Say Aloha to Your Friends!

 Aloha! It's time to visit Hawaii with the Baby-Sitters Club in Super Special #13, Aloha, Baby-Sitters! The girls are off to the state of beaches, volcanoes, and pineapples because SMS is offering a school trip there. Does this seem odd to anyone else? Not that Hawaii doesn't have its share of historical and cultural relevance, but I don't think of it as a place you would go on a class trip...no, Hawaii is reserved for those on romantic getaways or honeymoons. Or people who like to surf! When I was in high school (I don't think my middle school ever offered trips), they offered trips to France, Germany, and Spain (since French, German, and Spanish were the languages taught) during the summer (and I went to France with a group from my school since I took French) and I also remember there were trips offered to New York and D.C. Less than ten students went on those trips and I'm not sure if there was a limit or they just didn't get that many kids to sign up for them for whatever reason. When I went to France, there was probably twenty of us (and two teacher chaperones) and we were paired with another high school group from Seattle. When SMS goes to Hawaii, there are 50 students and six teacher chaperones. There's really no reason why SMS is offering freakin' middle schoolers a trip to Hawaii. Honestly, if I were a parent, there's no way I would let my child go to Hawaii as a middle schooler. I have to wonder how this Super Special came about. It is ghost written by Peter Lerangis and I wonder if he went to Hawaii and volunteered to write this SS or if he got to go to Hawaii because of this SS (now that would be a sweet deal) or if he's never been to Hawaii and just did a lot of research? I think this is the first SS where we lead into it with a book from the regular series. In book #98, Dawn and Too Many Sitters (which I read last summer) we first learn about the trip to Hawaii being offered to SMS students. I went back to that book (well, e-book) to refresh my memory. Apparently SMS made a deal with a group called World Tours, Inc. where kids can get a discount on one of their tours as long as 50 of them sign up (and teacher chaperones don't count) and they have to be between 11-14. Gee, how convenient. Also, who lets a child as young as that go on a school trip so far away. Or am I just overreacting? The trip is only $500. I realize that at 13, that's a lot of money, but that sounds really cheap...even in 1996 money. The girls have to raise half, then their parents will pay the other half.

So everyone is going except for Kristy and Mallory. Kristy isn't going because her family is going to Hawaii later that summer and Mallory isn't going because everyone hates Mallory and why she should have any fun? I mean, that might as well be the answer. They say it's because of money and she already told Mrs. Stone she would help run a play group at her farm. GIRL, you have a chance to go to freakin' HAWAII. I'm sure this Mrs. Stone character can find someone else to help run some play group. Good freakin' gravy! However, the book does say Mal said she thought about finding someone to take her place and Mrs. Stone said that would be okay, but it's mostly a money issue that the Pikes can't afford a measly $250 to let their daughter enjoy a trip to Hawaii. I bet Mallory really resents her parents! Of course the real reason is that the ghost writers don't want to deal with a story for her in Hawaii. Poor Mallory; once again gets the shaft in a Super Special! (And wait until we get to her section!)

I should mention that I first read this book four years ago (along with SS 14 and 15) when I got them all online. By the time this book came out, I wasn't reading the BSC anymore, but decided to check out the ones I never read recently. 

Let's take a look at the cover:

The boys on each end are Logan and Robert and I believe Robert is the one on the right side with the red shirt and yellow and black Hawaiian shirt. You would think the blonde next to Robert would be Stacey, but there's something about the way her hair is styled she looks more like Dawn. But the other blonde in the pink doesn't look like Stacey OR Dawn, so I'm just really confused. For a dancer, Jessi sure looks stiff. Mary Anne also seems like she doesn't want to be dancing and her denim pants look tight. Abby's dress is hella clashy, but she sees to be having the most fun with her "wave your arms in the air like you just don't care" attitude. Claudia's floral crown is cute and is something she would do. Why the hell are they all (except for Robert) wearing sneakers and socks on the beach?? The background is nice. 

Okay, let's talk about each girl's adventures in Hawaii (or in Stoneybrook):

Jessi is a little on the obnoxious side in this. Her whole thing is since Mal can't go to Hawaii, she's going to bring Hawaii back to Mal! Her plan is to have everyone write in a diary about their trip that they will present to Mal, take a buttload of pics, and she even has a tape recorder (which she records the ocean at one point! And another time, she records the freaking wind). I'm sorry, but if I were Mal, I would be a little ticked off. (Mal ends up loving the whole thing, so good for her). If I couldn't go on this amazing trip to Hawaii that all my friends were going on, I wouldn't want to hear every minute detail of their trip or see their 13 rolls of films (Jessi, at one point, tells us she used that many!) and why the hell would I want to hear a recording of the ocean? What is the point of that?? Tell me about your trip, sure, show me the best pics you took, send me some postcards, buy me some cute seashell earrings, a Hawaiian shirt, some macadamia nuts, but I don't need a play-by-play of all ten days of your vacation! Jessi even writes this to Mal:

After you read this, see my photos, and hear my tape, you'll think you were here!

Yeah, no, she won't. 

 Everywhere Jessi goes, she's furiously busy scribbling in her journal because she doesn't want to miss a thing. It's like, GIRL, you are in HAWAII. She even writes a paragraph about the banana split dessert Claudia has. WHY?!?! Put down the damn notebook and pen and ENJOY yourself! Oh, remember how I told you she took 13 rolls of film? Well, each roll had 36 exposures that so means she took nearly 500 pictures!! Now, when I was in Maine recently, I took that many pics, but that was with my phone, so I could delete photos and post the ones I wanted to on social media and I wasn't....what do you call it when you take a roll of film to the store? Getting it developed, right? OMG, remember those cameras? I took one of those to France with me. They're so big and bulky. God, we are so spoiled with our digital cameras in our phones now! Of course, there were those disposable ones you could use...I remember using those, too. God, can you imagine being Mallory and having to look through 500 freakin' photos your friend took on her vacation? Shoot me now. 

Jessi mentions they go to Chinatown for lunch "where I had something called Szechuan chicken." It surprises me she's never heard of that. God, that sounds so good right now. I think I'm just hungry. 

If this had been my first introduction to Abby, I may have found her super obnoxious. Before I first read this book, I did get a haul of BSC books and there was an Abby book in there, so this was not my first introduction to Abby. I honestly don't remember my first impression of Abby, but I like her for the most part. Her "allergy talk" is super annoying, but I realize that's not her fault. I do find Abby a little grating in this. She's about to start her ten day trip to Hawaii and she wakes up super early the day they're suppose to leave and we find out GIRLFRIEND HASN'T EVEN PACKED YET! WTF? How are you not even packed for a ten day trip to Hawaii on the morning you're supposed to leave? When I went to Maine for eight days, I made a freakin' spreadsheet of everything I would need and checked them off as I packed them! (The day before I left, not the day of!) Such a Dawn thing to do! 

She just pretty much dumps all her clothes and toiletries in a suitcase...this is absolutely ridiculous. Honestly, this chapter made me so infuriated with Abby. Packing is an art...you should not just dump all your clothes into your suitcase. 

In case you're wondering, Anna does not go on the trip. I'm sure it's explained why she doesn't go in Dawn and Too Many Sitters, but I think she made the right decision. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Hawaii is a wonderful place to visit and I can see why it attracts so many tourists, but good God, when they describe how long it takes to get there...well, honestly, it doesn't even seem worth it! All the students meet at the SMS parking lot early in the morning and take a two hour bus ride to the airport in New York. Then it takes five hours to fly to L.A. where they have about an hour layover. Then it takes ANOTHER five hours to fly to Hawaii! This shocked me cuz I figured it only took a couple hours, maybe three at the most to fly to Hawaii from LAX. I don't know why I thought that; I guess I thought Hawaii was closer to the mainland than it actually is. Apparently it takes five hours to fly there! 

One of the most shocking, insane scenes happens pretty early on when they're at JFK, eating breakfast, waiting for their flight. Their flight is called and they still haven't been through security! Uh....WTF? I realize this book was published before 9/11, but still....were people this lax about airline travel that they didn't even go through security until AFTER their flight is called? That just seems insane to me! And this is 50 kids and six teachers who have to go through security with God knows who else is going through at the time since they're at a crowded international airport in one of the biggest cities! Good Lord! This make me so anxious, you have no idea. 

Abby's main storyline is being in a commercial for suntan lotion. She and a group of nine other students (including Stacey) and a teacher are at Waikiki Beach. And honestly, from this description, it doesn't sound very appealing to me:

Finding a spot for ten kids and a grownup on Waikiki Beach is a little like finding a seat on the NYC subway at rush hour.

Ugh, no thank you.

So they're at the beach and a volleyball lands at her feet. She tosses it back and notices a camera crew is set up around the volleyball net. She quickly realizes they're filming something and her ears perk up when she hears the director say they have a delay because one of the actors can't do the job and that they won't be able to shoot that day. Abby blurts out that she can play and when the woman asks how old she is, she replies 18. Now, the way Abby is drawn in one of the illustrations, she actually does look 18, but let's be honest...NO 13-year-old looks like she's 18. Uh-uh, not happening. Instead of asking for ID, they just believe her and let her into the commercial. Uh...okay. Don't think it works that way! One of the teacher even supports this and tells Abby if anyone asks, she'll say she's her agent. 

Abby starts to get a really big head and thinks this is her first step into stardom. She thinks Steven Spielberg is going to be watching the commercial and will "discover" her and make her into a big star. I don't know what's more unbelievable: that scenario or that she thinks Kristy will be her agent. Yes, Abby, because a 13-year-old girl can be your agent! That makes perfect sense!

So Abby does the commercial and ends up getting a wicked, nasty sunburn. Why, you ask? Because she's a moron. Seriously. She is about to put suntan lotion on, but realize it's Coppertone and she told the director that she uses the product called Day-Nite Suntan Lotion which they're shooting the commercial for. Because of this, she doesn't want to be seen using the competition and doesn't put any on AT ALL! She's not worried about it because it's 7:30 and the sun won't get bad until 10. Well, the sun is still the sun and in those three hours she gets burned. She does slather herself with Day-Nite sunscreen during their break (which she says smells awful), but the sun has already done it's damage. I just can't imagine going to a beach in Hawaii and not slathering yourself with sunscreen. That just seems really stupid not to do that. 

Mary Anne doesn't spend any time with Logan (at least not until the very last day) because her friend have been complaining she's been spending too much time with him. Well, he's her boyfriend, you nitwits! Heh, I wonder if Richard paid her friends to say that to her because he was worried that some hanky panky might happen if they weren't separated. (Not that I think Mary Anne would ever go further than kissing). 

I was pleasantly surprised that their hotel in Honolulu is described as "a squat, rectangular, four-story, glass-and-steel building in the middle of town." That actually seems realistic for a large group of teens. I would have thought they would have been in a hotel right on the ocean with their own private beach, so I appreciate that this was realistic. 

 Later, they will go to another part of Oahu and from their hotel they are able to see where Gilligan's Island was filmed. Heh, if this book was written today, it would probably be Lost. Dawn tells them she once saw Bob Denver (except she refers to him as Gilligan) at a dinner theater show in L.A. She tells them, "He's not young, anymore." Well, no shit, Dawn, it's called aging. But to be fair, since she and her friends and family never age, she probably has no concept of it. Poor thing. 

While there, a family with two young girls checks into the hotel which Mary Anne describes as "huge" and they are missing their five year old son who they are frantically searching for. Instead of going on whatever group activity the students have planned that day, she asks if she can stay behind and help with the search. This kid is missing for an hour and a half and the police are called and all the hotel staff is searching while Mary Anne volunteers to watch the two girls. Needless to say, the parents are a frantic mess. This has to be every parents' worse nightmare. All the familiar places are checked: the pools, the game room, the park across the street, their room.

Of course it is Mary Anne who saves the day and finds the young boy. When his sisters tell her their room number (243), she just figures the boy got the numbers mixed up and checks all variations of the room number. Of course all the rooms are locked, but when she knocks on one, she hears Joseph answer her and he opens the door with help from Mary Anne. Apparently, he had forgotten his shell and went back to their room without telling anyone, but he went to the wrong room. Don't ask my how he could get into a room that wasn't even his (and I doubt he even had a key to get into his room and even if he did, the key wouldn't work on a different room, so WTF?) He said he realized he was in the wrong room, but wasn't able to open the door (too heavy or something), so he cried, then fell asleep on the bed. And that's when Mary Anne found him. Still unsure of how this kid could get into a room that wasn't his and even more surprised that the hotel staff/police didn't think to check ALL the rooms (you know, just to make sure nothing nefarious is going on, not that I would ever think this since this is a BSC book, after all!) 

So all is well and Mary Anne is the hero. This prompts Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, who are the managers of the hotel, to ask Mary Anne if she would like to baby-sit their three kids tomorrow since their grandfather, who usually watches them, is out of town. Mary Anne is thrilled about the prospect of "spending a day with a typical Hawaiian family" and "learning about another culture firsthand" so she agrees. Oh, and how did Mrs. Reynolds know Mary Anne was a baby-sitter? It wasn't because she volunteered to watch the young girls when people were searching for their brother, it was because, and I am not kidding you, she was wearing a white t-shirt that said The Baby-Sitters Club and underneath that, it said Call KL5-3231. Kristy had them made for all of them and while she doesn't specifically tell the they have to wear them in Hawaii, for some reason some of them do (like Mary Anne here). Um, why? Why would you were a t-shirt in Hawaii advertising your business in Connecticut? So stupid. 

So Mary Anne gets permission to baby-sit for the Reynolds because we can't have a Super Special without baby-sitting, even though we get baby-sitting chapters with Mal and Kristy who are back in Stoneybrook. I feel like it's Mary Anne who always get stuck with baby-sitting when they're on vacation (maybe "stuck" isn't the right word since she wants to do it). She baby-sat those two British kids with Stacey in New York, Stephie in California, and now these kids. 

I wanted to smack Mary Anne in her baby-sitting chapter. She mentions how "familiar" everything looks. The kids appear like normal American kids and the house looks like a normal house. She tells us:

I don't know what I was expecting. Ukulele music floating through a thatched hut? Kids wearing grass skirts and leis? A luau for breakfast? Okay, maybe not. But something a little different.

 At least she admits she probably wasn't going to see all of that, but good Lord! She is also wondering why the Reynolds have a very un-Hawaiian name. Well, it's because Mr. Reynold's father (the kids' grandfather who usually watches them) is white and married a Hawaiian woman after the war. He lives with them, but is out of town, so that's why they need a baby-sitter. 

Claudia has a sad storyline and a bit of a heavy one. She has signed up to take a group tour of Pearl Harbor. It's only her, Mary Anne, and four other students with one of the teachers. I was kinda surprised this wasn't a mandatory thing since it is an important part of our history. I guess the other students had better things to do like go to the beach! I'm also kind of surprised Claudia's parents didn't sit her down and talk to her about it because they had to know there was a good chance she would be going to Pearl Harbor if she was going to Hawaii (especially the same island!) Claudia is well aware of the significance of Pearl Harbor (I was super shocked when she told us she read a book about it, but maybe it was required reading for school? From the way she said it, I didn't think so. That seemed out of character for Claud to read a book about a heavy topic that wasn't school related)! After visiting the site and watching footage of the bombing, she begins to feel sick to her stomach and feels tremendous guilt. She also begins to wonder if people will know she's of Japanese descent and begins to wish she she had blonde hair and blue eyes which is really sad (and kinda icky that she had to feel that way). I just felt so bad for her. 

She knows her grandparents were living in Japan when this happened and wonders how they reacted to it and if they in favor of it since the Emperor had ordered the attack and how Mimi used to tell her the Emperor was revered by everyone in Japan. She is horrified by the thought that Mimi could approve of this. We will learn later (after Claudia has talked to her parents about this when she gets back) that her mom tells her that Mimi never talked about WWII and refused to talk about it. Feels like a cop out, if you ask me. Oh, well, they probably didn't want to open a can of worms with that. 

Mary Anne is asked to baby sit the Reynolds kids agin, but she doesn't really want to because she wants to enjoy her vacation (I am SHOCKED!), but she gets the idea to get Claudia, who has confided in Mary Anne about what she's been going through, to baby sit for them. She does and gets really nervous when the grandfather comes home (she finds out he was in the war) and checks to make sure there aren't any weapons in the house so he doesn't shoot her. That just got really dark. Of course, the man is really nice to her and they have a nice little chat and Claudia says she feels better, but does she really? He basically tells her she can't be held responsible for her ancestor's actions and that she "can't take on the burden of an entire country". She's reminded of the Japanese-American detention camps and thinks of the burden that was put on them. Then he adds that "the atom bombs made Pearl Harbor look small by comparison." Honestly, I'm surprised Claud didn't leave that house feeling more miserable and confused than ever!

To lighten this up a little bit, there's one point where Claudia spells "wrong" as "rong" and it just looks so....rong. Heh, sorry. She also can't seem to pronounce "Oahu", which I get if you aren't familiar with it, but she pronounces it as "Ohio" at one point and how do you even get that from "Oahu"? 

Can Stacey ever have a Super Special adventure where she doesn't almost die? Seriously, in California Girls, she gets in a car crash; in Snowbound, she and her mom get stranded in the blizzard and nobody has any idea where she is; and in this book, its sort of a hybrid of those two: she gets in a helicopter crash and nobody knows where she (or the three other students and the pilot) is. But she's fine (and so are the others) and everyone is found.

Stacey's been snapping at Robert this whole trip because he was flirting with the flight attendant. He's also been flirting with pretty and popular Sue Archer. (Who has the name "Sue" in the '90s? Nobody. It's a very '50s name). I think this book is right before when she and Robert break up. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that Dawn is on this trip. First of all, she doesn't even attend SMS anymore! I thought this trip was for SMS students? Yes, it's true she had to be put on the waiting list and could only go if the roster wasn't filled up. I get why she wants to go with her friends, but wouldn't it make more sense to go with her family in California? I'm sure her dad would take her. The plane ride sure would be a helluva lot shorter too (Only five hours instead of 12!) 

When the plane makes it's layover at LAX (where they're only there for an hour), Dawn is greeted by her dad, Jeff, and Carol. Now, I could understand them doing this if she still lived in Stoneybrook, but why the hell are they driving all the way out to LAX (no way they live near the airport!) for an hour to see someone who now lives permanently with them? Abby, who narrates that chapter, comments that Dawn was so surprised to see them. Yeah, I bet she was. She probably thought why the hell are they driving all this way to see her for just a few minutes when she now LIVES with them, permanently.

Dawn doesn't really have a storyline. Well, she cleans up a trashed beach with the help of Jessi and some local kids. It's a very Dawn thing. But again, there is no need for Dawn to be in this book. Sorry, Dawn. Sorry Dawn fans.

So that's all the adventures in Hawaii. Back in Stoneybrook, Kristy and Mallory still have BSC meetings at Claud's room. I think that's a little weird. Why can't they just leave a voice mail on Claud's voicemail and tell their clients to call the Brewers' or the Pikes' residence? Mr. and Mrs. Kishi must be saints to put up with that. Kristy doesn't really have anything to do in this book. She baby-sits for Karen and Karen's friend Tia, who is from Nebraska and is obsessed with NYC. As a Nebraskan, I was a little insulted by the fact that the girl from Nebraska is from a farm...of course she is. I also love that she comes from a farm to go to...Farm Camp. That must have been so exciting for her. (Can you feel the sarcasm dripping from my voice?)

One of the reasons Mallory can't go to Hawaii is because she has to help Mrs. Stone with Farm Camp, but yet we never see her doing that. Well, maybe we see a bit of it. Her main storyline involves her and a thirty-something woman. It starts when Mal is baby-sitting Jenny and Andrea Prezzioso and Mrs. P. tells Mal that if Jenny throws one of her tantrums, she's just supposed to ignore her until it passes. 

So of course Jenny throws a tantrum (before and after her mother leaves!) and Mal follows Mrs. P's advice. However, the trouble starts when Jenny asks to go to the park to play. Oh, boy, not very smart of Mal. I would not be taking this girl to a public place! While Jenny is playing and Mal is keeping an eye on her and sitting with Andrea, an ice cream truck pulls up nearby and Jenny demand to have a Fudgsicle. (Have to say, never been a fan of the the Fudgsicle. Give me an ice cream bar or sandwich.) Mal tells her no and all hell breaks loose. Jenny is screaming and throwing sand and tells Mal that she's stupid and she hates her. (Poor Mallory!) Of course there are other kids there with their mothers and that has to be a super awkward position to be in for both Mal and the other adults. This one particular woman, who was nearby when this happened tells Mal, "She seems to be in great pain." What? How is a kid screaming and demanding ice cream in great pain? I don't get that at all. The child is in no pain or physical harm at all. Mal tries to explain what she's doing what Jenny's mother asked her to do and the woman replies with, "I'm sure her mom doesn't mean for her child to be neglected, dear." Again, what is she talking about? Jenny is clearly not being neglected. Ignored? Sure, but not neglected. If I were Mal, I would tell this woman to mind her own fucking business. Mal really does get the shitshows of the worst plot lines, doesn't she? 

Mal happens to be wearing her BSC t-shirt with the phone number printed on it and at the next meeting she tells Kristy about what happened and like clockwork, the phone rings after she's done telling the story and when Kristy answers it, it's the woman on the other end of the line. (Who didn't see that coming?) Her name is Margaret Wellfleet and she's calling to report Mallory. She tells Kristy, "I suggest that if you intend to advertise your organization on shirts, you better be sure that those shirts are worn by competent child care personnel." That's a sick burn if I ever heard one.Yep, once again, Mal is getting dumped on here. Unfairly, I might add. Luckily, Kristy is on Mal's side here and know she hasn't done anything wrong. (Good thing Mal told her about this before Kristy answered the phone!) 

Mal has been trying to run into Mrs. Wellfleet at the park because she had "some unfinished business". Girl, just let it go. I don't know what she was hoping to do or say to her. The first few days she doesn't see her at the park, but then one day she takes Margo and Claire there and actually sees Mrs. Wellfleet. It turns out she has a young son who is just as big a brat as Jenny and throws huge tantrums. (Guess he wasn't there the first time Mal meets her? Or he was just behaving that day?) Mal even comments that the kid's tantrum "made Jenny's look mild." Mrs. Wellfleet isn't ignoring her son, she's telling him to stop and is getting all flustered. Mal catches the woman's eye and comments that Mrs. Wellfleet looks guilty. Even though Mal comments she does feel bad for her, she can't help but feel a little gloaty, and hey, I don't blame her. This woman was a total bitch to her.

It sounds like Mal gets a job with them, but we never hear about it and we never hear about the Wellfleets again (not that I can remember), so they must not become regular clients. 

East-West Marriage Fest

Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #12, Here Come the Bridesmaids! has a misleading title because there is only one BSC member who is a bridesmaid in this story: Stacey. Yes, Mary Anne was supposed to be one too but in the end never was one. And Dawn was the Maid of Honor. Not that I'm trying to be too picky about the title, all I'm saying is that maybe they could have come up with something better. 

So I always thought this book was the last Super Special I read before I deemed myself too old for the BSC, but while doing some research, I discovered this book came out between #80 - Mallory Pike, #1 Fan and #81 - Kristy and Mr. Mom and I stopped reading the BSC around #76 or 77 (before I picked it up again years later!) But I'm pretty sure I've read this before...not everything was familiar, but I just figured that was because it's been over 20 years since I last read it! Or maybe I just knew that a Super Special existed where Dawn's dad gets married the same day Mrs. Barrett is getting married to her boyfriend. Half the BSC are in California while the other half remain in Stoneybrook.

Dawn wants everyone involved in the two weddings to keep a journal. She ends up calling it "A Tale of Two Coasts." Other names included "Christmas Wedding: Sea to Shining Sea" (Mary Anne's suggestion, and ugh); "Holiday Vows" (Shannon's suggestion, and boring); "Bicoastal Bells" (Stacey's idea, and I like the alliteration); ""I Do x 4"" (Claudia's idea, and meh); and "East-West Marriage Fest" (Kristy's idea, and it made me laugh and I named my entry after it). 

Dawn is living in California when her dad gets married to his long-time girlfriend, Carol. This is when she moved there temporarily and returns to Stoneybrook on Christmas Day, about ten days after the wedding. Of course, she will end up moving to California permanetly about eight books later, so what was the fucking point of moving back to Stoneybrook? She had to transfer her school records to her Cali school, then back to SMS, then back to California. Good God, that sounds exhausting and annoying. If I were Sharon, I would be irritated just with dealing with that! 

Dawn wants to invite her BSC friends to the wedding, but because some of them will be involved with Mrs. Barrett's wedding, only Mary Anne, Kristy, and Claudia make it to the SoCal wedding. Okay, I have to be honest: it makes no sense that any of Dawn's Stoneybrook friends are invited to her father's wedding. Let me give you a list of reasons why:

1) They have only met Jack and Carol once: in California Girls! (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the second book where other members of the BSC go to California).

2) The wedding appears to be small and intimate, so why would Jack want his daughter's friends from all away across the country to attend? I can understand Sunny and the other girls from the We Love Kids Club since I'm sure Jack and Carol have met them several times, but the BSC? Uh-uh.

3. I understand that Mary Anne is Dawn's best friend and stepsister, but her being there is especially weird considering she is the daughter of Jack's ex's new husband. It gets even more weird when Mary Anne is almost *in* the wedding, but I'll discuss that more when we get to Mary Anne. 

Look, I get why some of the members are there because it wouldn't feel like a BSC Super Special if Dawn were the only member at her dad's wedding, but it just doesn't seem realistic to me, that's all. It would be more realistic if they were all at Mrs. Barrett's wedding since she's a big client for them and they know her and have baby-sat for her kids several times.

Dawn is going to be a bridesmaid at the wedding. Really, she is going to be the Maid of Honor since she and Jeff are the only one who will be in the wedding party. Dawn doesn't know this yet while she is shopping for dresses and also buys one for Mary Anne. I was so confused by this scene. She was with Sunny, Jill, and Maggie shopping for the dresses and from what I gathered, she picked out the dresses herself. Is this a thing? Doesn't the bride usually have a say what the Maid of Honor and bridesmaids wear? I guess if you're a progressive bride, you can just tell your bridesmaids to pick out whatever they feel most comfortable in. However, the dress Dawn chooses both looks and sounds absolutely atrocious: 

The bridesmaid's dress was a satiny material with shirred, off-shoulder sleeves, a fitted bodice and a flared mid-calf skirt. The soft fuchsia color was just right for a wedding on the beach. 

We see Dawn (and Mary Anne) wearing it on the cover and a few black and white illustrations of it in the book. God, what a fugly dress! Also, I'm no expert with colors, but fuchsia for the beach? Really, Dawn? Also, the dress is described as "off-shoulder" and when Mary Anne first sees it she describes it as "a satiny, bare-shoulder dress", but all the drawings do NOT show bare shoulders of the wearers of this dress! 

At her wedding, Carol is described by Dawn as wearing "a flowing Indian-print dress that shimmered in the breeze." But the dress she wears in the illustration looks like it came from Laura Ashley (and we also see Dawn in her hideous dress). It just looks like a boring floral dress. Also, Carol is a brunette in the illustration. I could have sworn in California Girls! she's described as a blonde. (Because you know, every caucasian person from California is a blonde *rolls eyes*). 

Jeff is whining about wearing a tie to the wedding and Jack tells him after he kisses the bride, he can take it off and throw it in the air, so it's a cute moment when Jeff does that. 

A lot of Dawn's storyline also involves Mary Anne, so I think would be a good time to go more in depth about the dress/bridesmaid drama. Like I mentioned earlier, Dawn also buys Mary Anne the same dress because she wants both of them to be bridesmaids. This will come back to bite Dawn in the ass because she never asked Mary Anne if she wanted to be a bridesmaid, but most of all, she never talked to Carol or her dad about this. I'm sorry, but why the fuck would Carol want Mary Anne to be a bridesmaid at her wedding? Inviting her is one thing, but why would she want the stepdaughter of her new husband's ex-wife in her wedding? Isn't that a little weird? Okay, so let's go through the whole ordeal. A lot happens in a span of a few pages.

Dawn shows Mary Anne the dress, telling her they're both bridesmaids which is news to Mary Anne because she had no idea since Dawn never told her. And Dawn just tells her she guessed she just assumed she would be one? WTF, Dawn? Why would Mary Anne assume she would be a bridesmaids at YOUR father's wedding. Your father, who she's only met once and who her father is now married to his ex-wife. Does anyone else think this is weird? Bueller? Bueller? However, Mary Anne seems to be more concerned about having to stand up front where everyone will be looking at her because she hates being the center of attention (despite the fact that everyone is paying attention to the bride and groom and when Dawn points this out to her, Mary Anne has the gall to get offended). I do think Mary Anne should not be thrilled about this, however, she's not thrilled for the wrong reason: she should not want to do it because it's just weird for her to be a bridesmaid at her stepmom's ex-husband's wedding. I'm just shocked nobody thinks this is a tad inappropriate. But she's just going on about she doesn't want to stand in front of forty or so people who will be in attendance. 

Mary Anne isn't thrilled about a beach wedding and would prefer a "normal wedding, at a church." You know, while re-reading these books, I've found Mary Anne to be very judgy. She also says she had never heard of a beach wedding which was a bit surprising to me. I don't live anywhere near a beach and even I've heard of beach weddings! I've never attended one, so they could be a terrible nuisance for all I know, but I think Mary Anne is being a bit whiny about the whole thing (the bold is my reactions): 

Where do you sit at a beach wedding? Are you supposed to stand the whole time? I'm assuming there's folding chairs, Mary Anne. Or yes, maybe you do stand if the ceremony is only a few minutes. What if sand gets in your shoes? Or do you go barefoot under your nicest outfit, holding your shoes in one hand? Maybe people wear flip-flops? I'm assuming most people going to a beach wedding would wear beachy dresses that go with flip-flops. Or nice sandals. And if you get sand in them, just take off  your shoes and let the sand out More questions: How can you see the bride if you're squinting in the sun and the wind is blowing your hair around? Well, that's what sunglasses are for and maybe tie your hair back?? That's what I would do if I were going to a beach wedding as someone in the wedding party or a guest! What do you do if surfers and tourists start gawking? Who really cares? IDK, I think it would be kind of cool that you're involved in something that everyone else is curious about.  And what about the music? Does someone bring an accordion? A harmonica? Who says it needs to be live music? 

Look, I get Mary Anne is a traditional girl, but good God, she's so whiny about the whole thing. The only thing I can sort of empathize with her about is that if she's "not totally covered from head to toe, and wearing a floppy hat, I end up looking like a carrot with hair." (Funny, didn't Mallory compare herself to looking like a "tomato with hair" when she blushes in SS #10?) I've been to a few church weddings in my time and while nice, I always just find them so formal and stuffy. I've always preferred outdoor weddings with a beautiful garden or body of water as a backdrop. 

While they're arguing about Mary Anne being a bridesmaid, Mary Anne lets it slips that she's not thrilled about the idea of a beach wedding and says, "I thought the wedding was going to be, you know, normal." Sheesh, way to be sensitive, Mary Anne. This, of course, makes Dawn incensed. But, like, literally two paragraphs later they make up. I don't know, if I were Dawn, I would have stayed pretty angry at Mary Anne for at least two chapters! 

Mary Anne later realizes that she should be honored to be a bridesmaid in the wedding of the man who used to be married to the woman who's now married to her father and who she has only met one other time in her life. She's now excited about it and vows to be the best bridesmaid. The fuck?

Later, while Jack and Carol are going over how the wedding will work, both Dawn and Mary Anne find out that they are only having a Maid of Honor and Best Man: Dawn and Jeff. The fact that Dawn didn't know this much earlier is a bit baffling to me. We get this weird narration from Mary Anne:

I was in shock. What was going on? First I wasn't a bridesmaid. Then I was. Now I wasn't again. Had Dawn made her plans without even talking to her dad? How could she do that to me? To tell you the truth, now I'd kind of gotten used to the idea. It would have been fun - standing up there with my sister, sharing her special day. Didn't I deserve to be a bridesmaid? Why hadn't Mr. Schafer asked me?

I'm sorry, but what the fuck is Mary Anne smoking and why is she acting so entitled about a wedding she really doesn't have any business being at in the first place? I almost feel like Mary Anne is caught up in the excitement of seeing Dawn and going to California (which I don't blame her for) that she doesn't realize just how weird it is for her (and Kristy and Claudia) to be at this wedding. Why the fuck would Mr. Schafer want her in the wedding? And really, wouldn't it be Carol deciding on her Maid of Honor and bridesmaid? And, no, Mary Anne, you do NOT deserve to be a bridesmaid at this particular wedding. I feel like a broken record, but why would she be asked to be a bridesmaid at a wedding where she's only met the bride and groom once and is only connected to them because she's the stepsister of the groom's daughter. Get off your high horse, Mary Anne. 

So Mary Anne gets angry at Dawn (again) because of this whole mix up. I do agree that Dawn should have known all of this before getting Mary Anne excited about being a bridesmaid (and I'm shocked that there wasn't a family meeting about this way before), but she is being absolutely ridiculous. She accuses Dawn that her dad doesn't like her (he's only met you once, your dimwit!) and claims, "Now it turns out no one cared about me in the first place." Oh, my God. It's moments like this when I really can't stand Mary Anne. She has this woe is me mentality that really grates. 

Dawn apologizes the next morning and says that she was so excited about them sharing this moment together that she "got all spacey." Then we get this weird WTF-ness from Mary Anne:

You know what picture popped into my mind? Sunglasses in an oatmeal canister in our house in Stoneybrook. Sharon had left them there. Dawn's mom. I thought about the ways my dad and I are alike - both super-organized and quiet and serious. Dawn was like her mom, too, in some ways. It was only natural. It didn't make what she did less hurtful. I mean, leaving sunglasses wasn't the same as messing up wedding arrangements. But thinking about that connection made me less angry. 

I'm sorry, but WHAT THE FUCK? When has Dawn ever been scatterbrained? She is probably the most organized of the group. In fact, I think she would have made a better secretary than Mary Anne because her handwriting is easier to read (IMO!) This makes absoluetly no sense. And Mary Anne knows this about Dawn. I think what actually happened is that Dawn got really excited about the wedding and took some matters in her own hand when she probably should have talked to, you know, the bride and groom first before making all these plans. Although, really, Jack and Carol, being the adults, should have talked about the wedding with Dawn and Jeff BEFORE it was two days before the wedding! 

You might be wondering why Mary Anne is wearing the pink nightmare of a bridesmaid dress on the front cover if she's not a bridesmaid. Well, she asks Dawn if she can still wear the dress because she likes it (Really, Mary Anne?) and Dawn loves the idea. Mary Anne did mention she packed a plaid dress for the wedding and while plaid doesn't really scream "beach wedding", I'm sure it was a hell of a lot better than that fuchsia monstrosity. 

We find out that when Dawn invites Claudia to the wedding in California, Claud says yes without getting her parents' permission first and they aren't very happy because it is expensive to fly across the country. They tell her she can't go, so she unhappily tells Dawn she can't go. Then Dawn calls back and tells Claudia that her dad wants to hire her for the wedding for her "artistic talents." He wants her to be a wedding consultant and she'd "be in charge of picking the flowers, decorating the house, maybe styling hair." Jack is even offering to pay half the cost of a round-trip plane ticket. I laughed when Dawn tells her, "You can stay at my house." Well, duh, no shit. I don't think they were planning on staying in a hotel! 

But, I'm sorry, no. No fucking way Jack Schafer is hiring a thirteen-year-old girl who he has only met ONCE to pick the flowers for the wedding, decorate the house, and do hair. If I were Carol, I'd be like, HELL NO. Dawn does tell Claud that Jack and Carol want friends and family involved "instead of hiring a lot of strangers." But isn't Claudia a stranger to Jack and Carol? They barely know Dawn's friends in Stoneybrook. I just can't see Dawn' dad going out of his way to hire Claudia and pay for her ticket. So fucking ridiculous. But it works and Claud is allowed to go to California with Kristy and Mary Anne. 

I was horrified when Claudia is taking pictures of the reception party that's held in Jack's backyard. But then she says Jack and Carol had hired a professional photographer and they asked Claud to take some candids. Whew! For a second there, I thought they had hired a thirteen-year-old to be the wedding photographer!

Claudia does Dawn's, Kristy's, and Mary Anne's hair for the wedding. I can't seem to find it, but I swear I read that Carol has her hair done by someone else (a professional or a trusted friend, I assume). 

Claudia's spelling is pretty atrocious in this.  Person = "persin" (oh, my brain hurts!); valuable = "valubile", skills = "skcills" (this one especially baffles me!); enormous = "enormis"; buffet = "buffay" (okay, I can let her get away with that since the "t" is silent!); taste = "taist"; chocolate = "chocklit" (heh, I'm pretty sure that's how I spelled it when I was 7/8);  

Kristy also attends the California wedding, but doesn't really have anything to do with it. Instead, she's helping Sunny plan a good-bye party for Dawn. Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, Dawn, Maggie, Jill, and Sunny are all hanging out at Sunny's hose under the guise of a We Love Kids Club meeting (pretty sure they don't even book any jobs during this time) and Sunny makes Dawn go down to the kitchen to get some healthy snacks. While she's out of the room, Sunny tells the East Coast girls that she's planning a surprise going-away party for Dawn on Sunday. Even though she's not leaving until the next week, Sunny is doing it for that day because she wants to make sure the BSC girls are there (even though they're not saying goodbye to her, but that's just my little nitpick; in fact, you could say they're saying hello to her. As in, "Say hello to your friends!") and Dawn will be too busy with last-minute stuff. Sunday happens to be the day the Stoneybrook girls are going back and why would you want to go to a party the same day you have to get to the airport and leave? Sunny says they'll have the party early, but I still wouldn't want to go to a party the same day I'm traveling home. 

It turns out Sunny hasn't done any planning for this party at all. She doesn't know what time it's going to be and she hasn't thought about food, drinks, decorations, or activities. We find out that Sunday is only two days away which means the BSC girls aren't out there too long. (I think this is the first or second day they're there). It also means it only gives Sunny less than 48 hours to plan this party that she's not organized for. Since Kristy doesn't have to help with the wedding, she ends helping Sunny organize the good-bye party for Dawn. Hmm, do you think Sunny would still have this party if she knew Daw would move back to California about eight books later? 

Kristy thinks Dawn knows about the party since after the wedding reception Sunny tells her, "See you at the party." But later, we find out from Dawn she was totally surprised. The plan is that they're all going to Sunny's house where they are all meeting to go to brunch. But, of course, there is no brunch. There's a surprise party waiting for Dawn! Besides the WLKC girls (and half the BSC), there's also some other kids from Dawn's school and the kids she baby-sits for, who we all met in California Girls! I had to laugh when Kristy notes how Dawn and everyone else is sad and crying and Kristy narrates, "I was sad, but I couldn't cry. I mean, I was going to see Dawn in Stoneybrook the next week." 

There's even a cake that's made to look like Dawn's face - complete with blonde hair, sunglasses, and freckles. Wait, Dawn has freckles? Heh, this reminds me that when I moved to a different state when I was 7, I also had a going away party with friends (not a surprise party, though) and I, too, had a cake made into my face and God, was it just atrocious! I still cringe thinking about it. 

It's a banana cake with frosting and shockingly Dawn says that she loves it. Of course, she could be saying that to spare Stephie Robertsons' feeling as she was the one who made the cake with her dad. I personally am not a fan of frosting as it is way too sweet and I am not a health food nut like Dawn, so I call shenanigans that she would actually like the cake. She was probably frantically brushing her teeth when she got home! Speaking of cake, it is mentioned there is a carrot cake for the wedding cake. But just because it's carrot cake, is it really all that healthy? There's still frosting and sugar. 

Kristy is especially obnoxious besides she brings her referee whistle and uses it the morning of the wedding when everything is frantic and everybody is getting ready and after she blows the whistle, she tells everyone to get in the car. Good fucking lord. If I were Jack or Carol, I would have to restrain myself from strangling her with the cord. Not only is Kristy just being plain rude and using her whistle INSIDE the house which she is a GUEST in, but there are caterers who are also at the house getting things ready for the reception after the wedding. Just so fucking obnoxious to do that and there was absolutely no need for it. Yes, things were hectic, but I'm pretty sure they didn't need some thirteen-year-old child they've only met once to blow her loud-ass whistle and direct people to the car. 

She will use the whistle again during the farewell party when she has to get everyone's attention to tell them it's time for the BSC girls to head to the airport. At least she had the good sense not to use it at the wedding or reception, but still, so obnoxious using it in those instances. 

That's it for all the BSC members who were in California, but before I head back to Stoneybrook, I should mention that Jeff narrated a couple of chapters. He is worried about Mrs. Bruen, their housekeeper. He thinks once Carol moves in, his dad will no longer need a housekeeper. I was a bit surprised when Jeff tells us his dad hired Mrs. Bruen because he (Mr. Schafer) is a slob. I always had it in my mind that he was pretty organized and that was a huge reason why he and Sharon got divorced, because he couldn't stand her scatterbrained-ness. I always assumed he hired Mrs. Bruen because he needed someone to watch Jeff while he was at work and cook meals when he got too busy. Sure, the extra housework was a bonus, but I never got the impression that Mr. Schafer was a slob. Jeff is also worried because Carol has so much stuff that she will be bringing with her when she moves into the house and most of her stuff is "ugly". 

It turns out that Jeff doesn't have to worry about either thing because Mrs. Bruen is not leaving; in fact her hours are getting doubled. By the way, how old do you think Mrs. Bruen is supposed to be? Have we ever been told that? I would guess early-mid fifties. It also turns out the moving van containing all of Carol's possession was stolen and found halfway to San Diego "stripped and completely empty." Carol doesn't mind because she never liked the furniture in the first place. So why didn't she just sell it if she didn't like it, especially since she was moving? Duh. 

Meanwhile, in Stoneybrook, Stacey is a bridesmaid for Mrs. Barrett. It isn't as weird as you might think (okay, maybe it is). One of her bridesmaids had to cancel, so she asks Stacey to fill in. It seems weird that she would ask a thirteen-year-old baby-sitter who she doesn't seem particularly close to. I know Stacey was the one who went with the Barretts to Sea City, but I always think of Dawn as being the closest to the Barretts, but obviously Dawn couldn't be in this wedding so I guess Stacey was the next best thing. You know what else is weird? That Mrs. Barrett keeps getting referred to as "Mrs. Barrett". That's her ex-husband's name and the woman is about to get married. I understand that it would take too much time to refer to her as "the future Mrs. Dewitt" each time (btw, I should tell you that her fiancé and his kids had Harris as a surname in SS 10, but are now the Dewitts, the name I have always known them as. I should also tell you that one of his children, Ryan DeWitt, also has the same name as one of Dawn's baby-sitting charges in California. This is addressed in this book and Kristy tells us there is no relation between the two. I still want to know how this happened, especially since the Stoneybrook DeWitts used to be the Harrises. At least they're lucky that the two Ryan DeWitts live in different states) and since the BSC never refers to their clients by their first names, they can't call her "Natalie". IDK, I just thought it was weird, but maybe I'm making too big a deal out of it. I believe in future books she is referred to as Mrs. DeWitt, but her kids kept their last name. 

So Stacey is clearly the youngest bridesmaid, with the other three being in their thirties. Stacey comments how much the women make her laugh as they're getting ready and says "It was like a BSC meeting, only older." You poor thing Stacey, and you'll never get to make it to your thirties, a much better age to be then a 13-year-old, because you will always be stuck in the same age! 

We see a picture of Stacey in her bridesmaid dress and from what I can tell from the black and white illustration, it looks much better than Dawn's. It appears to be a black velvet dress with a gold or silver stash around her waist (okay, the pic is in black and white, but I'm pretty positive the sash isn't some bright jewel color). I think the dress looks pretty good, especially for a winter wedding in Connecticut. (Have I even mentioned this book takes place in December?) I have never attended a wedding in the winter, all of the weddings I've been to have been held between May-September. In the picture, Stacey is going down the aisle with a guy named Greg, one of the groomsmen (though she refers to him as an usher). She says they gave each other a smile, but is quick to tell us, "don't worry, he was my dad's age". I guess she had to clarify that for us since she pretty much falls in love with any boy with a pulse. I have to laugh because Greg looks very similar to Nicolas Cage in the drawing. 

While the wedding is going on, Mallory and Shannon are watching the children. Ryan DeWitt, the two-year-old, starts crying out for his dad. He's also been acting cranky and Shannon knows it's time for his nap, so she carries him, planning to take him to the nurses, which is off to the side of the church (you think it would be in the basement). While trying to get there, she ends up going down the aisle while Stacey and Greg are walking down it together. Stacey thinks she wants to give Ryan to her, which would have been hilarious. But instead, Shannon turns around and finds her way to the nursery. We get a chapter from her right before this one. 

But that's not the only mishap to happen during the wedding with the kids. When Mrs. Barrett and Franklin -(wait, why do BSC refer to Franklin by his first name, but can't call Mrs. Barrett Natalie? Screw it, I'm going to call her Natalie! BTW, I don't know if she's ever referred to by her first name in any other books, but she is called "Natalie" by Franklin, so kudos to the Neflix series for picking that up...unless it's in The Complete Guide to the Baby-Sitters Club). When Natalie and Franklin are at the altar, Marnie toddles up to them and throws her arms around her mom's leg, which is actually pretty adorable. She ends up staying during the entire ceremony, so I'm guessing it wasn't a very long one! 

Speaking of the Barrett children, they are moving to a new house and Suzi, who has a couple chapters, is worried that Santa Claus won't know they moved and they won't get their presents. Suzi decides to leave a trail of cookie crumbs from her old house to her new one. Yes, you read that right. She says she was inspired by Hansel and Gretel, but called them dumb because they left bread crumbs, which birds eat. Yeah, and you don't think animals won't eat cookie crumbs? I realize Suzi is only five, but kudos to Natalie for going along with her daughter's idea, because I sure wouldn't have. I would have told her that Santa knows everything, including when a kid moves and not to worry and if, for some reason, Santa didn't bring any toys, then I would take them to Toys R Us. Or something.

Mallory and Ben Hobart get into what might possible by the stupidest fight ever. It all starts when Mallory is hanging out with Ben and his brothers at his house and  Jamie Newton, Myriah Perkins, Nina Marshall, Jake Kuhn, Charlotte Johanssen, and Becca Ramsey come over. The kids (and yes, I'm including Mal and Ben as they are also kids!) are drinking hot cocoa and start singing Christmas carols. All the kids think it would be fun to go caroling and Mal and Ben agree to take them next Saturday, which is the Saturday before Christmas. Everyone is excited about it and that is that.

When Mal gets home, she receives a phone call from Claudia (this is before she went to CA) telling her that Natalie needs two sitters for the wedding. She was able to get Shannon, but hasn't been able to find anyone else so Mal tells her she'll do it. After she hangs up, she realizes that the wedding is on Saturday, the same day she and Ben are supposed to take all those kids caroling. Ruh-roh! She's about to call Claudia to tell her she can't do it, but realizes that would be unprofessional, so instead she calls Ben to explain what happened and he tells her to cancel it. Kind of an assy thing for him to do. And I've always liked Ben. It is just ridiculous how angry he gets over caroling. But-- GOOD LORD, WHY DON'T THEY JUST GO ON ANOTHER DAY? Maybe Friday or Sunday night? It's not that big of a deal. Just call those kids and tell them the new plan. NOT a big deal to get so pissy about. And that is exactly what happens. After her wedding sitting gig, Mal calls Ben to apologize, even though she has nothing to apologize for, IMO. Natalie needed two baby-sitters for her wedding, which, I'm sorry, Ben, is more important than taking a few kids caroling, so Mal said she would do it. What is so wrong about that? Ben even mentions that it wasn't a big enough deal to break up over and that they could have gone caroling another day. WELL, NO SHIT, SHERLOCK! THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG! And guess what? They decide to go caroling the next day. You can't see me, but I just smacked my hand across my forehead. Good God, I just can't. I told you this was the stupidest fight ever. 

So they all go caroling, including Mal's siblings and everyone has so much fun and gets offered cookies and cake and hot cocoa by pretty much house they go to.

Jessi is the only BSC member who has nothing to do with either wedding. Even Shannon and Logan, who get chapters, are involved with the Barrett/DeWitt children whether it's watching them at the wedding (Shannon, as I already mentioned) or baby-sitting them (Logan). Instead, she ends up playing Santa Claus at Bellairs because the original one they hired got cast in a movie (how the hell did some nobody mall Santa from Stoneybrook end up being cast in a movie??). Stacey is the one who tells the girls since her mom works at Bellairs and since everyone beside Jessi will be busy/out of town next weekend, Jessi is the one who gets stuck at a gig. I find it hard to believe that Bellairs couldn't find anyone else and had to rely on the BSC to help them out. Give me a break. I also find it super weird that Jessi is Santa. Not because she's black. If Ben Hobart, a white male played Santa, I would also think it weird. Because he's an eleven-year-old child. And an eleven-year-old playing Santa, no matter what gender or race, is just plain weird. 

Jessi is worried about playing Santa, but in the end has a lot of fun and even stays at the department store longer as Santa. It's pretty clear the ghost writer (Peter Lerangis) had no idea what to do with Jessi and just tossed her this throwaway storyline. Honestly, it sounds like Natalie and Franklin could have used a third baby-sitter at their wedding!

Memories

BSC Super Special #11, The Baby-sitters Remember, is structured a little differently than other Super Specials. Instead of the girls' chapters being sporadicly placed, we get all the Kristy chapters together, all the Stacey chapters together, etc. (Mind you, nobody gets more than three chapters). They're all at a sleep over at Kristy's house when the subject of what their most vivid memory is comes up. Wait, scratch that. They're not all there. This is during the time when Dawn has temporarily moved to California (before she will permanently move there. I never understood why she just couldn't wait five years, then go there for college. Oh, right, because she will never age out of being 13!) On the cover, I was trying to decipher which one was Stacey and which one is Dawn, but turns out the other blonde is Shannon who is at the slumber party. And Shannon and Stacey look exactly alike, so I have no idea who is who! At least with Dawn, sometimes her hair style would be a little different the Stacey's so it was easy to tell them apart (not always, though!) Let's take a closer look at the cover:

Seriously, which one is Stacey and which one is Shannon? How can you differentiate between the two? I'm going to guess Stacey is on the bed, next to Claudia (you know, since they're best friends, it would make sense they're on the bed together. Does that logic make any sense?) and Shannon is the one having her hair brushed by Claudia. It would make sense that Claudia would want to brush her hair since Shannon doesn't really hang out with the girls on a regular basis, so I can see Claudia wanting to experiment with "new" hair. I don't really have any issues with the pajamas except for Claudia's and Mary Anne's. Claudia's don't look like pajamas: they look like regular clothes! It looks like she's wearing an oversized green top with black leggings. I suppose they are comfortable to wear to bed, so I can't fault her for that. Sometimes I wear a comfy everyday top with leggings or yoga pants to bed. Mary Anne is the only one wearing a nightgown (and it looks really long...I bet she trips on that thing when she has to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom). I haven't worn a nightgown since I was five years old! (Mine was white with flowers on it). I feel like only little girls and old ladies wear nightgowns. 

So anyway, every member of the BSC (including Shannon and Logan) talk about their most vivid memory. Being that they're all only 13 years old (or 11, in the case of Jessi and Mal), most of them don't take place all that long ago! In fact, many of their most vivid memories take place within the last couple years. 

You would think Kristy's most vivid memory would be starting the BSC, but thankfully we're spared the story of hearing about how she got the idea for the BSC. God knows we've heard it 50,000 times already. Kristy's most vivid memory IS baby-sitting related, because God forbid she has anything else in her life. It takes place when she's ten and it's about her first baby-sitting experience. (Does it really count if it's for your own brother?) Back then, Mrs. Thomas had a housekeeper name Mrs. Culp, who besides helping with the cooking and housework, would also watch David Michal (who is 4 at the time) so he wouldn't have to spend all day at day care. The problem was Mrs. Culp often just blew off her responsibilities and didn't even show up or would call Mrs. Thomas at the last minute to tell her she wouldn't be there. Let me tell you something: this is one of my biggest pet peeves. Nothing irritates me more than people who call into their job ALL. THE. TIME. And then they never get reprimanded for it or fired! I don't understand why Elizabeth kept dealing with this Mrs. Culp's shit for so long. (I'd be interested to know how old she's supposed to be). Yes, perhaps she didn't have any better alternative, but I would give Mrs. Culp two strikes, but the third time she pulled that stunt, I would have fired her ass! 

Mrs. Culp has called Mrs. Thomas one morning to tell her she won't be able to make it and Mrs. Thomas calls Mrs. Pike to ask her if she can pick up David Michael from day care and bring him home. She then asks Sam or Charlie if they can watch him until she gets home from work. (Why didn't she just ask Mrs. Pike if DM could stay at the Pikes' house? I'm sure they wouldn't notice one more kid!) Neither boy can watch their little bro and that's when Kristy tells her mom she could do it. After some hemming and hawing, Elizabeth agrees. 

They make the hugest deal out of this. Look, I was the youngest, so I never had the responsibility of watching a younger sibling, but by the time I was ten, I was definitely allowed to be home alone after school. Not that it happened a lot, but when it did, it was no big deal. Kristy only has to watch DM for two hours before her mom returns home from work and during those two hours this is how many people check up on them:

-Mrs Newton calls the minute Kristy gets home from school to asks what she's up to? (Gee, invasive much? Obviously, Elizabeth must have asked her to call the second Kristy got home.)

-Kristy's mom calls shortly after Mrs. Pike drops off DM. (Honestly, I'm surprised Mrs. Pike didn't come in to do an inspection and make sure the stove wasn't on!) 

-Mimi comes over to ask how everything is going and if she can help with anything. Not sure if Elizabeth asked her to do that, but obviously she must have told her that Kristy would be alone with DM. 

-Mrs. Newton calls AGAIN.

-Mrs. Pike calls.

-Mrs. Thomas calls again.

-Mary Anne has a baby-sitter (older lady from what I gather) and she and Mary Anne come over to check on Kristy and DM.

GOOD FUCKING LORD. Coddled, much? That would irritate me so much if I were Kristy. I can see Elizabeth calling them to make sure everything is fine and having a neighbor check on them, but all of that was so ridiculous! And nothing of note happens while Kristy is baby-sitting DM. She gives him a snack of apples and graham crackers with grape juice (yuck; grape juice!) Somehow, DM manages to skin his knee and cut his hand, but Super Sitter Kristy has him all cleaned up and bandaged by the time Elizabeth returns home from work. She is pleased with how everything went and I guess that's how Kristy got the baby-sitting bug. (Unlike Chris Parker, she does NOT have the baby-sitting blues!) The best part was when Mrs. Thomas fired Mrs. Culp. Thank God! Good riddance to her!

Stacey probably had my favorite section and her memory was the most heartbreaking. It takes place when she was eleven and still living in NYC. She's excited about starting her sixth grade year and she has a goal to make it her best year ever. (Spoiler alert: it won't be; oh, poor Stacey, my heart breaks for her). She plans to get straight A's, she plans to make new friends, and she plans to try out for the soccer team. The last one was a bit odd because I've never seen Stacey as the athletic type. I can't remember the book, but she and Claudia have to coach the Krushers for some reason and they're mostly interested in wearing cute uniforms than the actual game. Also, I don't remember her and Abby ever bonding over soccer. Lately, she's been hungry and especially thirsty, but her parents just attribute it to her being a growing girl. 

Stacey has a group of friends (let's be honest - it's more of a clique; a snobby exclusive clique. Stacey even comments that Laine started the group and gets to decide who gets to be in it) that includes Laine and other girls named Deirdre, Val, and Sally. There used to be a girl named Marty, but she's been sent to boarding school so there's an opening for a place in the Snobby Clique! That girl will be Allison who is from Texas and Stacey really likes her when they first meet. Laine does't like Allison at first, but once she finds out that she sucks just as much as Laine herself does, Laine thinks she's great! 

Deirdre has a slumber party planned for the group of friend (including Allison) the next Friday night. Stacey mentions that she's been feeling "funny"; "kind of dizzy and weird". She's still always hungry and thirsty. By the time she reaches Deirdre's apartment, she feels shaky, but is determined not to miss this sleepover. I think by this point, maybe it's time to tell her parents her symptoms! 

Everything seems normal at first for a sleepover. The girls eat pizza and drink soda while watching a movie (on the VCR; snicker, snicker). The movie is something that Deirdre's dad told them they would like, but they just thought it was "weird and old". I'm guessing it's some movie from the '70s. Probably some Stanely Kubrick movie. Not sure which 13 year old girl would like that! I'd be curious to know what it was supposed to be!

Stacey and Laine end up sharing Deirdre's bed (the girls draw straws to see who would get it). Honestly, either the owner of the bed should sleep in the bed or all the girls should sleep in sleeping bags. I used to have sleepover around this age and I always slept in a sleeping bag. We never slept in my bedroom; we were usually in the family room or living room. But, this will be part of the drama that will soon begin to unfold, though I thought it was going to be Allison sharing the bed with Stacey instead of Laine. 

Even though Stacey had three slices of pizza and lots of soda, she's still hungry and thirsty and pigs out on some munchies. The girls go to sleep by one and at four, Stacey (who is having a dream about drinking sodas under a waterfall) is woken up by Laine who is shrieking and telling Stacey to wake up because she has wet the bed. Okay, I realize it would be gross to be in a bed that someone had peed in, but Laine is being super overdramatic and just a bitch in this scene. I can't imagine acting that way towards your so-called best friend. Laine is making such a scene that she not only wakes up the other girls in the room, but also Deirdre's parents and her little brother. Laine is calling her disgusting, a baby, and will go on to ignore her. I know Stacey and Laine will make up (before they're not friends again), but honestly Laine is such a fucking bitch that I kind of wish Stacey had never forgiven her. This is the scene where we also find out Allison is a mean girl bitch as well and I guess she and Laine must bond over this shared trait of theirs.

Stacey calls her parents who come to pick her up. Stacey (rightly) thinks something is wrong with her body, but her parents thinks she has a psychological problem, which is pretty infuriating. Stacey does tell them, she doesn't feel well and I assume she tells them her symptoms, so I'm not sure why they don't listen to her. Instead they take her to a "fancy child psychiatrist." Stacey wishes that the child psychiatrist was an actual child because they would understand bed-wetting more than an adult. Yeah, but at least this person went to school and did all the work and earned the credentials to understand children and become a child psychiatrist. Kind of a moronic statement for Stacey to make. Anyway, this doctor is smart enough to ask Stacey more questions to further grasp what is going on. He asks her if this was the time first time she wet the bed recently and she admits it wasn't. He asks other questions about how she's been feeling lately and comes to the conclusion that she might have diabetes and recommends that she see her pediatrician immediately, like that same day. At least Stacey's parents take him seriously. 

Of course Stacey does have diabetes and is learning to cope with her new way of life. It's still not easy because she misses school and gets behind in her schoolwork. Everyone at her school treats her like a pariah and call her a hyprocondriac because they think she's just pretending to be sick. When her dad tells her he got a job in Connecticut, she is more than happy to move. Good riddance to those bitches, I say! 

I've never read The Summer Before (the prequel to the BSC that AMM wrote), but I know Stacey is in the book. I think she is still living in New York, so I'd be curious to see what is going on in her life then. 

Claudia's most vivid memory takes place when she is six years old; the youngest age anyone's memory takes place. I had a lot of issues with Claudia's segment; a lot of it didn't ring true to me. So basically it's established that Claudia loves her box of 64 Crayola crayons with the sharpener in the back (heh, I remember those!) She loves to color and make pictures which the Kishis' fridge is covered with. It is also established that Claudia doesn't pay attention during school and fidgets a lot (well, she is only six!) Her only bright spot about the school day is art class which comes at the end of the day. They have their regular teacher, Mrs. Frederickson, who sounds like a mean old hag, and they have an art teacher, Miss Packett, who, um, also sucks. Now, when I was in first grade, I just had one teacher who taught all the subjects. (I do remember our class trading rooms with the other first grade class and that teacher would teach us some subject...couldn't tell you what it was!) If we worked on an art project (don't ever remember doing art in first grade, but I'm sure we must have!), then our teacher would have been the one giving out instructions. We didn't have any special teacher come in just to teach art class! Also, we will soon find out that Miss Packett SUCKS as a human being and especially as a so-called art teacher. 

Miss Packett gives their class homework one day. I am going to quote exactly what she said:

"Your homework is to color a self-portrait. I want each of you to make yours at home because I want you to be able to work on it in peace. I want you to draw yourself the way you see yourself, not the way your friends see themselves. This must be your own work."

When Mary Anne raises her hand to ask a question (kind of surprised that shy six-year-old Mary Anne would do that!), Miss Packett interrupts her and says:

"I want you to draw whatever you want to draw."

Again, she says:

"I want you to draw whatever you want to draw."

I hate this bitch. Their portraits will be due the next day. They will need to hand them into Mrs. Frederickson in the morning, then they will all look at them that afternoon. 

Of course, Claudia is very excited and can't wait to get started. She's also very proud that she has homework which is actually kind of cute. For two hours, she draws the outline of a butterfly body and fills it in with "stripes and splotches and spots" and uses almost every one of the 64 crayons. (She probably only used sixty!) Little Claudia is so proud of her butterfly. Little does she know, a See You Next Tuesday of a teacher will squander that feeling. 

Fast forward the next day to art class. All the students have rolled up their projects, so when Miss Packett unrolls each one and shows them to the class, this is the first time anyone is seeing everyone else's work. All the kids had drawn a face (sometimes with a body) with hair and eyes and a mouth and nose. Claudia begins to "have a funny feeling in [her] stomach." When Miss Packett unrolls Claudia's drawing, she asks who it belongs to because Claudia had forgotten to put her name on it. Miss Packett asks if it's some kind of joke...which I don't understand. If it was supposed to be a joke, I think Claudia would go for something more immature...like a farting dog? IDK! She pretty much reprimands Claudia and says she can't do anything seriously. Hey, you fucking bitch, you told the students, "I WANT YOU TO DRAW WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DRAW!!!" 

I do find it hard to believe a teacher, especially one who works with six-year-olds would berate one of her students over an ART PROJECT. Isn't art subjective, anyway? You would think a TRUE teacher who loved children and had a passion for art would LOVE that Claudia thought outside the box and drew a butterfly as her self-portrait. Clearly, when it comes to art, Claudia is a genius. Also, maybe she should have made her instructions a little more clearer! Did I mention I hate that bitch? 

So because of this bitch, Claudia is upset and comes home crying. Sweet Mimi, who has always been an advocate for Claudia, wants to know what happened and Claud tells her. She claims she is dumb because she didn't understand the instructions. We get Awesome Mimi next:

Mimi had set her mouth in a firm line She stood up. She took my hand in hers. And she said, "Oh, no, my Claudia. That is not true at all. You understood the directions better than anyone else."

They go to the school where Mimi confronts Miss Packett and says to her:

"Miss Packett, I would like you please to respect my Claudia's intelligence and imagination. She told me what happened in school today, and I believe you are mistaken. Of all your students, Claudia is the only one who truly understood your assignment. You asked the children to draw themselves the way they see themselves. And my Claudia sees herself as a free spirit, like a butterfly. So that is what she drew."

Then Mimi drops the mic and walks away. YEAH, YOU GO, MIMI! Everything she said was true, so shove it up your butt, Miss Shitty Teacher. She does apologize to Claudia the following Monday, so at least she had the decency to do that.

I was a bit shocked that Jessi's most vivid memory did not involve dancing. No, it it about the birth of her brother, so she is nine and living in Oakley, NJ. We find out that before Squirt was born, Jessi's parents had tried for a third baby twice, but Mrs. Ramsey had had a miscarriage both times. Jessi does not want the baby because she know he will just pretty much disrupt her life with crying and smelly diapers and that everything is going to change. (She sure changes her tune in Jessi's Baby-Sitter when she thinks her mom is pregnant again and is thrilled!) 

Jessi is also mad because Becca will be moving into her room so the baby will have his own room. Neither girl is happy and I don't blame them one bit. I would have hated to share my room. I was lucky that I always had my own room growing up. It was just my brother and me, so we both had rooms of our own. Jessi is smart and knows better than to say anything about not wanting another sibling (she isn't totally insensitive! She also doesn't want to jinx the baby.) and not to whine about the room situation (though Becca does! But, to be fair, she is only six when this is going on). 

The baby is due in four weeks, but looks like Mrs. Ramsey is going to be giving birth a bit earlier much to Jessi's dismay. Aunt Cecelia is summoned to take care of the girls while their parents are at the hospital. Neither girl is too excited about their little brother (poor guy!) and don't care for his nickname, which I kind of have to agree. "Squirt", like "moist" is just a gross word. And it should not be used as a nickname for anybody. Why not just call him Johnny? Or JP (for John Phillip). That would be cute. 

Squirt is a crier; he seems to cry abnormally more than other babies. Turns out he has colic. I'm glad Jessi looked it because I don't really know what it is. Jessi (and I) find out it involves "infants who might cry for hours on end...the cause of colic was very bad stomachaches, which doctors don't really know the cause of." Ugh, that sounds terrible. Terrible for the baby. And terrible for everyone living in the house with that crying baby. 

One day (Jessis' most vivid is coming up!), Jessi finds herself alone with Squirt who is crying his little head off. Technically, Mrs. Ramsey is home too, but she's sleeping (that poor woman...she needs all the rest she can get!) Jessi is just waiting for her mom to hear her brother and get up, but she never does, so Jessi realizes she's going to have to console him. She must have the Midas touch because she rocks him and sings him songs from Annie and soon his cries fade away until they stop altogether. It is a very sweet scene. Mrs. Ramsey even sees this and comments that Jessi is the only one to calm Squirt down. Clearly, Jessi was meant to be a member of the BSC! 

Okay, I just thought of something I've never given any thought to until now. Jessi and Becca sharing a room in their NJ house made me think of this. When they move to Stoneybrook, they move into the McGill's old house. Now I'm pretty sure Jessi and Becca have their own rooms in this house. I remember a book where Jessi is baby-sitting for Jamie Newton and it must be close to Halloween because he's scared of ghosts, so Jessi takes him to her house to show him some Casper the Friendly Ghost books that Becca has and she mentions they go to Becca's room. I've come to the conclusion that their Stoneybrook house must have five bedrooms: one for the parents, one for Jessi one for Becca, one for Squirt, and a guest room that Aunt Cecelia will eventually get when she moves in with them. I'm pretty sure Aunt Cecelia has her own room; I don't remember her having to sleep in the den or anything. So this means the McGills lived in a five-bedroom house? WTF? Why? They only need three bedrooms: one for the parents, one for Stacey, and a guest room. MAYBE four bedrooms if they wanted a guestroom and an office for Ed, but why would they need five bedrooms? Or maybe it was three or four bedroom and the Ramsey did some renovation and added more rooms? Has anyone ever given any thought to this? Inquiring minds want to know! 

Logan's most vivid memory is meeting Mary Anne for the first time and we get his perspective from (some of) the events of Logan Likes Mary Anne! Turns out that book should've been called Logan Stalks Mary Anne! Yikes! His family has just moved to Stoneybrook from Louisville and it's his first day at SMS. He makes friends with Pete Black and Rick Chow and Alan Gray and all the SMS 8th grade boys who have lines in the BSC books and when he sees Mary Anne for the first time, he has "no idea why [he is] so drawn to her." He doesn't want to ask his new friends about her because he's embarrassed they'll give him a hard time about it. So instead he decides to follow her. He follows her out of the cafeteria, but she ends up going to the girls' room. He comments he was too embarrassed to wait around outside for her. Yeah, it also makes you look like a weird creep-o too. Did you ever consider that, Logan? Then he follows her again and she just goes into a classroom (well, duh, you're at school, dumbass). I don't know why anyone thinks it's okay to follow somebody. This actually happened to me when I was in my early twenties. I was at the movies by myself and this guy fucking followed me home! I'm not sure if he was at the same movie I was or at a different one and saw me in the parking lot when I was leaving. I didn't realize I was being followed until I got to my apartment's parking lot and he approached me and admitted he saw me at the movies and followed me. I honestly can't remember everything he said because a)it happened a while ago and b)I was so freaked out I was only half listening. He must have asked me out and I probably said "no thanks" and walked away. (I should point out that my front door was on the opposite side of the parking lot so thank God he didn't see where I lived!) I think he realized he freaked me out and hopefully he learned his lesson not to fucking follow people! I realize that I am very lucky nothing happened to me; it could have been much, much worse. But, yeah don't fucking follow/stalk people. Not. Cool.

So Logan finally just asks the guys what the girl's name is and they tease him about it, but they tell him how Mary Anne is shy and she belongs to the BSC and all that. We then get his POV when he joins the girls at lunch to tell them he's baby-sat before, the meeting he attends where everyone is embarrassed by his presence (Logan included), and when he baby-sits for the Rodowskys with Mary Anne. There's really nothing new being added here with seeing it from Logan's view. I think it would have been more interesting to get his view of the dance they attend or Stacey's party that turns into a surprise party for Mary Anne. C'mon, give me something juicy! Baby-sitting is really not it.

Mallory has a cute memory. It's when she is ten (and still getting baby-sat for by the BSC, hehe) and she decides to write to her favorite author, Amelia Moody. She gets the idea from Mary Anne (who is baby-sitting the Pikes that day with Claudia). Mary Anne tells her how she can find the address of the publishing company at the front of the book. Heh, I have to wonder how many kids read this chapter and decided to write to Ann M. Martin. Funnily enough, I never wrote to her (or any author, for that matter) even thought I was (still am!) a huge book nerd. I used to write to Pleasant Company all the time and I would get postcards back from them, answering my questions. (I still have them!) I remember I had this teddy bear calendar that would pose the stuffed animals in cute scenes and they used many of the American Girl doll accessories because they were the perfect size. I totally narced on them and told PC about this, but I don't think they cared because I got a postcard back saying something along the lines of, "You're right; the accessories are the perfect size for that teddy bear calendar" or something like that. I also wrote to Purina (and included a photo of my cat eating it from his bowl; they thanked me for sharing it with them and returned it since they thought I'd want to keep it) and they wrote me back to tell me they're glad my cat enjoys Purina Premium brand cat food and appreciated that I took the time to write to them. (Heh, I have to wonder if they knew an eleven-year-old was writing them. I assume my handwriting gave it away!) They included some coupons for more Purina cat food. But yeah, I'm surprised I never thought about writing an author! 

Mary Anne says she once wrote to Louisa May Alcott and I would love to know how old she was when this happened. How did she not know she was dead? Obviously the book was written in the 1800s. I always thought Mary Anne to be fairly smart; I don't buy that she would think the author of Little Women was still alive. Now Claudia, maybe (if she read the book and wanted to write the author!) Even Vanessa doesn't realize that Louisa May Alcott is dead because she doesn't understand why Mary Anne and Mal are laughing over it. WTF, isn't Vanessa supposed to be a big bookworm like her sister? At least Mal knew she was deceased. 

So Mal writes to Amelia Moody and includes her school photo. Four weeks go by and she gets a form letter from the author who has added in her own handwriting (I guess it could have been an assistant, but I think we're made to believe it was from Ms. Moody herself) telling Mallory that she will be at a bookstore in Washington Mall signing books on May 2nd from noon to two. Hey, isn't that Mal's birthday? They don't mention that at all, which is kind of surprising since she is ten during this, so she could have turned 11 (and stay there for the rest of her life! God, what torture to be eleven for the rest of your life!) 

Mal decides to wear the same outfit she's wearing in her school photo so Ms. Moody will be able to recognize her. (Doe Mal not realize how many letters she probably gets?) She also has a whole spiel planned to say when she meets Ms. Moody:

"Hi. My name is Mallory Pike. I wrote you a letter and you wrote back. I'm the one with seven brothers and sisters. And I said was our number one fan."

Okay, so I can maybe see mentioning the thing about her siblings because that is unique, so maybe Ms. Moody MIGHT remember that (if she did indeed actually read the original letter!) But good Lord, Mal, I'm sure everyone says they are her number one fan. 

Mrs. Pike tells Mal that it's going to be a mother-daughter day which is very sweet. After the signing, they'll have lunch and do some shopping at the mall. But being the extremely lax parent that she is, she tells Mal that they won't be leaving until 11:30. Okay, what the fuck, Dee? The thing starts at noon and I remember reading in another book (Snowbound, maybe?) that it TAKES half an hour to drive to Washington Mall! So what a fucking shock when they get there (they reach the mall at noon) and Mal sees "a line of kids woud around and around the store and then stretched partway down the mall." Mrs. Pike is shocked by this. Well, what the fuck did you expect, DEE? This is a big time author who has lots of fans who probably came from all over Connecticut (and probably surrounding states as well). You don't fucking get to a big event at the time it's supposed to start...no, you get there at least an hour in advance to insure you're near the front of the line. Any fucking idiot knows that. Ugh, this reminds me when I saw a movie (can't remember which one it was, but I'm sure it was some popular one because the theater was packed) and some stupid idiot with a couple of her kids comes in ten minutes after the previews started and is shocked she can't find a seat. Well, WTF do you expect when it's the opening day of some Harry Potter or Marvel movie? (I don't think it was one of those, but just giving an example). I bet Mrs. Pike is like that. If I was Mal, I would be LIVID. Luckily, though the line moves quickly and she is able to meet Ms. Moody, who has a new book out that Mrs. Pike agrees to buy for her daughter and will be the one that the author will sign. 

By the time Mallory gets to Amelia Moody, she can't remember her prepared speech and ends up bursting into tears. Oh, that poor dear. I assume it's because she's so overwhelmed with happiness, but I have to wonder if she got social anxiety and was so upset that she messed up what she had prepared in her head that she burst into tears? Anyway, I do feel a little bad for her because I have social anxiety too and I don't think I could talk to anyone I admired for fear I would sound like a moron. 

While reading Shannon's most vivid memory, all I could think of was, Really, Shannon? This is your most vivid memory? Aren't you filthy rich? Wouldn't an amazing European trip be a vivid memory for you? Aren't you an overachiever at school? Surely one of those award you've won was a vivid memory for you. 

It takes place at the beginning of the school year and there's a new girl at school named Sally White (is this the same Sally that was part of Stacey's friend group?) who everyone is enamored with because she's rich and glamorous (isn't everyone else rich at Shannon's school?) She's from London and her mom is a movie star. Why would a movie star move to Stoneybrook? Yeah, yeah, I know Derek Masters lived there, for like a month, but he was from there so at least it made a little sense. Shannon has other friend named Meg, Greer, Polly, and Lindsey. Sally just hangs out with Meg first and nobody else. Then she dumps Meg because Meg acted over excited when she and Sally went to a Bruce Springsteen concert and Sally told Meg she was acting like a baby. Meg gets replaced by Greer for a few days.

Meanwhile, Shannon wants to join the astronomy club, but needs to pass a test before she can join. She's supposed to be studying for it one weekend when Sally calls her and invites her over. (Not sure what Greer did; Sally probably just got tired of her). Shannon accepts her invitation because she is intrigued by Sally. She spends pretty much the whole day at her house even though she knows she should be studying. On Sunday, Sally invites her over again and Shannon tells her she needs to study because it's important and Sally pretty much gives her an ultimatum: her or the astrology club. Shannon chooses to study. Heh heh. This means Shannon is out and Polly is chosen. And so the cycle continues. Shannon tells us the reason why she was so mean to Kristy when she first met her was because of Sally.

Dawn's most vivid memory is her parents' divorce. She has just turned twelve and has noticed her parents have been fighting a lot lately. It seems to be implied that Jack is having an affair because Sharon asks him (in a snotty tone) how late he will be tonight and he replies, "Late enough." Also, he doesn't even come home at all one night, he doesn't return until the next evening. I refuse to believe he's having an affair with Carol because I like Carol and I refuse to believe she would mess with a married man. I think it's just some floozy at his office, a stupid fling he's having and he meets Carol after he's gotten his divorce finalized.

Jack and Sharon drop the bomb on Dawn and Jeff that they're getting a divorce and Dawn pretty much sees this coming, but is devastated none the less. Of course Jack and Sharon start fighting during all of this and Jack says something to Sharon which makes her reply, "Thank you so much for correcting me in front of the children" and Jeff replies, "I'm not a child!" which made me laugh. Um, yes you are, you nimrod. You're ten-years-old. I mean, I guess if you don't want to be called a child, a tween could work. I've never liked Jeff; he's always seemed like one of those smug asshole precocious kids. 

Now I am not a child of divorce and I don't really know how custody works. Looking back at this, I am kind of surprised that Sharon got custody of both kids when she moves all the way across the country. I would think Jack would have been a better choice for the kids. He seems to be a stable guy with a steady income, and, to be truthful, you think not being scatterbrained like Sharon would work in his favor. Also, why would they want to tear Dawn and Jeff away from the place where they go to school and have friends and are familiar with their environment? You would think Mr. Schafer would get primary customary of them. However, if that were the case, no way Sharon ever moves back to Connecticut. I realize they need to get Dawn to move to Stoneybrook to join the BSC, but now that I think about it, I feel like the kids would have been granted custody to their dad if Sharon had decided to move to the East Coast. But like I said, I really don't know how all that works. 

So Dawn, Sharon, and Jeff move to Stoneybrook and they see their new house (that might have a secret passage! Spoiler alert: it does!) and she talks about her first day at school where she meets Mary Anne. I understand why Jeff moved back to California because he never fully adjusted to Stoneybrook, but it surprises me that Dawn did only because she loved her friends and the BSC and her house, and she seemed pretty close to her mother, not to mention she must have visited California at least 100 times during her eight grade year. She pretty much goes there every time there's a school break (which happens a lot in this time parallel!) 

Mary Anne's memory takes place when she is eight. Her dad calls a baby-sitting agency (but not the same one from book 3!) to hire baby-sitters for his daughter and Mary Anne never likes any of them. Richard has to go away for a weekend on a business trip to Chicago and needs to find someone to take care of Mary Anne. She asks if she can stay with Kristy or Claudia, which is what I'm thinking would be the logical thing, but Richard says he doesn't want to impose. My parents once went out of town for a week and I got to stay with my best friend's family and it was AWESOME. It was also during the school year which made it even more rebellious (because I was spending a school night at a friend's house). Not sure where my brother was during this time...he must have been at a friend's house too. My parents have also been out of town for a week and they hired this baby-sitter (older woman) from...somewhere and it was not awesome. She wasn't mean, but she was just strict and had rules and regulations and oh boy, it was not fun. Oh, and one time my best friend's parents went out of town for a week and she and her sister stayed with us and that was AWESOME. We would watch BSC videos and act them out and play with our American Girl dolls and my mom took us to an ice cream place where we ordered this thing called the Earthquake, which had, like, twenty scoops of ice cream. (Claudia would be so jealous!) We earned it because we cleaned our massive basement. 

Anyway, so Mr. Spier gets a woman named Mrs. Tate to watch Mary Anne. He knows Mary Anne isn't thrilled about this and asks her what would make it better and she asks if she can invite Kristy and Claudia over for a sleepover and he agrees because he knows that will make the weekend go quicker for her. 

I'm not a big fan of Mrs. Tate when we first met her. This is because when she first meets Mary Anne when she comes home from school, Mary Anne is only answering her questions in one or two words and Mrs. Tate asks her, "Cat got your tongue?" I fucking hate it when people say this. Why the fuck do people need to be Chatty Cathys or Gabby Gabbies? As a quiet, introverted person myself, that shit just infuriates me (and yes, I've had that said to me before). 

Mary Anne asks if she can have a brownie and Mrs. Tate tells her no since she'll be having pizza later and that's too unhealthy and she should have an apple instead. Good God, lady, it's Friday and she's a kid, let her have the damn brownie! Already she's reminding me of the strict baby-sitter I had! I have to laugh when Mary Anne goes over to Kristy to complain about Mrs. Tate and Kristy offers her a cookie, but Mary Anne doesn't take it because Mrs. Tate wouldn't let her have it. Mary Anne! Mrs. Tate isn't even there; take the damn cookie! Look, I was never a rebellious child and perhaps I could be a goody two shoes at times, but dang, even I would have taken the cookie. What she doesn't know won't kill her! Kristy has plans for revenge on Mrs. Tate that evening. Mary Anne isn't so sure about this and comments how Kristy's ideas can get them in trouble, "just like when we experimented with the washing machine." Okay, now that's a story I need to hear! What went on there?

Once Kristy and Claudia are over at the Spiers' for the sleepover, Kristy tells them the grand plan is to sneak down and put pepper in her food. Claudia and Mary Anne distract Mrs. Tate by pretending there's a spider and Kristy puts pepper on her salad. Surely, Mrs. Tate saw all this pepper, right? But Mary Anne comments that Mrs. Tate takes a bite and makes a face before she just dumps it out and makes a new salad. The girls continue to play pranks on the woman, including nailing her slippers to the floor and hanging a scary rubber mask in the fridge (okay, that would probably freak me out, not gonna lie! - and I'm going to assume it belonged to Sam or Charlie and Kristy brought it over). 

I have to give Mrs. Tate credit; she seems to be enjoying the jokes and even commends the girls on some of them, calling them creative. Mary Anne says Mrs. Tate told them about "a very wonderful practical joke - spreading plastic wrap over a toilet bowl so tightly that when someone sits down they don't know it's there and, well, you can imagine the rest." Yeah, Mary Anne, I wouldn't call that "very wonderful". I've heard of that joke and it just sound awful and disgusting and I would be pissed (for lack of a better word) if someone ever did that to me. Also, Mrs. Tate is walking into some dangerous territory by telling the girls that. I hope she at least checks the toilet before she uses it in the morning! 

And that is The Baby-sitters Remember! Cue Sarah McLachlan singing "I Will Remember You".