#50: Dawn's Big Date

 

Thoughts before reading:

This book is a rarity: one I read as a kid and didn't particularly like. I was around 8-9 when I first read this, so all the dating stuff bored me. Also, since I loved Dawn, I hated her acting different, especially for a boy. I remember also being concerned that dating seemed hard and stressful, and you might have to act different around boys. At one point I had my own copy of this, but it was one of the ones I traded in for new books.

They really set the plot of this up awhile ago. It was way back in Dawn and the Older Boy, #37, that Dawn and Lewis were mentioned. That was also the other book where Dawn changed herself for a boy, and apparently, didn't learn anything.

The basics:

Mary Anne mentions to Dawn that Lewis, Logan's cousin, is coming for a visit soon. (Remember, he and Dawn have been writing to each other for awhile, but have never met.) Dawn promptly begins worrying that he won't like her, based on the fact that no boy has ever liked her before.

It's also New Years time, and the Schafer-Spier family is having a party to celebrate. Dawn and Mary Anne are also inviting the whole BSC over for a sleepover on New Year's Eve. At the sleepover, everyone is talking about boys/crushes, and Dawn starts to feel left out. She feels even worse when everyone but Mal and Jessi call a boy at midnight. Since she's the only older girl without someone to call, she's mortified and feels like she's behind. All of this gets her worrying about Lewis even more. She silently makes a resolution to get a boyfriend and become attractive to boys.

Meanwhile, the BSC has just acquired a new client, the Hill family. They have a nine year old daughter named Sarah, and a seven year old son, Norman. Dawn gets the first job sitting for them. Norman turns out to be very overweight, and the whole time Dawn's there he's sneaking junk food. Sarah constantly nags him about his eating habits, orders him around, and even teases him alongside her friend, Elizabeth. Through them, Dawn learns that the kids at school call him Enormous Hill, information sadly gained when the girls build a snowman and start calling it by that name in front of Norman. He tells Dawn that he's used to being teased all the time, but he likes to eat and doesn't want to change. His parents are apparently always on his case about his weight too, and are sending him to fat camp over the summer unless he loses twenty pounds before then. Dawn feels bad for him, and is upset over the whole situation.

All her worrying about Lewis's visit finally leads to Dawn deciding to make herself over to see if boys will like her more, Lewis being her test case. She's embarrassed to admit her plan to anyone though, because it will shatter her image as an individualist (rightly so...). Mary Anne sees her looking through a fashion magazine however, and is all over the idea of giving Dawn a makeover. Dawn ends up loving her hair and makeup all done up, and sends Lewis a picture. It's not long before Dawn decides she also needs a "cooler" attitude to go with her new, edgier look: less people pleasing, more not caring about anything. She even mouths off in class, which makes the popular kids take notice of her. This encourages her to keep up "Project New Dawn". However, she soon ends up mad at all her BSC friends because she thinks they don't want her to change, when in reality they are just (rightly) concerned.

When Lewis's visit finally arrives, Dawn dresses up in one of her new, edgy outfits and goes with Mary Anne and Logan to meet him at the airport. She's too nervous to talk much though, so she ends up thinking Lewis hates her right off the bat. Now she's even more worked up about the big double date that Mary Anne has planned. Dawn prepares for it by getting even more made up, and reading a bunch of dating tips in magazines. Needless to say, the date is an absolute disaster. Lewis seems nice, but things with him and Dawn are awkward, and Mary Anne makes it way worse by constantly butting in and coaching her. The girls end up fighting when they get home, because Mary Anne has the nerve to be mad that Dawn didn't listen to her enough, and Dawn's angry that she kept interfering. 

Kristy cleverly gets Mary Anne and Dawn to talk again after the fight by calling them repeatedly about Norman's problems, then making them both get on the line to discuss the situation. Dawn realizes her problem is like Norman's: if everyone left her alone, she could handle things better. She decides to see Lewis again, alone. 

Unfortunately the solo date with Lewis doesn't go well either, until Dawn realizes it's too much work trying to be someone she's not. She apologizes to Lewis for the way she's been acting, and he's relieved, telling her that he really liked her before, in the letters. She rushes home to undo her "look", and return to the real Dawn. Then they hang out for real, talking in the barn, then trying out some health food, which Lewis actually ends up liking.

Inspired by her success, Dawn decides to talk to Mary Anne about how badly she made her feel, and for once Mary Anne apologizes. Everyone has one last double date that goes well, and even ends with a first kiss for Dawn and Lewis. They decide to keep writing to each other, and Dawn finally learns that the real her is special, and she should have confidence in that.

Encouraged by the BSC, Norman starts standing up to his sister, which actually makes her begin to treat him better. He also tells his parents how badly they are making him feel about himself, and they agree to ease up. Norman decides to try and lose weight himself before the summer, by pretending he's Stacey and junk food will make him sick. 

Timeline:

The very end of December, then most of January. This one actually follows the timeline continuity of Snowbound, the last book, which is a rarity. It's even mentioned that Jeff is still visiting.

My thoughts:

Well get comfortable, because I really have some opinions on this one!

First of all, I was expecting to be really annoyed by Dawn, but mostly I just felt bad for her in here. Yes, it still really bothers me that she has done this multiple times and not learned from it, but at least she finally does. Who hasn't felt like Dawn in this book? We've all changed parts of ourselves for someone, especially as teenage girls. I've done it and learned the hard way, seen others do it, and had a best friend in high school who did it constantly. At Dawn's age, everyone is still trying to figure out who they are, and trying on different identities. I wish I'd paid more attention to the great messages about being true to yourself that this book has to offer, instead of dismissing it as a story where a girl changes herself for a boy. If I had, it might have stuck with me when I got older and faced similar situations. When I first started reading this, it was really hurting my feminist heart, but when I realized where the story was going, I also realized this is something positive for young girls to read about, and hopefully learn from.

I totally forgot about the Normal Hill storyline until I started re-reading this. Even though I didn't like this book much as a kid, I loved his storyline because I had an unhealthy fixation on weight as a kid. This was because I thought I was fat (I wasn't). This time around, I didn't love the way the "fat" storyline was handled. Being overweight doesn't equal being miserable and sneaking junk food all the time, just like being thin doesn't automatically make you happier. Once again, it comes down to being true to yourself. Problems aside though, it was a good storyline, and my favorite babysitting one so far. It tied perfectly into Dawn's struggle, for starters. He learned the same lessons, even standing up to his family to do it. I think overall it could be helpful for young readers, even if the actual messages about being overweight were outdated. It's my hope we will see Normal again in later books, happier and healthier, no matter what he weighs. I would have liked to see the point made that it's health and happiness that matter, not the number on the scale.

The worst part of this book for me, which will not surprise anyone following this blog, was...Mary Anne! She was at her most annoying in here, butting in way too much, being really critical, and acting like some dating expert. She actually scolds Dawn for not talking to Lewis when they first meet. Really rich coming from her, someone supposed to be shy and sensitive. She was the same way when she first met Logan! Also, once again in here, she's the polar opposite of sensitive and caring. Her constant coaching makes Dawn way more nervous. She also kept saying "Logan already likes me the way I am" to Dawn, until I was wishing Dawn would slap her. Did she do all this makeover stuff to herself when she first met Logan? No. Then on the actual date, Mary Anne was coaching Dawn and correcting her, right in front of Lewis! How could that be anything but an awkward disaster? When they get home from the date, she has the nerve to tell Dawn, "the least you can do is thank me, I tried as hard as I could to make this date a success. It's not my fault you did everything wrong. I did the best I could." (pg 114) Are you fucking kidding me?? Doesn't she think Dawn feels bad enough? She took all Mary Anne's bad advice anyway, and MA has seen firsthand how hard she's tried. I was fuming by this point.

Misc:

*Ghostwritten by Suzanne Weyn

*Dawn's mom still has a New Year's banner from 1979, haha.

*Jessi says she's been sent to bed before midnight every previous New Year's? Seems overly strict to me. Didn't she ever go to a friend's house or a family party before this year?

*The triplets and Jeff hiding in the secret passage during the sleepover to spy on the girls, then teasing them about the boys they like, was hilarious. I love the cute scenes like these between the characters.

*Kristy's New Year's Eve call to Bart? "Happy New Year, Bart-Man!" Followed by her immediately hanging up. LOL, sounds about right!

*Everyone's resolutions, shared during the sleepover. I always love when characters make these:

Kristy: Make the Krushers a winning team

Mary Anne: Be less shy (because it's hard on Logan and she wants him to be happy-gag me!)

Claudia: Do better in school

Mallory: Stop worrying about how she looks in braces (yawn)

Jessi: Do a ballotte, an advances ballet jump

Stacey: Stop wishing she can eat foods she can't have

Dawn: She says she wants to do something more interesting with her hair, but she really wants to get a boyfriend and become more attractive to boys (and I still want to know why she loses her confidence and easy-going nature when boys are involved!)

*If the Hills honestly wanted to help Norman, why were they keeping any junk food in the house that he could get into? Surely the whole family could model healthy eating for him. He's only 7! Plus he's so young he'd have a hard time getting any junk food elsewhere by himself.

*The scene where Dawn mouths off in class was hilarious! The teacher asks her for the two common types of igneous rock, and she answers heavy metal and pop, haha!

*Dawn sassing Kristy in here was also amazing.

*Dawn says she's never chewed gum before, which I found hard to believe. Not even as a little kid?

*Another reason to like Stacey: she's great with Norman, comforting him while also challenging him, and she's the one to encourage him to talk to his parents about his feelings.

*Error on page 118, there's a quotation mark after narration.

*Apparently Mary Anne is really good at bowling?

*I really liked how Richard and Sharon bit their tongues about Dawn's new look and behavior, letting her figure things out for herself.

Books mentioned:

*The Marvel Encyclopedia of Super Heroes

My rating:

4 stars, I actually really liked this book this time around. It has a lot going on.

Super Special #7: Snowbound

 

Thoughts before reading:

I've never read this one before, and I can't drum up much excitement for it either. I really just want to get back to the regular series. By now I've hit the point where sometimes I have to read a few books just to get to the next book in the regular series, which can be frustrating. It tends to make it feel like I'm not making any progress, but I am glad to be finally reading the real continuity order for the first time.

I do like this cover though! The kids shown here, who I'm assuming are Claire and Margo, are so cute! Too often the characters shown on the covers look really strange, so this is a nice change. 

The basics:

When this story opens, the blizzard is already over, and we learn the BSC girls are keeping records of their experiences during the snowstorm in an attempt to get to write an article for the local newspaper. We then go back to before the storm to start finding out what happened to everyone. (Same format as the BSC Island Adventure, basically.)

The Winter Wonderland dance is coming up at SMS, and for the first time all seven BSC members have dates. Even Kristy's excited about it, since she's going with Bart. Everyone has also eagerly been awaiting the first snowfall of the season, which keeps being predicted but not actually happening. In addition to the upcoming dance, everyone has a lot going on during this week. It's almost Christmas, and Dawn is extra excited because Jeff is coming for a visit. Mary Anne and Mallory have an almost 24 hour sitting job for Mal's siblings, from very early morning to 1 AM that same night, so Mary Anne will be staying two nights at the Pikes'. A big snowstorm is predicted on Wednesday, the same day as the job and Jeff coming, but after all the false alarms lately, no one believes it. 

Wednesday afternoon arrives with the weather still clear, so Stacey's mom agrees to drive her to Washington Mall to get a perm for the dance. Kristy invites Bart over that afternoon to watch movies, since the BSC meeting that day is cancelled due to everyone being busy (a first!). Jessi has a part in the Nutcracker at her ballet school, and she has a rehearsal on Wednesday. Quint is coming in from New York for the dance that same day. Dawn and her mom go together to pick Jeff up from the airport. Claudia has a sitting job at the Perkins'. Mr. and Mrs. Pike leave for their trip early Wednesday morning, as planned.

As the afternoon wears on though, the snow hits hard, just as predicted. By the time Jessi's rehearsal ends, it's snowing so hard that no one's parents have been able to make it to the school to pick their kids up. Jessi isn't able to get through to her own parents, and she's extra worried since her dad was also going to pick Quint up at the station on his way to get her. She keeps busy helping the little kids at the school who are scared though, and it's not long before Quint shows up, having walked there from the station. They stay overnight at the dance school, until the next day when the roads clear and parents start arriving.

Dawn and her mom are still on the way to the airport when it starts snowing, and they almost get into several accidents on the way. When they finally arrive, it's only to learn Jeff's flight has been delayed due to the bad weather. It's then re-routed to DC. Dawn and her mom are stuck at the airport all night, until he finally lands around 11 AM on Thursday.

Bart ends up getting snowed in at Kristy's overnight, because the storm is too bad for him to even get home down the street. Kristy's mortified because her little siblings are already embarrassing her in front of him. She even wakes up early on Thursday morning so Bart won't see her right after she's woken up. Then she proceeds to shave her legs for the first time, do her hair, makeup, and dress up. Of course, her brothers have a great time teasing her about it all day.

On the way home from the mall, Stacey's mom is forced to pull over because she can't see at all in the snow. After realizing it's not going to let up anytime soon, she decides to try to make it home anyway, but now the car is stuck in the snow and won't move. They wait in the car, trying to keep warm and decide what to do, but the car runs out of gas and the heater stops working. Since there's also no food for Stacey, the situation is dire. Luckily a man driving by pulls over to help them. He lives nearby and invites them to come stay the night. Out of options, they accept the ride, even though Stacey's terrified of getting murdered (very valid, this is a perfect horror movie set-up...). He turns out to have a wife and a baby at home, and they are very welcoming.

Claudia ends up staying with the Perkins girls overnight, because their parents are also stuck and unable to come home. The power goes out, and she can't find Chewy. Her mom comes over to check on her and help out, but Claudia insists she doesn't need to stay the night. Chewy turns up in the morning, safe and sound. He was just stuck in the basement. 

The Pike parents are also stuck of course, but the kids are mostly unconcerned. Mallory and Mary Anne become worried though, because there isn't enough food in the house for everyone (apparently Mrs. Pike only left enough for the one day?). Thursday morning Logan skies over to the Pike house to bring food for everyone, after Mary Anne calls him to whine about being hungry. That morning Mary Anne also notices that Stacey and her mom still aren't home. The BSC members all begin to call each other and check in, and they realize Stacey and her mom are missing.

Later that day, Stacey finally gets back home. Everyone reunites, the dance is still on, and their article gets published.

Timeline:

It's December, the second snowy season of 8th grade so far. The other was in #41. This book also has the first mentions of Christmas so far during the 8th grade school year.

My thoughts:

This was undeniably over the top and crazy, but it was very entertaining. There was actually a lot to enjoy in here, despite the wacky plot. I really enjoyed the family dynamics, something we rarely get to see. A lot of the BSC parents were actually around for this story, and for once they actually remembered their daughters are only 11-13 and need help from adults sometimes. I liked the way the adults were written also, overall. They actually acted like parents and made mostly decent decisions. It was also nice to just have something different, where we see the characters in totally new situations. The disaster was actually plausible too, compared with getting shipwrecked especially, haha. This actually read like something that could happen. Plus, no babysitting chapters!

By far my favorite aspect of this story was the playful banter between Stacey and her mom. I'm really loving their relationship dynamic now that it's just the two of them most of the time. It was too cute when her mom was teasing her for not dressing warmly enough, and Stacey replies that she only has to get from the car to the mall. Her mom's response? "I'm sure I never acted anything like you when I was 13", jokingly. She also switches Stacey's Tin Can Voices cassette tape for Vivaldi, which Stacey claims is cruelty to children. It's all much funnier in context of course, but trust me, it's a great scene.

Once again, the Pike parents were the worst adults in this book. Now, I don't live where it snows, so I'm no expert, and not familiar with what people do in these situations, but is it normal that everyone left home and made all these plans? Or was it just because no one really believed it would snow at all? With even a prediction of snow, I found it laughable that Mr. and Mrs. Pike would go out of town, and leave their kids with hardly any food in the house. How does this even really happen? Doesn't everyone have stuffed pushed to the backs of shelves or the freezer that never seems to go anywhere? Either way, why risk it? Just do a quick grocery run before leaving your children alone with babysitters too young to drive...

Misc:

*Everyone's dates for the dance are as follows: Claudia with Iri Mitsuhashi, Mal with Ben Hobart, Jessi with Quint Walter, Kristy with Bart Taylor, Dawn with Price Irving, Mary Anne with Logan, and Stacey with Austin Bentley.

*The Ramseys were letting Quint come from NYC for a dance with their sixth grader daughter, and stay with them for a few days? Damn, I bet Aunt Cecelia hit the roof!

*I found it very hard to believe that Mr. Spier would let Mary Anne stay over at Mal's on two school nights in a row, and babysit that long. What about her homework and other responsibilities? He's gotten very lenient. 

*Dawn's mom accidently hit the neighbors' cow mailbox driving in the snow, and cusses in front of her for the first time, LOL

*This was another Super Special that actually had nice illustrations.

*The little Pike kids weren't upset in the slightest that their parents weren't able to get home. This is probably because they hardly see their parents anyway...

*I loved that no one's parents could make it home, but Mary Anne and Mallory still thought they could get pizza delivered...

*Kristy wasn't quite herself in this book, worrying so much about Bart staying over and her appearance. I'd panic too in her situation though. I did like her rant about how girls have to deal with hair and makeup, while boys don't, and how boring/time consuming it is to do all that everyday. That's exactly how I've always felt.

*There was a really long break in Stacey's chapters after her mom accepted the ride from the stranger, to build up tension about what happened to her. If I'd read this as a kid I would have been freaking out.

*Typo on pg 222: "I was pretty sure that a phone call saying Snowbound! was going to be published". Obviously supposed to be "an ARTICLE". 

Books mentioned:

*Katy and the Big Snow, by Virginia Lee Burton

*The Night Before Christmas, by Various

My rating:

4 stars, highly entertaining and something different. 

Mystery #2: Beware, Dawn!

 

Thoughts before reading:

I've never read this one before, and I don't know much of anything about it going in either. It sounds fairly similar to Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls though. Hopefully it has a better twist...also hoping it will be better than the first mystery. I know when I was a kid I liked the mystery books, but not enough that any of them really stood out as favorites. 

This cover brings to mind a Fear Street book more than a BSC one. They were definitely trying to appeal to the fans who liked things spookier with this. 

The basics:

David Michael tells Dawn that the neighborhood kids are having a "best babysitter" contest, and submitting the winner to the newspaper. She immediately starts trying to up her babysitting game and be the perfect sitter. It's not long before the whole BSC knows and starts discussing the contest. They all really want to win, because then they would know much much the kids really like them. Stacey wisely reminds everyone that they need to work together and not get competitive, because then they forget about teamwork and only care about winning, which never leads anywhere good. 

Dawn's sitting for the Hobart boys and witnesses Zach and his friend Mel still teasing them, and she tries to intervene to help. Not long after, she's on another sitting job for Jenny P, and somebody calls but doesn't say anything. Someone then rings the doorbell, but no one is outside when she goes to check. There's just a white envelope on the porch, and inside is a note made of letters cut from magazines. It says "You better watch out, you netter not shout. I'm going to get you. -Mr. X". She's understandably freaked out, but decides not to tell anyone because it might risk her winning the contest. 

The other BSC members start getting harassed by Mr. X too, but no one says anything about it to each other, also because of the contest. Mr. X also leaves dead flowers for Jessi, threatens the Pikes' hamster Frodo, smears baked beans on the porch of Charlotte's house while Claudia's sitting, and leaves a dead mouse on the Pike porch. After all these incidents, the girls finally admit about Mr. X to each other, and it turns out he's bothered everyone but Kristy. Dawn wonders if she could be behind it.

Jamie Newton mentions that Mel Tucker, Zach's friend, has been doing "secret babysitting checks" for the contest. Dawn realizes what this must really mean, and the girls decide to set a trap and catch him in the act. They have Dawn spread the word that she's going to be home alone all night babysitting for her cousin, then the whole BSC hides in her house. It doesn't take long before the girls begin to hear noises coming from the secret passage, and they catch Mel out there trying to scare them. Once caught, he bursts into tears, and they actually end up comforting him.

The girls (generously) realize he's just a troubled boy who needs help, and decide to go easy on him. When asked, he explains his motive for creating Mr. X: they got him in trouble by telling Mrs. Hobart that he was teasing her kids. Even after all this, Mel doesn't get what the big deal about the bullying was. Kristy tries to explain to him that you can't tease people for being different. The BSC tells the Tuckers about what has been going on, and they explain Mel has been having a hard time lately, but they will be taking him to a child psychiatrist. 

The big babysitting contest ends very predictably: in a seven way tie. 

Timeline:

No indications in here.

My thoughts:

Well, this was a definite let down, and didn't do any better as a mystery than the first book. We've never really heard anything about Mel before this book, so this had a really unsatisfying pay off. They would have been better off having Zach be the culprit instead, since we've dealt with him several times. Also, like all the books with a mystery element, Mel was mentioned early in the story, right alongside his motive. Since Mel was harassing the girls while they were babysitting, this was essentially non-stop babysitting chapters, which also made it boring. The contest storyline was even worse, since it was completely pointless in the end. What are the odds that there would be a seven way tie? Why can't these books ever just go the harder, more realistic route and let somebody actually stand out and win something like this? 

The only redeeming factor this book had for me was the ending. I liked how the girls handled Mel. Even though he had genuinely terrified them, they had a lot of empathy and dealt with him maturely. His parents were also really understanding of the seriousness of what was going on, instead of being in denial. Or even worse in these books, sometimes the parents don't even get involved much when something serious happens (Claudia and the Bad Joke, I'm looking at you here...). Not only that, but his parents are actually seeking help for their son, instead of giving him a mild, BSC-verse punishment. There was also a gentle discussion about therapy in here, including its benefits. Kristy told Mel about the "feelings doctor", and how he will be able to help Mel understand why he feels angry or sad, and how to feel better. A truly troubled child who needs serious help has never been addressed before, even though I would argue we have seen a few such kids already. I know kids will just do crazy things sometimes, but I would have really liked to see some other things taken this seriously. Betsy Sobak could use some actual help, and so could Kerry Hunter (see #19 and #25). I'm also tired of how all the kids get away with bullying, so it was nice to know Mel got in trouble for it, even though it wasn't a scene in the book.

I think emotionally troubled kids, bullies or bullied, or kids who deal with depression, anger issues, or difficult life situations could all benefit from this storyline and find some comfort in here. Another very well handled subject, and one I definitely wasn't expecting, even though it was pretty brief. I just wish they had found a more compelling story to use to say these things.

Misc:

*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles

*Mallory and Ben went to the library together, which was big BSC news.

*I did briefly suspect Kristy too, not going to lie, but it doesn't really make any sense that she would do anything to risk her club. Even she isn't that competitive.

*Oh and the reason only Kristy never got harassed? Because she lived too far away, and she mostly sits in her neighborhood. He could have still called her though?

*This is yet another book where Stacey was the most mature one...I know I say that all the time, but that's because it keeps being true.

*A lot of Mel's notes were honestly disturbing, so I think I would have found this scary as a kid. I'm very glad he's getting professional help...I wonder if we will hear anything about him again, and whether or not he's doing better.

Books mentioned:

*Muggie Maggie, by Beverly Cleary

My rating:

2.5 stars, really boring. I did add half a star though, for this addressing a truly troubled child for the first time. 

#49: Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street

 

Thoughts before reading:

This was another of my absolute favorites! I loved Rosie Wilder when I was a kid. We were around the same age, so I related more to her than the older girls, and I wanted to be just like her, so I re-read this constantly. I always dreamed of being the kind of kid who took tons of lessons, went to private school, and had a bunch of talents. I was already a perfectionist, and did well in school, but I always longed to be a genius. (If all this sounds really dorky, it was. I was a kid with a boring life, mostly just stuck at home if I wasn't in school.) Around the time of my BSC obsession, I was also really into playing pretend that I was a book character. I used to read this one, then play a game where I pretended to be Rosie Wilder and followed her schedule. Keep in mind, I had a lot of free time, and I lot of imagination. 

The summary on the back of the book says that Rosie is so annoying even Janine doesn't like her, so I'm very interested to see what I think now. I do really like Janine on this re-read though, so this seems a bit harsh already.

The basics:

Claudia's watching a documentary on Andy Warhol and trying to think of a new art project when the idea for Junk Food Fantasy hits. She decides to work on a series of pop art paintings capturing her favorite junk foods. Excited to have a new project, she immediately sets to work.

The BSC gets a call from a new client, Mrs. Wilder. She needs a sitter three times a week for awhile because her mother has fallen ill and needs her help. Her daughter Rosie is seven, and an only child. Claudia thinks that Mrs. Wilder sounds a bit odd on the phone, but she takes the job.

Rosie turns out to be very smart, taking tons of lessons, and full of talents. She plays the piano, sings, tap dances, does ballet, and acts, as well as doing crossword puzzle competitions at school. Claudia's impressed but a bit intimidated that this seven year old is smarter than she is. She also finds Rosie obnoxious, and quickly comes to dread the sitting jobs with her. Claudia also struggles to help Rosie with her homework, so she enlists Janine to help. 

Stacey also babysits for Rosie on a day that Claudia isn't free, and it also happens to be the day that a tv host named Uncle Dandy is coming over to audition Rosie for his talent show. They ask Stacey to read lines with Rosie, and she winds up mortified because she's nervous and fumbles most of her lines while Rosie does perfectly. Shortly after, Jessi also has an embarrassing time sitting for Rosie, and Rosie tells her she only wants Claudia to babysit her because she likes Claudia the best. 

As the jobs continue, Claudia notices that Rosie never seems happy when she's doing any of her lessons or talents, and she begins to realize she's only doing all these things because she feels like she has to. She actually doesn't like any of them. This is confirmed one day when Rosie is watching Claudia work on her junk food sketches and ends up joining in. Rosie finally confesses to Claudia that drawing is what she really likes to do, but she hides it from her parents. 

Claudia and Mary Anne attend one of Rosie's crossword puzzle contests at her school. Rosie wins, but gets teased by the other kids the whole time and ends up crying. Claudia gives her some good advice about how difficult it is to be different. They return to Rosie's house and enjoy some downtime, drawing and goofing off. The Wilders return home and find them that way, and they are not happy, scolding Rosie for not doing something useful with her time. Rosie blows up at them (finally!) about how she hates her life because she never has any fun, she just works all the time. Claudia tries to help by telling the Wilders how talented Rosie is at art, but they immediately start trying to turn it into a career path, which makes Claudia realize the reason Rosie was hiding it. Her parents would just push her too hard and suck the fun out of it, like they did with everything else. 

Kristy has the idea for Claudia to hold an art show with her junk food painting series, and invite clients, to show kids how much fun art can be. Claudia loves the idea, and invites Rosie to also take part in it. The show goes fairly well, even though Alan Gray crashes it to play stupid jokes. Claudia even sells two of her paintings. Rosie does end up coming too, and she promises that she will stand up to her parents.

On the last day of Claudia's job with Rosie, they just relax and have fun together. Rosie tells her that she talked to her parents and told them that doing too many things was making her hate everything, and she needs more free time. They agreed with her, and Rosie decided to keep doing only math club, violin lessons, and art classes.

Timeline:

During the school year and spans about a month, which is pretty typical.

My thoughts:

This was WAY different than my childhood memory, and the first time that's happened so far. I think the actual point of this book, and Rosie's struggle, somehow went right over my head. This time around, I felt really sorry for her instead of envious. She wasn't a brat at all, just a deeply unhappy kid. This poor girl doesn't get to have any sort of childhood at all. She works at something literally all the time, having absolutely no downtime or time she's allowed to waste. Nobody can live that way, never having any fun. Her schedule is like the equivalent of several full time jobs. She also doesn't fit in with other kids as a result, not that she'd be allowed to spend any time with friends anyway. Her know-it-all persona that drives everyone crazy is just an act. If she didn't take on the persona that her parents expected from her, there's no way she could deal with living that way. I can't even guess at what they were thinking by pushing her that hard. Left unchanged, she was right on track to become a child star with crazy stage parents, then go wild rebelling as a teenager. Maybe this is an insight into why so many child stars get into drugs, partying, and serious trouble really young? Her parents were really the epitome of the type that manage their child's career to the exclusion of everything else. They don't even let her stop for ice cream because it messes up her schedule!

The set up of this book was a lot like Mallory and the Trouble With Twins, except that Rosie was much more likeable and sympathetic to me. Even though I found this book well done overall, it was yet another example of a BSC member swooping in and fixing a family. Those seem to make up about 75% of all babysitting plot books, while also being the least realistic. I'm also very suspicious of how easily the Wilders let go of everything. If they had this whole big fantasy about their daughter being a celebrity, would they really just give up because she told them she was unhappy? It certainly didn't seem like they ever cared about that before.

Misc:

*Ghostwritten by Peter Lerangis

*Claudia thought calculus was a roman emperor, LOL.

*If Janine's IQ was really 196, wouldn't she already be in college at 16, not just taking some college classes? That's essentially the same as the AP class set up most high schools have, and plenty of students can succeed at those just by working hard. Plus, 196 is ridiculously high.

*I liked how Claudia defended her Nancy Drew reading in here: "To me, reading is kind of like food. You can't eat filet mignon all the time. It's nice to have some ice cream and cake. Nancy Drew mysteries are my ice cream and cake." (pg 6) So true, Claud.

*Janine going to the Wilder's to help Rosie with her homework? Yet another example proving that Janine is actually a really good sister.

*Claudia's whole issue in this book is that she's really just jealous of Rosie, which also made me sad for Rosie. She clearly has this problem in most of her relationships, and all the things about her that make others jealous are things she hates, or didn't choose.

*While Janine and Rosie are working on her science homework, Claudia says she "felt about as useful as an oar on a speedboat", LOL.

*Stacey had the most compassion for Rosie, telling Claudia that conceited people are actually really insecure. Yet another reason that Stacey is awesome.

*Rosie's scene for Uncle Dandy was from a soap opera called "The Brash and the Beautiful", which I thought was also funny.

*Claudia ends up calling her exhibit "Claudia Lynn Kishi's Disposable Comestibles, a pop-art multi-media extravaganza". Quite a mouthful! Janine accidently gave her the idea.

*The two paintings Claudia sells go to Ms. Besser (remember her?) and Watson Brewer.

Books mentioned:

*Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens

*The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis

My rating:

4 stars, best babysitting plot yet. That's a real compliment too, since I hate the ones where the girls magically fix a family they just met.

#48: Jessi's Wish

 

Thoughts before reading:

I've never read this before, or even heard about there being a childhood cancer storyline. Sounds like this is going to be a rough read, even toned down for kids. I wasn't expecting the BSC to go this dark or heavy; I've only heard about #117 in that regard. (That's the infamous child abuse book.) Let's just hope it's well done, and not dramatic sick kid lit like Lurlene McDaniel fare. 

It sounds like this book was dedicated to a real little girl named Danielle who had cancer. My heart is already breaking...

The basics:

Jessi's little sister Becca has joined a club at SES called Kids Can Do Anything, that comes up with projects to help others. She comes home from a meeting upset one day because she's heard that a nine year old girl named Danielle, who used to be in the club, has leukemia. The club also might be disbanded because one of the supervising teachers has to drop out indefinitely. Jessi feels bad for her sister, and all of this gets her thinking.

At the next BSC meeting, Jessi brings the Kids Club up to everyone, as well as her idea to stand in for the teacher who's leaving. She also thinks the whole club should take some time off from sitting for the next month or so, and instead do volunteer work. To her surprise, everyone loves the idea and immediately starts planning projects. It's decided that the BSC will still run the same way, except club meetings will be optional during the volunteer projects, and Logan and Shannon will help out much more. 

Jessi immediately loves working with the Kids Club, and finds the kids inspirational. She also enjoys seeing her sister in her element. On her third club meeting, Danielle shows up. She tells the other kids about her cancer, mostly to put them at ease around her. The club then works on writing pen pal letters to other kids who are in the hospital. Jessi decides to take that time to talk with Danielle, who tells her about how she makes wishes on the North Star. Her wishes are to go to Disney World and graduate from 5th grade. Jessi's really touched by her bravery, and makes her own wish for Danielle to get well. She shares Danielle's story with the BSC, and puts Danielle's family in touch with Your Wish Is My Command (the BSC-verse version of Make A Wish). 

Danielle's wish to visit Disney World is granted by the foundation, who gives her family a three day trip there. She has an amazing time, and tells Jessi she will never forget what she did for her. Unfortunately, shortly after returning home, Danielle ends up back in the hospital. It isn't made clear what's wrong, but Danielle writes Jessi to tell her she still feels hopeful.

Timeline:

Spans the pretty typical month that most books do, and is obviously during the school year.

My thoughts:

This was a sweet, well done story. It wasn't dramatic or overdone sick kid lit, like I had worried it might be. Instead it was definitely set up in a way to educate kids about cancer, but without scaring them. It provides a nice lesson about those who are different, and an even better, inspirational message about giving to others. The way this book was set up, using the Kids Club to introduce Danielle, her story, and projects for giving to others, was perfect for teaching young readers about empathy, giving, generosity, gratitude, and volunteer work. I really wish I had read this as a child. I definitely think it would have impacted me, and possibly even kept me away from those Lurlene McDaniel books when I got older. There's really nothing bad you can say about this book, and it definitely carries on in the same vein as Jessi's Secret Language. 

I wasn't expecting Danielle to end up back in the hospital at the end though. Even though we aren't really told why, this is a darker ending than expected from a BSC book. Especially one centered around wishes and hope.

Misc:

*This book opens right into backstory, which was brutal.

*For those interested, and those like me who enjoy lists, here's everyone's volunteer projects:

                *Kristy- working at a daycare center, with the babies

                *Jessi- trial run with the Kids Club

                *Dawn- helping at a program for kids who are physically disabled

                *Stacey- mentoring kids at a diabetes clinic, who are younger and newly diagnosed 

                *Claudia- teaching art to children at the community center

                *Mary Anne- working with a little boy who has brain damage

                *Mallory- helping out with a rec program at the park

*Jessi collects ceramic horses and still has her stuffed animals

*Instead of babysitting chapters, this book has chapters about everyone's volunteer work, which I enjoyed much more.

Books mentioned:

*Brighty of the Grand Canyon, by Marguerite Henry

*The Green Knowe books, by L. M. Boston

*Tom's Midnight Garden, by Philippa Pearce

*Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien

*Ask Mr. Bear, by Marjorie Flack

*Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry

My rating:

4 stars, very sweet, touching, and well handled. 

#47: Mallory on Strike

 

Thoughts before reading:

This is another one that I read and loved as a kid. I really related to Mallory's exact problems in here. I was constantly watching my four younger siblings growing up, almost every day, and just like Mal, I was constantly asked to help out and do extra things. Nothing wrong with that per se, but it was so frequent that it did interfere with schoolwork as I got older, as well as extra curriculars and friend time. Unlike Mallory though, I could never have refused or gone on strike. This story was a delicious fantasy to me back in my older BSC reading years...maybe when I was around 10.

Plus it's just about time someone gets tired of babysitting. It wouldn't make sense if no one ever did. Childcare is a weird enough passion for seven middle school girls to all share, especially without ever wanting a break to do other things. They can't babysit so much all the time. We'll see this again later when Stacey quits the BSC for awhile (something I always fully understood and supported).

The basics:

SMS is now having a Young Author's Day, and Mallory is dreaming about entering a short story and winning a prize. She has everything all planned out so she can spend lots of time working on her entry: she'll get all her homework for the weekend done before the Friday BSC meeting, then spend the rest of the weekend writing. Her careful planning is ruined the minute she walks in the door of her house though. Everything is complete chaos, and after dealing with calamity after calamity (Nicky lets Frodo loose, the triplets scare Claire, Margo gets into makeup), she gets no work done at all.

Saturday morning Mallory gets up at 7 am instead of sleeping in, and gets all her homework done before anyone else wakes up. She's proud of herself, and thrilled to now have all day to write her story, but all day long her parents constantly interrupt her to babysit or help out with the kids. She ends up doing chores all day and writing nothing. This remains a pattern, and to make things even worse, she gets scolded by the teacher at her next writing class for having so little of her story done. 

Mallory buckles down and becomes more determined, making herself a strict daily schedule for the next few weeks. Yet she is still unable to get any work done until the next Friday, when she ends up getting in a state of creative flow and is late to the BSC meeting. Kristy's mad, which understandably makes Mal mad, so she refuses to apologize. She also turns down several jobs, explaining about her short story problems. Kristy still isn't understanding, and this gets even worse after Buddy Barrett gets hurt while Mallory's babysitting him. He gets hurt riding his bike barefoot, and Mal didn't notice he wasn't wearing shoes because she was busy cleaning up a huge flour mess the kids had made inside. 

Claire and Margo complain to Jessi when she's babysitting them that Mallory is mean and never has time for them. They then do a ballet called "Mean Old Mallory", which Jessi finds funny. When Mal finds out, she's obviously upset. All she wanted was some time for herself. She ends up deciding to ask to be demoted to an associate member of the BSC, or else she'll have to quit. Everyone is shocked, telling her to think it over and they'll cover for her. She refuses, so Kristy tells her to take two weeks off, then decide for sure.

With one week left to go before Young Author's Day, Mallory goes on strike. She wears a big sign announcing such to her family, and refuses to deal with anything. It sadly takes this move for her family to finally leave her in peace. She ends up working on her story all day, and getting a ton of it done. Mary Anne advises her to talk to her parents instead of striking though, if she wants real change. Mal does, pouring her heart out to them. Her parents apologize, and promise to do better. They take her and Jessi to the mall the next day as a special treat, no siblings included. Mal has fun, but misses her siblings, who all also love the mall.

Mallory ends up winning Best Overall Fiction For Sixth Grade, the prize she most wanted. Her and Jessi plan a special day for her siblings, with a treasure hunt around town. Mal rejoins the BSC. Her parents come up with a fair plan, telling her when she needs private work time she can use the desk in their bedroom and hang a Do Not Disturb sign.

Timeline:

During the school year? I have nothing else on this one...

My thoughts:

I still really related to this book, and it reminded me of some angst and problems I had growing up. The chaotic sibling scene in chapter one depicted pretty accurately what my whole childhood was like. I even longed to be a writer like Mal back then, but often struggled to even get enough quiet to do my basic schoolwork. I also wished to be an only child, like she does in this book.

This story made me like the Pike parents even less. Between the two of them, they couldn't deal with their own kids and give Mal a little break until she went on strike? They are two grown adults, who chose to have so many children. Mallory didn't chose the family she was born into. Again, my parents were this exact same way, and that's why this annoys me so much to this day. It's not fair to Mal at all, she's also a kid and deserves a childhood. She even explains to her parents about the story contest and they still don't care. They should be proud that she's ambitious and does well in school. Besides this, why can't any of the other kids do any work? These people have three ten year old's! That's only a year younger than Mal. Why aren't they being asked to do some of these chores and help with the younger kids? That'd be a lot of extra hands. You can bet Mal was helping out with all of this much younger than ten.

To top off all of this terrible parenting, the Pikes can't even deal with their other kids alone for the one day Mallory goes on strike! They end up calling over two BSC sitters at the last minute and going to a library board meeting! These people are really too much, WHY did they have so many kids??

Kristy also could have been way more understanding in here, and I've heard this gets worse as the series goes on. If Mal is late once in awhile, or too busy for jobs, that's just life. School is way more important than babysitting. Everyone else was really understanding once Mal explained what was going on, wanting to help her and encouraging her not to just quit. 

Misc:

*Ghostwritten by Johanna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner

*Young Author's Day? Isn't this awfully close to Author's Day, which only just happened in #46? You'd think they would spread these two ideas apart more.

*Jessi's studying French in the sixth grade? That's impressive.

*Mal felt awkward the first time she turned down a sitting job, because she was "free" and everyone else was surprised by it. I didn't get why she didn't just tell them about her story then. Other members have needed extra time for school before.

*I used to make a schedule of my days all the time (yes, I was weird), but I had no idea where I got it from until re-reading this now! One of the best parts of doing childhood book re-reads is piecing together where little parts of yourself came from like this.

*I loved that this book addressed babysitting burnout, especially when it comes to watching siblings. 

*Watson ordered Kristy to babysit without notice when his friend ended up in the hospital suddenly. Not unreasonable in an emergency, but he says Nanny can't do it because she's bowling?? Uhm if it's an emergency, who cares about bowling? Isn't this sort of thing why she moved in?

*Mallory's story is called "Caught in the Middle", about a girl named Tess who's the middle child and feels left out of her family.

*By the end of this book, Mal sums everything up with: "Not being forced to take care of my brothers and sisters made me appreciate them so much more." (pg 143). So true, and so sad her parents don't get this.

Books mentioned:

None

My rating:

4 stars, really enjoyed reading this, and it had realistic topics actually useful to kids.

Mystery #1: Stacey and the Missing Ring

 

Thoughts before reading:

I read and enjoyed this when I was a kid, and I think I owned it at one point, because the cover looks really familiar. Growing up, my family didn't have a lot of money, especially for things like books. Since I tore through books like crazy, my parents would take me to a used bookstore nearby where we lived, and there I could get my fix of BSC and other series for pretty cheap. After taking a stack home, I would fly through them, then keep only my favorites. The rest I would trade back to the store for new books to read. That's why I don't remember for sure which books I owned for just awhile, and also why my collection of ones left from childhood is pretty small, despite my intense love for these books. Holding on to a book I liked back then often meant doing without new reading material. 

I don't remember having any special fondness for the mystery books, but I read plenty of them. The mysteries are so tame anyway, that these books are barely distinguishable from the regular series. It's really just a marketing gimmick to even have them be considered a separate series. I loved spooky things and mysteries, even from a young age, but these are only barely that. Several of the regular series books are spookier than most of these (see The Ghost At Dawn's House, Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook). 

What I do remember is that this book was a really stressful nail-biter for me back then. Stacey gets accused of stealing something, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for her to be found innocent, because I adored her so much.

The basics:

Stacey and her mom get into an argument because Stacey asks her for a diamond ring (it's her birthstone, so this isn't as random as it sounds). Her mom says it's too expensive (rightly so), and things quickly go downhill, turning into a fight about how Stacey's dad spoils her when she's with him. Her mom is worried that as a result, she's becoming a spoiled brat. Stacey's angry and wants to get out of the house, so she calls her BSC friends to go to the mall. While there, she shows them the diamond ring that she wants.

Shortly after, the BSC receives a call from a new client, the Gardellas. They have a 7 month old daughter, Tara, who's usually cared for by a nanny. Stacey takes the job, but immediately finds the Gardellas to be really strange. They're both really into their pets, a cat named Mouse and a dog named Bird, treating them like human children while they hardly even mention Tara. Still, the job goes fine, but the next morning Stacey gets an early call from Mrs. G. She's upset because she left a diamond ring out on her dresser and it's now missing. Stacey honestly says she never even saw it, and her mom immediately believes her and backs her up. Mrs. G doesn't believe them though, and says she will be calling all the BSC clients to warn them. Kristy's furious and calls an emergency meeting. Everyone believes Stacey, but they aren't sure what to do, never having faced a problem like this before.

BSC business immediately slows way down, and there are no longer enough jobs to go around. Some loyal clients are still calling though, and Mrs. Prezzioso defends the club when she hears about Mrs. G accusing Stacey. Jessi hears about a thief working in the area, and starts thinking he might be to blame. Claudia goes over to Stacey's house to hang out, and starts looking through her things for the ring right in front of her. When Stacey is understandably upset, Claudia accuses her of stealing the ring, citing the huge coincidence of her wanting one.

With things getting worse and worse, Stacey ends up offering to babysit for Mrs. G for free until the ring is paid off. Mrs. G agrees, but doesn't want Stacey alone in her house, so Kristy agrees to also go. On their very first job, Stacey finds the ring under a rug where Mouse likes to hide his toys. The Gardellas immediately apologize when they get home, but say they never ended up telling any clients except for Mrs. P. The slow business was a weird coincidence all along, and it immediately starts to pick up again. The girls decide they will not sit for the Gardellas anymore, since they didn't believe Stacey was innocent.

My thoughts:

For most of this book, things were making a lot of sense, which can be quite a rarity in the BSC-verse. As teenage girls going in and out of people's homes constantly, and being alone in them so much, sooner or later a situation like this was bound to happen. It's unfortunate for Stacey of course, since she was innocent, but if a diamond ring went missing from your home the first time you had a new babysitter, you'd also be suspicious. I actually found it more ridiculous that the BSC decided not to babysit for the Gardellas anymore because they accused Stacey. I wouldn't want to if I was them either, because of the risk of something like this happening again. What makes it laughable here is that some of them didn't believe Stacey either, as well as the fact that they've never refused a client before, up to this point. When Betsy Sobak caused Claudia to break her leg, they kept sitting for her! Wasn't that a much worse, not to mention more dangerous, situation?

That being said, the logic of this book completely fell apart for me when the Gardellas agreed to let Stacey babysit for free until she paid off the ring. This plan just makes zero sense. If Mrs. G really thinks Stacey is a thief and a liar, she'd never really want her in her house again. Who cares if Kristy is there or not? Mrs. G has never even met her, so she could be even worse. If she doesn't trust the club, why would any other member being there to supervise Stacey help? Plus, the Gardellas are wealthy. They don't need free babysitting, and it would take years of it to pay for a freaking diamond ring. Do they really want a girl they don't trust in their house that much, especially when they could afford a fancy adult nanny? More important than any of this though, how do they know Stacey isn't just trying to get back into the house to put the ring back? She obviously can't wear it or pawn it, so if she did steal it she would now want nothing more than to slip it back in the house and clear her name. Since the ring turns up again on her first sitting job, how do they even know that isn't what ultimately happened? All that time in between the two jobs, they never found the ring or thought to look in their cats hiding places, then someone unfamiliar with the house immediately finds it? None of it makes any sense, making this just about the lamest mystery I've ever read.

I've pointed out several times before how you'd expect Stacey to be spoiled, but she's really grounded and kind in reality. Her begging for a ring in here is very annoying and makes her look spoiled, but I'll still argue that is definitely not the case. It's very age appropriate behavior, for one thing, which was actually refreshing. I did stuff like that at 13, and I was definitely not spoiled in the slightest (we hardly ever even got new clothes or basics). I also had zero concept of the value of money then, even growing up in a household that had to budget everything. Most importantly though, Stacey does do the right thing. She throws it in her mom's face that her dad would buy her the ring, and her mom agrees she's probably right about that. Still, Stacey never asks him for it, despite how badly she wants it, because she knows it's the wrong thing to do. Remember also, that there have been times he took her to fancy NYC stores where she could pick out anything she wanted, and she stuck to something small. She's a teenager, she's going to mouth off and she's going to want things, but when it comes down to it, she does what she knows is right.

I think the worst behavior in here was actually Claudia's. Out of the whole BSC, she's the only one who really doesn't believe Stacey? She's her best friend! Then not only does she not try talking to her openly about it, she instead decides to rummage through her things while she's standing right there. When that doesn't immediately work, she just accuses Stacey instead. Admittedly the coincidence of Stacey wanting the very thing that's now missing is beyond dumb, and really lazy writing, but you have to at least have your best friend's back! One again, Claudia holds her place as one of the least mature BSC members.

Misc:

*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles

*Stacey enjoys house cleaning (I can relate, actually, but I didn't as a teenager).

*The names of the mall stores in here really brought back my childhood. Is there even any Sears stores anymore?

*Also, going to the mall to escape your parents was so very 90s! This book also features high top sneakers! Excellent nostalgia fodder in here.

*Claudia wears size 7 shoes

*I could tell right away what really happened to the ring, but I have no idea if I figured this out as a kid reader.

*Mrs. Sobak cancels a job in here: gee, what a loss...

*They play Shark Attack, the board game, in here! My siblings and I totally had that, and played it all the time, but I had forgotten about it until re-reading this. We used to LOVE it though.

*A lot is made of the fact that the Gardellas treat their pets like people and spoil them, but so? What's wrong with treating them so well? The only problem I see is the fact that they seem indifferent to poor Tara, preferring the pets to her. She's the one I felt the most for in this book.

*I LOVED that Stacey's mom believed in her innocence without a second's thought, despite the fact that she'd just had a tantrum over wanting a diamond ring days before. She's a good mom, and quickly becoming one of my favorite BSC parents.

Books mentioned:

*The Horse in Art, by John Baskett

*Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

My rating:

3 stars. I was entertained while reading this, but it was the worst mystery of all time. There were also SO many dumb coincidences in this story, it was beyond annoying.