#121: Abby in Wonderland

 

Thoughts before reading:

I'm almost in the final ten regular series books! How crazy is that?

The basics:

Abby's grandparents have a summer house in the Hamptons, and her family's going to visit them there for 8 days. During the visit, they're also having an anniversary party. Each year, they throw a big themed party to celebrate, and this one's going to be Alice in Wonderland. 

When they arrive, Abby also finds her Gram busy putting together a family history, for the future generations to have. She's interested in it as well, and starts helping out. Between that and spending time at the beach, she keeps pretty busy. Anna reconnects with her old friend, Corley. 

One morning, Gram's planning a trip into town. Grandpa's insisting on going with her, which seems odd to Abby, until she overhears Gram on the phone talking about "having something checked". Abby's worried that something might be wrong, and begins to watch them closely. Then, while helping her Gram find a catering menu, she discovers a pamphlet about breast cancer in her things. Stricken, she puts it back and doesn't say anything. 

As the party plans move forward, Gram becomes disappointed because she really wants to get the whole family together for it, but a lot of people can't come. Abby decides she wants to help out and cheer her up, so she sets to work secretly calling the people not coming and urging them to reconsider. She also visits the library in town to research breast cancer, where she learns it is treatable, but more common than she thought. 

Having some success with her phone calls, Abby decides to call Leah, Gram's long estranged sister, and beg her to attend. (The sisters haven't spoken in a long time because Leah once told everyone about Gram being in weight watchers.) Leah doesn't even know who Abby is at first, then tells her she can't come to the party because she was never invited. When they hang up, Gram's standing right there. Abby explains what she was trying to do, and Gram's so touched that she calls Leah back and they make up.

Kristy comes to visit for the weekend, and to attend the party, during which Abby gets emotional when Gram makes a speech, and ends up running out crying. Gram comes looking for her, and Abby tells her she knows about the cancer. Surprised, Gram tells her she had a biopsy last week while she was in town, but hasn't gotten the results yet. 

From this experience, Abby realizes how important family is, and that love will carry them through whatever comes next. 

Side plot: The Pikes aren't going on their annual Sea City trip this summer, because they need the money to repair Mr. Pike's car. All the kids are upset, until the BSC cheers them up by turning their backyard into a beach. 

Timeline:

It's August.

Misc. thoughts:

*Ghostwritten by Suzanne Weyn.

*Playground camp has ended.

*The BSC is back to sending two sitters to the Pikes, since the triplets never helped out. Not sure why they ever stopped exactly, but this was a nice bit of continuity. 

*Abby's great-uncle (Gram's older brother) died in WW2 when he was 18. 

*Gram's mother had 12 siblings, 9 of which died in Germany during the Holocaust. (They were all in concentration camps.) Gram's mom survived because she had immigrated to American in the 1920's. 

*Abby doesn't want to confide in Mal when she's upset because Mallory's only 11? Seems harsh to me, since they are friends...

*This is definitely my favorite Abby book. We see a new, softer, sweeter side of her when she's with her family and trying to help others.

*Mal liking Ben is mentioned again, and now he's also back to being helpful and "one of them" instead of one of the kids. 

*So... do we ever find out what happens with Gram? Is it in another book? This ended really suddenly, literally right after their talk during the party. 

Books mentioned:

*The Diary of Anne Frank

My rating:

3 stars. This was actually pretty heartfelt, and something a little different for an Abby book. I actually enjoyed reading it.