#13- Good-bye, Stacey, Good-bye

How do you say good-bye to your very best friend?

Childhood Memories: I remember reading this one as a child and I know the basic story line but I don't remember all the details like I do with some books. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it, it was just kind of there. I think I remember them throwing a good-bye party but that's about it.

Book Summary: The book begins with Stacey sitting for Charlotte Johanssen, and then a club meeting. After the meeting ends, Stacey's mom calls and tells her that she needs to get home. When Stacey gets home her parents inform her that the branch of the company that her father works out is closing and that they must move back to New York. Stacey has conflicted emotions about moving but decides to call her best friends Laine and Claudia. Claudia insists that Stacey comes to her house right away. They discuss Stacey moving and try to come up with any other options besides Stacey moving to New York. When they realize the move is inevitable they discuss how much fun Claudia would have visiting. The next day at school, Stacey tells the rest of the club that she's moving. When she leaves to discuss moving with one of her teachers, they discuss throwing a party for Stacey and what the club will do without her there. Mary Anne babysits for Jeff Schafer and they discuss him wanting to move back to California. While getting ready to move, Stacey decides to have a yard sale to get rid of some extra things. She enlists the BSC to help sell the things and they can keep a share of the money. The club decides to use the money to plan a surprise party for Stacey. Stacey is still conflicted about moving to New York. Claudia has a sitting job with the Pikes and thinks about possibly adding Mallory as a member but decides she's too young. The club gets together to organize the yard sale. They decide to sell other items and Stacey discusses with Claudia that she hasn't told Charlotte that she's moving. Kristy babysits for her younger siblings and has a run-in with Morbidda Destiny. Stacey breaks the news to Charlotte that she is moving. She gives Charlotte a gift and tries to make her feel better by showing all the things they're packing up and telling her about the yard sale they're holding. While babysitting for the Barretts, Dawn helps them hold a yard sale and comes up with the brilliant idea to invite babysitting charges to Stacey's party. The girls hold their yard sale which is a huge success and earns them a lot of money. Stacey's party goes great, all the kids have fun playing games and drawing Stacey a mural, they even make her all farewell cards. Stacey attends her last club meeting and the girls decide to invite Mallory Pike to be a junior member of the club. Moving day comes and Stacey says a sad goodbye to all her friends. Claudia gives Stacey a special letter that she reads on the way, they both decide that they will remain the best of friends. 

Snarkable Moments: Let's start off with the book dedication: "With Love to Peanut Butter From Jelly" What the heck is that supposed to mean? Does Ann M. Martin have a secret lover? Is she a lesbian? I've always wondered this. Next, let's discuss how sucky Stacey's diabetes is. I've known diabetics and none of them have had to completely cut sugar out of their lives, in fact sometimes they have to eat sugary foods to bring their blood sugar levels back to normal. Can you imagine going through PMS and not being able to eat any chocolate. Stacey is my new hero. I love how everybody treats Mallory like a baby because she's two years younger. Two years is not that much of a difference, honestly my best friend is two years younger than me and there's never been a problem with our ages being different. Another thing, why is their yard sale so late and so long? Like all the yard sales I've seen start at 8:00 and go until noon but theirs starts at 10:00 and goes until 4:30. One of the games they play at Stacey's party is Musical Rug. What the crap is that? Doesn't a rug destroy the point of Musical Chairs? Also what kind of a middle name is Read? Even Dawn's parents hate her.

Claudia's OOTD: I decided to switch things up a bit today and not do a Claudia outfit (many because her's included a wide purple belt with a telephone belt buckle. Seriously Claud, how am I supposed to find that?). Instead we have:

"She was wearing a very short kilt, an over sized red sweater, and yellow socks over red tights. On her head was a red beret with a sparkly initial pin attached to the side."

Super Special #1- Baby-sitters on Board!

It's the baby-sitting adventure of a lifetime!

Childhood Memories: I never read this book as a child. I do remember always wanted to read it and they supposedly had it at my local library but it always showed that it was checked out. I never saw it. Is it possible that this book was so popular that it was checked out constantly for a good 7 years? I doubt it. To whoever stole this book from my library and never returned it: thanks, you jerk.

Book Summary: This book starts with Kristy explaining how the whole club is going on vacation including a cruise through the Bahamas and three days at Disney World. They fly to Florida and begin their cruise. Dawn, Kristy, and Claudia share a room, Kristy and Dawn immediately start arguing over how clean they need to keep it. Dawn wanders off and runs into the man of her dreams. While exploring the ship, Mary Anne meets a very sophisticated girl named Alexandra, and finds somebody that might be a stowaway. Mallory decides to be a spy during the trip and ends up seeing a lot of interesting people, including somebody she thinks is a member of her favorite band. Karen goes on an adventure by herself on the boat, getting a manicure and a Coke when she was just supposed to go to her cabin and get some earplugs. Claudia has a secret admirer who stalks follows her around when they dock, he even buys her an expensive pair of earrings. Stacey meets a little boy with heart condition named Marc that must ride in a wheelchair. Kristy meets and old widower that she decides would be perfect to date her Nannie. She continues fighting with Dawn over keeping their room clean. The Pike boys and David Michael go on a treasure hunt while they are docked at Treasure Cay. Dawn spends the next couple of days with the man of her dreams, who's name turns out to be Parker. Mary Anne becomes friends with Alexandra and feels a special connection with her because they both have lost parents. Stacey spends more time babysitting for the Pikes and her new friend Marc. While searching for her secret admirer, Claudia meets a cute boy named Timothy who she agrees to hang out with while they are in Disney World. Kristy goes exploring their new hotel and sees her old man friend checking out of the hotel. She convinces him to stay until the end of the trip. Karen insists on going on the Haunted Mansion ride and then believes there is a ghost following her around. Dawn spends the day in Disney World with Parker, she buys a glass unicorn charm for her special bracelet but is heartbroken when she realizes she lost the bracelet. Parker buys her another unicorn charm and kisses her on the cheek (too much hot action for me). Mallory decides to spy some more in Disney World. She discovers that Alex is not an orphan and that her parents are famous singers. Mary Anne confronts Alex about her lying. Alex stalks follows Mary Anne around the park for the rest of the day. The Pike boys and David Michael continue their treasure hunt at Disney World, they get very excited when they find a gold bracelet. It turns out to be the bracelet that Dawn lost. On their last day at Disney World, Karen goes to a special breakfast with the Disney characters. She lies and says it's her birthday so everyone will sing to her. Then she gets lost and decides that the ghost that has been following her is a nice ghost and that it will come home to Stoneybrook with her. Stacey spend the last full day of vacation at the Epcot Center with Marc and his parents. She finds out that he is scheduled to have a major heart surgery in a few weeks that might not end well. Claudia finds out that her secret admirer is really Timothy and that he is Alex's little brother. Timothy kisses her (seriously these girls get more action than me. My life is pathetic.) The club decides to make a scrapbook/journal of their trip as a thank you present to Kristy's parents and the Pikes. Everybody says goodbye to their new friends at the airport and the club arrives back in Stoneybrook. A few months later, Stacey receives a letter saying that everything went well with Marc's heart surgery.

Snarkable Moments: There's so many of them in this book but I think that just comes with it being a Super Special. First off, why does the whole club have to do everything together all the time? I get that Watson's a nice guy and all but I can't believe that he would pay for Claudia and Dawn to come just so the club wouldn't have to be separated. Next, I love that this is still one of the books that Ann M. Martin wrote and not one of the ghost writers. How do I know? It has I Love Lucy references and the flight attendant is a male (Ann M. Martin loves to switch up traditional gender roles). Another thing, I've never been on a cruise so someone will have to clear this up for me, but do they really throw confetti at you when the ship leaves the dock for the first time. This sounds like fun but highly doubtful. I have a few other questions. First, why does Mallory's signature have an animal face? This has always confused me. Second, they talk about going on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, did somebody really die on that? Every time we go to Disneyland, my mom talks about how someone died on that and I refuse to go on it because of this reason. Someone clear this up for me, will you? Third. How does Mallory get away with using the word retarded? I'm pretty sure that was politically incorrect even back then. Kristy is going to be pissed when she finds out. And last but not least: Why do I hate Dawn so freaking much? She complains constantly about how Disney World isn't that exciting because she's already been to Disneyland (I don't care how old you are or how many times you've gone, you still get as excited as a 4 year old on cotton candy when you go to Disney World. That's just the way it works.). Then she goes off about how selfish Parker is for not liking that his dad got remarried. (Hello pot, it's kettle. Remember when you threw a crap fit because your dad got engaged and you ended up flying cross-country. Yeah, that happened.) Dawn also talks about never having seen an R-rated movie. Lies. I distinctly remember you watching European Vacation in The Ghost at Dawn's House. Suck on that, blondie. Also, I hate that Karen and Byron have their own chapters. Mostly Karen. I can't stand that child, she's up there with Dawn on my hit list. Somethings I did like about the book is that they were only on vacation for one week instead of their usual two weeks (who goes on vacations for two weeks?). Another thing is that they kept with the whole scrapbook theme and had pictures throughout (albeit they looked like they were drawn by a 3 years old, or a drunk Ann M. Martin spending a Saturday night with her cat, Mouse, watching I Love Lucy reruns and drawing pictures.)

Claudia's OOTD: Check out this little beauty. Not going to lie, I would wear this if the colors matched better. 

"I put on my new blue-and-white bikini and over that, a pink sundress with spaghetti straps at the shoulders and big blue buttons down the front. Then I accessorized  I tied a pink-and-blue scarf around my waist, knotting it in the middle, added my snake bracelet and feather earrings, wound my hair up on top of my head, and finally put on these white sandals with long laces that you crisscross up your legs and tie in a bow."

#12- Claudia and the New Girl

Claudia might give up the Club- and it's all the new girl's fault!

Childhood Memories: I remember when I read this book as a child, I thought that Ashley was this horrible person for trying to take Claudia away from the club. Looking back, I kind of side with Ashley. Claudia should be able to take her art career seriously because it's more likely that she'll grow up to be an artist than continue being a babysitter in Stoneybrook for the rest of her life. Also, I was in love with Ashley's outfit on the cover. Now, not so much.

Book Summary: The book starts with Claudia daydreaming in English class. In walks a new girl named Ashley Wyeth. Claudia talks to her and finds that they are both interested in art and that Ashley wants to be a sculptress when she grows up. At the next meeting, Claudia asks the club members if they know Ashley but they do not. The next day, Claudia goes to a sculpting class and is pleased to see Ashley there. They show each other their portfolios and Ashley tells Claudia she has lots of talent. Claudia thinks Ashley's work is absolutely amazing and learns that Ashley studied art at a famous institution in Chicago. The teacher announces that there will be an art show in four weeks that they can display their projects at. Claudia originally thinks she won't have enough to start a new piece and finish it in time for the show but Ashley starts to convince her otherwise. Claudia goes on a sitting job at the Rodowskys and is surprised when Ashley comes over from next door. Ashley asks why Claudia is babysitting and not devoting all her time to her art. Claudia decides she wants to be more serious and grown up like Ashley. The next day Claudia eats lunch and goes to an exhibit with Ashley. She shows up late for a club meeting and it is clear that everyone is upset with her, especially Stacey. While babysitting for the Perkinses, Dawn receives a phone call that her brother is in trouble at school. She has to pack up the girls and go get her brother. Claudia walks around town with Ashley in a search for inspiration on their sculpting projects. Claudia ends up missing a meeting but remembers to call to the let the members know she will be gone. They leave her notes telling her what her sitting jobs are and that everyone at school thinks Ashley is weird. Claudia misses another club meeting and the other girls discuss how much they miss her and are upset with her. At school, Claudia, Ashley, and the BSC members have a showdown, the members ask if she is going to quit the club. Claudia still can't decide what to sculpt for the show. When Claudia misses another meeting, the girls get angry. They leave mean notes, eat her junk food, and short sheet her bed. They decide that Ashley is only friends with Claud because she's an artist and doesn't care about Claudia's other interests. A few days later, Claudia is babysitting for the Rodowskys. Ashley comes over and they end up getting in a huge fight. Claudia realizes that Ashley was trying to control and finally decides that she is going to do a sculpture of Jackie for the art show. Claudia goes over to the Rodowskys' the next day to get some sketches of Jackie for her sculpture, she discovers that Mary Anne is babysitting. Ashley comes over, her and Claudia get in another fight. Claudia and Mary Anne semi-makeup. Claudia starts to get her life back in order, she explains things to Ashley, apologizes to her friends, starts catching up on her schoolwork, and decides not to enter any pieces in the art show. Claudia apologizes to the whole club at the next meeting. They accept and are friends once again. She also apologizes to Jackie and tells him that she won't be able to enter the sculpture of him in the art show. He is okay with this and still allows her to sculpt him. Claudia receives a phone call the day of the art show from her teacher explaining that she entered Claudia's piece as a work in progress. It ends up winning an honorable mention. Claudia and Ashley make up and end up being sometimes friends.

Snarkable Moments: First up, Ashley. I'm pretty sure Claudia has a lady crush on her. Like to the point of obsession at the beginning of the book. I love how she compares Ashley's style to that of a gypsy and then says her mom would call it Bohemian. I've never thought of gypsy and Bohemian as the same thing but it kind of makes sense. I love how offended Stacey gets about Ashley's bell bottom blue jeans, stick around a few more years Stacey, they'll be in style. Probably your seventh time through 8th grade. Claudia asks Ashley if she's related to Andrew Wyeth because they share the same last name, I wanted to know who this Andrew Wyeth was and if he was a real artist or just a creation of Stoneybrook like Cam Geary. He's real, I'm not such a huge fan of his work but I do like this piece:

Next, can I just say how much I love junior high fights? The insults are amazing. Examples "In my breadbox of friends, you are a CRUMB.", and the classic:

"Traitor, Traitor,

 Claudia- we hate 'er!

 Traitor, Traitor.

 So long, see you later!

 Good-bye Claudia."

Regina George ain't got nothing on them. Overall, it was a pretty immature book, like I felt the fights were more elementary school but whatevs. 

Claudia's OOTD: There were so many good outfits here between Claudia and Ashley so I'm giving them one each.

"I was wearing a very short pink cotton dress, white tights, and black ballet slippers. I had swept all of my hair way over to one side, where it was held in place with a piece of pink cloth that matched the dress. Only one ear showed, and in it I had put my big palm tree earring."

"She was wearing a puffy white blouse, a blue-jean jacket, a long blue-jean skirt, and those hiking boots again. Beaded bracelets circle both wrists, and she'd tied a strip of faded denim around her head, like an Indian headband."

And then I had a brilliant idea....

Hey everyone!
So I don't remember if I told you this before but I'm doing these books in chronological order which means there might be a Super Special thrown in here sometime soon (wink wink) Just thought I would let you know that because those were always my favorite and I just got done writing my review for it so be sure to come back here to check it out.
Also, I've been debating how often I want to write posts. It's impossible to do one post a day but that doesn't mean that I can't be consistent. Which made me think, what would Kristy do? Post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:30! Of course! Really, I just didn't want to post on weekends but I still wanted to post a couple times a week and it worked out that posts this week would be on M, W, and F so I decided to change my previous publishing time from 6 AM to 5:30 PM and call myself the BSC.
Anywho, just thought I would let y'all know so you can know when to expect posts.
Love always,
Sabrina Bouvier

#11- Kristy and the Snobs

Nobody's going to tell Kristy what to do- especially not the Snobs!

Childhood Memories: I never read this book as a child. I remember reading in later books what happens in this one and how Kristy got Shannon in this book but I didn't read this one for the first time until about a year ago. It was kind of disturbing when I read it then with Louie dying and all. Definitely one I would hide from my children. 

Book Summary: Kristy starts off ranting about how much she hates snobs while she gets ready for school. David Michael shows her that Louie is limping, she shows her mom and then leaves for the bus stop. While waiting for her bus, she gets in a fight with some snobs. At a club meeting that afternoon, Kristy takes her first sitting job for somebody in her neighborhood, the Papadakises. The next day, Kristy and her brothers take Louie to the vet. The vet tells them that Louie has arthritis and can't see very well. Kristy realizes that Louie won't be getting better, this upsets her so she decides to talk a walk. On her walk she meets Shannon Kilbourne and Amanda Delaney. She gets in a fight with Shannon. Kristy goes on her babysitting job for the Papadaskises, all is going smoothly until Shannon calls saying there's a fire in the Papadakises' upstairs window. Kristy rushes the kids out only to discover there is no fire. To get back at her, Kristy sends a diaper service to Shannon's house. Mary Anne babysits for the Perkinses. Jamie Newton insults Gabbie and Mary Anne throws a tea party to make her feel better. Kristy babysits for the Delaney children (aka Satan's spoiled spawn). The kids boss her around and make fun of Louie for not being a purebred. Shannon pranks Kristy again into thinking that one of the Papadakis kids is in trouble. Dawn babysits for her little brother, Jeff. They get into a fight and Jeff screams that he wants to move back to California. At the next club meeting everybody is in a bad mood about different things going on in their lives. Kristy goes home only to find out that Louie is in worse condition than she originally thought when he was an accident on their Oriental rug. Stacey volunteers to babysit for the Delaneys the next time they call the BSC. Using reverse psychology, she is able to get the kids to clean their playroom, and clean up after their afternoon snack. The kids learn to be less bossy. The next time Kristy babysits for them she uses reverse psychology as well. In the middle of her sitting job a pizza delivery man comes saying he has a pizza for her. It turns out Shannon ordered it and she sends the pizza guy to Shannon's house. Shannon comes over to yell at Kristy but they end up laughing over it and almost becoming friends. Claudia has a sitting job for the chicken pox-infested Pikes. The following Friday, Kristy misses the BSC meeting because she's so upset about Louie. His health declines so much that he can't walk on his hind legs and ends up dragging himself around by his front legs in a panicked mode (this scene terrifies me). The family decides to put him down the next morning so he won't suffer any longer. After putting Louie down, the family holds a funeral, some of the neighbors including Shannon attend. At Kristy's next job with the Delaneys, Shannon comes over with a surprise. She wants to give Kristy one of her puppies to make up for Louie dying. Kristy asks for permission to keep the puppy and invites David Michael over to meet the puppy. At first David Michael is hesitant about getting a new puppy but he warms up quickly and decides to name it Shannon. The next time the club is hanging out they decide to invite Shannon to be an associate member, she accepts and they all become friends. 

Snarkable Moments: Kristy starts off the book by talking about things she can't stand, one of which includes squirrels. Who doesn't like squirrels? I mean honestly. They're cute with their little chunky cheeks and their fluffy tails. Don't be hatin', Kristy. The thing she hates most is of course snobs. She says she didn't meet many snobs in her neighborhood during the summer because they were all away at "fancy camps" and talks about how lame camps are. Sorry Kristy, but you're going to be eating your words in like 20 books when you go to Camp Mohawk. Maybe Camp Mohawk isn't fancy so it doesn't count, I don't know. Moving on, Kristy talks about babysitting for the Papadakises a couple of times. I have always wondered what race they are. I know it isn't imperative to the story line but I just really want to know. What do you guys think? I'm going with either Greek or Indian. I only say Indian because the youngest daughter's name is Sari. Also, just wondering if Karen ever describes what Hannie looks like in the Little Sister series. For some reason in my head, I always pictured Hannie as a red head. One thing I love about the Papadaskises, they have a poodle... named Noodle. Let's add that to things I need to continue surviving life. So back to my problems with Kristy in this book, at one point she talks about staying late at school and catching the late bus home. That just sounds weird to me. Like my school only had one bus time, if you didn't make it, you were screwed, no late bus for you. Also it seems like Kristy already had to bend the rules to stay at SMS and not go to Stoneybrook Day, I seriously doubt there would be a bus to take just one kid to a neighborhood way the crap out of the way. Also, as part of a prank Kristy orders a diaper service for Shannon. She sees the diaper truck deliver a box of diapers to Shannon's door and leave. Really? Who's paying for this? Diapers are pretty expensive so I doubt Kristy would spend that much on a prank and they wouldn't just leave them on Shannon's doorstep for free. Dangit Ann M. Martin, get your crap together. One thing I did like about this book is that I think they accurately captured what it's like to put down an animal. Kristy talks about her conflicted feelings but keeps going back to the fact that she knows it's what's best for Louie. 

Claudia's OOTD: This book does not mention a single Claudia outfit but it did however mention a Gabbie Perkins outfit so here you go. 

"She was wearing one of her mother's slips, a necktie belonging to her father, a feather boa, a straw hat, sunglasses, and snow boots."

#10- Logan Likes Mary Anne!

Mary Anne has a crush- on a boy baby-sitter!

Childhood Memories: This was another favorite growing up. I remember being so jealous of how cute Logan and Mary Anne's romance. Not going to lie, I still am. Whatevs. A few things stick out in my head. I remember Mary Anne throwing a little girl fit because they gave her a surprise cake, not a surprise party mind you, but a cake. And of course the famous cities outfit. Who could forget that? Beautiful. You don't even know how badly I wanted/still want that outfit. 

Book Summary: The book starts with a club meeting the night before school starts (which makes me wonder when their school starts because as we all know meetings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). Mary Anne has a huge crush on Cam Geary and shares this bit of information with the club. The next morning, Mary Anne was to school with Claudia and Stacey. It's a pretty normal first day of school until Mary Anne spots Cam Geary's look-a-like at lunch. She's jealous that Stacey knows so much about him but decides that she's in love with him. At the BSC meeting the next day, the girls decide to advertise in Kristy's new neighborhood and they discuss the new hottie named Logan Bruno. A few days after the girls start advertising, things get out of control and they are scrambling to set up all the jobs during their lunch break. Logan overhears this and volunteers to help them. They agree to let him come to the next meeting. The meeting is pretty awkward to say the least. During the meeting they receive a call from a new client named Mrs. Rodowsky. They decided that they will let Logan sit for them as a test run but only if one of the other sitters can come along. It turns out Mary Anne is the only sitter available that day. The sitting job at the Rodowskys is a little bit of a disaster but what else would you expect with Jackie Rodowsky "The Walking Disaster"? In the end it all turns out okay and Mary Anne decides that Logan is a decent babysitter. Claudia babysits at the Perkinses where she has to go pick up Myriah at the bus stop (Myriah has been at her creative theater classes held after kindergarten like all children at the age of 5). Claudia decides to take the Perkinses dog Chewbacca (coolest dog name ever.) along for the walk. Disaster arises when Chewy gets loose but she finally catches him before the job is over. At the next club meeting, the girls discuss whether or not they should let Logan be a member of the club. They decide to be honest with him and tell him that they think he's a wonderful babysitter but that the meetings with him would just be too awkward. They give Mary Anne the task of calling him and telling him this. When Mary Anne calls, he tells her that he doesn't want to be a part of the BSC and then he asks her to the Remember September dance. A few days later Stacey babysits for Charlotte Johanssen and they decide to plan a party with a surprise cake for Mary Anne. They figure that Mary Anne would hate a surprise party but a surprise cake wouldn't be that bad. A few days before the dance, the girls go shopping for outfits to wear (hello infamous city skirt). They end up cancelling the meeting before the dance so they can get ready and they all ride to the dance together. The dance goes smoothly until Mary Anne kicks her shoe off and gets super embarrassed. She spends the rest of the night hiding out on the bleachers and not dancing. Despite Mary Anne's bad attitude, Logan still seems to like her. Dawn and Kristy have a sleepover the following weekend. They babysit for Kristy's younger siblings and discuss school drama and Stacey's party for Mary Anne. Mary Anne finally asks her dad for permission to go to Stacey's party and invites Logan to go with her. Everything goes great at Stacey's party until they bring out the cake for Mary Anne. Mary Anne has a panicked moment and runs out without blowing out the candles or opening her gifts. The next morning, Mary Anne asks her dad for a cat. Her father agrees and she calls Logan to apologize and invite him to come pick out a kitten at the local animal shelter. Logan comes along and she picks out a gray tabby cat named Tigger. Logan shows that he truly forgives her by giving her a silver bracelet for her birthday and inviting her to a dance the following month. The next day the club members come over after apologizing, they bring Mary Anne her presents and some cake. They finally come to the decision that Logan can be a part of the club as an associate member, that way he can help babysit but won't have to attend meetings.

Snarkable Moments: I really saw in this book some similarities between Mary Anne and I. First her crush on Cam Geary, I remember distinctly when I was 13 having the biggest crush on Patrick Stump and being obsessed with him. Sadly, there was never a Logan Bruno in my life that looked like Patrick. Next, and I know this one is stupid, we totally had the same locker number (132) in junior high. I'm just saying. Last, Mary Anne has an antique doll named Lila, I have a stuffed llama named Lila. It's uncanny. So I also wanted to pick out a few problems I have with good old SMS. First, they won't let you hang anything in your locker with tape, instead you have to use gum. I'm sorry, but gum seems much more damaging than tape on a locker. Second, students attend 8 classes a day. That seems a bit overdone. I only had 5-6 classes a day in my school career. Lastly, they hold a graduation at the end of the school year for the 8th graders. Maybe my school just wasn't cool but we never did that. Not that it really matters because we know the girls are going to be in 8th grade for the next 10+ years. Continuing on with snarkable moments, I don't remember everyone being in love with Logan. Not that I have a problem with this, I mean they are 13 year old girls and at least in my  middle school, as soon as there was a new boy, every girl was on him like a hobo on a ham sandwich. Makes Stoneybrook feel a little more real. Some things I do have a problem with though is when Mary Anne talks about wearing small hoop earrings (what about that whole scene when they go to summer camp and she almost pierces her ears?) and when she goes to adopt Tigger the lady at the shelter tells her that it's not really kitten season. Do kittens have seasons? I'm pretty sure cats are skanks and get it on at all times of the year. Maybe I'm wrong, Someone should research this and let me know. My last thought is a little off topic but semi-related. This is the first book in which Jackie Rodowsky appears. I'm just wondering if anyone else noticed in Easy A when Rhiannon is talking to Olive at one point she mentions somebody named Jackie Rodetsky. I'm sorry but I feel like those names are too close to not be related. Whoever wrote that script was totally a BSC fan. Please somebody else tell me they noticed this so I don't feel too stupid. 

Claudia OOTD: Finally, what you've all been waiting for. I apologize for this post being so long but since y'all have stuck with me this long I'm going to treat you with 5 OOTDs.

"A full white skirt with the words Paris, Rome, and London, and sketchy pink and blue pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Tower Bridge, and other stuff scrawled all over it. She matched it up with a pink shirt and a baggy pink sweater... we found white slip-ons with pink and blue edging that matched the pink and blue in the skirt."

"Claudia was wearing short, tight-fitting black pants and a big white shirt that said BE-BOP all over it in between pictures of rock and roll dancers. She had fixed a floppy blue bow in her hair."

"Stacey was wearing a white T-shirt under a hot pink jumpsuit."

"Dawn was wearing a green and white oversized sweater and stretchy green pants."

"Kristy was wearing a white turtleneck shirt under a pink sweater with jeans. We just couldn't seem to get her out of blue jeans."

#9- The Ghost at Dawn's House

Creaky stairs, spooky noises, secret passages- it must be a ghost!

Childhood Memory: This book wasn't one of my favorites growing up. I remember it always freaked me out when they talked about the secret passage and Dawn discovering it. I also remember secretly wanting there to be a secret passage in my room. Who didn't? I also had no concept of what the Underground Railroad was but looking back on it, that makes the passageway so much cooler and I really like that Ann M. Martin added that little bit of history in there.

Book Summary: The book starts off with a club meeting at which the girls recapping their vacations they just got home from  (except Kristy because her family is lame and doesn't go on vacations. Score one for Dawn making sure to mention that.) They talk about the children they babysat and set up babysitting jobs. After the meeting Dawn goes home and has dinner with her family, she decides while reading ghost stories that her house must have a secret passage because all old houses do (obviously). The next day Dawn invites the whole club over to help search for a secret passage. After searching all afternoon and scaring each other multiple times, they find nothing but a suspicious hollow sound in one of Dawn's walls. Mary Anne babysits for the Perkinses for the first time and discovers that she likes them despite their living in Kristy's old house. While babysitting for the Pikes, Dawn notices that Nicky is having a hard time fitting in with the triplets. When he feels left out, he leaves the house to be by himself (don't worry the Pikes have a rule that he can be by himself as long as he stays within a two block radius.) Dawn starts to get worried when he doesn't return as quickly as she thought he would, she finds him covered in dirt and sweaty and has no idea where he was. The next day, Dawn decides to go out in her barn to read (I kind of love the idea of reading in a barn for some reason). When she finally gets settled in, the floor beneath her collapses. She realizes that she was on a trapdoor and has discovered a secret passage. She follows the passage and discovers that it leads to her room. Inside the passage she finds a button, a buckle, and a key. Kristy babysits for her younger siblings and gets freaked out by a story that Karen tells about  Ben Brewer haunting their house. (Who would really be scared by a 7 year old's story? I feel like Kristy just wanted to pretend that her house was scary too.) The same night, Dawn is babysitting her brother Jeff. She shows Jeff the secret passage and convinces him that the passage is haunted because they found a nickle and ice cream cone that weren't there before. Thoroughly scared, Dawn calls her mom home from her date. They try to convince Dawn that there are no ghosts. Dawn refuses to sleep in her bedroom and finds a book in her living about the history of Stoneybrook. In it, she reads a legend about Jared Mullray a young man that refused to move out of his house when his family moved. Dawn becomes convinced that Jared Mullray is the ghost haunting her secret passage. Claudia babysits for Jamie Newton and has a hard time getting him to sleep. Dawn shows the secret passageway to Mary Anne, she tells her the ghost story. They hear thumping noises coming from the passage and find a book that wasn't there before. Stacey babysits for the Pikes and once again Nicky goes missing. Dawn finds him and walks him back to the Pikes' house. A few days later, Dawn babysits at the Pikes's house. When another fight breaks out between Nicky and the triplets, Dawn decides to follow Nicky. She discovers that he is the one that has been in the secret passage making noises and leaving things behind. She tells Mrs. Pike who agrees that Nicky can continue going there. Dawn holds a sleepover for the club and shows them all the passage.

Snarkable Moments: Dawn talks in the beginning of the book about how the club members haven't seen each other in two weeks. Maybe I was just antisocial but I went a lot longer than two weeks without seeing my friends when I was that age. Dawn talks about how on the plane ride to California they watched European Vacation, I've never been on a flight where they show a movie but don't they usually choose something that's family friendly? European Vacation is rated R, why are her and Jeff watching this? So y'all know that Dawn is not one of my favorites but one thing that really bugged me in this book was that she refers to her dad as a Disneyland Daddy meaning he just spoils her the whole time she's staying with him and that he doesn't act like much of a father. I'm sorry, when did going on trips to Disneyland become a bad thing? Another thing that got on my nerves but was also slightly entertaining was watching the power struggle between Dawn and Kristy, while I dislike both of them, I like to see Dawn put Kristy in her place a couple of times and boss her around. It's a nice change of pace. A few other great things in this one; hollow books (is it sad that when I actually found one of these I bought purely because it had always been a dream of mine to be more like Claudia), Calladew's Perfection Shampoo (what kind of shampoo won't rinse out after 12 times?), Dawn eating a tuna fish sandwich (what happened to being a vegetarian you little hypocrite?), and the fact that nobody notices a 7 year old running rampant through everyone's yard and hiding out in barns. Another thing I want to touch on, what exactly does Cam Geary look like? I think this the first time he's mentioned and I kind of want to marry him if he's as dreamy as he seems. For the record, I'm picturing him as Zac Efron because 13 year old me would have loved that and considered him the most attractive person ever.

Oh that Cam Geary, so hot right now. 

Claudia's OOTD:
This book was another one that didn't mention any outfit in particular. All it mentioned was a dragon head ring and a Hawaiian shirt so I used my imagination.