Super Special #3 - Baby-Sitters Winter Vacation

Plot:
The entire middle school, along with other middle schools, are going on a week long winter vacation to a lodge. While they are there, they have a Winter War, with a ton of outdoor winter activities. The entire school is divided between two teams - Kristy, of course, is the captain of her team, and she is also organizing the entire war.

On the way to the Lodge, a group of elementary students' bus gets into a wreck and the two teachers that came with them are injured. So, of course, the BabySitters Club offers to babysit them the entire week and even bunk up with them.

Logan can't go on the trip because his family is going to Aruba, so MA decides to write a book for him about her trip that he missed.

Highlights:

• MaryAnne is without Logan for ONE week and she loses her mind and assumes he is cheating on her. Also, he calls her from ARUBA just to say he misses her. They are 13. 
• Stacey and Claudia both fall in love - Stacey with Pierre, who is a 13 year old from another school. The feeling is mutual. Claudia falls for her ski instructor, who is married with two kids. The feeling is not mutual. 
• Dawn, who always says how easy going she is and doesn't care what people think of her, falls down a lot during the winter games and pouts the entire rest of the book. She starts a fight with MA and gets mad at Kristy. 
• Jessi, as an 11 year old sixth grader, is in charge of the entire Talent Show they have one night. Don't worry, she takes the opportunity to schedule herself into the show for a ballet solo. Also, one of the little kids is kind of rude to her, and Jessi decides it has to be race related, but of course it's not - the kid is just homesick (and also kind of a jerk). 
• Of course Kristy is way too intense about the winter war and ends up alienating most of her class. She also guilts people into joining the cross country skiing competition and one kid ends up breaking his leg. 
• If I was still doing worse character ever, Mallory would win. First, she loses her mind because they assign the rooms by grades, so her and Jessi are with sixth graders and of course she doesn't think that is fair. It doesn't matter anyway, since they end up volunteering to stay with the kids (seriously, can these girls ever NOT babysit?). Then, they announce there will be a dance on their last night at the lounge, and she is literally praying for the place to BURN TO THE GROUND so she doesn't have to go. She is the worst. 
• Oh, and Mallory tries to do her spying thing again, but she actually gets caught twice - one time, it's spying on Stacey and her lover. LIKE SERIOUSLY - she is so weird. 
• This was the first BSC book I ever read, so I have a soft spot in my heart for it. But even back then, I remember thinking "why would these girls give up their entire week to babysit for free?"

Super Special #2 - Baby-Sitters Summer Vacation

Plot:
All of the Baby-Sitters Club, along with Logan and several of the kids from Stoneybrook, go to Camp Mohawk for two weeks over the summer. Stacey has moved back to New York, so all the Stoneybrook BSC members decide they want to go after Dawn makes them watch camp movies. They take quite awhile to convince Stacey to go, because she doesn't think she can live without the NYC building and Bloomingdales for two weeks (um...it's two weeks, Stace). Finally she agrees but says if she's going to be gone from New York for two solid weeks, everyone has to write journal entries so that she has a diary of her time away.

Highlights:

• The camp is set up of age-separated cabins, with a counselor, two CITS (counselors in training), and six canpers. All the older BSC members are CITS, and Mallory and Jessi can't handle the fact that they are only 11, so they get special permission to be Junior CITS. All the other campers in their cabin make fun of them greatly for this. I don't blame them - that's fucking nerdy. Especially since Mallory makes them "Junior CIT" armbands to wear so they can stand out. 
• Kristy and MaryAnne are both in cabins where their partner CITS make them feel like babies. Kristy's make her over and force her to go to the Movie Night and the Dance with the boys side, even though she doesn't want to. MaryAnne's are constantly testing her and they don't believe she has a boyfriend. So she writes a scandalous letter to him and leaves it on her bed for them to find. They do, and then convince her she needs to take it to Logan. So she leaves at night to walk the letter across the lake to the boys side - but they freak out and tell on her, so then she gets caught. They take the letter to Logan, and he gets made fun of pretty heavily. 
• Stacey gets very sick and spends most of the time in the infirmary. 
• Claudia, of course, meets a guy for two seconds when he comes over to invite the girls to Movie Night and the Dance, and falls madly in love. They find each other on Movie Night and have an intense love affair during the two times they are allowed to hang out. 
• Dawn's group gets to go on an overnight camping trip, but they get lost and end up gone for two nights. What, Dawn, the camping expert, gets her group lost in the woods?? Shut the fuck up, Dawn. 
• Mallory and Jessi's are, of course, connected at the hip. Their cabin-mates make fun of them, but then they take it a step too far by bringing race into it. Their special project is to create a dance for the 8 year old cabins, and they make it about twins who feel different than all their friends. - and of course, they make the twins Becca and Charlotte, a black girl and a white girl, to prove a point. 
• Also, side note, it always amazes me how "shy" and how much stage fright Becca and Charlotte have, yet they are always on stage and in plays in these books. 

Super Special #1 - Baby-Sitters on Board!

Super Specials are different than the other novels in this series - they are longer, with the chapters divided up from different viewpoints. For these, I will write up a summary of the whole book then hit highlights from the character's stories.

Plot:
Mr. Pike wins a cruise and trip to Disney World for his entire family (I bet his company was wishing someone with a smaller family won).  They ask Stacey and Mary Anne to come as mother's helpers again. When Watson hears about the trip, he decides to take his entire family, along with Dawn and Claudia (because no baby-sitter can be left behind). (Also, I can't believe Kristy's brothers don't throw a fit and insist on bringing their own friends.) (Unless maybe they are each other's best friends.) Kristy decides since all of the BSC members are there (there are only 5 at this point - Kristy, Claud, Stacey, MA and Dawn) that they need to have meetings every single day. She also decides they need to brainstorm a gift to give to the two sets of parents that made this trip happen. They have a lot of shitty ideas, but finally Claudia comes up with the idea to make a scrapbook of the trip.

Highlights:

• Kristy, Dawn and Claudia share a room, both on the cruise ship and in the hotel. Dawn is a neat freak and Kristy is a slob, and they are pretty terrible to each other. Kristy is super immature - like, at breakfast one day she sloppily drinks her milk to create a milk mustache and then won't wipe it off). Finally, they apologize to each other. 
• Everyone meets new friends - Kristy meets an old man she hangs out with, Stacey meets this little boy in a wheelchair who has a bad heart, Claudia has a secret admirer, then she meets a boyfriend who ends up being the secret admirer, Dawn meets a boyfriend, and MaryAnne meets this incredibly sophisticated girl who tells her that she is an orphan, but it ends up not only does she have famous folk singing parents, but also her brother is Claudia's secret admirer/boyfriend.  In an odd twist of character, MA actually confronts her and decides she does not want someone who lies that much in her life. 
• Karen gets to pen two chapters, and she doesn't come off well in either one of them. In the first one, Kristy takes her, David Michael and Andrew to the pool and Karen asks if she can go back to her room by herself to get something - Kristy lets her but Karen gets distracted and goes and gets a manicure and a coke, charging it to her room. Like a spoiled little brat. In the second one, her parents take the three little kids to a Disney character breakfast and Karen fucking lies and says its her birthday to get everyone to sing to her. BRAT. 
• Mallory isn't a babysitter yet, and she's super weird. She tries to do this Harriet the Spy thing where she just kind lurks around and listens to conversations - and ends up getting most of her facts wrong. It's weird. She's weird. 
• Bryan gets to write two chapters, and they are boring AF.

#131 - The Fire at Mary Anne's House

Timeline
Summer after 9th repeat

Plot
It's summer time and MaryAnne is enjoying her normal life - sleeping in, lunches with Logan, talking to Dawn on the phone. She find a magazine with a "Best Babysitter" contest and she decides to enter with the entire BSC. Life is good.

Then - then she wakes up to a smoke filled house and the fire alarms ringing. Her entire house burns to the ground. She spends the next few days digging through the rubble with pretty much the entire town of Stoneybrook, and they are staying at Kristy's house, which is nice but crowded. MA doesn't cry a single tear, which is obviously very unlike her. Her parents start talking about a fresh start - maybe, away from Stoneybrook - possibly as far as Philadelphia. Finally, one night she can't sleep so she rides Kristy's bike over to the destroyed house and just sits and cries and cries. Dawn wakes up to find her gone, so she goes to find her and they cry together.

The BSC charges get together to send in their application for the Best Babysitter contest, but we never hear if they won.

Takeaways
Holy shit - I made it to the LAST BOOK in the regular series! And I will tell you what - it was a doozy to get through. I kept tearing up about the fire, but also I think because I knew this was it.

There really isn't a lot of takeaways other than what I wrote up in the plot summary.

I seriously had to fight back tears.

It's pretty clear it was the last book in the regular series - there was a lot of "remember whens" throughout the entire book.

Best Character
I don't even know. Dawn flew in right away to be with her family. MA and her family had to deal with a fire. The entire town of Stoneybrook took them in and took care of them. Everyone was the best.

Worst Character
Just the fire. The fire was the worst.

#130 - Stacey's Movie

Timeline
May of 9th repeat

Plot
Stacey and Kristy are both in a film making class at school. Kristy's group does a project where they record the kids of Stoneybrook and she is grouped with Alan Gray. Kristy, of course, is a psycho and takes over and is completely rude to Alan. She also tries to make the kids "act funny" and they get annoyed with her, along with the other babysitters.

Stacey's group is interviewing middle schooler's about their innermost thoughts and feelings. They end up getting some really real answers from their classmates - like Jessi feeling weird being one of the only black kids in Stoneybrook, MaryAnne being angry with her mother for dying, Alan Gray feeling like no one will ever take him seriously. Even Stacey ends up talking about her parents fighting and eventual divorce.  MA and Stacey are worried about how they will be portrayed, but the film ends up being amazing.

Takeaways
Stacey's boyfriend has always been 15, but in this book he is 16. So he gets to age but no one else does?

Kristy is pretty much the worst in this book, again, and Abby tells her as much. It's kind of hilarious. She writes in the club notebook how terrible Kristy is.

Best Character
I think Jessi is the best character in this book - she finally says all the things she has probably been thinking for years, and Stacey is all hurt that Jessi doesn't feel like she fit in, but she is just like meh...it's the truth, deal with it Blondie.

Worst Character
Just Kristy, She is such a monster sometimes.

#129 - Kristy at Bat

Timeline
April of 9th repeat

Plot
Kristy and Watson are going to a week long father-daughter baseball camp where baseball legends are leading the camp. One of the guys leading is Bill Baines, who Watson has worshiped since he was a kid. Watson loads up all his Baines memorabilia and they take off. But right before they leave, Kristy finds out she only made the B squad of the SMS softball team - she was feeling cocky and half assed it through the try out, and the coach noticed and assigned her accordingly. She is feeling pretty let down about the whole baseball universe, but she tries to make the best of it because Watson is so excited.

Pretty much right away, Watson meets his idol and he is a complete asshole, so Watson is pretty let down for several days. Kristy starts doing Kristy thing, completely taking over and organizing everyone. Bill Baines continues to be a dick, and finally Kristy freaks out on him, loudly, in front of everyone. Bill realizes how much of an ass he is being, so he completely changes and he and Watson become tight. At the awards ceremony, Kristy wins "Best Coach" because of her natural leadership ability.

Subplot is that of course, the kids of Stoneybrook are obsessed with baseball cards and have started a little trading club. David Michael gets taken advantage of, but then he gets the kid back.

Takeaways
Kristy is 13 years old, but somehow takes over and leads an entire camp, one where there are several adults.

She also admits that Abby is a better athlete than she is.

It was kind of nice seeing Kristy get put in her place by the softball coach - like I'm sure Kristy is a good coach, but maybe she needs to take that old saying "those who can't do, teach" more seriously.

Also, there's this weird thing during this book where Kristy really misses her real dad and wishes he was there with her.

Best Character
I would have to say Watson - he had to have spent so much money on this camp and he was so excited when his idol finally paid attention to him.

Worst Character
Even though he learns his lesson, Bill Baines is still the worst.

#128 - Claudia and the Little Liar

Timeline
March of 9th repeat

Plot
Claudia has been sitting for Haley and Matt Braddock one night, and Haley gets caught in a lie when her parents get home. After that, it is mother fucking game on - Haley is out to get Claudia. She convinces the rest of the kids in Stoneybrook that not only Claudia, but the entire BSC, are a bunch of liars and tattletails (Tattletales? Tattle tales?) Anyway, the BSC brainstorms and decides to use some psychology stuff that MA learned when she was seeing a therapist on Haley. It works, and it comes down to Haley is starting to suck at school, so she's been lying there to get our of stuff. When it works at school, she decides to start doing it at home too. Of course, the BSC solves the mystery and all is well.

Sub plot is that Claudia is still dating Josh, but she doesn't feel really romantic about him - she doesn't know how to handle it.But it turns out Josh is feeling the same way towards her, so they break up but remain really good friends.

Takeaways
Sometimes it's hard to take these books - these girls are SO INVOLVED in every single detail of their client's lives.

They keep talking about how much younger Josh is than the rest of the characters, and how he feels so intimidated by them. Um. He is in 7th grade and they are in 8th. How is it they have literally never met before Claudia got moved down to 7th grade? Stoneybrook cannot possibly be that big.

Best Character
Josh - he was way more mature than Claudia and initiated the break up conversation, even though that had to be scary for him considering he is "so much younger" than her.

Worst Character
The little liar Haley. I don't think all is well with her - this is just the beginning of her lying life. Soon she will be knocked up in high school.

#127 - Abby's Un-Valentine

Timeline
Feb of 9th repeat

Plot
Abby has no interest in boys or Valentine's Day. Actually, she is so anti Valentine's Day it's a little weird. So when a boy, Ross, decides he wants Abby as his Valentine, obviously things aren't going to work out in his favor. He chases her, but she resists and is actually quite rude to him. But of course, Ross won't give up, which is also quite rude. Then she realizes that all the things Ross is interested in don't appeal to her but they would appeal to her sister, Anna. She attempts to set them up, but it flops. He comes to the house and thinks Anna is Abby, and for some reason Anna doesn't correct him, then he realizes he has the wrong twin and gets very mad. Anna and Abby go to his house to apologize, and Abby says that maybe Anna and Ross should spend time together. They set a date.

Sub plot is that it's time for the guide dog that Kristy's family is training is ready to move on to the next step and Andrew is losing his mind. David Michael ends up giving him partial ownership of their other puppy, Shannon, to help him heal.

Takeaways
Ross may have trouble later in his life -he doesn't get that no means no.

Abby and Kristy end up spending Valentine's Day together, which is weird bc Abby mentions several times in the book that she is not that close with Kristy. Abby is in denial. It wasn't that many books ago Kristy went on vacation with Abby's family.

Best Character
I would say Anna, because it's pretty clear that she has feelings for Ross from the very beginning, but then she is very positive about getting Abby hooked up with him. So she puts her feelings aside for her twin. But then she ends up getting him anyway.

Worst Character
I know that everything ends up being okay, but I'm going to give this one to Ross because he doesn't respect Abby telling him no.

#126 - The All-New Mallory Pike

Timeline
January of 9th repeat

Plot
The day has finally come for Mallory to go to her new school, Riverbend. She and her parents make the trip, and the first night goes pretty well for Mal. She meets all the other new students, and then the next day the returning students come back and she meets her roommate, Alexis. Right off the bat, it's not going to work out -Alexis starts telling her all the "rules" for the room, and Mallory finds she also has no room for her own stuff bc Alexis has taken over.

Things just keep getting worse and worse. Alexis reads Mallory's journal; she borrows earrings without asking. Mallory throws herself into her new life with her new friends and just avoids her room. Alexis then makes her feel bad for avoiding her, but then two seconds later she is a bitch again. The shit finally really hits the fan when Mal gets a care package from the BSC and Alexis completely destroys it. They have mediation meeting with their RA and the dean, and Alexis storms out, goes back to their room and completely trashes it, throwing shit everywhere. The dean sees the situation is drastic, so they ask a girl who has a single room to move in with Mallory and they move Alexis to live by herself.

Back in Stoneybrook, the Pike kids are fighting over Mallory's space - with her being gone, Vanessa has a room to herself and that's really not fair. So they battle it out, and then finally sort it out.

Takeaways
Right when Mallory leaves, all the Pike kids like LOSE their minds and are all depressed that Mallory left. I don't think that's very realistic. And it's not like Mallory died. It's January at this point, so I bet she would be home in like 8 weeks for a spring break of some sort. Get it together.

Also, I think it's weird the Pike family never thought of the room situation before Mallory left.

The roommate situation reminded me so much of my first roommate at BVU. She was just weird. All I wanted to do was move out, but they had a roommate freeze time where you couldn't make adjustments. As soon as that time was over, though, I bolted.

Also, I kind of wish I had gone to an all girls school. I feel like I would have had my shit together a little earlier in life if I had.

Best Character
Mallory. When I was an 19 year old kid going to school for the first time, I lost my shit often. Mallory is 11 and handles it like a pro.

Worst Character
I mean, obviously Alexa, the room destroyer.

#125 - Mary Anne in the Middle

Timeline
December of 9th repeat

Plot
Okay so Mallory has decided she is for sure leaving to go to boarding school, and Jessi is pissed. They fight constantly and for some reason they are both confiding in Mary Anne about everything. They are constantly talking to MA about each other and MA is like losing sleep over it. Finally, she tricks them into both coming to her house at the same time and then she acts as the mediator, gets them to understand each other, and they make up. The BSC and pretty much the entire neighborhood of Stoneybrook then has a "We Love Mallory" day.

The substory is that the BSC, along with the entire neighborhood of course, makes holiday decorations for the old age home and then throws a party for the old people. It's the most successful party in the history of old age home holiday parties.

Takeaways
I really hope these girls are keeping track of all the community service they do. It will look great on job/college applications.

There really wasn't a lot to this book at all. Jessi and Mallory were both super immature about their fight and were downright nasty to each other. And they were super mean/rude to each other in front of people, including their sitting charges.

Also, they both get pissed and walk out of a BSC meeting and I can't believe that was okay with Kristy.

Best Character
MA because she has to deal with two sixth graders fighting like children and she is the only one who figures out how to get them to get along.

Worst Character
Honestly Mallory is pretty immature, but Jessi is just plain nasty the majority of the book.

#124 - Stacey McGill...Matchmaker

Timeline
November of 9th repeat

Plot
There is a new BSC client in town. He has two children, and Stacey gets assigned to the job. His name is John, and he is an author. When Stacey's mom comes to pick her up, sparks fly. Pretty soon, Ms. Stacey's Mom and John are dating. Stacey is elated.

You know who is not elated? Joni, John's oldest daughter. She is nine, and she is not ready for her dad to start dating. She is pretty convinced her mom will come back, even though she completely deserted the family to go be a model. Joni starts pulling all sorts of tricks with her dad to keep him away from Ms. Stacey's Mom.

Stacey and her mom host Thanksgiving, and it doesn't go well. Joni has kind of a meltdown at dinner, but the worst part was things didn't seem to be vibing with John and Ms. SM. He doesn't offer to help with dishes, SM is clearly not impressed with his parenting, and when she drives Stacey to the train station the next morning to go see her dad, she lets Stacey know she is going to break up with him. Stacey is pissed, but then her boyfriend Ethan tells her she needs to be on her mom's side. So she goes back to Stoneybrook, hears the news that the breakup is done, and goes over to their house to give the kids gifts and tell them she still loves them.

There is no real subplot, the other babysitters are barely mentioned. Except Mallory is going to visit a boarding school a long ways away because she hates SMS.

Takeaways
Stacey says something about how her dad had a quiet Thanksgiving, but she thinks he misses the big loud family Thanksgiving. I feel like Stacey doesn't really know her parents at all.

Like...she is obsessed with this John guy for her mom. She really barely knows him. And they've only been on like three dates and all of a sudden the families are merging for Thanksgiving?

One of Joni's tricks is that she deletes the chapter of the book John is working on. Like....I would for real give my kid up for adoption if she did that.

There is really nothing to this book except this relationship that fizzles out in like two weeks.

Best Character
Mrs. McGill, because she doesn't just settle for John. She knows she deserves Mr. Right.

Worst Character
I don't even know - I suppose Joni because she is a world class brat, but it seems weird to give worst character to a confused 9 year old. So instead I will give it to her mom - like, she GAVE UP her two kids to go be a model? Get a clue, lady.

#123 - Claudia's Big Party

Timeline
Fall of 9th repeat

Plot
Claudia is back in 8th grade, but she is still dating her boyfriend, Josh, who is in 7th grade. She is trying to figure out how to manage her time between homework, babysitting, her 7th grade friends, her 8th grade friends, her boyfriend and her family, especially Janine who has become kind of clingy since breaking up with her boyfriend.

Her parents take a four day trip and leave the girls home by themselves. Claudia decides a party with all her friends would be the best way to get them to hang out, and Janine agrees to it. However, it gets out of hand. Everyone seemed to invite extra friends, and soon the house is packed and a vase gets broken. Of course, that's the moment her Aunt Peaches stops by and makes everyone leave and says she is telling on them. But the girls tell their parents first, and they really aren't that mad. And the party ends up being a success, because all her friends, regardless of grade, already have made plans to hang out the following weekend.

Subplot is that Melody and Bill Korman are fighting and of course the BSC solves it and makes them get along.

Takeaways
This is literally the only time I can remember the BSC being nice to non-BSC members, especially girls.

I kind of thought the Kormans were being dicks to Bill and treating Melody like a princess but I guess that never really mattered.

Mallory is a huge whine tit in this book about still being called Spaz Girl. And of course she is the one who broke the vase.

Best Character
It's a tie between Claudia and Janine - Claudia is trying to hard to please everyone, and Janine is trying so hard to be cool.

Worst Character
Like, I know Peaches had to be mature and responsible and tell on the girls, but she was kind of a bitch about it. So I'm glad the girls told their parents first. But Peaches wins worst character fo sho.

#122 - Kristy in Charge

Timeline
Fall of 9th repeat

Plot
SMS, again, is doing something crazy. They have a new program, called TOT (Teacher of Tomorrow), where students can volunteer to be a teacher for extra credit. Of course Kristy is all for it, and Abby immediately calls her out for just wanting a reason to boss everyone around. Of course that's true. but Kristy also thinks this is a great opportunity to show the teachers how much they suck.

Most of the BSC does it - Kristy gets a gym class, Mallory gets an 8th grade english class, Stacey gets a math class, Mary Anne gets some boring class. They are supposed to come up with very detailed lesson plans to hand in. Kristy decides gym teachers don't do lesson plans, so she doesn't. She is also teamed up with the boys PE teacher for the same period, who is some guy she can't , stand. She refuses to work with him, so their first two class periods are complete madhouses. They get sent to the principal's office, who tells them they have one more chance and then they will be fired. So they actually work together and their last class is such a success, the PE teacher asks them to come back and teach the final.

Mallory, however, is terrible. She is nervous anyway about teaching 8th graders anyway, and then they make fun of her and call her SpazGirl, which quickly spreads to the entire school and becomes her new nickname.

The babysitting sub plot is that Vanessa decides she wants to be a teacher and forces her siblings to play, so they TIE HER UP and refuse to play with her.

Takeaways
Okay...so Kristy and her partner suck so badly they almost get fired, and then after ONE successful class, they get asked to come back and teach the final? #nope

Mallory is just the most depressing, negative person in the world.

MaryAnne hates being the center of attention and public speaking, but yet she volunteers to be a teacher? #nope

Best Character
Honestly, I think it was the PE teacher Kristy was working for. Usually Kristy kind of rolls over adults, but this teacher wasn't having it and put her in her place. And sent her to the freaking principal's office!

Worst Character
I realize Mallory was put in a shit situation, but her whining and crying made her insufferable. So Mallory.

#121 - Abby in Wonderland

Timeline
Summer before 9th repeat

Plot
Abby and her family are going to her grandparent's house in the Hamptons for an extended vacation, and while they are there their grandparents are throwing an Alice In Wonderland themed anniversary party for themselves. Her grandmother is hell bent on getting everyone in the family there, and she seems more crazy about it than usual. Abby can't figure out why her grandma seems so much more sensitive this year, so she does some snooping and discovers information about breast cancer in her grandma's bedroom. She then takes it upon herself to make sure this party has everyone there that her grandma wants, so she starts making calls and convincing her relatives to come, including her grandma's sister who has been estranged for quite some time.

Kristy comes to the party, and Abby is glad to have a friend there. During her grandma's thank you announcement, Abby becomes overwhelmed with emotion and runs inside. Her grandma sees her and follows her, and Abby finally just bluntly asks about the breast cancer. Her grandma admits she has a lump her doctor is doing a biopsy on, but no matter what happens she will fight bc she's not ready to die yet.

Side story is the Pikes don't get to go to Sea City this year, so they are all super depressed, so the BSC helps them turn their backyard into a beach and have a beach party with all their friends.

Takeaways
Abby's grandparent's house seriously sounds like the best place on earth. All I want is a beach house.

It's kind of weird Kristy goes to the party with Abby, but I guess she's probably the closest thing to a best friend Abby has in Stoneybrook? Everyone is kind of paired off already.

Also, like I said in the last book review...these books are getting deep lately.

That Alice in Wonderland party sound amaze-balls and I want one for myself ASAP.

Also, the Pikes are spoiled brats. There are EIGHT children in that house, and they act all depressed because, for the first summer ever, they can't afford a lavish two week beach vacation. Um. We had six kids in our family and do you know how many vacations we went on as kids? One. And we left one kid at home because he cost too much (jk, there was another reason).

Best Character
Obviously Abby's bad ass, cancer fighting grandma. Who is also a hell of a party planner.

Worst Character
All of the spoiled Pike kids except Mallory, who gets it.

#120 - Mary Anne and the Playground Fight

Timeline
Beginning of summer between 8th and 9th repeat

Plot
It is summer again, Dawn is back again, and, again, somehow, SMS has offered their students an amazing trip. This year it is Europe for FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS. THAT'S ALL.

There is also a opportunity at the playground for camp counselors. Everyone wants to do all of the things. But then Dawn says she is not going on the trip, so then Mary Anne decides she is not going. Then Logan says he is not going. Then Claudia says she is not going if she gets a playground job. Stacey, Abby and Kristy decide they want both, so they lie during the interview and say they won't go, but their plan is to just wait until they start and then ask for the ten days off. It's super shady and the girls fight pretty badly about it.

Mallory and Jessi get cut right from the start because of their age. Kristy, Stacey and Abby put their plan of lying into action. Meanwhile, Kristy is insistent everyone help fund raise even though not everyone is going. She is a huge bitch about it, which doesn't help with the fighting.

Subplot in this book is that little princess Victoria is moving back to Europe and she's sad. so they have an "American themed" goodbye party for her.

So as it ends up, the committee sees through the lies and only hires Dawn, Logan, MaryAnne and Claudia. They have this weird meeting where the formally apologize to each other and all is well.

Takeaways
How are they going on this trip for only FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS?!

As this series is coming to an end, Kristy is becoming worse and worse to hang out with. I would guess when they are finally too old to be in a babysitting club, most of these girls won't be friends with Kristy anymore.

Mallory has a pretty good line in this book where she FINALLY yells at Kristy for treating her like a baby. Kristy is kind of the worst.

I also love that the committee saw through the lies and didn't give the job to Kristy. She kept saying in this book how she was way more qualified than anyone around her.

Best Character
I mean, they are all kind of terrible, but I would say MaryAnne because she makes the right decision by choosing to stay in Stoneybrook with Dawn. Although, passing up a $400 trip to Europe is pretty stupid.

Worst Character
Fucking Kristy.

#119 - Stacey's Ex-boyfriend

Timeline
May of 8th repeat

Plot
Robert broke up with Stacey several months ago for his friend Andi. Their relationship didn't last very long, but Stacey is still with the guy she met and started dating after Robert dumped her. His name is Ethan and he lives in New York, so Stacey sees him a few times a month. She is really happy, but Robert is in a noticeable weird funk. He has kind of given up on everything - his friends, his school work, his family - he even quits the baseball team right before their championship game.

Stacey runs into Robert's little sister, who yells at Stacey and says it's her fault that Robert is in a depression. So she goes completely overboard trying to "fix" Robert. She tries to become his best friend, and Robert will let her in for awhile but then he would get pissed and push her away. Finally Stacey calls into a radio show therapist and asks for help, and the therapist tells her she needs to get an adult involved. Stacey tells that to Robert, who gets pissed, but then he shows up at Stacey's house in the middle of the night, sobbing, begging for help. They call his baseball coach, who helps Robert a lot. He finally seems to be getting better. Stacey and Robert go to the spring dance, as friends, and they declare that they love each other as friends.

The side story is there is a strawberry patch that opens in Stoneybrook, and of course all of Stoneybrook is obsessed with it. Kristy and the BSC throw a Strawberry Festival and of course the entire town came and it is the biggest success in the entire world.

Takeaways
These baby-sitting club books are getting pretty deep lately.

It was pretty clear that Robert was going through a depression, and I can't believe Stacey didn't catch on sooner. She just kept telling him to snap out of it.

Her parents are also pretty patient with her, considering she decides at a moments notice to go to NYC for the day. Also, it's kind of weird that a 13 year old is in a long distance relationship.

Best Character
I mean, obviously Stacey who tries so hard to help even though she is getting no where - and this guy dumped her, so she really had no reason to want to help him.

Worst Character
I would say Robert's family, because WTF. They should maybe be paying more attention to their kid rather than just saying "that's how teenagers are".

#118 - Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer

Timeline
April of 8th repeat

Plot
There is a baby-sitting charge in Stoneybrook, Deb, who recently lost her sight. She got sick and woke up blind one day, and she is not handling it well. She is isolating herself and refusing to see friends. One day Kristy is babysitting her and she decides to walk to town by herself, almost killing herself. Kristy finds her and they have a long talk, and Deb seems a little better after that.

This unfortunate turn of events made Watson think that 7 kids, a bunch of pets, a business and running a household isn't enough, so he decides to become a service dog trainer as well. They go pick up their service dog in training, Scout, and the entire family starts taking him everywhere.

And that's what happens in this book.

Takeaways
Deb has some pretty good comebacks in regards to her blindness. Like basically anytime someone mentions seeing something, she's like um nope I'm blind. And at one point her brother is yelling at her and she's like dude I'm blind not deaf.

Of course there is some "service dog" fair when the Watson-Brewer's are done with their dog.

They take the dog to a dog training class, and on the "graduation" day, they have like professional pictures taken of the whole class and then the dogs and their owners. Seriously, that can't be real.

I am not a dog person.

Kristy even brings the fucking dog to the BSC meetings. Every single BSC meeting.

There is also a time when Karen feeds the dog something and Kristy loses her goddamned mind, but then Watson is like it's fine, things happen. Kristy is a lot to handle sometimes.

Best Character
Watson, who makes this decision and is just trying to do a good thing.

Worst Character
There really isn't a worst character in this book, but I'm going to give it to Kristy bc she's such a tyrant sometimes. And why does she have to bring the fucking dog to Claudia's house, which is pet free?

#117 - Claudia and the Terrible Truth

Timeline
March of 8th repeat

Plot
There were really three plots in this book:
1. Claudia's aunt and uncle leave town for a week and leave their kid, Lynn, at the Kishis.
2. It's St. Patrick's Day and there's a parade in town, so of course the BSC organizes with all the kids in town so they can be involved.
3. There is a new client in town, the Nicholls family. The dad is incredibly strict and doesn't have a job right now, and the mom is pretty meek and timid and works at the library with Claudia's mom. They have two young boys, who are not allowed to act like young boys bc the dad is so strict. They are terrified of them, and are always on their best behavior because of their fear. The dad still thinks they can't do anything right, even referring to them as "dumb" and "jerks" to Claudia, who becomes their regular babysitter.
One day Claudia leaves their house, but realizes she forgot her coat and goes back, walking in just in time to hear Mr. Nicholls slap one of the boys. Claudia can see the red mark on his face and both boys are crying. She runs immediately to the BSC, who decide they need to tell an adult. They tell Claudia's mom, who talks to a social worker and tries to talk to Mrs. N, but she denies everything and fires the BSC.
Another 8th grade girl, Erica, is babysitting for them one night and calls Claudia, because she heard Claudia had been fired. She said both boys are all bruised up and one of them has a black eye. Claudia calls her mom right away, who helps Mrs. N and the two boys escape. She finally admits the truth about the abuse and moves the boys 4 hours away to stay with her sister.

Takeaways
Jeez Louise, I legit had to fight back tears through most of this book.

I'm so glad the BSC decided to actually tell an adult, rather than trying to handle this on their own like they typically would.

I don't know what else to say. This book was heavy.

Best Character
Claudia's mom, who swept right in and saved the day and didn't give up when Mrs. N clearly wanted her to butt out.

Worst Character
Obviously the child abuser, Mr. Nicholls.

#116 - Abby and the Best Kid Ever

Timeline
Feb of 8th repeat

Plot
Lou, who was the worst kid ever when the Papadakis's were fostering her, is back in town. Her aunt and uncle adopted her and her brother and now they've moved to Stoneybrook. Also, the Addison's are moving. Also, it's Black History Month so Abby is doing a project on the Underground Railroad and (obviously) she involves all the kids in Stoneybrook.

Lou is acting like a perfect angel because she is scared that her aunt and uncle will get rid of her. She is annoyingly helpful and makes a lot of mistakes bc she is so obsessed with perfection. Abby talks to her brother about it, and be basically says Lou is on edge because she is scared of getting thrown back into the system. Even though she knows that, Abby snaps at her and then Lou becomes a brat again. Then she's good again. Then she's bad again. Finally she has a breakdown and her aunt and uncle say they will never get rid of her ever.

So that is settled. Abby's project is amazing. And they throw a goodbye part for the Addison's, and the family who moves in comes. The dad seems super controlling and the kids seem scared of him.

Takeaways
This book was SO boring.

Abby mentions a few times how bossy Kristy is, and how she is uncomfortable when she isn't in charge. She is super passive aggressive about it.

AFTER Lou's brother tells Abby how sensitive Lou is, Abby yells at her. It's so rude.

Again, this book was so boring.

Best Character
Mallory, because even though it had nothing to do with her, she helps Abby A LOT with her project and then stands at the fair with her the entire time.

Worst Character
Abby, for a variety of reasons. And probably the dad of the new kids, because I'm sure it will come out later that he is abusive.

#115 - Jessi's Big Break

Timeline
Winter of 8th repeat

Plot
Jessi auditioned for a special "Winter Session" at a prestigious ballet program in New York several months ago. She gets a letter that she GOT IN! She arranges to stay with Aunt Cecilia's son and daughter-in-law, and off she goes to New York for three weeks! She is so excited, but of course Mallory goes into a depression and Becca becomes an unholy terror, all because Jessi is going to be gone for less than a month.

The ballet class is amazing, and Jessi is a standout from the beginning. She meets a bunch of friends and feels so at home there. She loves the city. Quint, her kind of boyfriend from the first time she visited New York, is there and still likes her, but she tells him they can only be friends and he's fine with that. Everything is going so amazing, she almost forgets about Stoneybrook at all.

Mallory comes to visit once, but it's kind of awkward and Jessi is almost relieved when she goes back home. All of the other ballerinas start getting offers to stay for another three weeks, but Jessi doesn't. She is confused, but thinks maybe it's just because she's so young.

At the end of the session, there is a special event where her parents and aunt come to see her perform. She is supposed to go home with them after that, and back in Stoneybrook Becca and Mallory plan a welcome back party. However, after her performance she is asked to stay one more night so she can audition for a permanent position in this school. She stays, and Becca/Mallory are fucking pissed.

She, of course, gets an offer, but is told it will be there whenever she wants it. Jessi decides she will take it, but not right now - she wants to finish middle school maybe, and just be with her family for awhile longer.

There is no subplot except Becca and Mallory are little bitches.

Takeaways
Jessi is ELEVEN. ELEVEN. But somehow she has to break up with a guy twice because she is not ready for a boyfriend. Which of course she's not. Because she's ELEVEN.

She was only gone three weeks, but Becca and Mallory seriously act like she has moved to New York. Like they get super pissed because she doesn't want to come home every weekend that she is gone.

Jessi makes a comment that all of her new friends are black and she feels so at home with them. I bet it was such a culture shock for her to move from an all black neighborhood to an all white neighborhood. I feel bad for her.

And finally - I kind of wish she would have taken the spot at the school. I know she's only ELEVEN, but also this is her dream. She would be guaranteed to be a professional dancer had she gone there.

Best Character
Jessi is pretty adorable in this book, so she wins.

Worst Character
I would say Mallory because she's a pouty b through this whole book, but Becca is an actual little bitch so she wins.

#114 - The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier

Timeline
December of 8th repeat

Plot
MaryAnne's dad, for some reason, gives MA his credit card to use to do all her Christmas shopping. The deal is that she has to pay him back by the time he has to pay his credit card bill. For some reason, she goes bananas buying really super nice Christmas presents for her entire family and every single one of her friends. She doesn't mess around - like, she buys Jessi ballet tickets - and then seems super shocked when she finally adds up all her receipts. Then her dad tells her she will also have to pay interest on her purchases, and wow. MA needs to do something, because her babysitting money isn't going to cover it.
So she lies about her age and gets a job as an elf at the mall. She keeps this a secret from everyone and is just truly living a double life. Meanwhile, Dawn is home but she's acting like she is way too cool for her - back in California, 8th graders are in high school - but MA is so busy she doesn't really try to fix it, she just snaps right back at her. Plus, MA's coworker, Angela, tells her that her parents kicked her out and she is homeless, so MA is very concerned about her not having anywhere to spend Christmas.
There is a close call at the mall when Logan, Dawn and Logan's bro and sis come to see Santa. No one recognizes MA except Logan's little brother, who promises to keep her secret. Finally, her last day comes and goes and she has enough money to pay her dad. MA confronts Dawn about her shadiness, who then throws it back at her - so MA confesses to her double life, then she tells Logan, then her parents. Everyone is like dude, you should have just told us. MA also asks her parents if Angela can spend Christmas with them and her dad grumbles, but Sharon is like hell yes, and she buys her some gifts.
Subplot is that the hospital always does a Toys for Tots type fundraising event, but they cant this year - so of course the BSC takes it over and knocks it completely out of the park and raises the most money of anyone else in the land.

Takeaways
Why in the world would you give a 13 year old a credit card to spend how she wants? AND WHY wouldn't MA be keeping track of her spending as she went along? AND WHY wouldn't Richard explain about interest before letting her spend her balls off? That whole thing is so out of character for both of them.

MA mentions that Logan can't babysit his brother and sister because he has volleyball practice - how progressive of SMS.

Angela's parents throw her out - at 16 years old - and she tries to call them twice and they won't take her calls. Like...what the hell did she do?

Best Character
I mean, I think I have to give it to the whole BSC because they work their asses off for this Toys for Tots type charity.

Worst Character
It's a tie between MA and her dad, for their stupid financial decisions.

#113 - Claudia Makes Up Her Mind

Timeline
Fall of 8th repeat

Plot
Claudia is doing really well in 7th grade - she is doing well in her classes, she's super popular and she has a steady boyfriend, Mark. But then she gets told by the school counselor that they think she's ready to move back to 8th grade, and everything slowly starts to fall apart.

The school is in the middle of the "color war" - where each grade gets assigned a color and they compete - so she tries to throw herself into that. Meanwhile, her boyfriend is becoming more and more shady, and she cannot make up her mind about which grade to be in. Also, her 7th grade friends tell her that her friend, Josh, has the hots for her, which just complicates things more.

Finally, she makes two decisions - she is moving back to 8th grade, and she is breaking up with Mark. Then she immediately - like less than 12 hours later - gets with Josh. And the 7th grade wins the Color War, so she gets to go out on top.

Also, of course, the kids in the neighborhood hear about the Color War and want to have one of their own, which the BSC organizes and hosts.

Takeaways
I don't feel like a school would drop a kid back a grade then move them forward again all within the span of a few months.

I don't understand how SMS has time to have all these events - don't these kids ever just go to regular school?

Best Character
Probably Josh, because he has to watch Claudia waste her time with Mark and is just patient, and then he wins her.

Worst Character
Probably Alan Gray because he cheats during one of the Color War games. That's really reaching, but there really wasn't much to this book.