BSC Mystery #5: Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic

Tagline: She can't turn back now.

Mary Anne's mother died when Mary Anne was just a baby. And since it makes Mr. Spier too sad to talk about her, Mary Anne hardly knows a thing about her mother. Mary Anne respects her father's feelings. But lately, she wants to know more. She has to find out about her mother.

So Mary Anne does something she knows is wrong. She goes up into the creepy, ghostly attic in her and Dawn's house to look for evidence.

And there Mary Anne finds something she wishes she never had...

The book starts off with Mary Anne waking up from an incredibly vivid dream. In it, there's a very very young girl, holding a kitten, crying out for her mother, while two older people stand nearby. Mary Anne kinda flip-flops on whether or not she thinks the girl is her, but she definitely doesn't recognize the old people nor her surroundings. She says she's been having the dream a couple of times now recently, and goes to tell Dawn while they get ready for school.

Mary Anne spends all day dwelling on her dream, and is even distracted through the Club meeting that evening. Mallory introduces the impetus for the main plot: Heritage Day. The elementary school is making a big deal of it, encouraging all the students (and thus, many of the clients of the Club) to create some sort of research project on their families, Stoneybrook, or how their families arrived in Stoneybrook. There will be a big celebration, where the students are going to present their findings and other community groups will have booths and everyone will celebrate! However, Mary Anne just cannot stop thinking about her dream...

Later, Mary Anne is baby-sitting for Charlotte, who is working on her family history for Heritage Day. Charlotte has all sorts of great things from her great-grandma, including old letters, photographs and a diary. It makes Mary Anne slightly envious, since as far as she knows, her family doesn't have any keepsakes like that. However, Charlotte's enthusiasm is warming, and Mary Anne listens as Charlotte prattles on about all the things she's learned. When Charlotte mentions her mother taking her to the Heritage Day picnic, Mary Anne again remembers how she's never done anything with her mother, and it makes her sad. Mary Anne realizes how little she knows about her mother and family history. She decides to go looking around her attic to see if maybe they do have pictures of her and her mother as a child. There, she discovers an old album. At first, there are pictures that she recognizes: wedding pictures of her mom and dad, pictures of her as a baby. But then she sees a series of photographs she doesn't know: her and an older couple, her on a farm. MA realizes that they're awfully similar to the ones from her dream, and that given how many wardrobe changes she has, she must have stayed with the couple for quite some time. Richard comes home, and instead of confronting him, MA hides in her room, confused as ever.

MA later decides to check out the Stoneybrook Cemetery, inspired by Stacey's baby-sitting adventures (more on that later), hoping to find her mother's gravestone and some of her mother's ancestor's. It takes her a week to work up the courage, but she finally goes. As MA wanders down the endless aisles, she sees many graves, but not her mother's. Frustrated, MA is about to give up when she finds Mimi's grave.

Overwrought with emotion, MA decides to go home and try searching the attic again. Upon searching, she finds a bundle of letters sent to her father from a Bill and Verna. Reading a bunch of them, MA discovers that they're her maternal grandparents. She had apparently stayed with them on their farm as a baby. MA is angered to realize that Richard had never mentioned them or this time to her, that these people who were so very important to her life were now complete strangers to her. Just before leaving the attic, she reads one last letter, in which her grandparents thank Richard for giving MA up to them. MA leaves the attic in a state of shock, thinking that her father never wanted her, and that her childhood was a lie.

That evening, MA is all full of emotion and turmoil. She can't figure out what to say to her family, so she suffers in silence. After waking up at 2am from her dream/childhood memory, she finally decides to go to the attic and read some more. There, she discovers that Richard did eventually want her back, but that her grandparents were reluctant to give her up. This gets MA thinking that maybe her grandparents did and still have some legal control over her. She gets worried about what might happen to her in the future. She's also upset, because if she was gone for so long (her dad missed her first birthday!), then the people she grew up with must have known. Feeling betrayed, MA ends up spending the night in the attic.

MA spends the whole day stewing and dodging questions from her friends. Just as she decides to finally open up to Logan about everything, her father gets a phone call. Coincidentally, it's Verna Baker, MA's grandmother, calling to tell Richard that Bill has died. MA continues to eavesdrop on the phone conversation, where she hears that Verna wants MA to go stay with her in Iowa. MA, upset, gets off the phone, and finally confesses to Dawn what's been going on. Dawn is shocked, but is adamant that no one will be sending MA anywhere.

Dawn eventually suggests that MA ask her father what's going on, but MA stubbornly refuses to talk to him about it. Eventually Dawn convinces MA to talk to someone, which leads to her asking Claudia and Kristy if they'd ever heard of anything, but they hadn't, so MA is back to square one.

MA continues to be paranoid and miserable. When the Club comes over to work on their own Heritage Day project (more on that later), things get out of control and lead to a paint fight and Logan takes his shirt off, and the girls decide to bake cookies, and it's just pandemonium. Of course, at that moment, MA gets a visitor. This lady with a clipboard asks if she's at the right residence (she is) and wants to ask some questions. MA assumes she's a social worker, checking in on her and her father. MA panics and breaks down, telling the whole Club what's going on. They all urge her to talk to her father.

Finally MA gets the courage to speak to her father. She explains what she's overheard and the conclusions that she's come to. At first, Richard is angry that she'd been snooping and eavesdropping, but when he realizes just how worked up she's gotten, he quickly forgives her and explains everything: when her mother died, Richard was just completely distraught and in no shape to take care of a newborn daughter. So he sent MA to live with her grandparents. They really enjoyed having her, but ultimately Richard wanted MA back and was ready to be a father. There were some words exchanged, but eventually Richard got MA back, and it was decided that it'd be best for everyone involved if the Bakers never saw MA again. However, now that Bill is dead, Verna regrets that they never reconnected with MA and wants MA back for a visit. MA isn't too sure how she feels about it, but agrees to consider it.

Eventually the actual Heritage Day happens, and MA and Richard talk again. Richard gives MA a letter that her mother that was intended for her 16th birthday. MA reads it and gets all choked up, and desires to be closer to her mom. She decides that she will visit her grandmother after all.

The last chapter is a series of letters written back and forth while MA is visiting her grandma. Everything is going well, and MA learns that she's essentially exactly like her mother. She also baby-sits for the neighbour's kids and goes out on a date with the grandson of her grandmother's friend, a boy named Bob. Bob apparently is super boring, so Logan doesn't have anything to worry about! Anyways, MA has a great time, and Richard eventually reaches out and apologizes for everything all these years. He invites Verna to join them at Christmas, and it looks like everything has worked out in the end!

The whole subplot in this one is just the Heritage Day fair. In addition to seeing Charlotte prepare for it, we're treated to all the Pikes preparing for it too. Stacey takes the Pike triplets to the library so they can do some research for their newspaper project. There, they find out that Old Hickory was actually a man called James Hickman, who is haunting his grave because his nephew commissioned it against his wishes. This spurs the triplets to go visit the grave with Stacey. Dawn ends up taking the Rodowskys to town hall so that Shea can look up things for his own project (because it's Jackie, it ends up a total disaster).

Eventually, it comes up that the Heritage Day fair is to help raise money for the Historical Society, and the Club decides that they want to help. After throwing some ideas around, they decide to do a photo booth with "famous" historical cut-outs that people can pose with. MA ends up escorting Charlotte to the fair, because an emergency has come up with Dr Johanssen, and Mr Johanssen was never able to take Charlotte. Both Charlotte and MA are a bit sad at not being able to do a mother-daughter thing, but in the end they have a good time.

At this point, I realized that the Heritage Day fair at the elementary school that the kids are all preparing for, and the actual Heritage Day thing that the Club was preparing for was separate things! Oops! Anyways, their booth is a hit, and everything goes well. So well in fact that the Club ended up making the most money of all the booths! (Of course haha)




Random Thoughts:

• I have always loved the way Mary Anne looked on this cover. This is my favourite Mary Anne cover. When I picture Mary Anne, this is how she looks to me. The only other cover I can think of off the top of my head that looks like the same model is Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies
• Mallory is once again mentioned as having red hair. She's officially a ginger! 
• When Mary Anne reflects on how little she knows about her family, she thinks about her own personal history, and references many things from the series: a ticket stub from the Remember September dance, a sand dollar from a trip to the shore, Mickey Mouse ears from Disneyland, and photos from New York.
• I love how one of the reasons why Mary Anne decides not to ask her father about things is because she doesn't want to jeopardize his happiness by bringing up the past. That's such a 13 year old thing to think!
• I find it weird/convenient that both Richard and Alma were both only children, giving MA very very little family in the world.
• Good ol' Old Hickory!
• Again, I'm reminded of how awesome Mimi was and how much I miss her!
• I can't believe Mallory's historical foods bake sale idea got shut down! I mean, I can, because it's Mallory, but yeah! That would definitely be the thing I'd want to do. Jessi says it'd be too much research, and I know they didn't have the internet back then (or at least, not a big enough and common enough internet), but I don't think it would be THAT much work. I doubt anyone would check if their recipes were 100% accurate haha
• I fucking hate Jackie Rodowsky. I know he's supposed to be cute and endearing but my god. You cannot take that kid anywhere.
• I love the idea of Kristy cat-calling Logan when he takes his shirt off. This is a Kristy I can get behind!
• We see the Crane girls with their Aunt Bud at the fair!
• This book feels like it should end after chapter 12, when MA finally talks to her dad about everything. But then we have a chapter with Kristy and Shannon where they talk about big blended families and knowing your roots, a chapter with the Club at the Heritage Day thing and MA receiving a letter from her mother, and then a chapter where everyone is writing letters back and forth while MA travels, visits, and then comes back from the farm.
• I still find it weird that Richard never mentioned this and that Verna never tried to write to MA or call, and that she just had zero idea that she still had grandparents who were alive. Had she never had to do a family tree assignment before?? Did Richard just lie and say everyone was dead??
• When I read MA's mother's letter, it read as super sappy and unrealistic. Then I was reminded of the letter that Meredith wrote Peter Quill in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. Then I was reminded of how weird and melodramatic and strange in my diction I can be in my own journal, and I'm not even dying, so yeah haha
• It's also super weird that apparently Richard never took MA to visit her mother's grave before!
• When does this book take place?? It sounds like it's Spring, but it also seems like MA goes on her trip to her grandmother's right away. I guess it could be for spring break, but she's gone long enough to write several letters back and forth to Dawn, leading me to believe that she's gone for almost a month instead of only 2 weeks. So I'm guessing the Heritage Day thing was late late May or early June, and then the epilogue chapter with MA's visit took place in July

BSC Mystery #4: Kristy and the Missing Child

Tagline: Everyone in Stoneybrook is shocked. Jake is gone - for real

Kristy can hardly believe it when little Jake Kuhn is reported missing. Jake is one of the kids on her softball team. And Kristy was the last person to see Jake before he disappeared.

Even though the Baby-sitters and all Jake's friends are helping look for him, Kristy still feels horrible. And when the police can't find Jake after almost two days, things look really serious.

Kristy knows she's just a kid, but she's determined to find Jake. Wherever he is...

The book starts off with Kristy baby-sitting for the Kuhns. Even though they're all members of her softball team, the Krushers, she's never actually baby-sat for them. They're going through a rough time because Mr Kuhn has recently left and finalized his divorce to Mrs Kuhn. The kids all miss him very much, but Patsy in particular is convinced that she's seen her father around, despite Laurel insisting that he's in Texas. Jake is particularly upset because his birthday is coming up, and it looks like Mr Kuhn won't be able to make the party. Furthermore, Mr Kuhn invited Jake to join him on a two-week business trip to Europe, but Mrs Kuhn said no, saying that Jake would miss too much school. Kristy soon cheers him up with talk of the party and distracts him with some softball practice. She even tells him that he might be good enough to become a relief pitcher!

Later that week, the Krushers have a game against the Bashers. They lose, but it's okay because everyone played particularly well. Jake doesn't get to pitch, but Kristy promises him that his time will come soon. They're getting ready to head home, when Kristy notices that no one has arrived to pick up Jake. Jake tells her that Mrs Kuhn has gone to the dentist with the girls, and that he has permission to head home alone. Bart and Kristy tell him to hurry, because it looks like it's going to rain. Sure enough, Bart, Kristy and David Michael are caught in a deluge on their way home, having been distracted by work going on at a construction site.

Shortly after arriving home, Kristy gets a phone call from Mrs Kuhn. She wants to know if Kristy has seen Jake. Kristy lets her know that she let Jake walk home alone, worried that she had made a mistake, but Mrs Kuhn quickly confirms that she did give permission for Jake to walk alone. Mrs Kuhn isn't too worried, figuring that Jake probably got stuck somewhere because of the rain. Kristy doesn't think much more about it.

However later that evening, Mrs Kuhn calls again. She still hasn't seen Jake. However, instead of being worried, Mrs Kuhn is more angry: she's convinced that Mr Kuhn must have kidnapped Jake out of spite for her having said no to the Europe trip. At this point, Mrs Kuhn is not too too worried, but she is starting to get really emotional and worked up. Patsy and Laurel spend the night with Stacey, to keep them out of her hair.

Kristy, on the other hand, isn't so convinced that Mr Kuhn took Jake, and is convinced that something horrible must have happened to him. She calls an emergency Club meeting, trying to figure out if there's anything she or the girls can do. They don't come up with any solutions, and before they know it, it's time to leave. Kristy is briefly interviewed by cops, and then her mom picks her and Shannon up. Along the way, they stop by the Kuhns to see if they can offer any help. Kristy is feeling pretty guilty, and doesn't really want to see Mrs Kuhn, but Mrs Kuhn quickly reassures Kristy that she doesn't blame her in any way, and that she's even more convinced that her ex-husband must have taken Jake. Patsy keeps insisting that she's seen his car.

The next day, Kristy gets the bright idea of rounding up everyone she can think of to do a neighbourhood search/canvas. She gets to school and makes an announcement, recruiting some of the older kids to help lead the search. They decide to meet up at the elementary school with Jake's friends and classmates, and then divide up and search. They search everywhere, with Matt Braddock taking the lead in Kristy's group, checking all of Jake's favourite places. They don't find him though. Kristy goes home feeling sick to her stomach about it all, but puts up a brave face since Laurel and Patsy are with her family that night.

Later that evening, Bart's keeping Kristy company, and she tells him about how guilty she feels about everything. They then see a news report about Jake's absence, and it really gets Kristy emotional. Mrs Kuhn keeps calling all night to update Kristy's mom on the situation (they're friends from aerobics class btw). With each lack of concrete news, Kristy doubles down on her resolve to find Jake.

It's now Saturday morning, and Jake has been missing for about 40 hours. Kristy's younger siblings are all worried about being kidnapped, and even Kristy herself wonders if her father would ever do such a thing to her or David Michael. The adults are all still convinced that Mr Kuhn has something to do with Jake's disappearance, especially since they can't find him. Bart comes over, and he and Kristy get organized to search again.

They spend the day searching, stopping by a convenience store that Jake goes to a lot. The man working hasn't seen Jake, but remembers him and wishes the kids luck. Matt Braddock wants to go searching the construction site, but Kristy points out that it's in the opposite direction from his house. Matt insists, telling Kristy about how they were going to find scraps to build a tree house this weekend. Kristy, remembering how enamored Bart and David Michael had been the other day, agrees. At first, it seems like a bust, but eventually Kristy hears a faint voice. Searching, they discover that Jake had fallen through a hole in the floor, and was trapped in an unfinished basement of a house. Bart runs back to the convenience store to get help, while Kristy stays and keeps Jake company. They rescue Jake, he's reunited with Mrs Kuhn, and everything works out in the end.

Turns out Mr Kuhn was on a business trip in Mexico, and hadn't been to Stoneybrook at all. Patsy was just young and confused and missing her dad.

The subplot in this one is that Mary Anne is failing Home Economics. Apparently she's not great at sewing or setting a table, but it all comes to a head when it comes to cooking, specifically Jell-O. Pete Black and other people in their class all tease her about it, particularly her rock hard Jell-O. She spends the whole book bemoaning the fact that she's failing Home Ec and doesn't know how to pass. Then while she's baby-sitting for the Barretts, they want to make Jell-O. As MA finds the Jell-O mix, she accidentally knocks over a bunch of cookie cutters. That gives her the idea to make Jell-O in a shallow pan, make it more solid than usual, and then cut it out with cookie cutters into fun shapes. It works! So MA decides to write down what she did and submit it to Home Ec. It does the trick, and gets her a passing grade. MA later finds out that there's a recipe on every box with instructions on how to do that anyways haha

Oh, and the middle school does some awards ceremony thing at the end, and Mary Anne wins Most Improved in Home Ec and Kristy gets a special award for her perseverance and subsequent rescue of Jake.

Random Thoughts:

• I really liked this one and was looking forward to reading it!
• I really like this one because it involves a very real fear (the disappearance of a child) and is realistic: Kristy and the Club didn't tackle a kidnapper or bust Jake out of a locked basement. They just simply found him.
• Looking at the cover, again Matt Braddock looks hispanic! But then Haley looks Californian blonde like Dawn and her brother! It's always confused me as to how those two are drawn haha
• For some reason, I always think that the "Mary Anne fails home ec" subplot happens in Mystery #5 Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic, even though logically, I know that that makes no sense. A Mary Anne book wouldn't have a Mary Anne subplot haha
• It also makes no sense that Mary Anne is failing home ec. I mean, I'm glad they didn't go with the stereotype of "Kristy is a tomboy and therefore can't do Home Ec!", but it really doesn't make sense for Mary Anne to be failing either. I think it would have been more realistic if she was good at it, but was so shy and her teacher so strict and overbearing, that Mary Anne kept getting flustered and being klutzy, thus messing up recipes and knocking things over when trying to set the table or something.
• To be fair: when I was her age, I fucked up Jell-O too. But that's because I didn't realize you weren't supposed to make it in a metal bowl. Metal bowls were the only bowls we had big enough for a single batch of Jell-O. When you make it in a metal bowl, it develops a hard crust along the curve of the bowl, and then the rest doesn't set well. This went on for a couple of years before I realized my mistake. To this day, I'm still surprised when my Jell-O actually turns out well, despite the fact that I know that that was my mistake, and obviously don't do it anymore.
• I like how Kristy says that now Mrs Kuhn has to get a job, because she's divorced and on her own. I guess Mrs Kuhn wasn't allowed to just simply have a job before now?? haha
• I like how they didn't repeat the whole "ex-husband takes kid to teach a lesson" story from BSC #5
• Although it's funny, because Buddy is the reason why the girls know Jake and the Kuhns haha
• This is the one where Stacey mentions popcorn picnics that she has with her mother, when entertaining the Kuhn girls. This actually stuck with me as a child, and now I occasionally like to experiment with seasonings when I eat popcorn. It also really makes me want to have popcorn haha
• I like how in this one, Kristy acts like a 13 year old, and is treated like a 13 year old. I mean, albeit a mature/responsible 13 year old (no one hides anything from her), but still a child. The cops and parents have quite a few conversations without Kristy. In the later ones, they have Sgt Johnson, who takes the girls super seriously and even treats them almost as equals. It always makes me think that he's a young cop, like 22 years old (despite the fact that his rank is Sergeant, so duh, he can't be that young!) and that the girls are like, 18.
• Like, to the point where sometimes I forget, and I kinda ship him and Abby together. Especially since one of Abby's reasons for not having a boyfriend in #127 is that she just doesn't find any of the boys at SMS mature/attractive and she just doesn't see a point in her dating any of them. So yeahhhhh... I always forget that he's probably like, 35 at least, and Abby is definitely not 18 haha
• I may also be projecting my feelings for Veronica Mars (17/18) and Deputy Leo (who's like, 22??) onto them haha
• I'm surprised the police were allowed to interview Kristy without a guardian present. Now obviously she's not a suspect: they just wanted to know when she last saw Jake, since she's apparently the last one to have seen him. But still. I was always lead to believe that the cops weren't allowed to talk to minors at all without a guardian present. Or is that just on TV?
• This book has a pretty tight timeframe: everything happens in about a week, with some wrap up stuff happening about a week later.

BSC Mystery #3: Mallory and the Ghost Cat

Tagline: It looks and sounds like a cat- but is it real?

One night when Mallory is baby-sitting for the Craines, she hears a cat crying somewhere in the house. But the Craines don't own a pet. So Mallory and the girls go exploring - and discover a mysterious white cat hiding in the attic. They name him Ghost Cat, and the mystery is solved. They think.

Until Mallory and the girls continue to hear eerie cries coming from the attic. If Ghost Cat is sitting right there with them, who - or what - is upstairs in the attic?

Mallory is excited. She has just gotten herself a regular gig sitting for new clients: the Craines (Margaret 6, Sophie 4, Katie 2). They're normally watched by their Aunt Bud (real name Ellen), but she recently broke her leg and has to be off her feet for a month or so. Mallory meets the girls and has a great time with them. However, on their first day when they're napping, Mallory hears the sound of a cat. Curious, since Mr Craine hadn't mentioned anything about owning a cat, Mallory searches high and low for it, to no avail. When the girls wake up, Mallory asks them about it, only to be told that they don't own a cat.

The next time she's there, Mallory double-checks with Mrs Craine to make sure they really don't own a cat. She's told again that no cat exists, however when the girls are baking cookies, they hear the sound of a cat. They go exploring and search all over the house. Eventually they enter the attic, where they find a white cat, all frail and scared and shivering. He runs out and they trap him in the laundry room. They decide to name him Ghost Cat, since he's so pale and frail. They get him some food, and the Craines decide to get him checked out and to put an ad up in the paper. If no one claims him, they'll keep him.

Ghost Cat starts eating and getting more healthy, but he's still easily spooked, so they keep him locked up in the laundry room. When showing him off to Mallory, he escapes, and they have to go hunting for him again. They end up back in the attic where they had found the cat originally, but instead of finding him again, they find a bunch of letters tied up in a bundle. Mallory brings them downstairs, and together the girls learn about an old man who once lived in the house a long long time ago. His name was Kennedy Graham, and he was sad and lonely, until one day he discovered a kitten hiding in the house. He adopted the kitten, and they became the best of friends. Until one day, the cat died. Kennedy Graham grew older and sadder, and was convinced that he could hear the ghost of his beloved cat (Tinker) still haunting the house. The girls are subdued after this, and return to the laundry room, only to discover that Ghost Cat was there the whole time!

This causes Mallory to think that maybe Ghost Cat really was a ghost cat. She enlists in Dawn to help her determine whether or not this is true. While she's sitting for the Craines, Mallory invites Dawn over, and they perform all sorts of tests on Ghost Cat. Dawn has a thermometer to check the temperature of the attic and around Ghost Cat (ghosts produce a distinct chill) and an ectoplasm meter that she mail-ordered from the back of a book (Mallory thinks it just looks like really sturdy cardboard, and Dawn admits she doesn't know if it actually works or not). Dawn also checks to see if Ghost Cat can be photographed, if he leaves footprints and if he can walk through things. He fails all of the tests, resulting in Dawn announcing that he is a real cat, not a ghost cat at all. Before Mallory leaves, they get a phone call from a man claiming to be the cat's owner, saying that the cat's name is Rasputin. He'll be by in a few days to pick him up.

On Rasputin's last day with them, to distract the girls, Mallory sets up a series of cat IQ tests, to see how smart he is. The girls have fun testing his cleverness and his name recognition, before preparing him a final meal of milk and tuna. While they're with Rasputin, Mallory continues to hear a cat crying from the attic. Before Mallory can think too much of it though, Mr Craine shows up and just in time too: Rasputin's owner arrives. He looks exactly like Kennedy Graham! The cat and the man walk away, happy as can be.

To wrap the story up, Mallory sits for the Craines one last time. The Craines have decided to get a new cat, a female named Tinkerbell. Margaret tells Mallory that ever since Rasputin went home with the old man, and Tinkerbell came to stay, they haven't heard any mysterious cat noises from the attic anymore. Mallory doesn't know what to make of it, but she's happy that there's no more mysterious noises, and that Rasputin and his owner are reunited, hoping that somewhere out there, Kennedy Graham and Tinker are happy as well.

The subplot in this one (which to be honest, is more of the main plot; it takes up a really big chunk of the book) is Mallory's Uncle Joe. He's actually her Great-Uncle Joe, as he's Mr Pike's uncle. Mr Pike has all those great memories of the guy, and it turns out he just recently transferred to the Stoneybrook Manor, so Mr Pike wants to invite him to meet the family and stay with them for an extended visit. The kids are all excited, having heard all these stories of this lively man who would perform little magic tricks and take Mr Pike fishing. Now, Mr and Mrs Pike warn the kids that he's older now, so they'll have to be a little more quiet and change their routines a bit, including eating less savoury foods so as to not upset Uncle Joe's digestion. However, when the day arrives for Uncle Joe to visit, the kids are all shocked: he's a very stand-offish old man who doesn't seem to make the least bit of effort to get to know the kids. No stories, no tricks, nothing. As the month goes on, the kids get more and more discouraged and disappointed. It's hard for them to continue being quiet and calm, to continue eating bland and tasteless foods. Uncle Joe still hasn't learned any of their names and is starting to do odd things, like forget where he is, what time of the day it is, what he's saying mid-sentence. Finally Mr and Mrs Pike call another family meeting, and decide that it's time for Uncle Joe to go back to the nursing home. They admit that he's coming down with the early stages of Alzheimer's and that he needs more care than they can give him. The kids are sad, mostly because they can see how hard this is on Mr Pike, but they do their best to get Uncle Joe ready. On his last day, while the kids are all drawing pictures for him, Mallory discovers that Nicky has disappeared. After searching the house, she discovers that Nicky is in Uncle Joe's room. Nicky is sitting on his lap, and Uncle Joe is showing him a trick. He even remembers Nicky's name! The family discovers that Uncle Joe is better off seeing the kids only a couple at a time, and so they spend the rest of the afternoon visiting with him in pairs. A few weekends later, they go to visit Uncle Joe at the Manor. He seems a lot happier and more adjusted, playing Scrabble with his roommate. They stay for dinner, and Uncle Joe surprises Mallory with a bottle of hot sauce: he says he can't stand eating bland foods!

Random Thoughts:

• This was a cute mystery. Nothing actually really happens and it's all left up to the reader: was it mundane or was it supernatural??? Reminds me of the old episodes of The X-Files. I really liked that first season, where we still weren't too sure if the supernatural and paranormal and extraterrestrial really existed or not.
• Apparently this is the only Mystery narrated by Mallory. It never occurred to me that she never narrates another one, so when someone pointed it out, I had to go back and check my collection. I can't believe her and Jessi only get one Mystery each! I guess they thought us readers couldn't suspend our disbelief so much that we'd buy 11 year olds as detectives haha
• Why the fuck would the Pikes think it would be a good idea to have Uncle Joe stay with them for a month?? I'm 28, and even I wouldn't want to spend a month in a house with 9 people I have never met before, even if they were family! Especially if their house wasn't even big enough for them! Not unless it was absolutely necessary (like I was on an extended trip job searching or interning or something else that wasn't paid for). And that's me, as a totally healthy young adult! Even if they didn't realize how far gone Uncle Joe was, that's still a lot to ask of an old man whom the nurses had warned the Pikes about early on-set Alzheimer's. Especially since he has never met the kids before! Why didn't they arrange for the kids to visit him at the Manor first? Or arrange for a short weekend visit at their place. Jfc this subplot pissed me off. I never particularly liked it as a child, but as an adult, it seems downright stupid and irresponsible.
• Ugh! I keep thinking about it, and it pisses me off! Like, Mrs Pike is on the verge of losing her job, because her boss is upset from all the time she takes off to spend at home looking after Uncle Joe. Isn't that a sign that he shouldn't be there for an extended visit??
• And why would they make everyone eat the same bland foods? I mean, I get not wanting to make a million meals, but it seems like the Pikes are already well-versed in picky eaters and variations. Why not make the bland chicken, cauliflower and mashed potatoes... but then have gravy on the side that the kids could add? Salt and pepper on the table? Ketchup and hot sauce? Cheese sauce for the veggies??
• I also wonder if Mallory ever ended up telling her parents about Uncle Joe and the hot sauce haha
• Mallory reads A Wrinkle in Time. This is not the first time that book has come up in this series, but Mallory talks about it a lot in this one, so it particularly stands out to me. People always cite it as a beloved children's classic, and I hear references to it fairly regularly, and it's being made into a movie next year. Well, I finally read it for the first time last year. I dunno. I just didn't get it.

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 Mystery #1: Stacey and the Missing Ring

Tagline: Stacey has to find that ring - or business is over for the Baby-Sitters Club!

Stacey is shocked when a new family accuses her of stealing a valuable ring from them when she was baby-sitting. Stacey would never take anything from anyone!

Even worse for the Baby-sitters, the Gardellas are threatening to tell their other clients about the missing ring.

Will everyone in Stoneybrook think the Baby-sitters are stealers? Not if Stacey can help it. She's going to find out what happened to that ring!

The book opens up with Stacey having a nice Saturday with her mom. Her mom makes Stacey her favourite breakfast, blueberry pancakes, and then they spend the morning cleaning the house. They're listening to her mom's favourite songs, and generally having a great time. So great a time, that Stacey decides now's the time to broach a sensitive subject: Stacey wants a ring. But not just any ring. She wants a real ring. Real jewelry. Of her birthstone. The only problem is, Stacey's birthstone is a diamond. Understandably, Mrs McGill is upset and refuses to buy Stacey a diamond ring. Their morning soured, Stacey then goes to the mall with the Club.

At the mall, Stacey drags her friends around to the jewelry store, and again expresses a desire for a diamond ring. Stacey expects friends to all be on her side, but they're all skeptical of any of them owning such an extravagant item. Stacey's a little miffed, but lets it go. Overall, the girls all have a great time at the mall.

A few days later, a Club meeting, the girls get an exciting call: a new client! Mrs Gardella has a regular nanny, but she's currently out of town on a family emergency, so Mrs Gardella needs a baby-sitter to come over a few nights to watch their baby. Stacey gets the first job.

Stacey gets there and immediately is charmed and befuddled by the Gardellas. They're clearly super rich, with a nice house and fancy things, but they're also really friendly and down to earth. Mrs Gardella answers the door in an evening gown, wearing diamond earrings and a diamond necklace, but is very welcoming, even picking up the cat, despite getting covered in cat fur. The thing that throws Stacey off the most is the fact that they talk about their dog (Bird) and their cat (Mouse) more than their actual baby (Tara). Stacey meets the dog and the cat and all their dietary and care instructions long before she actually sees the baby. Soon, the Gardellas leave for their dinner party, and Stacey is left alone. It's a pretty easy night for Stacey, and she's happy for the money.

The next morning, Stacey is awoken by her mom at her bedroom door. Being Saturday morning, Stacey is less than pleased at being disturbed at the crack of dawn. She tells her mom to go away, but her mom tells her that it's Mrs Gardella on the phone. Immediately, Stacey wakes up and starts worrying about Tara, and then Bird and Mouse. Mrs Gardella is confused, and immediately tells Stacey that no, everyone is fine. It's her jewelry that isn't. Mrs Gardella goes on to explain that while she was putting on her jewelry last night, she forgot to put on her diamond ring. Now it's missing. She continues, saying that she's sure that Stacey didn't mean any harm, that Stacey probably was just trying it on, or wanted to show her friends, but now it's time for Stacey to return the ring.

That's right: Mrs Gardella is accusing Stacey of stealing her diamond ring. Stacey immediately defends herself, but Mrs Gardella isn't convinced. Furthermore, she thinks it's her duty to let other people know that the Baby-Sitters Club is full of thieves, and to warn their other clients of this. Stacey is completely numb and doesn't know what to say or do.

Despite the weird coincidence of a diamond ring disappearing right after Stacey mentions wanting one, her mom is immediately on her side. The Club decides to hold an emergency meeting about the situation, and the other girls are also sympathetic to Stacey's plight. They discuss what to do, but eventually decide that there's nothing they can do, and that they'll have to sit tight and see what happens.

Over the course of the next few meetings, things are quiet. Their phone isn't ringing as much as usual, and when it does, it's mostly clients looking to cancel. Things are looking grim, and Claudia, needing money to make up for her splurging at the mall at the start of the book, is starting to get frustrated. She's baby-sitting for the Prezziosos (a job she lined-up before the missing ring fiasco), when things seem to take a turn for the worse: the Prezziosos return early. Turns out they were at a dinner party, and they ran into the Gardellas. Mrs Gardella starts telling Mrs P. about how the Club isn't trustworthy, and Mrs P, her mood ruined, decides to just leave. Of course, this means Claudia's job is cut short. Pissed off, she heads to Stacey's to vent and hang out.

At least, that's what Stacey thinks she's there to do. However, it soon becomes apparent that Claudia is there to scope out Stacey's room and jewelry to look for the missing ring. Stacey is upset at the idea that her very best friend now suspects her. She decides it's time to take drastic measures. At their next meeting, Stacey decides that if they can't change Mrs Gardella's mind, maybe she can do something to make it up to her: Stacey decides to call her up, and offer her free baby-sitting services until the cost of the ring is paid off. For some reason, Mrs Gardella goes for this, but under the stipulation that the first time Stacey comes back, it's under strict supervision. So Kristy gets roped in for the sitting job.

At the job, things go well and it's easy sailing for the girls, just as it was when Stacey first sat. They put Tara to bed, and settle in for an evening of just chilling and playing with the animals. They throw all sorts of toys and treats for Mouse, who "kills" them, and then takes them to a secret hiding spot. The girls follow him, and discover a whole cache of toys! They retrieve them and start the game over. Only this time, Mouse takes them to a different hiding spot. Again, the girls follow him and surprise, surprise, they find the diamond ring!

When the Gardellas get home, Stacey and Kristy show them Mouse's hiding spot. Mrs Gardella is extremely grateful and apologizes to the girls. The girls are just happy to have everything all cleared up, and ask that Mrs Gardella contact their other clients and tell them the truth. Mrs Gardella then admits that she's been so busy, she hasn't had a chance to contact their other clients; running into Mrs P at the party was total luck.

Sure enough, it turns out just to be a coincidence. At their next Club meeting, the phone is ringing off the hook, with various clients having been sick or out of town. Mary Anne even realizes that she had a note about some of them in the Club notebook! The Gardellas' nanny comes back, and the Gardellas let the Club know that they won't be needing their services anymore. The Club is happy: they wouldn't want to sit for them anyways. Claudia apologizes to Stacey, and everything is back to normal!

There wasn't much of a subplot in this one, nor red herrings, nor other suspects. There's a brief mention of a burglar being in the Stoneybrook area, but other than a chapter of Jessi baby-sitting for her family and being paranoid, the girls don't seriously entertain the idea that the Gardellas were robbed.


Random Thoughts:

• Yay!!! Our first Mystery!!! I loved the Mystery series as a child =)
• And another one by Ellen Miles
• That being said, I neither loved nor hated this book. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 6 or so, tipping it slightly in favour. I have fond memories of the beginning of the book, the part about cleaning the house and blueberry pancakes particularly. I was looking forward to reading this.
• I also now really want blueberry pancakes. And I don't even particularly like pancakes =/// haha
• However, now that I've re-read it, there were a few things about it that bothered me
• For instance: why would the Gardellas ever agree to let Stacey sit again? For all they know, she really had stolen the ring, realized how much trouble this was causing her club and friends, and then offered to sit again for free, just for the chance to put back the ring and be like, "SEE?? IT WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME!"
• Also: why the hell would you ever get Stacey a real diamond ring? Why would she think this was appropriate? When I was her age and younger, I was obsessed with my birthstone (amethyst), so I had amethyst on every single thing. Except you know what? It was probably just fake purple gemstones. And not once did I ever think of owning real jewellery with real purple (but non-amethyst) gemstones. I hope her parents buy her something with cubic zirconium haha
• I like how apparently the girls had lined up a job to sit for Betsy Sobak... but then the job got cancelled! I never realized how much that girl was mentioned. I guess it's because we never actually see the girls baby-sit for her again?
• Why the fuck wouldn't the McGills just get Stacey a cubic zirconium ring, or some other fake white gemstone. She doesn't know! Something like that could easily be like, 50$. Sterling silver and cubic zirconium. It'll look great! Seriously. I know I literally just mentioned this, but it's on my mind! This whole book could have been avoided if they'd just done that on the sly and not let her know! haha
• I really hate how much the book covers give away. As I was writing my recap, I realized, "Damn, I've written a ton already, and I'm only just getting to the missing ring now!".

BSC #45: Kristy and the Baby Parade

Tagline: Babies on board!

The Baby-sitters just love little babies. So of course Kristy has the great idea of entering a float in the Stoneybrook Baby Parade.

All the girls have to do is round up a bunch of adorable babies like Squirt and Emily, dress them in costumes, and plop them on a float. Easy, right?

Wrong. The float looks like a big orange blob, the costumes are hideous, and the babies won't stop crying!

S.O.S. - the Baby-sitters' float is about to sink!

This book doesn't have a whole lot of plot to it. Despite it being the title, the Baby Parade isn't even a focus for awhile. The book starts off with Kristy baby-sitting for her siblings and seeing the ad about the Parade in the newspaper. She looks over at her adopted sister, Emily Michelle, and decides the Emily is just super cute and that Kristy should enter her. She doesn't get any further into that idea though.

Instead, we're fast-forwarded to the Club meeting, where the girls' field a phone call from Mrs Prezzioso. Mrs P says that now that Andrea is becoming more roly-poly and active, she wants to start leaving her home with a baby-sitter. The catch? She wants the girls to take an infant care course before they can start sitting for her. The girls all think it's a great idea, and immediately sign up for it at the community centre.

The girls then spend the next four weeks taking this infant care class. It's all pregnant women with their husbands, so it's kinda weird for the girls to be there, but everyone agrees that it never hurts to know more about babies. The girls of course prove their worth, Kristy being one of only two people in the class to get a perfect score. Even though Kristy has been certified as an expert, she's still not too sure if she's ready to handle the real deal.

So it's now a month after the novel began, and Kristy has a regular job sitting for the Prezziosos. She's to sit for two afternoons a week for about a month. It's here where the Baby Parade finally comes up again. Mrs P has decided that she wants to enter Andrea in the individual stroller division, and she wants Kristy's help with it. Kristy isn't sure she'll have time, plus she still wants to enter Emily, and worries it'll be a conflict of interest. At a Club meeting, Kristy brings it up with the other girls, and the other girls get all excited about all the babies they could enter. That's when Kristy gets her brilliant idea: the Club should enter a float, and then that way all the babies could participate. Kristy could even help and still have time to help Mrs P, without feeling conflicted.

Right away, they're hit with snags. The girls can't decide on a float theme! Each girl has a terrible idea, and the rest of the Club tears each idea down. Eventually they decide to do "Old Woman in a Shoe". However, after that, no one really talks to each other. They each go their separate ways. Mallory is in charge of costumes and gets a great deal on some cheap fabric. The problem is, it's bright pink. Which wouldn't be too bad, except that Stacey has decided to mix up an orangey-red colour for the shoe. Claudia is building the shoe out of chicken wire, and is having problems putting it all together. Come the day of the parade, the float is a disaster: it's not very shoe-shaped, Stacey didn't mix enough paint, so not only is it a clashing orangey-red, but it's also very splotchy, and then Mallory has only just been able to make all the costumes on time, but they're hideous and look like clown suits.

Meanwhile, Kristy's got her hands full with Andrea and Jenny P. She's put together a "royal carriage" out of Andrea's stroller, since Mrs P decided that the theme would be "Queen Andrea". However, Jenny is super-jealous and wants to be in the parade herself, even though she's too old. Kristy is stressed, and worried that if Andrea doesn't win, Mrs P will blame her.

The day of the parade doesn't go much better for the Club. The float is a disaster, Kristy is dressed as the old woman and is embarrassed, Charlie Thomas is mortified to be driving the float around, the rest of the girls (who were supposed to be dressed like children) don't match, and the babies are crying. The Club ends up getting mad at each other, and storming off in a huff. At least for Kristy, Mrs P and Andrea win first prize in their division!

Kristy later thinks back on the experience, and realizes that instead of working together, each girl had their own idea of how the parade and float should go, and forged ahead without consulting each other. They all meet up and apologize, citing the parade as a good learning experience.

There really isn't much of a subplot in this one. I suppose Kristy helping Mrs P was supposed to be a subplot, but it really tied in well with the main plot, so yeah.

Random Thoughts:

• I don't remember particularly liking this one. I know I definitely owned it when I was younger, and read it a bunch of times, but yeah. I feel like I was rather indifferent. Doing my read-through now, I definitely was not looking forward to it. Why waste my time with it when I could be reading more interesting ones?? The story in this one was really basic and boring, so I decided to nitpick it and write about the random details.
• Why wouldn't the girls have taken an infant/baby care class before now? Won't Mrs Newton be like, "OH I SEE, I GUESS YOU JUST DIDN'T CARE ABOUT LUCY!"? haha
• I love how the Baby-Parade is only held every two years. It explains why we haven't heard of it before, and why we'll never hear about it again haha
• I also love how Kristy starts off dismissing the Baby Parade as silly and stupid... but then ends up going totally crazy for it. It's like seeing Kristy's character progression from the start of the series to the end, all wrapped up in one paragraph haha
• I love how Dawn's technique for dealing with temper tantrums is to tuck the child into bed and then talk to them quietly until they're calmer. I'd like to see how well that would actually go over. Granted, I could see it working in a few scenarios or with a few children, but I'm seeing it fail far more than succeeding haha
• Nice bit of foreshadowing in this one. Since I didn't particularly read the books in chronological order as a child, I never realized that we're introduced to the Salem twins in this one, who Mary Anne deals with in #52.
• I always find it weird when Kristy notices guys, but I like it. Here, she becomes briefly smitten with the infant class's instructor's partner. Kristy notes how handsome he is, and how she tries not to stare. She even admits that after four weeks of the class, she still had a crush on him. That is, until she meets his kid. Suddenly, he's firmly in the "father" category, and that makes Kristy's crush on him disappear. I'm with you there, Kristy haha
• There's a continuity error here: Jessi doesn't know what "colicky" means, but later on (like, three years later), there's Super Special #11 has an entire chapter with Jessi and how Squirt was a colicky baby.
• Haha I just realized that I'd been skimming past the pages describing the Club members, and for the first time, my attention was called to it: Kristy mentions that it was nice seeing Mary Anne and Logan together again, and I was like, "Whoa, wait, aren't they broken up??" Turns out Kristy had detailed that whole saga during both the description of the members and the Club itself haha Kristy just liked seeing them get along.
• lol there's a chapter with Jessi baby-sitting for her siblings, and she says that Squirt loves Sesame Street, especially "this little guy Elmo, who isn't on very often." Oh how the times have changed haha

BSC #42: Jessi and the Dance School Phantom

Tagline: Someone - or something - is out to get Jessi!

Naturally, Jessi is thrilled when she earns the lead in her dance school's latest ballet. But someone in Jessi's class wants her out of the show.

First Jessi's toe shoes are stolen. Then she gets all kinds of threatening messages!

What kind of ballerina would want to scare Jessi? The Baby-sitters don't know, but they're not going to let anyone get away with it for long!

The book opens with the dance auditions. Jessi's school is putting on Sleeping Beauty, and of course everyone wants a good part in the show. The first chapter quickly sets up the dance class and the other girls and how things typically go. That's so we can know when things are wrong when shit goes down.

The main girls in Jessi's class are Mary Bramstedt, who has perfect form, but is too perfect to the point of being robotic; Carrie Steinfeld, who is one of the oldest girls in the class and really needs a good part in order to get accepted into another school for older dancers; Katie Beth Parsons, who readers may remember as being the next youngest in the class and having a deaf sister; Hilary Morgan, whose mother gave up a budding ballet career to have a family and is now living vicariously through Hilary; and finally Lisa Jones, who is nice, but always critical of herself.

The parts are quickly given out, with Carrie getting the Bluebird of Happiness, Lisa being the Lilac Fairy and of course, Jessi as Aurora. Everyone else in the class is relegated to the ensemble. Jessi is thrilled, but tries not to let it show. She's too nice and humble to rub it in everyone's faces. Even so, Jessi soon realizes that maybe not everyone is happy. At her first rehearsal, her toes shoes go missing while she changes. As the lead, there is no way she can rehearse at all without them. So the whole rehearsal is halted and the entire class is brought back into the change room to search. They can't find them, and eventually Mme Noelle decides to cancel class. Lisa asks if there's any way they can rehearse still, and Hilary insists that they search one more time. It's Katie Beth who finds them, in Jessi's bag. Jessi finds it weird, and is quite shaken and off her game for the rest of rehearsal. When it finally ends and she goes back to get changed, Jessi finds a note in her shoes telling her: BEWARE.

For her next rehearsal, Jessi doesn't take any chances: she brings her entire second spare outfit. She's determined not to let anything get in the way this time. However, she's in a sour mood still, after being reminded of the last rehearsal by Katie Beth. Then all throughout rehearsal, Carrie keeps purposely bumping into Jessi, making Jessi look like an uncoordinated lout! It's a pretty lousy rehearsal, and Jessi can't wait for it to end. When she gets back in the changeroom, she discovers that her entire second outfit is missing! Furthermore, there's another note, this time one written in red ink that looks like blood! It says: WATCH YOUR STEP.

For their next rehearsal, Jessi shows up with all new gear, including a new gym bag that can lock. While out on the dance floor however, Jessi's chain with the key comes loose and while she's able to pick it up, she misses a set of instructions. Carrie quickly tells Jessi what they were, but as Jessi dances, she slips on some water and hurts her ankle. While Mme Noelle attends to her, the teacher asks her why she was doing the wrong dance move. Carrie had lied to Jessi! Mme Noelle determines that Jessi better get her ankle looked at, just in case, and that in the meantime, Katie Beth will take over in rehearsals. Jessi is understandably upset, even more so when she returns to get her stuff and discovers another note: I TOLD YOU SO. FROM NOW ON WATCH OUT.

At the doctor's office, Jessi is told she simply has a bad strain, and that as long as she doesn't use her ankle in any way for a few days, she'll be ready to dance in no time. So Jessi attends the next rehearsal, but just watches on the sidelines. There, she's all suspicious of her classmates and second-guesses everything everyone says. She checks her locker, in case she forgot something the previous day in her rush, and discovers yet another note: IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE. TOO BAD IT WASN'T.

Jessi finally decides to bring all the drama to the attention of the Club. She'd been keeping it in because she didn't want to burden the girls, plus she still couldn't believe it was actually happening. The girls look at the notes, and then determine that they really need to see all the suspects for themselves. Jessi points out that their next rehearsal is on a Saturday, and in the public theatre that the performance will actually be on, so anyone who can come can sneak into the audience and watch. Jessi is actually disappointed when it's such a great rehearsal with no incidents - had she imagined it all? But no, her friends are convinced that something is going on, based on what they observe of Jessi's classmates and how they all interact with each other. With everyone's help, Jessi narrows her suspects down to three classmates: Carrie, Katie Beth and Hilary.

As rehearsals continue, more things happen again. Jessi's stolen dance outfit is returned - only shredded to death. Someone pushes her into some wet scenery, ruining her clothes and causing rehearsal to end early. Jessi gets another creepy note, this time with a red rose, saying: WATCH OUT FOR THE THORNS. Jessi continues to watch her classmates, becoming more suspicious and confused than ever. The notes continue with GIVE UP THE ROLE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE and YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. It gets to a point where Jessi stops being scared, and is now just plain annoyed and more determined than ever to do this. One day, she gets a note that says TAKE A REST, SLEEPING BEAUTY, which just makes Jessi roll her eyes, until she realizes that Carrie's home sick that day. Another day, Katie Beth saves Jessi from some falling scenery. That leaves Jessi with only one person: Hilary.

The girls look over the notes again, and determine that Hilary must have written using a calligraphy pen. They decide that all Jessi really needs to do is get Hilary to write something in front of her using that pen, and then it'll be all over! So with that in mind, Jessi goes to her next rehearsal with a plan. She tells Hilary that Mme Noelle needs a sign to be made. Lo and behold, Hilary is caught in the act! Hilary is super apologetic, citing stress from her extremely pushy stage mom, and vows to pay Jessi back for all the ruined outfits and things. Jessi agrees not to tell anyone, and they part on good terms.

The night of the ballet, everything goes perfectly. Jessi dances magnificently and gets a standing ovation, plus some flowers from her sister. Hilary apologizes yet again for all the horrible things she did, and then confesses something to Jessi: she's quitting ballet. She knows her mom will be furious, but Hilary also knows that nothing she does will please her, so she might as well please herself.

The subplot in this one is that the Club decides to put on a Pet Show for their clients. At first it seems like a good idea, with all the kids getting excited. Soon though, the kids start getting very competitive over who will win first prize. Those with smaller pets get very upset over not being able to compete against cats and dogs, Becca, being one of these kids, because of their hamster. After many dramas and troubles, the girls decide to award each pet their own individual prize, like Nicest or Best Behaved. The Pike triplets end up entering themselves as a two-man horse.

Random Thoughts:

• This one is ghostwritten by Ellen Miles
• What kind of ballerina would want to scare Jessi? If I've learned anything from the bits of reality TV I've gleamed from living with my mom for so long: ANY BALLERINA??? Haha from what I gather, ballerinas are only next to beauty pageants in how crazy and vicious some girls can be when competing.
• Man, I had no idea how many mysteries we had gotten in the regular series before they officially introduced the Mystery series. I'm especially surprised, since this one comes so soon after the last one.
• This one mentions that Hannie is pretend-married to Scott Hsu! I honestly do not remember this detail at all, despite having read pretty much the entire Little Sister series as a child, and almost the entire Baby-sitters Club series as well!
• Oh the early '90s, where you could cram way more people than seatbelts into a car, and it not be an issue at all. I remember when I was younger, like age 4-6, my parents didn't make me wear a seatbelt cuz I didn't like it because it would choke me. I should have had a booster seat, but they weren't overly common at the time.
• Okay, this one actually made me look up on YouTube videos of 11-13 year olds dancing en pointe and Sleeping Beauty and what not. God damn, they must have ankles of steel. My own ankles hurt just watching! But yeah. I wanted to look it up, because this is the one-millionth book where Jessi has had the lead in a ballet production, and I was starting to feel jaded. No, 11 year olds really can be performing these things at ballet school. I guess now I need to know how common this is. Like, yes, it's possible for 11 year olds to perform at this level... BUT ONLY IF THEY STARTED AT AGE 3, DO NOTHING BUT BALLET, AND ARE TRAINING FOR LIKE, THE BALLET OLYMPICS AND BEING TOTES PRO BALLET IS THEIR LIFE? Or is it more like, yes, it's possible for an average 11 year old to perform at this level, as long as they're dedicated and really love ballet and practice a lot, but not to a crazy extent? I mean, for all I know, it could be like, uhhh... this is totes normal, if you've taken regular ballet lessons, you should be able to achieve this easily in like 4 years.
• I also wonder what it means to be dancing at this age, versus being an adult professional dancer. Jessi mentions that playing Aurora is the role of a lifetime. Obviously, being the lead in any production is a big deal, but I wonder if they simplify the choreography at this age. Or if this is it: now that Jessi's played Aurora, there's no reason for her to ever play her again as an adult. She can just go in to auditions and be like, "Pfft... I was dancing this part when I was 11 years old!" haha As a musician, I've played the theme song to Harry Potter a bajillion times, but each time has been different orchestrations, getting progressively harder and more intricate and complex. The version I played in grade 8 is completely different than the version I played in my final year of university. It was never just "Harry Potter again".
• Although having an individual award for each pet makes the most sense, I'm surprised the girls didn't briefly discuss or contemplate having different categories. Like, cats compete against each other, dogs in another category, rodents such as guinea pigs and hamsters in another, reptiles, etc etc
• Maybe it's because I already know French, but I would love this book (and any of the other Jessi-does-ballet books) more if they didn't add phonetic pronunciations of all the ballet terms.
• Actually, I feel this way about anytime a language is in a book. Except if it's an Asian language: obviously I need it to be written in English characters, not kanji or katakana or other Asian characters.
• Spoiler alert: I didn't realize that Mary Bramstedt was mentioned in this book. She's the one who eventually develops an eating disorder in another book. This actually makes sense, based on what we hear of her this time around.
• There are like, 6 roles in this ballet. The fact that Carrie got a named role at all is a big deal. Same with Lisa, especially after hearing that she's good, but overly critical of herself.
• Continuity with the Ramsey's and the Pike's hamsters having come from Jessi's crazy pet-sitting adventure.
• I had never realized how many times Dr Dellenkamp is referenced in the series. Here, she's Jessi's doctor as well.
• Man, Jessi could have been seriously hurt. She was lucky it was just a strain. What if she had broken her ankle, and had to give up dancing for a month or two? And that would just be the best case scenario in that one. She really should have told Mme Noelle what was going on.
• Charlie is a saint of a brother for always driving Kristy and her friends around.

BSC #40: Claudia and the Middle School Mystery

Tagline: How could anyone accuse Claudia of cheating?

For once, Claudia's studied really really hard for her math test. And when Claudia gets her paper back, it has an A- on it. All right!

But then, Claudia's math teacher calls her to his desk and accuses her of copying off of Shawna Riverson's test!

Claudia can't believe it. Neither can the Baby-sitters. Claudia would never cheat! And they're not going to rest until they help clear Claudia's name!

The book opens with Claudia studying for math with Janine. Unlike usual, Claudia's starting to finally catch on, and is even enjoying having Janine be her study partner. After awhile, Janine declares Claudia ready for the test, and leaves Claudia to do the rest of her homework. Claudia still isn't convinced though: this is a huge test, worth almost half of her grade. Stacey and the girls are quick to talk her down that night and the next day before her test.

During the test, Claudia starts to panic, but soon remembers everything Janine told her. Taking her time, she tackles the test one question at a time. Claudia's surprised at how much she remembers, and when it comes time to hand in the test, she's feeling pretty good. She's not sure of the exact grade she's got, but it doesn't even matter to her: she knows she did well, better than usual, and that's all that's important.

The next day, Claudia is thrilled to find out that she did even better than she could have hoped for: 94%! It's one of the highest grades Claudia's ever received, and she's ecstatic. However, her jubilation is short-lived. Mr Zorzi, her math teacher, calls her and Shawna Riverson to his desk. Turns out that both girls got the exact same score. In fact, they made the exact same mistakes. The only conclusion to be made is that one of the them cheated off the other. Shawna's quick to defend herself, saying she'd never ever cheat. Since Shawna generally does well and has high grades, Mr Zorzi believes her and doesn't even give Claudia a chance to defend herself. Claudia is going to get an F on the test.

Claudia is in total shock and is severely setback. She figures, if this is what happens when she studies, why should she bother? She spends the rest of the day avoiding her friends and family, eventually just lying in her bed, not even doing art. When her family calls her down for dinner, they tell her that the principal informed her of the situation. Claudia doesn't know what to say, only that she didn't do it. To her dismay, it doesn't seem like her parents believe her initially, but Janine quickly steps in and takes Claudia's side without hesitation. Her parents quickly recant, saying that of course they believe Claudia, and that they'll figure something out. Claudia tells them that she'd like to do it on her own. She talks things over with Janine, and tries to feel better.

The Club is immediately on Claudia's side (with the exception of Mary Anne, who in trying to be sensitive, is actually very insensitive). Everyone realizes that Shawna is obviously the one who cheated, but none of them can figure out why or how to prove it. Dawn mentions that she has the locker next to Shawna's, and that due to a mix-up, for a few days at the beginning of the year, it was actually her locker, so she knows the combination. She suggests that they look inside it to find evidence, but everyone quickly quashes that idea.

The next day, Claudia is still pretty bummed out. Suddenly she spots Shawna and her friends laughing and talking, and decides to follow them. Hiding in a bathroom stall, she overhears Shawna talking about how lucky she was to have gotten away with cheating, and how she doesn't even feel bad, because what's one more bad grade to Claudia? Shawna continues to explain how she cheated because she had stretched herself too thin in terms of extra-curriculars, and hadn't had time to study. Claudia is enraged by what she hears, and when the coast is clear, heads to meet up with her friends. At first, everyone is excited, because this was the proof they were waiting for! Then they realize that it would still be Claudia's word against Shawna's, and that that wouldn't help her in the end. Realizing that desperate times call for desperate measures, they decide to break into Shawna's locker after all, to see if they can find anything incriminating.

After school, Dawn, Claudia and Stacey stay behind to look inside Shawna's locker. With Stacey on lookout, Dawn and Claudia rifle through Shawna's things. Claudia then notices a note stuck in the locker vent. It says, "Congratulations on your A-. Who would have guessed that C.K.'s paper would have so many right answers?" Dawn is ecstatic, knowing that they hit the jackpot. However, Claudia realizes that she would have no way of explaining how she got the note, and no way of proving that she hadn't just made it up to clear her name. After Dawn and Stacey leave, Claudia puts the note back, and continues to be upset.

Claudia then thinks she can guilt or goad Shawna into letting something slip, so she spends all of their next math class saying suggestive things, waiting for Shawna to respond or start freaking out. All Claudia manages to do though is annoy Shawna and Mr Zorzi, and effectively miss the entire math lesson.

Finally, Claudia decides that she just doesn't care anymore. At least, that's what she tells herself. She wears her most outrageous outfit possible, and spends the whole day acting all cheerful, and pretending that she doesn't care about school, her math test, her grades, anything. Come the end of the school day, Claudia is exhausted from all the pretending, and doesn't even feel any better. That's when she sees Janine. Janine is visiting the middle school so that she may have words with the principal. Claudia is mortified, but Janine reassures her that she's always been on good terms with the principal, and that she's merely going to have a conversation. Enough is enough; Janine wasn't going to let her little sister suffer in silence anymore.

After careful discussion and deliberation, the principal, Janine and Mr Zorzi (who got called down eventually) decide that Claudia deserves another chance to prove herself. The next day, Mr Zorzi allows Claudia to re-write the test (a different test, but on the same materials). Claudia passes the test with flying colours, doing even better on it than the first time. Mr Zorzi apologizes to Claudia, and then calls Shawna to his desk. He tells her that she'll have a chance to prove herself by retaking the test tomorrow. Shawna breaks down and admits to cheating. She gets sent to the principal's office, and is ultimately suspended for two days, as well as getting an F on the test.

Claudia is thrilled. Not only did she prove herself innocent, but she earned an A- fair and square. The Club (and Janine) take a moment to celebrate with Claudia at their next meeting. Claudia gives Janine a piece of art she made, specifically for her, thanking her for always having her back and helping her out. That night, Claudia's parents celebrate at dinner with a cake. For the first time, Claudia sees how proud they all are of her, and she's pretty damn proud herself!

The subplot in this one involves the Pike triplets. They were playing ball when the ball goes wild and goes into the basement window. None of the triplets will confess to who did it, so Mr and Mrs Pike decide to punish and ground all of them, until one of them fesses up. Over the course of the book, the triplets start driving everyone crazy, cuz they're going nuts from being cooped up, but still they remain loyal to each other and refuse to rat on the culprit. Finally Mallory comes up with the idea of "re-enacting the crime". Turns out it was nobody's and everybody's fault: One of the triplets pitched the ball, but it was a bad throw, another triplet attempted to hit it anyways, and it just glanced off the bat and continued running wild, and the third triplet attempted to catch it, but it glanced off his mitt and into the window. The triplets are official ungrounded and cleared of all charges!

Random Thoughts:

• I never read the plot synopsis' on the back of these books, because I generally remember what all of the books are about. I'm glad I don't. Jfc this one spoils so much! Claudia spends the first three chapters worrying about her test. Us readers already know what she got on the test!
• I've gone on before about how I don't under the American grading system, but this time, I'm SURE I've got it all mixed up. Claudia gets a 94% on her math test. Here in Canada, that would be an A+ (anything above 90% is an A+). I'll admit, it doesn't make sense in Canada that A+ has a 10% range, A- to A has a 10% range, and then all the other letter grades and their iterations have a 10% range. But okay. Anyways, Claudia's 94% is only an A-??? You'd think even in the US system, it'd be at least an A! (From what I understand, the US system is roughly a 5% range for every different grade?)
• Claudia's parents are horrible. First off, they don't immediately take her side. But more importantly, they don't do anything! I know Claudia was all like, "No, please don't get involved!" but my god, she's a 13 year old child! If after three days or so, I hadn't heard of anything being done, I would have marched into the school and talked to the teacher and principal myself! I mean, I'm not saying they should storm in their, guns-ablazing, but at least be like, "Look, let's have a meeting and talk this out."
• On the other hand, Janine further cements herself as the most awesome person ever in the series haha I love when Claudia gives her a chance and opens up to her and has all these great sisterly moments.
• I like how apparently this is the fourth window the triplets have broken in three months. Uh, didn't your dad just get laid off and then have to start a new job?? Way to go guys...
• PS: there was no mention of that drama at all in this one
• I always loved Claudia's "Ms Frizzle" outfit in this one. It's one of the ones that sticks out in my head whenever I think back on the series and Claudia's crazy outfits haha
• I also like how, of all the outfits Claudia wears over the course of the series, this is the one she feels the most silly in haha
• Claudia is clearly capable of learning and studying: it just takes her longer to do it than most kids. How is it that she's always on the verge of failing??
• Also: how is it that Janine's never given her test taking tips at all. How has no one?? As a teacher, I'm constantly reminding my students to breathe, take their time, skip questions they don't know, etc, etc, etc
• As if Mr Zorzi is all, "One of you cheated", and then when Shawna goes, "Not me!" he essentially goes, "Well, it's true: Claudia's grades generally suck. Okay!" and gives Claudia a zero. No questions asked. Nothing else. Seriously, I would have immediately asked both of them to redo the test, then and there. There is no way I would have relied on the word of just a student.
• Plus it seems suspect that Shawna was ready to defend herself so quickly. You know, almost as if she was expecting to be accused. If you accuse an innocent person of a crime, they're generally too shell-shocked to be able to defend themselves. They're like, "Wait, what? Is this really happening? How???"
• They say that Mr Zorzi is not their usual math teacher, but rather that he's taking over for their usual teacher. Doesn't Wesley, the student teacher, take over for Mr Zorzi later? So confused >_< haha
• American lockers confuse me. Whenever I see them on TV or movies, or described in books, it seems like they have the locks built into them, and that they don't change the combinations. Anyone who has ever used that locker can apparently continuously get into it, at least for the rest of the year, if not for ever. In my province (can't really speak for the whole country with any certainty), students are to provide their own locks, and give the office their combination. I like that much better, because I feel secure in knowing that I'm the only one with my combination. Also: it allowed me to keep the same combination all throughout high school.

BSC #35: Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook

Tagline: Can Stacey solve the haunted house mystery?

Unlike Claudia and Dawn, Stacey's never been much for mysteries and ghost stories. But when she and Charlotte Johanssen hear terrible noises coming out of the old Hennessey place, Stacey thinks the Baby-sitters definitely have a mystery on their hands.

Mallory claims the house once made her have a horrible nightmare. And Kristy discovers taht it was built on top of a graveyard!

Does Stoneybrook have a real, live haunted house? The Baby-sitters are going to find out - no matter how scary it may be!

Stacey's on her way home from another trip to NYC. She admits that while she has a lot of fun with her dad, it's tiring to go visit him. He crams so much stuff into a weekend, and Stacey admits that she's been more tired than usual. When she gets home, she pretty much just passes out, and spends all of Monday running late and feeling behind.

When Stacey gets to the meeting, she can't wait to tell her friends about her weekend in NYC. However, everyone's quickly distracted by neighbourhood news: some developer is tearing down one of the oldest houses in town to develop a series of condos. Stacey can't really figure out what the big deal is, but she's soon distracted by a phone call from Dr Johanssen: she and Mr Johanssen have to leave town for a week to help her father mend from hip surgery, and she was wondering if either Jessi or her would be able to house Charlotte. Jessi's family is headed to New Jersey for the weekend, so it's down to Stacey and Mrs McGill.

Stacey is thrilled. She's always wanted a little sister, and she loves Charlotte like one. She spends the rest of the week getting the guest room all set for Charlotte. Stacey expects it to be a lot of fun, Charlotte's more homesick and worried about her grandfather. Stacey decides to distract her by taking a walk past the old house that's about to be torn down. Even though it's only 4 pm, the workers have all left, leaving the place abandoned and spooky. While they're there, Stacey sees a face in one of the bedroom windows, while Charlotte hears some strange noises. When they both see a swarm of flies come out of the house, they decide to hightail it out of there.

Shortly after, while Kristy's baby-sitting for her siblings, she decides to check out Watson's old library to see if she can find any information about the house. In one of the books, she finds an old map of Stoneybrook, and all signs point to the fact that the old house was built on top of an ancient burial ground. The next day, she heads to Stacey's place with the books for her and Charlotte and Stacey to peruse.

Claudia takes the Perkins girls to the library for story hour. While the girls are busy, Claudia starts looking into the archives, trying to find out who owns the house. Eventually she comes up with a name, and through checking the phonebook, she discovers that the owner is actually still alive and living in Stoneybrook, albeit at the old folks' home. Claudia shares this news at the Club meeting, and it's decided that Stacey, Kristy, Claudia and Charlotte will go visit Mr Ronald Hennessy.

Before they go though, Stacey and Charlotte visit the house yet again. There, Stacey swears she sees a fire, but before she can put it out, it's gone. That night, she and Charlotte have horrible dreams, and the rest of the girls share their own stories of strange encounters at the house. Stacey is now convinced more than ever that the house is haunted.

Their fears are not assuaged by their visit to Mr Hennessy. Although initially surprised at so many visitors, Mr Hennessy soon opens up with stories from his lifetime of weird things happening at the house. Stacey and Kristy aren't too sure what to believe, but it does jive with what they'd heard and seen.

The next day, the house is torn down. Charlie and Sam Thomas stop to talk to some workers, and soon solve the mystery: one of the workers had stayed late the day Stacey saw the face in the window. The weird noises was from wind blowing through exposed pipes. The swarm of flies was really a swarm of hornets, their nest having been disturbed at the deconstruction. However, nothing can explain the fire Stacey thought she saw. In fact, after the house is torn down, Stacey swears she sees the ruins on fire, but no one else reacts! Determined to get to the bottom of things, Stacey quickly heads back to visit Mr Hennessy.

Sadly, it turns out that Mr Hennessy had passed away since their visit. He left her a note though, admitting to having made up all those stories. He hadn't had visitors in such a long time, and knew his life was drawing to a close. He just wanted to have a bit of fun and got so much joy and pleasure out of seeing the girls hang on to his every word. However, that still doesn't explain the fire Stacey saw. Stacey decides that it's probably best to keep that to herself, and the Club considers the mystery solved.

There really isn't a subplot in this one. Like I said, Stacey and her mom are looking after Charlotte for the week, and Charlotte's really homesick and worried about her grandpa. At least, that's all the McGills think it is at first. Eventually, Charlotte comes down with a fever and it's discovered that she has tonsillitis! She has take penicillin for a few days and miss a day of school, but soon she bounces back. She's still horribly homesick though, and while the mystery of the house helps to take her mind off of it, it also scares the shit out of her, so really she's a bit of a mess throughout the book.

Random Thoughts:

• Apparently this one was originally going to be called Stacey and the New Kids on the Block. It was advertised as that in the back of my copy of SS #3 and a few others. Does anyone know the story behind this? I know that it was originally going to be about foster kids. And then #33 was going to be this. Anyone know why they changed it?
• This is our first book to be ghostwritten by Ellen Miles
• I love that this mystery house is on Elm Street. Do they ever mention Stacey living on Elm Street again? Fuck, I wish I still had my copy of  The Complete Guide to the Baby-sitters Club haha
• There are a lot of continuity moments in this book:
• Stacey is surprised at how much Charlotte cries when her parents leave her. After all, she had spent two weeks away from them at summer camp, and had survived.
• Stacey mentions her massive crush on Scott from Sea City
• Stacey also mentions how big of a help Charlotte was on solving the mystery at her house
• Stacey mentions that even though her mom didn't work before, since the divorce happened, she wanted a job. Wanted? More like, needed, right?? I mean, I know Mr McGill is paying child support, but I should hope that whatever he is paying is not enough for Mrs McGill and Stacey to live comfortably in a house together without any additional income. Mr McGill should not be obligated to support Mrs McGill
• Stacey mentions having her diabetes being harder to control than usual, but she seems alright otherwise.
• Claudia takes the Perkin girls to the library for story hour, while she reads up on old Stoneybrook. At the story hour, one of the books they read is The Little House. Stacey makes such a big deal out of this book that I knew it had to be real. Turns out it's a bit of a critique on urban sprawl, which is essentially what is happening to the old house in Stoneybrook.
• Why would the Johanssens ask the girls if they could watch Charlotte? Why wouldn't they just call up either Mr and Mrs Ramsey, or Mrs McGill, and asked the adults first? Haha oh well
• I feel like we don't hear about Jessi's family in New Jersey nearly often enough, considering Jessi says that they were really close before they moved. I also find it curious that the next regular book in the series is the one where Aunt Cecelia comes to join the family.
• If I know anything about contractors, it's that they start at like, 7am, but then leave at like, 3pm haha