Kristy's Mystery Admirer, #38

A little mood music to start us off...

The one in which Kristy has a Lifetime movie style stalker. Ok, cover artist rant time. We see David Michael, Kristy, and Shannon Kilbourne on the cover. Kristy is consistently described as being the shortest person in the entire 8th grade (I'm always thinking, like, 4'11", or maybe 5 feet at most). But here, she is basically the same height as Shannon. Plus, Shannon is always described as having super curly hair, not that shampoo-commercial straight hair she is rocking there. Of course, they always draw Stacey, the queen of the perm, with straight hair as well, maybe they just can't perfect curls.

So, we open at a Krushers vs Bashers game (the softball teams started by Kristy and Bart Taylor, respectively). After the game, Bart offers to walk Kristy home, and we find out that Kristy has a massive crush on Bart. After some very generic 13 year old flirting, Kristy makes it home with little hearts in her eyes. The next day, after school, Kristy gets a call from Shannon, and she tells Special K that she had an envelope in her mailbox with Kristy's name on it. She brings it over, and Kristy sees that it has heart and flower stickers all over it. They rush upstairs to Kristy's room, where they read the enclosed note:

"Dear Kristy, I think you are the nicest girl I know. I would like to go steady with you. I wish I could tell you this in person. Love, your Mystery Admirer"

Special K immediately thinks it is a prank note from her brother, Sam, but Shannon doesn't think so, since it was in her mailbox, and thinks that the note is from Bart. Kristy doesn't think Bart is the type to write notes, though. The next morning, there is another note sitting on her front doorstep.

"Dearest Kristy, I can't stop thinking about you. Maybe I'm in love with you. I don't know. I've never been in love before. You are as beautiful as a snow-covered mountain. Love, your Mystery Admirer"

That day, Kristy brings the two notes to lunch to show the rest of the BSC. While Kristy still thinks this is a prank from Sam, everyone else agrees that it must be Bart. Kristy decides to call Bart that night, to see if he drops any hints, but he says nothing that even hints at the notes. The next afternoon, another one appears in her mailbox.

"Dear Kristy, I love you, I love you, I love you. Love (get the picture?), your Mystery Admirer"

(I can only hear that in Don's voice from Singing in the Rain)

In the midst of all of this, Kristy and Bart decide to have a World Series for their teams. Like, this is kind of ridiculous to me, because these two teams only play each other, and they literally decide to have a World Series. Where they only play each other. Again. Plus, their "World Series" is just one game, instead of, you know, an actual series of games. After the details of the championship game have been decided, Kristy decides to grab the bull by the horns and ask Bart to SMS's upcoming Halloween Hop (not that one. Or that other Halloween). After Bart says yes, Kristy immediately calls Stacey to tell her the good news (this was just weird to me, Kristy and Stacey always seemed like the least close friends of the BSC, why wouldn't Kristy call Mary Anne first, or even Shannon?).

The next day, when Kristy is sharing the news about Bart and the dance with the rest of the BSC at lunch, they notice Cokie Mason, our favorite BSC nemesis, sitting at the next table with her friends, and it is evident that she has been eavesdropping on their conversation. Kristy lowers her voice and they start talking about how Cokie pranked them last Halloween (this happens in Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery, which I haven't reviewed yet. Sorry if I just spoiled that one for you). Of course, this again highlights the mysterious Stoneybrook time paradox, because that Halloween also took place in 8th grade, when Stacey was back living in New York, before her parents divorced. Based on the chronology of the books, this may only be the 2nd Halloween of 8th grade. Anyway, I'm sure Cokie's mention here is her only appearance in the book, there is no way she could possibly have anything relative plot points after this...

Anyway, a couple of days later, another note appears on Kristy's front porch.

"I love you, I love you, I love you, but beware. Love is fickle. So are friends. Watch out for your Mystery Admirer."

Kristy immediately calls Shannon, who rushes over to discuss this new development. Shannon no longer thinks Bart is the note writer, since this seems out of character for him (Bart attends the same private school as Shannon). Kristy is no longer sure, and is starting to worry that Bart may be a psycho.

"Violets are blue, blood is red. I'll remember you when you are dead."

"I want to be with you forever - eternal togetherness. So I am coming to get you."

After getting a couple more notes in quick succession, Kristy starts seriously worrying that there is a true psychopath after her. She spaces out at the next BSC meeting and forgets to call it to order at 5:30 (grounds for impeachment? Dereliction of duty?). Kristy tells the BSC about the notes, and tells them that she wants to uninvite Bart to the Hop. They all talk her out of it, because they believe that Bart is innocent and that it would not be fair to him. Later that night, she is discussing her current theory with Shannon, that someone may be trying to kidnap her to get a ransom out of Daddy Watsonbucks. And, Shannon, bless her, immediately points out that a real kidnapper would go after Watson's real kids instead.

Shannon is back to thinking that Bart is writing the notes, but that he is doing so to psyche Kristy out for the upcoming World Series. Which, I mean. Is just one game. That means nothing. Like, no trophies or anything. 

The next day, another note on her front porch.

"Beware. I'm coming sooner than you think. And once I  find you, this is all that will be left of Kristen Amanda Thomas." 

This note includes fingernail clippings in the envelope. Now, Kristy starts to completely panic, and refuses to walk home with Bart anymore, and won't accept his calls. Finally, Bart gets pissed, and shows up at Kristy's house for an explanation. She shows him the notes, and blushing, he admits to writing the first three, non-stalkery notes. He admits that he likes Kristy, and they make up. Kristy thanks him for the notes (she can't bring herself to call them love letters) and tells him that is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her. However, the mystery of the later notes still remains.

The day of the World Series arrives, and Kristy notices Cokie and her friends in the bleachers. Cokie approaches Kristy, and Special K starts to brag about her boyfriend, that he's coming to the dance, and how they will be spending their lives together (nope, not a joke, Kristy actually says these things, not Stacey or Mary Anne). Cokie then uses the phrase "eternal togetherness", and Kristy immediately realizes that Cokie is behind the prank notes. She confronts Cokie, who admits it and says that she wanted revenge for "last Halloween," when the BSC humiliated her in front of Logan (I can't wait to read that book again). Kristy says that she is going to tell the whole school what Cokie did, and the mean girls flee in panic. I mean, honestly, I think that story would make Cokie look cooler than Kristy, pulling a prank over on the BSC, I can't see this ruining Cokie's reputation at all. But, this is Stoneybrook, where mean girls always get their due. Plus, I'm sad that we didn't get Cokie falling out of a tree at the game, like the BSC movie.

The day of the dance approaches, and Shannon is trying to help Kristy figure out what to wear. Kristy apparently only owns two dresses, one of which is her bridesmaid's dress, and the other one that she wore to Mary Anne and Dawn's parents' wedding. However, Bart calls at that moment, and says that he found a couple of lobster costumes of his parents in the attic, and asks Kristy if she wants to wear them for the Hop. She immediately agrees, and they end up winning Most Unusual Costume at the dance. Bart kisses Kristy on the cheek in the middle of the dance floor.

After the dance, the BSC has a sleepover at Kristy's house, where they give Shannon all the details of the dance and write their own prank note for Cokie. All is right with the world again.

Halloween Hop:

Kristy with Bart Taylor, dressed as lobsters.

Some Love Actually Nativity play lobsters for you.

Mary Anne with Logan, dressed as a witch and Frankenstein.

Stacey with Kelsey Bauman (yes, that's a guy), just dressed nice.

Claudia with Woody Jefferson, no outfit descriptions.

Mallory with Ben Hobart, Mallory dressed as a clown.

Jessi, no date.

Dawn, no date, dressed as Alice in Wonderland.

Fashion!!!

What Claudia Wore: "Claudia is the most interesting dresser I know. She is always wearing things like Day-Glo high-top sneakers, cut-up jeans, off the shoulder sweatshirts (sometimes torn), and friendship bracelets."

It appears that Brittany Pierce is a fan of the Claudia style, too.

Claudia Kishi, Middle School Dropout, #101

The one where Claudia's bad grades in school finally catch up to her...and so starts a dark time in the 'Brook...

So once again, we are in October of 8th grade, one that is falling in the post-Dawn Abby era. Claudia is struggling with math (and science, and English...etc). She is trying to figure out her protractor ("it had such a friendly rainbow shape, but it wasn't friendly at all"). To be fair to Claud, even though I did fairly well in math, I don't think I could tell you how to use a protractor now. Fortunately, Stacey calls to gossip about the Halloween dance (no, not that one), so Claudia can forget about her homework woes. Stacey asks Claudia about her costume for the dance, and they gossip merrily along for several minutes. However, all good things must come to an end, and Claudia attempts to figure out her homework again. In the meantime, she tells us (or thinks to herself, whatever) that she has been tested for a learning disability, but the results were normal, in fact, she actually had a pretty high IQ (just not the 196 of Janine the Genius). I think her problems in school would have been more believable if she had dyslexia or something.

The next day in class, her math teacher, Mr. Schubert (what happened to Mr. Zorzi?), gives a quiz on the material, and Claudia feels completely confused. The students have to pass their quizzes to the next student on the right to be graded (what?!? I remember doing this once or twice on a vocab test in 6th grade, but a math quiz? Just seems more like something the teacher would want to grade to be able to accurately judge the progress of the his/her students. I'm not buying this, AMM). Anyway, Claudia gets, like, a 45 or something, and Mr. Schubert suggests that she gets a tutor. The Kishis find a friend of Janine's, a girl named Rosa, to help Claudia with her schoolwork, and Claudia starts to understand math with Rosa's help.

Meanwhile, in art class, Claudia sees a flyer announcing that Serena McKay, one of the most renowned artists in the country, is teaching a "master class for accomplished amateur artists" at Stoneybrook Community College. Wow, it seems the 'Brook is a mecca for the cultural elite, think about it: Hollywood directors, best-selling authors, and now a famous artist. The class is only open for 15 students, and you have to submit a portfolio to be considered. Claudia submits her work, and gets accepted to the class, which will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm (gotta love how these special classes/lessons to which these girls get accepted never interfere with the BSC meetings...). Claudia shows up for her first class, and she discovers that she is the youngest person accepted, that everyone else is either in college or an adult. However, the more the teacher and other students praise her work, the more confident Claudia feels that she deserves to be there, and she looks forward to the art show at the end of the class.

It turns out that art class is the only bright spot for Claudia, though. Even though she understands the material when she is working with Rosa, she still feels helplessly lost whenever she is at school. When she gets a 58 on her next math test, the principal (good old Mr. Kingbridge) calls Claudia and her parents in for a meeting. At the meeting, Mr. Kingbridge informs the Kishis that they believe that Claudia is struggling too much with her 8th grade curriculum, and have decided that she needs to repeat the 7th grade. Effective Monday. What the...? Is that even legal? I mean, would a school force a kid back to a previous grade in the middle of the school year? I've never heard of that happening, it seems more likely that they would just let her flunk out and repeat the same year (in this case, 8th grade) over the next school year. Would they really make her repeat a grade she has already passed? Isn't that what remedial classes are for? This just seems really asinine, AMM, not buying it at all. Anyway, somehow the Kishis don't threaten to sue the Board of Education and instead accept this as the only option available. Understandably, Claudia has a meltdown at the BSC meeting that afternoon. To give the girls credit, they assure Claud that this changes nothing and they will stand by her regardless (of course, they don't want to risk losing their club headquarters, either. Yes, that's me being snarky and mean...).

On Sunday night Claudia has a nightmare that she goes to school and is invisible to Stacey, the teachers, and all of the students, because she is no longer in 8th grade. She feels really lonely on Monday, and has no one to sit with at lunch (remember, SMS does a separate lunch period for each grade). Ok, I get missing your friends, but I don't buy her not knowing a single person in 7th grade. She grew up in Stoneybrook, and has been in the same school system the entire time, so I'm pretty sure she would know several people both in 7th grade and 9th grade, at least well enough to join for lunch. Plus she has an older sister, so I'm betting that she should know several people in Janine's year, too (I speak from the experience of being in the same school system from kindergarten to 12th grade, plus having a brother who is two years older, this just makes no sense that Claudia would not know a single soul in 7th grade). But this is Stoneybrook, enough said. The next day, Claudia has her first 7th grade math test, and finds that she actually remembers most of this from last year. When she gets her test back, she sees a 96 on top of it. Plus, she realizes that several of the 7th grade girls are wearing their hair in the exact same style that Claudia did the day before. When lunchtime hits, Claudia sits down at the same table, but immediately several girls come over and sit with her. Apparently, instead of there being a stigma attached to the older girl who was forced to repeat a grade, Claudia is seen as the cool, stylish, more mature teenager with whom everyone wants to hang out. Umm....Mallory got bullied for her dad losing his job, but Claudia is a celebrity for flunking? Weird...

After her ego boost at lunch, Claudia is actually starting to enjoy 7th grade and feels better about the situation. However, she spots one of flyers in the hall about the upcoming 8th grade Halloween Hop, and all of a sudden, she has a moment of panic. She rushes to Mr. Kingbridge's office and asks if she can still attend the dance, but he tells her that 7th graders aren't allowed, and it would set a bad precedent for others if he let her go. Ok, when the Claudia was in 7th grade for the first time, she attended the Halloween Hop, so I'm not sure what has changed over the summer. Plus, Mallory and Jessi regularly attend every other dance, the Winter Wonderland dance, the Valentine's dance, so not sure why the Halloween dance is all of a sudden restricted to 8th graders. I guess we just needed the drama for Claud for this one book. So, Claudia is back to hating 7th grade, and when she goes to the afternoon Halloween festivities for the 6th and 7th graders, that involves games and bobbing for apples, she refuses to wear a costume and refers to the other kids there as immature brats (and she makes this comment to Jessi and Mal, so that would have been a fun reaction to see). Plus, since she is not going to the dance that night, she joins Jessi and Mallory in taking several of the neighborhood kids trick or treating, and again, she refuses to wear a costume. In fact, she gets so depressed over this, she even chooses not to tell her family or friends about the art show that weekend.

Anyone else feeling some "Arrested Development" sad, Snoopy walks here?

Claudia drags herself to the art show, where she finds out her piece won first place. Serena McKay pulls Claudia aside to find out what's wrong, and after Claudia confesses her troubles, Serena confesses her own secret - she, too, was held back two years in high school, but managed to work hard and found her strength in her art. Claudia feels better, and invites her family and friends to come to the art exhibit the next night. Plus, she joins her friends at a Halloween party at the children's wing of the Stoneybrook Hospital, where Jackie Rodowsky had been laid up with a concussion. The BSC had organized a Hospital Buddies program, where the neighborhood kids could send letters and cards to kids in the hospital. Which I'm pretty sure is never mentioned again. I guess we needed a feel-good subplot to balance out Claudia's story.



Halloween Costumes:

Kristy - Big Bad Wolf

Mary Anne - Little Red Riding Hood (last time Halloween rolled around in 8th grade, she was a cat.)

Stacey - 1920s flapper

Claudia #1 (original 8th grade dance outfit) - punk look, with her uncle's black leather jacket, torn fishnets, big black Doc Martens, a spandex miniskirt, and fake nose ring

Claudia #2, Hospital Buddies Halloween: scarecrow

Abby - soccer player

Mallory - Emily Dickinson (that just seems weird for a 6th grader...)

Jessi - Sugar Plum Fairy

Cokie Mason - a Barbie

Fashion overload in this one!!!

What Claudia Wore: "You know, my tie-dyed leggings, black overall shorts, red high-tops..."

Claudia, art class edition: "I chose a black sweatshirt with the neck cut out of it, black jeans (doesn't black just say "artist" to you?), and as a light-hearted touch, my purple high-tops with the orange laces." Umm...I kind of want some purple Converse with orange laces now.

Claudia, principal office edition: I wore a black wool jumper over my favorite red turtleneck." Seems like a Mallory or Mary Anne outfit.

Claudia, first day of 7th grade: "I'd settled on my moss-green Gap jeans, paired with a rust colored cardigan I'd found at the vintage clothing store. Also, my new Mary Janes, and a moss green scrunchie so I could tie my hair up in a Pebbles Flintstone ponytail on top of my head." Check the cover image for the top half of this outfit.

Claudia, art show edition: "I wore a long black jumper with red embroidery around the neckline, over a white turtleneck, added a pair of dangly earrings with red glass beads, and twisted my hair in a casual knot. For once, I didn't care how I looked." Way to lampoon Mallory's wardrobe choices, Claud.

What Rosa Wore: "That first day, she was wearing overalls, Doc Martens, and a funky black newsboy cap, turned sideways."

What Stacey Wore: "Stacey arrived next (looking sophisticated-yet-casual in a khaki skirt with a white blouse)."

Stacey, dream sequence edition: "Stacey was wearing  a short plaid kilt, white baby tee, black tights, and black chunky-heeled shoes." Very Cher Horowitz.

What Amy Wore: "Today I wore a fitted green t-shirt with a picture of a ruler on it and the words "I rule" (because sometime people just need to be reminded, y'all) under a swingy navy blue cardigan. I also wore comfy, faded blue jeans, and I finished the outfit with my red canvas Toms." Would Claudia and Stacey find my outfit "dibbly fresh"?

Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, #2

So, Claudia is totally holding Kirsten Dunst on this cover.

It was a dark and stormy night in Stoneybrook (because AMM loves using this cliche whenever there is a mystery in town...or out of town). Claudia has finished her 7th grade homework (that's right, we haven't hit the neverending 8th grade year yet) and is trying to decide if she should paint or read a Nancy Drew book. Ok, rant time, AMM always goes on about how Claudia's parents don't approve of her Nancy Drew addiction, but really? Mrs. Kishi is a librarian, and the Nancy Drew series is considered classic, why would she have a problem with that? I mean, it's not To Kill a Mockingbird, but it's also not the Sweet Valley High series or Flowers in the Attic or anything, so why is that an issue? Plus, considering how indifferent Claudia is about school, you think they would be happy with her interest in reading anything. Rant over.

Oh, and we get told again that Janine's IQ is 196. Why the crap is she still in high school? She already takes college courses for fun, so it would seem that by the time she graduates high school she would have accrued enough college credits to start as a junior or senior (umm...totally had a friend in college that did that, got enough AP credits in high school to start college as a junior. Way to make me feel like an underachiever...). Just find it hard to believe that Janine's teachers never pushed for her to at least skip a grade or something.

Anyway, before Claudia can make up her mind on what leisure activity to start, Stacey calls to gossip about the upcoming Halloween Hop. Claudia tells Stacey about her crush on classmate Trevor Sandbourne (that totally sounds like a soap opera name), a boy that writes poetry for the SMS newspaper, and Stacey is still crushing on Sam Thomas. They gossip a little bit about Kristy and Mary Anne, because they still aren't really close to them yet, still eat lunch with other friends and think K and MA dress like little girls (pre-Kristy tomboy phase, apparently). This struck me as more believable with the BSC friend dynamic, because it is a little hard to believe that 7 girls who are so different can be so close without some snark/gossip. Yes, I know some of the later books have some fights in them, just seemed a little too Leave it to Beaver-ish to have these girls always be so buddy-buddy.

After Girl Talk is over, Claudia flips on the radio and hears a news flash about the latest burglary by the Phantom Phone Caller in a neighboring town. Apparently the Phantom Phone Caller will call a home and hang up if someone answers, just waiting for the homeowners to leave. As soon as he doesn't get an answer when he calls, he will break in and steal valuable jewelry. Claudia remembers that she had some hang ups when she sat for the Marshalls a few days ago and shivers, but then remembers that the PPC has never hit Stoneybrook, and feels better. However, a few days later, Claudia's next door neighbors, the Goldmans, are buglarized, and Mrs. Goldman mentions having a few hang ups earlier in the day. Let the panic begin...

At the next BSC meeting, the girls (Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey) get on the subject of the PPC, and how they can protect themselves on the off chance he tries to hit a home while they are there. They come up with an elaborate telephone code so that if they think there is a burglar in the house, they can call one of the other girls to let them know there is trouble without alerting the thief (and all I could think about here was that urban legend where the pyscho is calling the babysitter from inside the house, and we know how that ends...) The code is something along the lines of "Have you seen my red ribbon?" Kristy makes them practice this for a whole meeting so that they will have it down pat. They also devise some homemade burglar alarms that can be used, like stacking pots and pans by the front door and such, and the girls feel reassured that they will be ok if something happens. Plus, Kristy decides to take the club record book to school so that the girls can memorize where everyone is babysitting that day just in case something should happen.

Claudia sits for the Marshalls again, and gets a couple more hang up phone calls. She gets all freaked out, about jumps out of her skin when someone starts jiggling the garage door, but it turns out to be the Marshalls coming home. Plus, when Kristy is babysitting for Karen and Andrew (this is before Watson and her mom are married), she gets a few hang up calls too. Mary Anne gets so freaked out by this, that the next time she is sitting for David Michael, she decides to rig up some of the Home Alone style alarms, even though she hasn't gotten a call. She stacks canned goods up by the front door, pots and pans by the garage door, and rigs some redonkulous broomstick/tape deck contraption at the back door. She freaks out when the stereo starts blaring loud music, but it turns out Louie switched it on when he came through the dog door. Then she hears a loud crash, but it's just the Thomases coming home. Even though Kristy acted kind of like a baby when she was getting phone calls, she laughs at Mary Anne's burglar alarms (that's a great friend).

A few days later, Kristy and Claudia have a joint sitting job for Jamie Newton and some of his cousins, and the phone starts ringing. Then they hear something outside one of the windows, so Claudia calls the police. They show up, and catch Alan Gray, the resident prankster, lurking outside. Alan confesses to calling whatever home Kristy is at (which he knows because she brought the club notebook to school) because he wanted to ask her to the Halloween Hop. Surprisingly, Kristy immediately accepts, telling Claudia later that she was just excited that a boy liked her. Kristy, this can't have been that much of a shock, as much as Alan Gray has tormented you in the past, you had to know that he secretly liked you, that is middle school crush 101. After Claudia gets home, Trevor Sandbourne calls and asks her to the Hop, and admits that he had been calling her to try to get up the nerve to ask her out as well. He said that his buddy Alan Gray has been feeding him Claudia's babysitting schedule (umm...not sure if I can see Alan Gray being friends with someone who writes poetry, just sayin'...).

Oh, and the police catch the actual PPC a few days later, and Stoneybrook is safe again. Hooray. Janine tells to Claudia that she admired how brave Claudia was and how well she handled to situation at the Newton house. Plus, she admits to Claudia that she hides candy all over her room, too. Which, just seemed completely out of character for Janine, and I don't think that ever gets mentioned again. Nice to know that Janine is not some weird robot/Stepford child at least.


Fashion!!!

What Claudia Wore: "Today, for instance, I'm wearing purple pants that stop just below my knees and are held up with suspenders, white tights with clocks on them, a purple plaid shirt with a matching hat, my high-top sneakers, and lobster earrings."

I really hope these were her high-tops, that would be epic.

Claudia, take two: "I straightened my bow tie with the little Scottie dogs on it and patted my hair to see if any damage had been done. My hair is long, and I can do lots of things with it. That day I had fixed it in five slim braids and looped each one up on my head, holding them in place with beaded barrettes that had sparkly streamers attached to them."

Claudia and Stacey, dance outfits: baggy jeans and bulky sweaters

Kristy, dance outfit: red plaid jumper and red turtleneck

Baby-sitters' Fright Night, Super Mystery #3

Does anyone else picture this as an ABC Family original movie around Halloween? They need to jump on that one, pronto.

Oh, and Mallory and Stacey look weird on this cover. Like the illustrator never looked at any other BSC book before drawing the characters. Abby and Mary Anne look the same though. Weird. I have found out that the more books I read with Abby, the more I like her, she has a sense of humor, somewhat sarcastic/goofball, which isn't found elsewhere in the BSC.

Time Warp alert!! We are now celebrating Halloween in Stoneybrook, Halloween of the 8th grade year, and remember Dawn still lived in Stoneybrook that December and attended the Winter Wonderland Dance, but now we are back at Halloween, with Dawn living in Cali and Abby as a member of the BSC. You're making my head spin, AMM.

So SMS is taking another one of its fantastical field trips, this time to Salem, Mass, to research the history of the Salem Witch Trials (confession, I would have loved that trip in school, way to disappoint me again, TMS.) Students of all grades are attending, and they have to complete some type of research project about Salem while on the trip. Stacey's project is on the early economic history of Salem (yawn...). Anyway, Kristy, Abby, Stacey, Mary Anne, and Mallory are going - Claudia's parents won't let her go due to her bad grades, Logan has a football game, and Jessi is performing in Stoneybrook University's Halloween Dance performance. I'm imagining this:




Kristy gets all freaked out before they leave that there will be some babysitting crisis in the 'Brook over these four days and that Claudia, Logan, Shannon, and Jessi won't be able to handle it. Kristy makes them write down the number of the hotel in case they need to call her for, I don't know, a great idea or something. Special K is going to be a brutal micromanager whenever she migrates into the adult work force. Oh, and at this meeting, it is mentioned that Mallory carries a briefcase instead of a backpack. What the...? Isn't a sixth grader carrying around a briefcase at school just asking to be picked on? Why, AMM, why? And Mary Anne, in one of her chapters, says that Claudia's creativity is reflected in her spelling. MA, just say "Bless her heart," it sounds sweeter.

So, the SMS kids arrive at their hotel, the Salem Gables Inn, and Mallory immediately spots one of her favorite mystery authors (of course it's a mystery author...), Martha Kempner, who is conveniently staying at the hotel, too. Mal goes super fangirl, but suprisingly, Martha does not freak out or get a restraining order or anything, rather talks to Mallory about her new project, a mystery novel based on the Witch's Eye, a famous (and supposedly cursed) yellow egg-sized diamond on display at the local museum. I'm sure this won't be important to the story at all...

The next morning, the students break into groups to begin the first set of tours around Salem. Stacey and Mary Anne join the tour of the Trove House Museum, where the Witch's Eye is on display. While there, alarms go off, security guards and police converge, and chaos reigns. The Witch's Eye has been stolen. Stacey somehow wanders into the crime scene unnoticed, and finds a scrap of paper with a series of numbers written on it. She somehow manages to memorize the numbers because she's good at math (!?!), and then gives the slip of paper to the police. Meanwhile, Mary Anne and Abby discover a black wig, sunglasses, and a crumpled security guard uniform hidden in the bushes outside the inn. They go inside to report this to the front desk, and while they are waiting for the police, Abby goes into the gift shop, where she runs into Martha Kempner. Abby decides to buy an orange ceramic pumpkin, however there is no price tag, and the clerk doesn't recognize it (this isn't fishy at all, y'all...). Abby gives the clerk $2 for the pumpkin, and decides to name it Cornucopia and call it her pet.

Kristy immediately calls an emergency meeting of the Babysitters Club so that they can discuss the mystery the potential suspects (and Abby snarkily refers to K as "Agatha Kristy" - I like this girl):

Agatha Moorehouse - the rich old lady in a wheelchair who owns the diamond? Was she lying about not having insurance on the stone?

Harvey Hapgood - the man who attempted to buy the diamond from Mrs. Moorehouse before the theft, and who Stacey thinks is suspicious because he wore tennis shoes with his suit?

Martha Kempner - the author writing a novel based on the stone, wanting some publicity for her book, and was conveniently in the hotel gift shop steps away from where the disguise was located?

Sean Knowles - a guy who hid behind his newspaper at breakfast watching Mrs. Moorehouse, and who was at the museum at the time of the theft?

While they mull over the suspects, they continue to do tours of Salem, and attend the Halloween parade downtown. While there, someone dressed as a ghost steals Abby's "waist pack" in the midst of the crowd (hee, hee, Abby has a fanny pack.) When they get back to the hotel, Abby discovers that the room she shares with Stacey has been ransacked (the room key was in the fanny pack.) However, nothing was stolen (Stacey was frantic about her jewelry - would someone be that interested in a 13 year old girl's stash from Claire's?)

Mallory phones the 'Brook so that Jessi can send the mystery notebook up to Salem (there is this convoluted story where some teachers were coming to Salem a day or two later, really probable.) They run into Martha Kempner downstairs, and she tells the girls the history of the "curse" around the diamond and then offers to buy Abby's pumpkin, which is now on a keychain attached to her belt loop (again, not fishy at all, AMM). After they get the mystery notebook, they write down the history of the diamond and everything they have observed so far, and Stacey realizes that the numbers she found are the combo to one of the hotel room safes. And then the lights go out...

A bad storm hits, knocking out power to the inn, and the teachers hand out candles to the students (ummm...). The girls decide that since the hotel rooms are opened electronically, they can just walk into the rooms of the suspects and check to hotel safes (haven't these girls watched America's Most Wanted, or any Lifetime Original Movie - that is not a good idea.) They discover that the combo open's Martha Kempner's safe (alas, it is empty), and while in her room, Stacey declares that stiletto heels are "a bigger fashion bomb" than sneakers - oh, sweetie, wait about 5 years until you discover Sex & the City, then all your babysitting money will be going towards Mahnolos and Louboutins. 

Once they leave her room, they realize that are being followed by a shadowy figure, and wander into a wing of the hotel under renovation. Abby gets into a physical altercation with Harvey Hapgood, and Martha Kempner shows up and tries to snatch her pumpkin pet, which had the diamond hidden inside. Yep, it was Harvey and Martha, in the east wing, with the pumpkin. Abby uses her soccer slide tackle to take them both out (that's realistic) and then the police show up and everyone is safe. It turns out that Sean Knowles was an insurance investigator working with the police to protect the diamond.

Oh, and subplot, Kristy got into a prank war with Alan Gray and Cary Retlin, with Kristy and Alan teaming up to get revenge on Cary. Plus, Cokie Mason and her henchmen bully the sixth grade girl named Eileen rooming with Mallory, but then the BSC stands up to Cokie, accusing her of being just like the witch hunters in Salem. Somehow that makes Cokie back off, which is not really believable, in my opinion. Oh, and the BSC members stuck in Stoneybrook throw a Halloween parade for the kids (yeah, if only 4 out of a possible 9 babysitters are available to chaperone, I would totally let my kids march down the street in costume...).

Halloween Costumes:

Kristy - Sherlock Bones, wearing her signature collie cap, necklace of dog biscuits, and carrying a magnifying glass

Mary Anne - dressed as Tigger. I swear she dresses up as a cat every time Halloween rolls around in 8th grade

Stacey - Mother Time, wearing all black, with her face painted like a white clock (sounds like one of those last minute, "oh, crap, this is a costume party" looks)

Abby - Women's World Cup, with her soccer jersey, a plastic gold cup on one shoulder, and an inflatable globe on the other shoulder (actually pretty clever)

Mallory - Pumpkin Patch, with an orange sweatshirt, paper pumpkins pinned all over it with green yarn or something, and Abby's pet ceramic pumpkin attached to her waist

Fashion!!

What Claudia wore: "Last year, it was Doc Martens with pumpkin stickers, a hand-batiked shirt in orange and black, plus one orange sock and one black sock."

What Stacey wore: "Stacey had gone for almost total black: black jeans, black boots, black turtleneck, silver cropped top over that, black boots with silver side buttons, and silver X earrings." Umm...why is Stacey wearing 2 pairs of boots?

What Eileen wore: "She was wearing a huge purple dress, a puffy orange windbreaker, and these really clunky shoes. Her hair stuck out in spikes beneath a wool hat that had a pattern of white snowflakes on a red background. She was fashion challenged." This description came courtesy of Stacey - if Claudia had worn this outfit, Stacey would think it was "genius" and "dibbly fresh."

Rihanna thinks mixing purple, orange, and red is ok, Stacey, live a little.