I was super excited about this super special because the Sea City books are my favorites and I didn't really remember reading this one. Well, it was just okay. I mostly had issues with Stacey's 'tude towards Mallory and in general nastiness. Also, Mrs Barrett was extra frazzled. Why was Mrs Barrett there, you ask? Let's get into it and find out, okay? Okay!
The book starts off with a handful of letters and postcards from various people, giving us the setting and various handwritings we have to suffer thru in this book. It's summertime again in Stoneybrook and the Pike family is getting ready for their annual trip to Sea City, New Jersey. They've decided to let Mallory & Jessi be the baby-sitters this time. Not sure why. They've said before that they want Mallory to enjoy vacations as a family member not a sitter. Oh well. Then Mrs Barrett decides to get a beach house too and asks Stacey to come along. Mary Anne & Dawn are running some kind of camp for the kids staying home. Kristy has some issue with the Krushers. And Claudia...has summer school. Whomp whomp.
At the last BSC meeting before vacation, Logan and Shannon are there for once and they are having an End-of-the-Season Junk Food Blind Taste-Off, between Heath Bars or Skor Bars. (Heath, obviously.) And right away, we get not just a Claudia Outfit but also a Stacey Outfit, woo!
That Friday, for instance, she was wearing ripped cut-off jeans held up by a frayed rope belt, a T-shirt with the collar torn off, huge white socks all bunched around the ankle, and old-fashioned black lace-up shoes. She looked totally cool.
At our Friday meeting she [Stacey] was wearing this white T-shirt that hung practically to her knees (Stacey calls it a "jersey tunic" or something), white stretch pants ("ribbed leggings") to mid-calf, a tan leather belt over the T-shirt, and leather-strap sandals. Sometimes Stacey likes to wear all black, which seems kind of weird in the summer. (That's a weird thing to say, Kristy, when she is literally wearing the opposite of that.)
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We also get the full intro chapter, which we are not supposed to have in the Super Specials. Annoying. Anyway, they all start talking about what they're doing the next 2 weeks, like I mentioned above. Shannon is going to drama camp and is playing Ado Annie in Oklahoma. (I've never seen it, is that a good role?) Logan is going to Sea City with the gang too (seems like a great idea: 1 guy and 7 girls) but is annoyed that Mary Anne's former TRU LUV Alex is going to be there too. (Also, stupid Toby.) Kristy is gearing up for her big flirt-o-rama Krushers vs Bashers game with Bart. Stacey mentions she wishes she was with the Pikes again instead of the Barretts. Foreshadowing of her bad attitude the whole time.
Let's start with Claudia, at summer school, just to get that bummer out of the way fast. It's torture, prison, awful, all the usual things you would think. And annoying Janine is taking summer classes at the university, just for fun. Ugh. Claudia gets to know her fellow classmates and become friends with a couple of them, good friends with one fellow artist. They actually start calling Claudia "the smart one". Wow. I feel bad for these kids.
On to the Pike gang. First of all, they have to rent a minivan to get everyone there and back. And it's pure chaos on the day they're leaving, naturally. Vanessa recites annoying poems, Nicky barfs in the car, the kids play a game counting people picking their noses in their cars, the suntan tushy billboard is gone and in its place, Weiner's Wieners, and they finally make it to the beach house.
Meanwhile, Stacey rides down with the Barretts and is already having a miserable time. Mrs Barrett is a terrible driver and gets road-ragey, she sees Toby immediately on the beach and tries to ignore him, but he doesn't take the hint. And then...Mallory comes up to her and says she thinks Toby likes her (Mallory). Like, what?? We get this gem from Mal's POV: But I liked the way he was making me feel. I'd never felt that way before. Wow, okay. Stacey tries to warn Mallory away from him, because he's nothing but trouble, but Mallory thinks Stace is just jealous. Double wow.
Mary Anne & Dawn are hosting some kind of mini-camp baby-sitting thing. I don't know, I didn't pay much attention lol. There was a mess with eggs, Elvira the goat attacks Prissy Jenny Prezzioso, Glynis the goose attacks Charlotte, it rains at their sleepover, and Dawn scares the kids (and Mary Anne) silly with a ghost story in the barn.
Kristy does boring stuff with the Krushers: nearly her entire team can't play for one reason or another, Kristy freaks and starts canvassing the neighborhood looking for kids to play, Bart offers to cancel the big game, she refuses, the Krushers lose 34-1.
Finally, the whole BSC team (plus Logan) is together again, on the beach, and they brought with them a hurricane. Sort of, but not quite yet, we'll get to that. Mrs Barrett's boyfriend & kids come down too and Dawn is set to watch them with Stacey. Stacey complains about Mallory a lot. And Mrs Barrett. And people using her towel. She mostly just complains a lot. Mallory sends a postcard to Stacey's mom for some reason. Toby ASKS OUT Mallory. Like for real. I know, I was as shocked and honestly dismayed as Stacey.
Is this getting too long and boring? Probably. Alright, speedy version! Hurricane Bill shows up, the Pikes decide to wait it out but then get worried, so try to get more inland, but don't get very far because everyone else on the island is thinking the exact same thing. Turns out the causeway is flooded so they have to take shelter at the local elementary school. Everyone is crying and freaking out, they have to eat canned ham for dinner, the power goes out, and they can't get thru to Stoneybrook for several days. And then we get a random chapter from Karen Brewer? I swear, that kid just insists on being in every story no matter what. After the hurricane passes, the families decide to stay til the end of their vacation and have fun no matter what. Mallory's hot date comes up and she picks out an outfit:
I ended up choosing a short, flared, white-on-blue polka-dotted skirt (mine); a white, ribbed tank-top (Jessi's); and a long, royal-blue men's shirt with the tails tied in front (Claudia had run to her room for that). Claudia insisted I not wear anything too light or it would "wash out my face." We carefully placed some of the buttons we'd bought on the tanktop. Claudia yanked back my mane and figured out how to put the flamingo barrettes in it so they wouldn't get lost.
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