, after all this time.

*Jessi is selected to join a dance company that's going on a world tour over the summer.

*Mary Anne puts a chunk of burned wood from the fire at her house in the time capsule, along with a letter about how the fire changed her life, and what growing up in Stoneybrook was like for her.

*Mallory puts in a pamphlet from the Chamber of Commerce (yawn), and a letter about Stoneybrook. She gets really personal there...

*Charlie's going to Boiceville State, 45 minutes away, and will live on campus. Then he wants to transfer to UCLA. It's sad to think of him being gone. 

*Jackie puts a softball in the time capsule. 

*Jessi puts in an article about racial intolerance (ugh, really?). This is a lame, dull time capsule... you're supposed to put in fun things that you can reminisce about later. She also includes a LONG letter about prejudice. 

*The book Stacey owes the library is Ribsy, by Beverly Cleary. 

*Kristy, of course, puts a BSC flier in the time capsule.

*Abby puts in a photo album with pictures of the BSC members, the Pike family, various charges, the Krushers, Bradford Ct, and Claudia's room. Now, she has the right idea.

*Claudia writes a final paper on the topic "Plants: Can They Really Hear Music?" Charlotte did a science project on this same thing, many, many books ago. Claudia finds that music has no effect on plants, and Charlotte found that they did. Claud also gets a D+, which isn't surprising, since Charlotte is only 8 and doing the same work.

*Stacey puts a flier in the time capsule from the BSC's Stars of Tomorrow talent show.

*Dawn puts in ads from the Stoneybrook News. Sigh.

*Dawn also says in her letter that maybe in 7 years she can pay for her own cross-country airfare with her ALLOWANCE?? Uhm, what? Is she not aware that she'll be 20 years old then? How about paying for her own airline tickets with her own paycheck? 

*Stoneybrook is turning 250, and having a birthday celebration. This means the town was founded in 1750, which sounds about right, since Connecticut became a state in 1788. 

*Charlotte puts her school newspaper in the time capsule. The little kids definitely did better than the BSC members at finding things...

*We get to read Charlie's 8th grade letter to himself, which I really liked.

*Emily Bernstein is valedictorian of their class.

*Mal only wants a few kids now. A wise decision, I'd say.

*So it's clearly stated in this book that the girls want to have a reunion in 12 years... why did we never get this reunion book?!

*In the back of this book there's a history of the BSC timeline, and BSC facts.

Books mentioned:

*Ribsy, by Beverly Cleary

My rating:

2.5 stars. I wanted so badly to love this, but it was all over the place, and honestly, a little boring. Still, it made me sad and nostalgic. After working on this project for so long, it's really weird to be done. Definitely feels like the end of something big, all over again. I'm very glad to have fulfilled a childhood dream though!

I also must be crazy, because I'm already nostalgic for the early books, and wanting to revisit them. You'd think spending a year reading and reviewing all these would cure me of my fascination with them, but no such luck.

So, the big question remaining is, what's next? I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now, and I've decided to re-read and review some of the Little Sister books. I'm not going to commit to doing all of them, because there's just so many, and they're such a lower reading level I don't expect to be able to get through almost 150 of them. Instead I'm just going to do the ones I loved as a kid, read over and over, and held onto ever since. It should be a fun way to wrap things up. 

Once that's done, it's going to be onward to a whole new series. :) 

Friends Forever #12: Claudia and the Disaster Date

 

Thoughts before reading:

That's definitely the face I'd be making if I were on a date with Alan Gray.

The basics:

It's summer vacation still, and Claudia has a summer job working at the library with her mom. (What about those labor laws?) Her and Erica Bernstein are working together in the children's room. During one of their shifts, Erica confides that she's going to use the library computers to look for her birth parents. 

Claudia and Alan have been in limbo since the dance, and now they're finally going out on a date to the movies. She's keeping it a secret though, that way if it ends up being terrible no one will give her a hard time about it. He also comes by the library to see her, but accidently makes more work for her when he tries to help her with some books.

There's an old, dated mural in the children's room that Claudia wants to redo, and the children's librarian loves the idea. Mrs. Kishi, the head librarian, isn't so crazy about the idea though, and gets annoyed with Claudia for not asking her first. 

After Kristy gives Claudia a hard time about liking Alan, Claudia starts to find him less funny, and their date is awkward. She can't shake the feeling of being too stiff and formal. Luckily, she confides her problem to Erica, who (rightly) tells her that anyone who would judge her for dating Alan isn't worth listening to. 

Alan catches on that Claudia's trying to keep him secret from her friends, and suggests they go on outings together so they can get to know him better. Everyone agrees to a group mini golf date, although Dawn and Kristy are very reluctant. Alan also invites Cary Retlin and Pete Black, presumably so he won't be the only guy there. Everyone breaks into pairs to play, and Kristy ends up with Alan. She's grouchy about it, but he's really nice to her, even trying to let her win. Once the date is over, Kristy scoffs and declares that he's a wimp. Claudia's only left feeling more uneasy than ever.

Meanwhile, at work, Claudia gets the go-ahead to work on a new mural. She ends up feeling like a wimp herself though, because after a disaster where the children's librarian lets a bunch of kids paint on the mural, which results in a big mess that Mrs. Kishi blames Claudia for, she doesn't want to broach the subject with her at all anymore. Afterwards, her and her mom are barely even speaking. 

Erica asks Claudia to keep a lookout for her at home while she goes through her parents safe to look for any information about her adoption. She finds her birth certificate, with her birth parents names: Alison Stiller and Jonathan Gardener. Claudia tells her she needs to talk to her parents about all this, because it's too big to deal with alone. Her and Claud sit down to tell them together, then Claud slips out as the family begins to talk things over. 

Realizing anew the importance of honesty after this experience, Claudia hugs her own mom when she gets home, and explains that she just saw the mural project as an artist would. She saw the potential for something beautiful, and didn't think of asking for permission. To her surprise, her mom says she understands, because words and books help her make sense of the world, like art does for Claud. 

With the air cleared, Claudia resumes work on the mural, and includes the kids by letting each make a paint handprint on the wall and sign their name to it. 

Claudia also sits down with Alan and tells him to be himself, instead of trying so hard. He tells her that he's afraid to, because then she might not like him. Claudia (wisely) tells him everyone feels that way, and it probably takes your whole life to figure out who you are.

She ends up throwing a big BBQ for all her friends, Alan included. He's back to joking around like normal, and everyone gets along fine. They finally decide to be boyfriend/girlfriend. 

Timeline:

It's summer vacation, July. 

Misc. thoughts:

*This book really stretches credibility with the timeline... apparently nothing at all has happened between Claudia and Alan since the dance, but that was in February, and it's now July! That's 5 months, which is an absolute eternity when you're a teenager. To make any sense this book should have come much sooner. 

*Kristy keeps giving Claudia a hard time about Alan, saying she could ruin her reputation, which was really annoying. Since when does she care about stuff like that, or what others think? Thankfully, the other girls defend Claudia.

*Dawn's still visiting for the summer, and has been attending BSC meetings.

*Stacey, awesomely, reminds Kristy that she went out with Alan once, to a dance. That shuts her up pretty quick.

*Kristy also gets mad at Claudia because Alan calls during a BSC meeting... but it's Claudia's phone and her line!

*Alan Gray's dad makes stupid dad jokes! So fitting.

*Claudia and Alan's relationship in here is a pathetic, jumbled mess. Dating shouldn't be this much work, especially at 13.

*Mrs. Kishi once wanted to be a writer, but she wasn't any good.

*Claudia and her mom do have something big in common! Now that she's learned this, hopefully Claudia will feel less like she's in the wrong family, poor kid. I think she really does have good parents, some of the best in the series.

*Ghostwritten by Nola Thacker.

*Based on those names, it sounds like Erica's birth parents weren't married. Makes sense of course, since they gave her up for adoption, but pretty scandalous for these books nonetheless.

Books mentioned:

*Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell 

*A Baby Sister For Frances, by Russell Hoban

*Fell, by M. E. Kerr

*Find a Stranger, Say Good-bye, by Lois Lowry

*Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson

My rating:

2.5 stars. A little all over the place, but not bad. Even though I don't care for them, I'm glad Claudia and Alan decided to work things out instead of immediately breaking up. 

Friends Forever #11: Welcome Home, Mary Anne

 

Thoughts before reading:

This cover isn't too bad... I'm guessing the two blondes are Dawn and Sunny. I knew Sunny's mom passed away during the CA Diaries series, but I didn't know it was going to be addressed in here also. I'm definitely curious about this one, which is more than I can say for the last few.  

The basics:

Mary Anne's new house is done at last, and her and her family are moving in. She's worried that it won't truly feel like home though. The new house is beautiful, but sure enough, she just can't settle in. Instead she keeps thinking about the old house and the fire. 

A few days after the move, Dawn and Jeff arrive for the summer. Sunny is also coming this time, because her mom has recently passed away, and everyone thinks getting away will be good for her. Mary Anne's nervous about how to treat Sunny, since she's dealing with something so terrible. She's also a little jealous of how close her and Dawn must be after sharing the experience. (Yikes, that's only a tad selfish... probably the way most 13 year old's would think, but it still sounds terrible.)

Right from the start of their visit, Jeff's negative and complaining about everything, especially in regards to the house. Sunny, on the other hand, is cheerful and positive, which Mary Anne is taken aback by. Very quickly, her happy energy starts to exhaust Mary Anne as well. Sunny's in constant motion all day, even cooking and cleaning the house. She also wants to do activities and go on outings endlessly. Dawn tells Mary Anne it's her way of coping, and Mary Anne wants to keep her happy, especially after she accidently made a comment about cancer on the first day, so she goes along with everything, even when she doesn't want to. 

Jeff ends up sobbing to Mary Anne about how much he hates Stoneybrook, everything about it, and how all he did like was his house and his stuff, which are now all gone. She cheers him up by getting the Pike boys to help him with ideas for his new room. The boys end up doing a superhero theme.

Sunny takes it upon herself to help Mary Anne find a new boyfriend, and she invites some boys from the town pool to the movies with them. The date is a dud all around though, so Sunny then decides to try and land Mary Anne an older guy instead. Needless to say, Mary Anne doesn't agree that this is what she needs and isn't thrilled. 

Next, Sunny comes up with a plan for her, Dawn, and Mary Anne to sneak off to NYC alone, for some excitement. Dawn and Mary Anne agree, since it's so important to her, but neither of them thinks it's a good idea. (They do at least tell Stacey, so someone knows where they are, "just in case". Stacey's reaction? She recommends them some good stores, LOL.) 

The day of their big NYC adventure, Mary Anne leaves a note for her parents saying they're going to the pool, and off they go. They reach the city without any trouble, and spend the day roaming around shopping... at least until Mary Anne realizes how late it has gotten on them. They'll have to head back immediately to beat Richard and Sharon returning from work. Sunny tells her to chill out, and refuses to leave. Her and Dawn end up fighting about how Sunny's been acting. Only then do the girls finally head home, in silence. They arrive with only minutes to spare. 

Later that night, Mary Anne hears Sunny crying, and goes in to comfort her. Sunny finally opens up, and they talk about their moms for awhile, then Sunny apologizes for everything. She also decides she needs to return home and face things head on. Everyone's very understanding of her choice to leave early, and Richard and Sharon throw her a goodbye party that also doubles as a housewarming party for them. 

Timeline:

It's late June.

Misc. thoughts:

*Mary Anne's still whining about missing Logan, even though it was her choice to break up, and has been like 9 months now since.

*Jeff is such an entitled brat in here. At least he has another, real home. He was hardly ever at this one, and he never liked or appreciated it until it was gone.

*Ditto for Mary Anne being jealous of everything that happens between Sunny and Dawn. She's even annoyed that it seems like Dawn's told Sunny personal things about her, yet she freely admits Dawn's told her personal details about Sunny's mom's illness and death.

*Finding out a bit about Sunny and her mom was definitely the best part of this book. It was an interesting little glimpse into the CA Diaries.

*I'd think Mary Anne would have nothing but love and compassion for another motherless girl. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. She's at her old, selfish, bratty worst instead.

*Mary Anne thinks a 9th grader is too old for them, dating wise, but aren't they FINALLY going into 9th grade now?

*Also, WTF is with this timeline? It's clearly summer vacation now, but the graduation book is two books away? Nonsensical to the bitter end, I guess. Clearly they had planned on this series going on longer. It must not have been popular, which is no surprise, because these books really weren't any good. Disappointingly, that means the original FF books must have intended to repeat 8th grade endlessly too.

*I have a friend like Sunny, so I could relate to her exhausting everyone else, haha.

*Mary Anne's back to being easily sunburned in this book.

*Mallory only spends summers with her family, but is now away at a two week writing camp? I'm surprised they let her go. What about the free childcare??

*Margo's the only Pike kid who likes vegetables.

*Speaking of, we actually have a sitting job in here too: Mary Anne and Kristy, at the Pikes.

*Logan does still work at the Rosebud, despite the mention of labor laws in the last book.

*What ever happened to Dawn being terrified of NYC?

*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles. 

Books mentioned:

None

My rating:

2.5 stars. This was a little boring, but again, I did like the Sunny storyline. I also liked that the girls did something wrong and didn't get caught... just like real teenagers!

Friends Forever #10: Stacey's Problem

 

Thoughts before reading:

This is the first FF cover that's actually cute. I like that the Stacey model actually looks 13. Her characters in the movie and the old show both looked way older. This is definitely how I picture Stacey, and she even looks similar to the actress that plays her in the Netflix show. 

The basics:

Stacey's been worrying about her mom again lately... Maureen has seemed down and distracted to her. She wants to ask her about what's been bothering her, but doesn't find a good time to do so before leaving for her weekend in NYC. 

Before meeting up with her dad, Stacey hangs out with Ethan a little. She's back to liking him as more than a friend, but they are still not dating because of the distance. They have a nice time, and from there, she heads to the park with Samantha and her dad. The three of them go rollerblading, then they sit Stacey down and announce that they're engaged. To their relief, Stacey's excited by the news... at least until she starts to overthink things. By the end of the night, she's privately worrying about how well she really knows Samantha. 

In the morning though, she feels silly about her fears, especially after they've all sat down to a nice lunch. Ed promises her he'll call and tell Maureen himself, so she won't have to. Of course it doesn't work out that way... right when Stacey gets home, Maureen can tell something's up with her, so she ends up sharing the news. Maureen doesn't say much about it, but shortly afterwards, Stacey hears her crying in her room. She slips in to talk, and Maureen pulls herself together and calls Ed and Samantha to congratulate them. Stacey's proud of her mom for being so classy. 

That evening, Stacey has plans to go to a Welcome Home party for Mallory, but she offers to stay home with her mom instead. (Mal is coming home for summer vacation. I guess this year she starts first instead of last?) Maureen not only insists that she go, but also decides to go out herself. 

Stacey shares her concerns about her mom with Claudia, and the girls have the idea to find a man for her, to cheer her up, using a video dating service. They cook up a plan to get a tape from such a service by lying and saying they need to watch one for a college paper. It works, and the girls invite their friends over to watch it together. They don't agree on any of the men though. (It's basically a tape of various single men introducing themselves. This dating method is a relic of the late 90's, and the only other time I've seen it used in a storyline was an episode of Charmed that I kept picturing while reading this, haha.)

Right after the tape viewing, Stacey finds her mom singing in the kitchen. Maureen tells her she wants to cheer up, and she even has a dinner-dance date with a man from work. Stacey's thrilled, and helps her shop for an outfit, get a mani/pedi, etc. As the date gets closer though, Maureen's good mood fades to extreme nervousness. 

The weekend of the big date is an NYC weekend for Stacey, which she feels guilty about. She keeps calling her mom to check on her, even while out having fun with Samantha and her dad. Stacey even has trouble sleeping, because she's so worried about her mom's date. 

After a sleepless night, the three go out to breakfast, and Stacey runs into Laine. She acts happy to see Stacey, like their big fight never happened. Still, their conversation is awkward and forced, and Stacey knows she'll probably never call her again. 

Running into Laine makes Stacey realizes her feelings about her are probably similar to how her mom feels about her dad: she doesn't want her in her life anymore, but she still has a lot of good memories. Because of those, it's hard to completely let go without being sad. 

Once she gets back to the apartment after breakfast, Stacey calls her mom, who reports that her date was a dud... boring, and they had no connection. Stacey feels terrible and wants to rush home. Samantha offers to drive her back to Stoneybrook. Ed doesn't fully understand, but lets her go.

Back at home, Maureen hasn't fallen apart like Stacey had feared. In fact, she makes them a fancy dinner, then announces she's returning to her maiden name, Spencer. She's also thinking of quitting her job and opening her own clothing shop. 

Timeline:

It's late spring.

Misc. thoughts:

*Raw clams are still alive when they're eaten? That's really disturbing.

*Maureen thought she had food poisoning after having clams at the marina one night with Ed, in the early days of their marriage. She went to the doctor the next day and discovered she was actually pregnant with Stacey. 

*I love that Stacey, Claudia, and Maureen hang out together in this book. I wish the BSC books had had more scenes like this. It's fun to read about, and much more realistic than no one's parents ever being around. 

*Stacey wears face glitter in this book. Sadly, I remember this relic of the late 90's very well. I used to also do this, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever at the time. 

*Stacey says she considers her dad's apartment to be "sort of her second home"... but it literally IS her second home. Kind of a weird remark.

*Stacey eats at a restaurant in the World Trade Center in here, and this book came out in 2000. That's a little eerie. 

*It was nice to see Mal and Jessi again in here, and they get some actual dialogue. 

*Stacey notices that Mallory seems more confident. 

*During the summer Mal wants to take sailing lessons at the community center?! Oh no, that didn't work out so well the last time... (see SS #4). Has she already forgotten?

*Mal also wants to try out computer and tennis classes, but is disappointed that Jessi can't do any. She has ballet classes all summer.

*Claudia's still considering dating Alan, but is worried about what people will think. Stacey suggests she ask Maureen for advice, which I thought was cute.

*This book references Stacey trying to fix her mom up with John Brooke (#124). Good continuity.

*Mal feels left out of things in Stoneybrook after being away, especially at home.

*The girls watching the dating video was a fun scene to read, but also a little strange at times, especially when Mal kept pushing for them to pick the old guy on the tape, saying she'd date him if she was older. Ick. I'm a little worried about her now...

*Stacey tells her mom she downplays how gorgeous she is, and Maureen's really flattered. Based on the cover of #124, however, she's 100% correct. 

*Since when does Stacey have her own cell phone?! She's such an 80's girl to me, this image is just so wrong. 

*Samantha likes caviar omelets? That's not pretentious at all.

*Apparently these days Laine looks "tough", wearing heavy dark blue eyeliner and black nail polish.

*Laine and King have also broken up.

*Samantha's a fashion photographer, and also a workaholic. A match made in heaven!

*Stacey definitely handles having a new stepparent the best out of any of the girls throughout the series. She's pretty mature about it, and very willing to give Samantha a fair chance.

*This book wasn't bad, and I really liked seeing so much of Maureen, but it does feel like a remake of Stacey's Choice. Disappointing, since most of the FF books have felt like remakes. 

*Why does Mallory's school end so early this summer when it ended so late last summer?

*Stacey realizes Mallory has been able to shine and be a leader at Riverbend, something she was unable to do in Stoneybrook as much, with so many talented older friends. (Sounds a little conceited, haha, but I do think she has a point.) 

*Despite the fact that I was glad we got to see so much of Mal in here, she was rather annoying. She mopes the whole book about how things have changed, and she basically expects special attention just because she was away. Then she complains about just wanting to be back at Riverbend. How does she expect her friends and family to feel about that attitude? She's only home for a little while as it is, and she can't appreciate anything about it, like she's too good for her home and family now. 

*Maureen says she can't hire underage help in her store, because it would violate labor laws?! Since when does Stoneybrook have any of those? A few books ago, Logan was still working at the Rosebud Cafe!

*Maureen does agree to sell some of Claudia's designs though, which Claud plans to call Claudia's Funky Petunia Designs, LOL...

*Ghostwritten by Suzanne Weyn.

Books mentioned:

None

My rating:

3 stars. This was a fun book overall, and I always like reading about Stacey and Maureen's relationship. It's still one of my series favorites. 

Friends Forever #9: Kristy and the Kidnapper

 

Thoughts before reading:

This series has been a real let down for me, and this sounds like another mediocre entry. 

The basics:

Kristy and Abby have just gotten into debating (a perfect hobby for them!), and they are going to a conference in DC for 4 days. Shortly after arriving, Kristy sees Terry Hoyt, who briefly lived in Stoneybrook. He's going by the name David Hawthorne, and insists he's not who Kristy thinks he is. (Terry Hoyt was only in Mystery #10 previously, where he dated Stacey and she learned about his family.)

The girls are rooming together with a girl named Melissa (the annoying girl from #97 who latched onto Claudia). Melissa's dating a boy named Lucas, who she met at summer camp. As luck would have it, Lucas is friends with David Hawthorne. Due to this, Kristy sees David frequently but it quickly becomes clear that he's avoiding her for some reason. 

For her first debate, Kristy is (predictably) on a team with David. Their topic is pro: cats are better pets than dogs. Her team ends up winning. 

Since Stacey briefly dated "David" when he was in Stoneybrook, Kristy calls her to ask about him. Stacey sounds strange during the call, and doesn't provide much information, but Kristy doesn't think much of it. 

Later that night, she decides to meet up with her team to practice. On the way, she runs into David. He tells her she needs to leave immediately because he's being followed, so of course she does the opposite and stays with him. Sure enough, a man in dark glasses turns up behind them repeatedly, no matter which direction they go. He ends up cornering them and trying to grab David, while saying his father is going to pay. Kristy finally runs for help, but when they return, David and the man are both nowhere to be found. Everyone runs outside, just in time to see the man trying to push David into a car. The man pushes David down when he sees them coming and flees alone. 

David tells Kristy not to tell the police about what the man said, about making his father pay. He then admits to her that he was in fact Terry Hoyt, and that his dad is in the Secret Service. 

After this incident, Mr. Hawthorne has two SS agents follow Kristy and David everywhere they go. He also has them look through photos to identify the kidnapper. They find a match with a man named Lance Dibdin, a computer hacker, caught by Mr. Hawthorne, and later freed on a technicality. 

Kristy and Abby both make it to the finals in their debates. (They also bicker this entire book, just because they're assigned opposite ends of the debate topic.) 

During one day of the trip, Kristy takes a smaller group trip to a museum. When she returns to the hotel, she finds out David went missing two hours before. Not much later, however, she spots him in the lobby. Turns out, he just gave his agent the slip because he was tired of being followed. After this, his father sticks around to personally watch him. 

At the debate finals, Kristy and Abby end up actually assigned to debate against each other. Predictably, they end up fighting much more than debating. After, Kristy spots Lance Dibdin in the audience. Chaos quickly follows, but Dibdin is caught and arrested. 

Kristy's debate team wins first place. Mr. Hawthorne takes her and Abby to the white house, where he apparently works now. 

Timeline:

Sometime in the spring, March or April.

Misc. thoughts:

*Why does this book even exist? We already know about Terry Hoyt and his father's job from Stacey's POV, and now we have to go through it again just because Kristy doesn't know? Then add to that this terribly ridiculous kidnapping revenge scheme, and this book reads like one of the absolute worst of the mystery books. 

*Lucas and Melissa drive Kristy insane the whole trip by being lovey-dovey, as well as with their constant PDA. 

*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles.

*Kristy and Abby were both so annoying and immature in here, that it only made this terrible plot even worse. They're too old to fight just because they're assigned opposite sides of a topic, especially since Kristy was assigned to a position she doesn't even believe in! She likes dogs much better than cats in reality. More unlikeable, ridiculous behavior. 

*I hate to say it, but this entire series seems like a blatant cash grab to me by this point. They clearly had no ideas for it whatsoever, so the only reason to even try it would have been for the money. 

Books mentioned:

None

My rating:

0 stars. I absolutely HATED this book. It was so boring, painfully dumb, there was zero plot, recycled storylines that weren't interesting the first time... this whole thing was a bad flashback to the mystery series, which I had happily left behind. 

Friends Forever #8: Mary Anne's Revenge

 

Thoughts before reading:

Sounds fairly generic, plot-wise, but maybe Mary Anne will surprise me for once. So far she's a little better in this series, if for no other reason than the fact that she finally dumped Logan!

The basics:

Mary Anne apparently works on the yearbook now, and everyone there has been working on the superlatives feature. Mary Anne starts to feel down because Cokie's giving her a hard time about Logan, and because she's not the "best" or "most" anything. She's just ordinary old Mary Anne. All of this puts her in a bad mood, and she decides to let it show instead of just making nice all the time. (Ha, I love how she sees herself so differently from reality. She always lets her bad moods show, and she makes sure everyone's aware of them and feeling sorry for her.)

This leads to Mary Anne giving Richard attitude when he buys her a headboard for her new bedroom without asking her first, then again when he drags her through model homes. Richard then complains to Sharon about how moody Mary Anne is being, which makes her angrier. 

A rumor starts going around at school that Mary Anne begged Logan to take her back and he said no, because he was in love with another girl. The girls figure out it must have been started by Cokie, and start plotting revenge. (Logan does let Mary Anne know he's been hanging out with Dorianne Wallingford though, so there is some basis for that part.)

When the time comes for the yearbook staff to count the ballots for the superlatives, a lot of them are missing, and the remaining ones have Cokie and her friends winning in every category. They tell the yearbook teacher, who calls for a new vote, then the BSC girls spread the word about what Cokie did all over school.

Shortly after, Mary Anne misses her curfew when she's at Kristy's, and ends up grounded for two weeks. She also mouths off to Richard, basically saying who cares, because it wasn't like she was out drinking and smoking, among other things. This means she'll be missing Cokie's upcoming party, which she really wanted to attend to get her revenge. At some urging from Kristy, she decides to sneak out! (She sneaks right past Richard and Sharon and out the front door too. Pretty ballsy.) 

At the party, Cokie calls Mary Anne pathetic, prompting Mary Anne to finally tell her off. Everyone cheers.

Richard catches Mary Anne sneaking back in, and they start arguing until Sharon steps in to scold them both for lashing out at each other because they're scared. (Richard's being overprotective again because of the fire, Mary Anne's bothered by her nightmares.) The family sits down to talk for hours, with everyone agreeing to be more open. Mary Anne's grounding is reduced to one more day. 

From all this, Mary Anne learns it's ok to get angry and fight back/stand up for herself. 

Timeline:

Doesn't say, but time has been very linear in FF, so it must be March.

Misc. thoughts:

*The "new Mary Anne" says shocking things, such as "duh" and "whatever"! OMG! It was simultaneously hilarious and bizarre to hear a BSC member mouth off to their parents and act like a teenager. By far the best part of this book. I loved snippy Mary Anne.

*Mary Anne also got snippy with Kristy, which was a funny scene because Kristy was completely unbothered and barely noticed. 

*This book mentions one of the Schillaber twins, for the first time in forever. 

*Kristy also encourages Mary Anne to sneak out! I'm loving the fact that everyone actually acts like teenagers now, finally.

*I felt bad for Richard during their whole conflict, not Mary Anne, so I guess this means I'm now officially old, haha. 

*The superlative winners mentioned:

Best Artist: Claudia

Best Athletes: Abby and Logan

Wittiest: Cary and Alan

Most Likely to Succeed: Emily

Most Intelligent: Emily

Most Likely to be President: Kristy

Most Likely to be Seen in Dark Glasses in Beverly Hills: Stacey

No surprises with any of those...

*Ghostwritten by Nola Thacker.

*I hate superlatives on principle. This book also made me wonder if my middle and high schools had a Most Beautiful category like SMS does, because that's pretty fucked up. What a message to send to kids, especially at these insecure ages. 

Books mentioned:

*Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

My rating:

2 stars. Painfully dull plot, but not without its moments. Mary Anne sneaking out was funny, as was her newfound attitude. I definitely enjoyed those scenes, if not much else. 

Friends Forever #7: Claudia Gets Her Guy

 

Thoughts before reading:

Ugh, I'm already so tired of hearing about Jeremy that I don't think I can even stand this book. I don't care if Claudia gets "her guy" or not in the slightest. I hate the way this little douchebag is bouncing between Claudia and Stacey with no idea what he wants, and no concern for the trouble he's caused. He doesn't deserve either of them, and I'm still baffled as to why they're fighting over him. Is it just his good looks? He seems bland and dull, not to mention not very bright. 

The basics:

Mary Anne tells Claudia that Stacey and Jeremy broke up, prompting her to spend all weekend obsessing about him. On Monday, she wears a special outfit to school in an attempt to impress him, but he doesn't even stop to talk to her all day. She's crushed, and as he avoids her all day, she keeps obsessing all the more. 

Claudia and Erica have still been hanging out too, and the girls are now volunteering for a program at SMS where kids with work immigrant families. Claudia's assigned to a family from Japan, the Yashimotos. Along with an adult volunteer, she'll help them with learning English and basic skills, like shopping. 

There's also a Valentine's day dance coming up, and as the school week wears on, Claudia obsesses more and more over asking Jeremy to be her date. She decides to write him a note (not a great idea for her, in my opinion!). Thankfully, she uses spellcheck. After all her careful planning though, she ends up dropping the note into the wrong locker. Horrified, she enlists help from Kristy, who gets Cary Retlin to break into the locker for her. Of course, it turns out to belong to none other than Alan Gray. He gets it open, but the note is gone. 

Alan thinks the note was really for him, because Claudia didn't include Jeremy's name (because she didn't know how to spell it...). He's flattered that she's seen past all the joking and goofy behavior to the real him, and says yes to going to the dance. Claudia can't hurt his feelings, especially when he's being sincere for once, so she agrees to go. Kristy gives her a hard time, but Mary Anne and Stacey understand. (Stacey even says he's kind of cute, probably just to be nice, haha.) 

When Jeremy hears about Claudia and Alan, he's upset. (Wtf right does he have to be angry? He hasn't even spoken a word to Claudia since he broke up with Stacey, and prior to that, he knew she liked him, but went ahead and dated her best friend instead of her, without even talking to her first or letting her down easy. I HATE this guy!) Even when she explains the mix-up with the note to him, he just says it's her problem, then walks off. 

This same day, Alan leaves a huge flower bouquet at Claudia's locker, then surprises her with a romantic lunch in an empty classroom, complete with sprite "champagne", candlesticks, and Burger King. (This is actually a cute scene.) There's even hostess cakes for dessert. Claudia's touched by the gesture. 

Stacey and Claudia end up talking again, apologizing, and agreeing to move on and be friends. Stacey even tells her that Jeremy broke up with her because he liked Claudia. 

Jeremy, however, goes on avoiding Claudia, while Alan showers her with gifts and compliments. Jeremy ends up asking Emily to the dance.

The night of the dance, Claudia's having fun dancing with Alan when Jeremy cuts in. They slow dance together, during which she realizes they have more of a friend vibe, and she'd actually rather be dancing with Alan. There's just no spark at all. (If only she could have realized this sooner!!) Jeremy notices it too, and they both agree to just be friends. Claudia goes to find Alan, and they resume dancing. She feels the fluttery feelings she used to feel with Jeremy, much to her surprise. 

Timeline:

It's February.

Misc. thoughts:

*This book opens with a sitting job for the Rodowskys, a rarity in the FF series. 

*Was Mr. Kishi always an investment banker? I think we were only told his job once, quite awhile ago, so I can't remember if that's right or not.

*Claudia made Mimi's kimono into a blouse. That's a pretty good idea, actually, but I'm surprised her parents let her cut it up.

*At the beginning of this story, it's still the night of Mr. Z's party, so no time has passed between this book and the last. 

*Even though Stacey and Claudia supposedly made up in the last book, Claudia hasn't actually let anything go, and still sounds really angry in her narration. In hers, Stacey had let everything go and wasn't mad at all. 

*Claudia wakes up at 7 am everyday for junior high? She's lucky. My middle and high schools both started classes at 7:20 am. 

*What ever happened to Claudia's 7th grade friends? They were important to her for a brief while, but they've vanished in this new series.

*Claudia eats combos in here! I so remember those and loved them when I was a kid in the 90s. They sound kind of gross now though, like so many childhood snack foods. 

*Claudia has Monet stationary. 

*I had high hopes for the FF books, but I'm not liking them at all, except for some of the changes I've mentioned before (less babysitting, more character focus, more adults around). They are boring, read like fan fiction, and they ruin other things I liked about the BSC books. Worst of all, the characters are like caricatures of their original selves. I don't even like FF Stacey, my favorite character. FF Claudia is pathetic and annoying. Kristy and Mary Anne, however, two characters I really didn't like, are actually a little better in these. 

*Cell phones and internet have entered the BSC-verse with no fanfare, but I still remember Claudia freaking out about getting her first cordless phone. 

*Kristy complains about Alan Gray sticking straws up his nose, yet she did the same thing in Stacey vs. the BSC. 

*When Stacey and Claudia do talk in here, it's weird and awkward. Stacey asks her about Jeremy, but Claudia says she isn't comfortable talking to her about it. They still have a long way to go before having their best friendship back.

*There's an Egyptian temple in the Met? That's awesome, I'd never heard of this before. (Temple of Dendur.) I've since looked into it, and for those into art or history, it's a really interesting story. 

*Alan was really sweet to Claudia in here, and so genuinely happy that someone saw the "real" him, that I almost liked them together. The problem is, he wasn't just a goofy class clown type all this time. Quite often, he was genuinely a bully or a real asshole, and he had quite a mean streak. I can't just forget all that and get behind this. I think he's just thrilled that a girl likes him and is trying to be what she wants.

*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles.

*Claudia decides to learn Japanese after her experience working with the Yashimotos. 

Books mentioned:

None

My rating:

3 stars. This was one of the better FF books so far, mainly because it was 100% different than I expected. I'm thrilled that Jeremy and Claudia never end up dating. He doesn't deserve her, I want him out of the series ASAP, and if they dated her and Stacey would get back their friendship much more slowly. Even if it's Alan Gray, I'm thrilled that this ended up being about her choosing a different guy over Jeremy instead. I didn't see that coming. For once, her poor spelling skills save the day!