Thoughts before reading:
I've never read this before, so it's another completely new one. I'm surprised that Kristy is going to allow any pet-sitting though. It will be nice to read about something a little different too.
This is a cute cover, although I'm not sure why there are random kids with Jessi. Also curious if the family really has all these animals, or if it's just random ones thrown in to make an interesting cover?
The basics:
Jessi's ballet school is closed for a week and the Braddocks are on vacation (she's had a steady job sitting for them since #16). She's looking forward to all the free afternoons after school, a rarity for her. This doesn't last long though, because a neighborhood family, the Mancusis, call the BSC needing a pet-sitter for that week. They are going on vacation and had someone lined up already, but he had to cancel. Kristy gets annoyed because they are supposed to be babysitters, but Jessi steps in and offers to take the job.
Only when she goes over to meet the animals does Jessi realize what a big job she's taken on. The Mancusis have 3 dogs, 5 cats, 2 guinea pigs, a bunch of birds, hamsters, turtles, a snake, and 4 rabbits. Despite being very overwhelmed at first, she gets a routine going and the job goes pretty smoothly. The only minor problem is that one of the hamsters is always just laying off to the side alone, and Jessi's worried about it.
There's also drama picking up at the club meetings during this week. Kristy's being really bossy and snappy to everyone, which she admits is because she's tired of Charlie (her older brother) bossing her around. Everyone starts to get understandably tired of it though, and some bickering leads to a lot of complaining about the club offices. The girls are starting to get tired of doing their same assigned roles (VP, treasurer, secretary). Kristy also makes them a checklist that she wants everyone to sign after they read the club notebook each week, and she keeps pinning it up over Claudia's pictures. This is the final straw, and everyone demands new elections. Mallory and Jessi are nervous about voting because they don't want the older girls to be angry with them.
On the Saturday before the voting, Jessi notices that the hamster looks bigger than before. She tries to touch him gently, but he tries to bite her. She gets scared that he must be in pain and calls her mom to take them to the vet. It turns out that the hamster is pregnant, and elections are postponed since Jessi can't make it.
After a lot of worrying and some more bickering, the elections end with everyone being unanimously voted back into their original offices. Kristy apologizes to everyone for being so bossy lately. Jessi takes the girls over to the Mancusis to see the baby hamsters, which are being born when they arrive. Mallory, Jessi, and Jackie Rodowsky all end up getting one of the babies.
Timeline:
Still no indication of the time of year, but this book spans only a week.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed this book actually, even though it was pretty thin on plot. Nothing really happens besides Jessi's routine of taking care of the animals everyday and the BSC fight. It's completely pointless since they all end up agreeing to keep their jobs, so it felt like filler. Even so, it was honestly one of the less stupid club fights so far. It made sense to me that everyone would want to do something new after a year. Mary Anne and Claudia, especially, have to do a lot of extra work that no one else does. Claudia gets a lot of after hours phone calls during her own time, and Mary Anne has to keep track of everyone's appointments and schedules week after week.
Kristy was really was being awful to everyone too, so there was no way everyone wasn't going to get mad at some point. She actually wonders in here if she really is bossy or not! I thought this was already established as common knowledge to everyone, including her? Still, I think she was worse during the other fights. This time she does apologize nicely and offer an explanation.
I did totally call that Kristy was going to be annoyed that someone wanted a pet sitter. The whole problem starts because she thinks the other girls need her permission to accept the job. Kristy's so interested in getting as much business as possible though, I would think she would welcome any client. It seems weird that she would turn down business just for that reason. Besides, people who don't want such young kids as babysitters might hire them as pet-sitters. The whole thing is actually a really good idea for the club.
Misc:
*Does Tigger stay a kitten for the whole series because of the time loop? I can't remember if he's ever described as finally being a cat later on.
*The Mancusis have a totally unrealistic number of animals. There's just no way. It would cost a fortune, take up all of your free time, not to mention how do they get all those different animals to get along?
*You would think Claudia would at least be able to spell the word "babysat" just from reading the club notebook.
*Mal and Jessi are a little old to be so excited about getting a hamster, but it's cute anyway.
Books mentioned:
*Claudia's reading The Clue of the Velvet Mask (Nancy Drew, of course)
My rating:
3 stars. Thin on plot, but a cute book nonetheless.
No comments:
Post a Comment