#8 - Boy-Crazy Stacey

Timeline: 
This book takes place at the beginning of August, before their 8th grade year. At the end of the book, Stacey mentions there are two weeks before 8th grade starts.

Plot: 
MaryAnne and Stacey are mothers helpers for the Pike family during a two week trip to Sea City. The entire BSC is separated during this two week period, with Dawn in California visiting her dad, Claudia on vacation in the wilderness somewhere with her family, MaryAnne and Stacey are with the Pikes, and Kristy is in Stoneybrook bonding with her new family.

During the two weeks, Stacey becomes a bit of a prude whore. She meets a lifeguard, Scott, and thinks they have fallen in LUV. (She spells "love" as "LUV" during the entire book. It's not stupid at all.) Anyway, this lifeguard is 18 years old and clearly he knows Stacey is obsessed with him, so he uses her as a errand girl. Stacey thinks that because she is running and grabbing him sandwiches and sodas all day, that he LUVS her back.

Anyway, since she is spending all her days chasing sodas for Scott, MaryAnne is PISSED at her. She is making MA do all the work and it is irking her off, even though she has met another mother's helper (a boy) to help her with her mother helping.

MaryAnne and Stacey kind of make up and spend a night on the boardwalk (where the hell is this Sea City place?) and Stacey sees Scott kissing another girl on the beach. She loses her goddamn mind, calls in sick the next day and mopes and pouts until she meets another guy, and then she kisses him in and falls in LUV again.

Takeaways:
There is so much ridiculousness in this book.
1. The BSC is going to be separated for exactly two weeks, but they all act like they are going to be gone for months and months. They seriously cry during their last "party" (which is everyone sitting in Kristy's room). Like cry. Actual tears.
2. When they get to Sea City, Stacey thinks the house is old fashioned and the room given to her and MaryAnne "isn't her taste." Rude, Stacey.
3. When Stacey meets Scott, she introduces herself as "Stacey McGill. Thirteen years old. Formally of New York City." Okay, Stacey, we get it. You're from New York, and that makes you better than everyone else.
4. When Stacey and MaryAnne are on the boardwalk, before Stacey sees Scott making out with that girl, she is trying to decide on a present for him, and seriously considers getting him a tshirt that says "Stacey + Scott = LUV". Like...she thought she was in a real relationship with this guy! WTF!

This book is where I learned about sunburn remedies. MaryAnne gets fried on the beach and all the Pike kids bring her different things to help her feel better.

At the party before they all leave, Kristy tells MA and Stacey to write "Club Notebook" entries via postcards every day they are gone. Annoying. But then Dawn is all "Well I might babysit at home, so I will send entries too." First of all, stop babysitting on vacations. Second of all, no one cares about your California kids, Dawn.

Best character: 
I've got to go with Mr. and Mrs. Pike this time. They have been taking their huge family to this Sea City paradise for years and years, and normally it's just them in charge. I'm glad they finally wised up and brought along a couple of babysitters so they could do their own thing. Because they are literally never with their children during this entire book. Which I suppose would be the best way to be on vacation when you have eight fucking kids.

Worst character: 
Obviously Stacey is a complete moron in this book, so she wins. 

#7 - Claudia and Mean Janine

Plot -
This book was really hard for me to get through, and even more annoying to write about. Claudia is SUCH A B WORD.

The book takes place right after Kristy's mothers wedding (so like mid June) and seems to wrap up at the end of July. Claudia is at home with her super genius sister, Janine, and her grandmother, Mimi. They are playing games and drinking Mimi's special Japanese tea. Everything is awesome until Janine kicks their ass at some trivia game and Claudia loses her shit, and then Mimi gets annoyed and Claudia yells at her, too. Mimi goes to her room and promptly has a stroke,

Mimi is in the hospital for like a week, and her stroke really takes a toll on her. She has to relearn everything, from words for simple every day objects, to using her hands for daily tasks.

Meanwhile, in the Baby-sitters Club world, they have decided they don't enjoy summer vacation and instead choose to have a playgroup for kids in the mornings. Claudia, however, has to drop out because when Mimi gets out of the hospital she needs constant supervision. Claudia volunteers to sit at her house with Mimi and help her get better.

Claudia and Janine fight through the whole book, but it's mostly just Claudia being extremely rude. Then they have a little coming to Jesus meeting and seem to make up.

That's really about it. I don't really know what this book has "mean Janine" in the title, because Janine is not mean in it. Claudia is mean. Janine is just ignored and misunderstood.

Takeaways -
When Mimi had her stroke and went into the hospital, I LEGIT started crying.

I can't stress enough how rude Claudia is in this book. Like when her parents are trying to figure out who will take care of Mimi in the mornings, Janine starts to talk, and Claudia just butts in and interrupts that she will do it. But then Claudia gets mad that she is the one who has to give up her mornings and Janine doesn't do anything.

When the baby-sitters are at the playgroup (which is at Stacey's house), they decide to give Kristy's dog Louie a bath. For some unexplained reason, Stacey's family has a huge tub in their garage that they fill with water and then dump the dog in. Why the fuck do they have this huge tub? They came from New York - I highly doubt they had it there. They don't have animals. I need to know why they had this thing in their garage.

Also I would be so pissed if I sent my kid to a playgroup and he/she came home soaking wet, smelling like a gross old dog.

Best character -
MaryAnne wins this category. There is this little girl, Jenny, at the playgroup and all of the teenage babysitters decide she is a pain in the ass and try to stay away from her, and MaryAnne is the only one mature enough and nice enough to deal with her. Also, MaryAnne offers to babysit Mimi one morning when Claudia can't, and Mimi is pretty terrible to deal with. MaryAnne sees that maybe everyone needs to back the fuck off of Mimi for a hot minute, and let's her watch Wheel of Fortune for awhile instead of going through flashcards.

Worst character - 
It's probably pretty obvious I am choosing Claudia for this one. Janine is not that bad, bitch. Back off.