Even if they make fun of you and call you a girl….BSC Readers Request: Logan's Story

My hotel gives me 15 minutes of free internet access, and I am using some of it to post this....I officially have no life.

Readers’ Request: Logan’s Story

Memory Reaction

I think I was really excited to see this book. I got such a kick out of Logan describing the BSC from his perspective - almost using the standardized language, but not quite. I am sure it screwed up my expectations for a boyfriend at that age, because all he talks about is how wonderful Mary Anne is. He keeps saying how glad he is to see Mary Anne, and how she makes him feel good, and how he only really baby-sits to make her happy.

The second Logan book, has much more in terms of snark value, but this is the only one I have been able to track down. I am pretty sure it has a lot of sports scenes and Logan getting picked on scenes.

Revisted Reaction

This book is kind of stand alone, in that it doesn’t fit within the numbered scheme the rest of the books have. Not really connected to that, the plot of this book makes NO SENSE. Seriously, it is the most contrived thing I have ever read. Dawn’s brother, Jeff, gets his appendix out, so she and her mom go to California to be with him. But they are gone for 2-3 weeks and the BSC needs Logan to step in as a full time member. So he does, but he has to start missing football practice and training sessions for the track team. Then his friends on the football team see him sitting for the Hobarts and make fun of him for being a “girl,” and he quits the club altogether. But then at the end he rejoins as an associate member. Oh, and he makes the track team, while his chief insulter doesn’t. Go Logan! And of course, that guy is out of the picture, the other guys decide to be normal teenagers and tell Logan having a bunch of teenage girls hang around you is cool. So, happy ending.

My problem with this is, WHY would Dawn need to go to California for that long? Okay, she wants to see Jeff when he is in the hospital, but to be out of school for that long because her brother has appendicitis? Sharon and Richard were married then, so it is not like she would not have had anywhere to go if her mom had left. BUT even forgetting that, why would Logan have to upgrade his membership in the club? BSCers have gone on vacation before, right? Normally they go together and don’t even worry about the sitting jobs they are missing. Couldn’t Logan just have taken on some extra jobs without actually going to meetings?

There is also a sub-plot about a health fair where the BSC wants to set up a booth. It is about as boring as you would expect. Even the kids don’t want to go, which is a little amusing. But the BSC forces them too, and they have fun. So it is like every project the BSC ever does.

High/Lowlights

• Logan totally doesn’t want to take Dawn’s place temporarily, but is afraid to tell the girls.

• Logan calls Mary Anne his OTHER interest after sports. But don’t tell her he said that! Seriously, the book actually says not to tell Mary Anne.

• Logan’s dad is uncomfortable with Logan being in the BSC. Logan thinks he justifies it by telling himself Logan does it because he is “hot for Mary Anne.” Which, is kind of true.

• Logan on Claudia: “Her skin is perfect, and she has these gorgeous almond-shaped eyes…She also has a really hip, sexy way of dressing.” But don’t worry. He assures us he is just describing and he and MA are totally in love.

• Logan’s little brother has a toy dinosaur named “Tricera Tops.”

• Thank God for Logan’s description of Jessi. When I read the books narrated by girls, I could never quite figure out what they were trying to say about Jessi’s race. They always use that flowery language and beat around the bush. But being the male he is, Logan was straight to the point and says that she is black. I seriously had no idea. Seriously, thank you Logan.

• The Pike kids actually draw straws to see who has to use an upstairs bathroom. But they only make one person go upstairs and the other six use the downstairs one. That…makes no sense. And certainly doesn’t save any time.

• I think the ghostwriter was going for irony here – Claudia ponders health ideas while eating a Twinkie. That or I am just looking way to closely for hidden meaning.

• Claudia’s parents are supposed to be strict, right? So, why do they let Logan hang out in Claud’s bedroom all the time?

• Stacey gives a little PSA about how important it is to donate blood. I think you are preaching to the wrong audience ghostwriter – kids can’t give blood.

• So Logan loses one of the Hobarts at the health fair and the chief insulter, King, finds him. You would think this would lead to some truce between Logan and King, but it…really doesn’t. King just makes fun of him more.

• This King guy (that is his last name, BTW) is a real jerk. Not for making fun of Logan, but because he makes fun of four-year-old Johnny Hobart. To his face. Who does that?

• Jeff Schafer sounds really obnoxious. He (supposedly) asks his doctor how long until he will play tennis, and when hearing two weeks, says the oldest joke in the world, or “fantastic. Who’s going to teach me.” And the BSC all laughs.

• One of Logan’s friends gets the hots for Claudia, so he gives him her number. But then she hangs up on him since she thinks it is a joke.

• Okay, Logan likes hanging out with girls because “you can talk about what you are feeling without being made to feel dorky.” He also likes hanging out with guys for many reasons including the fact that he can wrestle with them. Mary Anne sure lucked out with that “sensitive” boyfriend she found, huh?

• It is really mean that the BSC makes Logan miss all these football practices to babysit, but none of them consider skipping art class, ballet lessons, etc. for the same reason. Of course, Logan doesn’t really speak up about it either.

• I can’t figure out why Logan’s teammates on the football team go to this health fair the BSC are at. It doesn’t seem like the type of thing a teenage boy would do. Except, it is necessary to move the plot forward.

• Thirteen-year-old boys really are dumb. Just an observation.

Some people around here sure are job-hogs…..BSC #4: Mary-Anne Saves the Day

Memory Reaction

This was one of the first BSC books I owned, and didn’t just get from the library. I read so many times the cover fell off. I can’t exactly remember what I thought the first time I read it; it is more like a collective memory. I know I liked it, but I liked most Mary Anne books. So here goes.

There is a huge fight with the BSC members and everyone stops talking to each other. I think at some point Claudia and Mary Anne make up, but then start fighting again. I also thought it was such a big deal when Mary Anne has to bring Jenny Prezzioso to the hospital.

Revisited Reaction

The girls are real bitches in this book. Like I thought, they have this stupid fight about “job hogging” and then insult each other. Then, they spend the rest of it not talking. This actually goes on for weeks and they conduct meetings with only one person going at a time, because they can’t stand the sight of one another.

Since Mary Anne is lame and has no other friends, she sits alone at lunch and meets Dawn, who has no one to sit with because she just moved to town. It is really sad, actually, because the only reason she talks to Dawn is to make Kristy jealous. I guess they always forget to mention that in “Chapter 2” of later books. But at the end, Mary Anne decides she really does want to be friends with Dawn, and when the BSC makes up, they invite Dawn to join. Somewhere in there, Mary Anne sits for Jenny Prezzioso, who gets a fever of 104 and has to go to the hospital. It is a really minor point in the book, despite what I remember and, you know, giving the book the title. (I suppose the title could come from Mary Anne having a part in the rest of the girls making up, but I think it is mostly Jenny).

Oh, and the Claudia/Mary Anne thing is that Claud hears Mimi call her “My Mary Anne” and flips out.

High/Lowlights

• In this book, Karen is five and Andrew is three (and all the BSCers are twelve). So, how come when everyone ages a year and freezes in time, Karen gets to be seven, while Andrew is four, and the BSCers are thirteen. What the hell is so special about Karen that she gets two birthdays over the course of the series?

• There is all this contrived stuff where Dawn and Mary Anne forget to ask their parents if they knew each other in high school until they find an old yearbook, which, is we all know, is when they found out they were in love, and blah, blah, blah.

• Sharon and Richard both get completely spacey when they find out the other is in town/single. I am not really sure how believable it is.

• Sharon and Richard also wrote really embarrassing things in each other’s yearbooks: “Dearest Richie, Four years weren’t enough. Let’s start over, How can we part? We have one more summer. Hold onto it.” What seventeen-year-old writes stuff like that?

• Dawn must really be an idiot. Mary Anne keeps telling her all her friends are absent. And this goes on for weeks. Weeks!

• When the BSC helps out at Jamie Newton’s birthday, their fighting actually makes him CRY. You would think Mrs. Newton would call the girls less after that.

• Of course, you would also think Mrs. Newton would not hire twelve-year-olds to sit for her eight-week-old baby.

• What kind of lawyer is Richard supposed to be? In this book, he talks about how he lost a case because the jury let someone get away with grand larceny, which would make him a prosecutor. But I have this really vivid memory of Dawn and the Impossible Three where I distinctly remember him saying he started his own law firm. Wouldn’t that make him a defense attorney? How hard is it to have continuity between books that come right after each other? I think Ann M. Martin was still doing the writing herself then.

• Since when are Mary Anne and her dad religious? MA says how they pray before all their meals/before bed/etc.

• Mary Anne is so impressed with Dawn because….she has a VCR.

• This book had 16 chapters. I guess it was before they became completely formulatic, but it completely weirded me out.

• Another case of continuity issues with various BSC back stories. Mary Anne says how Claudia only sometimes walked to school with her and Kristy, but there are a bunch of later books with flashbacks and they say that the three of them always walked together.

• Also, Mary Anne says her mom grew up in Maryland, but later we are told it was some farm in Iowa.

• Richard tells Mary Anne the Pikes raise their kids too liberally. They apparently let Claire run around the house naked and let the kids eat whatever they want. Which actually sounds right, when you read about the Pike kids. So why is Mallory always complaining about how strict they are?

• Want to hear what Richard thinks a double standard is? When a fourteen year old is encouraged to date and a 13 year old is not allowed. Hmmmm, I guess encouraging an 11-year-old baby sit while a ten year old needs a sitter, is COMPLETELY different from that, though.

• MA can really be a bitch. She writes these notes to Kristy and Stacey:

“Dear Stacey, I’m really, really sorry you called me a shy little baby. I hope you are sorry too…”

AND

“Dear Kristy, I’m sorry you’re the biggest bossiest know-it-all in the world, but what can I do about it? Have you considered professional help?”

• She writes one to Claud too, but it is actually a real apology.

• In this book, Dawn talks about how organized she is. Which I always remembered about the early books, but later doesn’t it change and talk about her being relaxed and hating what a neat freak Richard is?

• Mary Anne lets Jenny Prezzioso paint in her lace dress. That is just asking for trouble.

• Does anyone who would “like to go to school wearing skintight turquoise pants, Stacey’s island shirt with flamingos and toucans over it, and maybe bright red, high-top sneakers” have a right to make fun of how her father looks in his high school year book? I mean, really.

I am going away this week, so I am not sure if I will be able to post. I actually have my next entry ready to go, and if I have access to the internet at my hotel, I'll post it. Otherwise, it will be up early next week. I thought I would be able to do some auto-post thing, but can't figure out how that works.

I could never have imagined that soon we would all be spending two weeks in a haunted house.....Super Myster #1: Baby-sitters' Haunted House

Memory Reaction

Okay, I loved the mysteries, and I loved the Super Specials because they were longer and had multiple perspectives. So this book excited me to an embarrassing degree. Of course, even when I was 14ish I knew it was totally unrealistic that Karen and Andrews’ mother would let Kristy come along as a mother’s helper.

They also solve some unrealistic mystery, and save the day. I always wished I would go on vacation and stumble my way into a mystery with a missing treasure or a haunted house and it never quite seemed to happen.

Revisited Reaction

The plot of this book is a little complicated and a lot unrealistic. It is summer vacation and Claudia has a job sitting for Karen and Andrew. But their mom (Lisa) and stepfather (Seth) end up getting invited to visit their friends, the Menders, who inherited a mansion in Maine. The friends have four kids, so, they need Claudia and someone else to go as mother’s helpers. Because what parent wants to spend time with their kids on vacation? Kristy, Mary Anne, and Dawn fight over who gets to be the other person, and Lisa decides to invite all four on the trip – instead of getting paid, they’ll just get a free trip. Mallory and Jessi aren’t allowed to go, so they get to take over everyone else’s jobs (This book took place in the time when Stacey quit, so she is not in it).

ANYWAY, once they get to the mansion in Maine, they start seeing all sorts of weird stuff happen and they think the house is haunted. It turns out that the housekeeper and butler are trying to scare the Menderses off, because they are some cousins of theirs and will get the house if the Menderses don’t move into it. The reason they want the house is because in addition to it being a mansion, there are rumors of treasure existing. But the BSC basically scares off the bad guys and they realize the “treasure” is a toy boat with the word treasure on it.

While all this is going on the BSC also has to help the Menderses get adjusted to life in Maine so they will want to move there. Which, they do, of course, and live happily ever after. At some point, a college kid also gets the hots for Claudia and she lets him think she is 16. Then she writes him a letter telling him the truth, which he doesn’t appear to respond to. Because he doesn’t want to go to jail, I assume.

Back in Stoneybrook Mal and Jessi have to turn down jobs because they are the only ones around to sit. Then no one calls and they think they ruined the club, but it turns out all the kids from Stoneybrook are on vacation or camp. And they ride in some town parade with a bunch of kids and everyone tells them how awesome the BSC is.

High/Lowlights

• When I was a kid, I hated reading cursive, so I would skip those notebook/letter sections at the beginning of chapters. Which means I never realized that Claudia was really a horrible speller. I mean, I knew she was bad, but the girl’s entries are barely readable.

• Would Lisa really hire her Ex’s stepdaughter to sit? Let alone bring her on vacation with the family? Would Kristy’s mom want her going away with Watson’s ex?

• It is actually pretty rude to just invite four teenage girls to come with you to your friends house for a vacation, even if there is plenty of room and they are going to watch the kids. You would think Lisa would have called and checked with the Menderses first, just to be sure.

• LOTS of outfits in this book. Claud “had on a pair of bright blue Lycra biker shorts, a black lacy tank top, a man’s white dress shirt, baggy purple and white checked socks, red high-tops, and a pair of big gold hoop earrings with a brightly colored wooden parrot in each hoop.”

• Mary Anne would be really annoying to travel with. But seriously, how does a 13-year-old even know about small towns in Maine? I can see her reading about NYC or California, but Maine? But she starts going on about Reese, Maine just minutes after hearing the name.

• Heh, the Kuhns are upset that Jessi has to take over Kristy’s sitting job for them. And Melody Korman is upset that Mallory is going to sit for her instead of Mary Anne. Poor Jessi and Mal were always getting the short-stick.

• The Kishis’ let Jessi and Mal have BSC meetings in their house while Claud is away. That is…. generous of them.

• One of the Menders kids decides she wants to be just like Dawn and spends the whole book dressing like her and basically being her shadow. They never really say why she does this, just that she does.

• It is kind of pretentious to call yourself “the Reese contingent of the BSC.” You are teenage girls tagging along on someone else’s vacation.

• “I decided to wear my floral-print mini-sundress (the pink and red flower pattern is big and sorta abstract). To that I added a pink baseball cap, dangling yellow glass earrings, and my red-high tops.” This is Claudia speaking, of course. With way too many adjectives in that paragraph.

• Karen decides it is her job to make Martha Menders (the seven year old) the most popular kid in Maine. The problem is Martha is really shy, and pretty clearly hates Karen for being so loud and annoying.

• Karen thinks Mary Anne is not a good person to give advice about meeting people. I hate to say it, but I am inclined to agree.

• No Karen, Kristy is not a genius for thinking you might be able to meet KIDS at a PLAYGROUND.

• Almost all of Logan’s one chapter is devoted to explaining a meeting Mal and Jessi had without him. I don’t get why they didn’t just make it a Mallory chapter, unless it was the token Logan chapter.

• Wow, Jessi and Mal convince Janine to take a sitting job for them. Is that, like, allowed? I know she is a genius and all, but has she passed the BSCs’ tests?

• “Claud looking amazing in full-length black gauze skirt over a black leotard. She was wearing dangling glass earrings that she’d made from a chandelier. Her long black hair was held back on one side with a single red rose.” Who even brings an outfit like that a trip where they are going to be baby-sitting?

• And she wears the skirt again: “I put on my black gauze skirt and a red tank top, and tied my white silk bomber jacket around my waist. Then I put on my airplane earrings.”

• No, girls a ghost wouldn’t use a real candle. Because there are not real ghosts!!! Jeez, how old are they supposed to be again?

• There is an Andrew chapter. And it is a total waste. Seriously, it is like a page long and doesn’t say anything that you don’t find out in the next chapter. He just says he likes frogs and has weird baby-sitters. I would have rather had a chapter from the bad guys or something.

• The girls don’t tell the Menders, or Seth and Lisa that they suspect the housekeeper/butler of being bad guys. Even when the adults are going out of town for a day. They want to get “proof.” As a result they end up trapped in the mansion with people who want to physically hurt them.

• Mallory’s favorite T-shirt is red and white striped, with blue stars around the neck and sleeves. I had a shirt like that when I was about nine, but I only wore it on the 4rth of July.

• What is a sash? In the parade thing, Haley Braddock wears red tights and a white T-shirt with a blue sash.

I guess I am just a California girl at heart.....BSC #23: Dawn on the Coast

Memory Reaction

HA, this is the book where Dawn thinks about moving back to California, then realizes Stoneybrook is her home now and she could never leave. We all know how well that turned out, don't we.

Actually, I have a lot of vivid memories of this book. It is where we find out about We (heart) Kids and how “laid back” and awesome they are - they are making healthy recipe books for kids and crap like that. I can almost picture the descriptions.

I also remember how on her flight to California, she has a really bitchy flight attendant that she claimed looked like a doll I had never heard of. She spends the whole flight talking to some dude next to her, which seems really creepy in retrospect.

Revisited Reaction

So, the basic set up of the book is that Dawn goes to visit her father and Jeff in her wonderful home state, California. She has tons of fun and thinks about staying, but decides to come home. There is really about as little to it as that. She hangs out with Sunny, who started her own baby-sitting club, goes to Dinsney Land, goes to the beach, eats healthy food, etc. We also hear about a couple baby-sitting jobs back in Stoneybrook, but none with a continuing plot like you sometimes see.

High/Lowlights

• According to this book, Dawn is not a strict vegetarian. Um, really? I mean, I knew she ate chicken and fish, but she seemed pretty militant about it in all the other books. But as someone who IS a vegetarian, it always bothered me that the BSC equated vegetarianism to health food. All the vegetarians I know love junk food.
  

• Dawn doesn’t like her mom’s boyfriend Trip-Man because he is conservative and wears glasses. I bet she is relieved her mom marries the super liberal and relaxed Richard then.

• “You can always count on Claudia to be wearing some really unusual outfit, like a white jumpsuit with a wide purple belt and purple high-top sneakers.”

• I never understood why they said Kristy wore jeans and a turtleneck because she liked sports. I think a turtleneck would be the last thing a tomboy would want to wear. It certainly is not conducive to always being on the go. Not to mention the fact, that liking sports doesn't equal lack of fashion. I knew girls in high school who were super athletic, but loved shopping/wearing trendy clothes.
  

• Who gets two-week spring vacations? We always had a week off in February and a week off in April. But never two weeks in a row.

• At Dawn's goodbye party, they order pizza and everyone hates anchovies. I remember other books where Kristy talks about loving them and it grossing everyone out. See, if I can remember this stuff years later, why couldn’t the ghostwriters?

• I don't know why ordering pizza was always such a big deal in these books. When I was in middle/high school, we would normally get all plain for parties. Everyone likes plain. Maybe one pepperoni and one plain. But anyone who really liked mushrooms or something dealt with the fact they would not have them that time.
  

• It must be nice to be Dawn. Every time she goes to visit her dad, the BSC throws her a good-bye party, and every time she goes back to Connecticut, people in California throw her a goodbye party or give gifts.

• So, it is a Kewpie doll. I still don’t know what that is. I had to look it up, and decided it is not like I was picturing. Regardless, that is what Dawn thinks her flight attendant looks like. Except, she calls her "stewardess. " Remember when you could call flight attendants that?

• Okay, the conversation on the plane with the old dude is not quite as creepy as I was recreating it in my head. She does talk to a man sitting next to her on the flight, but they only start talking because they are laughing at how their flight attendent keeps ignoring Dawn.

• Dawn signs her postcard to Kristy: “See you (too) soon!” I know what she means, but that is still sort of mean.

• These books really were not edited at all were they? It refers to Kristy’s brother as Sam Brewer. I really don’t think Sam changed his name when his mom got married.

• Does Watson really not use his entire 3^rd floor? The house is sooo big that ten people can sleep in their own rooms and still have guest rooms without leaving the 2^nd floor? And even if that was the case, you would think Sam or Charlie would want to spread out.

• Nicky Pike gets all upset because when he splurts his ravioli out (because he was laughing during dinner) one of the triplets says “say it don’t spray it.” I normally am sympathetic to teasing, but that really wasn’t a huge deal.

• Dawn’s mother sends her a postcard full of details about her dates with Trip-Man. I was surprised she would send details like that on a postcard going to her ex-husband’s house where he could read it, until I thought that might have been the point.

• Dawn makes a pro/con list to decide if she should move to California or not. Didn't Stacy do the same thing when her parents got divorced? Maybe this is where I get my list making obsession.

• At one point, Dawn talks to her mom, who tells her that Mary Anne called. Now...why would Mary Anne call Dawn's house when she knows Dawn is away? It is not like Mary Anne would forget her best friend left town.

• There is some foreshadowing here: Dawn’s father invites the whole BSC to come visit. I bet he didn’t think they would really take him up on that.

Kristy's Great Idea

I thought I should start with the book that started them all, right?

Anyway, I want to do this thing where I write one short "review" before I reread the book, basically about what I remember about reading it as a kid. Then, I'll do a more snarky review based on my impressions now, to compare my reaction.

Memory Reaction
Two things stand out when I think back to Kristy's Great Idea.

1. I have this vivid memory of Kristy yelling out in school, because she was glad the day was over and having to write some essay about words she (or I) didn't understand.
2. Everyone thought Stacey was anorexic in this book because she wouldn't eat candy. Which I only remember because there is some other book where Jessi's friend actually DOES have anorexia and none of the girls have ever heard of it. When I read that book, it really bothered me because if they thought Stacey was anorexic, they obviously knew what it was, right? So, if a continuity error like that bothered me as a kid, I can't image how many will bother me now.

Revisited Reaction
You know how you always skipped chapter two of every book because it was a summary of the girls families and how the club started? Well, this entire book is where everything that is summarized in that chapter actually happens. I assume you know the story - Kristy's mom needs a baby-sitter and calls a bunch of people while her pizza gets cold. Kristy watches her and gets a "great idea" for a club, they start it, etc. etc. etc. The only decent part about reading this today is that it is kinda entertaining to see how things were described before everything got super formulatic/cliche. We do get to hear about each girl's first job:

Kristy - Sits for a couple dogs. Of course, she thinks it is going to be a couple of little kids so there is all this dialog right out of Three's Company where Kristy thinks someone is talking about keeping her children locked in a laundry room, or whatever.
Stacey - Sits for David Michael. And she meets Sam and flirts with him the whole time. Typical.
Mary Anne - Sits for Karen and Andrew. And gets scared when Karen tells her Mrs. Porter is a witch. Because, she is five, not twelve and actually believes in witches.
Claudia - Sits for Jamie Newton and his "bad" cousins. I think they show up a few times later in the series. The point of this job is that it teaches the girls to always ask who they will be sitting for - since Mrs. Newton didn't bother to tell Claudia there would be three extra kids around.

There is also a subplot going on: Kristy's mom is dating Watson, and Kristy HATES him. Seriously, she is a whiny little bitch to him and refuses to sit for Karen and Andrew. But then, there is an emergency and she is the only one who can, and she decides they are cute. She also starts to warm to Watson, so by the end when her mom and Watson announce they are engaged, she is kinda okay with it. There are some hints in the book, that she actually doesn't like Watson because she sees how he is a good father to his kids after a divorce, and her own dad is an asshole. I probably missed that the first time around.


High/Lowlights

• So in this book, the girls actually act like twelve year olds. They have recess at school, get their parents permission to do stuff, etc.

• According to the descriptions here, Mary Anne and Kristy have never been that good friends with Claudia. But I know in those flashback books they have later, they talk about them being a threesome all the time. Stupid continuity issues.

• Would a twelve-year-old really refer to the people she baby-sits for as "clients"? That seems a little odd.

• First Claudia outfit ever: "short, very baggy lavender plaid overalls, a white lacy blouse, a black fedora, and red high-top sneakers without socks." She also tries to wear make up, but her parents won't let her. Someone should tell Mallory that, so she will stop whining about not being able to at eleven.

• Second Claudia outfit ever: "A baggy yellow-and-black checked shirt, black pants, red jazz shoes, and a bracelet that looked like it was made from a telephone cord. Her earrings were dangling jointed skeletons that jumped around when she moved." Skeletons? Really?

• First Stacey outfit ever: "a pink sweatshirt with sequins and a large purple parrot on the front; short, tight-fitting jeans with zippers up the outside of the legs; and pink plastic shoes." Parrots and sequins, wow. The model of sophistication!

• First Kristy outfit? A skirt and a blouse. With knee socks. And she describes it as her regular school clothes. I wonder when the jeans and a turtleneck started?

• Of course Stacey's parents buy all her clothes for her.

• They don't even say Watson is a millionaire in this book. Mary Anne goes to his house, reports to Kristy how nice it is, and they assume he has a lot of money. Interesting, that the first time Kristy sees his house is when she stops hating him.

• Another thing different in early books: Stacey and Claudia NEVER eat lunch with Kristy and Mary Anne. Cause they are cool and eat with the boys Kristy things are annoying.

• According to Kristy, her dad is married again and pays child support. Again, this is not consistent with later books. How hard is it to be just a little consistent? Isn't that what editors are for? These books must have made Scholastic and Ann M. Martin a fortune, yo would think they could pay an editor.

• Hey, I never realized this, but the back cover of the books is like the flier they make up. It has the block logo thing, and says "Need a sitter? Save time!" Then has all their names and offices. If I was still eight, I would think that was cool.

• I really hate the stupid KL5 thing for phone numbers. No one does that, and I don't believe they did in the 80s.

• Man, Kristy really was awful to Watson. He brings over Chinese food and she makes herself a peanut butter sandwich just to avoid eating something he bought. Then calls him an awful father. I know he is the one who raised Karen, but Kristy hasn't met her yet, so she can't judge.

• Janine spends several pages debating with herself whether "Baby-Sitters Club" should have an apostrophe. She asks the girls if they meant it to be possessive and they ignore her like it is a dumb question. Personally, I think it should be an apostrophe AFTER the S. The club belongs to all four of them.

• Okay, what is this stupid flashlight code Kristy and Mary Anne have? Do they use morse code or something? I don't get how you could converse with a flashlight through their windows. Am I just missing some really obvious explanation?

• Kristy isn't allowed to watch cable when her mom isn't home. Now, how does a single mother who works full time enforce THAT rule?

• All the girl's handwriting is different in this book. Not totally different, but just a little off. It is sorta like watching a first season episode of The Simpsons and seeing how the characters are drawn.

• Watson tells Mary Anne how Boo-Boo is an awful cat who might bite her if Mary Anne gets to close, but then refuses to lock him in a cage or other room. That...seems kind of mean. Maybe I am just sensitive because I hate cats.

• Kristy's salary for her first ever job? $3.50.
  

• The BSC total earnings in the first week or two? $26.75. I guess to a twelve-year-old in 1985 that is a lot.

• Kristy's mom makes her kids get dressed up to hear that she MIGHT get engaged to Watson. Personally, I can't believe two divorced parents would get engaged before introducing their own kids, but that is just me.

• Someone should tell Claudia you actually do need to be able to do math when going shopping. That way, you know how much you are spending. Just a minor detail.

• Okay, Kristy has to take care of Karen and Andrew because their mom breaks her leg and Watson has to go to the hospital. Why the hell would WATSON go to the hospital when his ex-wife breaks her leg? Especially when she is engaged herself. Those two were always unnaturally close for exes. Kristy's mom should be careful about that.

• Karen calls Kristy's mom "Edie Thomas." Isn't her name Elizabeth?

• You know, they always say Mary Anne's father is soooo strict, but every time she stands up to him, he gives her whatever she wants (in this case, spending some of her money on pizza). In later books doesn't he let her get a makeover, buy a cat, go out with Logan? And as soon as she ASKS to stop wearing her hair in breads he lets her. I'm thinking he is really just a big softie.

• David Michael acts like a six-year-old in this book. Later on, all the kids they sit for seem older than they are supposed to be.

• Ha, Mary Anne and Kristy were playing with dolls up until the summer before 7th grade. Remember that when they act SO old in later books.

• Best exchange ever: Claudia makes fun of Kristy for wearing a sweater with snowflakes on it. Kristy's response: "You've got sheep barrettes in your hair...you think that is adult?" To which Claudia says: "Sheep. ... are in." Keep telling yourself that sweetie.
  

• More outfits (all Stacey): "plaid wool pants...which were held up with red suspenders" and later "a matching top and skirt made of gray sweat shirt material with big yellow number tens all over it. Her hair was pulled back with clips shaped like rainbows."

• When Stacey reveals she has diabetes. Kristy says: "Diabetes? Is that all?" Heh. Because really, Stacey, get over yourself. (No offense to diabetics, of course).

• Oh, the word Kristy had to write an essay about? Decorum.

Well, that is it for review number one. Look for the next one later this week. Let me know what you thought. If anyone wants to recommend a book or make any other suggestions, just let me know.

New Blog

For the past few months, I have gotten a huge kick out of the sites like BSC Headquarers, Tales of a former walking highlighter, and this Full House one, that seem to exist reliving/making fun of things that were popular when I was a kid. So much so, that I have decided to join the party and start my own blog revisiting my childhood passion, The Baby-Sitters Club books. Yes, it is basically taking an idea from others, but if a world could exist with the BSC and We (heart) Kids, I think a world can exist with several snarky blogs about the BSC. I plan to do reviews with my own twist, and may end up doing some of the spin offs or other series entirely. But really, as a kid these were my first love and I want them to be the focus of this blog.

As evidence of my old Baby-Sitters Club obsession: A photo from my BSC-themed 11th birthday party.



Everyone was supposed to dress up like a BSC member, and I was Kristy. Yes, I made that shirt. AND the hat. Yes, I was that much of a dork. See, Kristy was always my favorite because we shared a name, but I couldn't wear a sweater/turtleneck because my birthday is in July. Hence, the Krushers outfit.

Anyway, I once owned almost every single Baby-Sitters Club book, but it was lost when my parents sold their house. Since, I am now obsessed with rebuilding my collection, I am going to share my thoughts as I reread them. Enjoy.