3 out of 5 stars
This is the one where Mary Anne finally dumps Logan's butt and gets some more of her backbone back. You go, girl. Although, looking at the cover, you'd think they were just on their way to their Valentine's date. Trust me, there is no smiling and soul-searching gazes in this book. Okay, so the book starts out with Mary Anne getting ready for a baby-sitting job at the Prezzioso's. She dresses up a little because Mrs P is still a snooty so-and-so, even while 9 months preggers. And then she goes into the big "who, what, when, where" spiel. But she does mention that her and Logan have been having issues lately, referencing the ship-wrecked incident and the time Logan's sister stole her precious Tigger. And he tries to talk her into going to a movie instead of baby-sitting, which is like "whoa." Kristy could have him strung up for that offense. Luckily, Mary Anne has sense to refuse and heads on over to baby-sit Miss Priss.
The main baby-sitting job in this one is about Jenny and Mrs P having the new baby, in case you couldn't tell already. The grown-ups are trying to get Jenny ready to be a big sister and she's having none of it. I don't blame her. She's 4 years old, the same age I was when my sis came around. I don't remember much obviously, but I do know I wanted to name her Football hah! Anyway, the P's keep giving Jenny "big girl" gifts like a watch, lace-up sneakers, and stick-on earrings. She knows exactly what they're doing though, pretty smart for a 4 yr old. While MA is sitting for Jenny, Logan calls 3 times...obsessive much? Mary Anne is annoyed and upset, so she breaks another Kristy rule and calls Claudia to vent a bit. And now is a good time for a What Claudia is Wearing, which was kind of dull, so I steampunked it up a bit. :)
She was looking especially acute that day. (*Acute* means *cool*. My friends and I make up words all the time, and only we know what they mean. *Distant* and *dibble* also mean *cool*.) [So basically, they come up with 50 different ways to say *cool*?] Claud was wearing an over-sized raspberry-colored shirt, a short black skirt, and black leggings (the layered look). On her feet were black cowboy boots, and dangling from an earcuff was a huge collection of beads and stones. (Claud does have pierced ears, but the holes were empty.)We also had a bonus Mary Anne outfit, which I didn't bother illustrating, because as she herself states: she "looked like a complete nerd, even though I was wearing one of my better outfits: blue print pants that were wide on top but narrowed to cuffs at the ankles, and a short-cropped T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and this acute picture of a cactus wearing a cowboy boot." Okay, A. In what universe is Mr Spier going to let his daughter out of her bedroom in a cropped T-shirt? and B. What's with the cowboy boot theme? Also, she mentions that Stacey is a "brittle diabetic" and has been getting thinner and tired lately. Stacey's emergency soon?? And Mr Prezzioso calls at the meeting and asks for 3 sitters because he's throwing a baby shower for his wife. Weird.
The next Saturday, Mary Anne is at home and has no plans for the afternoon, so she decides to sit by the fire and read Wuthering Heights. Ugh, this book again?? But Logan shows up unexpectedly and asks her to go ice-skating with him. She doesn't really want to, but can't say no to him (wonder how far that goes? heh) and so they go to the park. Logan talks the whole time and has planned a "romantic" afternoon, basically freezing their butts off. Mary Anne is kind of quiet, but starts to enjoy herself...until her toes start to go numb. Pretty soon she's totally numb, her teeth are chattering, and she finally gets the courage to ask Logan to go home. He's kind of annoyed, but agrees. Jeez Logan, can't you tell when your girlfriend is turning blue??
Oh, I forgot there were was another baby-sitting conundrum in this one...poor Karen Brewer "feels as sad as a rain cloud" because she was going to get married to Ricky Torres but they got in a fight and aren't talking now. Lol...but Kristy kind of blows her off and doesn't take her feelings seriously, which is odd to me. And we don't even find out if Karen and Ricky make up in this one. Maybe it's in one of the Little Sister books? Probably. (ETA: looked it up & yep, I was right! Linked it :))
Okay, back to the Mary Anne/Logan drama...this crap drags on for the whole book, so I'm just going to speed thru it a little, k? Logan orders MA's food for her (just like that creeper Travis for Dawn), Logan wants to go see the scary movie while MA wants to see a musical, date ends early, MA's dad notices how much time they are spending together & tells her she needs to chill a little & she agrees. Dawn and Mary Anne talk about it, MA says "I feel like he's taking over my life. I feel like I'm not Mary Anne anymore. I'm not whole. Logan took part of me." (Don't worry, he didn't take that part!) This book is serious, man. Mary Anne decides to cool things down for a while and actually calls Logan right then and tells him. He's not happy, to say the least.
The next day at school, he completely ignores her, ouch, and doesn't sit with them at lunch, which prompts this lovely little gem from Kristy: "Where's Logan, Mary Anne? Shouldn't he be in your lap?" Heh. I think it's odd that she didn't tell Kristy, I mean she is her 1st BFF and all. But she ends up telling everyone at the next BSC meeting and they start talking about their "love lives". There is a glaring typo too, which is odd for the series: Mary Anne reminded herself of something. Then Claud starts talking about all the guys she's fallen "in LUV" with on vacations and "how come we always fall in love when we're out of town and the relationship can't last?" Exactly, Claudia, this is what I have been saying. And then Logan calls and says he needs a sitter for his brother & sister on Valentine's Day, because he has plans & they've requested Mary Anne. MA immediately starts jumping to conclusions and inventing this uber-girlfriend named Olivia who is "tall, blonde, not shy, and very self-assured, but she was extremely smart, and was getting started in a promising singing career." Seriously? Over-dramatic much?
Meanwhile, back over at the Prezzioso's, Jenny has decided she wants to be the baby and trashes the nursery and is generally annoying, until Mary Anne does some reverse psychology and convinces her to be a big girl. Then they have the baby shower, where Jenny decides she hates the baby. Eh, who doesn't? A few days later, Jessi gets an emergency call when Mrs P goes into labor and she gets stuck sitting for Jenny. The baby finally arrives that afternoon, a girl (I know you were wondering) and Jenny is just like, "I wanted a brother." But that all changes when they bring Andrea home and Jenny gets to hold her for the first time. Aawww....
What about Logan and that skank, Olivia, you ask? Well, Valentine's Day rolls around and Mary Anne goes to his house to baby-sit. But the kids are gone and there's only Logan, in a tux with a corsage. Turns out he set up a big fancy dinner for Mary Anne and wants to make up with her. He gives her a rose, a huge gaudy heart-shaped box of chocolate, and a bracelet with gold heart links. She's a little over-whelmed and kind of upset that he, again, made the decision for her, to get back together. A few days later, she does some soul-searching and finally decides she doesn't want to be "anyone's girl" or owned. So, she puts on her big-girl pants and does the unthinkable...breaks up with Logan for good. (Or is it? Oooh...) Good for her. I was getting sick of that accent. Wonder if they'll cut him out of the opening credits now? ;)
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