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."

#7- Claudia and Mean Janine

Claudia's sister makes everything impossible-- even baby-sitting!

The Jessi: This was another one that I somehow missed as a child but I'm pretty sure I would have loved it based on the description on the back. Except for the whole Mimi having a stroke part. I just loved when the girls held playgroups, it made me think of the movie. Plus Claudia's sweater on the front? You know it's going to be good.

The Mal: The story opens with Claudia and her sister arguing one morning. That day the BSC has a meeting and Kristy decides they should extend their play group until at least August. They make plans for it and decide to hold it in Stacey's backyard. While they go around recruiting regular clients to come, they agree to let Mallory Pike work with them as an unpaid helper. That night, Claudia, Janine, and Mimi play a trivia game that results in Claudia and Janine fighting and Mimi going to bed early because she's very tired. A little while later while Claudia and Janine are arguing again, they hear a thump from Mimi's room. They run in to find her in a heap on the floor, unconscious after having a stroke. They call an ambulance and she is rushed to the hospital. The next morning the BSC holds its first day of their play group, besides some trouble with Jenny P. everything goes smoothly. Claudia also has a babysitting job that afternoon with the Newtons. She takes Jamie over to her house to show him that Mimi is gone. While there, she gets in another fight with Janine and calls her mean and says she doesn't care about Mimi. When Claudia goes to visit Mimi for the first time in the hospital, she gets freaked out and ends up running out of the room. The second time she does better and even comes up with a way for Mimi to communicate by blinking her eyes. Slowly Mimi starts to improve but Claudia begins feeling more and more guilty and thinks that she caused Mimi to have a stroke. She decides to quit the play group so she can spend more time with Mimi and help her with her therapy. Mimi progresses steadily and is allowed to come home. Claudia spends each morning quizzing her on things around the house in the hopes of improving her memory and word skills. One day, Claudia has a babysitting job scheduled so Mary Anne comes over to take care of Mimi. After going through flashcards, Mimi gets frustrated and yells at Mary Anne. While Claudia is at Lucy Newton's christening she realizes that she loves Janine and that Janine must love her too but just doesn't know how to show it. Claudia and Janine have a heart to heart and learn that they're both jealous of each other. Claudia lets Janine spend more time with Mimi and agrees to be nicer to Janine. Claudia apologizes to Mimi for being mean and giving her a stroke. Mimi forgives her and tells her that the stroke wasn't her fault.

The Stacey: Number of pages:145, Claudia's age: 13 (thus making this the first book with any of the members being 13), How much Charlie makes each week driving Kristy to meetings: $3

The Dawn: The main drama in this book is too sad to make fun of. I feel horrible for Claud, I know what it's like to watch one of your grandparents suffer through all kinds of health concerns. A less serious drama going on is the one with Jenny Prezzioso. For some reason Karen tells Jenny that Andrew is a monster. Jenny believes Karen and does everything that Andrew tells her to do. The babysitters go along with this and even have Andrew tell Jenny things to do. I thought it was kind of funny and probably something that I would have come up with as a child but at least it solves their problem with Jenny.

The Claudia: "I finished dressing in my favorite art class outfit-- black jeans, a giant bright blue T-shirt, and a snake bracelet that I wore above my elbow."

The Mary Anne: Claudia talks about Janine going to Stoneybrook University. When did Stoneybrook get a university? I thought they just had a community college. When Claudia talks about her mom working at the library, she tells us how she never goes to the library because they don't have Nancy Drew books. Weren't Nancy Drew books kind of popular back in the day? What kind of library wouldn't carry them? Only in Stoneybrook... Initially, Kristy offers Charlie $2 for each meeting he drives her to. According to my calculations that's $6 a week. Yet they only pay $5 a week in dues... Plus they have to contribute to Claud's phone bill. This isn't adding up. Is it just me or are Stoneybrook parents always gone when something important or scary happens. In this book, Claud's parents are out to dinner when Mimi has her stroke. I kind of want to see how Stacey French-braided Louie the dog's hair. I need ideas for my own dog.

The Kristy: Although this book was pretty sad, it did have a fairly happy ending and Ann did a good job of keeping things light by adding the Jenny and Andrew subplot. I give it a 3.9 out of 5.

#2- Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls

Claudia's not sure she wants to find out who's on the other end of the line.

The Jessi: I remember being absolutely scared out of my mind reading this as a child. Honestly this and Beware, Dawn! are two of the scariest things of my childhood besides that episode of Boy Meets World where Shawn kills everyone. The first time I watched When a Stranger Calls, I totally thought of this book, except that ended a lot differently than this.

The Mal: There's the Halloween Hop coming up at SMS and Claudia spends her time daydreaming about who she'll go with while she's supposed to be doing her homework. After her homework is done, Stacey calls and they talk about boys and the dance. They decide the club should hang out together on Saturday. Saturday rolls around and the club finds themselves together with nothing to do. The newspaper comes and they read about a robber that calls the houses he's going to rob before he robs them. If nobody answers if he figures that nobody is home and he goes ahead and robs it but he has also been known to rob the house while people are in it. This freaks the girls out and they hold an emergency meeting right away to discuss what they can do if the robber calls them while they're babysitting. They work out this code they could use on the phone in case they have to call somebody for help but don't want to say that there's a burglar in the house. In the end, that doesn't work out because nobody can keep the code straight and remember what they're supposed to say. Then they figure out burglar alarms, such as stacking cans in front of the doors so that when the burglar comes in the house, they will hear him. While at school, Claudia is staring at her crush, Trevor Sandbourne, when somebody runs into her from behind, it's Alan Gray. He teases her about Trevor. Claudia is awestruck and can't figure out how Alan knew that's who she was looking at. At lunchtime that day, Claudia's friend tells her about her grandmother getting robbed in a nearby town called New Hope. This relieves Claudia because at least he's not robbing houses in Stoneybrook. Claudia babysits for Jamie Newton and suggests that they play outside, that way if the Phantom Phone Caller calls, they won't hear the phone ring. While they're outside, a light turns on inside the house but it's too early to be Jamie's parents. Then they hear the phone ring and footsteps coming up the driveway toward them. Turns out to be Kristy who was just dropping off a casserole. Except for the phone call remains a mystery. The next day, Claudia hears an announcement that the Phantom Phone Caller has been captured. She's very excited and feels safe for the first time in weeks. While babysitting the next night, she hears another announcement that the man thought to be the Phantom Phone Caller was not the real criminal. After the announcement is over, the phone rings. Nobody says anything when Claudia answers. Claudia spends the rest of the sitting job in fear. Kristy sits for Karen and Andrew and gets a mysterious phone call as well. Stacey sits for Charlotte. They watch scary movies, the power goes out, and they hear weird noises that end up just being the Johanssens' dog. Mary Anne babysits for David Michael while the rest of the family goes to dinner. She rigs up a bunch of burglar alarms that end up being worthless except to scare the Thomases when they get home. At their next meeting, the girls discuss boy drama, and Claudia taking jobs without offering them to the rest of the girls first. Claudia's neighbors get robbed, freaking everyone out. Kristy and Claudia take a joint babysitting job at the Newtons. While they are there, they get several creepy phone calls and then they hear someone outside. They call the police and the cops find the prowler to be none other than... Alan Gray! Turns out he was just trying to find a way to ask Kristy to the Halloween Hop. All the creepy phone calls were from him and Trevor Sandbourne. Alan would copy the babysitters' schedules everyday and give a copy to Trevor so he could call Claudia. In the end, everything works out and Kristy goes to the dance with Alan, Claudia goes with Trevor. They all have a wonderful time.

The Stacey: Number of hot lobster earrings- 2, number of traps Mary Anne set up for the burglar- 3, number of times Claudia talks about her obsession with Trevor- infinity times nausea

The Dawn: Claudia gets mad at Kristy one time for thinking she told everyone about her crush on Trevor. Let's not forget all the suspense of when Alan is creeping around outside the house.

The Claudia:

Claudia's outfit "I'm wearing purple pants that stop just below my knee (those are called shorts or capris) and are held up by suspenders, white tights with clocks on them (I couldn't find clocks so you'll have to settle for peace signs), a purple-plaid shirt with a matching hat (not exactly matching but it was the best I could find), my high-top sneakers (she didn't specify what color but I felt like Claudia would go for either yellow or orange for this ensemble), and lobster earrings (I searched and lobster earrings do not exist, the best I could do what this lobster necklace.).
*Note that the things in the parentheses are my own personal thoughts, not Claudia's

The Mary Anne: Back to the whole When a Stranger Calls thing. When they first talk about the burglar, they talk about how he's been known to break into the houses when the people are still home. It totally made me think of the part where the cops are like "We traced the call, it's coming from inside the house." I get chills just thinking about how creepy that would be. In this book, Claudia talks about how she has to have somebody sit with her until she finishes her homework. This seemed a little extreme to me at first but then I thought more about Claudia and it made sense. I'm so glad I never had to do that. Something that made me laugh in this book was all their talk about burglar alarms and phone calls with secret messages. Really? How is setting up cans in front of a door going to save you from a robber? Or calling another 12 year old girl? Not saying I wouldn't have thought of those ideas and tried them when I was that age, but still. Another not so bright idea, Claudia decides when she's sitting for Jamie Newton that if they play outside she won't be able to hear the phone ring. While this is true, it doesn't really solve the problem, if anything it creates one. If the robber were to call, he would for sure think they weren't home and be more likely to come over. Oh Claud, you should just stick with your stellar outfit ideas. Can I just say that I am totally shipping Kristy and Alan. Ok maybe not Kristy with Alan so much as just Alan with anyone. I love Alan. Honestly, I'm thinking of moving to Stoneybrook just to meet him.

Kristy: I love this book because it always puts me in the mood for Halloween and since Halloween is only a few weeks away, it was a perfect time to read it. I really like reading from Claudia's perspective because I feel like she's one of the more real characters and I can relate with her more. I was alot like her when I was 13 and it makes me think of the good old days. Overall, I give it a 4.3 out of 5