Thoughts before reading:
Ugh, another babysitting plot... my least favorite. I've never read this one before, and it doesn't even look familiar. Based on the summary, it relates back to Danielle's past storyline, so if nothing else there will be continuity (hopefully).
Terrible cover too. This is just not flattering for anyone...
The basics:
Danielle Roberts (think way back to Jessi's Wish) is in remission and doing really well: newly full of energy, less skinny, and getting her hair back. With her finally able to act more like a regular kid again, she also becomes a regular BSC client. Jessi eagerly takes the first job with her and Greg, her younger brother. She gets more than she bargained for with the new Danielle though. She rollerblades through the house and knocks over a bookcase. Thankfully no one is hurt, so Jessi figures no harm done, and doesn't tell her mother.
Stacey also gets a job sitting for the Roberts, but at the last minute she calls Mary Anne to cover for her, without explaining why. While Mary Anne is there, Danielle invites Charlotte and Haley over, and the girls sled down the basement stairs on an old crib mattress. (This doesn't sound like something Charlotte would do to me.)
When Kristy sits for Danielle, she invites over Becca, Charlotte, Haley, and Vanessa. The girls try to fill the whole shower with water, AND dye it colors, creating a big colorful flood. Despite being overwhelmed, Kristy doesn't have the heart to tell on her any more than Jessi did. The BSC does discuss the problem at their next meeting though, and they ultimately decide they should call Mrs. Roberts and let her know. She says it's all no big deal, just high spirits that will burn off. The BSC girls are shocked.
Meanwhile, at the Ramsey house, Becca and Jessi have eavesdropped on Aunt Cecelia and a male visitor of hers, while they were discussing a wedding. The girls jump to the conclusion that they must be getting married in secret. On the day they think they're tying the knot, both girls get all dressed up and ready, only to learn Aunt Cecelia and her friend are going to be IN a wedding. The adults find this (understandably) hilarious.
After Jessi's done changing, Stacey shows up at her house to ask if she can take her sitting job in half an hour. Jessi's annoyed, but agrees because she's embarrassed and wants to get out of the house. The job is, once again, at the Roberts. She settles into a quiet game of checkers with Greg, during which time Danielle, Vanessa, Haley, Becca, and Charlotte take the Roberts car out of the garage and start driving down the street. (Danielle is the actual driver, of course.) When Jessi finally goes to check on them and discovers this, Danielle sees Jessi and loses control of the car. They roll backward and hit a parked car.
Some neighbors rush out to help, and the police and an ambulance are called. Vanessa turns out to have hit her head, and is rushed to the hospital. Thankfully, it turns out to be just a small cut. Jessi goes home to rest, deeply shaken. She later calls the Roberts to apologize, and they end up saying sorry to her for not listening to the BSC's warnings.
Nine days after the accident, Stacey sits for Danielle. She's much more subdued, as none of her friends will even speak to her anymore. Telling Stacey about it, she ends up in tears. Stacey calls Mal and Jessi, who make the girls come over. Then Stacey explains to them that they were all partially responsible for what happened, they gain nothing by never speaking to her again, and friends are important. All the girls seem to take her talk to heart, and they end up making up.
Jessi tries to get Aunt Cecelia and her friend together so she won't have to tell her friends about the wedding mix up (she had told them all her aunt was getting married, even though she had no real reason to think so). Her and Becca prepare them a romantic spaghetti dinner. The adults just laugh, and tell them it isn't going to happen. Jessi finally tells everyone what happened, and they decide to use their wedding gift budget for a BSC pizza party instead.
Timeline:
Still cold, snowy, winter weather. Not ideal conditions for nine year old's to drive in.
Misc. thoughts:
*Ghostwritten by Nola Thacker
*Jessi gets up at 5:29 AM every day to practice ballet? I'm impressed.
*Editing error on page 9, a missing end quotation mark.
*Stacey's late for a BSC meeting and doesn't explain why... setting up for the next book. She also blows off a meeting: doesn't show up, and doesn't call until 5:57 to say she can't come. Kristy's furious, of course.
*They should have started setting up #83 from Stacey's POV, and earlier. This is way too sudden. Only 2 books ago, in Mystery #18, she was happily a member, and doing a time consuming housesitting job. There was no mention or hint of any problems.
*The back cover summary says Danielle's parents are letting her do whatever she wants, which is basically true, but something we don't know until late in the book. For most of the time, the BSC fails to mention any of the incidents to them.
*Washington Mall is 5 levels? Damn, that's crazy... I miss those huge old malls you could spend all day in...
*Jessi's exhausted by 2-3 hours of shopping? She's a kid and an athlete! Where is all her youthful energy? I'm neither of those, and I can shop all day when I need to.
*I can't really blame Mrs. Roberts for spoiling her kid after she spent so much time in hospitals, and could have not made it through. This doesn't make it a good idea, just an understandable reaction. My real question was, why weren't the sitters supervising her better? After that first job where she was clearly now a handful, they still let her go off alone on each job without checking up on her very often.
*I did not see the whole driving incident coming at all... definitely wins as the worst client mischief to date.
*Everyone praises Jessi after the accident for being so responsible, and Mrs. Roberts apologizes to her... but what exactly did she do? She was supposed to be watching the kids, but she was really just playing with Greg and not paying much attention to the girls. They drove out in a car together without her noticing! Then she went outside, caught them after the fact, and, too far away to prevent the crash, went over after to order the girls out of the car? Neighbors were out helping, took the kids besides Vanessa, and called for help. All Jessi actually did was ride to the hospital with Vanessa, in shock. Now, the girls are old enough to know better, and therefore to blame, but Jessi could have watched them better. She already knew Danielle was a problem. If I were Danielle's parents, I wouldn't be hiring the BSC anymore after this.
*Say what you will about Stacey in this book, but she does solve this problem like a pro, yet again. I can't help but think that if she'd kept that sitting job, the car accident might not have happened.
*During her talk with the girls, Stacey says she knows how important her friends are, how she counts on them, needs them, and that part of friendship is forgiving people/ accepting things about them that you can't change.
I'm curious how this statement will come into play in #83. Will Stacey forget these lessons? Or will it be the rest of the BSC that does?
Books mentioned:
*Bea and Mr. Jones, by Amy Schwartz
*Dr. Seuss
*Frog and Toad series, by Arnold Lobel
*Freckle Juice, by Judy Blume
My rating:
3.5 stars. This was much better than I expected... there was at least plenty going on, and it was all entertaining.
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