Thoughts before reading:
I've been thinking for this entire project so far that I only read one Super Special growing up, probably because I only ever owned the second one. Somehow I completely forgot about this one, and I have no idea how, because I LOVED this book. This had everything I ever wanted from a BSC book back then, for one important reason: Stacey and Sam! Shadow Lake is where it finally happens, after so many books with absolutely nothing but some pining. I've mentioned before but I will again, I adored them together when I first read these. I think they were my very first ship ever. I'm so excited to see what I think about it all now!
I also found one of my old BSC books from later in the series where I was marking the books I read, and apparently there are a few later Super Specials I also read and don't remember. Most have been towards the beginning of my BSC obsession, because they don't even sound familiar.
The basics:
Watson's aunt has a cabin on Shadow Lake in Massachusetts, where he used to visit her as a boy. She sends him a letter inviting him to use it over the summer, to see if he would like to inherit it. The kids are excited and all for him keeping it, of course, but he wants to make sure they'll get good use out of it. For now, Watson and Elizabeth accept the invitation, and they allow the kids to invite friends too. There ends up being a total of ten extra kids going: Hannie and Linny Papadakis, Nancy Dawes, Nicky Pike, and the entire BSC. Everyone is staying for two weeks. Kristy decides to make a diary of the trip to give to Watson, so he'll see how much they love the cabin and decide to keep it.
Soon after they arrive, Jessi sees a cute boy at the lake with his family. His name is Daniel, and she ends up giving him a dance lesson. When they chat however, they have absolutely nothing in common. She still likes him though, and is excited when he asks her to the dance happening at the end of their trip. They do end up going together, but afterwards Jessi tells him she likes Quint more than she realized before. Daniel assures her that he has a girlfriend back home, and just wanted to be friends.
Dawn's convinced there must be a mystery of some sort, since the place is called Shadow Lake. She's also convinced there's a lake monster. After doing some poking around, she decides to talk to the older residents, and finally discovers her mystery (it's actually not a bad one either). Back in the day, the store owner, Stephan Weeks, was engaged to a girl named Annie Bayard. They were teenagers at the time. Her family was insanely wealthy, but odd and reclusive. No one really knew them well, because they lived on the island in the middle of Shadow Lake in their mansion, rarely leaving. Servants came into town for their household supplies. When Stephan realized it had been awhile since any of the servants had come, people were sent to the island to check on the Bayards. When they arrived, the whole family was gone, but their things still in place. None of them were seen or heard from ever again.
Kristy finds the family boat and decides to take lessons. There's also a boat show being held during their stay, and Claudia decides to decorate their little boat as the lake monster to enter it. They end up winning a prize for Most Spirit.
Mallory's really concerned about bugs, and spends the whole trip wearing an insect headdress she builds herself out of a jungle safari hat, a towel, and mosquito netting. Needless to say, all of her friends are embarrassed.
Karen, Hannie, and Nancy find a shed and garden in the woods, and keep sneaking off to it in secret. The BSC members are helping watch the kids, since they were all allowed to come, and the girls keep trying to give them the slip. Meanwhile, David Michael is frustrated because Linny and Nicky keep fighting. The boys end up stumbling across the same shed, and they want to turn it into a fort, so then all the kids end up arguing. The girls end up winning, but agree to share.
Sam spends most of the trip teasing Stacey, calling her "dahling", tweaking her hair, making her blush, and just generally driving her crazy. He's trying to figure out how to show her that he likes her, but all he's accomplishing is making her frustrated. Thankfully, Charlie gives him the excellent advice to just talk to her and tell her, instead of whistling at her and shooting his cheerios onto her toast. (Yes, he was really doing all of the above. Boys...) Finally, Sam tells Stacey how he feels. She responds really maturely, telling him she doesn't know if she can take him seriously now because he's always messing with her. She does admit she really liked him back in 7th grade, but is now confused.
At Kristy's suggestion, the girls go to Shadow Island to camp out overnight. Sam goes along to explore at first, then the girls are on their own. Dawn's freaked out about the island being haunted, because of her mystery. They do find the ruins of the Bayard mansion, and some of the girls swear they see a white, wispy ghost in the middle of the night. Dawn even finds Annie's locket. When they return to town, she gives it to Stephan, who tells her the house burned down one year to the day after the family went missing.
Sam asks Stacey to the dance, and she realizes he's really liked her all along, and she's liked him back. They end up slow dancing together, and having a great time. The next morning, when everyone is discussing the dance, Stacey is totally zoned out on Sam and unaware of her surroundings (pgs 222-223). They also hold hands at breakfast, so he has to eat with his left.
Mary Anne basically gets stuck watching kids the whole trip.
Kristy turns everything into a thick vacation book and gives it to Watson. He loves it, and decides to keep the cabin. He also calls Kristy his daughter when he writes a letter back to his aunt to tell her, and she's touched by it.
Timeline:
It's summer vacation again, I believe the third once since 8th grade began.
Misc. thoughts:
*At least this Super Special has a decent premise!
*How exactly is this balance of invited friends fair? Charlie and Sam must hate it. (Well, maybe not Sam as much, haha..). The explanation given is that Kristy gets to invite six friends if they help babysit, but neither of her older brothers brings even one friend. Plus really, Watson and Elizabeth don't want to spend time with the younger kids during the day? These are some weird family vacations.
*Stacey's teaching Karen, Hannie, and Nancy a song about a cow knocking over a lantern and causing a fire: referencing the Great Chicago Fire. I'd never have understood that as a kid though.
*Jessi and Quint have still been writing to each other.
*I really liked the pictures in this one...especially the one of Stacey and Sam! :)
*This was the first Super Special to give POVs to the little kids, which I liked. It's something different, and reminds me of my little sister days.
*Kristy says no one should wear a bikini after 30? Very harsh, just you wait girl...
*Mal's storyline was so absurd in here, and seemed out of character. She's usually really shallow about her appearance, so I can't believe she'd walk around like this. Don't they have any decent bug spray in the BSC-verse?
*Kristy wants to advertise the BSC at Shadow Lake instead of just enjoying herself and taking a damn vacation. This girl is going to give herself an ulcer before she's 18.
*The girls eat dinner alone at the lodge, and don't know how to handle the waiter asking for their orders before they're ready without Stacey's help? Yikes.
*The lodge has a barre, and Jessi gets up early to practice during the trip. This is some really impressive dedication. They really should have just played up her perfectionist/overachiever personality from the start, instead of the dumb joke telling thing that lasted for one book.
*David Michael and Karen both spell WAY better than Claudia.
*I spent this whole book wondering what Watson and Elizabeth did for two weeks. They were hardly ever mentioned.
*Claudia tutoring Emily Michelle is mentioned, good continuity.
*Sam says he thinks Stacey is the best feature of the lake! Such a smooth talker...
*I loved Sam's POV in here, but why no Charlie? I'm very curious about him, and he's one of my favorites.
*Sam also says he likes Stacey for her spirit. It "appeals to him".
*Hannie wants to be an Olympic swimmer.
*What have the writers done to level headed, practical Dawn? First the NYC paranoia, now she doesn't want to swim in the lake because of the supposed lake monster. Is this really the only storyline they can think to give her in Super Specials?
*Reading this now, I actually remember writing a short story in school loosely based on the Bayard family mystery, but I'd totally forgotten where I got the inspiration from!
*I was so disappointed that Sam and Stacey didn't get together until the dance at the very end! That's a whole book and two weeks together wasted. I don't even know if their relationship will be mentioned again or not. I don't remember them dating in the books at all.
*Charlie dances with Emily Michelle at the dance?! I just love him.
*Kristy says that Stacey and Sam didn't stop dancing until after the band had left. Meaning for awhile they just danced around the ballroom alone, with no music. My inner 8 year old was hardcore fangirling when I heard this! Nobody will convince me they don't end up married someday.
* I really like that the girls don't swoop in and solve the mystery. For once it's just a creepy story they hear, which is SO much better.
Books mentioned:
*The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
*Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli
*The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
My rating:
3.5 stars. Not a bad book, but had some really slow parts. Most of the storylines in here could have been way better, but I obviously liked Stacey and Sam's. I also really enjoyed Jessi's. It was disappointing that Stacey and Sam seemed so rushed though, and we don't even hear about most of it from either of their POVs. Also enjoyed the kid POVs, but some of them didn't even get a chapter.
No comments:
Post a Comment