This book contained my favorite BSC opening line ever: "I was so excited I felt like doing cartwheels across Claudia Kishi's bedroom floor." I don't know why that line always stuck with me, but I remembered it vividly. The thing was, I couldn't remember in which book it was. I knew it was a "summer" book, and had it in my head that it was California Girls!, so I was pretty disappointed when I read that one and it didn't contain the line. So, naturally, when I picked this one up and found my cartwheel line, I was super stoked (apparently that line makes me talk like a valley girl...).
So we are again in the summer after 8th grade (based on the chronology of the BSC books, this may actually be the first summer after 8th grade, shocking...). Mary Anne and Stacey are about to go once again to Sea City, NJ, as mother's helpers for the Pike family (they also did this in the previous summer, in Boy-Crazy Stacey, but I haven't reviewed that one yet, sorry. However, the prior Sea City trip took place immediately before the Disney cruise, if that helps give you a time frame. Or maybe it just helps me plug previous posts, because I'm shameless like that). Mary Anne and Stacey aren't the only members leaving the 'Brook for 2 weeks: Dawn is headed to Cali and Claudia is going on a family vacation to Vermont. As Dawn is packing for her trip, MA provides this gem "Dawn dresses like an individual, and to her, a bathing suit is more than something to swim in. It's a fashion statement." Umm...raise your hands if you think that applies to Stacey or Claudia more than Dawn, cause...yeah.
So, on the first day in Sea City, Mary Anne and Stacey run into Alex and Toby, their respective boyfriends from the previous summer. MA feels a little uneasy, since she is now dating Logan (whose voice makes her think of "warm molasses." My husband has never said that about my Southern accent, kind of sad. And I'm just wondering how a 13 year old girl from suburban Connecticut knows what warm molasses is like). However, MA doesn't think about Logan too long, and she and Stacey start picking up the summer flings where they previously left off. Who would have pictured MA as the dating-multiple-guys-at-once type? Stacey? Of course. Mary Anne, not so much. However, it is nice to see the characters break the mold every now and then, you go, Mary Anne (ok, not really, that is a reprehensible thing to do, shame on you, MA).
Meanwhile, in babysitting land, Mary Anne, Stacey, and Mallory take the rest of the Pike clan all over Sea City (Mallory, even though she is a BSC member, was not hired to be a mother's helper, the Pikes wanted Mallory to be able to enjoy her vacation, which is a first). They visit Burger Garden, where the seats are actually shaped like toadstools and the waiters dress up like animals (ok, something tells me that the teenagers that work there must hate it, dressing up in animal costumes in the heat of summer must suck, yikes). Plus, they visit Ice Cream Palace, where one of the minor dramas of the book unfolds. Vanessa Pike immediately develops a crush on Chris, a 12 year old boy who works there (really? How is that legal? Why does AMM insist on giving underage kids normal jobs? Child labor laws, anyone?). However, Chris develops a thing for Mallory, and when Vanessa leaves anonymous love poems for Chris, he assumes they are from Mallory. Vanessa is crushed, but Mary Anne helps console her and Vanessa never reveals the secret to Chris. Plus, the reveal happens at the end of the trip, so Mallory never finds out, either (hey, MA, you do realize that even though you kept Vanessa's secret and spared her feelings, you may have deprived your friend Mallory of her true love? Ok, probably not, but that would have been an ego boost to the one BSC member who struggles with self-confidence issues).
Back in Stoneybrook, Kristy has a disastrous sitting job with the Rodowsky boys (what else is new?). Kristy decides to take Shea, Jackie, and Archie to the community pool, where she manages to lose Archie (of course he is found), plus she somehow decides that it is a good idea to let Jackie go order all of the food, which of course ends in disaster. Furthermore, Jackie buys a giant cookie that he promptly drops in the pool, and later gets stung by a bee. Kristy counts her losses and takes them home. Oh, and Jessi somehow temporarily loses the Pikes' hamster Frodo, freaks out, then finds him in her hamster's cage. Apparently, Squirt placed him there because of a Sesame Street episode, and Jessi thinks he is a genius. No, Jessi, he's not, sorry. Janine Kishi is the only genius sibling of the BSC.
In Sea City, things are going about as smoothly. Mary Anne and Stacey both have dates planned for Friday night, but only one is allowed to be off at a time. Stacey bulldozes MA into cancelling her date with Alex, and Mary Anne, while furious, caves in and reschedules for Saturday. Tensions remain high all day Saturday, when Stacey starts to iron a dress that night. Mary Anne asks why she is getting dressed up, and Stacey nonchalantly remarks that she and Toby have another date that night. And MA blows a gasket. For reals. This time, she's all "Hell to the no!! I am going out tonight!! I hate you!! You're a virgin who can't drive!!" Ok, maybe not that exact dialogue, but Mary Anne makes her point and goes out with Alex. They go out on the boardwalk, and he wins her a purple hippo (flashback to all those middle school/high school trips to Six Flags, where the boyfriend would win his girl a giant stuffed animal, but she would make him carry it around all day for her). Stacey and MA keep the icy chill going the rest of the vacation, until Mary Anne finds out that Toby dumped Stacey, and that's why she has been super b!tch for the past few days. Stacey and Mary Anne eventually make up, of course, because that's just what the BSC does. Mary Anne and Alex go out one last time, where Mary Anne finally confesses that she has a boyfriend. Surprisingly, Alex isn't pissed, because apparently he has a girlfriend back home, too, and he hopes that they can remain friends. Because that makes the last two weeks of summer lovin' ok, AMM, because they are just "friends." You know what When Harry Met Sally said about men and women being friends, right? I would watch your girl, Logan...
Sea City Fashion!!
What Stacey Wore: "Stacey looked very "New York" as usual, in a pair of khaki safari pants, topped with a jungle print blouse and a leather belt that must have cost two months' allowance."
Blossom Russo would approve.
What Stacey Wore (date with Toby): "Stacey chose a white sundress for her date with Toby because she wanted to show off her tan."
What Dawn Wore: "Dawn was dressed for traveling, which meant she was wearing a beautiful Laura Ashley dress and had swept her long blonde hair back in pearl barrettes." Who the crap dresses like that for a cross country flight? Give me yoga pants and a hoodie any day...
Sigh...I will admit it, I didn't really like this one (which is probably why I have taken so long to post this one...sorry, life happens sometimes). However, it is now time to man up (woman up? BSC up?) and soldier through this one.
So we are at the end of summer (the second, third, or fourth summer that takes place before 8th grade starts...). Kristy has just gotten back from a family vacation in Hawaii (I think this takes place right after the Aloha, Babysitters! Super Special, we'll have to see when I finally read that one). Special K gets back on Sunday, and the next day is Labor Day, and the whole club is stunned that Kristy wants to have a meeting on Labor Day. Now, since they have been through, oh, about 10 Labor Days by now since the BSC has been together, you would think this issue would have already been addressed. The Kishis leave their family BBQ so that Claudia can be home in time for the meeting, but Jessi's family is actually practical, and they refuse to leave their Labor Day cookout to bring Jessi to the meeting. And now I love the Ramseys. All of the other girls are all pissy and grumbly during the meeting, which is nice to see once and awhile.
During our standard chapter 2 bio section, we find out that Kristy considers herself "tearless and fearless, loud and proud." That sounds like a really bad gym motivational poster you can find on Pinterest or something. Or maybe Kristy's future eHarmony description. Apparently, Abby, as alternate officer, stood in for Kristy while she was on vacation. The book didn't specify how long Kristy's vacation was, but apparently it was long enough for Abby to organize a Mexican festival which was a huge success, plus long enough for Abby to do away with the weekly dues, which caused the treasury to be depleted (poor Stacey must be so depressed by that). So, of course, Kristy is jealous of the festival and smug about the treasury. Special K also describes Abby as "the most gung-ho athlete of the BSC besides her." Umm...how exactly is Kristy an athlete? Sure, she coaches the Krushers, and we can all agree that she is a tomboy, but calling yourself an athlete implies that you would play some sort of organized sport, which Kristy does not. Abby is on the SMS soccer team, so she is indeed an athlete, while Kristy is just a tomboy who likes sports, but doesn't play them. Take that, Kristy Thomas.
Things in BSC land continue to unravel. Stacey misses the next Friday meeting because her dad has tickets to a Broadway show. Kristy asks if Mr. McGill can exchange the tickets for Saturday, and Stacey is all...
At the same meeting, Jessi announces that she has a new advanced ballet class that will take place on Friday evenings at 5:15 (finally, an activity that takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays, all other BSC outside activities are conveniently scheduled on Tuesdays or Thursdays). Kristy tells her that she needs to either quit the BSC or ballet. Umm...aca-scuse me? She was way more understanding when Mallory needed a break for her writing, I don't see what the big deal would be for Jessi just to attend meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays. The rest of the BSC defends Jessi, and they decide to move the meeting days to Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. A few weeks later, Mallory announces that there is a 6 week creative writing course at Stoneybrook Public Library that meets on Wednesdays from 4:30-6. Kristy says that Mallory absolutely cannot join the class, to which Mallory reluctantly agrees (way to give up on your dreams for your friends, Mal). Plus, random members keep missing meetings for doctor/dentist appointments, Mary Anne and Abby show up to meetings late, and the girls start to bicker amongst themselves.
Kristy decides that the BSC is suffering from a major lack of spirit, and since she is still jealous of Abby's Mexican festival, she decides to plan a Fall into Fall Festival Block Party (and that long title made me think of The Office).
Naturally, none of the other BSC members are enthused by the idea, since they just finished planning another festival recently, and are loaded down with homework from school. Kristy wants to have apple picking, but there are no apple trees in the Brook, so she wants the girls to tie apples to trees with string. Plus, she wants to have a parade and a maple sugaring booth (anyone else remember the maple sugar scene from Little House in the Big Woods?). Yeah, Kristy, I'm with the rest of the BSC here, that sounds like a lot of work and super lame. However, Kristy finds out that she would need a permit to close off the street, plus can't find a weekend that every BSC member will be in town to help out, but she stubbornly keeps trying to plan the festival.
Then the camel's back breaks. Kristy is babysitting the Rodowsky boys, and Jackie falls out of a tree and sprains his ankle. Kristy is mad at herself for letting that happen, and furious with the rest of the club for their attitudes, so she suggests that they break up the Babysitters Club. After a heated debate, everyone but Mallory and Jessi vote to disband the club, and Claudia changes her answering machine message to let clients know. At least the Fall into Fall Festival Block Party is cancelled, now.
Kristy immediately regrets her idea, but all the other girls seem relieved and happy to have more free time (yes! They are normal 13 year old girls, after all...). Mallory gleefully signs up for the creative writing class since Kristy can't dictate her life any more. Plus, other girls at SMS tell Kristy that they are happy that the BSC broke up because they now have a chance to babysit, too (yeah, that would kind of suck for anyone who wants to babysit who wasn't part of the BSC, it's like they were the babysitting mafia or something). Kristy gets her feelings hurt when she finds out that some of their regular clients, like the Newtons, hire other girls to babysit instead of club members. The girls talk about trying to meet up for sleepovers or pizza nights, but they can never coordinate schedules to include all seven.
A few weeks into the non-BSC era, Jackie Rodowsky decides to ride across town to Kristy's house to apologize, because he thinks that it's his fault that the club broke up. On the way, he runs into a tree and gets a concussion. Once the BSC finds out, all the members immediately converge on the hospital to visit Jackie (this just seemed weird...I mean, I know he is a favorite sitting charge, but what are the chances that all of the girls were able to get rides to the hospital at the same time? Just...no). All of the girls start talking, and Kristy suggests that they reform the club on a probationary basis for a month. After the month, they can decide if it's worth the effort to keep it going or not. In the meantime, Jessi's ballet class has been rescheduled to Tuesdays, because none of the parents were happy with Friday night classes, either, and Mallory has only 3 weeks left of her writing class, so Kristy decides she can excuse Mallory for the next 3 Wednesdays (very big of you, Kristy). So, the BSC lives on to fight another day...
Break-Up Fashion!!
What Claudia Wore: "For instance, at that Labor Day meeting she was wearing a bracelet of dyed, braided shoelaces, along with a blousy ruffled shirt that looked as if it once belonged to Captain Hook; mismatched high-top Converse sneakers; a baggy, pinstriped men's suit pants, gathered at the waist with a bungee cord."
"But I don't want to be a pirate!!!"
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