#95 - Kristy + Bart = ?

Timeline
Early spring, their 6th repeat

Plot
Kristy and Bart have been hanging out for awhile, but never really have defined their relationship. But Bart is ready to kick it up a notch. He invites Kristy to a movie, and then makes out with her A LOT. Kristy is pretty annoyed, because she wants to watch the movie. She kisses him for awhile, but then tells him she wants to watch the movie.

Then one night Kristy is babysitting at her own house, and all the kids went to bed so she was on the couch watching a baseball game. Bart shows up and it is ON. They are full on making out when........her parents walk in. She gets grounded for the weekend and she is so pissed at Bart about it she calls and dumps him on Monday.

But then she starts to feel bad. She wants Bart, but not like that, but kind of like that, and she doesn't want him to like anyone else. So she calls Mary Anne, who basically tells her she isn't mature enough for a boyfriend yet. So Kristy asks Bart to go on a bike ride and she explains that to him, and he is like meh, okay. And then the book just kind of ends.

The side story is that the kids of Stoneybrook, at the organization of the BSC, are having a "record breaking" contest. Then they did a show. It was a marvelous hit.

Takeaways
The "record breaking" contest where there was an actual show that all of Stoneybrook attended sounds like the most boring thing in the entire world. An entire room of people watching some kid see how many pieces of cereal he can cram down his yumhole? Gross.

Dude, Kristy and Bart are FULLOUT making out in this book. I think it's the most action anyone in the BSC has seen so far. (At least, what we know of. I am sure Stacey and Robert are doing it.)

Kristy seems SO IMMATURE in this book.

Kristy may be a lesbian.

Also, she calls Bart "Bartman" when she breaks up with him. If that isn't a sign that you're in the friendzone, BARTMAN, I don't know what is.

Best Character
Probably Bart. He just wants to get his dick wet. And when Kristy dumps him, he immediately just finds another girl to take to the dance. Players gotta play.

Worst Character
I will go with Kristy, only because she acts like a fucking knucklehead in this entire book. And the "record breaking" contest idea is so lame.

#94 - Stacey McGill, Super Sitter

Timeline
Valentine's Day of their 6th repeat

Plot
Stacey is a New York girl at heart. Did you know that about her? She LUVS NYC. She is going to spend a weekend with her dad, and is all excited about what they are going to do so she is talking to Robert about it. He is like meh....not really into the city. So rather than just accept that not everyone LUVS NYC, Stacey decides she will take Robert into the city and take him to a play to show him how magical the city is. She decides she will take every sitting job she can so she can earn enough money to take Robert out for a night on the town (as 13 year olds).

At the next BSC meeting, a new client, Mrs. Cheplin, calls. She wants a sitter for every single school day, 315p-530p. The sitter would need to meet her two kids, Adam and Dana, at the bus and walk them home, and then take care of them until she gets home at 530p. Also, she will expect some housework to be done. Kristy is like no way, we aren't tying a sitter up every single day, and we aren't housekeepers. But Stacey convinces her to let her do it. She goes to meet with Mrs. Cheplin, who is kinda bitchy about how young Stacey is, but agrees to let her try. She brings up the housework thing again, and Stacey tries to explain that she will be there for the kids, not to be a maid, but then Mrs. Cheplin tells her she will pay her a ton and Stacey agrees. Mrs. Cheplin agrees to try this arrangement out for a week.

So Stacey works her ass off for a week. The kids are fine, except Dana has diabetes too and she uses it as an excuse to get out of shit she doesn't want to do. Stacey doesn't fall for it and literally pokes her finger to test her blood sugar, which is always fine. After one week, Mrs. C. decides another two week trial period is necessary. Stacey starts blowing off everyone in her life for this job. She is trying to raise money to take Robert out, but she is completely ignoring him. The list of chores start getting longer and longer, so long that Stacey can't get everything done in two hours, in which Mrs. Cheplin is a huge fucking bitch. Stacey wants to quit, but is obsessed with the money. Finally one day, Dana isn't faking it and Stacey has to find a ride to a doctor. She does, but when she gets home Mrs. C is already there, and she is a complete lunatic that her housework isn't done. Stacey snaps back and explains that Dana was sick, and Mrs. C kind of apologizes but not really.

Finally Stacey realizes enough is enough, and she quits. Mrs. C is a bitch about her quitting and calls her immature. Stacey apologizes to Robert and explains what she was doing.

There is also a side story of Logan wanting to buy MA a ring for Valentine's Day, and he takes Kristy with him to pick it out. Some of the kids see this happening, and they tell all the other kids, so they start being mean to Logan and Kristy bc they are having an affair behind MA's back. It all works out.

Takeaways
That is the longest plot synopsis I have ever written. I basically rewrote the book.

What the fuck is wrong with Mrs. Cheplin? She was pissed bc Stacey is only 13 - did you do no research on the BSC before you called? Also, at one point her chore list is TWO PAGES LONG. She could have done half those chores in the time it took her to write them all out.

One of the chores is "put stamps on envelopes". Are you fucking kidding me?

I understand that works for two hours every day is a lot for an 13 year old, but Stacey's life like falls apart bc of this job. She has to sleep for 12 hours on the weekends. I feel like maybe she needs to get a grip.

Best Character
Kristy, because she was right. Stacey never should have taken that stupid job.

Worst Character
That dumb bitch Mrs. Cheplin

#93 - Mary Anne and the Memory Garden

Timeline
Winter of their 6th repeat

Plot
MA wants to get to know more people and be more social (be careful with that, MA, those kinds of things get you kicked out of the BSC). She gets the opportunity pretty quickly in her English class - she gets put into a group with three people- Amelia, Gordon and Barbara. They have a brainstorming sess at MA's house, and it goes amazingly well - the group just clicks and they have the best ideas. When they leave that night, Amelia is going to dinner with her family. She jokingly invites the group to go with her, but they won't all fit in her dad's tiny car.

The next day, SMS is a buzzing with the news of a car accident and the death of a 13 year old girl. They soon find out it was Amelia's family and she has died.

Kristy takes the news especially hard for some reason, and MA makes it her mission to take care of her and make sure she's okay. Kristy becomes obsessed with SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) and starts a Stoneybrook chapter. She throws herself into the project and seems to get back to her old self, and that's when MA starts to lose it. She sinks into a depression and decides to go to a therapist. The therapist points out that Kristy didn't handle the news well bc it's something she can't explain or control - and MA wanted to take care of her bc that's what MA does - and then when Kristy threw herself into a project and MA didn't have to take care of her anymore, reality set it.

MA decides she wants to do something in memory of Amelia, and comes up with the idea of a memory garden. She goes to Amelia's best friend and brother, and they work on it together.

Also, there is a boring side story about Dawn finding a dirty, litter covered field in California and she gets her friends and babysitting charges to clean it and they plant a garden.

Takeaways
This book is not named correctly; the memory garden does not even come into the story until the second to last chapter.

Dude, I legit cried reading this book. That shit is rough.

Enough with the Dawn in California shit. No one cares. She gone.

Best Character
Mary Anne. She broke my heart this book.

Worst Character
The drunk driver who killed Amelia.

#92 - Mallory's Christmas Wish

Timeline
Christmas of their 6th repeat school year

Plot
It's Christmas time in Stoneybrook and Mallory has this great idea about having a old-fashioned Christmas. She wants to make presents and have fires and sing carols and chop down their own Christmas tree. She takes the idea to her family and they all agree that it sounds fun.

Then a man comes to the door with a $10,000 check. Apparently there was a contest at the local TV station that Vanessa submitted the family for - basically viewers could submit ideas for an original Christmas celebration, and the winner would get filmed throughout the entire holiday week and get a cash prize. The whole family is so excited and agrees to be filmed.

At first it is okay, with the film crew just kind of there. But then they start constantly getting in the way, breaking things, screaming CUT in the kids's faces and demanding they redo things for the camera. They go to the mall with the family to see Santa and they completely ruin the experience. They go to the tree cutting place and ruin that experience. Mallory and the BSC are helping with a Christmas Carnival at the old age home and they go along to record and actually end up getting kicked out of the building. Mallory is threatened to never bring them along again.

The BSC is having their holiday party at Mallory's because Kristy thinks it will be good publicity for the club to be on camera. However, that is the one time the crew decides to take a break. Kristy is a whiny little brat about it, begging them to stay, and then she pouts through the whole party.

Finally on Christmas Eve everything comes to a head. The crew is totally disrupting the family's celebration, and finally Mr. Pike asks them to leave for awhile. While they are gone, they have a family meeting and decide they are done being celebrities. When they come back, they give them the $10,000 check back and tell them to get lost.

Takeaways
There is so much wrong with this story.

First of all, I highly doubt the family would have gotten paid until after this whole thing was done.

Second of all, they had made it all the way up to Christmas. I wish they would have just kicked them out, had their real Christmas celebration, wrapped everything back up and then faked it for the camera. Then at least they could have kept their money.

Also, that was pretty shitty of the Pike's because now the news crew literally has nothing. They can't find another family on Christmas Eve.

The Pike's house sounds like complete chaos all of the time. I would go crazy there.

Kristy's obsession with getting publicity for the club has been so annoying in so many books.

This whole book was like a sneak peek into life now - where reality shows are a big deal. I wonder how truly annoying it is to constantly having to be redoing things for the camera.

Best Character
Mr. Pike for finally telling the crew to GTFO.

Worst Character
That shitty news crew.

#91 - Claudia and the First Thanksgiving

Timeline
Thanksgiving of their 6th repeat

Plot
Claudia, Abby and Stacey are in the same "Short Takes" class for this semester and it is themed History of Thanksgiving, or something like that. They decide to write a play about the true history of Thanksgiving and have third graders act it out. As they start to do their research, they realize how different the world was back then - the way Indians were treated, the way Pilgrims treated woman, etc. They write their play true to history.

When parents start getting wind of it, they complain to the teachers. When teachers get wind of it, they complain to the principal. The principal then issues an ultimatum - either rewrite the play with the traditional history, or don't do it. The class decides to rewrite the play, but let everyone know it is censored. Then they perform the real, uncensored play at the middle school, complete with protesters for both sides.

The subplot is that every single babysitter has these great family plans for Thanksgiving, and every single one of them get cancelled. So they decide to bring all their families together for a huge Thanksgiving at Kristy's house. Their parents go for it and they all eat dinner together.

Takeaways
It seems weird to me that their parents all went along with this huge Thanksgiving. They must all be friends, too.

It also seems weird that parents would actually protest a middle school play.

This book was kind of boring. There isn't much to say.

Oh, and Dawn comes back. She doesn't tell anyone, and just shows up at Mallory's when all the babysitters are there.

Best Character
I will have to go with Abby, because when the parents start bitching about the play, she stands up to them about their freedom of speech.

Worst Character
All those stupid fucking parents who have nothing better to do then hide the truth from their children and protest a middle school play.

#90 - Welcome to the BSC, Abby

Timeline
Fall of their 6th repeated year

Plot
Abby is new to town and the newest member of the BSC. She is a jock, but she also has a bad case of asthma so she needs to be careful. While babysitting for the Papadakis's, she has a very bad asthma attack. Hannie gets really scared and runs across the street to Kristy's. Kristy is then very worried about Abby's ability to babysit without dying.

Stoneybrook is doing a town carnival to raise money for arts in the schools. All the girls's families are totally into it, but when Abby tries to get her family involved, they are like meh. The BSC also decides to do a booth, too, so Abby will be involved no matter what, but she really wants her family to do something.

Abby (who is a twin - I don't know if you know that) and Anna get yelled at by their mom to get their shit unpacked, so they take an afternoon and start working on it. During that time, Abby finds some cake mold pans and comes up with the brilliant idea to have a food booth where people can buy a baked good and decorate it. Anna still isn't excited and tells her they can talk about it later. Then the girls find a box of their dad's old stuff (he's dead - I don't know if you know that). They think their mom packed it up and forgot about it, so they get mad at her.

Finally the carnival comes, and while Abby's family agrees to  help , she is on her own at the booth. It is a huge hit, so the next day she goes home and everyone helps her make more stuff. The next morning Anna goes with her, and her mom has to go to work for awhile (in New York), but will take the train back early so she can help in the afternoon. During the carnival, which Anna is now into and enjoying, Abby hears a news report that a train from New York has been derailed and people are hurt. She starts to lose her mind, so her and Anna shut the booth down and Kristy's mom drives them to the train station, then home, then back to the carnival. They still know nothing. Then all of a sudden their mom comes running up and they hug it out. Turns out her train was behind the train that derailed. They are so relieved that they won't leave each other's sides the rest of the day, and they have a blast working their food booth together.

Everything is great, the carnival saves the arts programs, and Kristy gets over her worries that Abby will die babysitting.

Oh, and also the girls ask their mom about the box and she says she shoved all his stuff away and hid it because the pain was too much for her.

Takeaways
So much happens in this book.

But there aren't a lot of takeaways, other than what I already said in the plot summary.

There is a really cute side story about how Shannon Kilbourne and Anna are becoming best friends.

Oh, and there is another sidestory how the Arnold twins being that FUCKING GOAT to the carnival and sell polaroid pictures with the goat.

Best Character
I honestly think it's Abby, which is weird bc the title character hardly ever wins this one. She is just funny and not overwhelming and not drama.

Worst Character
THAT STUPID DISGUSTING GOAT.

#89 - Kristy and the Dirty Diapers

Timeline
Fall of their 6th repeat year

Plot
Kristy's Krushers and Bart's Bashers are having another World Series. Kristy's Krushers wins the first game and right after, a man approaches Kristy and wants to buy the team, essentially. He offers her brand her uniforms and all new equipment for the chance to sponsor the team. She hesitates and then just goes for it. Then she gets the box of uniforms and sees that the sponsor has taken over and renamed the team - they are now Davis Diapers. The Krushers hate, and start playing like shit. Mr. Davis is at the next game and calls them all losers. Also, some of the Krushers refuse to wear the uniforms, and Mr. Davis threatens Kristy telling her they better all be in the proper uniform next time.

In the meantime, Kristy has new neighbors, Anna and Abby. Anna is quiet and musical, Abby is a loud, kind of obnoxious jock. Abby kind of naturally starts coaching the kids in the neighborhood, and after getting all pissy about it, Kristy embraces it and asks her to be her co-coach. Together, Kristy and Abby stand up to Diaper man and tell him to get bent. They become the Krushers again and win the World Series.

Kristy and the girls invite the twins to join the club. Abby accepts, but Anna is too busy with her music.

Takeaways
Kristy is still pretty terrible in this book. She's been terrible for awhile.

Stacey is still on probation in this book and she is babysitting Dru...

Oh, I forgot about that subplot. Morbidda Destiny's grandchild is staying with her for awhile bc her parents are getting divorced. Her name is Dru, and she asks to join Kristy's Krushers but then like sucks on purpose? Then she quits but tells people that Kristy kicked her off. Then she starts a Krushers band.

Anyway, Stacey is one of the people that Dru tells that Kristy kicked her off the team, and Kristy is all annoyed that Stacey didn't call her out for lying.

Why would parents send their kid to live with her grandma just because they are getting divorced?

It seems weird that Kristy ends up inviting Abby to not only coach her team, but join her club, because she spends a good majority of this book hating on her.

Best Character
Probably Abby, because Kristy is just letting Diaper Man walk all over her, and Abby is like, are you fucking kidding me? Then Kristy suddenly has the nerve to tell him to get bent.

Worst Character
Mr. Diaper Man