Summer time, after their fourth 8th grade year
Plot
Dawn is still in California and still babysitting with the We Love Kids Club, which has become more organized. They get a call from a dad who wants a babysitter for his 12 year old mentally handicapped daughter, Whitney. Whitney is pretty high functional, but still can't be left alone. They ask Dawn to pretend like she is just a friend coming over to hang out, to protect Whitney's feelings. She feels she is too old for a babysitter. Even though she is scared to cross the street by herself.
Everything works out well for awhile. Dawn takes Whitney over to meet her other babysitting charges, Clover and Daffodil, and Whitney is really good with them. But other people stare and judge Whitney pretty hard. Dawn is uncomfortable with how terrible people treat her, especially when one of her dad's girlfriends is absolutely terrible to her.
Oh, also, Dawn's dad is dating everyone in sight. He is trying to get over Carol, who he just broke off an engagement with. He makes Dawn and Jeff go on his second dates with him every time he meets a new girl.
Anyway, back to Whitney. She buys Dawn a best friend necklace and really truly believes they are just friends hanging out. But then one day they are together and Whitney wants to eat more ice cream, which her mom specifically told Dawn not to allow her to do. Whitney is a huge brat about it and finally Dawn is like "dude, I'm your babysitter, do what I say!" And Whitney is PISSED.
A few days later, Dawn is babysitting Clover and Daffodil and she runs inside to get them a drink and when she comes back, they are gone. She freaks the fuck out, calls the cops, organizes a search party...and she ends up finding them at a carnival with Whitney. She went to the yard and took them, thinking if she showed everyone what a good babysitter she was people would think she is a grown up. Also Carol is at the carnival and she comes up and hugs Dawn and says they Whitney did a really good job with the girls.
Dawn and Whitney make up and Dawn makes her an honorary member of the We Love Kids Club, meaning she can go on jobs with the girls.
Also, back in Stoneybrook Mrs. Barrett and Mr. DeWitt are getting married. The kids are pissed at first, and then they get over it.
Oh, and Dawn's dad and Carol get back together and get re-engaged.
Takeaways
At one point in this book, the ghost writer for Ann forgets it's a Dawn book and randomly Dawn starts speaking in the third person...."blah blah blah", Dawn said. It's highly annoying and lazy. Also there are editing errors everywhere that drove me crazy.
Dude, so much happened in this book.
First of all, were mentally challenged people really that discriminated against? Her dad's date who is awful to her is like a HUGE BITCH. She flat out says Whitney is disgusting and gross to look at. Do people really do that? Was that an 80's thing? I grew up in a town that had an entire campus for mentally handicapped people, so I guess I was just used to seeing them and it didn't bother me, ever. Why would it bother people? Maybe seeing me bothered them.
Anyway, that being said....Whitney freaking kidnaps two kids (who should have known better than to go with her, but that's another story). Why is 1. that just okay 2. it's just like accepted and no one ever tells Whitney that she kidnapped two kids and 3. it gets her A SPOT IN THE CLUB AS A CHILD CARETAKER.
Dawn's dad dates at least three different women in this book, and he always does the same thing - he makes Dawn and Jeff go with them on his second date. Why? A second date is really soon to be like "hey, I know we just met, but look at all this awesome baggage I'm bringing into our relationship," I mean, maybe it was his way of weeding people out quickly.
Best Character
Dawn. She tried really hard to keep it a secret from Whitney that she was being paid to hang out with her. And also, she could see that her dad really missed Carol and suggested he call her, even though she wasn't a huge fan of her.
Worst Character
I'm going with Whitney. 1. If she hadn't insisted on eating not one but TWO ice cream sandwiches, she never would have found out that Dawn was really her babysitter. 2. She is a kidnapper.
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