Thoughts before reading:
This cover isn't too bad... I'm guessing the two blondes are Dawn and Sunny. I knew Sunny's mom passed away during the CA Diaries series, but I didn't know it was going to be addressed in here also. I'm definitely curious about this one, which is more than I can say for the last few.
The basics:
Mary Anne's new house is done at last, and her and her family are moving in. She's worried that it won't truly feel like home though. The new house is beautiful, but sure enough, she just can't settle in. Instead she keeps thinking about the old house and the fire.
A few days after the move, Dawn and Jeff arrive for the summer. Sunny is also coming this time, because her mom has recently passed away, and everyone thinks getting away will be good for her. Mary Anne's nervous about how to treat Sunny, since she's dealing with something so terrible. She's also a little jealous of how close her and Dawn must be after sharing the experience. (Yikes, that's only a tad selfish... probably the way most 13 year old's would think, but it still sounds terrible.)
Right from the start of their visit, Jeff's negative and complaining about everything, especially in regards to the house. Sunny, on the other hand, is cheerful and positive, which Mary Anne is taken aback by. Very quickly, her happy energy starts to exhaust Mary Anne as well. Sunny's in constant motion all day, even cooking and cleaning the house. She also wants to do activities and go on outings endlessly. Dawn tells Mary Anne it's her way of coping, and Mary Anne wants to keep her happy, especially after she accidently made a comment about cancer on the first day, so she goes along with everything, even when she doesn't want to.
Jeff ends up sobbing to Mary Anne about how much he hates Stoneybrook, everything about it, and how all he did like was his house and his stuff, which are now all gone. She cheers him up by getting the Pike boys to help him with ideas for his new room. The boys end up doing a superhero theme.
Sunny takes it upon herself to help Mary Anne find a new boyfriend, and she invites some boys from the town pool to the movies with them. The date is a dud all around though, so Sunny then decides to try and land Mary Anne an older guy instead. Needless to say, Mary Anne doesn't agree that this is what she needs and isn't thrilled.
Next, Sunny comes up with a plan for her, Dawn, and Mary Anne to sneak off to NYC alone, for some excitement. Dawn and Mary Anne agree, since it's so important to her, but neither of them thinks it's a good idea. (They do at least tell Stacey, so someone knows where they are, "just in case". Stacey's reaction? She recommends them some good stores, LOL.)
The day of their big NYC adventure, Mary Anne leaves a note for her parents saying they're going to the pool, and off they go. They reach the city without any trouble, and spend the day roaming around shopping... at least until Mary Anne realizes how late it has gotten on them. They'll have to head back immediately to beat Richard and Sharon returning from work. Sunny tells her to chill out, and refuses to leave. Her and Dawn end up fighting about how Sunny's been acting. Only then do the girls finally head home, in silence. They arrive with only minutes to spare.
Later that night, Mary Anne hears Sunny crying, and goes in to comfort her. Sunny finally opens up, and they talk about their moms for awhile, then Sunny apologizes for everything. She also decides she needs to return home and face things head on. Everyone's very understanding of her choice to leave early, and Richard and Sharon throw her a goodbye party that also doubles as a housewarming party for them.
Timeline:
It's late June.
Misc. thoughts:
*Mary Anne's still whining about missing Logan, even though it was her choice to break up, and has been like 9 months now since.
*Jeff is such an entitled brat in here. At least he has another, real home. He was hardly ever at this one, and he never liked or appreciated it until it was gone.
*Ditto for Mary Anne being jealous of everything that happens between Sunny and Dawn. She's even annoyed that it seems like Dawn's told Sunny personal things about her, yet she freely admits Dawn's told her personal details about Sunny's mom's illness and death.
*Finding out a bit about Sunny and her mom was definitely the best part of this book. It was an interesting little glimpse into the CA Diaries.
*I'd think Mary Anne would have nothing but love and compassion for another motherless girl. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. She's at her old, selfish, bratty worst instead.
*Mary Anne thinks a 9th grader is too old for them, dating wise, but aren't they FINALLY going into 9th grade now?
*Also, WTF is with this timeline? It's clearly summer vacation now, but the graduation book is two books away? Nonsensical to the bitter end, I guess. Clearly they had planned on this series going on longer. It must not have been popular, which is no surprise, because these books really weren't any good. Disappointingly, that means the original FF books must have intended to repeat 8th grade endlessly too.
*I have a friend like Sunny, so I could relate to her exhausting everyone else, haha.
*Mary Anne's back to being easily sunburned in this book.
*Mallory only spends summers with her family, but is now away at a two week writing camp? I'm surprised they let her go. What about the free childcare??
*Margo's the only Pike kid who likes vegetables.
*Speaking of, we actually have a sitting job in here too: Mary Anne and Kristy, at the Pikes.
*Logan does still work at the Rosebud, despite the mention of labor laws in the last book.
*What ever happened to Dawn being terrified of NYC?
*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles.
Books mentioned:
None
My rating:
2.5 stars. This was a little boring, but again, I did like the Sunny storyline. I also liked that the girls did something wrong and didn't get caught... just like real teenagers!
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