“She was hysterical. Completely and totally hysterical……”BSC Mystery # 22: Stacey and the Haunted Masquerade

Memory Reaction

I may have actually thought this plot was kind of cool. It is completely preposterous and makes no sense, but I thought it was cool, nonetheless. I actually really liked Stacey in it. I was probably actually 13 by the time it came out, and wished I had her life. (As opposed to expecting I would have the life of the BSC girls, like when I was younger).

I DO remember being bothered by the premise that the school was having the first Halloween “masquerade” dance in over twenty years, because there had been like five Halloween dances in previous BSC books. I mean, it was the PLOT of several books, right? The phantom phone call one, the one with Mary Anne and the chain letter, the one with Kristy and a secret admirer…Or are they saying a “Masquerade” is different than a regular Halloween dance where you wear costumes?

Revisited Reaction

The school is having a “Masquerade” dance and it is a big deal, because they haven’t had one for a long time (again, whatever) and there are rumors something bad happened at the last one. Stacey joins the decorating committee because she wants to be more involved at school. She likes it and has a lot of good ideas and everyone except Cokie Mason likes them. Because apparently Stacey has a creative side too.

Meanwhile, a bunch of weird pranks start happening at school – funny announcements being made, things being written on the boards in classrooms, the school getting TPed, etc. It all starts the day after the new kid, Cary Retlin shows up, but no one wonders if it could be him. Cause, they are idiots, I guess. Anyway, these pranks bleed into sabotage of the decorations for the dance – posters get ripped up and someone strings up a dummy from the basketball hoop in the gym. There is also some old guy writing letters to the town paper about how the town should not spend money on school dances because of what happened in the past.

This gets the BSC to start looking into what happened at the dance 28 years ago. They find out that there was some prank that led to a black out, and a teacher had a heart attack and died in the panic that followed. But no one really knows the details of the prank, just that a girl left school after. The BSC manages to find out the name of the girl who left school and coincidentally, she lived in Charlotte Johanssen’s house. Imagine that! So, while baby-sitting, Stacey and Mary Anne manage to find an old note in the basement that this girl wrote revealing that she was in love with a guy….who has the same name is a new teacher at school, Mr. Rotham. Wow, can you believe the coincidences!

So, Stacey actually asks Rotham about it, and instead of telling her to mind her own business, the guy tells her the story. He was some football player and was playing some prank on a girl that involved asking the outcast to a dance and then laughing at her. Basically like Carrie, but without the pig’s blood. And he felt bad about it (but still did it).

No one has figured out who is sabotaging the decorations, but the dance goes on. It seems fine, and then suddenly there is this weird woman there with a cloak. Instead of seeing anything cool happen, we cut to the next day, and the BSC explaining what happened to Shannon: The woman was the person who was ‘wronged’ as a girl and had been in mental hospitals ever since. Rotham led her out of the dance and “got her help.” I don’t know how I feel about the idea that some chick went crazy because some losers made fun of her in eighth grade. I mean, they say she was “unbalanced” to begin with, but still. Oh, and Stacey figures out that Cary Retlin is behind the fun pranks at school.

High/Lowlights

• Like I said, I like Stacey’s attitude in this. She is thinking of “couples” ideas for her and Robert to wear to the dance, but then decides if Robert doesn’t want to dress up, she’ll just go as Marilyn Monroe or Wonder Woman because she wants to go in costume.

• Just because Dawn lives in California doesn’t make Mary Anne an only child….she still has stepsiblings even if they don’t live with her.

• Stacey’s ideas for the dance decorations are to use red and purple instead of orange and black and to use the Aadams family as a theme. The red and purple is kind of different, but the Aadams family theme seems a little cliché.

• Grace Blume outfit: “Thermal leggings and a blue plaid flannel shirt.” I totally had outfits like that in eighth grade.

• Stacey says it is a miracle for Claud to have made five posters and only made one mistake (spelling-wise). I pretty much agree with that.

• Oh, there is this stupid Ghostbusters theme, where all the kids are insisting on going on “ghost hunts” in their houses. It is lame, and I am not even going to bother thinking about if kids would really be into Ghostbusters in 1994ish. I don’t think so though. But anyway, this is the excuse to search Charlotte’s house.

• I call bullshit on finding a note from the last person who lived in a house. I don’t care if it is in the basement/attic/etc. Don’t people clean?

• Everyone shows their personality a little with their costumes:

Stacey: Mortica Aadams (Robert was Gomez)

Mary Anne: Dorothy

Jessi: Cowgirl

Mal: Ballerina (she and Jessi switched at the last minute)

Abby: Lucy Riccardo

Kristy: Amelia Earheart

Claud: A giant twinkie (seriously!)

• The girls take a bunch of little kids trick-or-treating….I don’t know, maybe I was a dork, but I went trick-or-treating myself all through high school. My senior year we had a car and drove around to as many neighborhoods as we could.

• Stacey and Claud talk about watching the movie Carrie….Um, isn’t that rated R?

• When telling the story about this girl from the dance, they say she didn’t know her fairy princess costume was silly. But Claudia goes as a Twinkie. What sounds worse to you?

• Cokie lies to the art teacher and takes credit for Stacey’s ideas to get to work on some special project. Grace backs her up, but no one bothers to ask Rotham (the advisor) or the other five people who worked on the committee. I guess, I liked Stacey in this book up until then when she stopped sticking up for herself, just because she liked the normalness of Cokie plotting against them.

• I kind of like how the BSC doesn’t really solve this mystery. They find out what happened at the last dance, but they don’t figure out who is causing the damage, and they don’t stop the crazy woman from showing up. It is a lot more realistic than the ones where they have an impact on a police investigation.

“Logan has nothing to worry about…..he’s my boyfriend and always will be”…….BSC # 34: Mary Anne and Too Many Boys

Memory Reaction

I already told you why I liked the Sea City books, and I actually liked this one even more than the Stacey book. Or at least I remember it better. I do know it was when it became blatantly obvious that they were screwing with the timeline. Before then, the girls had stopped mentioning time, but I don’t think they had had a “summer” after starting 8^th grade. There were a couple super specials that took place in the summer, but you can’t really tell where they fit in the time line, so it is less obvious.

Revisited Reaction

In this book Mary Anne and Stacey go on their second trip to Sea City, as mother’s helpers for the Pikes. They actually explain Mallory not being a second sitter, by saying her parents actually want her to enjoy the vacations. The Pikes being considerate of Mal? Shocking.

Pretty soon after arriving, they run into Alex and Toby, they guys they met last year, on the beach. For Stacey, this is cool, because she loves boys. For Mary Anne, it is a little awkward because of Logan. But, they still hang out on the beach, and make plans to go out to dinner. They go out as separate couples, not a double date, so first it is even more awkward. But Mary Anne and Alex do end up having fun.

Meanwhile, Stacey is acting like a bitch, wanting to go out two nights in a row, even though she and Mary Anne are supposed to alternate nights off. Then, at the end of the trip, she gets bitchy again, but admits it is cause Toby dumped her. He didn’t want to be “tied down” or something. When Mary Anne and Alex go out again, she lets it slip that she has a boyfriend. Alex is all, “that’s cool, I have a girlfriend too.” So, they decide to just be friends and have a nice evening.

While all this has been going on, Vanessa has developed a crush on this guy who works at the ice cream parlor. He is supposed to be about twelve, so I don’t know how he got this job. Even on “Secret Life of the American Teenage”, they reference needing working papers. (Not that I watch it). Vanessa leaves him poems, but he thinks they are from Mallory – who he likes. But by this point it is time to go home, and so Vanessa just writes a good-bye note without saying who she is. It is rather anti-climactic.

High/Lowlights

• In the standard Chapter 2, Mary Anne talks about how when Dawn came to town, she had to reassure Kristy that she wouldn’t affect their friendship. But….Dawn does affect Mary Anne and Kristy’s friendship.

• The girls talk about how great the pizza is in Sea City. Um, really? Stacey, Miss New York City, thinks pizza is better at the Jersey Shore than NYC?

• Dawn’s outfit for flying to California (which she does while Mary Anne is in Sea City): “A beautiful Laura Ashley dress and had swept her long blonde hair back in pearl barrettes.” This is for a 6-hour plane ride?

• Do the Pikes have any rules for their kids (other than Mal)? They take two cars to the beach, and on the trip down the triplets and Nicky keep taking turns posting mean signs to each other from the window. This is only possible because Mr. and Mrs. Pike keep passing each other on the highway. It is like they are encouraging them.

• I wonder what the Pikes would do if they ever got a hold of the internet….

• They stop to get ice cream on the drive and Claire disappears. Mary Anne finds her at the counter trying to get a new ice cream because it all leaked out from the bottom. And the guy working there just gives her a new cone for free.

• So, while reading this I started thinking about what happened with Mary Anne and Alex the first year they met. Mary Anne tells us they exchanged rings from some place on the boardwalk. We know Stacey had her first kiss with Toby then, so I wonder if Mary Anne did too. We never really heard her say for sure that Logan was her first kiss. And a lot of the other girls make a point of telling us when theirs happens.

• Isn’t Vanessa a little young to be “eyeing” a guy?

• When we are introduced to the cute ice-cream parlor guy, he and Mal actually bump heads. Then, he loses control of the whipped cream machine and ruins her sundae. Romantic.

• I don’t believe this. Claire spills her ice cream soda and they just give her new one. It doesn’t say for sure that it is for free, but it seems like it. She is way to lucky.

• As soon as I started reading this chapter I remembered it. Kristy takes the Rodowski’s to the local pool, and makes the mistake of letting Jackie buy a huge cookie - which he then proceeds to drop in the pool. When I picture that scene, I picture it happening in the community pool where I grew up.

• This pool has a height restriction for the diving board. This seems kind of mean. I can understand an age restriction, but not a height one.

• Kristy keeps asking for trouble. She lets Jackie go up to order their lunch by himself.

• When Mal asks her about Logan, Mary Anne is all, “he is my boyfriend and always will be.” Do some people really think that about their middle school boyfriends?

• Jessi thinks Squirt is some kind of genius – after watching some Sesame Street type show about “which one of these things doesn’t belong?” – he takes the Pike’s hamster (which Jessi is taking care of) and puts it in the Ramsey’s hamster cage.

• Is it that shocking a 13-year-old guy wouldn’t want to commit to someone who doesn’t live anywhere near them? Why would he even think it is expected of him? Stacey went out with other guys after meeting him.

• The way Mary Anne slips to Alex that she has a boyfriend is that she wants to pay the check – apparently she and Logan alternate.

• Mallory fun fact: She talks in her sleep. Not just talks, she sits up and starts yelling at people. Vanessa just let it roll off her shoulders, so it must happen a lot.

• Vanessa talks about how she has left notes for the ice cream guy several times…um, how did she do this without Mary Anne and Stacey knowing? I don’t think the Pikes would actually do something with their child, like take them to an ice-cream parlor.

• Mary Anne agrees to keep the Vanessa think private, but I wonder if she will tell Mal. I mean, Mallory is supposed to be one of her best friends, and she would probably appreciate knowing a guy liked her.

“Coach! I liked the sound of that.”……..BSC # 20: Kristy and the Walking Disaster

Memory Reaction

I…am coming up with nothing. I know I read this book a million times, because I found my old copy and the cover was worn off. And I remember the complete plot. I just can’t remember what I thought of it. I am even having trouble guessing what my childhood brain would have thought (thinking about it now).

Revisited Reaction

Kristy realizes that her siblings and some of her neighbors really like softball, but all suck at it. She hears about a guy in her neighborhood who has his one softball team for kids, but he can’t take on any members. So, she decides to start her own team, the Kristy’s Krushers. Most of the standard BSC clients join – at least the ones that suck at sports. Basically, the team is for kids who are too or too embarrassed or young to play in Little League.

The kid who coaches the other team, is Bart, who Kristy immediately develops a huge crush on. The two of them decide to have a game between their two teams. Bart’s team has some older kids so they beat the Krushers pretty easily. But then Bart asks Kristy out, which thrills her, and they decide to have more games between the two teams.

As for the title reference to “walking disaster,” that is Jackie Rodowski. He is on the team, but constantly causes disasters because of how klutzy he is. I don’t know why he is named in the title, he isn’t really in the book more than any other kid on the team. Kristy does single him out (in her head), to keep pointing out how he always looks messier than the other kids. It is kind of mean, especially since Jackie seems like a sweet kid. But again, he doesn’t do anything to drive the plot. He’s just there.

High/Lowlights

• There is some foreshadowing to Emily’s adoption, because Kristy tells us how her mom wants another kid. She is surprised because her mom is at least thirty-seven. She doesn’t know how old her own mom is?

• Kristy gets nervous around Bart because he looks at her like she is a hot movie star. It kind of reminds me about when Alan asked her out and she was so flattered someone liked her that she said yes.

• Myriah and Gabbie Perkins are apparently gifted at sports as well as everything else.

• What exactly is a “rec room?” I have never heard anyone use that term to describe their house, except of course in the BSC. I would guess it is a basement, but Kristy talks about going downstairs to the rec room, then downstairs again to the basement. Am I just clueless about something?

• The team wants to spell “crushers” with a K, to go with Kristy’s name. Karen is a brat and complains they are spelling it wrong. She even refuses to use the K on her team shirt. Brat. I thought she was supposed to be creative, not an obsessive compulsive.

• I don’t really see Charlotte Johanssen being a cheerleader. At first she just writes the cheers, but she ends up cheering at the game.

• Gabbie Perkins is on the team, at two-and-a-half. I think when I read these originally, I didn’t really realize how little that is. How can someone that young really play baseball? And what parent lets there kid play at that age? It is absurd.

• Jackie breaks a window at the elementary school with a baseball, and the school makes him pay for it (or his parents, anyway). I am trying to decide if that would really happen, or if the school would use insurance.

• Dawn sees Kristy talking to Bart at a practice and then writes in the club notebook about how she can tell Kristy likes him. That seems a little bitchy, but also like something a real teenager would do.

• The boys on Bart’s team make fun of Matt Braddock for being deaf. Assholes.

• So, Bart is oblivious to his team making fun of the Krushers while it is happening. But later, he tells Kristy he found out and apologizes. I want to know how he found out? Did the kids confess or something?

• The BSC actually cancels a meeting the day before the game. I’m shocked.

• Ha. After the game, Bart asks Kristy to walk home and her family and Claudia and Dawn all give each other these knowing looks. It is kind of funny, but Kristy is so happy when he says he wants to be “friends,” which is kinda cute.

“Either way…I was adopted”……BSC # 33: Claudia and the Great Search

Memory Reaction

I don’t remember any of the details of this one, but I know I felt embarrassed for Claud. It is one of those stories where you know someone is going to do something stupid, and cringe in sympathy.

I also think this is the one where she gets some picture of Mimi…then she talks to it in later books. But I may be combining that with other books.

Revisited Reaction

We start out with an awards ceremony for Janine. This makes Claudia feel even dumber than usual, and she keeps thinking about how she is different from the rest of her family. She looks at some old photo albums, and she sees a ton of Janine pictures and almost none of her. So, she decides she must be adopted. She finds a lock box in her parent’s closet, and randomly decides it has her adoption papers. Instead of asking her parents, she decides to investigate, but doesn’t really come to any conclusion – except to declare that since there was no birth announcement in the paper, she must be adopted. Because all births absolutely HAVE to be listed in the paper.

This theory is influenced somewhat by Emily Michelle. Kristy is talking about her a lot, because Emily’s doctor said she was less developed than most two-tear-olds. This means that Emily can’t register for preschool. This is obviously due to the fact that Emily lived in an orphanage, and has only been in the United States for a few months. But, Kristy is worried anyway. Claudia gets a job sitting for her, and tries to help Emily learn shapes and colors and stuff. She does such a good job, that the Brewer’s hire Claudia to be her tutor (cause millionaires can’t afford to get any kind of real tutor, or even to spend time with their kid). But this gets Claudia to see Emily a lot, and when she does, she thinks about how lucky Emily is to be told she is adopted. Well, she would kind of have to be, doesn’t she? I mean, at some point, Emily will be old enough to see that no one else in the family is Asian.

Claudia comes up with all these wild theories about her “birth parents,” but none of them really make sense. Stacey finally convinces her to talk to her parents. As soon as Claud does, they tell her she wasn’t adopted, her birth announcement was in another paper, and they didn’t take as many pictures of her because they were busier when two kids were around. They also point out that she looks exactly like Mimi, which Claud loves. Oh, and that locked box? Full of cash – $500 worth, in case her parents ever need “fast cash” in the middle of the night.

Also, after a few weeks working with Claud, Emily has improved greatly and is now far enough along to get into pre-school for next fall. I guess it is true that peer tutoring works.

High/Lowlights

• Let’s start with an outfit: “A long pleated plaid skirt, a white shirt with round collar, stockings, and blue heels.” – Does that sound normal? That’s because it is Janine’s.

• Here is Claud’s outfit: “A very short black skirt, an oversized white shirt with bright pink and turquoise poodles over it, flat turquoise shoes with ankle straps, and a ton of jewelry, including poodle earrings.” I am ashamed to say I thought clothes like that were once cool to.

• Claud says that all Janine’s friends walk around with protractors in their pockets. Has anyone ever seen someone actually do this? In my school, even the “dorks” dressed normally.

• Huh, weird piece of continuity here. Claudia says she thinks that Kristy doesn’t think she (Kristy) is pretty, but she is. This fits in with what Kristy was saying about herself in the last book.

• Have I mentioned this before? Cause they say this in every book – it is another sign of the ghostwriters having it out for Mal. When talking about the record book, it is all, “Mary Anne keeps track of my art classes, Jessi’s ballet practice, Kristy’s Krushers practices, and Mal’s orthodontist appointments.” Everyone else gets hobbies and Mal gets orthodontist appointments.

• This seems kind of mean – the day of her award ceremony, Janine kept running into Claud’s room with different outfits on. Claudia thought they all looked boring, so she says they are all fine. I mean, Janine was probably lucky she didn’t take Claud’s fashion advice, but really. Janine helps Claud with school all the time. Claudia could at least look at her clothes.

• Fun fact: Claud’s mom is certified to teach elementary school.

• So, Dawn is sitting at Kristy’s while Kristy is at the Papadakis’s. She brings the kids over to play, and David Michael, Linny, and some other neighbor start to play baseball with Kristy. Meanwhile, Dawn watches Hannie, Emily, and the little Papadakis kid. But, isn’t Hannie on the Krushers? I am sure she is. She should have been playing ball too.

• Another sign of the genius Perkins girls – Myriah is able to make a perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies with no recipe.

• Claud reads “Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye,” and decides her life is just like the book. Imagine if she read “The Face on the Milk Carton?”

• Why is Claud so convinced that birth announcements HAVE to be in the paper?

• Kristy’s grandmother takes Emily back to the preschool to be evaluated. Wouldn’t this be something parents normally do? I know Kristy’s mom and Watson work, but you’d think they would take time off for something like that.

• David Michael asks Kristy if he is a good ballplayer, and she says, “you’re getting better.” Nice.

• Why isn’t Becca Ramsey a Krusher’s cheerleader? They always talk about how she is Charlotte’s BFF, and Charlotte (uncharacteristically) is one, along with Vanessa Pike and Haley Braddock. In later books, I think those four are super close, so why is she left out?

• Want an example of Claudia’s detective work? She sees birth announcements from the paper for the week she was born, looks up the parents, and calls to find out if they still have a 13-year-old daughter. Perfectly logical. At least she knew to eliminate the boys.

• She also visits her pediatrician – and when the receptionist says Claudia didn’t start coming there until she was 3, Claud decides it is part of a mass conspiracy theory.

• Why would Claud’s parents need fast cash in the middle of the night? And if they did, wouldn’t you want to keep more that you could get from an ATM.

• Claudia never ends up telling the BSC her theory – she only talked about it with Stacey. That is a pretty rare occurrence in these books.

“We’re going to be step-stepsisters! Can you believe it?”…..BSC # 30: Mary Anne and The Great Romance

Memory Reaction

This is the book that is continued in BSC # 31.

So basically, my memories from Dawn’s Wicked Stepsister all apply to this one. The main things that specifically stands out from the Mary Anne book, is how her father disapproved of Mary Anne asking Dawn her mom’s age.

What I also remember is Mary Anne being all upset that Sharon doesn’t like cats, and her father comforts her by saying Tiger is part of their “package.” Now this is probably a perfectly reasonable response, but since I am not a fan of cats I was horrified by the idea.

Revisited Reaction

At the start of this one, Richard and Sharon are supposedly “dating a lot.” And Richard is planning a surprise dinner for Sharon’s birthday. At the dinner, he surprises her with an engagement ring. They had already decided to get married, and were trying to figure out how to tell Mary Anne and Dawn. So, of course Mary Anne and Dawn are thrilled. Later, they do start to argue, because Mary Anne has to move into Dawn’s house, and is upset about it. But it eventually kind of settles down.

At this same time, Mary Anne and Dawn are planning this huge wedding in their heads, and want to be bridesmaids. But, their parents tell them they don’t want a big deal. Eventually, they end up having a very small ceremony with dinner out after. And of course, it ends with Mary Anne and Dawn reaching for the bouquet. Spoiler alert: Mary Anne catches it!

Meanwhile, the baby-sitting subplot is about the Arnold twins fighting a lot. Then, thanks to Mary Anne, they decide to get separate rooms and everything is fine. You know, the typical BSC saves the world thing.

High/Lowlights

• This is another book that talks about how much Dawn’s mom “loved to date.” I really don’t remember that at all from when I was a kid. Maybe I was too young to pick up on it or something.

• Mary Anne’s says that after her mom died, her dad didn’t date anyone until he re-met Mrs. Schafer. That seems, like, not the best way to get married.

• Claudia: “At our last meeting she wore layers – a shocking pink tunic over a white shirt with pink and yellow umbrellas printed on it. Over the tunic, was a wide, low-slung yellow belt with a pink plastic buckle. The shirt, but not the tunic, was tucked into a pair of black knickers, and below the knickers were yellow stockings.” Who says "knickers"?
  

• So, to surprise Sharon, Richard asks one of her clients to request a dinner meeting. It seems unprofessional to do that. If a guy I was dating called one of my co-workers and talked about my personal life, I would be pretty pissed off. Mary Anne says Richard knows the client, but what are the chances of him really knowing one that well?

• Wouldn’t Mary Anne know how old Sharon is? She was in high school with Richard, and I am sure Mary Anne knows her fathers age.

• Also, fun fact: Sharon is 43, which means she had Dawn at 30. Now, the story has always suggested that Sharon married Dawn’s father right out of college…but I guess not. Maybe she spent some time after graduating “dating a lot.”

• Mary Anne gets mad at Dawn, because she shoots down all her ideas for a gift for Sharon. Dawn doesn’t offer alternatives, she is just all “no, bad idea.”

• Oh, I remember this part: Mary Anne made her own board game about school. I thought it was so cool that she did that. I once tried to make a board game too, but I don’t remember what it was about. I think it was a combination of this and this.

• What is the point of clear nail polish? Am I just missing something? Mary Anne’s dad only lets her wear clear polish, but why even bother?

• Karen is a total brat. She makes a mess in the kitchen and blames Emily Michelle. Then Kristy sends Emily to her room and yells at her. Then she is way too lenient on Karen when she confesses.

• When the twins were introduced, it was a Mallory book and Mal supposedly established a “close relationship” with them. Then in this book, Mary Anne is suddenly the one sitting for them all the time. It always bothered me when they did stuff like that…the did the same thing with that celebrity/actor they sat for. Charlotte and Stacey was the only one that stayed consistent.

• Mary Anne thinks about getting a bridesmaid dress with a straw hat. I’m thinking it was good she wasn’t allowed to pick out her own clothes when she was younger.

• Mary Anne and Dawn think they can ask some little kid they sit for to be a flower girl. Because you HAVE to have a flower girl.

• Dawn gives her mother a day-planner for her birthday. Her mom likes it, but it seems like a slightly insulting gift.

• Did anyone have a “sewing room” in their house growing up? The Arnold Twins do…Marilyn moves into it and Carolyn moves into the guest room. I think I remember it being mentioned in other books as well.

• Dawn tries to go to Zingy’s to buy her dress for the wedding…which I remember Stacey and Claud going to all the time. But Dawn’s mother thinks it is too “punk.” I don’t see Dawn liking punk clothes.

• Don’t Sharon and Richard have any friends? I’m not trying to insult them(actually I guess I am), but they each invite a couple people from their offices, but no one else. Are they that close to their co-workers?

• Richard gives Mary Anne a necklace that belonged to her mom – she was supposed to get it on her 16^th birthday, but her dad thinks she is so mature at 13, she deserved it. Doesn’t this happen again? He gives her a letter from her mom? I think it is that book where Mary Anne meets her grandmother.

• Oh man, this is another time when my opinions may have come from a BSC book. Sharon hates the idea of being “given away” and so her dad didn’t walk up the aisle with her. I must have at least heard that opinion from somewhere else, right? Cause I have always agreed with this.

• Richard offers Sharon a bite of her veal at the reception dinner, then looks hurt when she turns it down. Why would he do that? Seriously.

• Mary Anne cries all her makeup off at the wedding. But in a good way.

• Well, at the end, Mary Anne and Dawn are fighting for the bouquet. But, it seems like it is only the BSC that is trying to catch it. I guess Sharon and Richard’s co-workers are all married? But why would Sharon even throw it, if that were the case? She claimed to not want to make a big deal, so why throw it when the only eligible people are 13?

“You have to be at least somewhat secure to be an individual”…..BSC # 50: Dawn’s Big Date

Memory Reaction

This is slightly embarrassing. My biggest memory from this book has to do with Dawn making a bunch of healthy food to give to Logan’s cousin. The reason I remember that is because shortly after reading this book, I declared to my parents I was going to stop eating meat. And when my mom asked what I would eat for protein, I was all “they describe vegetarian food in the Baby-sitters club. We can make that.” For the record, I’m still a vegetarian, but I never actually food that Dawn describes.

I also remember how Dawn was too embarrassed to call a guy and wish him happy New Year (the other older BSC girls all do it). I am sure I felt all defensive over her thinking it was bad to not want to call a guy when you are in middle school. Cause, I would have been too scared to do it then.

Revisited Reaction

Dawn is feeling insecure because she doesn’t have a boyfriend, and she actually makes it her New Years resolution to “get a boyfriend.” Cause she is so independent and all. Luckily, Logan’s cousin Lewis is coming to town, and since he and Dawn had been writing letters back and forth, they are supposed to meet. Dawn decides to use this as an opportunity to “practice” getting a guy to like her. Then she plans to find herself a real man in Stoneybrook.

As part of this plan, Dawn decides she needs a makeover. This involves curling her hair, wearing a bunch of makeup, and turning her “California casual” wardrobe into wanna-be sluttish clothes. Mary Anne helps her with this, and also gives her a bunch of teen magazine articles about dating. From this, Dawn decides she needs a personality makeover as well, and starts acting ever weirder than usual. She also does things like talking back to her teacher in class, and sounding altogether fake.

She meets Lewis, and he basically decides she is a weird little freak and can’t get away from her fast enough. They end up double-dating with Mary Anne and Logan, and the whole thing is a disaster. Then Mary Anne and Dawn get into this fight about it. But then Dawn decides to be herself, and she calls Lewis and apologizes for acting all weird. Then they have another date that goes well, and he gives her her first kiss. Then Dawn decides she doesn’t even want a local boyfriend cause she loves Lewis.

Subplot: The BSC has new clients in this one – Norman Hill (who is “overweight”) and his sister Sarah (who is totally mean to him). Norman’s parents try to put him on a diet, but the kid ignores it. And the BSC totally let him. So much for being good baby-sitters, huh?. But, they do get him to talk to his parents. Who then decide that if they want their son to lose weight, they shouldn’t buy Oreos and potato chips.

High/Lowlights

• Heh, I remember this part. Dawn and Mary Anne can’t agree on what to make as snacks for a New Years Eve slumber party…so they have a contest to see whose food gets eaten. It is a tie, in case you were curious.

• Claudia: “She was wearing maroon leggings and ballet slippers under an oversized yellow shirt. Around her waist she wore this great belt that she made herself from three thin stripes of leather tried together and decorated with ceramic beads.” I once tried to wear ballet slippers out of the house, and my mom didn’t let me. But I am sure I wanted to be like Claud. She always wore those things.

• Stacey: “A form-fitting purple dress and pink tights with black stripes.”

• Dawn: “Black leggings and a big blue top lined with fleece.” This is pre-makeover.

• Claud: “Had tied her hair up in a high ponytail wih this silver netting around it. She was wearing wide black pants and a top with a silver moon appliquéd on the front.

• Jessi says this is the first time she was allowed to stay up until midnight on New Years Eve. It is times that that when you remember how young they are really supposed to be. Although, is it really realistic? I am almost positive the first time I stayed up was 1990…which would have put me at 9 ½. Sometimes I think they make Jessi and Mal sound like they are sooo young to draw a contrast with the other girls.

• So, in this book, Cam Geary puts out his first album. And he totally sucks. Even Mary Anne has trouble saying it is good. Actors putting out albums? Shocking.

• Why would an 8^th grader get a week off in January?

• Dawn cuts slits in the top of a bunch of shirts so she can wear them off-the-shoulder. Wouldn’t her mom get pissed about her ruining a bunch of clothes?

• Claudia says she is glad she can eat all she wants and not gain weight. She should really keep thoughts like that to herself.

• Dawn’s in school and her science teacher gives a pop quiz. Dawn wants to seem cool, so she fails on purpose – saying heavy metal and pop are two kinds of igneous rock. I thought it was such an awful thing to fail on purpose.

• I remember this, Dawn makes a mini skirt by cutting up a pair of gray sweatpants, and patching it with material from a flowered shirt she ripped up I wonder if she was actually able to do a decent job sewing it?

• Dawn gets offended because Claudia doesn’t like her new look. I don’t really think she should take Claud’s opinion to seriously.

• Lewis actually flies into La Guardia airport in this one.
  

• Dawn’s outfit to meet Lewis: Black ballet slippers; black Capri leggings; a short metallic silver skirt with all this crinoly stuff underneath that made it puff out; a strechy, tight, black and white striped top with long sleeves.” She also wears rubber bangle bracelets and long earrings, and put her hair in a bunch of braids. And this is just for a drive to the airport.

• Norman Hill’s parents kinda suck. He brings home a good report card, and his dad says, “How come a smart kid, can’t lose weight?”

• Mary Anne gets a little obnoxious in this one. She keeps telling Dawn to read teen-dating-advice columns, then says, “Well, I don’t need to read them cause Logan likes me the way I am.”

• One last crazy Dawn outfit: “Tie-dyed tights, [her] mini-skirt, and a tie-dyed T-shirt.” Then puts a bunch of braids in her hair, but only down to the chin, then let her hair hang lose from there.

• On their last date, Mary Anne, Dawn, Logan, and Lewis, go bowling and Mary Anne wins.

• Dawn seems surprisingly mature when she tells Lewis she was only trying to impress him. And Lewis reacts to it surprisingly well.

“Did you ever think a lottery ticket could cause all this”…BSC Super Special # 5: California Girls!

Memory Reaction

The whole basis of the book is that the BSC wins the lottery. Now, I remember how the explanation for a bunch of teenagers buying lottery tickets is that Dawn’s mom buys them. Then there is also this part where Dawn says it isn’t fair that kids can’t buy lottery tickets. I remember this because my nine-year-old self tells believed this, and told my parents that kids should be able to play the lottery. And my mother was like, “um, no they shouldn’t.”

Revisited Reaction

So, yeah, the BSC wins the lottery. Or, Dawn does, and they agree to split the money. It is absurd. The ghostwriter does have the decency to have Dawn only get five out of six numbers – so she only gets $10,000 and not $23 million. But still, it is ridiculous. They use the money to go to California during their next vacation. While there, they each have their own little adventure.

Kristy: Gets super competitive about the baby-sitting club Dawn’s friends started. She agrees to sit for two obnoxious kids, and even takes them to Universal Studios because she thinks she can handle any kids. Then she finds out they really are obnoxious and is a little humbled.

Claudia: Meets a guy on the beach, but is miserable because he is really smart and she doesn’t know how to talk to him. I don’t know why she agrees to go out with him, but she does. Then, after a phone call to Janine she decides to act like herself and they get along. I really wish there was a Super-Special where we got a Janine chapter.

Stacey: Falls in love (or luv!) with surfing and goes to the beach everyday with a bunch of older kids. They get into an accident because the guy driving was reckless, and Carol (Mr. Schafer’s girlfriend) tells her she has to tell Dawn’s father. It is nice to see Stacey have a storyline that doesn’t revolve around a boy (or diabetes).

Dawn: Stresses about her Dad’s girlfriend Carol. Dawn hates her because she acts too “young” but comes around at the end, when Carol acts like an adult after Stacey’s car accident.

Mary Anne: Baby-sits for this girl named Stephie who is basically a young Mary Anne (dead mother, strict father, really shy, etc.). She does have asthma, and Mary Anne is constantly on edge about Stephie having an asthma attack. When she finally relaxes, Stephie DOES have an attack, but recovers fine.

Mallory: Blows her money on a bunch of make up and hair dye. Then gets into a fight with Jessi because Jessi hates the makeup, and because Mal has to keep borrowing money from her. Eventually, Mal realizes the make-up isn’t her and sells it to Stacey/Claud (to pay back Jessi) then dyes her hair back to red.

Jessi: Goes to visit Derek Masters at his TV studio. Then she thinks about becoming an actress, then remembers ballet is her true love. Yawn.

High/Lowlights

• Dawn claims she didn’t know there was $23 million in the whole state of CT. Is it just the year that makes this seem cheap? I mean, people don’t usually get super-excited about the lottery until it reaches $100 mil.

• Claud has been playing the lottery for ages, and her father buys her a ticket every week. Is anyone else surprised that the Kishis (who don’t let their child read Nancy Drew books) let her play the lottery?

• Dawn claims that the $10,000 works out to $1,428.57. Don’t the ghostwriters know about taxes?

• Claud Outfit: “A red shirt with Mexican hats and cactus plants printed on it, and blue-and-white-striped pants held up by polka-dotted suspenders. On her head was what looked like an engineer’s cap (it matched her pants), and dangling from her ears were miniature cowboy boots.”

• Stacey Outfit: “Wide-legged, cropped pants; her Hard Rock Café T-shirt, and high-topped running shoes.”

• On the plane, Mallory keeps asking Jessi to play hangman, and Jessi keeps blowing her off. It is kind of sad.

• I wonder if these girls give Mr. Schafer any money for staying there – food for six additional teenage girls for two weeks can’t be cheap.

• I think I have said this about an Abby book, but do teenagers really make that big a deal about asthma? And shouldn’t they at least have heard about it? Mal doesn’t know what it is.
  

• Isn’t it kind of mean for Dawn to write to her mom talking about how Carol is always around?

• The day after Claudia met Terry (the cute guy) on the beach, Stacey runs into him and gives out Claud’s number. That is kind of rude to do without Claud’s permission.

• Dawn, Kristy, and Claud buy a set of matching bracelets at a mall. That doesn’t seem like something Kristy would do.

• Carol tells Claudia to change her personality to get Terry to like her. Dawn correctly calls this a bunch of bullshit (in nicer terms)...although she doesn't follow this advice in other books.

• Mallory addresses a letter to her parents, “Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Pike.” Isn’t her dad’s name John in other books?

• So, this book does the thing where each chapter tells the same day from different perspectives. So, Mallory tells us all about going to the mall and getting hair dye on Wednesday afternoon. Then, Jessi tells us about waking up and seeing Mal with blonde hair on Wednesday morning.

• Jessi gets to be an extra on Derek’s show. She says that there are a lot of people hanging around the day she visits. But would there really be that many friends of the cast there? It wasn’t they day of a live taping or anything.

• I wouldn’t let some 13-year-old I have never met take my kids to Universal Studios (assuming I had kids). But I guess I am not as laid-back as some California mothers, cause they don’t have a problem with it.

• I know this is done for a reason, but it annoys me to see these girls writing letters to their parents saying, “I’ll tell you more about X later.” If you have something to tell them, say it. Otherwise, don’t bring it up.

• Claudia wears a Laura Ashley dress on her date with Terry. It is very un-Claudia, but it is probably the best outfit she has ever put together.

• What kind of 13-year-old boy takes a girl to French restaurants and foreign films?

• All the Hollywood references are really bizarre. They go and looks for houses owned by Steve Martin and Fred Astaire. That seems like such a random combination of names.

• Stacey goes to the hospital after the car accident, and the doctors check her, then tell her to call Dawn’s house for a ride herself. Wouldn’t a hospital notify her parents (or Mr. Schafer) before they can treat her? Or at least make sure she tells an adult? They always try and contact the parents on ER (yes, I still watch it).

• Speaking of which, Stacey and Dawn think that Carol will hide the accident from Dawn’s father.

• Dawn actually writes a pretty mature letter to Carol at the end of the trip.

• They go to Medeival Times for dinner on the last day of the trip. I remember that place….when my 10^th grade history class went, one of the knight/performers had to break out of character to yell at guys in my school for throwing candles into the stage/area and putting the horses at risk. THEN he yelled at them for forcing him to break character.
  

• At the end there is foreshadowing to the next Super Special – Dawn wants to play the lottery again so they can go visit Stacey’s father in New York.