I've definitely read this before, but it didn't leave a lasting impression on me as a kid, one way or the other. I think I just got it from the library once. It sounds like a really generic BSC plot though, so I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. There are a few bigger books coming up, so this could just be filler in between. Right after this is another super special, then we get one of the heaviest books in the series.
The cover of this one is also pretty blah. I'm not sure what's going on with Logan though. His hair looks terrible, and he has a bizarre expression. He was definitely looking a lot better on the cover of #10. Mary Anne looks about 20 here, despite the pig tails.
The basics:
Mary Anne and Logan are hanging out in her yard, playing with Tigger. Logan's being short tempered and snappy, and she has no idea why. When some neighborhood kids stop in the yard to see Tigger, he leaves abruptly. Soon after, she goes to her BSC meeting, leaving Tigger outside, which she's been doing lately. They have a cat door so he can go inside or out anytime. After the meeting, however, she can't find him anywhere. She searches the house and yard with her dad, but no luck. Tigger never shows up that night.
The next day Mary Anne has to leave to babysit for Kerry and Hunter, Logan's siblings. She's still worried sick about Tigger, but tries to be professional. They tell her Logan is still grouchy. Kerry's acting weird the whole time, being overly helpful and vanishing to her room often. Hunter's allergies are acting up big time, and he's a mess.
When she's done sitting Kristy calls an emergency club meeting so they can all help Mary Anne. Everyone pools their money to offer a reward for Tigger, $30 total. They also make fliers to distribute around town. Mary Anne is touched. Logan, by contrast, couldn't care less. He barely listens to Mary Anne when she tries to talk to him about it. He does go out to help post fliers, but continues to belittle her feelings. Some neighborhood kids even end up coming out to help look. Mary Anne is starting to fear that Tigger's dead somewhere though.
A few days later a letter is left in her mailbox, telling her that if she wants to see Tigger alive again she must bring $100 to a nearby field. At the BSC meeting she shows everyone, and Logan comes up with a plan to leave an envelope of fake money, then hide to catch the kidnapper. He's excited by the idea, although he's still being distant. (When Mary Anne is crying right next to him, he just stares off into space. Then he tells her she's being too sensitive and acting like a girl.) The plan ends up working, but the culprit is just a random kid trying to make money.
Mary Anne sits for Hunter again while Logan and Kerry are at the dentist. His allergies are worse, so he can't go. Right after his family leaves, he tells Mary Anne he knows why his allergies have been so bad, then leads her right to Tigger. He's been in a box in Kerry's closet this whole time. She takes this surprisingly in stride, and tells Mrs. Bruno right when she gets home. Kerry says she found him outside and thought no one was taking care of him. When she later learned he belonged to Mary Anne, she just assumed Mary Anne wasn't caring for him properly and kept him anyway. Logan still has no reaction, so Mary Anne assumes he knew the whole time, and she runs out with Tigger.
The next day she decides to make up with Logan, so she invites him over to talk. He tells her the reason for his moodiness is that he's getting kicked off his baseball team, and he didn't know about Tigger. Mary Anne is immediately sympathetic and forgives him. To top this off, Kerry gets "punished lightly" by her parents for stealing Tigger: she has to wash their cars. Then she will be getting rewarded with her own hairless pet.
Timeline
Late spring, first run through 8th grade
My thoughts:
This was a disappointment after the last few enjoyable books. Probably the most dull book so far, since it was obvious what happened to Tigger from the very beginning. The first time Mary Anne sits for Kerry and Hunter, we are basically hit repeatedly over the head with clues. Going on to then read a whole book of everyone searching for Tigger is beyond dull. Then there's not even any closure, because the little brat who was hiding him gets away with everything! Maybe she didn't know who Tigger was at first, but once she knew he belonged to her brother's girlfriend, of all people, she was deliberately hiding him and lying. Not to mention making her little brother seriously sick. Yet she doesn't even get disciplined for any of it. Instead she's going to get her own pet for "being responsible". That way, she learns that lying and taking someone else's beloved pet is perfectly acceptable. The parents of BSC charges in these books are just unbelievable. Mary Anne really had some restraint, I would have laid into this kid. Also, how did no one in her family catch on? How pathetic. This whole thing really annoyed me.
So far in the series I've been fairly impressed by Mary Anne's character. She's been a lot better than I was expecting. In here though, she has no back bone at all. Logan treats her like crap for the whole book, and she instantly forgives him when he tells her he's getting kicked off his baseball team. So effing what? That is no excuse for anything. He was either ignoring her or belittling her this entire book. Even after Mary Anne says she thinks he knew about Kerry and Tigger, he doesn't call her or try to do anything to explain himself. She calls him to make up, and even makes him cookies! They don't actually discuss anything, or why it was not okay to take his bad feelings out on her. This is a terrible relationship model for little girls. People complain about these books being too feminist because all the professionals are women (since when is that a bad thing??) but this is glaringly going in the opposite direction.
Mary Anne's whole attitude about Tigger annoyed me too. She was crying over him and worrying he was dead, but then Kristy was trying harder to actually ACT and find him than she was! When Kristy calls her at 8:30 to go out and hang fliers, Mary Anne wants to sleep in instead and wait until noon. She figures, what's the difference? Well gee, just like 4 hours that something could happen to him, or someone could see the flier and call you. Who can sleep soundly when their pet is missing anyway? She also later says her "aching legs" are worth it for Tigger. Very generous, since he's her pet, and all of her friends are doing the same amount of work as her.
Misc:
*Mary Anne's dad and Dawn's mom are dating again...although I don't recall the books telling us when or why they stopped.
*It was nice to see 2 BSC members hang out one-on-one again, just being friends (Mary Anne and Dawn). It's been awhile.
*I miss when the storylines started right away. Now almost all of chapter 1 and 2 are backstory, with a tiny bit of set up thrown in. Yawn.
*If Tigger is really as small as he sounds, he shouldn't be outside alone at all yet, or even loose in the whole house. He should be confined to a safe area indoors when he's alone.
*It was nice how the whole BSC came together to help out. I do really like that about them. Now if only Mary Anne appreciated it more...
*Jessi has really nice handwriting for a 6th grader
*Putting the missing fliers in people's mailboxes was a really good idea. I wish I'd thought of that when my dog was missing years ago.
*Announcement from the back of the book that I found interesting: Stacey won America's favorite BSC member, no big surprise there.
Books mentioned:
*Mary Anne's reading A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
*Mallory quotes The House at Pooh Corner, by A. A. Milne
*Becca and Jessi read from Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink and Sounder by William H. Armstrong
*Dawn reads Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag to Suzi Barrett
My rating:
2 stars, this is one to skip without missing anything.
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