California Girls! - Super Special #5

I was always a sucker for the Super Specials - I mean, you get a story for every character in one book, which rocked my 13 year old world back in the day.  So, for my first book on this journey, I figured I would start with one of my favorite Super Specials ever, "California Girls!" (the fact there is an exclamation point in the title just highlights the awesomeness of the Super Special).

Let me hit you with some plot - the BSC wins $10,000.00 in the state lottery (this is somehow legal because the girls got their parents to buy them tickets).  Ok, I remember being thirteen, and there is no way my parents would have bought lottery tickets for me and my friends, just not happening.  Plus, not to get all adult on this children's series, but there is no mention of tax liability, the girls literally split the $10,000.00 prize 7 ways.  That's going to be fun at tax time for the parents, let me tell you. 

Anyway, back in Stoneybrook, where logic need not apply, the girls invite themselves to Calfornia to visit Dawn's family for 2 weeks during school vacation (which school vacation is not specified, it seems to be Spring Break-ish, but 2 weeks?  Sign me up in that school district...).

Here's the character breakdown:

Stacey - takes up surfing with older teenagers, gets into a car accident.

Claudia - has a bicoastal romance with Terry, a male version of her sister, Janine (he's a thirteen year old boy who likes French restaurants and foreign language films.  Does that 13 year old boy exist in real life?)

Mary Anne - babysits for Stephie, a girl with asthma (and kept talking about her inhalator, I always called them inhalers, so that was really distracting).

Kristy - gets competitive over who has the best babysitting club, the BSC or the We Love Kids Club.  Admits that she may not know it all, kind of shocking, really.

Jessi - hangs out with Derek Masters, the child actor featured in several books, and is an extra on his television show.

Dawn - butts heads with her dad's girlfriend, Carol, who she thinks is way too old to act cool (Carol is 32.  Ouch.)

Mallory - spends all her money on a makeover and blonde hair dye.  Plus, Mallory uses the slang "dibbly fresh" at some point (Stop trying to make fetch happen, Mallory!!  It's not going to happen!!)

And, now for my favorite segment, BSC fashion presents:

What Claudia wore: "She was wearing a red shirt with Mexican hats (ok, even at 13, I knew the term sombreros) and cactus plants printed on it, and blue and white striped pants held up by polka-dot 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, which she'd made herself."  This outfit is totally giving me a Clarissa Darling/Blossom Russo-style vibe.

                                                        I mean, am I right, or am I right?

What Stacey wore: "Stacey was wearing wide-legged cropped pants; her Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt (why is t-shirt capitalized here?); and high-topped running shoes."  Sounds like an early 90s LA Gear commercial.  Or maybe a Fly Girl from In Living Color.