BSC #57: Dawn Saves the Planet

 Tagline: She baby-sits, she recycles - she's Super Dawn!

Dawn thinks studying ecology is so cool. For a science project, she and Stacey are even teaching an ecology class to some of their baby-sitting charges. It's fun to get kids excited about cleaning up the earth.

But Dawn isn't through yet. She wants to start a recycling center at SMS. The Baby-sitters and most of the students are all for it, but Dawn needs a lot of help. And lately she's been so busy lecturing people about being environmentally responsible that no one can stand being around her!

Poor Dawn. She's trying to do a good thing - but she's driving everyone crazy!

So we're in Dawn's science class, and her teacher, Mrs Gonzalez, asks if the students think they can save the planet. Dawn, of course, thinks that yes, they can.Their teacher agrees, and assigns them to do an independent study project, where they tackle some sort of global/environmental issue, and try to figure out ways to solve it. Dawn can't wait. She's got all sorts of ideas, and can't get settled on one topic/issue. Stacey, who's in a different science class with Mrs Gonzalez, unfortunately can't think of any. Dawn isn't too worried, saying that they have plenty of time to think of something.

The next day though, Dawn gets some inspiration while sitting for the Barretts. She had checked out some books about ecology and marine life from the library, and starts telling them about how they can save dolphins and other sea creatures. Seeing their enthusiasm, Dawn decides that maybe she could start an after-school ecology club/class for their sitting charges, and use that for her project. Dawn, realizing how big this might be, recruits Stacey, and they get permission from Mrs. Gonzalez to do their project together.

Things get off to a great start. Dawn and Stacey get together and start organizing and planning their curriculum. It's decided that they'll do 6 weeks of classes, and call a number of clients to get them involved. They even agree on a final task, which will be a Green Fair, where their clients will present their own ideas for saving the planet. All in all, Dawn and Stacey are pretty stoked.

Their first class is a success. They do a general overview of recycling and how the Earth isn't as shiny and as clean as it may seem. They teach the children that if they don't take care of the Earth, the Earth might not be around for much longer. They then conclude with an experiment, where they bury an apple core, a piece of lettuce, some Styrofoam and plastic packaging in Stacey's backyard. The girls tell the kids that they'll dig it all up in a few weeks to see what's "good garbage" and what's "bad garbage". They then take the kids home and consider everything to be a success.

Dawn really gets into things, and does all sorts of extra reading. With her mind full of ideas and facts and figures, she ends up going to the next Club meeting with only one thing on her mind: recycling. Turns out that Stoneybrook only has one giant central recycling bin, and it's next to the courthouse. She wants to make the middle school another drop-off location. Everywhere Dawn looks, she sees how wasteful things are and how many more things can be recycled. The Club members laugh it off and mock her a bit for being so dramatic. Dawn gets frustrated, and doubles down on her efforts to raise awareness.

We're then treated to a chapter of Jessi and Mallory baby-sitting for the Pikes. Despite only Vanessa and Nicky being enrolled in Dawn and Stacey's class, the rest of household (including the triplets!) really take the words to heart, and start a "Green Patrol", trying to enforce all sorts of good and ecologically friendly habits. Unfortunately, Jessi and Mallory don't learn fast enough, and are forced to go to "Green School", where they have to recite the rules for saving the planet over and over. This definitely sours them on Dawn and all things ecological.

Meanwhile, Dawn has come up with a complete and comprehensive plan on how to turn SMS into a neighbourhood recycling hub, that will then bring things down to the courthouse for everyone. She runs it by Mrs. Gonzalez, who is 100% supportive of Dawn. Dawn then has to run it by Mr. Kingbridge, the vice-principal. He's definitely interested in what Dawn has to say, and is very impressed by all her planning and foresight, but he's not ready to run with something until she has more support. He gives her a week and a half to get the support of the student body, before he'll agree to move forward with her project.

Dawn gets Mary Anne to help her make a sign and recruit students the next day. Things seem like they're going well. Dawn starts by talking to Erica Blumberg, who's a good student and heavily involved in extra-curriculars. Erica is open to the idea... until Dawn shouts at her for not recyling her soda can. The problem is, there's no place to recycle it! Dawn soon starts lecturing everyone over everything, and as MA points out, alienates people and turns them off from her cause. MA finally gets fed up, and leaves Dawn, citing homework to do. Dawn's all confused though. She doesn't understand how being passionate about something that's so important is a bad thing.

Dawn starts getting progressively more and more bossy. At one of the later eco-classes, Claudia attends with Charlotte, and Claudia sees first-hand how over-the-top Dawn is. Dawn barely lets Stacey get a word in, and kills the children's enthusiasm by chastising them for not spreading the word about recycling. Stacey and Dawn had originally planned on getting the kids to make the flyers, but since she's there, Dawn asks if Claudia can do it, citing that it's more important for the posters to look good. Later on, Stacey calls Claudia to complain. Claudia doesn't think it can be that bad; afterall, Dawn is passionate about such a good cause! However Stacey tells Claudia that if it weren't for the kids, she'd have quit the project a long time ago and have done something on her own. She worries that this project is killing her friendship with Dawn.

Meanwhile, Dawn continues her efforts to get the SMS recyling program going. She spends her week and a half grilling the entire student body, and finally it comes down to them filling out an anonymous survey about their interest. Not only will the survey greenlight the project, but it also asks them to name a person to run it all, with Dawn and Mrs Gonzalez listed (and then an "other" open for suggestions). At the end of the day, all the votes are tallied, and it turns out that yes, the students are definitely interested in recycling! However, to Dawn's dismay, they also voted Mrs Gonzalez, not her, to be head of it all. At first Dawn rationalizes that it's because they'd rather have an adult in charge, but eventually she overhears some of the students talking about how obnoxious she's been lately and how they can't stand her. This really hurts Dawn's feelings, and she breaks down in the bathroom and cries.

Dawn then completely retreats from the SMS recycling program. The day for the grand opening comes, and she hasn't helped at all, nor was she interviewed for the paper or given much credit. All in all, Dawn feels pretty crummy about everything. However, she doesn't fully learn her lesson, as she still bosses Stacey around about their ecology class and is completely overbearing with the Club, trying to get them involved in the Green Fair. Finally, the girls have had enough, and tell Dawn exactly what's going on. Dawn gets sad again, but the girls point out that she had good intentions and that they love that she's passionate: she just needs to tone it down a bit and stop making everyone feel like a criminal. Dawn agrees, and they all make up.

The final event of the story is the Green Fair. After a few hiccups (which really, when you involve that many kids, something's bound to go wrong; overall nothing disastrous), things start really picking up. All the parents are impressed by how enthusiastic the kids are, and how much they've learned. Mrs Gonzalez shows up to support Dawn and Stacey. The kids raise a lot of money and a lot of awareness. Dawn and Stacey decide to donate all the money raised to the new SMS recycling program.

Lastly, Dawn and Stacey turn in their final reports for their projects. To show their own individual work, they each wrote separate personal essays for their own reports, detailing what they learned from the project. Stacey writes about becoming more aware, and wanting to continue studying ecology in the future. Dawn writes about how while recycling is important, she learned even more about herself and how to deal with her passions and others. Mrs. Gonzalez is impressed, and tells Dawn that she knows that Dawn is disappointed by how the SMS recycling program all went down. She offers to let Dawn be co-leader, provided that the students agree with a vote. Dawn doesn't think they will, but Mrs Gonzalez says that Dawn's learned a lot over the past two months, and that she has no doubt that Dawn will be a better leader for it. Dawn walks away from the whole experience with an A, and a new outlook on life.


Random Thoughts:

• I have never read this one before! But I know that it generally involves Dawn starting with a good idea/intentions, but making a giant nuisance of herself haha
• Dawn looks sooooo snooty on the cover! Her nose is literally in the air!
• Huh. On the re-print editions (the ones with their faces going down the left-hand side of the book, the way all the later ones were published by default), they kept everything the same, EXCEPT Dawn. They put in a completely different Dawn. She's in front of the exact same kids, pointing to the exact same chart (looks like they kept her hands!) but they changed her. Now she's looking at the kids, and she's smiling, and she's in an outfit that I more associate with Dawn (still jeans, but now a sleeveless button-up tank in blue).
• Also: I never read the book synopsis on the back before I start reading these. I'm very glad I didn't this time! It really gives everything away!
• This one has TWO ghost writers!
• I love how even in the early '90s, climate change and how much we're fucking up the Earth was already a thing. It's been nearly 3 decades later, and we're still having these discussions and debates and assigning these projects to our kids. WHY HAVEN'T WE LEARNED FROM DAWN AND THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB???
• They write Dawn to be sooooooooooo smug even right from the get-go. I'm already not looking forward to reading this one.
• Whoa. Dawn describes Kristy as having chin-length hair in this one. Most of the books just mention the hair colour and that it's always in a ponytail. I was always under the impression that it was at least shoulder-length. Chin length seems super short!
• Dawn also describes Stacey as very thin, citing her diabetes as the reason for her thinness. Now, I'm not an expert, and I realize that there have been great medical advances in the past 20 years... but every teen I know who has diabetes (and who is treating it properly with diet and injections and/or whatever else their doctor prescribes) is pretty average. Some of them are heavier than others, some are thin, but they're generally no different than the other kids, other than that they seem unusually pale at times or tired. No one is ever "Omg you're sooooo skinny! Diabetes man!"
• Definitely a sign of the times: I'm not surprised that Stoneybrook only has one recycling facility, but I am surprised that people need to bring their recyclables there themselves. I was part of an ecology club in my elementary school when I was in grade 1, and I think that's when there was a big push for public recycling, which was 1995. I don't think I'd recycle, nor my parents would, if our recycling wasn't just automatically picked up by the city with the garbage. I'm all for sorting my own shit and separating the garbage from the green bin from the black bin from the blue bin. But if I had to drive to dispose of all of it? Yeahhhhh... that wouldn't be happening. 
• I feel a bit bad for Dawn, in that she's really passionate about this thing, and no one seems to care. Furthermore, it's not like she's being passionate over a boy band or a fad: taking care of the planet is important! For everyone! But at the same time, she goes about it the wrong way. However, she's 13, so this is fairly realistic.
• I can't believe the Pikes regularly and normally use paper cups and plates! Wtf!
• I have to admit, I'm really impressed with Dawn's plan. I don't think I could come up with something like that to implement in my school NOW, and I'm a TEACHER.
• Whoa. They just mentioned Amelia Freeman! I haven't read the book yet, but I know she's the student who dies in #93 from being hit by a drunk driver. I didn't realize she pops up this early! Damn!
• I just checked, and it's the same two ghostwriters. I wonder if they based Amelia on someone they knew? Or if they just thought, "Hey, for continuity, we should try to mention these 5 random students in the background at least once in our books!" and then when it came time to kill someone, they were like, "Ooooh! It can be one of the characters we mentioned, so it's not a complete rand-o!"?
• I think it's realistic, but completely crazy, that Dawn would think that the students would vote for her to be in charge of the SMS recyling initiative, instead of Mrs Gonzalez. 1) Mrs Gonzalez is a teacher, and therefore more likely to be able to keep up with doing stuff and the responsibilities and have some pull and sway with admin, and 2) Mrs Gonzalez hasn't been shouting at and lecturing students day and night about it!
• Wtf would Dawn and Stacey have to do to get an A+??? They taught a class, spread awareness, organized an educational fair with little kids, raised money, and then donated it to a good cause! That is going above and beyond. Furthermore, Mrs Gonzalez should have taken into account Dawn's extra planning and side project of the SMS recycling program, and at the very least boosted her mark to an A+ because of that. Like, omg!

BSC Super Special #8: Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake

Tagline: Campfires, ghost stories - summer vacations are the best!

Wish you were here!

Kristy's rich stepfather has invited all the Baby-sitters to his family's cabin on beautiful Shadow Lake.

What a way to start off the summer! At the lake there's water skiing, cute guys, plenty of kids to baby-sit for - and even a mystery.

The Baby-sitters don't know where to begin. The just hope the fun never ends!

Super Special Gimmick: Kristy wants to make sure that Watson decides to keep the cabin, so she keeps a diary (and of course, makes her friends join in) to show him how awesome the place is and all the great times they can have as a family.

Watson gets a letter from his aunt, saying that she and her husband are re-configuring their wills. Despite not having seen Watson in a bajillion years, they remember that he used to always have fun at their cabin on Shadow Lake every summer as a child, and want to know if he wants the cabin when they die. They invite Watson to come up to the cabin this summer with his family, so he can check out the property and make a better informed decision, and so they can have a chance to reconnect with him and meet his new extended family. Watson takes them up on their offer, and even extends the invitation to the friends of his kids. Sam and Charlie decide they're too old to invite friends over (they probably just didn't want to subject their friends to Kristy and all the little kids for 2 whole weeks!), and will instead "scope out the chicks at the lake" and make friends there, Andrew's and Emily Michelle's friends are all too young to be away from parents for 2 whole weeks, leaving Kristy to invite the whole Club, Karen to invite her two best friends, (Nancy Dawes and Hannie Papadakis) and David Michael to invite two of his friends (Linny Papadakis and Nicky Pike).

Kristy discovers a small motor boat under their dock and learns how to operate it. She gets really excited and decides to invite all her friends to come with her on an overnight trip to the tiny island on the other shore. Thanks to Dawn (more below), the girls are sufficiently freaked out, but ultimately decide to go. On the island, the girls girls make s'mores and tell stories and gossip and have a great time, however, in the middle of the night, they all get freaked out and try to convince Kristy to take them home. Kristy tells them how silly they're being, and they all stay until morning.

Dawn being obsessed with mysteries and ghost stories, of course decides that she must figure out the secret behind Shadow Lake's name. She soon finds out that not only is its name a mystery, but there's also a monster à la Loch Ness Monster. Dawn starts interviewing and questioning people at Shadow Lake, and she discovers that on the small island just off the shore, there used to be a family that lived there. They were very isolated, and never left the island, sending all their servants out instead. On the night when one of the townsfolk was going to marry the eldest daughter, the whole family disappeared without a trace! A year later, family home burned down! No one knows what really happened to them. On the island, the girls find the old burned down foundation of the house, where Dawn finds a locket with the daughter's initials in it. She takes the locket and returns it to the girl's fiancé. Dawn feels better, knowing that she helped put the girl's spirit at rest, but still wants to return to solve the mystery of Shadow Lake.

Claudia finds out about this boat show that's taking place on the shore. She then decides that she wants to submit Kristy's boat as an entry. After thinking about it all week, Claudia finally comes up with the idea of decorating the boat and turning it into the Lake Monster. Because she's working with limited time and resources, the results aren't great, but Claudia is fairly proud. The day of the boat show arrives though, and Claudia realizes that their little motor boat is up against all these yachts and houseboats and essentially REAL boats. She wants to back out, but goes through with it anyways. Of course, she wins a prize. They give out 1st place to 3rd place, and then Claudia wins a ribbon for "Most Spirit".


Jessi meets a cute African-American boy (because of course) and feels guilty because of her "relationship"with Quint Walker. She spends the first half of the book ogling him from a distance, before he finally notices her. Turns out his name is Daniel, and this is his family's first time up at the Lake. He sees her practicing ballet at the lodge's studio barre, and asks for lessons. It's here that Jessi discovers that as cute as he is, as nice as flirting with him is, they have nothing in common. Daniel loves sports and hates reading. While Jessi doesn't hate sports, she definitely doesn't have too much experience with them, and of course, she loves reading. However, she does enjoy the flirting and companionship, so she agrees to go with him to the dance at the end of their vacation. Jessi is then worried about how she's going to let Daniel down at the end of the two weeks, and is really awkward and nervous at the dance. Daniel surprises her, saying that he just wants to be friends and that he has a girlfriend back home! So Jessi feels better and immediately writes to Quint upon returning home.

Stacey spends the whole time being teased and pestered by Sam Thomas. He keeps complimenting her in an exaggerated British accent (calling her "dahhhhling!!") and poking at her perm. At first, she totally doesn't get it and is just annoyed with him, but eventually he tells her how he feels. Stacey's all confused, because while she did have a huge crush on him in grade 7, she hasn't really thought much about him lately, plus he's just been super annoying. Sam accepts that, and leaves her alone. At the big dance though, he asks her to dance, and she says yes. She realizes that she really does like him, and they end the vacation off together, holding hands and being really cute.

Sam gets a single chapter, where we see his side of things. He's all insecure about being 15 with no facial hair, looking up to Charlie and what not. He doesn't understand why Stacey is so annoyed with him, despite him paying so much attention to her. Charlie finally tells him to cut the crap and just TELL STACEY EXACTLY HOW HE FEELS. Which he does. Sam's disappointed to see that Stacey once liked him, but currently isn't on the same page. Of course, we see that eventually everything works out.

Mallory is devoured by mosquitoes and other bugs, and is just generally miserable the whole time. She starts covering up TO THE EXTREME, wearing all sorts of long-sleeved loose clothing, draping towels around her, big jungle hats, mosquito netting, and practically bathing in bug spray. It really annoys the other girls, while she's all hurt that they don't understand and that no one wants to hang around her like that. She doesn't have much of a plot other than just being miserable outside.

Mary Anne spends most of the time worrying and freaking people out about stuff (or just annoying them), much like she did in New York. She doesn't really get much of a plot in this book. She mostly baby-sits and just kinda hangs out in other people's plots.

Karen and her friends find a small shack behind their cabin and a garden. They decide they're going to clean it up themselves and make it their secret hiding place. The problem is, in keeping secret, they don't tell anyone where they're going (not even like, "Hey, we're gonna explore the woods behind the cabin!") so people keep panicking over losing them (well, mostly Mary Anne; everyone else is just annoyed but figures they couldn't have gone far). Mary Anne eventually finds them, and convinces them to just keep the place a secret from David Michael and his friends, but to tell all the adults about it. Eventually the boys do discover it, but the girls claim it as their own, and challenge the boys to make a fort that's better than theirs. Loser has to do all the chores. The girls obviously win, but decide to be nice and make the boys only shine their shoes for the big dance.

David Michael is frustrated because Nicky and Linny aren't getting along, and he doesn't understand why not. Obviously it's because they don't know each other and are competing for his affections, but he can't see that. Anyways, they eventually discover the girls' playhouse and decide to build their own fort. It goes disastrously, since the boys can't work together and agree on anything, plus they have zero architectural skills. What eventually brings them together is when Shannon (the dog, because yes, the family brought the dog AND the cat with them) disappears, and they all have to rally to find her. She's missing for all of like, 30 seconds, before they call out enough and find her again, but the experience bring Nicky and Linny together.

Random Thoughts:

• I am so super excited to read this one! I actually have never read it!! And I've managed to avoid reading most of the recaps and reviews of it over the years, so I really have no idea what it's about. All I know is that Sam and Stacey's romance really ramps up here. I'm excited to read this one because:
1. I'm obsessed with Sam and Stacey
2. My all-time favourite BSC book, Super Mystery #2 Baby-sitters Beware!, takes place here
3. I think a few others take place here? I seem to remember a lot about it, despite not having read this particular one?
• Yes! This one has the illustrations in it!! I guess starting from SS #7, they start having the illustrations that I always thought was super synonymous with the Super Specials. I always read #7, #10 and #11 the most, and have very strong memories of #9, so that's probably why I associate the illustrations so much with the books.
• I like how Watson's aunt and uncle apparently have not seen him in a long, long time, almost 20 years, and the last summer he spent at the cabin was at age 12, but they are like, "OMG LET'S GIVE WATSON THE CABIN."
• They haven't even met Karen and Andrew! Nor Elizabeth and the Thomas clan. Were they not invited to the wedding? Couldn't come? Didn't care??
• Damn. I do not remember any particular descriptions of the cabin. I knew it was huge, because they always take Watson's entire family, plus the Club, but apparently it can house 25 people?? And two of the rooms are dorm-style, with wall-to-wall bunk beds!
• Actually, now I'm just imagining the place having only 4 bedrooms: a master bedroom (2 people), a boys' dorm room (5 sets of bunk beds/10 boys), a girls' dorm room (5 sets of bunk beds/10 girls) and then two extra rooms that hold either 1 or 2 people. You could have a mini-camp there!
• Oooooh. Jessi included a floor plan. I was right! Only 4 bedrooms!
• Ooooooh. I think this is the first time they actually describe Mallory as having reddish hair!!
• This time around, it makes sense as to why they would give Karen and David Michael chapters: they're part of the family, and of course Kristy would want them to bolster her argument for keeping Shadow Lake. Charlie and Sam are too old to do a diary project (if they like the cabin, they're just going to beg and plead with Watson in person) and Andrew and Emily Michelle are too young. I may not like it when chapters are given to random people (especially Karen), but at least they didn't give chapters to like, Nicky or Nancy or something really random! haha
• Yep. AMM definitely hates Mallory haha
• There's some continuity, mentioning that Claudia sometimes tutors Emily Michelle! Yay!!
• I can't believe that Watson and Elizabeth would let Kristy take the boat out on her own. I love how their rule is that only people 12 and older can drive the boat, when there's no one there who is 12. Anyways, I'm not opposed to Kristy taking lessons to learn how to drive the boat. I'm just shocked that they'd immediately agree to let her take it out on her own and pretty much have free reign. You'd think it'd be like, "Sam and Charlie can have free reign, you can only drive if you stay by our dock for practicing purposes, or if you have someone older with you. Next time we come, we can see about you having free reign."
• Then again, considering the parents in these books, maybe I'm not that surprised haha
• Kristy spends an entire paragraph digressing about bikinis, saying that she'll never wear one, and that no one over thirty should wear one, but her mom looks pretty good all things considered, and how Kristy doesn't see the point in wearing a bikini when you don't have a chest to go with it, so at her rate, she probably won't wear one until she's 28 haha It's all very random and "out-of-character", except that AMM wrote this one, so it's perfectly in her character.
• Also: Kristy is convinced by the girls to get dressed up for dinner, so she borrows a dress from Mary Anne. I love AMM!Kristy.
• I can't believe that Watson and Elizabeth would allow Kristy and the girls to spend the night alone on the island. They don't know for sure it's uninhabited!! Or what if some other neighbour saw/heard them go over, and decided to go kill them??
• I think it's really sweet that at the end of the novel, when Watson is writing back to his aunt about keeping the cabin, he refers to Kristy as his daughter. I also really like that Kristy notices this and is thrilled. I wish we got to see more of Kristy and her relationship with Watson.
• I totally don't remember anything about Shadow Lake being haunted. Does this ever come up again? I know Dawn's not with them in SM #2. Do they return to Shadow Lake any other time??

BSC #50: Dawn's Big Date

Tagline: Is Dawn's date a total disaster?

Mary Anne and Dawn are so excited. Logan's cousin Lewis is finally coming to town, and Mary Anne is busy planning the perfect double date. But now Dawn is starting to get worried. She's written letters to Lewis, but she's never had a boyfriend before. What if Lewis doesn't like her?

That's when Dawn decides she needs a new image. New clothes, new hairstyle, and lots more makeup. Maybe she could even learn how to flirt a little. But will Lewis and the rest of the Baby-sitters like the new Dawn?

I have actually never read this one!

Dawn and Mary Anne are getting ready for their New Year's Eve party together. MA is going to make all sorts of junk, while Dawn will make all sorts of healthy foods. As they're planning, MA tells Dawn some exciting news: Logan's cousin Lewis is finally coming for a visit! Dawn's excited, but also super nervous. She's never had a boyfriend before. None of the Stoneybrook guys seem to really be into her. Dawn knows that she and Lewis have been writing each other for awhile, and that he seems to like her and the picture she's sent to him, but she worries that things will be different once he actually meets her. At the New Year's Eve party, all the girls call a boy they're interested in at midnight, except for Dawn, Mallory and Jessi. Dawn feels sad and pathetic because she was the only 13 year old in the group without a boyfriend. Talk of New Year's resolutions prompts Dawn to decide to change her look and attitude, specifically so she can get a boyfriend.

Dawn starts by perusing Stacey's fashion magazines. MA catches her, and Dawn admits that she's just curious about changing her look. Excited, MA helps Dawn do her hair and make-up, while Dawn cuts one of her t-shirts into an off-the-shoulder top. They take Dawn's picture and send it to Lewis. Dawn, pleased with the new look, decides that she needs a new attitude too. She decides that the New Dawn is cool, and that to be cool means you're not a goody-goody who cares about school. So when Dawn is called on in class, instead of giving the right answer, she gives a bunch of joke answers. This gets the class laughing, and one of the cool kids (who was never mentioned before and never mentioned again) passes her a note of approval.

Soon, Dawn is changing all her clothes and her attitude, even going so far as to chew gum! The girls take notice, and they are not pleased. When Dawn points out that they didn't harp on MA for changing her hair and clothes, the girls point out that that was different because MA didn't change her attitude, plus she had been expressing for a long time a desire to be able to do something different. Dawn is all angry at everyone for not accepting her new look, except for MA. MA's acceptance actually confuses Dawn, because it makes her feel like something must have been wrong with her in the first place.

Eventually this all culminates in Lewis Bruno's visit. He's in Stoneybrook for a week. Dawn buys a hot new outfit to wear, and while she loves it, she doesn't feel quite right. MA casts doubt, and of course Sharon wants Dawn to dress more warmly, but ultimately everyone lets it go. Dawn feels like she'd look great in a magazine, but the reality is she doesn't live in a magazine, and feels perhaps a bit overdressed. She quickly quashes those thoughts and feelings though, putting on a confident attitude to meet Lewis.

Unfortunately, all that confidence goes out the window when Dawn meets him. She gets ridiculously nervous and tongue-tied, and ends up saying only one-word answers and responses. MA tries her best to bridge the gap between them, but it doesn't help. When they get back home, MA explodes at Dawn, telling her that she needs to show some personality. She then gives Dawn more teen magazines, with all sorts of dating and relationship advice. When Dawn questions MA, MA points out that she's just trying to help Dawn snag a boyfriend. Dawn accepts defeat and starts reading the magazines.

That Saturday, they go out on a double-date with Logan and Lewis. Dawn wants to wear one of her new outfits, but MA convinces her to just wear a jeans skirt and black turtleneck. Dawn decides to make the skirt shorter and dress up with heavy make-up and jewelry. MA chides her, but it's too late to do anything about it. They go to see Gone with the Wind, and MA keeps pinching Dawn to prompt her to be more interesting. She tries to get Dawn to share a bucket of popcorn with Lewis so that they can "accidentally brush hands" and then subsequently hold hands. Dawn keeps getting nervous and messing up and being clumsy, eventually dumping the whole bucket of popcorn. This culminates in Dawn's heavy make-up running because the movie is so sad. When the movie is over, Dawn is so upset by everything that she just wants to go home. When they get there, she and MA have a huge fight.

This results in Dawn and MA not talking for awhile. Eventually the Club tricks them into talking to each other by getting them on the same phone call to discuss their sitting clients (more on this later). Through their discussion and helping their clients, both Dawn and MA realize separately that if everyone (but mostly MA) left Dawn alone and up to her own devices, she'd figure out a way to impress Lewis herself. Dawn waits for MA to be on a sitting job, then invites Lewis out herself. The two of them go out together, and Dawn's still really nervous, trying to remember all the tips she'd read about in the magazines. Eventually Dawn realizes that this isn't working either, and comes clean to Lewis. She tells him that she's been trying to impress him with new clothes and attitude, but that she can see that it's not working. Lewis is confused, telling her that he liked her the way she was before, in her letters. Dawn then decides to tell Lewis to meet her back at her place in an hour. She then runs home, changes out of her clothes, showers and puts herself together like normal. She also prepares some healthy foods for Lewis. When he arrives, Dawn takes him on a tour of the barn, before feeding him foods. They have a great visit, and decide to see each other again soon.

Dawn and MA then talk about everything that happened in the book, with Dawn explaining that MA's over-supportiveness made Dawn feel like she had to change, and that nothing was right about her. MA tearfully admits that she didn't really know what she was doing, that she was just trying to help, and that she's sorry she made Dawn feel that way. The girls make up and decide to plan their next date with the boys.

Sadly, Lewis is heading home soon, so they only have time for one more date. They go bowling with Logan and MA, and everything is perfect. MA orchestrates it for them to have a moment alone, and Dawn and Lewis kiss! Lewis soon goes home, and he and Dawn continue writing to each other. Lewis thinks Dawn's pretty special, and Dawn feels pretty special too.

The subplot in this one involves new clients: the Hills, who are Norman (age 7) and Sarah (age 9). Norman is overweight and is constantly eating junk food. He keeps it hidden and on him at all times. His parents are always on his case about his weight, putting him on diets and exercise regimes. Sarah, and the other kids in the neighbourhood, also make fun of him, calling him "Enormous Hill". His parents practically encourage this, as they think it'll motivate Norman to lose weight. All it does though is make Norman feel worse, which makes him sad. Being sad makes him want to eat, so then it becomes a vicious cycle. The girls try to help him, but it doesn't really seem to be working. Eventually, they get Norman to stand up for himself against his sister. This stops Sarah from constantly teasing him and walking all over him, and start showing him some respect. They also encourage Norman to talk things out with his parents about how constantly harping on him makes things worse. Norman takes their advice and his parents lay off him. Norman decides he does want to lose weight, but that he's going to do it on his own terms. His parents help by deciding to get rid of all the junk food in the house, instead of simply banning Norman (and only Norman) from eating it. This subplot actually takes up a good chunk of the book, paralleling Dawn's own transformation and subsequent acceptance of her own body.

Random Thoughts:

• Like I mentioned above, I have actually never read this one! But I knew the premise, because they've probably referenced it in other books, as well as I've come across it in other Baby-Sitters Club blogs. But I always try to skip the posts about the books I haven't read, so even though I know the premise (and can probably guess the story beats), I don't know all the details.
• I'm guessing that Dawn gets a makeover, everyone hates her, she hates herself, she doesn't understand why Lewis doesn't like her, decides that it's because she's lame, eventually realizes that it's because she's being fake and that obviously he wanted to meet the girl in her letters, not some weird fake Dawn, she ditches the clothes and make-up (maybe keeping an item or two, but probably giving most to Stacey and/or Claudia) and learns a valuable lesson about being yourself haha
• This is the second time that Dawn tries to change herself for a boy. I kinda like the consistency?
• This one is ghostwritten by Suzanne Weyn. I recognized the name, and then realized that that's the same name as the author of the Bar Code Tattoo books, books that I wanted to read as a teen, but never got around to. I wonder if it's the same author??
• It seems super weird that Richard and Sharon would invite only Mr Ramsey to stay to visit on New Year's Eve, and none of the other parents?
• Do we ever hear about Norman again? I'm dying to know what happens to him! Is he in the Little Sister series? I feel like he is, but honestly, I have no idea.
• Speaking of Norman, I feel like this is the first (and maybe only?) time the books describe someone as fat and overweight. They even highlight specifically that he's not "husky" or "pudgy" or "stout" or any of the other cute words people use to describe people who are overweight. This leads me to believe that Norman must be like the size... Cartman from South Park.
• Also: I know Norman would have been sneaking foods anyways, but the girls all act like they've never dealt with kids wanting snacks when it wasn't snack time. The girls should have been firmer and been like, "No, snack time is over and you're going to ruin your appetite for dinner. Sarah's not eating and I'm not eating. Here, how about a distraction. If you're still hungry in an hour, we'll talk again" and then distracted Norman with games and things.
• The Hills are terrible parents. Especially that line from his father about "How come a smart kid like you can't lose weight?" And like, I get it, the rest of the family shouldn't be punished because Norman has zero self-control, but jfc, Norman is 7 years old! Would it really kill the family to not have junk food in the house, instead of being like, "No Norman, you're too fat for this!"
• I never understood the idea of "it's cool to be dumb". The only time I didn't participate in class was when I didn't know the answers, because I was afraid of looking stupid. I mean, at the same time, you don't want to be a smarmy smug know-it-all, but yeah. If a teacher called on me, I wouldn't purposely give a wrong answer. Being smart is awesome!
• Like Dawn, there was a time or two in middle school and high school where I wanted to change my look. I'm pretty basic: jeans, t-shirts and hoodies. But occasionally I'd want to dress more punk or goth. The problem with that is that you have to really commit to that look. Like, every single day. And I didn't want to call attention to the fact that I was now suddenly dressing differently. I just... wanted to dress differently. So it never stuck. But I definitely remember going to second-hand shops and buying some clothes to cut up and destroy. I made a shirt that I liked, but due to my shitty sewing skills, it only lasted one or two washings. However, it sounds like Dawn tried cutting up and sewing almost everything!
• Dawn's thoughts about feeling like she'd fit in on a magazine, but not here in Stoneybrook really resonated with me. Sure, I could dress differently and change my look; I'd be smoking hot and I'm sure lots of people would compliment me or whatever... but it wouldn't fit in with my life and my friends and the role I've carved out for myself. It's hard to break from that standard.
• I got my hair cut differently one time, again to experiment and go with my new look. It eventually evolved into the hairstyle that I have now. I wish I could have cool swooping bangs (what the original haircut had) but I'm always and forever wanting to tuck my hair behind my ears, no matter what style I get, so it's pointless for me to experiment with my bangs/the front of my hair.
• I normally don't talk about the clothes in these books (I feel like if I did, I'd never be able to stop!), but I definitely definitely love Dawn's outfit that she buys to meet Lewis in: "black ballet slippers, black lace capri leggings, a short metallic silver skirt with all this crinoliny stuff underneath that made it poof out, a stretchy, tight, black and white-striped top with long sleeves; 6 rubber bangle bracelets, a pair of feather earrings that go down down to her shoulder in one ear and a pair of black hoops in the other ear."
• Dawn's asymmetrical earrings is something I do all the time now: I don't usually wear earrings in my first holes (all my other holes have earrings that I sleep in and don't change and keep in forever), but when I do, one side is always a danging earring and the other side is always a stud/hoop haha
• I remember all those teen magazines. They were always too expensive for my parents to waste money on, so I only owned a few issues, accumulated over the course of many many years. (They were like, 5$ each, which me and my parents would have rather spent on books, even if they were just Baby-Sitters Club books.) But a lot of the girls I went to school with had regularly subscriptions. When I was in high school, and we'd be going on long bus rides for band trip, everyone would pitch in and buy a whole bunch for the bus, so we could pass them around and read the quizzes and the dumb articles and stuff. I never took anything I read seriously, although sometimes they'd have some general good advice. Poor, poor Dawn, taking those magazines seriously.
• MA attempts to be supportive to Dawn, but a lot of what she says also comes across as bitchy and snooty: "Logan likes me the way I am!" is her response to Dawn asking if MA had ever tried any of the tips and tricks from the magazines.
• What 13 year olds want to see Gone With the Wind?? I don't even want to see it! (Although, I keep meaning to, since it's one of the classics)
• This made me really want tabouhli salad. I make mine with quinoa though. Dawn's other health foods that she makes for Lewis also sound good, but I'm allergic to a lot of them.
• I love that Sharon and Richard have a rule that there are no boys allowed in the house when they're not around, but I can't help but wonder why they hadn't considered the barn. I mean yes, the barn would be hella cold on most winter days and ridiculously hot on some summer days... but there are plenty of days when it would be just fine. A nice cool day where there temperature is above freezing... all that hay... a big pile of blankets... two bodies... I'm just saying that if they really wanted to, two teens could get into a lot of trouble up there! haha too bad the series never let the girls go into high school. I'm sure there'd be a book when they're 15 or 16 where their older boyfriend (18 or 17) would want to take a romantic picnic too far. The girls of course would say no, but there'd be some debate and internal struggle haha
• There's a contest in the back of this one to win a Snowbound survival kit. The girl who owned this book filled out the form. It asks "Who would you like to be snowbound with?" to which she answered, "My father". When it asks why, she responded, "He is tall and chubby so he would keep me warm"!

BSC Super Special #7: Snowbound

Tagline: All the Baby-sitters wanted was a little snow - not a national disaster!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The weather forecasters keep promising snow, but what a joke that is. Not a single flake has fallen on Stoneybrook this winter. How can SMS hold a Winter Wonderland Dance when it's warm enough to go to the beach?

Finally, it does snow - like crazy - and no one's prepared. Jessi gets stranded overnight at her dance school. Mallory and Mary Anne are snowed in with the Pike kids. But Stacey's in real trouble. She and her mom were driving back from the mall when the blizzard hit. And none of the Baby-sittesr have heard from her yet.

First they couldn't wait for it to snow. Now they can't for it to stop. Where could Stacey be?

Super Special Gimmick: Kristy thinks that while the newspaper coverage of the snow storm is very informative, it is also super dry, so she gets her friends to write up about their adventures to send to the newspaper as a people interest story.

The book starts off with everyone super excited about the Winter Wonderland dance. Everyone has a date and the girls are all looking forward to dressing up and having a good time together. For days and days, the weather forecasters have been talking about a massive snowfall, but there hasn't even been a single flake. It becomes a huge joke to everyone. At their Monday meeting that week, they reflect that since they're all going to be busy and scattered on Wednesday evening (Mallory and Mary Anne sitting for the Pikes, Jessi at an extra-long dance rehearsal and picking up her date Quint, Dawn getting Jeff at the airport), they should just cancel their meeting that day. Of course, Wednesday is the day of the giant snowstorm, and the power goes out and the phone lines go down, and everyone is all separated, with no way of getting in touch with each other.

Kristy has the most mundane story, but it's pretty cute. She's sitting at home Wednesday afternoon, and she's pretty bored. She’s thinking about the winter dance and how excited she is to be bringing Bart. She then decides that now would be a good time to hang out with him. They've never really hung out on the week day before, so Bart's a little confused, but agrees. Kristy rents movies, and her mom invites Bart to stay over for dinner. This is pretty intense, and it makes Kristy all nervous. She likes Bart, but doesn't really know what to think. Is he her boyfriend? Is she ready? Is he ready? Can he handle her family? The kids spend most of the evening pestering them and totally embarrassing Kristy. Dinner isn't much better. It starts snowing at dinner time, and although Watson agreed to drive Bart home, he wants to wait until it stops snowing so hard. So Bart stays for dessert. After awhile, Bart says he really has to get going, and that he doesn't mind walking (he literally lives just down the street). However, when they try to open up the storm door (or screen door, as my folks always called it), they discover that they're snowed in! The snowfall has been super heavy, plus it has blown up against the house. So Bart spends the night. Kristy is super embarrassed and nervous about Bart seeing her in the morning, so she sets her alarm extra early and actually goes into the bathroom and tries to primp. She shaves her legs for the first time, puts on some make-up and even tries to curl her hair! Aside from her hair, Kristy is pretty happy with the results. Of course, her siblings all make fun of her for it, but Bart says she looks beautiful.

Claudia has the next most mundane story. She spends the afternoon taking calls for the Club, then runs across the street to sit for the Perkins. Just before all the power and phones go out, the Perkins call to say that they can't drive back home, so Claudia will have to stay the night with the girls. As Claudia's putting the girls to sleep, she realizes that she can't find Chewy, the dog, and starts to panic. Claudia's mother comes across the street, and helps Claudia look for a bit, before deciding that nothing more can be done in the weather and in the dark. Mrs Kishi then offers to spend the night on the couch, but Claudia insists that she can look after the girls herself, and that if anything were to happen, Mrs Kishi is just across the street anyways. Claudia soon goes to bed, but is woken by Gabbie, who hears something. They go and investigate, and find that Chewy's been locked in the corner of the basement this whole time! Everything is fine, and the next morning they have breakfast and build a snow family.

Dawn and her mom are headed to the airport to pick up Jeff. For some reason, even though he's flown a bajillion times before, Jeff's been nervous about this time. Dawn wants to make sure they get to the airport with plenty of time to greet him. However, the snow has already started to fall when they leave, and Sharon isn't the most confident snow driver. She goes slowly, and despite having left early, they only get to the airport just in time. Of course, that doesn't matter because with the snowstorm, Jeff's plane hasn't arrived yet. Dawn is worried about how Jeff is handling things, but Sharon figures everything will be alright. They spend the evening hanging out in the airport, waiting to hear about Jeff's plane. Finally, word gets to them that the snow is so bad, Jeff's plane has been rerouted to Washington DC for the evening. Just as they're about to call Jeff to see how he's doing, the power and phone lines go out. They're advised not to leave the airport to go driving, so Dawn and her mom are stuck there overnight. They mostly walk around, buy a couple of books to read, try to get some sleep. Dawn has a creepy encounter with a wandering toddler ending up in her face, but that's about it. The morning comes, and though feeling grody, Dawn and her mom are extremely happy to see Jeff again.

Jessi is at a super long dance rehearsal. They're putting on a production of The Nutcracker. Anyways, no one can concentrate cuz the kids all want snow, and Jessi wants Quint and the dance. About an hour before rehearsal is due to end, some parents start calling in, saying that they'll be late picking up the kids. As time goes on, Jessi realizes that there's no one waiting around to pick them up (usually the parents of the younger kids will watch the last 15-30 minutes of rehearsal). Finally, sensing that she's lost their attention, Mme Noelle calls an end to rehearsal. Once everyone finishes changing, Mme Noelle and the other teachers have bad news: the snowstorm is too bad, and the parents can't come to pick them up. Everyone is stuck overnight at the dance school. Luckily the dance school has a cafeteria that had recently been stocked with dried fruit and nuts and instant soup, so they're not going to starve. In fact, it's pretty much like a giant sleepover adventure. Except all the little kids are upset, and in typical Jessi-fashion, she decides to help the adults comfort the children and keep them busy. At some point, Quint shows up! He had arrived at the train station just before the snow got really bad, and after awhile, he realized that Jessi and her father weren't going to be able to drive and pick him up. So he asked for directions and walked to the dance school! He also helps get the little kids settled. Eventually Jessi and Quint are able to retreat to the classroom where the older students are, and they sit around and gossip and have a grand ol' time. The next morning, the storm is over, the roads are plowed, and while waiting for their parents to pick them up, they're treated to a feast from the coffee shop across the street.

Stacey decides that with the Club meeting cancelled, now would be a perfect opportunity to go get her hair permed, so that it's perfect for the dance. She and her mom leave well before the storm hits (not even a flake in sight!) and get to the mall. However, while there, the storm hits. Stacey's mom hates driving in snow, but thinks that if they hurry, they can somehow beat it and get home before it gets too too bad. Mrs McGill decides to bypass the highway, figuring it'll be congested from everyone attempting to get home. Instead, she takes the back roads. This doesn't work well, as they aren't plowed and have very little traffic to push away the snow as it falls. Eventually, she decides to pull over and try to wait things out a bit. This normally wouldn't be too bad, except that Stacey has diabetes and needs to eat soon. She has her injection kit with her, but very little food. Mrs McGill decides to try driving again, only to find out that they're out of gas. So now Stacey's got her diabetes, and they have to worry about freezing to death. At that point, a man drives up and asks if they need help. He says he lives just down the street, with his wife and baby. Stacey's worried that he might be a killer, trying to lure them in so that he can kill them, but Mrs McGill decides to trust him. Turns out to be a great idea, and Stacey and her mom pass the evening having a great dinner, playing with the baby and making friends. They're even almost sad to leave the next day. They're completely surprised when they come home and realize that everyone is worried about them and had no idea that they were missed!

Mary Anne and Mallory are sitting for the Pikes. MA's spent Tuesday night there, since the Pikes left for NYC early in the morning. They have enough food for the day, plus some emergency money, but Mrs Pike points out that she'll have to go grocery shopping Thursday morning ASAP. Tuesday night, the kids are bonkers, expecting snow. Of course, there's no snow, and they all go to school fine. Wednesday evening, and it's still business as usual. The kids are still hoping for snow, with the triplets teasing Claire about the Abominable Snowman, and MA and Mallory prepare sloppy joes for dinner. However, the snowstorm hits, and soon the power goes out. The kids are simultaneously excited and creeped out. Of course, the Pikes can't come home like they wanted to, so MA and Mallory are on their own til the next day at least. MA calls her dad to let him know what's going on, but he wants to stay home for Dawn and Sharon. MA points out that they'll be okay anyways. Then the phone lines go down, and Mallory points out that they're running out of food. They decide to eat the ice cream and anything that might go bad without power, but come the next morning, it doesn't leave them with much. They try calling for pizza and other take-out items, but of course, no one is open. MA calls Logan, just wanting to hear his voice. She explains how they're okay, but they're hungry. The next thing they know, Logan shows up on cross-country skis with a backpack full of bread, crackers, peanut butter and a few other things. The day is saved and now the Pikes can enjoy the snow!

So everyone's survived the massive snowstorm. They later learn that they had a record snowfall of about 2 feet. The dance doesn't get cancelled, and everyone goes and has a great time. Yay!


Random Thoughts: 

• This is my favourite Super Special ever. I must have read this one a million times as a child. I think it's because we always have huge snowstorms up here... but snow is just kinda a thing that happens, so it's almost never an actual event. I still fantasize about getting snowed in and losing power for several hours, if not days. Aside from the massive Northeastern blackout in 2003 (which only affected my area for that first evening; a very short time compared to some people), the power in my area rarely ever goes out, and when it does, it's for like, an hour at most. Boring haha
• This one has the illustrations in it! This is probably why I remember those illustrations so vividly and always thought they were in every single Super Special haha
• I always loved the cover on this one, but Mallory looks a bajillion years old! Definitely older than Mary Anne. And then the Pike boy has to be one of the triplets, since Nicky is always described as having glasses and curly hair like Mallory's, but that kid is not one year younger than Mallory! haha
• Stacey goes into more detail in this one about the Washington Mall, which leads me to think that Stoneybrook isn't a town or city so much as a small municipality/neighbourhood. I grew up in Ottawa. Now what is called "Ottawa" is technically the "greater Ottawa area" or the "amalgamated city of Ottawa". When I was younger, I grew up in what is technically called Orleans, which is now an area in the east end of Ottawa. Since it is generally assumed that everyone lives in "Ottawa", which is a pretty big city (can take an hour to get from Rockland in the east end to Kanata in the west end), most people will still refer to their individual areas/neighbourhoods. So if you send mail to my parents, you can either address it "Orleans, Ontario" or "Ottawa, Ontario", and it'll still be there on time with no confusion. Unlike if you wrote "Kingston, Ontario" or "Toronto, Ontario", which are very very clearly different cities from Ottawa and not even close haha
• Anyways, Stacey says it takes about half an hour to get to Washington Mall, and it's in the next town over. This reminds me of how when I was younger, it was a super big deal for my parents to drive me 30 minutes to Kanata, where Bayshore Shopping Centre was, which was a much bigger and more upscale mall than the one that was within walking distance of our house in the east end haha
• You can tell that AMM wrote this one, because Kristy is totally likeable, easy to relate to, and well-rounded. She's excited for the dance, and while she expresses a general dislike of dresses, she likes the one she's going to wear to the dance and points out that it's only for a couple of hours. She's also excited about seeing Bart, although she's not too sure how much he means to her. Furthermore, she owns a bit of make-up and puts it on for Bart. This is a great call-back to Super Special #2.
• You know it's a Super Special because Claudia is dating an Asian guy haha Here, her date for the dance is a guy in her grade named Iri Mitsuhashi. And we never see or hear from him again... at least, I don't think so! haha
• Part of me can't believe that the Pikes would leave Mallory and Mary Anne in charge for almost 24 hours... but then another part of me is like, "No... this kinda makes sense..." They leave at 6am, and from there, there's only 2 hours or so until the kids are at school. No sense in making a neighbour spend the night for that. (Although I probably would have had a neighbour stop by at 7:30 or 8am to make sure that everyone was alive and indeed going to school haha) Then they're at school, and come home. It's not unusual for the girls to baby-sit after school or prepare dinner or baby-sit after dinner. It's just weird for them to be doing it all for one job. Again, I might have had a neighbour over for dinner or for a few hours in the evening. I definitely would have arranged for someone to check up on everyone at 9pm. And then the Pikes were supposed to be back at 1am or so. So yeahhhh... Barring the snowstorm, everything would have been okay. But I'm still surprised the Pikes were simply like, "Okay, the neighbours know we're gone, so give them a shout if you need them!" instead of being like, "Okay, the neighbours know we're gone. Mrs Barrett will check in on you in the morning and Mrs McGill will be by in the evening, and you have all the phone numbers, etc etc etc". 
• Stacey particularly wants to go to the Washington Mall, because otherwise, she might end up at the salon downtown, Gloriana's House of Hair. That salon was first featured Little Sister #8, Karen's Haircut. I remember reading that one as a child. It traumatized me. I was forced to have a bowl cut for most of my childhood, so when I could finally grow my hair out, the idea of it getting cut too short again and having to wait for it to grow out was my biggest fear. But yeah. I will never forget Gloriana's House of Horror haha
• There's an illustration of Bart in this one, and he does not look at all how I picture him (totes not my kind of guy! how he's pictured on the cover of #95 is more my style haha) but he does look like he could have been the older sibling of the kids I went to elementary school with (when this book was published)!
• This one also mentions Mallory's sleeping habits again
• The Pikes apparently wake up to an oldies radio station. The first song they wake up to is "Do Wah Diddy Diddy". I remember hearing this song randomly when my parents were watching Beverly Hills, 90210 (Brenda and her friends were dancing and singing it in the Peach Pit??). I became obsessed with that song, but of course, this was before the internet, so I had no idea what it was or who sang it or how to listen to it again. So this kinda became a "one that got away" type obsession. Whenever I hear it today, I'm still like, "OMG THIS SONG!!!" haha
• On a side note: I just found out that that show lasted until the year 2000! THE FREAKING YEAR 2000 WTF!!! I thought this show was long over by 1997. I mean, the high school they used is also the same high school they used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so I didn't think that the two shows overlapped. Man, I know they say that Beverly Hills, 90210 is like, THE quintessential '90s show, but I had no idea that it was literally on for the entire decade. It ran from 1990 to 2000. It did not miss a single year of the '90s!
• They also mention that a snowfall this big could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, what with global warming and all. It's strange to think that even as far back as 1991, they were referencing global warming in kids' books. And we've still done very little about it =/
• I have no idea wtf "snow cream" is that Claudia makes for the Perkins girls (sounds like they're eating the fresh snow with maple syrup?) but if they were to have used fresh thick pure maple syrup, and not eaten the snow, they would have almost ended up with maple taffy haha
• I never go anywhere without a travel-sized toothbrush, at minimum 2 books, some granola bars, extra socks, extra underwear, a shawl, a flashlight and a lighter, and a bajillion other things, so if I had been in Dawn or Stacey's shoes, I would have been great haha
• Quint is crazy. Wtf. Even now I'd be hard pressed to try to find directions to walk somewhere in a new town during a snowstorm, let alone at age 11! I'm dying to know how far the dance school was from the train station. If it's anything like my city, Quint could have been walking for a good 30 minutes! If not more!
• Unless the coffee shop owner lived above the coffee shop, and unless the power was still out and milk and things were on the verge of spoiling, why the fuck would he open up the shop and give away a feast of free foods? How did he know that there were people stranded at the dance school? No one would have blamed him if he had just ignored them and gone on his way!
• I don't know if I would have trusted Mr Schiavone. I mean, I don't have to worry about diabetes, so it would just be a matter of staying warm for me. But yeahhhhh... just because he said he had a family in a house just up the street didn't mean he necessarily did. I remember being really scared for Stacey the first time I read this book, even though I knew that 1) these books would never get that dark (at the time, I hadn't read the one about drunk driving or child abuse or depression or anything) and that 2) the only ones that would potentially go that way would be the Mystery ones, so yeahhhh....
• Now, maybe it's because my house doesn't have 9 people in it... but even when I "really need" to go grocery shopping, I still have plenty of food in my house. I mean, nothing I could make a meal out of or that I would particularly want to live on, but definitely enough so I'm not starving. Boxes and boxes of crackers, a few cans of vegetables, soup and tuna (actually, I could live on soup), rice cakes... even without the staples like bread, eggs and milk, I'd be okay!

BSC Mystery #2: Beware, Dawn!

Tagline: Someone is out to scare Dawn!

When Dawn starts getting threatening notes and odd phone calls while she's baby-sitting, she doesn't know what to do. The notes are signed "Mr. X", and they're beginning to get scary. Normally, she would tell the other Baby-sitters, but this time is different.

The kids at Stoneybrook Elementary are having a Sitter of the Month Contest. The Sitter of the Month has to be someone who is in control - someone whose jobs always go smoothly. Dawn doesn't want to blow her chances of winning. But what if she's in real danger?

Alright, it is time for our second mystery! This one opens up with Dawn baby-sitting for the Hobarts. She reflects on how much she likes baby-sitting; how it's super duper awesome and how every kid is different and she knows how to get along with every kind of kid. While she's reading with the youngest one, Johnny, the older two Hobarts, James and Matthew, are playing with kids from the neighborhood, including Mel and Zach, who are still teasing the boys. Dawn, not impressed, reports back to Mrs Hobart at the end of her sitting job. Mrs Hobart is disappointed, vowing to talk to Zach's and Mel's parents.

Dawn is later baby-sitting for Kristy's younger siblings. While there, Dawn learns about the Sitter of the Month contest. The charges have decided to get together and put together a contest awarding the girls. Mrs. Newton is going to help oversee it all, and then they're going to publish the winning baby-sitter's picture in the newspaper. Dawn, wanting to win of course, decides to be the bestest best baby-sitter, and puts in an extra effort with the kids.

Soon word spreads around to the other baby-sitters about the contest, and of course they all start talking about how much it would mean to them to win it. The girls reflect that while they would love to win, they shouldn't get overly competitive because being competitive has never worked out in the end for them. Trying to keep things in perspective, Dawn vows not to campaign; she just wants to be the best baby-sitter possible.

That is easier said than done. Dawn's next baby-sitting job is for the Prezziosos. Dawn's trying her best to be super patient, but Jenny's getting on her nerves. At first Dawn encourages Jenny, who is just trying to be a good big sister, but eventually Dawn banishes Jenny to the playroom. While Dawn's finishing up getting Andrea ready for bed, the phone rings. When Dawn goes to investigate, Jenny told her that nobody was on the phone. Dawn lets it slide, and she and Jenny have a pleasant evening together, until Jenny has to go to bed. Shortly afterwards, the doorbell rings. Nobody's there. Intrigued, Dawn opens the door a crack, just to make sure. There, she finds an envelope that has a note made out of cut-out letters: YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT! YOU'D BETTER NOT SHOUT! I'M COMING TO GET YOU! MR X. Dawn's shaken up, but decides that she better not let anyone know, lest it ruins her chances at becoming Sitter of the Month.

At her next baby-sitting job, Dawn's at the Rodowskys. Again, the doorbell rings, and instead of a person, there's another note. This one says: I'M WATCHING YOU. Unfortunately for Dawn, the Rodowsky boys see it, and it frightens them. Dawn manages to convince them that it's just a boy from school, pulling a prank, and eventually gets them settled down and in bed. Remembering what had happened the last time the sitters were plagued by mysterious prank phone calls, Dawn calls the Gray household to put Alan Gray in his place. However, Dawn discovers that Alan is out of town at a basketball game with his father, so it can't be him. At this point, Dawn starts to worry.

We eventually learn that Jessi gets a visit from Mr X. She's sitting for her siblings alone at night, and because of the Sitter of the Month contest, she lets Becca watch a scary movie. Becca gets frightened, and they have to turn it off and eventually Becca goes to bed. While Jessi is relaxing, she gets a knock on the door. There, she finds a bouquet of beheaded roses, with a note that says: BEST WISHES FROM YOUR SECRET ADMIRER. So now Jessi's really nervous and on edge, and it's at that moment that Becca wakes up from a nightmare, and Jessi's parents and aunt come home. Jessi figures she's blown her chances at being the Sitter of the Month.

Mary Anne and Mallory are sitting for the Pikes when they get a visit from Mr X. The note that time reads: DO YOU LIKE YOUR HAMSTER? IF YOU DO, YOU'D BETTER KEEP AN EYE ON HIM. Like with the Rodowskys, the kids end up seeing the letter, and of course it sends them in a panic. Mary Anne and Mallory spend the whole evening trying to calm them down, and keep an eye on Frodo the hamster, since the kids insist on holding him the whole time (resulting in him getting loose a few times). Mary Anne and Mallory talk about it, and decide that there's no point in bringing it up to the rest of the Club: it wouldn't do anyone any good. However that night, Dawn hears scary noises in her secret passage, and ends up running to Mary Anne's room. Mary Anne blurts out that it must be Mr X, which gets Dawn to admit that she too has had encounters with Mr X. They talk about it, and admit that they haven't said anything because of the Sitter of the Month contest. They further conclude that since Mr X hasn't actually done anything, there still really isn't a point in bringing him up.

Kristy then sits for the Korman kids on Friday the 13th, and it's set up for us readers to expect her to get a visit from Mr X, but every "weird" thing that happens ends up having an explanation. At the next Club meeting, Kristy admits that she's embarrassed that she let the whole "Friday the 13th" superstition get to her head, and that she acted all spazzy when Mr Papadakis from next door came by. Dawn accidentally expresses her relief that it wasn't Mr X, resulting in the cat coming out of the bag, and all the girls admitting that they've had run ins with Mr X. Except for Kristy. Since Kristy has no idea what's going on, the girls fill her in on the weird notes and things.

At some point, Dawn briefly suspects Kristy of being Mr. X. Out of all the girls, Kristy's the only one to have not received any notes or phone calls. When Claudia inquires as to why Kristy hasn't gotten any notes, Kristy dismisses it blithely, saying that Mr X probably just hasn't gotten around to her. Dawn thinks that perhaps Kristy is being so competitive about the Sitter of the Month contest, that maybe Kristy is trying to sabotage the other girls. Dawn eventually suppresses the idea, but the fact remains that Kristy is indeed the only sitter not to have received any threats.

Claudia's next sitting job is for Charlotte Johansson. While they're reading on the couch, they get a visit from Mr X, who smears baked beans on the back step, making it look like vomit. As Claudia cleans up, she reflects that none of these problems happened before the Sitter of the Month contest, and that somehow, the two must be related. Claudia just doesn't know why or how.

Finally, Dawn is baby-sitting for Jamie Newton. She suggests going outside to play, more specifically on his swing in the backyard, because she knows that that's a favourite of Jamie's. Jamie is excited, but then quickly says that he wants to stay in the front yard. Dawn then suggests that they go for a walk, and Jamie lets it slip that he promised Mel that they'd stay home. At Dawn's prompting and prodding, Jamie admits that Mel has been doing secret baby-sitting checks for the Sitter of the Month contest. Dawn then determines that for some reason or another, Mel must be Mr X. Sure enough, they stay home and Mr X visits them.

The girls then decide to lay a trap for Mel. They tell everyone they meet over the course of the week that Dawn's going to be home alone, baby-sitting for a cousin. Richard and Sharon really do have plans that evening, and then they pretend that Mary Anne does too. In reality, the whole Club is going to be hiding, waiting for Mel come. They figure that he'll use the secret passage to scare Dawn, so on the big night, half of the girls sneak into the barn and catch him on that end, while the other half catch him from inside Dawn's room. They're all set to take his picture so that they can have cold hard evidence against him, and make sure he's good and caught. However, it all happens so fast, and when they find and trap Mel, they realize he's just a scared little boy. Dawn quickly lets go of her anger and doesn't tell him off. Instead, Dawn and Kristy just take him home.

On the way home, Mel confesses to everything. Dawn asks him why he did it, and he says it's because the Club got him in trouble for teasing to Hobarts. He doesn't see why it's such a big deal, but Kristy points out that bullying is a big deal, and that he needs to stop. Mel says that that's what his father had said, and that his parents were really angry at him and had grounded him for it, which means he'll be in even more trouble now, more so than usual. Mel says that his parents are going to send him to a psychiatrist, and it's clear that he's terrified. Kristy explains that a psychiatrist is just a doctor for your feelings, and that a psychiatrist will talk to Mel and help him figure out why he feels a certain way, and what he can do to feel better. Mel is relieved: he had thought a psychiatrist was going to punish him. So Dawn and Kristy tell Mel's parents everything, and Mel's father walks them around the block, explaining that he'll make sure Mel gets the help he needs.

The girls then celebrate with a sleepover, relieved that their Mr X mystery is solved, and hoping for a better future for Mel.

There's no subplot in this one, other than the Sitter of the Month contest, which ties in directly to the main plot. At the end, we find out that all the girls won in a 7-way tie. They're all the sitters of the month! Yay!

Random Thoughts

• This is one of my favourites. I've really been looking forward to reading this one. Although, I kept getting it confused with another book in the series, where the Club gets notes and they think it's Cokie, but it turns out to be their charges, wanting to surprise them with breakfast, and the girls are all embarrassed cuz they had dressed up in their worst clothing?
• On a related note: I think my favourite Baby-Sitters Club book in the whole wide world is Super Mystery #2 Baby-Sitters, Beware!. I apparently have a thing for the girls getting stalked and scared out of their minds haha Funny that both this one and that one are a #2, and involve the word "beware!" haha
• Also: in hindsight, now that I've re-read this one, there's really not a whole lot to it. Still, I remember as a child being like, "OMG WHO IS MR X???"
• There is so much continuity in this one. It's like Ellen Miles wanted to prove she was legit by referencing as many books as possible. Or maybe they knew that some people would be caught by the title, and potentially just read this one alone without having read the rest of the series (pretty sure the aforementioned Baby-Sitters, Beware! was my first BSC book ever, due to the title, when I was perusing the shelves at my local library haha), and were trying to entice readers to read the regular series. Either way:
• Mel and Zach are back from when they first started teasing the Hobarts and Susan, as well Zach having tried to bully James into being more aggro, and Mel trying to rip off his own parents when trying to fundraise.
• When referencing times the girls have gotten way too competitive and let it get between them, they mention both the science fair and the beauty pageant
• Also in regards to the prank phone calls, and suspecting that it's Alan Gray, Dawn remembers the time it really was Alan Gray haha
• This is the one where Ben Hobart calls Mallory a "bonzer sheila". I knew "sheila" was slang for girl. You hear that all the time whenever Australians pop up in media. But outside of this book, I had never heard the expression "bonzer sheila". Even as a child, I thought this was made up. I finally thought to ask my Australian friend about this (literally just now), and he has confirmed that "bonzer sheila" does indeed mean a hot girl... but he's also specified that no one under 50 would ever say it haha
• Although, if you follow that logic... someone who is 50 years old now, would have been 25 years old when the book was published. I could see 25 year olds using slang to describe hot chicks. And following that logic, Ben, being 11 years old, would totes want to use that same slang.
• The name "Sitter of the Month" implies that this would be an ongoing contest, with each girl having a chance to win each month. But even continuity aside (obviously this is never mentioned in the regular series), the book and the charges imply that this was a one-and-done deal. It should have been a "Sitter of the Week" contest, with someone actually winning and the sitter changing each week. That would have been interesting haha
• Man, I never realized how much sitting was done in this book! haha I guess it makes sense, since the mystery is entirely centred around baby-sitting jobs, but it wasn't until I started doing my recap that I realized that pretty much every chapter is someone (Dawn included) baby-sitting.
• Part of their trap is a story that Dawn is going to be home alone baby-sitting a cousin from out of town. The girls make sure to tell as many people as they possibly can, hoping that the word would get back to Mel. But with them telling everyone, wouldn't one of the parents eventually bump into Richard or Sharon, and mention how excited Dawn is to baby-sit for her "cousin", thus ruining everything?? Curse my adult logic!
• Do we ever hear from Mel again? Is he okay???
• Even though my copy is second-hand (all my copies are now), this one is in really really good shape! It feels and looks brand new (aside from the pages being off-white). It makes me happy haha

BSC #44: Dawn and the Big Sleepover

Tagline: This was going to be one long night!

A bunch of kids at Stoneybrook Elementary have pen pals at a school in New Mexico. The Baby-sitters love hearing the letters that Charlotte, Becca, and the Pike children get from their new friends.

Then the bad news reaches Stoneybrook: their pen pals' school has been destroyed by a fire. Dawn is so upset that she organizes a fund-raiser for them. And as a reward to all the kids who help out, she is going to throw a gigantic sleepover!

A hundred kids, thirty pizzas - will Dawn survive her biggest baby-sitting job ever?

We're thrust into the middle of things, with Dawn baby-sitting the Pikes with Mallory, and all the kids wanting to be the first one to read their letter from their Zuni penpals. Everyone is really excited, and Dawn gets caught up in it. She laments to Mary Anne about how it's too bad that only the elementary school gets to participate in the penpal program, and Mary Anne suggests writing to the Zuni elementary school to inquire about getting a penpal from their middle school. Dawn thinks it's a great idea and can't wait!

Unfortunately, Dawn never gets to do that as a few days later, Mallory comes to their Friday meeting with bad news: a massive fire broke out at a gas station, and the entire Zuni elementary school got burned down, as well as a few neighbouring houses. Everyone feels horrible about it, but Dawn is particularly affected. She wants to do something, but she doesn't know what. She gets to thinking, and eventually decides to organize a huge 3-part event: a food drive, a clothing drive, and a fundraiser. Knowing she can't do it alone, she calls Jeff's old elementary school teacher from when he was still living in Stoneybrook. After an anxious few days of waiting, Dawn hears back from the elementary school: everyone is excited and it's all systems go!

At a planning meeting with the Club, the girls get everything organized. They decide that the kids can drop off their donated clothing and food at Dawn's barn. (I know it's technically Mary Anne's too, but I always think of it as Dawn's.) They decide that as a reward to anyone who has participated, they'll throw a huge sleepover party at the elementary school at the end of it all. Mallory suggests that for the fundraiser, they should just leave it up to the kids to decide what they want to do, reminding everyone of how innovative her siblings had been when their father got laid off. Now the only thing for the girls to figure out is how to let everyone know...

Stacey solves that problem the next day, by baby-sitting for Charlotte. Even though it isn't supposed to be announced yet, Stacey tells Charlotte what's going on. Charlotte instantly comes up with the idea to have an assembly. Dawn and the girls get special permission to miss an hour of class to go to the elementary school to do the announcement. Everyone is of course super excited.

Over the course of the next three weeks, Dawn is exhausted running around, trying to keep everything organized. She's organized it so that kids can drop off food and clothing donations at the barn during certain hours. Of course, the kids don't want to miss out on any possible prizes, so they insist on receipts so that they get credit. After awhile, Dawn and Mary Anne start to notice that some of the items arriving are a little strange, a little too nice. Eventually, they figure out that some of the kids had been pilfering their parents' things, taking stuff that according to the kids, they "don't need". So permission slips become a thing.

Finally, it comes down to the big day: the drive and fundraiser is over and it's time for the big sleepover. They manage to get a local pizza parlor and toy store to donate pizza for dinner, as well as prizes and games for the kids. The local grocery store also donates pancake mix and juice for breakfast the next morning. There's even going to be the local news station doing some coverage of the event, so everyone gets some good publicity! Immediately, Dawn runs into problems, the most pressing of which is the lack of pizza. About an hour or so before the event is to start, she gets a call from the pizza parlor, saying that they didn't get their usual order of flour on time, so they can't make the pizza. Eventually, they decide to get some flour from the grocery store, and go on with that.

The kids start arriving, and at first everyone's having fun, running around. A couple of hours into the evening, some of the little kids get overwhelmed, and two of them go home. Then the pizzas and toys arrive, and the handing out of them and distribution of everything takes up a good chunk of time. The girls then organize some gymnasium games for the kids to keep them busy, before getting them into PJs and winding down with story time.

When it comes time for bed, a few more kids get skittish, and another one leaves to go home. Everyone tries to settle in, but Dawn and the girls feel like they're constantly getting up for bathroom breaks and water. Finally, they all get to drift off to sleep. No sooner than Dawn falls asleep comes morning! Dawn's exhausted as she and the girls corral everyone into getting changed and eating breakfast, but finds she gets her second wind once the kids are picked up and everything's done. The sleepover is a complete success!

There isn't really a subplot in this one. We're just treated to a few chapters of the kids attempting to fundraise. The Pikes hold a carnival-type thing in their yard, with the Arnold twins, David Michael and Linny Papadakis participating. It goes pretty well until Chewy, the Perkins' dog, gets started by their hired entertainment, Goober Mansfield, and ends up running around and causing a scene. The Rodowsky boys organize a yard sale, with other friends participating. The only problem is, not everything donated had permission, leading to some parents getting really upset at seeing their items getting sold. Luckily they catch it early enough, and the parents decide to help out by "buying back" their stuff. Haley Braddock tells fortunes as Madame Leveaux. She makes a killing swindling Alan Gray and his friends.

Random Thoughts:

• This is the first one ghost-written by one of the most well-known and prolific of the BSC ghost-writers, Peter Lerangis!
• I remember this being one of my favourites as a child, but then for some reason not particularly wanting to read it now haha
• I love how the description on the back of the book mentions Becca, but we don't see her at all in this book. We do see Haley Braddock though.
• Dawn calls Mrs Besser at home, saying that because the middle school and elementary school have virtually the same hours, there's no way Dawn can see her in person. Most teachers don't leave school right away, and even so, Dawn could have left a message at the school to make a meeting with Mrs Besser. Obviously, it all works out, but it just strikes me as funny that Dawn figures calling her at home is the only option.
• Dawn gets insulted that Mr Besser thinks she sounds like a 4th grader. She probably does sound like a 4th grader! Even so, Mr Besser says, "it's one of your kids". It doesn't necessarily mean that he thinks that Dawn is one of her current students. My old high school teachers still refer to me as "one of their students". Yes, a lot of the time it's in the past tense, but a lot of the time it's in the present tense. I am clearly an adult (in fact, I'm a high school teacher myself!), but I'm never offended. Then again, I guess it's the attitude that children/teens always want to be seen as older and definitely never younger than what they are, so they're super sensitive about it.
• Also: I'm glad that my phone number will never be in a phone book. Nor my address. I don't want my high school students being able to call me in my off hours, or worse, come knocking on my door. You know it'd be a prank anyways haha
• I would have been surprised if the school wasn't already planning something. The high school I work at is always doing stuff for charity, but especially more so when the cause hits close to home. I love that they let Dawn do her thing and get the kids excited, but yeah, you totes know that the staff was already planning on doing something. This just meant they didn't have to do much of the planning or the thinking. Just the chaperoning and legal stuff haha
• They talk about how the girls were able to pile into the back of a station wagon. I remember when I was in kindergarten (which was two years after this book was published) being carpooled to a birthday party in the back of a station wagon. It's crazy, because that kind of thing would never happen now. I only ever got to do it once, but it definitely remains one of the highlights of my young 4 year old memory haha
• Betsy Sobak is mentioned in this one! I love how she'll get mentioned in passing every now and then in the background, but the girls definitely never seem to baby-sit for her ever again.
• I find it weird that Jamie Newton would be afraid of Chewy. I always thought he hung out with Myriah and Gabbie Perkins all the time, so he'd be used to Chewy. A big unfamiliar dog, definitely. But Chewy? No way!
• I keep thinking of how different this book would be now with internet. The kids would have found out THAT DAY about the fire, instead of several days later. I wonder if they would send more or less emails than they currently do letters. I know here in Canada, sending mail across the country only takes about 3 days, so you're looking at about a one week turnaround, meaning if you're diligent about it, you'll be writing a letter a week. That's actually a pretty good rate, especially for elementary students. 
• I like that this is a Dawn book. They always paint her to be such an activist in the later books, but we hardly ever see her do anything, other than just preach about the environment and vegetarianism to people. They could have easily made this a Kristy book, but I'm glad they gave Dawn a moment to shine. 
• I'm not a big fan of pancakes (I much much MUCH prefer waffles), but reading that list of available pancakes (plain, strawberry, blueberry and buttermilk) really made me want some. Or just any sort of big breakfast/brunch haha

BSC Super Special #5: California Girls!

Tagline: They wish they all could be...

California, here they come!

Who would believe it - the Baby-sitters have won the loterry! And with their winning money, the girls are all going with Dawn to... California!

What adventures they have. Jessi lands a (tiny) part in a TV show, Kristy gets into a kind-of fight with Dawn's We ♥ Kids Club, and Stacey turns into a surfer girl! And in between all that excitement, they still have time for baby-sitting, sight-seeing, and the beach.

How can they go back to Stoneybrook now that they've turned into California girls?

Super Special Gimmick: There actually doesn't seem to be one this time. Dawn starts off the book, talking about the lottery, plus you know, it's her house they're staying at. But there's no gimmick as to why the girls are taking turns chronicling their trip haha

Alright, so apparently Claudia has been getting her father to buy her lottery tickets for years now, and the Club has always made fun of her for it. Well, now the lottery jackpot is at an all-time high, so the girls decide to pitch in and each get their own lottery ticket, and then split the prize if they win. Dawn comes close, with 5 out of 6 numbers right, which means they win a consolation prize. Each girl gets just over a thousand dollars. It's then decided that they'll use the money and an upcoming two-week vacation to go to California and stay with Dawn's dad.

They take an airplane down, which lasts about 5 hours, but due to the timezones, only 2 hours have passed. They're all pretty out of it and jet-lagged, and have a quiet evening at the Schafer's, joined by Mr Schafer's girlfriend Carol, much to Dawn's dismay. The next morning, the girls still aren't feeling up to doing much, so Carol takes them all to the beach for a day of sun and relaxation. There, the girls start taking up different interests, which leads to them spending most of the two weeks pursuing their own adventures:

Stacey decides to take a beginner surfing lesson that first day. She instantly falls in love with it, and Dawn decides to introduce her to some kids she used to school with that are at the beach. They're all super into surfing, so despite being a few years older than Stacey, they hit it off. The next day, they pick her up and take her back to the beach for more surfing. They drive pretty recklessly, but Stacey doesn't think much about it. She's all excited about surfing, and takes risks, like riding waves she's not quite ready for. One day, her new surfer friends pick her up, and it's a new guy at the wheel. He's even crazier than the others at driving, but Stacey loves it. Mostly, she doesn't want to seem like a wetblanket, since the rest of the kids don't seem to mind. Dawn and everyone warns her to be careful. Anyways, several days go by, including some group activities with the girls (which I'll detail later), and eventually it's the middle of their second week. Mr Super Reckless (whose name is Beau) can't wait to get home after a day of surfing, and speeds away faster than usual. Fast enough for another one of the group to actually remark on it. Then they get stuck in traffic behind a slow truck driver. Instead of signalling and being a responsible driver, Beau just lane changes, and ends up causing a huge car accident. Despite it involving multiple cars and the truck, no one is seriously injured. Stacey is shaken up. Carol comes to pick her up, and together, they tell Mr Schafer what happened. Mr Schafer bans Stacey from ever seeing those friends again (not a big deal, since she's leaving soon and by her own admission doesn't particularly want to see them again either), and Stacey spends the rest of the week with the girls.

Dawn's storyline is mostly her conflict with Carol, her dad's new girlfriend. She doesn't like how Carol is always around, as if she had already inserted herself into the family. Furthermore, Dawn doesn't like how "cool" Carol acts, trying to be their friend and what not. Everything turns around though when Dawn sees how Carol acts in an emergency situation: Stacey's car accident. She and Stacey expected Carol to be all winks and like, "This is our little secret", but instead she immediately takes charge and tells them that they need to tell Mr Schafer. This earns Dawn's respect, and she sees that while Carol is cool and fun and young, she is also an adult and can be trusted to do the right and responsible thing when the time comes. Dawn decides to give Carol and a chance, and stops acting so bratty to her. They have a very pleasant last few days together.

Jessi decides to visit Derek Masters, who's in LA filming his TV show. Like what always happens when dealing with Derek, Jessi thinks maybe she should get an agent and start modelling or acting. This is further compounded by the fact that she gets chosen by the director to be an extra in one of the scenes. Jessi also fights with Mallory, who is busy trying to be a "California Girl" and essentially just being a giant brat. It's the first time they've ever fought over the course of their friendship. Of course, in the end Jessi decides to forget about all this Hollywood nonsense and stick with ballet. And she and Mallory make up.

Mallory has what I think the most annoying plot in the book. Going to the beach, she looks around and sees all these hot blonde girls, and decides that she wants to look like that. She convinces Carol to drive her to the Max Factor Museum of Make-Up, and then spends another day at the mall. It's on her trip to the mall that decides to get all this fancy high-end make-up, and blows all of her spending money. She buys wash-out hair dye and dies her hair blonde, and spends forever playing with make-up. Because she has no money, she has to borrow from Jessi. When she finds out that Jessi is going to visit Derek, she gets all obssessed with getting noticed and being on TV. When Jessi brings her (in an attempt to connect with Mallory and try to understand her obsession with being something she's not), Mallory gets rejected by the director to be an extra, saying she doesn't have the "right look". This leads to Mallory being all mopey and depressed and avoiding everyone for a full 24 hours, before Kristy puts her foot down and tells Mallory to get over it. Mallory sells her make-up to Stacey and Claudia, dyes her hair red again, and goes back to normal.

Claudia meets a boy on the beach. His name is Terry and he's Asian, and he's super intelligent. Claudia keeps bringing herself down, saying that she's not smart enough to be with Terry, and keeps dreading spending time with him. However, he seems to be really into her, and keeps asking her out, to which she keeps saying yes. He takes her to a fancy Italian restaurant, and then to an Italian film with subtitles. Claudia did alright with the food, but couldn't understand the movie nor read the subtitles fast enough, so she just mostly smiles and nods. Then he takes her to a fancy French restaurant, where she orders escargots, not realizing that they were snails. She tries to keep up in conversation with him, but really can't, and just goes home feeling humiliated. She even calls Janine, trying to get some intelligent world issues talking points. Janine tells her to just be herself, and to invite Terry somewhere with her instead. Claudia takes the advice, and ends up having a great time. They part ways, and promise to write, with Claudia talking of visiting again sometime.

Kristy gets all competitive with the We ♥ Kids Club, insulted by how relaxed and informal they are. Kristy, wanting to prove that she's the best and that everything she does is best, takes a difficult job from the girls. She agrees to baby-sit for Erick and Ryan Dewitt, the We ♥ Kids Club's toughest clients. Apparently the boys are very rambunctious and spirited, and need a firm guiding hand, or else they take advantage of the situation and run nuts. Kristy's convinced she can handle it though. They soon realize that the sitting job is on the same day that Mr Schafer had planned to take everyone to Universal Studios. Kristy doesn't see what the big deal is, and simply gets permission to bring the boys along. Of course, it all goes to shit. The boys run around, keep standing up on the tram, ask to go to the bathroom and then get into a water fight while trying to stick pieces of paper towel to the ceiling... When the tour asks for a child volunteer to demonstrate some of the special effects, and Jeff gets picked instead of them, they're loud and rude and just a nuisance. However at some point, they get scared by the effects, and Kristy tells them that they have to stay with her and Stacey from now on. By Kristy being firm and telling them they have to stay close, they can make it seem like they're not scared and are just following rules. Kristy learns that maybe she doesn't know everything, and that sometimes, being firm is what's needed.

Mary Anne also snags a sitting job with the We ♥ Kids Club. She's sitting for Stephie Robertson, a little girl who is exactly like Mary Anne, only with asthma. Stephie's mother also died when she was a baby, leaving her father to raise her. Stephie is shy, sweet and sensitive. Anyways, she and Mary Anne hit it off, and Mary Anne sits for her a bunch of times. Even though Mary Anne is told that Stephie's asthma is brought on my emotional stress, MA freaks out every time Stephie wants to do something active or is surprised or startled: pretty much anything that would make you take a deep breath. MA also decides to bring Stephie to Universal Studios, figuring the outing would be good for her. When the outing goes off without a hitch, MA finally realizes that Stephie's asthma is not the end of the world, and clearly Stephie can handle it and be a normal kid. Of course, this is the moment where Stephie has an asthma attack. It's MA's last time sitting for her, and Stephie starts to get emotionally distraught by the idea of MA leaving, which gets her crying, which gets her sobbing, which triggers an asthma attack. MA handles it well though, and although she loves Stephie and clearly knows what to do in case of an asthma attack, MA is glad to be going back home and to not have to worry about it anymore.

Random Thoughts:

• For some reason, I always thought this one took place later in the series. I mean, I know there's still another 10 Super Specials and only another 100 books or so left, so it makes sense that every 10 books, there'd be a Super Special, meaning this one would have to happen sooner rather than later, but still! haha
• This one was always one of my favourites. I remember reading it constantly in the summer, along with Super Special #10, Sea City, Here We Come!
• Also: damn, there's a lot of Super Specials in a row! It's only been like, 4 books since the last one!!
• I should have realized that this was one of the earlier ones: Dawn eats chicken!! She's not a super-strict hardcore vegetarian!
• You totes know that if the books were written now, she'd be a hardcore vegan. Maybe even gluten-free haha
• You can tell that AMM wrote this one, because in addition to Dawn not being a super-strict hardcore flanderized vegetarian, Kristy goes to the mall with Dawn and Claudia, and comes away with a matching charm bracelet.
• I guess another reason why I always assumed that this book happened later rather than sooner was because of how prominent Carol is in it. Carol and Mr Schafer don't get married until Super Special #12. They dated for a really really effing long time! haha which is actually realistic.
• It sure is nice for Mr Schafer to let 6 random girls spend two weeks at his place. I hope they all gave him some money, considering how much food they must have eaten!
• How the fuck does Dawn know kids that are 3 or 4 years older than her. When you're a little kid, that is practically another decade... even generation! And this is before California Diaries, where knowing older kids makes sense. And even then, Dawn and her friends were all like, "WTF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS". Uh, wouldn't you know the kids in the grade above you? Anyways, it would've been interesting if Dawn's rand-o surfer friends came up during California Diaries, but nope!
• We find out that one of the kids lives down the street from Dawn, and that Mr Schafer knows all their parents, so maybe the kids live in the neighbourhood, and/or Dawn knew them because their parents all knew each other?
• More foreshadowing on Stacey's diabetes not being good and her health being wonky.
• Poor Carol. She never said that Claudia should change her personality to get a guy. All she started saying was that she knew people who did... but then Dawn cut her off and that was that. Dawn and Claudia then went back to Dawn's room, and acted like all Carol had said was, "People change to impress other people". You totes know Carol was going to say, "I know people who change to please other people... but it usually doesn't end up working and it's best to just be honest and be yourself." Of course, it's really realistic to have a bunch of 13 year old girls take advice wrongly haha
• As someone who is only really driving for the first time, reading of Stacey's car accident was not fun haha
• Dawn would hate me. I'm 27, and I'm fairly "cool". My students always can't believe how much of their stuff I know and like, and will often just enjoy talking to me. Of course, sometimes I'm a total adult, such as assigning homework and making sure everyone is seated and being civilized. But yeah. I don't try to be cool to impress my students. I just act how I always act. It would feel weird and disingenuous to be all like, "I AM AN ADULT! I READ LITERATURE AND DRINK WINE AND CREATE CULINARY CUISINE AND THE ONLY MOVIES I WATCH ARE FOREIGN INDIE FILMS WITH SUBTITLES." Mostly because I do none of that haha
• I also like how Dawn makes it seem like Carol is a bajillion years younger than her father. Yes, Carol is rather young (at age 32, she would have had Dawn at age 19 if she was Dawn's biological mother), but I bet she's probably roughly the same age difference (if not less!) than me and my boyfriend are haha
• Was the Grateful Dead really the kind of band that 10 year old boys listened to in the early 1990s? I always thought that it was weird that Jeff was a fan, and always assumed that nah, it must be a made-up band. It can't be that band!
• For some reason, Claudia always finds Asian boys while she's on vacation, but she never dates them at home haha
• I'm all for Claudia being herself, and I like the idea that Terry, while super intelligent and primarily into indie and niche interests, also enjoys regular every day teen stuffs. However, the moment Claudia writes to him, he's going to see how dumb she is =/
• I'm surprised Dawn didn't spend more time with Sunny and her California friends. Or at least talk about wanting to spend more time with them