Thoughts before reading:
I'm pretty sure I read this, but I didn't remember the plot until reading the summary now... and it sounds AWFUL. Ten year old babysitters now? Just, no. Eleven is already bad enough. If the girls need help so badly, why can't they ever find some other 8th graders? They always act like it's just impossible, just because of the few times it didn't work out, so they don't even try anymore. Nothing works out every single time though, and with their strict club rules, they should expect some people just won't mesh well. Why not try a few times, or do some trial memberships?
The basics:
Summer vacation has just begun, and Dawn and Jeff are spending the whole vacation in Stoneybrook. They arrive and have a happy reunion with everyone, then Claudia announces the news about how SMS has made a deal with a travel company for students 11-14 to get to take trips at a reduced price. The only catch is that at least 50 kids have to sign up. The first trip is going to be to Hawaii. All the girls really want to go, but Mal can't because she's already agreed to help the Stones run a day camp. Kristy can't either, because her family is already going there later in the summer. Dawn and Mary Anne ask their parents, and after talking to some of the other BSC parents, and discussing the matter for several days, they agree... as long as the girls pay $250 of the $500 trip themselves.
Jeff and the Pike triplets decide they want to try babysitting, and they ask Mary Anne and Dawn for help. The girls (rightly!) think they're too young, but since Jeff is really good with little kids, they agree to think of ways to help. The boys ask them if they can be BITs: Babysitters-in-training, meaning they would assist the girls until they learn enough to do it on their own. Kristy agrees to the training program, assuming that the boys will lost interest right after the first diaper change.
Predictably, Jeff's first job is a disaster. He goes with Jessi to the Prezziosos, and although he does make Jenny laugh, he won't change diapers or clean barf. Ultimately, his being there really just makes more work for Jessi to do. Things don't go any better with the Pike boys. Byron bails on a job because of little league, but has a change of heart and comes back to help Mal. The boys are also eating a ton of the clients' food, and all of Claudia's junk food at meetings (causing her to run out for the first time in the series!). They're late to meetings, and when they arrive, they don't take them seriously.
Stacey has a sitting job for the Braddocks that she brings Adam along on, and he ends up fighting with Haley the entire time, because Haley refuses to have a babysitter that's only a year older than her (which is pretty fair). After he spends the whole job heckling her and making more work for Stacey, the BSC finally decides to end the program. Dawn and Mal dread telling their brothers, but the boys end up quitting before they have to. They want to spend more time doing fun things.
When not babysitting, the BSC members are also busy fundraising for Hawaii. Dawn and Mary Anne start by selling health food at the mall. It's not a hit, so next they try selling Mary Anne's old things, which works a lot better. Abby, Stacey, and Claudia have a car wash. Logan mows lawns and works his busboy job. The whole club starts offering lawn care too, but they're still struggling to raise money fast enough, despite working all the time. Kristy suggests they set up some booths and concessions on the 4th of July, before fireworks, when there will be big crowds. Her idea's a hit, and everyone is able to meet their fundraising goals.
Timeline:
Summer vacation, June and July.
Misc. thoughts:
*Ghostwritten by Peter Lerangis.
*Jeff still wants to be a comedian, which is good continuity. I'd like to see a scene with him and Abby going toe-to-toe.
*Dawn's deeply committed to animal rights? Since when? I thought she didn't even like animals, according to her own narration in Mystery #7.
*Carol cries about Dawn and Jeff leaving? Aww. I'm kind of surprised she wasn't relieved, after all the crap Dawn's put her through.
*Robert blows off a movie date with Stacey... they're setting up #99.
*I think this is actually one of the more realistic super special set-ups, so I'm pleasantly surprised! Usually we start a super special and suddenly some great trip has magically come together out of nowhere. I like that this time there is planning, preparation, fundraising, and getting parental permission! Sharon and Richard actually acted like parents too, asking questions, gathering information, talking to other parents... even setting boundaries! The parental involvement and fundraising were especially nice to see. It was nice that the kids had to work to earn their trip, just like all of us would have at their age.
*Stacey's mom said yes immediately. She's clearly the cool mom, haha.
*Poor Mallory, though! Seriously, everyone but her gets to go? Why is it always Mal? She takes it so in stride too... I'd have been jealous and petty about it at 11.
*Jeff is so obnoxious, especially with his jokes, that I can't help but like him. He's like a real little brother.
*I also enjoyed the banter between Dawn and Jeff in here. It was hilarious, and 100% realistic. I was actually laughing a few times.
*Even though I found this SMS travel arrangement to be pretty reasonable, especially for the BSC-verse, the Hawaii part is a little much. You'd think they would be educational trips, since the school's involved.
*I loved the Hawaiian themed BSC meeting, haha.
*The boys being at the BSC meetings was also comedy gold: Kristy lecturing on the importance of babysitting, the boys only half listening while stuffing their faces. This book actually was a lot of fun, something sorely lacking lately.
*Shouldn't the girls have asked their clients if they could bring one of the boys along? Seems kind of important...
*The BSC members paying the boys 25% of their job earnings was ridiculous. They're already doing them a favor by offering to train them, and even if they had done better, training is extra work. Why would they pay them for it?
*Adam gives Stacey flowers, which was really cute.
*Shannon's at summer camp again, so she's not going to Hawaii either.
*This was Dawn's last series book.
Books mentioned:
*The Kannibal Krew (Jeff's reading this, but thankfully it appears to be fictional.)
*The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner
My rating:
4 stars. I actually really enjoyed this. It was fun, entertaining, and funny. I could have done without all the fart and poop references, but there were a lot of ten year old boys in here, so I get it.
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