“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.

“I’m not being mean when I say silly-billy-goo-goo”…..BSC # 32: Kristy and the Secret of Susan

Memory Reaction

This is clearly a sign of how badly the BSC portrayed issues, because when I first read this, I thought it would be “cool” to be autistic. Mainly, because I remember how Kristy sits for a girl who is autistic, but who could still somehow know what days of the week any day fell on. It seemed like a really cool talent.

Revisited Reaction

Kristy gets a job sitting for a little girl, Susan, who is autistic. Susan’s family has always lived in Stoneybrook, but she normally lives at a special school (which is why we never heard of her before). But now Susan is home for a month, and her mother wants to have some time free to do errands, so Kristy gets a regular job there.

Kristy decides it is just awful that Susan lives at a special school instead of home with her family. She decides she is going to show Susan’s parents that she is better off at home. Because obviously, she knows better than two adults who have been dealing Susan for eight years. So, Kristy tries to help Susan “make friends.” The Hobart’s have just moved into town from Australia, and have been picked on, so they at least act civil towards her. But everyone else reacts in some mixture of fear and ridicule.

Kristy tells the kids that Susan is a “savant,” which means she is able to memorize things, including a perpetual calendar, and can say what day of the week any date within a hundred year period. She can also play any song by ear after hearing it once. So, a few days later a bunch of kids start showing up at Susan’s house to quiz her, and Kristy thinks it means she is making friends – until she finds out one kid was basically selling tickets to see the “freak.” James Hobart still treats Susan like a human being, but he has made real friends by now, so can’t really do too much for her. And really, he couldn’t have anyway. Of course, Kristy is not able to cure Susan of her autism, so at the end she does leave for school. Oh, and Susan’s mom is pregnant.

Subplot: Mallory thinks that the oldest Hobart, Ben, is hot. He must feel the same way, because by the end, he asks her to the movies.

High/Lowlights

• Kristy is sitting for Emily Michelle, and the book makes this big deal out of explaining how to tell Emily she did something wrong. It was kinda odd.

• Apparently, Charlie made a sign for his car, saying “Baby-sitter on Board.” Um, cute?

• Dawn can’t figure out how a moving truck delivering the Hobart’s stuff got there from Australia. She wastes several whole sentences wondering if they did it with a boat before getting a van.

• Awe, Kristy tells us she thinks she isn’t as pretty as Mary Anne.

• So, Kristy gets this job sitting for Susan (by Claud’s house), on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. So, she asks Charlie to pick her up after school and drive her over there (instead of driving her there at 5:30. Now, doesn’t Claudia walk home? Didn’t Kristy do this before she moved? Why can’t she just walk to Susan’s?

• I can’t believe Kristy doesn’t think constantly testing Susan to show her “talent” is mean.

• If the job is 3:30-5:30, how does Kristy get to meetings on time? Did I forget the book where she learned to teleport?

• All the kids of Stoneybrook make fun of the Hobarts for being from Australia, with Crocodile Dundee references. I would think that is actually a compliment…wasn’t he supposed to be cool? My brother thought so any way, at least as a kid.

• How do all these kids know what day of the week dates fell on? When people find out about Susan, they instantly ask her a date. Some of them come back after looking it up, but not all. I don’t even know what day of the week I was born on, let alone when my grandmother was born.

• Karen makes Andrew play her pet monkey in a game of “Let’s All Come In.” How does she get away with this stuff? Couldn’t Andrew say no?

• At SMS, the kids don’t have to sit with their classes at assemblies. Really? Teachers just let kids sit with their friends? There is no real supervision? Isn’t that asking for trouble?

• Apparently, Stoneybrook has a huge program for handicapped kids. This one class has multiple kids with Down’s syndrome, a deaf and blind kid, a deaf kid, an autistic kid, and a kid with cerebral palsy. She can’t see why Susan can’t be in a class like that – never mind that Susan has a severe case and her parents have said they want her to go to a special music school.

• At an assembly, a bunch of kids make fun of a girl in a wheelchair. Maybe if the teachers made kids sit with their class, things like that wouldn’t happen.

• Is the word “retarded” politically correct? Cause they use it all the time, and it seems kind of wrong. I have family with Down’s syndrome and no one ever calls them “retarded.”

• How does anyone get “apertinment” when trying to spell appointment?

“I’m blonde-haired and blue-eyed, and you wouldn’t catch me dead sitting for the Lowells”…..BSC # 56: Keep Out, Claudia

Memory Reaction

I don’t remember a lot about this book, at least not my reaction. I do know that they mention Fiddler on the Roof, and I only knew what it is because I had seen a version of the play by my neighbor’s church. I probably thought the racism issue was dealt with a lot better than it actually was – and I remember knowing that it was about racism and being annoyed I had to wait until half way though for the BSC to realize it. But that may actually be from the second or third time I read it.

Revisited Reaction

The BSC has a new client, the Lowells, who are a bunch of racists. Mary Anne sits for them first, and everything goes great. But Claudia sits for them next, and the kids don’t listen to anything she says. Afterwards, Mrs. Lowell, calls Kristy and asks for someone besides Claudia to take the next job. Even though Mrs. Lowell doesn’t say why she has a problem with Claud, the BSC takes the job, and sends Jessi. But, because she sucks so much, Mrs. Lowell won’t even let her in the house.

Interestingly enough, after this, the girls still don’t realize what the problem is. Now, I am not trying to male light of racism, but anytime something bad happens to Jessi, she thinks it is because she is black. And sometimes she is actually right. So, I am a little surprised she wouldn’t think of that when a door is slammed in her face. But, anyway, after Kristy meets the Lowell kids, it dawns on her that the family is racist. When Claudia finds this out, she is upset, as she should be. The rest of the club decides they don’t want to sit for the Lowells, and they wonder if Mrs. Lowell would disapprove if she found out things about their families like having divorced parents or a Vietnamese adopted sister. The BSC talks about how awful it is, and try to think of a way to handle it, but finally realize there is nothing they can do.

Meanwhile, the girls are helping set up a band for all the kids they sit for. Only a few of the kids play real instruments, the others use harmonicas, kazoos, and coffee-can “drums.” They put on a recital with the music to Fiddler and the Roof, and it goes relatively well. The Lowell kids were supposed to be part of this band, but because their mother doesn’t approve of the music choice, they aren’t allowed. And that’s about it. It’s hard to make fun of a book about how awful racism is.

High/Lowlights

• Claudia thinks the word psychiatrist should be spelled: sikiatrist. Amazingly, Word’s spell-checker actually gives psychiatrist as a suggested word for that.

• Genius Janine actually locks herself out of the house.

• Jamie Newton calls the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the “Teeny Mutant Stinky Turtles.” I find that amusing for some reason.

• Claudia wonders if her outfit is why Mrs. Lowell didn’t like her. She wore: “black leggings and high-topped sneakers, [a] fringed blue-jean vest and beaded Indian belt, [and] six silver rings.”

• Kristy goes home and talks to her mom, Watson, and grandmother, because she wants an adults opinion on the Lowell situation. That is probably the only time I remember these girls going to their parents.

• Jessi says she has been a victim of racism before, so even though it sucks, she is used to it. But Claudia never has, so she gets really upset and talks to her parents as well. It is a little after-school special-ish.

• The kids in the band want to get t-shirts, so they decide to ask for donations at their concert. Why wouldn’t they ask their parents to just get the shirts, like they did with Kristy’s softball team? The parents are going to be the ones donating money at the concert, aren’t they?

• Also, why do we never hear about the band again? The set up is that it is their first concert and will keep meeting. It isn’t just a one-time talent show or anything.

• The BSC wants to teach the Lowells a lesson, but decide they can’t just tell Mrs. Lowell they don’t “sit for bigots.” I am not sure why not, they don’t have an obligation to be polite with someone who slams the door in their faces.