BSC #12: Claudia and the New Girl

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

Back Cover: Claudia has always been the most outrageous kid in her class.. until Ashley Wyeth comes along, Ashley's really different - she wears hippie clothes, has six holes in her ears, and and is the most fantastic artist Claudia has ever met.

Ashely says Claudia has artistic talent, too. She thinks Claudia should spend more time on her "calling" and forget about the Baby-sitters Club: It's just a waste of time.

The Baby-sitters are sick of Ashley Wyeth, and they think Claudia's a traitor. Claudia's got to decide: either the Baby-sitters Club or the new girl - one of them's got to go!

It's still the start of the school year, and Claudia is already falling behind. But even so, she still makes time for baby-sitting and art. One day, a new girl joins Claudia's English class. Ashley Wyeth dresses weirdly (ie: like a hippie instead of the '80s), but Claudia soon discovers that Ashley is an artist, the real deal. Ashley takes an interest in Claudia's art, and soon the two become fast friends.

Claudia's never had an artist friend before, and she gets swept up by Ashley's talent and big ideas. Ashley's just moved from Chicago, where she studied art at Keyes, a real art school whose teachers actually sell and display their art. A far cry from small town Stoneybrooke. Ashley is very serious about her craft and thus dedicates all her time to it - and she thinks Claudia should too!

Claudia is torn between all the other things she loves, and spending time with Ashley and art. Inadvertently, Claudia starts missing Club meetings and consequently does less baby-sitting. She starts falling even further behind in school. The girls are all mad at Claudia for ditching them and not being a real friend. But Ashley keeps insisting that Claudia just needs to focus more on her art. Since Claudia loves art, she keeps going along. Ashley has all this experience and talent and ideas - so she must know best, right?

All the while, there's an art show contest going on, which is what really fuels Ashley and Claudia's quest for art in this book. They're going to create sculptures out of clay. Ashley decides that she wants to sculpt something unusual, an inanimate object, and goes around Stoneybrooke with Claudia, eventually deciding to sculpt a fire hydrant. After a couple of weeks of searching, Claudia still hasn't decided on anything, and is feeling discouraged and uninspired. The more Ashley tries to help and push her ideas on Claudia, the worse Claudia feels.

Eventually Claudia realizes that Ashley isn't really much of a friend, that she just likes Claudia for her art. Claudia also realizes that while she loves art, she also loves her friends and family and baby-sitting, and doesn't want to give everything up for only one thing. Maybe eventually, but not right now. Claudia and Ashley fight, and Claudia goes back to baby-sit the Rodowskys. It's watching Jackie and his infectious smile that inspires Claudia, and Claudia decides that it's Jackie she's going to sculpt!

Unfortunately, it's too late, and Claudia runs out of time for the contest. However, Mrs Baehr enters Claudia's work as a Work-In-Progress piece, where it wins an honourable mention. Claudia makes up with the girls, and everything ends well.

There's no real subplot in this one, but we get more of Dawn's brother Jeff acting out. Yay continuity!

Random Thoughts

• Fun fact: I have 6 holes in my ears. Well, one of my ears. The other one only has 2 haha
• Claudia looks like she's about to be kidnapped on the cover. She doesn't look conflicted or annoyed, she looks downright "no" haha
• I understand the girls being annoyed/hurt by Claudia, but I think they should have tried talking to her first instead of doing all that mean stuff. Also, they were way unnecessarily mean about Ashley. Especially whenever they talked about how weird she dressed, considering what Claudia and Stacey usually wear. I can understand them being annoyed by the fact that she seems to only talk to Claudia and how she tries to dominate/change her, but yeah.
• People cite this as the start of when the girls started to get really creepy and cliquey and obsessive with each other. I agree. Especially when Claudia feels so guilty for even just eating lunch without the club. I think that if the girls want to do something else during lunch, they should be allowed to without feeling guilty or being ostracized. Especially since Claudia was like, "Hey, sorry, but I won't be eating with you today." I could understand if she stopped eating with them every day, or didn't even talk to them about it, but the first time she does, Claudia immediately feels like she's done something wrong.
• I like how much they reference Claudia needing and seeking help with school. I don't remember that in the later books. Here, she actually has a period in the resource room, which is very realistic (their schedules and the way their classes are organized are far more similar to the way they are in high school here; the only way that they're similar to our middle schools is the number periods they have in a day). I miss how realistic Claudia and her school problems used to be portrayed.
• I love the ongoing continuity and arc of Dawn's brother acting out. It lasts a surprisingly long time, to the point where I'm interested in seeing where this goes (even though I already know).
• It seems really weird to me that Claudia would want to sculpt Jackie. Isn't she just trying sculpture for the first time? Why choose something so complicated as a person?? And why the fuck Jackie?? That has always bothered me
• Their art teacher, Mrs Baehr, doesn't seem very supportive or open-minded. I think sculpting an inanimate object is awesome!
• While I knew what "inanimate" meant when I first read this book, it was this book that really cemented the word in my mind and brought it to full consciousness. I had always thought it was a fancy big vocabulary word, the kind I tried to avoid using around my peers and only used around adults. But if it's in a Baby-Sitters Club book, it must be a normal, common word! haha

BSC #11: Kristy and the Snobs

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

Back Cover: Kristy's mom got married again last summer and now Kristy and her family live in a new neighbourhood. The kids there aren't very friendly. In fact, they're... well, snobs. They criticize Kristy's clothes. They make fun of the Baby-sitters Club. And worst of all, they laugh at Louie, Kristy's pet collie, who's going blind. Nobody does that and gets away with it!

Kristy's fighting mad - and she's not going to put up with it much longer. If anybody can beat a Snob Attack, it's the Baby-sitters Club. And that's just what they're going to do!

This is our first look at Kristy's life in her new house. We're still early in the school year, and despite having lived at Watson's now for a couple of months, Kristy has made zero effort to get to know her neighbours. Her brothers have all made friends, but Kristy's been avoiding everyone. She thinks they're all snobs!

One day, the school bus is running late, so Kristy actually sees some of her neighbours waiting for their own bus for their private school. Later, when she's taking Louie out for a walk, she actually runs into a few of them and words are exchanged. Things heat up, and a rivalry starts between Kristy and Shannon Kilbourne, the neighbour across the street who is Kristy's age. Shannon and her sister used to do all the baby-sitting, but now Kristy's around, and Kristy is in charge!

In the last book, Kristy had distributed fliers for the Baby-sitters Club, and so now she's getting calls. Among the new clients are the Delaneys, who Shannon usually baby-sits for. The Delaneys really are spoiled little snobs, but I think that's more because of their age and up-bringing than anything. It's definitely not indicative of the neighbourhood as a whole, but Kristy just sees it as further proof that she does not like or want anything to do with anyone over there.

The subplot in this book the deteriorating health of Louie, the old Thomas collie. He'd been slowing down a lot lately, but this book is when he starts to really have problems. He starts going blind and walking into things. His legs start to act up so he kinda limps or can't get up or walk around as fast as he used to. He seems slow and in pain, whining a lot and not getting up. It all culminates one day when they walk in on him to find his back legs seemingly paralyzed, and him in a panic. They decide that it'll be best for him if they just put him down.

During this, Kristy learns to deal with the Delaneys (thanks to Stacey's psychological tactics) and comes to terms with Shannon. It turns out that Shannon is just jealous of the Club and of Kristy coming in and trying to take all the baby-sitting jobs away. They talk it out, and come away as friends, with Shannon giving Kristy's family a new puppy to replace Louie. David Michael names the puppy Shannon.

A minor point in this one is that we start to see Jeff, Dawn's little brother, act out and express his desire to go back to California to live with their dad.

Random Thoughts

• I do not remember reading this book at all. Like, I must have. I know I have. But I'm guessing I've only read it once, because yeah... this book did elicit strong feelings or memories in me haha
• It's really Kristy's fault that this all started. I don't entirely blame her, but yeah. She had all these preconceived notions about her new neighbours and didn't think twice about how snobby she was being. If she had taken the time to introduce herself, she and Shannon probably could have sorted out the whole baby-sitting thing a lot sooner!
• Again, I hate Karen Brewer. Jfc that girl is annoying. I would not want to live with her. I like how Kristy describes her and her older brothers having enough of her antics when she gets dropped off
• It's nice to see Charlie and Sam playing with Andrew at the end of the book. We don't really see much of those two, so I always like the little snapshots of them being good brothers and spending time with Kristy and the kids
• The deterioration of Louie's health seems very sudden to me, but I've never had a pet before, so who knows? I know for a few books he's been getting slower and generally old, but in this one, it seems like he went from "slow and old" to "so much pain he needs to be put down" in two weeks
• Because I read a LOT of the Baby-Sitters Little Sister books before I ever started on reading the BSC when I was younger, I kinda always forget that Louie was a big deal. The Little Sister series starts up in like, another 10 books or so, so every time Karen describes her family, she always described Shannon
• I'll admit, I got a little misty-eyed when reading about Louie's deteriorating health. I was surprised at myself haha

BSC #10: Logan Likes Mary Anne!

Front Cover: Mary Anne has a crush - on a boy baby-sitter!

Back Cover: It used to be that Mary Anne had to wear her hair in braids and ask her dad before she did anything. But not anymore. Mary Anne's been growing up... and the Baby-sitters Club members aren't the only ones who've noticed.

Logan Bruno likes Mary Anne! he has a dreamy southern accent, he's awfully cute - and he wants to join the Baby-sitters Club.

The Baby-sitters aren't sure Logan will make a good Club member. And Mary Anne thinks she's too shy for Logan. Life in the Baby-sitters Club has never been this complicated - or this fun!

It's time for school to start again, and the girls are now in the eighth grade... for the first time! Yay! Mary Anne is excited. She has a new wardrobe and newfound confidence from her adventures over the summer. She also just got fitted for her first bra. However, she also doesn't quite feel ready, since she is still 12 years old. Her birthday is about halfway through September.

At school, Mary Anne discovers that a new boy has just moved to town: Logan Bruno. He looks exactly like Cam Geary, her favourite celebrity. Logan is in Stacey's English class, but he's nice and friendly to all the girls. Right away Stacey can see that Logan and Mary Anne like each other, so being the good friend she is, Stacey tries to introduce them and get things going.

Throughout all this, the Club is busier than ever, so the girls consider asking Logan to join the group. Even though he does a great job at the Rodowskys (our introduction to Jackie!), everyone just finds it so awkward, because the girls and Logan don't know how to act around each other in a close intimate setting like Claudia's room. A lot of their stories and conversations trail off when someone or other decides that they can't finish that thought in mixed company. Eventually it's decided that Logan will just be an associate member: someone the girls can call on in a pinch, but who won't actually have to attend meetings.

Another subplot is that it's Mary Anne's birthday soon. Stacey wants to throw Mary Anne a surprise party, but she knows that Mary Anne wouldn't like being the centre of attention. So instead, Stacey decides to just throw a regular party, a back-to-school party, and then just surprise Mary Anne with a cake. However she and the girls get all excited again and carried away, and it ends up turning into a surprise birthday party anyways (except without everyone hiding and jumping out). Mary Anne is understandably overwhelmed and panics, running away from the party.

The girls think Mary Anne is mad at them, and Mary Anne thinks that the girls are mad at her. When she calms down, she realizes that the girls were just trying to do something nice for her, and that she ruined it. They all talk and everything gets sorted out and they're the best of friends again.

Mary Anne ends up getting a kitten for her birthday from her dad, and she and Logan are better than ever.

Random Thoughts:

• They "earn pretty much money" through the Club. Editing fail, haha
• I love how Logan mentions that he's got other guy friends who would be interested in being associate members... and then nothing ever comes of it. It's too bad. It would be cool for the girls to have had a handful of guys they could call on in a pinch. But I suppose as the club grew, the chances of there being an evening that needed more than 9 baby-sitters would be slim, especially since I'm sure a lot of people had regular baby-sitters who were not club members (like Erica Blumberg)
• Like Mary Anne, I too would have hated having a surprise party in my honour. I used to fantasize about it, but it was always such a stupid fantasy, because I would imagine a surprise party like what you see in movies and TV, but I hate social gatherings that are more than 10 people (and even then, it has to be like, 10 people I know very well and are comfortable with), so yeah haha I think the girls should have just had a surprise party with just the 5 of them. I would love that.
• I like how at the end of this book, Mary Anne and Logan aren't suddenly magically boyfriend and girlfriend. Yeah, they're hanging out, and they talk on the phone, and they've gone to a dance together, but they haven't actually said the word "boyfriend/girlfriend" yet. I like it.
• I also love how instead of having their Friday evening meeting, the girls decide instead to get ready for the dance, and just pay Janine to answer the phone and take the messages haha that would have never happened in the later books. I can't remember if they ever end up getting Claudia an answering machine. I feel like they must have. If not, that definitely would have been a good investment haha
• At the birthday party, Logan and Mary Anne are having a really good heart-to-heart, and Mary Anne acknowledges to the reader that it's the first time since they've started talking and hanging out that she's felt comfortable. Logan picks up on this, and some of the stuff he says just... rubs me the wrong way:

"Well, when I first met you, I liked you okay, but you were so quiet and shy... If you could just open up more - I mean, be the way you are right now - people would have a much easier time getting to know you. I almost didn't ask you to the dance, you know... But you have a sense of humor, too, which is nice. The only thing is, sometimes you're too sensitive. I really wasn't sure things would work out between us."

Uh, dude, you've only known each other for like, 3 weeks. I think it's a little early to be passing judgments on her. I mean, I get where he's coming from, but yeah. It's not like Mary Anne is going, "I wish I had more friends! I don't understand why people don't like me and don't talk to me more!" She's kinda happy the way she is. Anyways, long-time readers know that eventually this becomes a bit of a recurring problem, Logan assuming that Mary Anne wants/needs things

• This is when the girls stop eating with their separate groups of friends and start eating together. This eventually becomes obsessive and unhealthy haha

BSC #9: The Ghost at Dawn's House

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

Back Cover: Dawn has always thought there was a secret passage hidden in her house. But she never thought there was a ghost... until now. All kinds of creepy things go on whenever Dawn's at home. There are even spooky noises behind her bedroom wall!

Dawn is sure there's a ghost in her house. And so are the other Baby-sitters. But they're so busy with their baby-sitting jobs that they hardly have time for a ghost hunt. Will Dawn and her friends ever solve the mystery, or will Dawn have to share her house... with a ghost?

It's the last two weeks of summer, and the girls are all reunited after their adventures in the last book. Dawn is back from her vacation in California, and she decides that now is the perfect time for her to really dedicate herself to the search for a secret passage in their old farmhouse. We're treated to several chapters of Dawn scaring herself silly, between the search, reading ghost stories, and the stormy weather.

But then one day, when trying to find a place to read in the barn, Dawn stumbles upon a hidden trap door. Following the passageway, Dawn finds that it leads straight to her own bedroom! She's excited, and continues to explore it periodically. However, Dawn starts to notice things: things start to show up and then disappear in the passageway. But if Dawn is the only who knows about the passage, how is this happening? The only thing Dawn can think of is this: her house must be haunted!

The subplot in this book is actually connected to the main plot: over at the Pikes, Nicky is feeling left out, because the triplets always want to hang out together and their own friends, leaving Nicky alone with all the girls. Mr and Mrs Pike decide to let Nicky assert his independence by letting him wander around the neighbourhood alone, so long as he adheres to a 2-block radius. Despite Nicky insisting that he does, Dawn can never find him whenever she sits for the Pikes and goes out looking for him (after the events of Buddy from book 5, she suitably sensitive about this). Eventually though, Dawn realizes that her own house is within a 2-block radius and concludes that Nicky must be using her passage. Sure enough, he has been. She says he can continue to do so, and everything ends well. However, Dawn still isn't entirely convinced that her house isn't haunted.

Another thing to note in this book is that we meet the Perkinses for the first time. They moved into Kristy's old house, next to Mary Anne.

Random Thoughts:

• I have always loved Dawn on the cover of this. I love her outfit (I would totes wear something like that; back then AND now!) and I just think she looks super pretty and realistic. The cover also reminds me of the mystery/horror novels I used to read as a child, specifically Betty Ren Wright's The Dollhouse Murders.
• ...yes, I admit it: I just Googled the book Dawn is reading at the beginning Ghosts and Spooks, Chills and Thrills: Stories NOT to Be Read After Dark. It sounded good! I was hoping it'd be real haha it's exactly the kind of book I would have read at her age.
• I always imagined Dawn to be one of the taller girls, but either AMM has no concept of height, or Mary Anne and Kristy are MIDGETS, and Dawn is just as short as them: "Although I'd only fallen about five feet, it felt like five thousand. I was in darkness, but above me I could see a square of light". By grade 8, I was 5'2", and I pretty much stopped growing at that point (only gained a cumulative inch over the next 3 years, so I settled in at 5'3"). In grade 8, I was average height for the girls. There were a few girls a few inches taller than me, and a few girls a few inches shorter than me. But I don't recall anyone being much shorter than 4'11.
• I love Dawn's description of "Disneyland Daddy". It's so perfect: "...a guy who hasn't seen his kinds in months and feels really guilty. Guilty enough to take time off from work and give them a whirlwind vacation of beaches, amusement parks, shopping, dinners in restaurants, movies, treats, surprises... It was spectacular - except for the fact that a Disneyland Daddy doesn't feel like your father anymore. But I guess he's better than no father at all."
• I love the Perkinses. I think they're my favourite of the kids' charges. They are so not realistic kids at all, but they're adorable and I love them.
• We're also introduced to the Trip-Man in this book. While I don't entirely find it weird that Sharon is dating someone other than Richard (especially since the Trip-Man is the son of her parents' friends), I do find the overall timeline of everything to be weird. She essentially dates him off and on up until like, 6 months before finally marrying Richard. Maybe adult relationships are different, especially when it's a second marriage to a guy you already dated/knew for a long time earlier in your life, but it just seems sudden to me.
• I have always pronounced Myriah Perkins's name like Mariah Carey's. It has never occurred to me to pronounce it any other way. But in the past few years, through discovering fandom and what not, it came to my attention that it could theoretically be pronounced like "Maria" (think West Side Story and Sound of Music).

[Although I read and reviewed one of the original copies of this book, I currently also own one of the updated copies, with the Notebook Pages in the back.]

Author's Note

AMM talks about how as a child, she was obsessed with finding a secret passage in her house (even though it was a new house at the time!) and how she loved ghost stories. She decided to give these traits to one of her characters, and thus Dawn was born. AMM figures that her readers would love reading about things that interest her as a little girl. Again, we get a mention of how much she loved Nancy Drew and mysteries.

Notebook Pages


Dawn's new house is big and spooky. The spookiest place I've ever been is the old jail in Ottawa, Canada, that's now a hostel

It gave me the creeps because even though the lower half has been renovated to be a hostel, the upper half is still creepy as fuck, with the original jail cells and deathrow on display

The spookiest thing that ever happened to me was when I first moved into my house. I lived alone, and it was my first time not living with my parents. The house made all sorts of weird sounds, but the scariest thing was when I heard a crashing sound in my backyard. I woke up the next morning to find a giant weathered wood plank in my backyard. I have no idea where it came from

When this happened, I did nothing haha I just told myself that the plank must have always been there, that the wind just knocked it around, that everything was normal

One person who really scares me is Chuckie

This person scares me because he seems completely normal, wears button up shirts, mild-mannered and polite... but then every now and then... when you least expect it... he'll say something very disturbing or very not accepted by society... and he'll say it in a totally nonchalant, matter-of-fact tone, and then carry on like he hadn't said anything weird.

If I wanted to scare this person back, I would do nothing; I don't think Chuckie is scarable haha  

Dawn likes to read scary books. The scariest book I ever read was I don't know if they were the scariest books I've ever read, but Michael Grant's Gone series has always stuck with me and haunted me and once gave me nightmares haha

My favourite kinds of books are young adult sci-fi and horror

I like them because of the escapist factor. The things that happen in those books will never happen to me in real-life. I like being able to use my imagination

Dawn has a sleepover at her house. I've been to not that many, but a few sleepovers.

The most fun I've ever had a sleepover was when my friends and I did the 30 Hour Famine in high school

During Dawn's sleepover, the girls tell scary ghost stories. The scariest ghost story I've ever heard was about children. Children are always scary haha    

BSC #8: Boy-Crazy Stacey

Front Cover: Who needs baby-sitting when there are boys around!

Back Cover: Stacey and Mary Anne are mother's helpers for the Pike family for two weeks at the New Jersey shore. Things are great in Sea City: There's a gorgeous old house, a boardwalk, plenty of sun and sand... and the cutest boy Stacey has ever seen!

Mary Anne knows that Scott the lifeguard is way too old for Stacey, but Stacey's in love. She fixes Scott's lunch, fetches his sodas, and spends all her time wtih him... instead of with the Pike kids. Suddenly, Mary Anne's doing the work of two baby-sitters, and she doesn't like it one bit. But how can she tell Stacey that Scott just isn't interested - without breaking Stacey's heart?

So, this is not one of my favourites. There's nothing really wrong with it, but not a whole lot happens really.

This book picks up exactly where the last one left off: the Pikes are going on a two-week trip to Sea City, only this time they want some time to themselves, so they invite two sitters along. For various reasons, Mary Anne and Stacey are the only ones available. Both girls are very excited, because it's their first trip away from home (Mary Anne) since getting diagnosed with diabetes (Stacey).

The trip starts off pretty well. Mary Anne is all excited because it's her first two-piece bathing suit, but then she gets all self-conscious about it. Stacey's a good friend though and assures her that she looks fine (after telling the readers that Mary Anne doesn't quite fill it out as nicely as she, Stacey, does haha). They get down to the beach, and right away Stacey sees the lifeguards. She falls in love with Scott, who is 18.

From there, it's just Stacey obsessing over him. She and Mary Anne take the kids to various places, and we're treated to chapters of them eating at the Burger Garden and playing miniature golf. But mostly, it's Stacey obsessing over Scott. She ignores the kids and Mary Anne, and then can't figure out why Mary Anne is so pissed. She decides that Mary Anne is jealous, because the only person Mary Anne has to talk to is a dorky guy mother's helper. She also decides that Mary Anne shouldn't be so mad, because she does have the help from the male mother's helper, Alex.

Scott gives Stacey his lifeguarding whistle, and Stacey takes it as a sign that he loves her too. On their first Friday night, Stacey spends all of the girls' free time shopping around for a gift for Scott. She ends up blowing all her money on a box of chocolates. Of course, immediately after she does, she and Mary Anne run into him kissing a "much older girl" (who Stacey later admits is actually Scott's age). Stacey is heartbroken and runs off.

She spends the next week dreading running into Scott, but eventually decides it's not worth it. She's not entirely mad, because he is her first love, but she's over it. What helps is that Alex has a cousin named Toby, who Mary Anne arranges to go on a double-date with. Of course, Stacey instantly falls in love again.

Despite the fact that she ignored her for most of the week, Stacey and Mary Anne do end up a bit closer, and Mary Anne has her first encounter with love too. Of course, Mary Anne is a lot more practical, and knows that it doesn't really mean anything in the long run, but she's just happy for the time and memories of Alex, and that they'll be penpals now.

We're also treated a chapter from Kristy, where she baby-sits for Karen and Andrew. Fuck, I do not remember them being in these books this much. They decide to wash Watson's rich fancy car (with Watson's permission), and get all settled with soap, hoses and sponges. However, David Michael was at Linny's place with Louie, but Louie gets injured and it looks like he needs stitches. Kristy tries calling everyone she knows with a car in a panic, leaving Karen and Andrew outside with the car and the car washing supplies. It should have been fine, except that Karen decides that sponges aren't good enough, and ends up running back into the house to grab the steel wool that Watson uses on the pots. This of course ruins the paint on the car. In a surprise turn of events (this totes wouldn't have happened in the later books), Watson is actually angry at Kristy for having paid closer attention to the kids.

Random Thoughts:

• I love how Kristy was reading People magazine at the beginning of this book.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: all the references to the Jersey Shore (the actual location, not the show haha)
• I love the way Stacey looks on the cover. She looks a little older than 13, maybe closer to 14 or 15, but yeah. She looks young and innocent and it's awesome. Scott on the other hand, doesn't look 18. He looks like he's 25! haha
• I think this book would have been way more interesting from Mary Anne's perspective
• The job description makes it sound like Mr and Mrs Pike would be going to the beach with the kids, but they wanted the sitters around so that they could occasionally take an afternoon or evening off, or in case the kids wanted to split up and they needed extra hands on deck for different excursions. But it seems like Mr and Mrs Pike spend the whole time inside the cottage, essentially meaning that Stacey and Mary Anne are working the whole time.
• We find out a lot about the Pikes in this book, which I suppose for first-time readers, especially if reading in chronological order or as they're being published, would be exciting. But since I've read Super Special #10 [Sea City, Here We Come!] a million times, as well as just other books in the series, this wasn't that interesting to me.
• I'm not so sure what the big deal on bathing suits is. I wear a two-piece, but I wear swim trunks on the bottom. My two best friends both wear one pieces, also with swim trunks. We like to cover up haha our lack of skin doesn't make us any less adult, I don't think haha
• I'm surprised that the Pikes can afford to go to Sea City every summer. Apparently they'd been going every summer since Mallory was 2, to which I'm like "omfg why???" At that point, Mallory would have been 2, which is young for a family vacation, but okay. BUT, the triplets would have been 1 years old AND Mrs Pike most likely would have been pregnant with Vanessa. I cannot imagine trying to go on vacation with 4 kids in diapers WHILE pregnant. And it just gets worse from there. I think if the youngest kid is 2, then trips are feasible. 
• Also, the house they rent is HUGE. The boys all sleep in one room, the girls in two different rooms (same arrangements that they have at home, actually), and then Mary Anne and Stacey share another room, but are told that if they don't like it, they can choose another one. With so many rooms, I'm surprised the kids would want to share. This is probably their only chance to have their own rooms. Or at least split up the boys or something.

BSC #7: Claudia and Mean Janine

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

Back Cover: Claudia's sister is mean! She's too busy being smart to be nice. Even Claudia's grandmother, Mimi, can't get close to Janine. Plus, Mean Janine puts down the Baby-sitters Club. And that makes Claudia MAD!

This summer the members of the Baby-sitters Club are starting a play group in the neighbourhood. Claudia can't wait for it to begin. But then Mimi has a stroke... and the whole summer changes.

Now Claudia has to spend her time "Mimi-sitting" instead of baby-sitting. And things with Janine are going from bad to worse. One of the Kishi sisters has to start being nicer. And it's sure not going to be Claudia!

So this book picks up right after the last book. It's still July, and the wedding has just happened. Kristy decides that since last week and the group baby-sitting went so well, they should hold a play-group for their charges. After some discussion, it's decided that they'll hold it at Stacey's house, because her mom will most likely be home most of the time.

The play-group is all subplot to what happens with Claudia and the Kishis: Mimi has a stroke. A few chapters of the book are dedicated to Mimi being in the hospital and the family not knowing what's going to happen, while the rest of the book is dedicated to Mimi now being home and starting her recovery.

Claudia thinks she's to blame for Mimi's stroke, since she had just been fighting with Mimi before it happened. Of course, that's not true; the book foreshadows Mimi's ill health for a couple of chapters. But still, Claudia feels guilty. So she quickly jumps up and volunteers to spend all this time with Mimi. Since she does, the Kishis decide that there's no reason to bother Janine and make her miss school, so that's that.

All throughout the book, Claudia is very bratty and petty towards Janine. She's resentful of the fact that Janine never helps out and gets to go about her life without any interruptions. It's very apparent though that Janine feels left out. Their parents keep pushing Janine towards her schoolwork, so no one ever wants to interrupt her to include her in things, such as making dinner or taking care of Mimi. Whenever Janine does try to converse with Claudia, Claudia just snaps at her and tells her to get back to her computer. So obviously, Janine does.

Eventually, Claudia and Janine have a discussion and they agree to try harder to relate to each other and to not ostracize Janine so much. Of course, this happens a bajillion times over the course of the series, and the two never seem to be any closer each time haha

The book ends off setting us up for the next one: Mrs Pike has called, requesting two sitters to come with the family for a two-week vacation to Sea City as mother's helpers. Stacey and Mary Anne are the only two who can go, so they're very excited. Sea City, here we come!

Random Thoughts:

• I feel bad for Janine. Claudia is totally a brat to her.
• I would be all for a mini-series of companion books from Janine's perspective. And Charlie Thomas's perspective too, for that matter. Maybe throw Sam in there. But yeah. Definitely a series of books from Charlie and Janine's perspectives. But especially Janine. While I didn't LOVE her as a child, I never understood exactly why she was so hated by the girls in the story. Now that I'm older, I'm even more convinced that she's misunderstood and probably secretly the most awesome person in the series ever haha
• Kristy's play-group idea is reasonable. Again, we're still in reasonable territory, where the girls are realistic and aren't kid-obsessed. They only hold the play group for a few hours (not all day), only a couple of mornings a week (not every day), and only for two weeks (not the entire summer).
• I actually got confused and forgot that at this point in the series, Stacey's parents are still together haha I was wondering why Mrs McGill would be home during the day, thinking, "Shouldn't she be working? How does she support herself and Stacey??"
• Fun fact: Claudia is now thirteen. I think this is the first time a character is mentioned as no longer being twelve
• Mallory is also now 11