Thoughts before reading:
I've never read this before (this is another long streak of new books). Honestly not expecting much from this, but we'll see.
The basics:
Jessi's thinking about the hot summer ahead, and asks her parents if they can get a pool. They tell her it's way too expensive, but suggest she check out the Stoneybrook Community pool complex. Her dad even agrees to buy a family membership. Jessi finds herself getting excited about the idea of taking lessons over the summer. She already knows how to swim, but wants to try something new.
Coincidentally, Mal and Jessi's gym class is also starting a swim unit. During the first session, everyone takes a swim test so the teacher can assess what level they're at. After doing really well on hers, Jessi's invited to join a synchronized swimming team at the pool. She'll even get to do it instead of her gym class. Eagerly, she agrees to try it, and ends up loving it. (Also doesn't hurt that she's a natural.) SMS is having a sports festival soon, and their class will be a part of it. Everyone will do a group routine, then an individual routine with one partner.
Coincidentally, Mal and Jessi's gym class is also starting a swim unit. During the first session, everyone takes a swim test so the teacher can assess what level they're at. After doing really well on hers, Jessi's invited to join a synchronized swimming team at the pool. She'll even get to do it instead of her gym class. Eagerly, she agrees to try it, and ends up loving it. (Also doesn't hurt that she's a natural.) SMS is having a sports festival soon, and their class will be a part of it. Everyone will do a group routine, then an individual routine with one partner.
Jessi's partnered with a girl named Elise, who's also a good swimmer, but the girls have different strengths and struggle with their routine. They end up practicing constantly, but Jessi's still sick with worry by the time the sports festival rolls around. She thinks their routine is terrible, and they don't have it down well enough. Her mom reminds her that the effort is what matters, not the results.
Despite all her worries, Jessi and Elise end up getting the gold medal in synchro. She still ends up deciding it's more work than fun though, and quits the team.
In the land of side plots, the summer Olympic trials are on tv, and Becca's crushed that the Olympics will never be held in Stoneybrook. This gives Jessi the idea to have a mini-olympics for the BSC charges, which the other members also get excited about. The event is a success, and they make sure every kid gets a prize.
Timeline:
Late spring, almost summer. There's also a heat wave going on, hence all the interest in swimming.
Misc. thoughts:
*Ghostwritten by Peter Lerangis
*Jessi's been taking ballet for 7 years by this point.
*It was so nice to have a Jessi book that's not about ballet, and to see her have a different interest! About time.
*Jessi learned to swim at the Jersey Shore, when she was 8.
*There's a nice scene in here where the girls are goofing off, acting silly and cracking up before the BSC meeting starts (plus Kristy and Stacey "swim" on Claud's bedroom floor). It was nice to see everyone not be so serious and all business for once, and act like a group of friends instead.
*Mary Anne hates gym class, which is definitely no surprise.
*This book made me really nostalgic, because I also LOVED the Olympics when I was a kid. I used to watch every second of them I could, and I was also really interested in the athletes.
*Squirt's starting to talk.
*This book says Alan Gray has a crush on Kristy? Is this new information? I guess it does make sense, but as far as I know nothing comes of it.
*Stacey does the breast stroke in the sports festival. Claudia enters the backwards race. Dawn does the javelin throw. Kristy does the obstacle course, and the 100 yard dash, in which she gets a silver medal. She competes with Alan Gray in the obstacle course event and beats him. As per a bet they made, he ends up having to be her servant for a week.
*Mallory starts acting quiet and distant once she hears about the sports festival, and then during a babysitting job she does a potato sack race and sprains her ankle on purpose, just to get out of competing. Never mind that participation was voluntary, LOL...
*Why were Jessi's parents fine with her joining a swim team, when they said she didn't have enough time to take riding lessons? Seems like this took up even more time.
Books mentioned:
None
My rating:
3 stars. A strong start, although the descriptions of all the events got really tedious, especially with the BSC Olympics and SMS sports day all back-to-back. Still, I was overall pleasantly surprised.
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