Super Special #14 - BSC in the USA

Plot

Dawn and Jeff are in Stoneybrook for the summer. Their dad is going to NYC to pick up an RV to drive back to California, so he arranges it with their mom to pick the kids up and drive cross country with them. Then somehow this morphs into Krisy's stepdad doing the same thing, so now we have:

Brewer RV with Watson, Elizabeth, David Michael, Karen, Andrew, Abby, Jessi and Mallory

Schafer RV with Mr. Schafer, Jeff, Dawn, Claudia, Stacey, Kristy and Mary Anne

Each RV was taking a different route to get to California, and each person got to pick a place along the way that was special to them. 

And yes, Kristy ditched her own family because the other RV's route took them past more MLB stadiums. 

Highlights

• So much happened in this book. 
• Mallory's special place was this small town where her horse books take place. She got to see a lot of horses. 
• Jessi's special place was a plantation where her family were owned as slaves. Also, since they drove through her hometown they stopped there and had dinner with her grandma. Mallory started acting shy, so of course Jessi decided she is secretly racist. 
• Kristy, for some reason, got to go to a million special places. They were all baseball stadiums. And at the one in San Fran, she saw her biological father on the big screen! She magically finds him and they promise to keep in touch. 
• Claudia's special place was an art museum, but then she also fell in love with Wall Drug in South Dakota, where she buys an artist's sketch for ONE DOLLAR that ends up being worth $500. 
• Stacey's special place was Seattle, where her boyfriend Ethan was staying for the summer. 
• Also, Stacey and Claudia fight during the entire trip because Stacey thinks Claudia was snooping through her journal. So they wasted the entire trip fighting rather than talking about it. 
• MaryAnne's place was going to be her grandmother's house in Iowa, but then her grandma suggests they meet in Minneapolis instead at the Mall of America. 
• Abby's special place is Graceland, where they think they see Elvis. But then when they are at the Grand Canyon, she is miserable bc it was a favorite place of her father's. But then she accepted it and spent time just taking in the view and felt at peace and like her father was there. 
• Of course there are two huge almost catastrophes. Mr. Schafer somehow runs out of gas and has to leave the kids alone on the RV when he walks to find a gas station and they are all scared to death. This is happening while the other RV stops at Watson's college roommate's house in Oklahoma, and of course there is a tornado while they are there. 
• The adults did not plan anything for this trip. Every day they just decides where to drive. Mr. Schafer ran out of freaking gas for crying out loud. I don't know how they could plan a cross country trip with no planning. 

Super Special #13 - Ahola, Baby-sitters!

Plot
Most of the BSC is going to Hawaii - everyone except Kristy and Mallory. Kristy isn't going because her own family is going to Hawaii in a few weeks, and Mallory isn't going because her family can't afford it. Jessi feels awful, so she decides she needs to document every single moment of the trip and make a scrapbook so Mallory feels like she was there. She gets everyone on the trip to contribute to the journal.

Takeaways

• Jessi is highly annoying with her documentation. She is always writing in a notebook or taking photos. At some point you think she would realize she wasn't even enjoying her own vacation because she was too busy trying to document it, but she doesn't. You would also think at some point someone would realize Mallory may not want to see all this shit from a vacation she wasn't allowed to go on, but no one does. 
• Of course Stacey gets in a HELICOPTER accident and is missing for a night. Of course. 
• Claudia clearly hasn't paid attention in any history classes, so when she learns about Pearl Harbor she spends the rest of the trip depressed about her ancestry. 
• Abby finds a commercial being shot on the beach and lies her way into being in it. 
• Mary Anne........OF COURSE........finds a family to babysit for while she is there. 
• Dawn....of course....finds a beach to clean up, and lectures the town people about keeping it clean. 
• Logan and MaryAnne decide to spend time with their friends on this trip, rather than just each other. But by the end of the trip, they realize they missed out on a lot of memories together and decide never to do that again. 
• Stacey is also with Robert during this book, and he is flirty with another girl so Stacey gets pissy. One chapter is from his point of view and he explains how bipolar she is acting. But then he literally watches her helicopter crash so they fall back in love. And probably bang that night. 
• Mallory and Kristy are in Stoneybrook and they get into a fight with a lady in the park who thinks they are shitty babysitters. But then Mallory goes back to the park and sees her being a shitty mom so she just stares at her all smug like. 
• Hawaii is on my bucket list of places to go, but no book I have ever read has made it seem as boring as these girls did. 

Super Special #12 - Here Come the Bridesmaids!

Plot
Dawn is in California for her extended stay, and her dad is marrying his girlfriend, Carol. She invites the whole club, but only Kristy and MaryAnne can go - Claudia wants to but can't afford it, so Dawn's dad "hires" her to come and help with the wedding, paying for half her plane ticket. I don't know why that arrangement gets made for her but no one else, but whatevs.

The reason the entire club can't make the trip is because Mrs. Barrett is marrying her boyfriend, Mr. DeWitt, ON THE SAME WEEKEND (which of course makes Dawn angry, because why didn't Mrs. Barrett check with the BSC first to make sure that weekend would work?) so Shannon and Mallory are hired as "wedding babysitters" (because of course no one can watch the children on this special day) and Stacey is in the wedding as a bridesmaid (.....). Jessi is also working, as a mall Santa (...).

Since they can't all be together, Dawn decides they should each have to keep a journal, to compile into a book about these weddings.

Highlights

• This book makes no sense. 
• Dawn's dad and Carol ask her to be maid of honor. For some reason, she takes that to mean she is in charge of picking the bridesmaids. So she picks out a dress and asks MaryAnne to be a bridesmaid. MA is pissed at first bc why would Dawn assume she wants to be the center of attention? But then MA is excited about it. And THEN Dawn's dad drops the bomb that Dawn has no fucking clue what she is talking about and the complete wedding party is Dad, Carol, Dawn and Jeff and that's it. So then MA is mad that Dawn is stupid. But they cry and make up in time for the wedding. 
• Claudia is "hired" help, so she has to pick out flowers and take photos at the wedding. 
• Kristy gets all buddy buddy with the We Love Kids Club (even though she hates their club) and plans a goodbye party for Dawn because after the wedding she is going back to Stoneybrook forever (nope). 
• Meanwhile, back in Stoneybrook, Mrs. Barrett asks Stacey to be a bridesmaid about a week before the wedding. One of her friends backed out at the last minute. I mean, I guess I get it because it's not like a 13 year old is really going to have anything else going on, and she could fit into the dress. But who would want a 13 year old in her wedding party.
• So at the wedding, Shannon takes the youngest kid out of the church bc he is crying, so she just sits and cuddles him during the ceremony. Meanwhile Mallory gets to handle like four fucking brats all by herself. I would be pissed if I were Mallory. 
• Oh and also Mallory is fighting with her boyfriend, Ben, because she agreed to go caroling with him on the wedding day, but then remembers it's the wedding day so she calls to cancel and Ben gets irrationally pissed. But then they make up and just go caroling the next day. 
• Meanwhile, at the mall, the mall Santa has backed out and they need a replacement. Out of all of the people in the world, why not have an 11 year old do it? There are probably 11 year olds still going to SEE SANTA. What the fuck is wrong with this town that the only people who can do anything are 11-13 year old girls?
• Also, after the Barrett-DeWitt wedding, those families are combining into one house. Guess who gets called to help them move? THE BSC DUH. 
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