May 15, 2013
BSC #117, Claudia and the Terrible Truth: Bummerville, Population: Everyone
Sorry, I am out of snark at this time. Please check back later
Summary: Claudia starts sitting a lot for Nate and Joey Nicholls, and immediately realizes that there is something Very Wrong. Their father is very strict, going off about the slightest things and obsessing about cleanliness and organization. The boys are terrified to do anything that might make him mad. They’re also not allowed to have any stuffed animals, which is really depressing. Claudia thinks Mr. Nicholls is just strict, and since she’s just the sitter, she can’t really say anything about his behavior.
…Until one day when Mr. Nicholls, thinking Claudia has left, yells at the boys and possibly slaps one of them. Claudia calls an emergency BSC meeting (one of the few times that’s actually a good idea) and tells the other girls what happened. They agree that since she didn’t see the slap, she can’t accuse Mr. Nicholls of anything, but it doesn’t sit well with them. Claudia’s mom works with Mrs. Nicholls, so Claudia tells her what happened, and Mrs. Kishi agrees to talk to her.
Mrs. Nicholls tells Mrs. Kishi that nothing happened; her husband just has a temper, but he’s not dangerous. However, the BSC girls become even more suspicious when Mrs. Nicholls calls to cancel all the sitting jobs she’s lined up with them. A few days later, recurring character Erica Blumberg calls Claudia, knowing she’s sat for the Nicholls boys before. She’s sitting for them right now, and one boy has bruises on his arm while the other has a black eye.
Claudia immediately calls her mom, who takes Mrs. Nicholls home to get the boys. Claudia gets restless waiting to hear back and decides to go over as well, to at least give Erica some support. Just as she, Mrs. Kishi, and Mrs. Nicholls get there, Mr. Nicholls also shows up. There’s some yelling in the house, but everyone except Mr. Nicholls leaves in Mrs. Kishi’s car. They take Erica home, and the rest of them go to Mr. Kishi’s office in Stamford, knowing Mr. Nicholls won’t think to look for them there.
Mr. and Mrs. Kishi help Mrs. Nicholls arrange to stay with her sister in New York, then buy her everything she’ll need for a car trip there. Once everyone is safe for at least the night, Claudia and her mom both break down, emotionally worn out. Late that night, Claudia gets a call from Mr. Nicholls demanding his kids back. She’s understandably shaken. The Nichollses end up leaving town, with nothing completely resolved, and though Claudia’s sad that she might never see the boys again, she’s glad they’re safe. She also buys them stuffed animals.
The B plot is about the BSC girls organizing a bunch of kids for a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Top o’ the boring to ya.
Thoughts: Is everyone sufficiently depressed? I need to go look at some pictures of puppies now.
Claudia is completely awesome in this book, though. When she sees something, she says something. She would make a good New Yorker. My only problem is that when the girls are discussing the events at the end, they agree that Claudia was right to tell someone, and agree to tell each other if something like this happens again. I think they should have been encouraged to tell an adult instead.
Mrs. Kishi is also awesome here. She gives Claudia good advice, immediately takes control when she finds out what’s going on, and comes across as someone you don’t want to tick off.
For a small town, Stoneybrook sure has a lot of parades.
Erica gets invited to a BSC meeting. Wow, she breached the inner sanctum! Oh, the things she must have seen.
February 19, 2013
BSC #113, Claudia Makes Up Her Mind: Bad Idea Jeans
Josh looks ten. Mark looks annoying
Summary: Remember when Claudia was bumped back to seventh grade? Apparently she’s done really well there. But instead of having her continue to repeat the year, her teachers and guidance counselor decide to give her the option of going back to eighth grade. She can either continue to thrive in classes she actually understands, or she can go back to struggling to pass her classes. Yes, this seems like a great idea.
Claudia, to her credit, takes her time considering her options. And because she’s a teenager, her schoolwork isn’t the only thing she thinks about. There are her friends, which she has in both grades. There’s the fact that she’s queen of the seventh grade. And there’s her boyfriend, Mark. Even when he keeps flaking out on her and proves to be a typical immature 13-year-old boy, Claudia wants to keep dating him.
That is, until she finds out that her friend Josh has a massive crush on her. (This is the guy she friendzoned in the past.) Their seventh-grade friends are pretty shocked that Claudia hasn’t picked up on his obsession with her, but she has her head in the clouds 95 percent of the time, so they should have expected that. Just like a 13-year-old girl, Claudia doesn’t have any interest in Josh past friendship until she finds out he likes her. Then all of a sudden she has another decision to make: Mark or Josh?
Long story short: She picks Josh and eighth grade. And everyone’s all, “Oh, you’ll do great, we’ll help you, you’ve come so far.” Yeah, we’ll see.
The kids at SMS are doing a color war, so the B-plot is them putting on a color war with their sitting charges. It’s dumb and boring.
Thoughts: If the school will give Claudia tutors when she goes back to eighth grade, why didn’t they provide them before, when she was failing eighth grade? And really, they shouldn’t have sent her back to seventh grade. They should have waited until the end of the year and had her repeat eighth grade, since that’s the year she had trouble with. But of course, that never would have happened, since the girls are trapped in eighth grade for all eternity.
Though I don’t agree with her, I like Janine’s logic: Claudia should go back to eighth grade so she doesn’t have to spend an extra year in middle school.
Abby completes a three-legged race by dragging her partner over the finish line on his back. And that’s why I love Abby.
July 17, 2012
BSC Mystery #27, Claudia and the Lighthouse Ghost: Mad Hatt-ers
I kind of want Claud’s jacket
Summary: A family named the Hatts stay with the Kishis when they return to Stoneybrook after being away for a few years. There was some sort of scandal surrounding their departure, but the BSC girls don’t know much about it. It seems like it had something to do with Stoneybrook’s lighthouse (yes, really), which the Hatts own. Some digging around nets the girls the information that a teenage boy named Adrian Langley died after falling out of the lighthouse. Mr. Hatt tried to save him, but Adrian’s father still blames him for Adrian’s death.
The BSC girls help with the Hatts’ lighthouse clean-up, and Claudia finds a note saying something about the reader being “one of us” if he/she can last a night in the lighthouse. It also has a drawing of a gargoyle on it. Janine sees the note and says the gargoyle looks like the one over the door to Stoneybrook High School. The girls learn that there was a gang (yeah, I bet – Stoneybrook doesn’t know what a gang is) that adopted the gargoyle as a mascot, so the note was probably part of an initiation ritual.
Meanwhile, the Hatts are receiving threatening notes (mostly playing on their last name) telling them to leave Stoneybrook. The girls suspect two of the Hatt kids, Laura and Steve, might be sending the notes. The lighthouse is also smoke-bombed. No one seriously thinks a ghost is involved, contrary to the book’s title; the girls alternately suspect Mr. Langley, Adrian’s brother Paul, Steve, and Janine’s boyfriend Jerry, who’s been kind of a jerk lately.
Paul lets the girls see Adrian’s room, where Claudia snags a photo of some of his friends. She finds out later that Adrian isn’t in the picture. She thinks that the photo is of the gang members, and that one of them is trying to keep everyone away from the lighthouse. At a party Steve throws in the lighthouse, Claudia learns she’s right. One of the guys in the photo sneaks in, turns out the lights, and falls, because he’s a moron. He explains that he wanted to get back into the lighthouse and retrieve the note the gang left for Adrian before the Hatts could find it. (Why he waited almost ten years to do this isn’t explained.) Now everyone likes the Hatts, including Mr. Langley, and Jerry and Janine are okay again, even though she kind of had her eye on Steve.
Also there’s a comet, and the kids in town think it’ll make bad things happen, but Kristy lets them know they’re idiots. It’s dumb.
Thoughts: Suddenly there’s a lighthouse in Stoneybrook? To go along with the coastline we’ve heard so much about?
A party for a comet viewing is proof that Kristy has lost all control.
Claudia: “Sunday? That’s in two days!” Janine: “Your math is improving.” I love you, Janine.
Ben Hobart scares some kids with comet stories, and Abby says that if they can’t sleep that night, she’ll have their parents call them. But three of the kids he scares are his own brothers, so that makes no sense.
Charlie: “Steve Hatt!” Me: “Steve Holt!”
Hey, Adam, “you’re still ugly” only works as an insult if it’s NOT directed at your identical triplet.
February 20, 2012
BSC #96, Abby’s Lucky Thirteen: Today I Am a Woman
Abby's much cuter in her picture on the left
Summary: Abby’s busy getting ready for her and Anna’s joint Bat Mitzvah, which makes her forget about a big math test – a huge problem since she’s already struggling in math. Just before the test, she buys what a guy tells her is a study guide. It’s pretty specific, but it helps her, so she feels pretty confident going into the test.
Unfortunately, one of the answers on the study guide was wrong, so Abby gets it wrong on the test – as do four other students. The teacher figures out that something strange is going on and suspends all of the students for cheating. Abby tries to plead her case about the study guide, since she didn’t realize it was fishy until she took the test. The teacher already has it out for her, though, thanks to Mrs. Stevenson coming in to read her the riot act about another test. The teacher, Ms. Frost, doesn’t believe Abby’s claims of innocence.
Abby doesn’t want to admit her suspension to her mother, so she pretends to go to school for the three days she’s off, then heads to the library. This gives her time to prepare for her Bat Mitzvah, but she still doesn’t know what to say in her speech. Her mom catches her at the mall and Abby spills the truth. She winds up grounded for a month, but fortunately, her mother believes her about the study guide and decides to talk to Ms. Frost again.
Back at school, Abby sees Mary Anne buying a “study guide” from the same guy who sold one to her. She takes Mary Anne and the fake guide to Ms. Frost, and now that she has a reliable witness with her, Ms. Frost believes her. She also apologizes for not giving Abby the benefit of the doubt before and allows her to retake the test. So Abby has a chance to improve her grade, and now she has a topic for her speech. At her Bat Mitzvah, she talks about how even small decisions can make big waves, and how she feels more adult now.
The twins’ family comes to Stoneybrook for the Bat Mitzvah, and all the BSC members attend. There’s a very sweet scene where Abby and Anna light the candles on their cake and dedicate each one to their family members and friends. They’re sad because their father isn’t there, but they hear their family members reminiscing about him and sharing happy memories.
In the B-plot, a bunch of parents in town ban TV in their houses, or at least drastically reduce the amount their kids can watch. The kids are angry but wind up making their own “episodes” of one of their favorite shows.
Thoughts: We get it, ghostwriter: We shouldn’t watch too much TV. I’m already reading your books – what more do you want?
The Arnold twins wear pinkie rings. Are they in the mafia?
Abby’s mom tops my list of awesome BSC parents. You do NOT want to mess with her.
Would eight-year-olds know about the old melodramas with villains tying women to train tracks? I don’t think I knew about those when I was that age.
Abby says her mother doesn’t have any siblings, but doesn’t she have a sister in a later book?
November 17, 2011
BH90210 2.16, My Desperate Valentine: Drive Me Crazy
I don't like Christmas directions before December either
Summary: Emily tries to make nice with Brandon at his locker, but mistakes someone else for him. It turns out he changed lockers to avoid her because of the events of U4EA. He admits to Andrea that he’s not an “in-your-face type of guy.” (Um, I disagree.) David makes an announcement reminding everyone about a float-decorating competition. Kelly isn’t excited about it, but Andrea thinks they have a chance of winning. Brandon continues to try to avoid Emily, but it doesn’t work since they’re both working on the paper.
Someone keeps writing to the newspaper complaining about the rich kids at West Beverly and sort of threatening to slash some tires. Emily confronts Brandon about moving his locker, and he says he wanted one closer to the newspaper office. He leaves and she follows him, asking him to hang out that night. Brandon blows her off, making it clear that he’ll blow off any suggestions she makes to spend time together. At the Walshes’, Brenda and Dylan make out, but she thinks they need to find something new to do – something cultural.
Someone who I’m sure is totally not Emily keeps calling Brandon but not saying anything. Steve invites him to hang out at the Peach Pit. Hilariously, Nat won’t bring Brandon hot sauce because he knows where it is. Steve encourages Brandon to be firm with Emily and make her see that they’re over. Speak of the devil, she shows up and Steve leaves her and Brandon alone. She thinks it’s kismet that she was thinking about him and ran into him. Brandon tells her they’re really, really done. Emily turns apologetic and begs for a second chance, but he won’t be more than friends.
Brandon walks Emily to her motorcycle and they see that her tire has been slashed. She guesses it’s the work of the person who keeps writing letters to the paper. She’s really upset (seemingly), so Brandon comforts her. He also takes her home and lets her spend the night in Brenda’s room (her parents are out of town). Brenda has little to no sympathy. Brandon asks her not to tell anyone that Emily drugged him; he doesn’t want her to become an outcast because she’s not really a bad person.
In the middle of the night, Emily crawls into Brandon’s bed and starts making out with him. He tries to kick her out, telling her that even if they slept together, he would still break up with her in the morning. He adds that he has to be in love to have sex with someone. Emily reminds him that she loves him before leaving. In the morning, Cindy assures Emily’s parents that she’s okay; apparently they got home early, according to Emily.
The gang gets together to build a float at the Walshes’, and David tapes the process because some groups have been accused of having professionals build their floats. Emily shows up wearing Brandon’s favorite shirt, but Brandon doesn’t say anything. Emily tells Andrea that she spent the night and didn’t have anything to wear. She all but says that they slept together. Brandon complains to Dylan that Emily won’t leave him alone or take a hint. He’s not willing to be brutal to her. Dylan guesses that Brandon’s afraid of what will happen to Emily if he dumps her, but he’s more worried about Brandon.
Emily accuses Brandon of avoiding her, and he counters by mentioning the shirt. He asks if she’s trying to be funny or trying to drive him crazy. (Oh, Brandon, don’t say that word to her.) Brenda and Dylan head off to hear a performance by a string quartet, which they find romantic. So romantic that they need to get a room. At school, Emily apologizes to Brandon for her weird behavior, saying she’s ready to deal with what happens between them. The letter writer sends in another missive, this one threatening a fire. Brandon thinks it’s time to go to the police.
Jim gets one of Brandon’s hang-up calls and sees that there are 16 messages on the answering machine. They’re all from Emily. Jim answers another hang-up call and says Emily’s name, though Cindy says they can’t know for sure she’s the caller. She reminds Brenda, who’s on Jim’s side, that breakups are hard. Brenda’s concerned that Emily will go all Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. Brandon solves the problem by taking the phone off the hook, but Brenda knows that won’t stick. She points out that he doesn’t know much about Emily, so he doesn’t know what she’s capable of.
Emily gets Brandon’s shirt and has it delivered along with a cake. Brenda wonders if the cake has U4EA in it. Emily brings an old typewriter to school, telling Andrea she’s donating it to the paper. She means it to be a parting gift as she’s quitting the paper. Andrea invites her to be in the photo they’ll have taken when they finish their float, since she helped build it. Brenda tells Kelly and Donna about her and Dylan’s latest cultural outing, then complains about Emily. Kelly doesn’t think she’s too crazy since she acted the same way with a guy in middle school.
The gang finishes their float, and Emily arrives for the picture. Brandon complains to Andrea, but she says she couldn’t leave her out. As David sets the timer for the photo, Emily tries to give Brandon a hickey and he finally snaps. He confronts her for everything she’s done, saying he tried to be nice but she couldn’t take a hint. Emily says she loves him, reminding him that she chose him over all the guys in Beverly Hills who hit on her. She wanted her first time to be with him. When she first came to town, everyone thought she was a slut, and Brandon has made her feel like one.
Steve goes to the Walshes’ for dinner and discusses the Emily situation with Jim and Cindy. Cindy feels bad for Emily because she’s young and overwhelmed by emotions, so she can’t be expected to act rationally. Emily keeps calling and hanging up, so Steve answers the phone pretending to be a pizza place. Cindy thinks they should call her parents. Andrea shows up with another letter and announces that all of the threats were written on Emily’s typewriter. She thinks Emily wanted her to figure out she was making the threats.
Emily calls again but Jim takes the phone off the hook. While Brenda and Dylan go to a violin concert, Andrea tells Brandon and Steve that she thinks Emily has a borderline personality disorder. (Apparently Andrea has done her research on this, or possibly just watched Fatal Attraction a few dozen times.) Jim asks Brandon for Emily’s address so he and Cindy can go speak to her parents. Emily brings a can of gasoline to the gang’s float, which she throws paint on and dismantles. She pours gas on everything and pulls out a lighter.
Dylan brings Brenda home and they see Emily at the float with the empty gas can and her lighter. Emily slams Brenda for turning everyone in the gang against her. Brenda tells her that she betrayed Brandon’s trust, and it’ll take time for her to fix that. She promises that eventually Brandon will forgive her, but for that to happen, Emily has to give him space. Emily apologizes and hands over the lighter.
Inside, Emily apologizes to Brandon for her behavior and for slipping him the U4EA. (Jim and Cindy are really excited to hear that.) Cindy asks if anything like this has ever happened to her before. Emily blames the move to Beverly Hills, which put a lot of pressure on her. She admits that she needs help. Later that night, after Brandon takes Emily home, he tells Brenda that according to Mrs. Valentine, Emily’s been seeing a psychiatrist on and off for years. He asks what she told Emily to make her calm down. Brenda says that she promised Emily she would always have two friends in Beverly Hills.
Thoughts: Really, Brandon? You’re not mad that Emily drugged you? You can’t be THAT nice.
The Walshes could turn a nice profit if they charged everyone who spent the night at their house.
I realize the girl isn’t playing with a full deck, but how does Emily figure Brandon makes her feel like a slut? She’s the one who told Andrea they slept together.
How did no one hear or see Emily destroying the float at the Walshes’? There were five people in the house.
July 13, 2011
BSC #82, Jessi and the Troublemaker: Girl Gone Wild
Danielle's hair is super cute
Summary: Danielle’s back, and she’s better than ever! Or something like that. Her cancer’s in remission and she’s enjoying all the activities she couldn’t do while she was sick. Like sledding in the basement, flooding the bathtub to make a swimming pool, and driving a car. The BSC girls think she’s going a little wild, but her parents don’t seem to mind, so they decide it’s not their problem (possibly the first time that’s happened). That is, until the aforementioned car incident, which involves Danielle driving with Haley, Charlotte, Becca, and Vanessa in the car and crashing into a neighbor’s vehicle.
Danielle’s parents realize that they’ve been cutting her too much slack, and that just because they’re happy she’s doing well doesn’t mean she can’t be punished for misbehaving. They’re also a little embarrassed that a group of 11- and 13-year-olds were smarter about the situation than they were. Danielle’s friends are all mad at her, so Stacey gets them all together and notes that they got in the car voluntarily, so they’re partly at fault. Plus, part of being friends is forgiving each other, so they need to get over it, which they do.
Speaking of Stacey, she’s acting weird through the book, backing out of sitting jobs and showing up late to meetings, but instead of finding out what’s going on with her, we have to deal with a dumb sub-plot about Jessi and Becca thinking Aunt Cecelia’s getting married. She’s not. Then they try to fix her up with the guy they thought she was marrying. It doesn’t work. Dumb!
Thoughts: When Kristy thinks you need to “rein it in a little,” as she says about Danielle, you know you’re out of control.
Everyone complained about sitting for five kids in the last book, but in this one, Kristy says nothing about watching six kids.
I can’t believe not one of the BSC girls thinks Jessi’s wrong about Cecelia getting married.
I also can’t believe no one asks Stacey why she’s acting so weird. Usually the BSC girls are so much nosier than they are in this book.
How ironic that Stacey gives a monologue about needing and forgiving friends when we know what she does in the next book….
February 18, 2011
BSC #70, Stacey and the Cheerleaders: Mean Girls
This living room needs the Style network ASAP
Summary: Stacey goes on a date with a basketball player named RJ, and though they don’t really hit it off, she gets the chance to hang out with “the Group,” the popular kids at SMS. They’re all jocks and cheerleaders, and they look down on her because she’s always hanging out with the BSC girls (two of whom are sixth-graders). Stacey starts dating Robert Brewster, who’s on the basketball team and is in “the Group,” but who doesn’t like how the popular kids at school are treated differently from the other kids.
The cheerleaders invite Stacey to try out for the squad, so she works with Jessi to develop a routine. She rocks the tryouts and thinks she’s a shoo-in. Later, she overhears a couple of the cheerleaders giving her backhanded compliments – she’s pretty and talented and blah blah blah, but her friends are losers and she’s dating a guy one of the cheerleaders likes. Stacey tries to brush off the comments and focus on becoming a cheerleader, but when the announcement comes, she’s shocked to learn that the cheerleaders have gone with a different girl. They explain to Stacey that she was so good, they felt threatened by her.
Since Stacey now knows how awful the cheerleaders really are, not making the squad isn’t a huge loss, especially when the BSC girls were so supportive and helpful. Robert, however, is disgusted and announces that he’s quitting the basketball team in protest. Someone writes a nasty editorial for the school paper about Stacey and Robert’s lack of school spirit, like, what did Stacey do? Then the girl who won the spot on the squad also quits, which is kind of awesome, and the cheerleaders ask Stacey to join after all, so this time she rejects them. Also awesome. And then she and Robert write a really cheesy response to the editorial, which isn’t awesome, but you can’t win ‘em all.
In the B-plot, Shannon’s sister Tiffany is feeling all Jan Brady, so Mary Anne suggests she look for a hobby. The story is so boring that the book only devotes, like, three chapters to it. Skipping all the dullness, I’ll just say that Tiffany wants to grow a garden. Yay, Tiffany!
Thoughts: Stacey wears plum courderoys. I don’t know about that, Stace….
Were teenagers still saying “go steady” in 1993? I was 11 but I don’t remember. I’m going to guess no.
Didn’t Shannon say in Kristy and the Snobs that Tiffany sometimes babysits in the neighborhood? She’s ten, so that’s ridiculous, but if she’s able to babysit, why does she need a babysitter herself?
“Mal said she’s having a fantastic time. She spends all day reading.” Quick, someone give me mono!
Stacey’s outfit for her date with RJ: “A black-and-white plaid unitard with a tankstyle top, covered with a black, oversized cotton knit jersey.” I’m scared to even think about what that would look like.
Apparently the cheerleading squad has no coach and the girls are allowed to pick the new members. Yes, letting 13-year-olds make those kinds of decisions is a terrific idea.
January 5, 2011
SVH #72, Rock Star’s Girl: Raise Your Hand If Ew
Looks like Nicole Kidman went blonde
Summary: Things must be pretty boring in Sweet Valley right now, because when a new girl named Andrea Slade starts school, everyone’s interested. Most interested are Elizabeth, Enid, and Nicholas Morrow, who develops a love connection with her. Maybe everyone’s intrigued because she’s all secretive about what her dad does and where they live. Anyway, rock star Jamie Peters is also in town, as spotted by Lila; he’s living in the big, expensive house a childhood friend of hers lived in. She takes Jessica and Amy to spy on him in his bushes, and during one stakeout, they see Andrea with him and decide that they must be dating.
Elizabeth, logical twin that she is, points out that Jamie could be Andrea’s father, though there’s no discussion of how Jessica, Amy, and Lila could mistake daughterly behavior for girlfriendly behavior. (That’s the ew part – doesn’t anyone else think it’s gross that someone could be mistaken for a relative’s girlfriend?) They tell Nicholas that Andrea’s shacking up with Jamie, which makes him think she’s a two-timer. At the same time, the girls have spread the Andrea-and-Jamie-sitting-in-a-tree story around school, giving Andrea just what she didn’t want: Attention from people just because she knows Jamie.
Andrea doesn’t come home, so Jamie calls Elizabeth, who goes off with Enid and Nicholas to find her. Elizabeth now has confirmation that Jamie is Andrea’s father, so now everyone else looks foolish. The search party finds Andrea, everyone works everything out, and, for some reason, Jessica and Lila decide to head back to the bushes. Five bucks says this is the only book where Andrea gets a plot.
In the B plot, Lila takes up the marimba. Yeah, I don’t know.
Thoughts: For some reason, I keep thinking I’ve seen this plot somewhere else; I’ve either read a book or seen a movie or TV show with a similar story. I just can’t place it.
They never explain why Jamie and Andrea have different last names. I would suspect that Peters is Jamie’s stage name, though Slade sounds more rock-starrish, no?
Amy uses the word “teenyboppers.” I knew I hated that girl.
Why do the characters always comment on other characters being pretty? Are they just driving home the fact that there are no ugly people in Sweet Valley?
Nicholas likes reggae music? Not a chance.
I wonder why Cara doesn’t hang out with Jessica, Lila, and Amy as much as the three of them hang out together. Maybe because her IQ is the same as theirs combined.
Wait, wait, wait. Andrea’s 16 and has never had a crush? Does that strike anyone else as really, really weird?
Nicholas takes Andrea on a date to the Dairi Burger. Wow. Cheapskate.
Of course Andrea wants to stay in Sweet Valley. Everyone who spends five minutes there never wants to leave. It’s like the mafia – once you’re in, the only way out is death.
November 28, 2010
BSC #62, Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever: The Baby-Sitters vs. Childhood Trauma
The Thomas-Brewers have horrible taste in home decor
Summary: The Papadakises take in a foster child named Lou (short for Louisa) who is an unholy terror of a brat. She does have her reasons – her father recently died, her mother left when she was younger, and she’s been separated from her brother – but the fact that no one takes her to a psychiatrist or tries very hard to get to the bottom of her behavior doesn’t help. She’s rude to everyone, she teases animals (future serial killer?), she makes fun of the playhouse Karen and her friends are building, and she won’t follow any rules. She’s a little power-mad monster, is what she is.
Various BSC girls sit for Lou, and Kristy dubs her the worst kid ever. Dawn, however, thinks she’s just the saddest kid ever, thanks to her childhood traumas. Lou’s social worker finds relatives for her and her brother to live with, but she’s unhappy about this because it means she has to give up her dream of her mother returning. She runs away, Kristy finds her, and suddenly everything’s okay. No, really, there’s no breakthrough or anything, it’s just…done. And then Lou leaves.
In the B plot, SMS organizes an auction to raise money for computers. The BSC girls get celebrities to donate various items, but they bring in the most money by donating 24 hours of free sitting.
Thoughts: I hope the BSC girls get paid extra when Linny, Hannie, Nancy, and Lou come to visit the Thomas-Brewers – that’s eight kids to look after.
I didn’t rememeber the Craine girls from Mallory and the Ghost Cat ever making another appearance, but here they are. Doing nothing and serving no purpose.
I thought I couldn’t care less about Karen and her friends’ playhouse, but then, suddenly, I did. (They’re surprisingly nice to Lou, though, even when she’s nasty to them.)
“Nannie, Charlie, and Sam were out doing Saturday night things.” Hookers and blow?
Dawn “never could watch the scary part in the beginning” of The Wizard of Oz. First of all, I never realized there was a “scary party in the beginning” of that movie. (Someone clarifies that she means the twister.) Second of all, the girl reads ghost stories before bed but she can’t handle a Hollywood tornado?
Jessi, chocolate-covered popcorn is not gross. It’s delicious. You’re gross.
So Lou’s father’s brother didn’t know she and her brother existed? That’s…not good.
May 30, 2010
BSC #42, Jessi and the Dance School Phantom: What Would Nancy Drew Do?
What's with the blond girl? Who's that supposed to be?
Summary: Jessi gets the lead in a dance school production of Sleeping Beauty (yes, even though she’s only 11), then starts receiving threatening notes and having weird mishaps. Someone steals her toe shoes, cuts up her leotard, and spills water on the dance floor to make her fall. Jessi and the BSC girls go all Nancy Drew on the situation and narrow down their short list of suspects, settling on a girl named Hilary who has a really annoying stage mom. When confronted, Hilary comes clean and admits that she wanted Jessi’s role to please her mother. She winds up quitting ballet and suffers no consequences, because there’s no such thing as follow-through in this series.
In the B plot, a bunch of the club’s sitting charges put on a pet show, which is half pet talent show, half dog show. It’s one of the more boring B plots.
Thoughts: “Karen’s always got her nose in everyone’s business. She’s kind of like a young Kristy.” Wow, Jessi, tell us how you really feel about your president.
Jessi has a conversation with a picture of Mikhail Baryshnikov. So…yeah.
Emily can say actual words – in her second language, no less – while Marnie speaks gibberish, yet Emily’s the one who’s language-delayed?
Why do the BSC girls call the note-writer a phantom when they know they’re dealing with a real person? Do they just not know what the word “phantom” means? Though I guess Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn’t either, since the Phantom of the Opera also wasn’t really a phantom. Okay, I’m going to stop saying “phantom” now.
Ug, the BSC girls are everyone-gets-a-trophy people. And what the heck kind of a prize is “shortest legs”?
Stacey wears a tux. Why, Stacey, why?
