tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41346859885670565222024-02-28T14:46:15.753-06:00See Jenn Read!Formerly "Give a Hoot, Read a Book". I feel this encompasses me more, plus it matches all my other social media now.SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.comBlogger552125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-15250174892709179532024-02-28T14:45:00.001-06:002024-02-28T14:45:15.481-06:00Review: "Claudia & Crazy Peaches: The Baby-Sitters Club #78"<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HSoylT2umHPwQO6WPJuXp9u-6IpbtlXyS2aXVH1jLkdUu3fI_7hxHsajI9dqLf-wKweWaZdAvXhwhCEIzxx0tDrNNh7Fh62eWyLXpWJnyoiGRXY9eLDEZCwUtqp-5H33ocx-ltvcAZYbthp-bReGtwiPa3AZNTlp0nTlwjlFnaCNoedXjaCeHIG-dOUq/s3024/BSC78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HSoylT2umHPwQO6WPJuXp9u-6IpbtlXyS2aXVH1jLkdUu3fI_7hxHsajI9dqLf-wKweWaZdAvXhwhCEIzxx0tDrNNh7Fh62eWyLXpWJnyoiGRXY9eLDEZCwUtqp-5H33ocx-ltvcAZYbthp-bReGtwiPa3AZNTlp0nTlwjlFnaCNoedXjaCeHIG-dOUq/s320/BSC78.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383154.Claudia_and_Crazy_Peaches">Claudia & Crazy Peaches: The Baby-Sitters Club #78</a> by Ann M Martin</div><div style="text-align: left;">3 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was bamboozled by the title and cover of this one. I didn't read the back closely and didn't remember enough of what it was actually about. I was expecting fun times with Aunt Peaches and instead I got a sequel to <a href="https://seejennread.blogspot.com/2019/04/review-claudia-mean-janine-baby-sitters.html">Claudia & Mean Janine</a>! So the book starts off with Claudia waking up on a Monday morning with a tingly feeling that something big is going to happen and her mom confirms it when she says her Aunt Peaches is going to call her at 4:00 that afternoon. But she's running late so she'll have to wait til after school to find out what the news is and she <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3623402">gets dressed in a hurry</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I had no time to think about my wardrobe. I just made it up as I went along. I slipped on a pair of baggy jeans with an extra long belt and gabbed a pinstriped vest to go over my white shirt. For color, I wore my purple high-tops and a black derby with a pink-and-purple hatband.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FIuL78GSM0Iac8MNe_aTKnC7nB_GB17ZksVUbVsGfpJzhGCBFwUOmsFvvkhfrmUNOKzbIAZjnzfjwq2DoUNJNvP4QhvkVLiSX51weZiVahfeLjKL12b_OwVMsJdGcffqTAtER9AAdBhvneKbi6qSR9KzsowwToO7KD4AUkFZ-TDrjZpARrIn8JbvGW4H/s596/BSC78.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="561" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FIuL78GSM0Iac8MNe_aTKnC7nB_GB17ZksVUbVsGfpJzhGCBFwUOmsFvvkhfrmUNOKzbIAZjnzfjwq2DoUNJNvP4QhvkVLiSX51weZiVahfeLjKL12b_OwVMsJdGcffqTAtER9AAdBhvneKbi6qSR9KzsowwToO7KD4AUkFZ-TDrjZpARrIn8JbvGW4H/w376-h400/BSC78.2.jpg" width="376" /></a></div>Aunt Peaches is Claudia's mom's younger sister and is married to Russ, a white guy who gave her the nickname Peaches. White-washing? Peaches & Russ lived in Stoneybrook til Claudia was 7 years old and Claudia loves them both and always has lots of fun with them. When they talk that afternoon, Peaches gives Claudia the big news that she's pregnant and moving back to Stoneybrook! They've somehow already sold their old house and the new one isn't ready yet, so they move in with the Kishis for about a month. Claudia is over the moon excited of course and immediately starts thinking of all the ways she can help out with the baby and pregnancy. Claudia asks Mary Anne to teach her how to knit a blanket, because Mimi taught Mary Anne and it would be like full circle. It's very sweet. The entire BSC offers different ways to help Peaches and <i>Logan's response was the sweetest. "Your aunt sure is lucky because, if I know you and the rest of the BSC, she won't have to lift a finger. All she'll have to do is sit on her nest and wait for that little egg to hatch." </i> Awww....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Peaches is about 2 months along at this point and has already quit her job because she is going to <i>"...sit around the house and get fat. </i>And<i> ...stay home and enjoy the whole experience." </i>Which is great and all, but at 2 months?? She's also already thinking about everything she'll need to buy for the baby. The very first day they've moved in with the Kishis, Peaches & Claudia go shopping for the baby, and buy out the store basically. <i>(The sales ticket was two feet long.)</i> I really should have seen the foreshadowing here, but I didn't. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the next few weeks, Peaches encourages Claudia to come have lots of fun with her: movies, midnight pizza (they get in big trouble for that), baby shopping, looking at samples, big fancy dinner parties for the family, etc. All at the expense of Claudia's grades, which start slipping even more than normal. Claudia and Peaches finally have a big fight, Peaches calls her a "sulky teenager" which is really out of line in my opinion, and don't talk to each other for a few days. And here comes the sad part. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Claudia gets home from a baby-sitting job, ready to apologize, and finds Janine sitting in the kitchen crying. Peaches has lost the baby. Claudia immediately thinks it's her fault, just like with Mimi's stroke. Maybe they should get her some counselling or something. Peaches is okay, it's "just one of those things", and they can try again later. (I seem to remember them actually having a baby later on in the series?) Claudia & Peaches make up, with lots of tears and hugs. Peaches & Russ move into their new home a week later and Peaches announces she's going back to work and if/when they have another baby, she'll work part-time in her home office.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Natalie Springer is the new client for this book and doesn't know how to make friends. Although when we first hear about her, Kristy said she's a friend of Karen's? Natalie is a grade A clinger, asking Claudia to be her bff, comes over to her house all the time (without an adult), calling her to chat, offering to help clean the house. They also play Lovely Ladies (another Karen Brewer trademark game) in the park and we get this funny little line: <i>"That's right. You name all of your poodles Pierre. I should have remembered."</i> The BSC girls make it their mission to get the kid some friends, it goes badly at first, and then they succeed. All is normal in BSC-land.</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-58982480607073433972024-02-06T14:56:00.002-06:002024-02-06T15:01:10.157-06:00Review: "Dawn & Whitney, Friends Forever: The Baby-Sitters Club #77"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558334.Dawn_and_Whitney_Friends_Forever?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7gv5Aho4dT&rank=1"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558334.Dawn_and_Whitney_Friends_Forever?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7gv5Aho4dT&rank=1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7F71WmnA1K81j5ODAXrmAfDxseliV-Z7GDd9EG7o5-mE5nP7OYkuvBpoOMzRJXuT0L0gbbVIxkzuBDalUYYkgX7yeAL0PmbAbvYJgFwgnQAPXFDG7iTum_qb-oSm4KaFYGU_SKN0KPXe4bQJRvKl_OIqTo1uTsprHc53pjmg4zgAN60JsEnoPb9-9eJQF/s3024/BSC77.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7F71WmnA1K81j5ODAXrmAfDxseliV-Z7GDd9EG7o5-mE5nP7OYkuvBpoOMzRJXuT0L0gbbVIxkzuBDalUYYkgX7yeAL0PmbAbvYJgFwgnQAPXFDG7iTum_qb-oSm4KaFYGU_SKN0KPXe4bQJRvKl_OIqTo1uTsprHc53pjmg4zgAN60JsEnoPb9-9eJQF/s320/BSC77.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558334.Dawn_and_Whitney_Friends_Forever?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=kAv0IdwfOO&rank=1">Dawn & Whitney, Friends Forever: The Baby-Sitters Club #77</a> by Ann Martin<br />3.5 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's get the cringe part out of the way first: this book uses the word "r*tarded" several times to describe new character, Whitney, who has Down Syndrome. Luckily, it is only used as a medical description and not an insult or derogatory phrase. Aside from that, I think this was one of the better Dawn books I've read in awhile, especially with her being in "Sunny California" (SC). Dawn goes into all the long, selfish details of her move back to SC and how she basically wrecked her dad's relationship so he's now "playing the field", which means he eventually gets to the <i>"date me, date my kids". </i> Dawn & Jeff are lukewarm, at best, about these dates but at least they get a yummy meal from Mrs Bruen: <i>"Endive salad, three-cheese macaroni, asparagus, and raspberry crisp".</i> Dawn's SC bff Sunshine Daydream Willow comes over for dinner. That is something I would have 100% named my future child as a teenager. (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/928814.Road_to_Nowhere_Mass_Market_Paperbound_Christopher_Pike">Freedom Jack & Poppy Corn</a> were legit on the list at one point.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Skip ahead to the We <3 Kids Club, with the SC members: Sunny, Dawn, Maggie Blume, and Jill Henderson. We don't get any Claudia outfits in this book, so we'll have to settle for <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3611679">Maggie, who <i>is</i> pretty cool.</a> <i>Maggie keeps her hair short and punkish [with purple raccoon streaks over each ear] with clothes to match, like a favorite leather bomber jacket that she wears rain, shine, hot, cold. She'd brought it with her today, over a black cropped tank top, leopard leggings, and lace-up black boots. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1o9GImvPb5Klip7cuIWnFScQPlZP4LEDsAibI5vBah1_y5I4rgaUi3KvJVxnUu8DFVPSLZxXe6avQZVZK8DkTJuG1PwaMJEt9IXPKvhnyy4c5i2Zg3LUdhq9ECrfwjo2rYVRJh_V_eU2ZD-Jd746TyF0qFFjPT89xkuyh-FJWRfnhkSNrbK-eqDWAHAY/s559/BSC77.2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="549" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1o9GImvPb5Klip7cuIWnFScQPlZP4LEDsAibI5vBah1_y5I4rgaUi3KvJVxnUu8DFVPSLZxXe6avQZVZK8DkTJuG1PwaMJEt9IXPKvhnyy4c5i2Zg3LUdhq9ECrfwjo2rYVRJh_V_eU2ZD-Jd746TyF0qFFjPT89xkuyh-FJWRfnhkSNrbK-eqDWAHAY/w393-h400/BSC77.2.jpg" width="393" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>The girls get a new client calling about a long-term job for 12 year old Whitney, who has Down Syndrome, and Dawn agrees to take the job. Whitney's parents tell her that Dawn is a "new friend" not a baby-sitter and they really messed up on that, but we'll get to it later. Whitney is a sweet girl who loves to swim, look at cute boys in magazines, and go shopping. She's also trying to show her parents that she can be more grown-up, by doing chores and keeping her room clean, just like any 12 year old. Dawn and Whitney become fast friends, enjoying their afternoons together, and Dawn starts to feel more and more conflicted about not telling Whitney she's her baby-sitter. She does tell her she is A baby-sitter and they go visit Sunny on a sitting job for Clover & Daffodil. Whitney loves them and wants to become a baby-sitter too. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One afternoon, Dawn accidentally blurts out that she's the baby-sitter. Whitney is understandably upset because she thinks she's a grown-up and wants nothing to do with Dawn for awhile. Unfortunately, she takes being a "grown-up" a little too far one afternoon and takes off with Clover & Daffodil to a local fair without telling anyone. Nothing happens but there's a big freak-out of course. Eventually they do make up and become close friends again. The We <3 Kids Club also makes Whitney an <i>Honorary Member and Special Helper</i>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Mr Schafer goes on one bad date after another: boring, the suit lady, treats the kids like "kids", mom of an annoying girl from school, this...<i>"Schaf, I don't know what you were thinking of, letting Dawn go buy a bra on her own. It clearly isn't the proper fit. You need a woman's touch for that sort of thing." </i> And then there's the woman who is "repulsed and embarrassed" by Whitney when they see her at a concert. <i>"It's just that the scenery </i>[Whitney dancing]<i> has made me lose my appetite."</i> Like wow, lady. Go sit on a fire ant pile. </div><div><br /></div><div>All these horrible dates make Jeff & Dawn realize that they actually miss nice, normal Carol and they decide they have to get dad & Carol back together. Dawn runs into Carol when she's searching for Whitney, Clover, & Daffodil at the fair and mentions to her dad that maybe he should give her a call. He does and they start dating again and eventually have a family dinner, where Jeff accidentally proposes to Carol for Mr Schafer. It's pretty sweet, definitely best Jeff moment of the series lol. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Over in Stoneybrook, Mrs Barrett and Mr DeWitt finally get engaged and their huge group of kids is not happy about it, until they start looking at houses and take the kids along with them. The kids start bonding over the best sidewalks for skateboarding, treehouses, sharing bedrooms, etc. and think maybe this blended family thing won't be so bad after all. So we've got 2 weddings to look forward to in the future!</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-30055732725095199112023-10-11T09:31:00.001-05:002023-10-11T09:31:11.829-05:00Review: "Stacey's Lie: The Baby-Sitters Club #76"<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9oyMhYcFwqzZSKpqk2pzM0U6JRqpTV8zlbIv_2xSwOQDgZQ5yZTSV2uog6dJ8A1Xk0o2GJ3hCycSVlIidj8WmbE3xl1mjsHKuwOtw-DJ-59AJ6QGX-M1WbEXXORCYYYL2Q1QgVST5PUaVDK3ymuMxxR0crQFZ1yoodkLQUXYm9SifJ6h-9_x796UDGve/s3024/BSC76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9oyMhYcFwqzZSKpqk2pzM0U6JRqpTV8zlbIv_2xSwOQDgZQ5yZTSV2uog6dJ8A1Xk0o2GJ3hCycSVlIidj8WmbE3xl1mjsHKuwOtw-DJ-59AJ6QGX-M1WbEXXORCYYYL2Q1QgVST5PUaVDK3ymuMxxR0crQFZ1yoodkLQUXYm9SifJ6h-9_x796UDGve/s320/BSC76.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383151.Stacey_s_Lie?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=srIFrnNBOy&rank=1">Stacey's Lie: The Baby-Sitters Club #76</a> by Ann M Martin</div><div style="text-align: left;">4 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>If her father ever finds out...</i> They make it sound like Stacey is sneaking Robert into her bedroom each night instead of just vacationing on the same island. I did still really like this one though. Mostly because there are lots of Claudia & Stacey outfits. Be prepared for LOTS of detail in this review! It might be the longest one I've ever written lol. So let's start from the beginning and get into it with the first outfits: what Stacey started to wear to school then what she actually did because it's <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3559017">a gorgeous summer day</a>!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I got up, pulled on a pair of blue tights, black canvas walking shorts, a long-sleeved, blue T-shirt, and a pair of black flats. I piled my blonde perm up on top of my head and fastened it with a blue stretchie tie. Then I looked out my bedroom window and realized my outfit was all wrong. I ripped the stretchie from my hair and let the curls fall around my shoulders. I took off my clothes and changed into my new one-piece shorts dress with the gold, red and green Aztec-style print. I slipped into a pair of light tan woven flats and I was set to go. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKeHQoHzq5RjHnIVYWsL2CPF7wgumqgU2RNeNr4B_62RdmY7c5io7kyXfIE052EDQl-4FrtaZbgcyg0t5B3NVCsLJF5CiBO-NKpdioFLUn1nrTHL-c8QNdiGCgcb2gi4YdqpenJkGXBKyAs0lqOkAVLMFDf5vLJGamjwHc8mQ8JvCUqaKPxcv22mMOqDJ/s554/BSC76.1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="554" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKeHQoHzq5RjHnIVYWsL2CPF7wgumqgU2RNeNr4B_62RdmY7c5io7kyXfIE052EDQl-4FrtaZbgcyg0t5B3NVCsLJF5CiBO-NKpdioFLUn1nrTHL-c8QNdiGCgcb2gi4YdqpenJkGXBKyAs0lqOkAVLMFDf5vLJGamjwHc8mQ8JvCUqaKPxcv22mMOqDJ/w400-h294/BSC76.1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>"Looks like we're both running late today," said Mom as she came into the kitchen, still tying the bow on her blouse.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Did you change outfits at the last minute, too?" I asked with a laugh.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Mom laughed with me. "Yes, I did," she admitted. "I couldn't wear a black gabardine pants suit a day like today. It's gorgeous out."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Summer at last," I said.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulRpyE4Mjl_Syd9p_sa_gkqc9kXz6PeSHl-7MNFmKApJIINLjbbP-_Se8D-CefgEE6S5i-MSBYtGATuhUj2P7EvshDQ400UOnkmJzjUS084Umoitu0ZiI77i_Zuuj5G8M_sO6KjLSyO2jtFdxPr2CuzUgryBkqP3LZiHe_dZeF1RY2lfBHKh8nRkIPDf-/s613/BSC76.2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="573" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulRpyE4Mjl_Syd9p_sa_gkqc9kXz6PeSHl-7MNFmKApJIINLjbbP-_Se8D-CefgEE6S5i-MSBYtGATuhUj2P7EvshDQ400UOnkmJzjUS084Umoitu0ZiI77i_Zuuj5G8M_sO6KjLSyO2jtFdxPr2CuzUgryBkqP3LZiHe_dZeF1RY2lfBHKh8nRkIPDf-/s320/BSC76.2.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>Stacey goes to visit her dad for Father's Day weekend, even though she'd really like to spend time with her boyfriend, Robert, on his last weekend before he goes off to Fire Island for a summer job. Stacey tries to make the best of the weekend though, enjoying time with her dad. He has a new home office now, with a shiny new fax machine, and bribes Stacey with a new outfit so he can get some work done. <i>I settled on this super cute flowing pants outfit in a sunflower print against a navy blue background. It had a high waist, cap sleeves, and a scoop neck, and the pants were long and full. I loved it. <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3559025">I'm on sort of a sunflower kick these days.</a> </i>(This book came out in 1994 and I can confirm, sunflowers were huge then.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They go out to a fancy dinner, Mr McGill asks about Robert and says maybe it's a good thing they'll be separated all summer, but he's just an old guy so what does he know? Then he surprises Stacey with the news that he's going to take a 2 week vacation, for the first time in forever, and he wants Stacey to go away with him somewhere, and he's letting her choose! Like anywhere: the mountains, Disney World, Europe! Where does Stacey finally choose? Yep, you guessed it. Fire Island, where it just so happens that her boyfriend is working all summer. And does she tell her dad this? No, she just makes him think it sounds really awesome. And does she tell Claudia this when she invites her along? No, because she doesn't want Claud to feel like a 5th wheel. Spoilers: she totally does. And does she tell Robert that she hasn't told either of them this? Nope. Stacey's just gonna have a vacation full of subterfuge and sand castles lol. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Okay, time for <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3559336">what Claudia was wearing</a> at the last BSC meeting for the school year. <i>Today she was wearing a long, black, crocheted vest that fell to her knees over a pair of black shorts and a white blouse with ruffles at the collar and cuffs. Her hair was in two long braids tied with black and white ribbons at the ends. On her feet were black sandals with a thick platform sole and white ribbons which laced around her ankles. (The ribbons had originally been black, but Claudia cut them off and glued on white ribbons.)</i> That wacky Claudia!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WjpWeCPUiBbJp38OZ6g9QqfsratNMCs6sVi8gIYGGz1oJzNlKf-Cho0-F0rn2B9Sno0sAUqucbkmGyO3iLAQL8Waj1rtZCzAcWwch4yakjYdTmhF6jSpzNiREJ82FcJDihTqWD0KPT2VhcZPfNJWm7k8qSC-S4dwirNDQgWXuyZY8gJE1PnyVz_ywG38/s590/BSC76.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="590" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WjpWeCPUiBbJp38OZ6g9QqfsratNMCs6sVi8gIYGGz1oJzNlKf-Cho0-F0rn2B9Sno0sAUqucbkmGyO3iLAQL8Waj1rtZCzAcWwch4yakjYdTmhF6jSpzNiREJ82FcJDihTqWD0KPT2VhcZPfNJWm7k8qSC-S4dwirNDQgWXuyZY8gJE1PnyVz_ywG38/w400-h348/BSC76.3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Kristy has a great idea to make new fliers with the caricature Claudia is drawing of all the BSC members to drum up business (I wish we got to see this!), but she is slightly peeved when she learns everyone has summer plans already. Stacey & Claudia will be on vacay at the beach, Jessi & Mallory signed up for jobs as day camp counselors at the local community center, Logan is out of town somewhere with his gang probably. Mary Anne tries to remind Kristy how slow it usually is in the summertime and she finally agrees that it should be okay and even says yes to visiting Stacey & Claudia on 4th of July weekend and *gasp* closing the BSC for 4 whole days!! Oh yeah, Shannon is there too.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stacey, Claudia, and Mr McGill are off to the island and Stacey immediately freaks out thinking Robert is going to be on their ferry (that's his job, ferry gopher or something else a 13 year old would logically do) and she's going to be busted, but luckily, he's not. They get to the island and meet Mr McGill's friend, Mr Majors, and I honestly thought that these 2 were having a secret love affair or, at the very least, doing clandestine work, because of all the time they supposedly spend together over the next 2 weeks. But we'll get more into that later. Claudia & Stacey go off to explore the town and that's when they run into Robert and as expected, Claud is pissed. <i>"Best <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV2jl_1DCCs">friends don't lie</a> and keep secrets."</i> She gets over it pretty quickly though, on the surface, and the girls start to have a great vacation. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stacey meets up with Robert whenever she can, early in the morning, at lunchtime, in the evening. Claudia makes some fierce sand castles on the beach and starts taking photos of them being destroyed by the ocean. She declares that they absolutely must do the 4th of July parade and one of her sand castles is going to be the theme of their wagon float. She FAXES a note to Kristy's stepdad Mr Brewer at his mansion fax machine a list of costume stuff she wants Kristy, Mary Anne, and Shannon to bring with them when they visit. She also starts to get a little annoyed with Stacey spending so much time with Robert, especially when he shows up at the pizza place uninvited and time for <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3559347">another set of outfits</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJfJFuWTFUK7pCeW6Lhs498lsYPN5Yqw-NoLgkZx2ZH_Hb6ZIrcu8vjE1lBDuQGhlAWZLmNs7B1DvitguglTeUnoXxlcL1tOpYcwLWfTR3TxuKM4m9etXWqEdfk1eNkw7yUfoVsLlg29_-fii3kZ0GR4l-XjJh2nR3JVYGHB1vsZFSc4ZOTk1sumsPSkB/s520/BSC76.4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="503" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJfJFuWTFUK7pCeW6Lhs498lsYPN5Yqw-NoLgkZx2ZH_Hb6ZIrcu8vjE1lBDuQGhlAWZLmNs7B1DvitguglTeUnoXxlcL1tOpYcwLWfTR3TxuKM4m9etXWqEdfk1eNkw7yUfoVsLlg29_-fii3kZ0GR4l-XjJh2nR3JVYGHB1vsZFSc4ZOTk1sumsPSkB/s320/BSC76.4.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><br />[Stacey] <i>pulled on a pair of green leggings and a sleeveless denim top. Claudia wore a pair of wild tie-dyed leggings and an over-sized T-shirt she'd designed and silk-screened herself. She'd painted a flock of birds flying diagonally across it.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Claudia marches off after the pizza dinner and Stacey rushes after her, trying to explain that she really didn't invite him and they could totally spend the rest of the evening together, but Claudia tells her to just go back to Robert <i>"...with those big eyes like, <b>Please don't leave me.</b>"</i> haha. Stacey tries to make it up her to her by promising a "best friend date" the next night at the nice restaurant, just the 2 of them. We all know that's not going to end well. Sure enough, Robert asks Stacey to go on a fancy romantical boat ride that can only happen that evening. Stacey convinces herself that she has plenty of time to do both and keep everyone happy, as long as she and Claudia go to dinner at 6:00pm with the oldies. Of course, Claudia unknowingly lollygags getting ready, can't decide <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3559358">what to wear</a>. (She settles on a blue denim jumper and Stace goes with <i>a white and blue sundress with a dropped waist and a square sailor collar</i>.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8Aw69gxMX8XVhAolSfntNY5aEK1iZ2rVfapR45KkSxibr-ogwflVoylb-oLeZip-jtsbzPbhk2Wsb-GlGuwr3mZ0Durej4sxx_1cbfqM16AxupzpctxJCFfVNhaX0Wd1FZDn7u7z85eAxOo2pXmr3N3DcuawJo6SwudStjr3Sn2HQzfobmX3oeKNtMEL/s595/BSC76.5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="595" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8Aw69gxMX8XVhAolSfntNY5aEK1iZ2rVfapR45KkSxibr-ogwflVoylb-oLeZip-jtsbzPbhk2Wsb-GlGuwr3mZ0Durej4sxx_1cbfqM16AxupzpctxJCFfVNhaX0Wd1FZDn7u7z85eAxOo2pXmr3N3DcuawJo6SwudStjr3Sn2HQzfobmX3oeKNtMEL/s320/BSC76.5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Stacey keeps trying to rush her and is acting all crazy and makes Claudia think she's having a diabetic fit or something. At the restaurant, Claudia gets like a 7 course meal, because she's in no rush, because she thinks she's just having a lovely dinner with her BFF. Stacey honestly did Claud so dirty in this one. She totally deserves Claudia getting so mad she won't even talk to her when it finally all blows up. She also deserves Robert wanting to spend a little time apart because he's not comfortable with all the lying she's been doing. If she's okay with lying to her best friend and her dad, what's going to stop her from lying to him?<i> "You creep!," I cried to his back. "I only lied so I could spend time with you!"</i> This right here tells you exactly what kind of girl Stacey is going to be in high school.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She does not deserve the beef with her dad when she discovers he's seeing some hot young chick and Mr Majors was sadly, just his cover story all along. Also, whoa huge mistake from the cover artist that I just discovered! Stacey's outfit? <i>A gauzy flower-print skirt, a crocheted top, and big, gold hoop earrings. In her hand dangled a pair of gold sandals.</i> That outfit? Is Samantha's, Mr McGill's GIRLFRIEND!! All these outfits in this book, that I've so generously created for you here, and the cover artist went with the one on the girlfriend for the daughter?? We've been BETRAYED. Okay, sorry, moving on. Stacey is obviously upset with her dad and he's mad at her too, they've both been lying but really, he's the adult. He needs to get over it and fix this. But he doesn't. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And this is when Kristy, Mary Anne, and Shannon show up for a sunny happy beach vacation. Except it's storming out, nearly the whole weekend. And everyone is not speaking. Not surprisingly, they decide to leave a day early and Claudia goes with them. Stacey finds out Claudia's sand castle pictures are being displayed in a local shop and people are actually buying them. She finally starts thinking about everything and talks to her dad. They both apologize and talk things thru. Stacey still isn't sure about her dad dating but she accepts it. I can't remember if he marries Samantha later or not? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Robert comes back around and decides he doesn't want to break up (big mistake), Stacey calls Claudia and apologizes for being a total jerk, Stacey goes home and tells her mom that Mr McGill is dating. Oh yeah, and Vanessa Pike and Haley Braddock had a huge argument about wearing the same swimsuit to summer camp and it was all stupid and pointless and Jessi & Mal fixed it and they were BFF's again in the end.</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-61351221550809443332023-09-26T14:40:00.001-05:002023-09-26T14:41:23.303-05:00Review: "Jessi's Horrible Prank: The Baby-Sitters Club #75"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558391.Jessi_s_Horrible_Prank?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=enHZqjSjjF&rank=1"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558391.Jessi_s_Horrible_Prank?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=enHZqjSjjF&rank=1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG81NuqwXk7VHt12RgOxL92JAj1fcX0iQ9mHxpY5YVKbt63IbowrwZDyLnqJ6gExCccbXFwPCbJRfIqYIAZtJDs-M-ZN3gsTi4KyyeQEgijGnh26MYZ_V1vrnEiTDj1pMeSUim9zdhXQp6LEkLfjTzfFEoJNOGY8U8bksj0IzG14Qf-ndEGWI176Evr5An/s3024/BSC75.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG81NuqwXk7VHt12RgOxL92JAj1fcX0iQ9mHxpY5YVKbt63IbowrwZDyLnqJ6gExCccbXFwPCbJRfIqYIAZtJDs-M-ZN3gsTi4KyyeQEgijGnh26MYZ_V1vrnEiTDj1pMeSUim9zdhXQp6LEkLfjTzfFEoJNOGY8U8bksj0IzG14Qf-ndEGWI176Evr5An/s320/BSC75.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558391.Jessi_s_Horrible_Prank?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=cxPol1HwP3&rank=1">Jessi's Horrible Prank: The Baby-Sitters Club #75</a> by Ann M Martin</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I hated this book. Like really hated it. This is the first BSC book I've given 1 star. Jessi, the only black person in the entire state of Connecticut (slight exaggeration), pulls pranks and makes fun of a teacher for how he looks and acts, in front of the entire school. And then SHE gets upset when he is so embarrassed about it all that he actually leaves the school for good. Get over yourself Jessi. So yeah, this will probably be a short review, but let's go back to the beginning.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jessi learns about <i>the Sixth-Grade Follies, where the sixth-graders make up songs and skits and stuff</i>, from Sanjita, a Puerto Rican student that Jessi is suddenly friends with. One of the two teachers in the school who like to dress up like Dolly Parton (?) tells the girls to signup because "<i>we want to get a good cross section of the school!" </i>ie: <i>not only white students.</i> Jessi is still interested because she's a natural comedian or something. She has class with Mr Trout, the teacher all the kids make fun of, because he dresses funny and is a nerd and has a bad toupee. He doesn't discipline the kids when they talk and laugh throughout the class and he just seems really lost in general. Now let's skip to <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3552316">What Claudia is Wearing</a>, the important part of the book.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>...At that meeting she was wearing '50s-style cat's-eye glasses frames, a plastic barrette in the shape of an alligator, a tie-dyed T-shirt, and bell-bottoms. And it looked fantastic. </i>(Did it? Really?)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFPMQZ7YSotxryFkTlqfuQD8WxQRRMPTQqZfdcRbzqerpTgLjMLrGVIgoFY6kxWV0rHgcd0Q4MB0wbxm-keM_uz9F2wncuvdRjbfx34fE2hsiTi7Ny2GBfJZHK6Mh-FMc6uuhJmnQxZdAvRvsKb1oKRU_uyh87aviwCwzGkTaU2kg2fvEroTcMYzzJpU_/s632/BSC75.1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="593" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFPMQZ7YSotxryFkTlqfuQD8WxQRRMPTQqZfdcRbzqerpTgLjMLrGVIgoFY6kxWV0rHgcd0Q4MB0wbxm-keM_uz9F2wncuvdRjbfx34fE2hsiTi7Ny2GBfJZHK6Mh-FMc6uuhJmnQxZdAvRvsKb1oKRU_uyh87aviwCwzGkTaU2kg2fvEroTcMYzzJpU_/w375-h400/BSC75.1.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Back to Jessi sigh. The kids all drop their books at the same time, causing Mr Trout to jump and shriek, but not discipline them. Then someone steals his grade book which causes a domino effect of mishaps, leaving the entire class laughing hysterically. Then some of the kids figure out how to remove Mr Trout's toupee, hooking it to the roll-up map at the chalkboard. It's honestly cruel. Jessi thinks he's doing all the awkward stuff on purpose but later realizes he doesn't have any teacher friends either so maybe not. But that doesn't stop her from deciding to imitate him during the Follies. And that's the last straw for poor Mr Trout. He leaves town, quits his job with no notice, and doesn't tell anyone where he's going. Jessi feels awful about it all, after the fact. The other students and teachers even tell her that she shouldn't, that he was just overly sensitive. But yeah, I think she should. Jessi tries to start a petition of students that want him back, but no one signs it. She finally writes a letter to him, apologizing for everything, and he replies forgiving her. That's it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In baby-sitting news, the Pikes and other kids get together and make their own BSC Follies, imitating Kristy's loud-mouth, Mary Anne's crying, etc. and it is infinitely funnier than Jessi's attempts.</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-6467628327659323662023-07-24T15:30:00.000-05:002023-07-24T15:30:16.454-05:00Review: "Kristy & The Copycat: The Baby-Sitters Club #74"<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsnCXJNXNhibVXOfWLiae_M9leYXppGmq3iyMwbChXV3dNy47DEz7D2ebaBRQyd0sLM58iluSgQ-xlz7mQ-722iuDNPJWauMojaNjUM_s9y3j48hMBn73S_hosBCyf57CSsssHevA6ckPem11pemC2-rT20Ze_uMeOCSBavGY3c6EJ96b_obECaehRFjG/s3024/BSC74.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsnCXJNXNhibVXOfWLiae_M9leYXppGmq3iyMwbChXV3dNy47DEz7D2ebaBRQyd0sLM58iluSgQ-xlz7mQ-722iuDNPJWauMojaNjUM_s9y3j48hMBn73S_hosBCyf57CSsssHevA6ckPem11pemC2-rT20Ze_uMeOCSBavGY3c6EJ96b_obECaehRFjG/s320/BSC74.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383143.Kristy_and_the_Copycat?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6dnsnWP2hQ&rank=1">Kristy & The Copycat: The Baby-Sitters Club #74</a> by Ann M Martin</div><div style="text-align: left;">4 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the first BSC book that really didn't <i>feel</i> like a BSC book, if you know what I mean. Kristy was extremely out of character and we had more serious plot points. The next book is like this too so it may be a new trend with the ghostwriters. In spite, or possibly because, of that I really enjoyed this one.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kristy is feeling blah with the Krushers softball team and while talking to her friends, she realizes it's because she wants to actually play ball instead of just coach it. Claudia tells her that the SMS girls' softball team is conveniently holding tryouts soon and Kristy gets excited for a second but then realizes there's no way she can juggle everything. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Claudia slid her sunglasses down her nose and peered at me over them, striking a movie star pose. "Darling," she drawled, "if anybody can do it, you can!"</i> And great timing for not just a <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3519840">Claudia outfit</a>, but a Stacey one as well!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Stacey had pulled her permed blonde hair back with a leopard-print scarf tied under one ear. She was wearing one of her favorite pairs of earrings, gold leaf-shaped ones. She was also wearing a black wrap long-sleeve top, a short, low-slung brown skirt with a big belt, black tights, and leopard print flats. She looked extremely cool. Which of course she was.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">[Claudia's]<i> eye for color and style shows in the way she dresses. Today she was into big: a big yellow shirt with red X-shaped buttons, enormously baggy white pants, and big red Doc Martens double-laced with black and yellow shoelaces. Her long straight black hair was pulled up on top of her head with more black and yellow shoelaces braided together. Her earrings said "stop" and "go" --- "stop" in her left ear and "go" in her right.</i> (This ghostwriter really gets the importance of fashion. <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1207531466/stop-sign-earrings-stop-go-sign-road?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=go+stop+earrings&ref=sr_gallery-1-37&organic_search_click=1">Earrings found on Etsy</a>.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9sLjFUNivVnTN1QdiW5o_hCIl0tQFytPCiNkoUC6Gk16VVLK2qXVvZam60sfXIu-I5jxCnOgLuPBQUrKFoFAhomDucRr3u4CVB2CReVbshbwIULpWXQ78xSgm1lLK2BL0lX4zZL23xE2HTPX0SYY_K_6G_Tj96JNXTpb1C4oK-YTQKqHi9H-5fxpbFDe/s657/BSC74.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="657" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9sLjFUNivVnTN1QdiW5o_hCIl0tQFytPCiNkoUC6Gk16VVLK2qXVvZam60sfXIu-I5jxCnOgLuPBQUrKFoFAhomDucRr3u4CVB2CReVbshbwIULpWXQ78xSgm1lLK2BL0lX4zZL23xE2HTPX0SYY_K_6G_Tj96JNXTpb1C4oK-YTQKqHi9H-5fxpbFDe/w400-h359/BSC74.1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Kristy can't stop thinking about the tryouts but knows that she will just get way overwhelmed if she keeps everything on, like when she tried to <a href="https://seejennread.blogspot.com/2016/07/review-kristy-for-president-baby.html">run for president</a>. But then Claudia and Stacey get the bright (crazy) idea of them coaching the Krushers. Kristy almost laughs in their faces but luckily stops herself. So the two fashionistas are going to play ball and Kristy goes out for the team! (Spoiler: she makes it.) We also meet a lot of new characters in this book: Bea, Dilys, Tonya, Tallie etc. And now we get to the serious stuff.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kristy makes the team but before she can actually be <i>with</i> the team, she has to pass initiation. AKA a hazing ritual. The girls who were already on the team tell the new girls they have to spray-paint graffiti on the old equipment shed or they don't play. <i>"Have you ever played ball with someone who makes you look bad no matter what you do?"</i> Kristy of course refuses, at first. But after a few days of, honestly, harassment, Kristy & the other new girls agree to do it. I don't really see Kristy caving like this, it's not in her nature. But they go thru with it, sneaking onto school grounds Friday night and graffitti-ing the shed. Afterwards, 2 of the girls light up cigarettes but luckily Kristy draws the line there. And all is good, right?<br /><br />Wrong. Big wrong. Kristy wakes up the next morning and hears on the news that the shed burned to the ground last night and a neighborhood man was injured trying to put it out and is in the hospital. She freaks out when she can't find her used spray-paint can (did she start the fire?!) and gathers the other girls to her house to discuss it all. They convince her to keep her mouth shut because the whole team could get in trouble. Kristy feels sick about it all.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's get over to some baby-sitting for a bit. The "copycat" of the book is Karen, of course. She gets it in her head that being thirteen years old is the coolest thing ever so she starts copying all the BSC girls whenever she's around them. She asks Mary Anne a bajillion questions about her boyfriend and copies her every move. She copies Stacey's coaching outfit to a T and brings along her own boyfriend, Ricky Torres to the next Krushers' practice. Kristy finally explodes at her and tells her not to grow up so fast and just be herself and it's all good. And how about some hideous (Claudia) <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3519854">sportswear</a> before we get back to Kristy's hazing disaster?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The clothes make the coach. Claudia was wearing a red satin baseball cap, purple sweatpants that were cut off just below the knees, purple high-tops with neon pink laces, red-and-white-striped socks, and a red and pink tie-dyed crop top shirt.</i> (Tie-dye shirt from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1042610769/the-red-raspberry-tie-dye-crop-top">Etsy</a>!) <i>Stacey was in black bicycle shorts with neon yellow racing stripes down the sides, a pair of Nikes with matching neon yellow swooshes on the side, (but ordinary white laces), an enormous white v-neck T-shirt, a black jog bra, and a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap, turned around backwards. Stacey was wearing my whistle. Claudia had this funky clay whistle shaped like a bird on a leather thong around her neck that she'd made in art class.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlllzPo41E1Z5z68i1eIX1DZ3vW-VG6fcUOfp3JByUAn_JMnVXTK9pcLS5l8qLHLWqM3sdzCFx7HC4VKw50amE5S0Ny8lXvEbIuWhORujuaazK-29QFBHDW34FH9ssb28gF2LXmrZacTkmm4i04GVa_x7EwirHJDgR2Xjd3oxtuLJukqsUrkhvjn0lPR7/s633/BSC74.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="633" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlllzPo41E1Z5z68i1eIX1DZ3vW-VG6fcUOfp3JByUAn_JMnVXTK9pcLS5l8qLHLWqM3sdzCFx7HC4VKw50amE5S0Ny8lXvEbIuWhORujuaazK-29QFBHDW34FH9ssb28gF2LXmrZacTkmm4i04GVa_x7EwirHJDgR2Xjd3oxtuLJukqsUrkhvjn0lPR7/w400-h343/BSC74.2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Back at school, the principal calls an assembly and says there is evidence that students were involved in the fire and urges the guilty party to step forward. Kristy wants to confess but the other girls tell her no way and that they'll all say she's lying. She CRIES a little at her locker (not my Kristy!) and then finds a threatening note inside, saying basically "I know what you did last summer" lol. All 4 of the new girls start getting notes, threatening and asking for money to keep quiet. But then they get great news: the boys' baseball team has been officially blamed for the fire and are being disbanded. Everyone on the team is all happy again, except Kristy. Logan is on the team and she knows in her heart that they probably didn't do it. (This is before Logan joins the Badd Boyz lol.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kristy decides to confess, by herself, but first she has to tell the BSC girls. Of course they support her and tell her it's really okay, etc. And then, the next morning, Kristy is again awakened by the news but this time it's good. Another group has confessed to the fire because they were "<i>looking for excitement". </i>Also, Kristy finds her lost spray-paint under her bed. She is happy again, mostly. She thinks about still confessing to the graffiti but after talking to the other newbies, agrees there isn't much point. And now that they're on the team, they will be able to vote against initiations in the future. But who was sending the threatening notes? Turns out it was Dilys, one of the new girls. She was hoping it would force the other girls to confess. And I guess she needed the money? And that's the end!</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-69895544397091498962023-05-17T09:08:00.004-05:002023-05-17T09:09:29.380-05:00Review: "Mary Anne & Miss Priss: The Baby-Sitters Club #73"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/547613.Mary_Anne_and_Miss_Priss?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=inO1HNuamP&rank=1"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/547613.Mary_Anne_and_Miss_Priss?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=inO1HNuamP&rank=1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVufTHj8c2Fb3AqBplDAkMLa7bbaUyiD6aBQ_IiiNEetnqgg3Y_tCO5HNd1mOwZFpxfKffYUZheRhfsHaGrunnRxTMERFyq8INWrT9R6qrmGPC61LzinXyAd7AV4Co5Vu-NGvR17UB4JwCuqmknulzsU2KtDWXo_1PtVYgW8nnPTkwnKD7ZPk3hDr-Aw/s3024/BSC73.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVufTHj8c2Fb3AqBplDAkMLa7bbaUyiD6aBQ_IiiNEetnqgg3Y_tCO5HNd1mOwZFpxfKffYUZheRhfsHaGrunnRxTMERFyq8INWrT9R6qrmGPC61LzinXyAd7AV4Co5Vu-NGvR17UB4JwCuqmknulzsU2KtDWXo_1PtVYgW8nnPTkwnKD7ZPk3hDr-Aw/s320/BSC73.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/547613.Mary_Anne_and_Miss_Priss?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=oXS3T8eiL9&rank=1">Mary Anne & Miss Priss: The Baby-Sitters Club #73</a> by Ann M Martin<br />3 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I actually felt bad for Jenny Prezzioso in this one. She is usually just a spoiled brat but she had some serious issues in this book and for the most part, they're completely ignored. Also, what is this outfit Mary Anne is wearing on the cover?? Logan's sweats? It's awful.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The book starts with Mary Anne helping Mallory watch the younger Pike kids. Mal is still recovering from mono, but her parents let her baby-sit her siblings. A lot. Too much. Mary Anne references one of the mystery books, which kind of makes me want to start reading them, but I had decided to wait until I finish the regular series, whenever that will be. The triplets declare that they are officially too old to be baby-sat, at 10 years old. Back then, yeah probably. Now? I'm not so sure. I guess it depends on the kids and the neighborhood. In the intro chapter, Stacey's boyfriend Robert gets a mention and the showdown they had with the basketball players and cheerleaders is discussed too. Like we care lol. At the end of the meeting, Mrs Prezzioso calls and says she needs a sitter for Jenny (not baby Andrea) every afternoon for the foreseeable future. The girls are all kind of stunned, but don't question it. Mary Anne ends up with the most days, with the others filling in for her. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At her first job, Mary Anne is shocked to see "Miss Priss" back. Jenny had relaxed a little recently, wearing play clothes and going outside. But now...<i>she was covered from head to toe in lace. Two pink lace bows perched in her dark brown hair. Her pink dress had a delicate lace collar, lacey puffed sleeves, and a big satin-and-lace sash around the waist. Even her socks were topped with lace. Jenny looked more like a doll-the kind you collect, not play with-than a real little girl. </i>(No Claudia outfit, so <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3481620">this is the best we get</a>!) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXC5T-IZ1Vhb7WtgbpWeWIUsDoAfpAlY5T02Wbx2rKjtOkd-h23FR7Jt32JgKnc9mecZUt6Pbi1BT1S5FUVL_u7NRLPiKib8Kfe68VKh5S7js_QzCfQEP4_vUgYzR2aUdIudFadPWS591ld_USF2BF7lmfrb1eIF92Hg8L0o8hsk1KPsyA1vyAIStjXw/s640/BSC73.1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="476" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXC5T-IZ1Vhb7WtgbpWeWIUsDoAfpAlY5T02Wbx2rKjtOkd-h23FR7Jt32JgKnc9mecZUt6Pbi1BT1S5FUVL_u7NRLPiKib8Kfe68VKh5S7js_QzCfQEP4_vUgYzR2aUdIudFadPWS591ld_USF2BF7lmfrb1eIF92Hg8L0o8hsk1KPsyA1vyAIStjXw/s320/BSC73.1.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mrs P rushes out the door with Andrea and Mary Anne tries to get Jenny to play, but she doesn't want to. She spills a drop of juice on her dress and freaks out, running to her room to change clothes and then washing her hands several times, obsessively. They go on a walk and see some kids, but Jenny doesn't want to play and get dirty. After the 2nd time sitting for her with this happening, Mary Anne asks her dad that evening if he knows anything about behavior problems and he lets her look at some of his old psychology books. Mary Anne reads up on it (OCD basically) and wonders if she is equipped to help Jenny. Not if she should talk to the parents. Just if she can help her. Sigh.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mary Anne finally finds out that Mrs P is taking Andrea on auditions, to make her a little child star. I'm getting Olsen twins vibes. Jenny begs to go to one of the auditions and Mary Anne goes with them. Turns out Jenny is jealous of Andrea because she's perfect and getting lots of attention (and some jobs) and Jenny is left out. Luckily, she's not holding a grudge against her sister though. She just wants to be included. Jenny tells her mom she wants to do the modeling/acting thing too so Mrs P agrees and sets her up to get head shots taken. But then precious Andrea gets a call-back, so she asks Mary Anne to take Jenny instead. The shoot goes okay and Jenny gets an audition right away, but it's a disaster. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next sitting job, Jenny has decided she doesn't care about being perfect anymore. She gets juice all down her dress, rips her tights, and decides to make a mud pie for perfect Andrea. She makes a mess in the house too: playing with clay in the living room, painting without her smock, making a peanut butter sandwich all over the kitchen, knocking over a vase of flowers. Mary Anne is extra worried and still doesn't speak to the parents, but instead calls Dawn all the way in California and takes over a whole BSC meeting to discuss it. She finally decides to talk to Mrs P but first yells at Jenny for causing a mess again. Mrs P is, of course, aware of her child's problems but also doesn't want to give up on Andrea's acting career. So they basically let Jenny just sort things out herself. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Pike triplets start up a kickball team but can't keep it together long enough to actually play a game. Claudia & Mal try to give them some pointers on how to be leaders and at first the boys don't want to listen, but eventually do and the team is a success. Even Jenny plays at the end. And Mallory is back in the BSC officially! </div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-511694454903074932023-03-24T14:14:00.001-05:002023-03-24T14:14:39.067-05:00Review: "Dawn & The We Love Kids Club: The Baby-Sitters Club #72"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48933.Dawn_and_the_We_Love_Kids_Club?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=b5qXOp9v6Q&rank=1"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48933.Dawn_and_the_We_Love_Kids_Club?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=b5qXOp9v6Q&rank=1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6ewOqe0Ct3tP74cAXy1OOVxp6Dx6H9umV6YVnN7rI0dYcjTsUn81j-NVs2dFvZxJHpzwgXlw9CA4QqjvA3dwkg8cT_7lIfAdhDOrYukUOfpaelgi_u-P3PA5Y8h5ZcPoUcaZFVxN1WNOFpKTS36jTxHEFCxuGK1HNONdasPTh-yaLhC_xuSNxLF5FQ/s3024/BSC72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6ewOqe0Ct3tP74cAXy1OOVxp6Dx6H9umV6YVnN7rI0dYcjTsUn81j-NVs2dFvZxJHpzwgXlw9CA4QqjvA3dwkg8cT_7lIfAdhDOrYukUOfpaelgi_u-P3PA5Y8h5ZcPoUcaZFVxN1WNOFpKTS36jTxHEFCxuGK1HNONdasPTh-yaLhC_xuSNxLF5FQ/s320/BSC72.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48933.Dawn_and_the_We_Love_Kids_Club?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=k1lyGwvhbN&rank=1">Dawn & The We Love Kids Club: The Baby-Sitters Club #72</a> by Ann M Martin</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I always say "we heart kids club" in my head for this one, but apparently it should be "love". Whatevs, it's super dull either way. But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. I gave this one star for the cover because it's pretty cool, though a little confusing. Not sure where they're supposed to be, I don't think this scene is in the book. And hard to tell which one is Dawn...the girl on her knees? The one on the right wearing white socks for some reason?? Anyway, I gave it another star for Mrs Schafer-Spier having a backbone so let's get into it!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I know <a href="https://seejennread.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-staceys-mistake-baby-sitters.html">Stacey got a book</a> when she lived in New York for awhile, but did we really need one for Dawn in California too? I guess they were trying out the spinoff idea but it didn't work at that time. (The <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/41299-california-diaries">California Diaries</a> don't start til 3 years later.) Maybe because the original BSC gang doesn't actually come to Cali. We're focused on Dawn and her Cali friends: Sunny, Maggie, and Jill. They have their own baby-sitting club but it's a lot more laidback than Kristy's regime in Stoneybrook. The W<3KC has no rules, no set meeting times, no record book, etc...it's basically mayhem with veggie chips.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then, the W<3KC gets a phone call from a local newspaper that changes everything for them. They want to do an article on the club, to <i>"show the community the good things that are happening with our kids."</i> The girls of course do it and it brings them tons of business which they are in no way prepared for because they do not have Ms. Kristin Amanda Thomas to help them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I'd always thought of the Baby-Sitters Club as a tight ship, and the We <3 Kids Club as sort of a surfboard riding the waves. Each was fun in its own way. Now I realized the W<3KC was in danger of wiping out.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTzO6fceL9mmr0rgxCGzSsGwqqiHCjq4gYDRAyzsiYENFIySDyWJuip5kpnnANr8iPdny7f5wFI1zH8gQcV5N5ttk1iaIxT6Dewh0wRYF5wPhh6pBQs2L4b-j58jfg-1DQYBcs2YIyIwxegkxIsyahHHift95uDe8CHIINBsvYDUNBPzk-IdqOHyhOQ/s565/BSC72.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTzO6fceL9mmr0rgxCGzSsGwqqiHCjq4gYDRAyzsiYENFIySDyWJuip5kpnnANr8iPdny7f5wFI1zH8gQcV5N5ttk1iaIxT6Dewh0wRYF5wPhh6pBQs2L4b-j58jfg-1DQYBcs2YIyIwxegkxIsyahHHift95uDe8CHIINBsvYDUNBPzk-IdqOHyhOQ/s320/BSC72.1.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><br />The CA girls try to get organized, Kristy gets jealous and tries to do her own publicity stunt back in CT, which backfires and they don't have enough sitters anyway. Dawn sits for her favorite charge, Stephie, who really really wants a mom because hers died. We don't have any Claudia outfits, so I guess we're stuck with Joanna, Stephie's day-time nanny. <i><a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3452260">Joanna came in</a>, dressed </i>[for her birthday]<i> in a short fringed skirt and a tight-fitting beaded top, her dark hair pulled back in a sleek, elegant style. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">After her sitting job, Dawn heads home to her dad and Jeff (and Mrs Bruen, the housekeeper) where they're making veggie chimichangas. Dawn is bummed, not because she has to eat something fried, but because this means that her dad's girlfriend, Carol, is coming over. Carol is okay, but she tries to be too cool and says things like "bodacious". Dawn goes into this spiral of loving California, missing Stoneybrook, loving her dad, hating her dad and Carol, and so on. It's all very exhausting. It culminates when Dawn's dad gives the big news that he asked Carol to marry him and she said yes! Dawn freaks out and decides the only thing she can do is skip school, steal her dad's credit card, and take a flight across the country back to her mom. Yeah, for real. And leaves this doozy of a note:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Dear Dad,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I won't be home from school because I'm on my way to Stoneybrook. But I'm sure you don't mind. Now you can spend as much time as you want with your future wife. You won't have a daughter around to cramp your style. Good luck with your wedding plans. Tell Jeff I still love him. And don't be upset. I'll be with people who care about me.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Love, Dawn</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Wow. I know she's thirteen and upset and all, but the nerve! So she gets to Stoneybrook and her mom is waiting for her at the airport and surprise! She's not happy to see her. Mrs Schafer-Spier loses her California cool and lectures Dawn up and down and all the way home. And she sends her straight back to California the next day. Where she gets another lecture. Honestly, she deserved it. And she deserves to feel guilty later when her dad and Carol break up. (They do get back together later on and even married, if I remember my Super Specials.) And that's our Dawn book done. Thank goodness.</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-36769070110793598682023-01-24T15:36:00.003-06:002023-01-24T15:40:15.850-06:00Review: "Claudia & The Perfect Boy: The Baby-Sitters Club #71"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383130.Claudia_and_the_Perfect_Boy"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383130.Claudia_and_the_Perfect_Boy"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbFfmEpzPTgkl8y5dXGMkmX_94jfwd5VLk3_TI5aWg2V3Vc5u-4h7AR0tBTatjPntUno2BXTa1cVJMwIR6zfRBBu0e3xC3ewoAbIKKDwNV3hZvULKfoYd7LuPV4Y8Apayey2JgCQNG_SbjNs1r6xE6gDaBGK8ROav6v0tenEkX9Gqtt5gvAUEoFPk3A/s3024/BSC71.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbFfmEpzPTgkl8y5dXGMkmX_94jfwd5VLk3_TI5aWg2V3Vc5u-4h7AR0tBTatjPntUno2BXTa1cVJMwIR6zfRBBu0e3xC3ewoAbIKKDwNV3hZvULKfoYd7LuPV4Y8Apayey2JgCQNG_SbjNs1r6xE6gDaBGK8ROav6v0tenEkX9Gqtt5gvAUEoFPk3A/s320/BSC71.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383130.Claudia_and_the_Perfect_Boy?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=mgKsim7Y8n&rank=1">Claudia & The Perfect Boy: The Baby-Sitters Club #71</a> by Ann M Martin<br />4 out of 5 stars<br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">Can we first just enjoy this cover outfit? Exquisite fashionable Claudia! This book starts off with Claudia hugging herself. Literally. She's lonely and a little jealous of Mary Anne & Logan's relationship and just wants <i>that super-special, tingly, in-love thing</i>. Yeah, she's had dates and short-term boyfriends (on every vacation she goes on) but nothing "real" and steady. And now she wants it. So she decides to make herself a list of the perfect guy: handsome, funny, athletic, sensitive, interesting, artistic, good dresser...the list just goes on and on. She's really asking for a lot here. But we'll see if she gets it. And time for a <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3416453">What Claudia Was Wearing</a> already!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I like to experiment with the way colors look and I combine them in ways that please me. (You'd be amazed by the colors that go together. Take pink and gold. You might not think to wear pink socks with gold stretch pants, and then add a gold turtleneck under a pink sweater. But that's what I did yesterday, and then I added blue jewelry. It was great! I looked like a human sunset. The outfit made me very happy.)</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuHtxR1T1Fcavor7QdnNQrYZ_jIEHEs74gM5eJYgjCUXSZOHmpqP_AoB6UwPnIYyuJfTqhgAkN40fd_44WmshPxRNddwijnPc1_rN3JJomZXWr7vcy4UTfgd67Loh1Zzil0G4dePv8kpsk7NRlSANSBZ9cYGBW1GdZGwqa36qz85vtbO-nQzGflKeqg/s555/BSC71.2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="555" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuHtxR1T1Fcavor7QdnNQrYZ_jIEHEs74gM5eJYgjCUXSZOHmpqP_AoB6UwPnIYyuJfTqhgAkN40fd_44WmshPxRNddwijnPc1_rN3JJomZXWr7vcy4UTfgd67Loh1Zzil0G4dePv8kpsk7NRlSANSBZ9cYGBW1GdZGwqa36qz85vtbO-nQzGflKeqg/w400-h395/BSC71.2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Stacey & Claudia are having a sleepover after their Friday BSC meeting and Claudia tells Stacey all about her perfect guy list. Then Stacey gets the genius idea for Claudia to start a personals column in their school newspaper, the SMS Express. Claudia is like "yeah right, me, the worst speller in the world?" But she can't get the idea out of her head so she talks to Emily Bernstein, the editor, on Monday and she loves the idea. So Claudia gets her column and we get lots of newspaper talk from Emily, which is actually really interesting.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Of course, the really fun part is when Claudia starts getting letters. She gets tons of letters from kids looking for love and also one heart-breaking letter from a boy whose parents are splitting up and he wants to meet up with other kids going through the same. (Claudia ends up giving him the number to Mary Anne's therapist, which is apparently only mentioned in the special <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48905.Chain_Letter?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=2kxncvLziD&rank=1">Chain Letter book</a>.) Claudia thinks she's gotten way over her head, especially with her spelling track record. But Stacey shows her this genius invention that changes Claudia's life forever: spellcheck on the computer! It's funny to see the girls learning how to use a computer together.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Claudia finds 2 guys pretty quickly that she is interested in and decides to write them, while also printing their ads in the paper. The first guy turns out to be the grossest guy in the 8th grade: Alan Gray! Ew. (Doesn't she actually end up dating him later in the series?) The other guy is a little better so she agrees to a date with him. And is totally embarrassed when her mom insists on meeting him first. And we have Claudia's <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3416465">First Date Outfits #1 & #2</a>. Is it just me or are these basically the same outfit? Also, not the one on the cover.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I'd settled on a long white shirt under a green tapestry vest, green corduroy pants, and low boots.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I slipped into my new brown suede cloth pants. </i>[Stacey suggests I wear]<i> bead earrings, lots of silver jewelry, bangles would be perfect. "And put in your good silver hairclip." I trust Stacey's fashion sense, so I took her advice. I finished the outfit with a simple yellow button down shirt and a brown and yellow brocade vest.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkBbQWwFNDEbwrdA1tTvVLM4A5M_TG0lpDL-sV5dmGcjQSWTypBo_G6wVcHisohv0kWYFWDk5F4OzT54NrbvOfmmywHWinOv-02jKvMfn3632DipmKkwHZ3TiBW9vZqdnv9yPLJN5w801ERwUYtg_pRVeebiFjB1Xwx2tJFqYNdTfUq5OKEqzMbXYyQ/s646/BSC71.3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="646" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkBbQWwFNDEbwrdA1tTvVLM4A5M_TG0lpDL-sV5dmGcjQSWTypBo_G6wVcHisohv0kWYFWDk5F4OzT54NrbvOfmmywHWinOv-02jKvMfn3632DipmKkwHZ3TiBW9vZqdnv9yPLJN5w801ERwUYtg_pRVeebiFjB1Xwx2tJFqYNdTfUq5OKEqzMbXYyQ/w400-h270/BSC71.3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(I had to take some extra liberties with these!)</div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Sadly, both the dates are a bust. The 1st guy is Boring, he sketches but it's the model cars that he then puts together, from a kit. The 2nd guy has a creepy Asian fetish and that's all we're going to say about him. Her 3rd date doesn't even warrant an outfit check. Then she gets a couple of letters from a perfect-sounding, Jason Priestley look-a-like guy. Turns out it's Stacey, but she was just trying to make Claudia feel better. Claud is mad for a few days but then thinks it's funny. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't get over it that easily.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Claudia's match-making is going great though. She gets the big-boned girl in 7th grade a date with a short nerd, the girl that talks a lot hooks up with the boring guy Claudia went out with, etc. She does make one little mistake though and nearly causes a breakup between Logan & Mary Anne oops, but it's all sorted out by the end. Claudia's newspaper career is a success.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The baby-sitting plot is mostly about Marnie Barrett who is having allergy issues and Mrs Barrett trying to figure it out. Claudia thinks this little gem that really burns when you're <i>well</i> over 30 reading this lol. <i>Scatterbrained and old (she was at <b>least</b> thirty as far as I could tell), Mrs Barrett with her three wild kids had a boyfriend, and I didn't. </i>Mrs Barrett has really cleaned up her act though, especially since dating Franklin. The house is clean, she's organized, all good. But then she finds out what Marnie is allergic to: Pow, their sweet old Bassett Hound dog. I admit, I cried with Buddy & Suzi when they found out. I would be devastated if I was allergic to dogs or cats. Pow has to stay in the garage til they can find a new home for him and it's all terrible. But the Pike family comes to the rescue! Mr & Mrs Pike had been considering getting a dog for their brood and have been around Pow already and they live right across the street, so they agree to take him and Marnie stops sniffling and everything is wonderful again.</p>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-22088321008238835152022-06-30T10:00:00.003-05:002022-06-30T10:00:00.202-05:00Review: "Stacey & The Cheerleaders: The Baby-Sitters Club #70"<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107932.Stacey_and_the_Cheerleaders?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=oSEMb0jhnf&rank=1"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107932.Stacey_and_the_Cheerleaders?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=oSEMb0jhnf&rank=1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDa2PuNFuBgCh3ojFKZDElIC55NkHt7qcEKKzEAv2b_eGRSmunws7x9zaKzCFyyLnucZwzAYYYuB4w877tQR6_lxY878MZZwnd_NqwE8LDnEMUKsn-LU8cG4lfPriIyfSRsV_-WnTRtHTxqCYyf36WoyJHHowi0fL8CcjcTnT4SfBXyub0iiaZfvaCA/s3024/BSC70.4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDa2PuNFuBgCh3ojFKZDElIC55NkHt7qcEKKzEAv2b_eGRSmunws7x9zaKzCFyyLnucZwzAYYYuB4w877tQR6_lxY878MZZwnd_NqwE8LDnEMUKsn-LU8cG4lfPriIyfSRsV_-WnTRtHTxqCYyf36WoyJHHowi0fL8CcjcTnT4SfBXyub0iiaZfvaCA/s320/BSC70.4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107932.Stacey_and_the_Cheerleaders?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=66vYYUAYIl&rank=1">Stacey & The Cheerleaders: The Baby-Sitters Club #70</a> by Ann M Martin<div>2 out of 5 stars</div><div><br /></div><div>Oof did not like this one at all! Everyone was a snob. Stacey, the cheerleaders, the BSC gang, the jocks. So yeah, this may be a short review. Good thing though, lots of outfits!</div><div><br /></div><div>Stoneybrook Middle School has basketball fever and Stacey is no exception. She gets smacked in the back with a snowball by the hot basketball player, RJ, and immediately goes gooey and agrees to go out with him when he asks her later. Also, her new corduroy pants bleed into the snow when she falls, tres embarrassing. <i>"Hmm, I guess you better wash those pants separately," Claud remarked.</i> After RJ asks her out, Stacey is immediately bombarded by some of the cheerleaders, who are so excited for her and want to be her friend now. And time for <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3282045">What Claudia Was Wearing</a>, plus Stacey's winter outfit above.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>At the BSC meeting, she was wearing baggy wool men's pants, gathered at the waist by a black leather band; a white tuxedo shirt with rolled-up sleeves; Capezio-type flats with mismatched white and black socks; and a glittery bow-tie barrette in her hair. On someone else, the Look might be too formal, or just plain weird. On Claudia, it was fabulous.</i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqev_sNurTEUDZVZ5-9ur81nP3vQ8pRj_BuVFwuhLp2haM6Tf_Q-jICEEoEILtgzQD3wdIBkfRrsyjJfCW8q2gv9qksmCLmplF-YAciykOUiWEItADksBj_8O3jDIrf1tffB6ZnObMsJLcwmP65_oEdRf7th32XJpWcCnnkQcS8RN59zlzWxSWrgCYQ/s733/BSC70.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="733" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqev_sNurTEUDZVZ5-9ur81nP3vQ8pRj_BuVFwuhLp2haM6Tf_Q-jICEEoEILtgzQD3wdIBkfRrsyjJfCW8q2gv9qksmCLmplF-YAciykOUiWEItADksBj_8O3jDIrf1tffB6ZnObMsJLcwmP65_oEdRf7th32XJpWcCnnkQcS8RN59zlzWxSWrgCYQ/w400-h251/BSC70.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>In Mallory news: <i>Kristy shook her head. "Mal said she's having a fantastic time. She spends all day <b>reading</b>."</i> Hahah...Also, Shannon Kilbourne's youngest sister is having issues not living up to her fantastic, super-talented sisters. Classic middle child syndrome. </div><div><br /></div><div>Date outfit with RJ: <i>a black-and-white plaid unitard with a tankstyle top, covered with a black, over sized cotton knit jersey.</i> I'm sorry, is she missing some clothes here or is it just me? Despite that, her date sucks. RJ teases her about being "on a diet" and Stacey doesn't correct him, the movie is awful, they have no chemistry, kids at the movie are all watching them like hawks, and at the pizza place afterwards, the cheerleaders tease her about hanging with the BSC girls. Only good thing is she has a "moment" with another basketball player, Robert. Sure, one guy isn't doing it for you, go for the one next to him!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTM_qlwPKfdGxvxJ3KJ-M20n9_dX-vciT1PypwxSpR1Aj0mtJl3HnEruVKduGo5VDcrU6Y3WH-0AZWGMPNc2dszl_cRIEbzFL1NTC2-Wo4jB-vOjWMCXs69NVozy-dsJ4i8W1RPFSmBz2B2o9JxCMhNSQjU3eaBX1_gEJWDlqOYSsOA8R5_T0_4KZHg/s754/BSC70.2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="754" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTM_qlwPKfdGxvxJ3KJ-M20n9_dX-vciT1PypwxSpR1Aj0mtJl3HnEruVKduGo5VDcrU6Y3WH-0AZWGMPNc2dszl_cRIEbzFL1NTC2-Wo4jB-vOjWMCXs69NVozy-dsJ4i8W1RPFSmBz2B2o9JxCMhNSQjU3eaBX1_gEJWDlqOYSsOA8R5_T0_4KZHg/w400-h269/BSC70.2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Stacey starts getting it in her head that her old friends are embarrassing, even though Claudia wears this <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3282088">awesome outfit</a> to the basketball game: <i>a sequined vest over a man's white shirt and bell-bottomed spandex pants.</i> Also, Kristy hollers at Stacey across the court afterwards to see if she's coming to the sleepover. The cool kids hear and laugh and Stacey slinks out. Get a grip Stace, everyone has sleepovers. Later she decides her BSC pals are the best and she's totally not embarrassed by them. </div><div><br /></div><div>She also decides to try out for the cheerleading squad, even though she doesn't really like exercising and thinks it's kind of lame and...lots of other reasons. But she does anyway, because popularity! She asks Jessi to teach her a dance routine and they come up with something fantastic that Stacey is totally amazing at and blows away the other cheerleaders. But she doesn't make the squad. Why? Because she's TOO pretty and talented, and she starts dating Robert, who one of the girls has a crush on. Yeah. Big bummer.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3282097"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3282097"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKh-aoPBQOuGBmvDoDvFRBqJa6saZwzPmyIUQfPjmIpGJfSOZ93W3ZVFLmTOSSgu5JypMTfjcMSYLZTv5PZaUfCOXltKFlZ5nhYryzHPtT9-c-h4y3d2EuHfTyVDgpXlaTEhd2euWD1xn3m9QFirLfJr6HfQHAfQYcxjNMurcW06yreOQFVJS4cLXaEQ/s607/BSC70.3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="436" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKh-aoPBQOuGBmvDoDvFRBqJa6saZwzPmyIUQfPjmIpGJfSOZ93W3ZVFLmTOSSgu5JypMTfjcMSYLZTv5PZaUfCOXltKFlZ5nhYryzHPtT9-c-h4y3d2EuHfTyVDgpXlaTEhd2euWD1xn3m9QFirLfJr6HfQHAfQYcxjNMurcW06yreOQFVJS4cLXaEQ/s320/BSC70.3.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><br />Date outfit with Robert: <i>a pair of new jeans with a brand-new white cotton cardigan with gorgeous floral embroidery and a scalloped, crocheted neckline. On my feet were suede ankle boots.</i> This date goes much better. Stacey tells him about her diabetes and he doesn't freak out. They have plenty to talk about, like how the basketball players and cheerleaders get special treatment by other students and even the teachers. Robert doesn't like it, but doesn't know how to change it. Well, after Stacey's letdown, he decides to quit the team in protest. Stupid. And together they write this really sappy post for the newspaper. <i>The ball is in play again at SMS. And this time, we can all be winners.</i> Gag.</div><div><br /></div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-46874460693661773172022-06-28T15:05:00.004-05:002022-06-28T15:06:29.303-05:00Review: "Get Well Soon, Mallory! The Baby-Sitters Club #69"<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383127.Get_Well_Soon_Mallory_?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ZRbAiN6sYt&rank=4"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383127.Get_Well_Soon_Mallory_?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ZRbAiN6sYt&rank=4"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzkhOtwlyHPrwnLAeUJUghsbxIqZx5WPcyp3AovHdt_mIIMD9oYfMal6lA0BfgZdEQz7Wu6jGdkpTXznhRHML8tYG1EiqVW9FvrMb0m9aF6DAdSulaVKuds7ActxF2cDCohH4pvNyjtXkRPdgs8NsDUasl0dm14bSsMuA4CkwF2YO8be2eSwsjK-BrA/s3024/BSC69.2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzkhOtwlyHPrwnLAeUJUghsbxIqZx5WPcyp3AovHdt_mIIMD9oYfMal6lA0BfgZdEQz7Wu6jGdkpTXznhRHML8tYG1EiqVW9FvrMb0m9aF6DAdSulaVKuds7ActxF2cDCohH4pvNyjtXkRPdgs8NsDUasl0dm14bSsMuA4CkwF2YO8be2eSwsjK-BrA/s320/BSC69.2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383127.Get_Well_Soon_Mallory_?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=tpWryBWLSd&rank=1">Get Well Soon, Mallory! The Baby-Sitters Club #69</a> by Ann M Martin<div>5 out of 5 stars</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been looking forward to this book for awhile now. How many of us young 90s kids/preteens wanted to get mononucleosis after reading this book? Just me?? No!!! Okay, well that's the only reason I gave it 5 stars, it's really not that great a book lol. Also, I think this is one of the last ones I really remember reading as a kid. Which makes sense because I was probably close to 13 years old when this one came out. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book opens on the day before Halloween and the Pike kids are all trying to pick out costumes. They have a whole trunk full, which is pretty cool. Mrs Pike announces big news to the family: her cousins have invited them to come to New York City ("The City") for Thanksgiving and go to the Macy's Parade. Everyone is excited naturally, though the parents are a little worried about finding a hotel and restaurant reservations for all 10 of them. Also, Mallory is still super tired. But she makes it her mission to get the family there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next day, Halloween, finds Vanessa practicing her different waves for the parade cameras: <i>"the windshield wiper, screwing in the light bulb, and the flap."</i> Can you picture each one? The kids get ready for trick-or-treating and Mallory is supposed to go with them, with Jessi, but....she's too tired. Yeah, this bit goes on and on for awhile. Let's skip to the B plot, Kristy's next big idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>They decide to do something special for the elderly people at Stoneybrook Manor for Thanksgiving, because they may not have any family around anymore. They mention several old people and act like we should know them already, like Mallory's Uncle Joe who apparently lived with them for a few weeks and developed Alzheimer's. Of course, they get their sitting charges involved. They want to make goody baskets for all the residents and have a carnival. They also want to do a fundraiser for the money. And apparently don't start doing all this until 12 days before Thanksgiving yikes. Of course they pull it off and the old people are very happy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back to Mallory. She wakes up one morning super sick. Everything hurts, she has a fever, glands swollen, etc. Tries to make it to school but mom is like "yeah, no." They go to the doctor, who tells her "<i>you have the distinction of having one of the worst looking throats I've ever seen." </i>They test her for strep, a bacterial infection, and mono. Surprise, she has mono! And she has to stay in bed for at least a week but possibly a month! Her siblings immediately start teasing her that she has the "kissing disease", cooties, that Ben Hobart gave it to her, and more.</div><div><br /></div><div>After just a week in bed, she's sick of her pajamas, soap operas, and all the kids' teasing. Claire & Margo are very sweet though. They play Nurse & Doctor with her and bring her whatever she wants, read to her, and take her temperature. At the end of the week, Mallory tries to play it off that she's feeling loads better but her parents aren't buying it. In fact, they've decided to restrict her activity even more: no school, no archery team, and no Baby-Sitters Club. Mal is devastated and so is the rest of the Club when they find out. Logan even suggests they protest outside her house with "Free Mallory!" signs. But they just decide to make Mallory an honorary member for now. I'm not sure why they had to change it at all, but whatevs. At her next doctor appointment, Dr Dellenkamp tells her it could be up to 3 months now and she may have to go to summer school. Wow, great bedside manner Doc! </div><div><br /></div><div>Since Mal is stuck in bed, she has plenty of time to think of ideas for the Thanksgiving project. But soon she starts thinking the BSC should have just replaced her after all. She knows they won't, so she decides to make them kick her out. By being a jerk and not helping out where she can. Sigh...luckily that doesn't last too long before the girls see right thru her plan and call her out. She starts helping out again, trying to raise the last bit of money they need for the carnival. Vanessa comes up with the brilliant idea of selling promises, ie: I'll do something for you later, if you pay me today. And they get the extra money. The kids and healthy sitters go shopping at CostClub or something and pick out gifts, fruit, sweets, books, toys for the old people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mallory's parents decide to cancel the New York trip and Mallory has officially ruined Thanksgiving. Not really. Everyone rallies and makes it a nice day, dressing up and watching the parade on TV and eating all the yummy food. I'm hungry now lol. We didn't have a Claudia outfit this book, so we'll end with Mallory's <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3281941">special occasion outfit</a>: <i>It's a blue velvet skirt with a matching bolero jacket and a white silk blouse. I pulled my hair into a pony tail and tied a white satin ribbon around it.</i> The book ends with the BSC girls coming over for pie and Dawn calls from California. And Mallory is not better, at all, and decides to step away from the club semi-permanently for now. Sad face.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoCxVOWP32qmNIpZnjKI5He5JcdRaa-bsi29n3SCo1QSbjcWzS7EstRNSzdMONxr18MNPoC7gLbDkHkpEDKWb4Cg0hA-hXeUV9Cf5dGSnH1bH4a-aIGc3mONq8Vl0jejsWymi50kpaUisOxBVgwutCL8fXHzj4kcrYfi_eiqJ8oW808moXKjFiJdvqQ/s704/BSC69.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="704" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoCxVOWP32qmNIpZnjKI5He5JcdRaa-bsi29n3SCo1QSbjcWzS7EstRNSzdMONxr18MNPoC7gLbDkHkpEDKWb4Cg0hA-hXeUV9Cf5dGSnH1bH4a-aIGc3mONq8Vl0jejsWymi50kpaUisOxBVgwutCL8fXHzj4kcrYfi_eiqJ8oW808moXKjFiJdvqQ/w400-h264/BSC69.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-9174698548188511122022-05-31T00:00:00.001-05:002022-05-31T00:00:00.219-05:00Review: "Jessi and the Bad Baby-Sitter: The Baby-Sitters Club #68"<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktviYfYGX8bKP28BNmTxSxQx3AxgKCOdigaJTOzBzjl52B-8gr-ZI8y1qcKUzLczTMBORyx2lGaMMc569ygue2bdd-vNQ6L-HDY907tn_cNt87j6GF4GQWFNnyFc62wp4L4n6Ba8Rw9J0dxNCDFk0YEwz-auzlJBxBP1GQCcAOlh_QyyIuUNomhGl6w/s2727/BSC68.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2727" data-original-width="2727" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktviYfYGX8bKP28BNmTxSxQx3AxgKCOdigaJTOzBzjl52B-8gr-ZI8y1qcKUzLczTMBORyx2lGaMMc569ygue2bdd-vNQ6L-HDY907tn_cNt87j6GF4GQWFNnyFc62wp4L4n6Ba8Rw9J0dxNCDFk0YEwz-auzlJBxBP1GQCcAOlh_QyyIuUNomhGl6w/s320/BSC68.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558292.Jessi_and_the_Bad_Baby_sitter">Jessi and the Bad Baby-Sitter: The Baby-Sitters Club #68</a> by Ann M Martin<br />4 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, a good Jessi book that is not an after-school-special!! But. The new girl on the cover, Wendy, she gets a really bad rap in this. She's not a bad baby-sitter, at all. Also, she doesn't chew gum in the meeting. I think that's some previous girl they tried out, I can't really remember, but it bugged me lol. Okay, let's get into the book and all the reasons Wendy deserved better!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jessi is at home baby-sitting Becca & Squirt when her new friend, fellow sixth-grader Wendy, calls and Jessi invites her to come over. She does and is really good with the kids and says she likes baby-sitting and Jessi gets an inkling of an idea. In case you've forgotten already, Dawn moved back to California <a href="https://seejennread.blogspot.com/2022/04/review-dawns-big-move-baby-sitters-club.html">last book</a> and Mallory has been suspiciously sick and tired for what seems like months now. Kristy is frazzled because business has picked up now that school is back in session and her sitters are NOT ON TIME to the meeting ZOMG!! Alright, pause for a <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3258446">What Claudia Was Wearing</a>!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>...today she was wearing an oversized white shirt under a black vest covered with a design of shiny beads. (She sewed the beads on it herself.) She wore neon green leggings and black ballet slippers (on which she'd sewn a matching bead design). From one of her pierced ears hung a dangling earring made from the same beads and on the other ear she wore a small green hoop earring. It was an original look that only Claudia could make work.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8hVSnVekXdDYmkqwiVyAkVdvk2N9abHa7MLLIdLTClGN8cOTA9Os_H2QZKeWT-DIq0Es9bgw6UnyNWrT_C8b6VXjxhz7Zk4bThS3V_WQFDigwBZtB2__jlwy5t6eq75jOHJB8GeVD3cv0fyohSvqRxWOmI7GkASn8reuDun82dKqEldtE4Idkxrp3w/s519/BSC68.2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="484" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8hVSnVekXdDYmkqwiVyAkVdvk2N9abHa7MLLIdLTClGN8cOTA9Os_H2QZKeWT-DIq0Es9bgw6UnyNWrT_C8b6VXjxhz7Zk4bThS3V_WQFDigwBZtB2__jlwy5t6eq75jOHJB8GeVD3cv0fyohSvqRxWOmI7GkASn8reuDun82dKqEldtE4Idkxrp3w/w373-h400/BSC68.2.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kristy doesn't know what to do about all the new business. She doesn't want to replace Dawn (who will be back in 6 months supposedly), but she wants an Alternate Officer, but she says 8 members is too many. I don't really get that one. Like they're overwhelmed with jobs, they're calling Shannon & Logan, who are both also busy...so why not get another full-time member? Jessi mentions Wendy and Kristy just says "bring her", because they're so swamped with calls. Dawn calls at the very end of the meeting and Kristy tells her she needs to come home right away. "<i>No, I'm NOT kidding. We're in a mess here and we need you back." "No, you can't talk to </i>[Mary Anne]<i> until you swear you'll come back right away."</i> Yikes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Wendy comes to the next meeting and Kristy tries to grill her but is too busy taking phone calls. So she finally just sends Wendy off with Jessi on the next sitting job. Jessi says she does awesome and she's officially sort-of in the club! Okay, here's where it gets kind of iffy. Wendy doesn't show up for the next meeting til it's nearly over because she had a regular sitting job. Kristy is super pissed, saying she broke 2 rules. Technically, Wendy didn't know about those rules. But then a few days later, she's supposed to sit for the Pike kids with Jessi and is about 20 minutes late, again because she was baby-sitting (without telling the BSC). She thought it was okay, because Jessi was there. Obviously she should have called at that point. That's her main/only real strike. At the next meeting, she's on time, but tells them the club isn't really for her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"You knew the rules when you joined," Kristy said.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"No, actually, I didn't," Wendy replied. "The meeting I attended was so frantic that no one ever really explained them to me. All I knew was that Jessi's crazy about the club. So I figured it must be great. And it is great--for you. But not for me."</i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"That's just one too many people bossing me around."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">So yeah, Kristy is livid. But Jessi kind of sees both sides and stays friends with Wendy. Well away from Kristy, of course.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvUsNxxvtQj2rRdnFL4BS6Wm7w-m-2_5v0itmsF-uT9MNR2_hR57H9x4h6nsaWB9zSUyODOJjSF6Z4sMT-o017PoecW2bpAowSH6gYdM3WTPeIQh50-z01Z4tbTFBIP2JFB53rrJ2UZs3h0Y91YvFKCqMO7vprv_ayjrHzA5CqdyPvJzVAiCCVMqJ7g/s597/BSC%2068.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="443" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvUsNxxvtQj2rRdnFL4BS6Wm7w-m-2_5v0itmsF-uT9MNR2_hR57H9x4h6nsaWB9zSUyODOJjSF6Z4sMT-o017PoecW2bpAowSH6gYdM3WTPeIQh50-z01Z4tbTFBIP2JFB53rrJ2UZs3h0Y91YvFKCqMO7vprv_ayjrHzA5CqdyPvJzVAiCCVMqJ7g/s320/BSC%2068.3.jpg" width="237" /></a>Side stories that aren't interesting enough to go into super detail: Mallory is really tired, falls asleep a lot, can't baby-sit, backs out of plans. *foreshadowing* Also, Jessi catches Margo stealing stuff. A bunch of the kids make a video for Dawn because they miss her and Dawn surprises them with a video too, of her daily life.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's end with another <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3258466">What Claudia is Wearing</a>, rollerblading edition!! <i>Claudia wore hot pink stirrup pants and a fuzzy pink sweater that made a nice contrast with her neon green pads and helmet. </i></div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-49308509497340807542022-04-28T10:47:00.003-05:002022-04-28T10:48:44.981-05:00Review: "Dawn's Big Move: The Baby-Sitters Club #67"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/774632.Dawn_s_Big_Move"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/774632.Dawn_s_Big_Move"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPiJuxgXbbEt9U9hJ-WtiL5_GZFw2NOZjkJOrDqvTFZqRjx7p28qr7Vp8a9Li7HYarf5NsIb_EOi_BLt8f2430cnmao3rNQ00XbLRfp22t5WFomIPfb4HigJcoPitu3w4Y57LDGRnyvmsswXmfjm2d4xIJS7oKkwHvjWhM7C1raQ4kUK9fpLqyKn6cw/s2735/BSC67.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2735" data-original-width="2735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPiJuxgXbbEt9U9hJ-WtiL5_GZFw2NOZjkJOrDqvTFZqRjx7p28qr7Vp8a9Li7HYarf5NsIb_EOi_BLt8f2430cnmao3rNQ00XbLRfp22t5WFomIPfb4HigJcoPitu3w4Y57LDGRnyvmsswXmfjm2d4xIJS7oKkwHvjWhM7C1raQ4kUK9fpLqyKn6cw/s320/BSC67.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/774632.Dawn_s_Big_Move?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=196ENVtJvP&rank=1">Dawn's Big Move: The Baby-Sitters Club #67</a> by Ann M Martin</div><div style="text-align: left;">4 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This cover is iconic BSC fashion. Every single member is exquisitely on theme. *chef's kiss* perfection. So, on to the actual book. I'm not sure why I gave this one 4 stars, I guess I'll figure it out as I review. Maybe because Dawn finally goes back to Cali and we get rid of her whining for awhile? Well, it starts off with Spier-Schafer family dinner and Richard tells them all about a charity "Run for Your Money" with silly races like <i>tug-of-war, pie-eating contests, underwear race...</i> Somehow the girls convince Mister Stuffy Pants Spier to practice for the underwear race.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">[Mrs Schafer]<i> had even bought him a Simpsons tank top undershirt and an oversized pair of boxer shorts with red hearts on them, just for the occasion. The hearts showed through his pants, which made us laugh even more. Plus his belly jiggled beneath his undershirt.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Oh honestly, I give up," Richard finally said in a huff. He was standing there in his heart boxers, with his pants gathered around his ankles and his clodhopper shoes poking out. We were screaming. We couldn't help it.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">They're having so much fun, as a family, and then Dawn ruins it all by basically shouting out that she wants to go home. To California and her dad and Jeff and the beaches and blah blah...we get it Dawn, Stoneybrook sucks. And not just for a visit but for like 6 months. Forget about how that makes her mom feel (Jeff already moved back home), forget her bff & sister Mary Anne, the BSC, how difficult that will make school. Dawn is set on it. So her mom & dad talk on the phone, a lot, and finally decide to let her go. Then suddenly Dawn feels like everyone wants her to go so bad and won't miss her and maybe she shouldn't go after all. Like, geez Dawn, get it together.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Of course, Kristy is the exception. She's annoyed, worried, skeptical, you name it. The club is getting busy and how on earth are they going to survive without Dawn for 6 months?? (hint: next book) There's a side story about Kristy sitting for the Papadakis kids and helping out with their family reunion and she's totally grossed out by all the Greek food (lamb, baklava, spanakopita...sounds amazing to me lol). And she has the idea to do a going-away party for Dawn. Vanessa Pike writes this sappy poem (spelling errors included):</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Dawn, Dawn, please don't go,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>We all love you so.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Your nice to us, you make us smile</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>We love your hair, your laugh, your stile.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When you're away in California</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>We'll be so sad, we'll really moarn ya.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>We wish you luck, tho you upset us</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Please, please, please, Dawn, don't forget us.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The charity fundraiser is fun, Mr Spier refuses to do the underwear race, the girls do events together, Stoneybrook wins, Dawn changes her mind about going fifty times, finally ends up on the plane, Mrs Schafer tells her <i>"let Daddy love you as much as I do."</i> And that's the end. Honestly, I'm bumping it down to 3 stars. And there's no Claudia outfit, so here's <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3237015">my own quick one</a> (she can go stylish sometimes).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSjGkraVupCkswe57k2mNfOD10ko2_-Yz-Q4mgEINhx_tcZa3AT3uNWROfV-8uo47S2lxb-30bClnqUI4VOO5fM3YEJU14l9VPeO2JnuguVDAAlk4N6ck8n6Lwf6sBTEjYc-iZNmxKg_cy62mapi7_aqSkiez0d1TQ3pPa5E2P5uoSlYAByQZ-YhjUg/s566/BSC67.2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="566" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSjGkraVupCkswe57k2mNfOD10ko2_-Yz-Q4mgEINhx_tcZa3AT3uNWROfV-8uo47S2lxb-30bClnqUI4VOO5fM3YEJU14l9VPeO2JnuguVDAAlk4N6ck8n6Lwf6sBTEjYc-iZNmxKg_cy62mapi7_aqSkiez0d1TQ3pPa5E2P5uoSlYAByQZ-YhjUg/w400-h354/BSC67.2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-79580187464574436902022-04-06T14:19:00.002-05:002022-04-06T14:31:51.125-05:00Review: "Maid Mary Anne: The Baby-Sitters Club #66"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558279.Maid_Mary_Anne?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6Xmb6Nzimp&rank=1"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558279.Maid_Mary_Anne?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6Xmb6Nzimp&rank=1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KEpmjj6ddn9AJSFXGyPd2bSCw4HMra9P2sPIDNiJZw6MlAZUfeoIJyZGm3rrhJLDZEck8Qq7uavbmxPisIGA4DsdSZKv7s3O576vMRqHUkSM3VZcVxtfTG_WedWakJynAqh8Ls6c69MdwM3OWXHZsb1l61u1yqsuELVRL7rvgZ3oDC2cueqQi9y_RA/s3024/BSC66.2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KEpmjj6ddn9AJSFXGyPd2bSCw4HMra9P2sPIDNiJZw6MlAZUfeoIJyZGm3rrhJLDZEck8Qq7uavbmxPisIGA4DsdSZKv7s3O576vMRqHUkSM3VZcVxtfTG_WedWakJynAqh8Ls6c69MdwM3OWXHZsb1l61u1yqsuELVRL7rvgZ3oDC2cueqQi9y_RA/s320/BSC66.2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558279.Maid_Mary_Anne">Maid Mary Anne: The Baby-Sitters Club #66</a> by Ann M Martin<br />3 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This book was just okay. 3 meh stars. Let's start with the misleading cover. Mary Anne becomes a "maid" to an older lady, living by herself, who breaks her ankle. Not to a family with kids, as the cover insinuates. But I'll forgive them, because this scene is actually in the book and the kid on the right is rocking those cowboy boots lol. (I think it's one of the Arnold twins.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The book starts off with Mary Anne daydreaming about her <i>nice, happy, unlike-other-families, family.</i> I'm sure that will all be the same by the end of the book. She's running late for a sitting job, so Dawn offers to do her breakfast dishes, and Mary Anne muses to herself that she hasn't been feeling too considerate lately. In fact, she's been feeling <i>too self-involved. Maybe even self-centered.</i> Yeah, I can see that. So she decides to put other people's needs first. Nothing can go wrong with that, right?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://seejennread.blogspot.com/2021/03/review-staceys-big-crush-baby-sitters.html">Elvira the goat</a> is in this book again, the ghost writers really like her. Also a "watch goose" called Screaming Yellow Honker. For real. Mrs Stone tells Mary Anne about Mrs Towne, down the street, who is an expert quilter & sewer. Mary Anne is very interested in meeting her but of course, is super shy and can't think of how. Kristy tells her to just go knock on her door. Yeah, that's totally going to happen Kristy. Mary Anne ends up calling her instead (I think that's just as bad?) and she's flattered and invites MA over for the next afternoon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GQiVKoqWvxVqzG24ryz_b4aHpRynKHf9sQgj8C9HJJMpcvyklmH1wQnZhuF7FSQQMJRydZ53WIq5iZShsH8xuSxzf8obBoHLDfM1pDGWZMzCrr36Gz4dgqnyhEjy-Dhp1CAq4O8v0n_mL_ky_NDjEDNINGlUP88gHsC0ku5voL6OfMtSZk_hjhJKkQ/s631/BSC66.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="560" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GQiVKoqWvxVqzG24ryz_b4aHpRynKHf9sQgj8C9HJJMpcvyklmH1wQnZhuF7FSQQMJRydZ53WIq5iZShsH8xuSxzf8obBoHLDfM1pDGWZMzCrr36Gz4dgqnyhEjy-Dhp1CAq4O8v0n_mL_ky_NDjEDNINGlUP88gHsC0ku5voL6OfMtSZk_hjhJKkQ/s320/BSC66.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><br />There's not a Claudia outfit, so I'm <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3219696">making my own</a> and here's a list of all the snacks in Claudia's room this time: Cheez Doodles, plain pretzels, chocolate-dipped pretzels, Frookies (cookies sweetened with fruit juice? ew), Gummi worms</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mary Anne heads over to Mrs Towne's and they have a lovely afternoon discussing crafts and drinking tea. Mary Anne says she's never really had hot teas, but didn't she drink it with Mimi all the time? Can't remember. Then she shows off her handmade quilts and her sewing room. Honestly, this was the best part of the book for me. I just got my first sewing machine recently and am currently trying to make a quilt. I haven't gotten past the cutting squares step yet lol, but I'm enjoying myself so far! And I'm a crafter at heart, so reading about all her supplies and being perfectly organized and color-coded made me happy. Mary Anne asks her for sewing lessons & she agrees. A few days later, she's baby-sitting the Pike kids and they stop by Elvira's and Mrs Towne's again and the kids + MA get the bright idea to make their own quilt. Even Nicky is excited about it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mary Anne arrives for her first sewing lesson but Mrs Towne doesn't answer the door. Mary Anne finally gets inside, to find the older lady on the kitchen floor. She had slipped and broken her ankle. Mary Anne "saves the day" once again, calling an ambulance and her dad. After she gets home, Mary Anne offers to do some chores for her in exchange for the sewing lessons. Soon, Mrs Towne sort of takes advantage of her. Not really. She's just lonely for the most part. And Mary Anne won't say no, so it kind of snowballs. She's late for a BSC meeting, turns down sitting jobs, blows off Dawn who is in her "Stoneybrook sucks, I miss California" phase, and finally ruins an all-day date she & Logan had planned by helping Mrs Towne get a wasp out of her kitchen, then agreeing to stay for lunch.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At the kids' sewing lessons, they decide to make a garden themed quilt for Mrs Towne. Nicky & Buddy are in the group and are super excited at first, but some kids at school make fun of them, so they drop out and only want to do "manly" things. Like wearing camo and using tools and definitely not helping bake cookies with the girls. The Pike triplets, on the other hand, have no problem putting on aprons and baking. Good for them!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mary Anne finally reaches her breaking point when Mrs Towne calls during a BSC meeting, asking her to come over, even though it's not an emergency. And Mary Anne finally gets angry. <i>Angry that I'd had to defend myself just for being nice. Nice isn't always good. Or unselfish. Or the right thing to do. Sometimes, it's just the easiest thing to do.</i> Good lesson for all of us. So she goes to Mrs Towne & talks to her, the older lady is embarrassed for being thoughtless and selfish, but they agree to stay friends. And the book ends with Dawn talking about California still...</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-59067526971250012982022-02-05T13:12:00.000-06:002022-02-05T13:12:39.417-06:00Review: "Sea City, Here We Come! The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #10"<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcUWyNwNKyO-fD2bEgQrInxKenreH5JrUDJsp_TtwdIms4ggsMictQiJ5yiJOMKhTgSur2QKkI5o5PWq6WbVXak2Kz00D-8p_ZFADCkFDi29xFxCjEN7gNbr7U9ceDR4J11KRCAKiJYscX6CImHhewJ_UTToJ57amhQnYiKSWc9EgHbmGJ-Tf-Hn-4Bg=s3024" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcUWyNwNKyO-fD2bEgQrInxKenreH5JrUDJsp_TtwdIms4ggsMictQiJ5yiJOMKhTgSur2QKkI5o5PWq6WbVXak2Kz00D-8p_ZFADCkFDi29xFxCjEN7gNbr7U9ceDR4J11KRCAKiJYscX6CImHhewJ_UTToJ57amhQnYiKSWc9EgHbmGJ-Tf-Hn-4Bg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/282613.Sea_City_Here_We_Come_?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=W0suf6i1QR&rank=2">Sea City, Here We Come! The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #10</a> by Ann M Martin<br /><br />3 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJXnQE7p7SlOxofwqThv15vfiuy1ccggBmarodmZJpVabDMpAl9lQ8zr-1XR9vXMeFSKd97YUSTMn70Kt0Kc0mAE-ZvQQDpfhew3bIDXVjDI7tfkPgznYEqPyBgFRLb4QdT8dYD7w32OTY3RA3RiXj_ArNL_gZ1UFQ6yrkqkCx-t-fZRv9sKnHJFHS7A=s2892" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2892" data-original-width="2892" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJXnQE7p7SlOxofwqThv15vfiuy1ccggBmarodmZJpVabDMpAl9lQ8zr-1XR9vXMeFSKd97YUSTMn70Kt0Kc0mAE-ZvQQDpfhew3bIDXVjDI7tfkPgznYEqPyBgFRLb4QdT8dYD7w32OTY3RA3RiXj_ArNL_gZ1UFQ6yrkqkCx-t-fZRv9sKnHJFHS7A=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">At the last BSC meeting before vacation, Logan and Shannon are there for once and they are having an <i>End-of-the-Season Junk Food Blind Taste-Off</i>, between Heath Bars or Skor Bars. (Heath, obviously.) And right away, we get not just a Claudia Outfit but also a Stacey Outfit, woo!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>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.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>At our Friday meeting she </i>[Stacey] <i> 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. </i>(That's a weird thing to say, Kristy, when she is literally wearing the opposite of that.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJUEgs_GVJS3UIaZ4_dZHiC3b-_hfnQmgnYR9ic9mhf1dEcczgLgSagX-xH8j36z8AQkjyn-M6G2LUCKh2MdJmS1kBmVe2iG-OBqx805X-uJ7LpNgYw4Ky-Vl8ZivOFwnemmAe9gW96lG_XqRbuoRzrEvED_TNfKvObDp7PXc91vAXX6Z3ZqZxmDvG8w=s717" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="717" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJUEgs_GVJS3UIaZ4_dZHiC3b-_hfnQmgnYR9ic9mhf1dEcczgLgSagX-xH8j36z8AQkjyn-M6G2LUCKh2MdJmS1kBmVe2iG-OBqx805X-uJ7LpNgYw4Ky-Vl8ZivOFwnemmAe9gW96lG_XqRbuoRzrEvED_TNfKvObDp7PXc91vAXX6Z3ZqZxmDvG8w=w400-h253" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">created on <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3173681">URSTYLE</a></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">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 <i>Oklahoma</i>. (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 <a href="https://seejennread.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-boy-crazy-stacey-baby-sitters.html">TRU LUV Alex</a> is going to be there too. (Also, <a href="https://seejennread.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-mary-anne-too-many-boys-baby.html">stupid Toby</a>.) 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. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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, <i>just for fun</i>. 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.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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: <i>But I liked the way he was making me feel. I'd never felt that way before.</i> 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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0VwCPAnRceFqqrRa0gRgGRLiZfGyxaFmnKAOpHR6PTrXEId1FAjdeZKzfrLFU4gal4rHAt1dTqWm4F0S9a-o_9uoSia7fySPQ32J8-vJtmGIEmIbtPfT77hyIDvZEdoCTIFpJTUUf3zyRD_Imz1w1WiVr0pxEckLjRTP9VjidKs797A2aN6nN-6v7sA=s3024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0VwCPAnRceFqqrRa0gRgGRLiZfGyxaFmnKAOpHR6PTrXEId1FAjdeZKzfrLFU4gal4rHAt1dTqWm4F0S9a-o_9uoSia7fySPQ32J8-vJtmGIEmIbtPfT77hyIDvZEdoCTIFpJTUUf3zyRD_Imz1w1WiVr0pxEckLjRTP9VjidKs797A2aN6nN-6v7sA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">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.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>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.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgp7Fs6HYJHF5kZxr81IBxkdJQLkZrWWTb-D6h2oz7yUxCUY9MJVRvxRD91hzxmGjXN2m7A7gLi_teQSfL6TKsPxwI4tTLRA8OCffN3lpGc8LpBOw7Tw9S9kwBR6C3u6TvZtq_iiEldIwO09qxrYEA2JM_vEx4Jx57AlXhMr6M-BpXsED9cwW22lIhgVw=s2908" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2908" data-original-width="2908" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgp7Fs6HYJHF5kZxr81IBxkdJQLkZrWWTb-D6h2oz7yUxCUY9MJVRvxRD91hzxmGjXN2m7A7gLi_teQSfL6TKsPxwI4tTLRA8OCffN3lpGc8LpBOw7Tw9S9kwBR6C3u6TvZtq_iiEldIwO09qxrYEA2JM_vEx4Jx57AlXhMr6M-BpXsED9cwW22lIhgVw=w200-h200" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiw28Plz0cdI8XNO9zmHC63loum8cteYMVP0vN5HAoUTkEvStL4VuLeMVNdCiEHx1c6VKwr4BMdaJuBU1gRAugt_XT2IXCQ0IVZfN_U1eyq6KFItXWpP5W9AsCgs_5-hFWjtFQuMQPIYCftNacecVB8TCT55pDEbCmFbGgTBcI8zkxbH8jyCeipe4efQ=s667" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="667" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiw28Plz0cdI8XNO9zmHC63loum8cteYMVP0vN5HAoUTkEvStL4VuLeMVNdCiEHx1c6VKwr4BMdaJuBU1gRAugt_XT2IXCQ0IVZfN_U1eyq6KFItXWpP5W9AsCgs_5-hFWjtFQuMQPIYCftNacecVB8TCT55pDEbCmFbGgTBcI8zkxbH8jyCeipe4efQ=w200-h149" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Created on <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/3173702">URSTYLE</a>; flamingo barrettes on <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/604772962/flamingo-hair-slides-flamingo-hair-clips?ref=reviews">Etsy</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>And then, she remembers she's kind of dating Ben Hobart still and probably doesn't really want to go out with anyone else. Duh. These girls all just think with one thing when they're on vacation! So she let's him get all the way there to pick her up and THEN tells him she can't go out with him. He's like, oh okay and <i>"...if you come back next summer and know of another cute girl who's unattached, let me know, okay?"</i> Mallory & Stacey finally make up, vacation is over, we end with a few more letters wrapping things up and Toby writes Mallory, asking if Jessi is available and how old she is. Wow, what a sleaze.</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-54301752209699131742021-03-04T10:00:00.001-06:002021-03-04T10:00:01.536-06:00Review: "Stacey's Big Crush: The Baby-Sitters Club #65"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/363364.Stacey_s_Big_Crush"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/363364.Stacey_s_Big_Crush"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeysoKGfpZxg_lYmbJj-tjUBuOEBmggugRuT7ym-HqfoyXMhbLWVRXgdawwu7Yu1UcJvLSQ5NxixdcRlnXZAklPihXNTH0F34iVHkcu8SXrFz8eTa1i4PKOkpxjDvm-jwV3BElyxvZ3mmL/s452/BSC65.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeysoKGfpZxg_lYmbJj-tjUBuOEBmggugRuT7ym-HqfoyXMhbLWVRXgdawwu7Yu1UcJvLSQ5NxixdcRlnXZAklPihXNTH0F34iVHkcu8SXrFz8eTa1i4PKOkpxjDvm-jwV3BElyxvZ3mmL/s320/BSC65.2.jpg" /></a></div><br />Stacey's Big Crush: The Baby-Sitters Club #65 by Ann M Martin</div><div style="text-align: left;">5 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes! I loved this book! It was so good and so bad all at the same time. Perfect from the cover: <i>he's smart, he's handsome, he's 22!</i> to the last page: <i>"I guess sometimes love hurts." "Yeah, I guess so."</i> This book has it all: hot student teachers, lilacs, another school dance, baby goats, really bad poetry, cottage cheese, daydreams, and more! The only thing it is missing is a Claudia outfit but we do get several Stacey outfits. So let's get started!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's springtime in Stoneybrook and Stacey is sitting in math class, daydreaming about lilacs. Mr Zizmore calls her out but she recovers and answers his question correctly. Because she's the star math student. Then he tells the class that they're going to have a student teacher for the last month of school. The class all groans, because they love Mr Z? That might be the most unrealistic thing in the whole book lol. The dude's name is Wesley Ellenburg (or Baconburger as Claudia calls him) and Stacey is already thinking what a major dweeb he's going to be.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At the BSC meeting, Claudia has a new snack for Stacey & Dawn: <i>All-natural Crispy Rancho-style Veggie-Rice Nuggets with Nacho Substitute Cheese-food Flavor.</i> I'm with Kristy on this one. <i>"They look like moldy Cheez Doodles."</i> Nasty. The next afternoon, Stacey goes home with Mary Anne & Dawn and they're visited by their neighbor Mrs Stone. She needs someone to look after Elvira for a week because she's only 2 months old and she can't be trusted to stay out of the trash if she's left alone. Confused? I wasn't really, but Stacey was. Elvira is a kid, a baby goat. And the most adorable baby goat ever!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Elvira was all eyes and bony joints. She stared up at us, jerking her head from face to face. Beneath her chin was a thin, pointy beard. Her fur was a mottled gray-white-black, and it looked scraggly and dusty. </i><i>In other words, she was absolutely beautiful.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">We'll get back to Elvira in a minute, because Tom Cruise has just entered the room. Oh wait my bad, that's just the hottest student teacher that ever student taught. A dweeb, he is not. Dimples, slate blue eyes, wavy light brown hair. Sigh....Stacey, and every other girl in class, is immediately smitten with<strike> Mr Ellenburg</strike> "call me by my first name" Wes. He is <i>"drop-dead incredibly hunkified gorgeous."</i> And Stacey is convinced that she and Wes belong together. I mean, he's only 22. That's not that bad right? For a 13 year old? And he's just a student teacher, not a real one. So yeah, she immediately starts planning her outfits (she gets it in her head that Wes likes girls in dresses so that's all she wears for the next month), making sure her homework is absolutely perfect and written in her best handwriting (hearts on the i's and all), and becomes the model student. Let's pause for <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2881318">an outfit</a> before we get into the over-the-top stuff.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I found myself staring at a short, rayon challis tank dress my mom had ordered for me. It was navy with white polka dots. The fitted top tapered down to a flared skirt, with white buttons down the front. It was feminine, yet comfortable-looking. Absolutely perfect. Claudia suggested...new white sneakers I'd just bought, made of eyelet canvas with lace shoelaces.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIcAFdWt_2EmtL2eCx_8KQ2PGUoV_XghYlYFt04Jfj3pcpa5QUG0YybJytoxI1u8iHblhtRS9gpP-K8dVr7WaibeXygFpyuhGv2dJKSRMvbvR08DsKGbq_ZfRL93h77imX-2QXKeHn7Di/s935/BSC65.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="935" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIcAFdWt_2EmtL2eCx_8KQ2PGUoV_XghYlYFt04Jfj3pcpa5QUG0YybJytoxI1u8iHblhtRS9gpP-K8dVr7WaibeXygFpyuhGv2dJKSRMvbvR08DsKGbq_ZfRL93h77imX-2QXKeHn7Di/w400-h229/BSC65.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Okay, so I know Wes is new to the teaching stuff and all, but he probably should have asked Mr Z or another adult before he did the next few things. He asks Stacey to stay after school to help him get organized (not too terrible). But then he asks her again the next week to stay and 1. help him fill out his teacher paperwork like W2 and insurance?? then 2. has her average everyone's grades in the grade book. After keeping her extra late for all that, he drives her to a BSC meeting, in his car, alone, without telling anyone. Yeah. Can you imagine a teacher doing that now? So obviously Stacey is convinced they're going to get married, eventually. And she *cringe* writes him a poem. It's so bad y'all. Of course I will put it here for you to cringe at too. (Can you imagine being the ghostwriter for this one? Ann comes to you and says, "I need a poem. Like a teenage girl would write. Make it super embarrassing. No really, like soooo embarrassing." And you turn this in and everyone laughs at you.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I see two stars in summer's night,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Hovering, lost, in blinding light,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Each so dull in heaven's net,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>So each remains, as yet unmet.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>But Fortune moves in strangest ways;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>It lengthens nights, it shortens days.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>May this night end, and day begin</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And bring two young people back again.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">So Stacey gives Wes the poem and he's like "uhhh...gee, thanks?" Stacey is confused. So a few days later, she *gulp* tells him she's <i>in love with him</i>. Guys, I can't even. The second-hand embarrassment is so strong in this one. And he doesn't say anything! He just goes pale and stares at her and she runs off. Then, he completely ignores it all! Like, hello? NOW is the time to talk to an adult, Wes. For real. At the end of the book, there's a school dance and Wes is chaperoning. Stacey asks him to dance with her and he says yes, because he's an idiot, and they have lots of fun for several songs. Then he <i>finally</i> tells her he doesn't/can't have any feelings for her because she's <b>thirteen years old</b>. And Stacey leaves, heartbroken. But she'll get over it. I'm pretty sure there will be some other inappropriate boy in a few books.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's end with happy goat baby Elvira, yeah? She's adorable and playful and romps around kicking and jumping and doing all the adorable goat things that goats do. (I love goats.) The girls start taking her on sitting jobs and she's a huge hit and a tiny bit of trouble (getting in trash, running away), but no one really cares. The Pike kids put on a play for her, Three Billy Goats Gruff, that goes hilariously wrong. Everything is perfect with Elvira around. </div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-69757001390904381172021-01-28T09:36:00.001-06:002021-01-28T09:37:11.152-06:00Review: "Dawn's Family Feud: The Baby-Sitters Club #64"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558216.Dawn_s_Family_Feud?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=7eiAZ1LeTp&rank=1"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558216.Dawn_s_Family_Feud?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=7eiAZ1LeTp&rank=1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZP9gmc5Vay2xjVbTi6FtgbwoCCx-qXHLexBMXCFiY5q5LAPEfSDjxS5O0b9fJQ1QA6aJSVFKtsX0mOp4Tayz-0KCfbbcOAE-oURq1HnbuKij-XKUJJhgOqTI-_952ygyypILt6WrYQZ5i/s455/BSC64.1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZP9gmc5Vay2xjVbTi6FtgbwoCCx-qXHLexBMXCFiY5q5LAPEfSDjxS5O0b9fJQ1QA6aJSVFKtsX0mOp4Tayz-0KCfbbcOAE-oURq1HnbuKij-XKUJJhgOqTI-_952ygyypILt6WrYQZ5i/s320/BSC64.1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558216.Dawn_s_Family_Feud?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=CBfNzKM0Be&rank=2">Dawn's Family Feud: The Baby-Sitters Club #64</a> by Ann M Martin<br />2 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This book gets 1 star for Claudia's outfit below and 1 star for Mrs Barrett finally getting her "happily ever after". No stars for Dawn or Mary Anne or their entire plotline. But I guess I'll go over it anyway.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jeff is coming to town to visit for a whole week and Dawn is understandably super excited. Mr Spier takes off for the whole week to spend it with Jeff and suggests they take a family roadtrip to either Washington DC or Boston at the end of the week. The first few days are great, everyone is getting along and they have lots of fun making fun of a silly alien movie and eating Mexican food. But then the girls have to go to school, Jeff is left alone with Mr Spier (Mrs Schafer has to work), and Jeff gets sulky when he's forced to clean up after himself and the Pike boys don't want to play soccer. Things go downhill from there. Mr Spier is boring (duh), Dawn & Mary Anne start bickering amongst themselves, "<i>a crack was starting to form in </i>[their]<i> family".</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCja4XEGHPMjOwwzmXMWlYF1K_sRC1sb7cFcLb7Atq_kspEmV_WAMqQU_r45DvT28ntLAv5_3vstydHrvZ2COWHzxbbX9LsQznOJuW3QzMMYdnz_FCI-IB80NYAaIoRUiI8WnZ9K-vabw/s585/BSC64.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="439" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCja4XEGHPMjOwwzmXMWlYF1K_sRC1sb7cFcLb7Atq_kspEmV_WAMqQU_r45DvT28ntLAv5_3vstydHrvZ2COWHzxbbX9LsQznOJuW3QzMMYdnz_FCI-IB80NYAaIoRUiI8WnZ9K-vabw/w300-h400/BSC64.JPG" width="300" /></a></div></i>Let's pause the misery for a What Claudia <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2842099">was Wearing</a>, shall we! <i>Today for instance she was dressed in black overalls that she had splattered with pink and green and yellow globs of paint. Her purple high top tennis shoes matched her purple long sleeve t-shirt. Claud has beautiful black shining hair that she'd fixed in a French braid. On top of her head perched a little white painter's cap that she'd also splattered with paint. She looked awesome. (She always does.) </i>(I would totally wear this outfit today. Also, those were my wedding shoes. :))</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Okay, back to the Spier-Schafer breakdown. They head out on their trip to Boston. Jeff pouts because he suddenly changes his mind and wants to go to DC. Mary Anne thinks Jeff is being a pest and hurting her dad's feelings, Dawn thinks Mary Anne is being a baby, none of the 3 kids want to do anything that the "other family" does. Including share a hotel room, go on the same sightseeing tours, and eat at the same restaurants. And for some reason, their parents go along with it, splitting up into their "original families". Like, what? No. This is a family vacation, you do things together, whether you like it or not. Also, Dawn and Mary Anne are 13 years old and old enough to baby-sit. Let them go off on their own and the parents can do what they want. Ugh. Anyway, the trip is a huge failure and they head home early. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dawn's mom has scheduled a photographer to come and take a family picture before Jeff leaves and since they're all fighting still, it starts off awful. None of the kids are wearing their fancy clothes, the parents bicker over where to stage the photo, Mary Anne wants Tigger in the picture but he runs off, and everyone has angry faces. When they all see the test shots they realize how stupid they're all being and start laughing, breaking the tension finally. Everyone apologizes, retakes the pictures, and enjoys Jeff's last day there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alright, let's move on to the part that rated a star: Mrs Barrett finally getting her a decent man lol. <a href="http://seejennread.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-dawn-impossible-three-baby.html">You remember Mrs Barrett</a>, right? The divorced mom of 3 who was kind of a wreck until Dawn helped her get her life turned around? Well she's finally found a good man and his name is Franklin DeWitt. The impossible 3 love Franklin, until they find out he has 4 kids of his own! Yikes. And they're all around the same age. Disaster in the making. The kids don't get along, the adults don't know how to handle it, and the baby-sitters save the day, as usual. Mrs Barrett makes her kids dress up for a fancy dinner, there's a disaster picnic in which a goat steals a sandwich, and lots of crying. Towards the end, the kids realize it's more fun to get along and play games together and it's all good. I do remember Mrs Barrett & Franklin getting married eventually, but not sure when. I'm sure there will be more drama before they do.</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-51528768920879431702021-01-27T10:00:00.001-06:002021-01-27T10:00:08.675-06:00Happy Bookish Sisters!<div style="text-align: left;">So yesterday, I shared my wonderful bookish wedding photos and today, I wanted to do a quick post to share 2 other pictures we took at Half Price Books that day. My sister was our only in-person witness and she did double (triple? whatever) duty as bridesmaid, groomsman, camera person, makeup artist, and lots more. She also threw me a fantastic bridal shower and I got to see my extended family members for the first time all year. So I wanted to make sure we took some pictures together that day too.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I decided we needed to commemorate one of our favorite bookish memories. When we were kids and our parents would take us to B Dalton's Bookstore, my sister and I would head straight to the children's section. I'd help her pick out a new Berenstain Bears book and I would get the latest Baby-Sitters Club. Then we'd sit on the floor and read until our parents were ready to go. It was such fun to recreate that!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-wDZOf6X23wgX9F6Dwk63NvBZipsnt7zgwQIxeIE8FaantMEBMwCBK5if8nL_3d-BLL0aFA2XyH8325mNTXNJZKeV4af4JwxkPRsAnj6MSiufFxrmywBes8x-X09b4rvUDgjjTLVagU3/s2048/7Seven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="2048" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-wDZOf6X23wgX9F6Dwk63NvBZipsnt7zgwQIxeIE8FaantMEBMwCBK5if8nL_3d-BLL0aFA2XyH8325mNTXNJZKeV4af4JwxkPRsAnj6MSiufFxrmywBes8x-X09b4rvUDgjjTLVagU3/w400-h224/7Seven.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn1wCTT_1MCiaAtSpEiM4qKdzm0oSo4T8_yoU96MSM3KO4zuHsCHmjyuthU20GAA6wKMhAtCbFSX28PZ1R65SKCyWhrapbugl5CroWtB7Yr4x9VEaFqtYFF1i3SkylOoA6k0DqrwvUaVQ/s2048/8Eight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="2048" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn1wCTT_1MCiaAtSpEiM4qKdzm0oSo4T8_yoU96MSM3KO4zuHsCHmjyuthU20GAA6wKMhAtCbFSX28PZ1R65SKCyWhrapbugl5CroWtB7Yr4x9VEaFqtYFF1i3SkylOoA6k0DqrwvUaVQ/w400-h217/8Eight.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-25352965453500636452021-01-26T09:00:00.003-06:002021-01-27T12:21:13.120-06:00Happy Bookish Wedding Post!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEuWVyIOxWMONTIF-R08tDiHum1iK5zehOpBxpP8NgtxcEKxWis_Z_Gi6xCLqgDz33Jsg5N4cV-bCAVl3U5J6tjpmYusQnZb95oyc_5l3oC29C61PPBaZRh7CTBKH6MTf99Un229NHRlW/s885/HPB.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEuWVyIOxWMONTIF-R08tDiHum1iK5zehOpBxpP8NgtxcEKxWis_Z_Gi6xCLqgDz33Jsg5N4cV-bCAVl3U5J6tjpmYusQnZb95oyc_5l3oC29C61PPBaZRh7CTBKH6MTf99Un229NHRlW/s320/HPB.jpg" /></a>I'm not sure why I haven't posted about this yet, I guess I forgot I could lol. On October 23, 2020 I got to marry my best friend, my favorite fellow bookish nerd. We met in 2017, thru a mutual online friend, had our first date at Half Price Books, and have been loving life and each other ever since. We got engaged Christmas Day 2019, started planning a fun wedding, and then hello, COVID19 hit. We knew we wanted to get married in October so we decided to wait it out. And wait and wait. And then we decided to change our plans, go smaller, simpler, but still us.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found my dress online very cheap and it fit perfectly, my sister made our masks and did my hair & makeup, and my former work BFF made our flowers, out of Harry Potter pages. (I found the oldest used copy possible, don't worry!) We bought our Doctor Who inspired rings on Etsy from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/731475799/8mm-tungsten-gears-design-2mm-tungsten?ref=yr_purchases">C9TTungsten</a> and added in purple accents to match them. Yes, I wore purple Converse sneakers! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fH-vexz1iRqZA39tXz4qtpXCUlCg2zL0xdaqS8N_oGHiqSz_bgw9QY082SaUhK8icupDkdwrWDGDceiBxzd0ufZkLzuPepnSGmz4951JXi28o2bb4YTyqgmLXMv_djY-EOxUV1KKoKH0/s2048/12Twelve.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fH-vexz1iRqZA39tXz4qtpXCUlCg2zL0xdaqS8N_oGHiqSz_bgw9QY082SaUhK8icupDkdwrWDGDceiBxzd0ufZkLzuPepnSGmz4951JXi28o2bb4YTyqgmLXMv_djY-EOxUV1KKoKH0/s320/12Twelve.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlmydKtx-l6m863QMPSPZSCbZnpGSpJXNZWnAgDuXe6WKngTCvHVt6yaSnbldpk08CZBddf35qc0vHDqIt6jlHaxqw6vn6h1dbTjt4yP8IFCHnpbPY8lqK329mWOOvi8rzGA2r4Y5OCEl/s2048/11Eleven.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1293" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlmydKtx-l6m863QMPSPZSCbZnpGSpJXNZWnAgDuXe6WKngTCvHVt6yaSnbldpk08CZBddf35qc0vHDqIt6jlHaxqw6vn6h1dbTjt4yP8IFCHnpbPY8lqK329mWOOvi8rzGA2r4Y5OCEl/s320/11Eleven.jpg" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We started with a courthouse ceremony with just my sister as a witness. The rest of our friends and family watched on Facebook Live. (We were so happy the courthouse had good WiFi lol.) Yes, we wore masks throughout and it was both strange and normal at the same time. Afterwards, the 3 of us had a lovely lunch and then headed to our favorite Half Price Books, where we had our first date, to take wedding pictures. I called ahead of time and got it okayed with the manager, we went in a middle of a weekday so it wasn't very crowded, and we made sure to stay away from everyone else. And it was so much fun. We may not have had the wedding we wanted in the beginning, but it was an absolutely perfect day, and we will never forget it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLHpJ6WQllcns7jGeu_6B1O8QZM3mAuBnVrnWm3bSNl5qeDrPhvuRACvpyEzuxHM_V3fXihvHn25qzf6R49-Jo4kQhHszXu-2vnPARQlm1rm0tmdZmiGOEa_UQkIo_1UHD5dkAxDmOTSH/s2048/Courthouse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1921" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLHpJ6WQllcns7jGeu_6B1O8QZM3mAuBnVrnWm3bSNl5qeDrPhvuRACvpyEzuxHM_V3fXihvHn25qzf6R49-Jo4kQhHszXu-2vnPARQlm1rm0tmdZmiGOEa_UQkIo_1UHD5dkAxDmOTSH/s320/Courthouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9Vsk1-epr3ObiI9X7pRqKY3ySlwhW8XDCSIZVyQkUqaTZmgPESktMbHYKhUn2Ft8eaRNqwotdCY7FICghrxouBs8xR_iETmCUE-jKx1xhETYjOds5O7H2CS-5DFQmATjYKcKyfMH40w6/s603/WeddingBook1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="603" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9Vsk1-epr3ObiI9X7pRqKY3ySlwhW8XDCSIZVyQkUqaTZmgPESktMbHYKhUn2Ft8eaRNqwotdCY7FICghrxouBs8xR_iETmCUE-jKx1xhETYjOds5O7H2CS-5DFQmATjYKcKyfMH40w6/w200-h193/WeddingBook1.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/rinfinityphotography">RInfinity Photography</a> was recommended by my stepmom and she was so wonderful to work with and our pictures came out amazing. We used some of our favorite books as props (and of course bought them afterwards because we couldn't resist) and just had fun and laughed a lot. It was so nice to be back in a bookstore, among all my fictional friends. Oh yeah, and enjoy the time with my husband. :) And now, more picture fun! (Click any of them to make bigger)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrdHLmRlGDELXpKsfB39PRtjhhbGi3LK4d2jpaELTXtjpaEXQLX__t1hFXx6ozIlVpO7Ys6P0m8g3RMxXCTrV6HoMxcbMmILQwBHlz4qS5SLBJIJrWtltT-MLzi-pbL_DVgcGJdQ2yKE0/s2048/6Six.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="2048" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrdHLmRlGDELXpKsfB39PRtjhhbGi3LK4d2jpaELTXtjpaEXQLX__t1hFXx6ozIlVpO7Ys6P0m8g3RMxXCTrV6HoMxcbMmILQwBHlz4qS5SLBJIJrWtltT-MLzi-pbL_DVgcGJdQ2yKE0/w400-h243/6Six.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgAfgiB_DAo2tHzd0YRpM4tJpLj90YcTcTNVEHBbjINNxluiCIt45Jj94hQY9TBkVeBInDZKHHStjrdp88EUmqNAkpizrsmab1X9_1Gv5qIGdscLBphKdVpVccEkkC4iitsZMOU3ELORu/s2048/17Seventeen.jpg" style="clear: left; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggKT8QBKYUbF-uh994Yvugv-eOt-3_0IzM5mUpOlmCiOmaIWTJihrU3bzNZ4c3qxOPbh80C9JbKbpQZOKFn2-2mu0SLWrLa7PJl06A5-QtRoWIytVayxIAxjxHTQxVt5UOtnHQOy3JM3-f/s2048/13Thirteen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="2048" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggKT8QBKYUbF-uh994Yvugv-eOt-3_0IzM5mUpOlmCiOmaIWTJihrU3bzNZ4c3qxOPbh80C9JbKbpQZOKFn2-2mu0SLWrLa7PJl06A5-QtRoWIytVayxIAxjxHTQxVt5UOtnHQOy3JM3-f/w400-h241/13Thirteen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-70096630078234260062020-12-09T14:43:00.002-06:002020-12-09T14:43:15.412-06:00Review: "Claudia's Friend: The Baby-Sitters Club #63"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/646460.Claudia_s_Friend"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/646460.Claudia_s_Friend"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cMlPwX6KIfv9XHVL73WzxGcU5k1sWTLmjqj4XhZ2v1WHBSUDFtIh04pFkAwHpSXGTLOFJE4xON9LR983cncyVEIKkPpu-mWlCEbR5qxe3YT4WpH1d1MD8I0FzCrFBPq4Lchn4otq4s32/s447/BSC63.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cMlPwX6KIfv9XHVL73WzxGcU5k1sWTLmjqj4XhZ2v1WHBSUDFtIh04pFkAwHpSXGTLOFJE4xON9LR983cncyVEIKkPpu-mWlCEbR5qxe3YT4WpH1d1MD8I0FzCrFBPq4Lchn4otq4s32/s320/BSC63.1.jpg" /></a></div><br />Claudia's <strike>Freind</strike> Friend: The Baby-Sitters Club #63 by Ann M Martin<br />3 out of 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />This was an after-school special book on how kids with dyslexia are not dumb and it's okay to use the resource room at school if you need it. Honestly, this book wasn't terrible (unlike <a href="http://seejennread.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-kristy-secret-of-susan-baby.html">Kristy & The Secret of Susan</a>, which is mentioned in this one). We start out with Claudia in English class and she's zoning out of course. Her teacher keeps her after class and tells her that if she doesn't pass the next test (not just pass, but ace it), she'll fail the grading period. She suggests Claudia use the resource room (because it worked before) and Claud freaks and says "No!" but that she will study more for sure. I don't remember Claudia ever having to use the resource room in any of the other books.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That afternoon, at the BSC meeting, Mrs Rodowsky calls and wants one of the girls to tutor Shea, who was just diagnosed with dyslexia (okay really, why do they have to make that word so hard to spell?? It's just mean!) and she thinks having someone closer to his age might help. Mary Anne gets the job. Claudia announces her personal dilemma and Stacey offers to tutor her. Claudia thinks this is a great idea (spoiler: it's not) and when she asks her parents that night after dinner, they agree to give it a shot. Stacey comes over the next afternoon and immediately turns into Ms Strict McGill, Tutor Extraordinaire. They study in the kitchen, she covers all the clocks and any other distractions, and makes Claud write out flash cards for her spelling & vocabulary words. Later, she gives Claudia a journal and tells her to write in it each day and Stacey will correct her spelling and grammar. Blegh. I don't blame Claudia for being annoyed and starting a secret journal to kvetch about Stacey. (It was soooo hard to write this below with the spelling mistakes lol.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Anastasia Mcgill is a pill. I am glad shes helping me studey. I know I need all the help I can get, espesially sinse I don't want to fail english. But I don't like being bossed around like I am some two year child. But the morre Stacey treats me like child, the moore I want to act like a child. That's not as bad as how Stacey is acting, tho. She should see herself. Hah."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And underneath that I drew a caricature of Stacey as a pointed-nosed schoolteacher holding a ruler.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm sure you can guess that Stacey ends up with the wrong journal at some point. But first they have an argument about how Stacey is just trying to help, etc...and the BFF's don't speak for a couple of days. Stacey asks for her journal to mark and Claudia tells her it's in the drawer, forgetting she put both there until several days later when she goes to write in the secret journal. Towards the end of the book, they meet up and both apologize at the same time because they were both wrong blah blah and we finally get a What Claudia & Stacey Are Wearing!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I changed into something more suitable -- a giant blue-and-white striped shirt and socks with blue spots, over blue bike shorts that matched the stripes and spots. I pulled on red high tops, and hung a dangly red earring made of a string of hearts in one ear and another earring that was a dangly row of silver arrows. </i>[I want these earrings!] <i>I pulled my hair back with a red ribbon, and headed for Stacey's.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>She'd changed, too, into black jeans and black Doc Marten's, and a big golden yellow shirt with round black buttons. She looked super. But stern.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXlko4XPm6kGXBKj4ufGdPvVJLRMb3vDpgUcMMCefAEHyPS9kS8iEz09zi8_3MK9JDt-pX_p5MMctzmILpo1NebVQV7TdZV_74D2XALFBkcMz8AtcMUMNBuDKKGXXXFBLwyqsKusnSqgN/s772/BSC63.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="772" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXlko4XPm6kGXBKj4ufGdPvVJLRMb3vDpgUcMMCefAEHyPS9kS8iEz09zi8_3MK9JDt-pX_p5MMctzmILpo1NebVQV7TdZV_74D2XALFBkcMz8AtcMUMNBuDKKGXXXFBLwyqsKusnSqgN/w400-h266/BSC63.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Done in <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2798019">URStyle</a></span></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In baby-sitting news, Shea's tutoring isn't going well, he thinks he's dumb when he's really not, and just getting frustrated. Claudia actually has some sessions with him and they end up helping each other out. Claudia didn't know how to spell "peach" or know the "i before e" rule. In the 8th grade. She probably should be using the resource room regularly. Stacey baby-sits Emily Michelle & David Michael, who wants to play haunted house and accidentally scares himself in the basement when the power goes out. Nannie has a hot date and wears this sassy number: <i>a pink silk dress with a wide twisted silver and pink sash, sparkly silvery earrings, and these really cool flat pale silver slippers.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, the girls have been getting secret notes for awhile at Claudia's house, during club hours, that say things like "You are very nice" and "You are the best". There's a dance coming up (yes, another one) and each girl seems to think the note is meant for them, from the boy of their choice. Kristy even dresses up, in a denim skirt and tights, to go see Bart and try to figure out if it's from him. (It's not) They get one last note asking them all to meet at the Rosebud Cafe for a special surprise. The note smells like perfume which leads them to believe it's actually a prank from their nemeses Cokie & Grace. So they decide to dress up in their worst clothes, because?? That will show them?? I don't really know the reasoning behind this. See below for fashion victims. Turns out it wasn't Cokie & Grace, but the Rodowsky kids plus Arnold twins and Braddock kids, wanting to thank the BSCers for being so awesome. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDXjthDEjGPGkxyf1ejetlVyGEc9a_15E7zMxtaDSskj2hwADSInwGpFIpSYv53lcbBfLN5sSo3JoniScOEtV2uTMmx4T7rypJr6IpdHGSiFZZv8OVBywsQ5WSbVklpJOvyViDOzO0DRk/s784/BSC63.2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="784" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDXjthDEjGPGkxyf1ejetlVyGEc9a_15E7zMxtaDSskj2hwADSInwGpFIpSYv53lcbBfLN5sSo3JoniScOEtV2uTMmx4T7rypJr6IpdHGSiFZZv8OVBywsQ5WSbVklpJOvyViDOzO0DRk/w400-h223/BSC63.2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Done in <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2798090">URStyle</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Wrapping up this unnecessarily long review: Claudia passes her English test, gets a 97 on the spelling part; the Spring Dance is at the Community Center so has all ages there; Shea & Claudia dance together; the end.</div>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-66561681070185984882020-10-07T13:51:00.004-05:002020-10-07T13:54:38.933-05:00Review: "Kristy & The Worst Kid Ever: The Baby-Sitters Club #62"<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383112.Kristy_and_the_Worst_Kid_Ever"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383112.Kristy_and_the_Worst_Kid_Ever"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6C3WsC1eQJ8rQYc2v-XuXCcG7Rvv4pPKZmmyD3jLniIT7KX_RkGH_Oh2libFmQkk24ZaSI-Q2qzdQWudHH85OGJdDayhLcRNG5zIgMOuz5bXLksdsy4LrUTTlkHsjUoMVM0bm5o4dg2rF/s470/BSC621.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="323" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6C3WsC1eQJ8rQYc2v-XuXCcG7Rvv4pPKZmmyD3jLniIT7KX_RkGH_Oh2libFmQkk24ZaSI-Q2qzdQWudHH85OGJdDayhLcRNG5zIgMOuz5bXLksdsy4LrUTTlkHsjUoMVM0bm5o4dg2rF/s320/BSC621.JPG" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1383112.Kristy_and_the_Worst_Kid_Ever">Kristy & The Worst Kid Ever: The Baby-Sitters Club #62</a> by Ann M Martin<br />2 out of 5 stars</div><p>This book, ugh. Did not like. I'll blame that on why it took me a year and a half to review it, not just my pure laziness. Of course, now I basically have to reread it to write this review so good job, past Jenn!</p><p>Okay, let's get on with it! This might be a short one. Kristy is at home on a lovely Saturday, watching the Thomas-Brewer clan when the Papadakis kids come over and announce that they (their parents, that is) are going to be a foster family. <i>A foster family is a family a kid can stay with when his own parents can't take care of him. After he stays with his foster family for awhile, he can go back to his own family, or to relatives, or even to a brand new family.</i> Nice, neat definition. Karen, Nancy, and Hannie (the Three Musketeers) want a girl of course, and start building a playhouse in the backyard to hopefully entice the foster kid with. Spoiler: it doesn't work.</p><p>On to a BSC meeting and What Claudia is Wearing! And eating! <i>Claudia Kishi was under her bed. Only her purple-and-white-striped stocking feet showed--sort of like when the house fell on the witch after the tornado in <b>The Wizard of Oz</b>. ... A moment later she backed out from under the bed holding a bag of yogurt raisins. From various hiding places around her room she'd also produced a bag of sourdough pretzels, a half-bag of Mallomars, and a box of Frosted Flakes. ... Today she was wearing purple-and-white-striped tights, Doc Martins (except she'd taken them off to sit on the bed), a short black ruffly skirt that looked like it was part of a women's Olympic figure-skater's costume, a purple cropped sweater with silver button covers on the back buttons, and a scrunchy black velvet hat decorated with purple and red velvet flowers.</i></p><p>Bonus: What Stacey is Wearing! <i>Today she had pulled her blonde permed hair back into a complicated braid threaded with a green ribbon. The ribbon matched her shoes. She was wearing silver capri pants, an oversized shirt with a green belt, a green checked short skirt, and gold leaf-shaped earrings.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm69oNonoG4HW91SgnL5OPQ81QqO_Kp4EWSRkqXUi76eXU6_yDr_Dc5vH11TefTAAcb33nv6l0YkTCMXvgRe4Yu7dsFTU5-ADTCjaZ8vKFavS4Hpqt4EjA15wb4QUVliILWGrkTrqhXxNU/s883/BSC62.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="883" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm69oNonoG4HW91SgnL5OPQ81QqO_Kp4EWSRkqXUi76eXU6_yDr_Dc5vH11TefTAAcb33nv6l0YkTCMXvgRe4Yu7dsFTU5-ADTCjaZ8vKFavS4Hpqt4EjA15wb4QUVliILWGrkTrqhXxNU/w400-h272/BSC62.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(done in <a href="https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2729742">URSTYLE</a>)</span></div><br /><p>These outfits are the best things about this book, I'm just letting you know right now! (And I obviously had issues with Stacey's.) The Papadakis' get their foster kid and she makes a big first impression by walking on the car and swinging into the open door to get her bags out. Lou (NOT Louisa) is a tomboy, whose dad died recently and she doesn't have a mom. Her brother was put in another foster family and Lou isn't happy about any of it. She shows it by showing out: pink is dumb, rules are dumb, playhouses are dumb, families are dumb, etc... But honestly, I don't blame her. The BSCers do though. For some reason, they're really hard on Lou and not forgiving at all. They yell at her a LOT, grab her when she very obviously does not like to be touched, and are just generally not nice to her. This is the main point that I don't like in this book. It's not like the BSC to just give up on a kid. All kids are redeemable. Klutzy Jackie Rodowsky, the Barrett kids and their scattered mom, even that girl that broke Claudia's leg! But Lou? The kid with no family? "<i>...she is the absolute worst kid I have ever met."</i></p><p>So yeah, Lou goes to live with her aunt & uncle in the end, with her brother, and the BSC are glad to be rid of her. (They did try a little harder in the last chapter or two but it didn't really make it better for me.) There was also an auction at the middle school and the girls compete against Cokie Mason and her friends to get the best item. Mary Anne gets a genuine Cam Geary jacket donated OMGGGG! And that's it, thank goodness.</p>SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-75277624774157670622020-03-09T11:00:00.000-05:002020-03-09T11:00:07.421-05:00Review: "Sweet Valley High #10: Wrong Kind of Girl"CW: suicide attempt<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/412138.Wrong_Kind_of_Girl">Sweet Valley High #10: Wrong Kind of Girl</a> by Francine Pascal<br />
1 out of 5 stars<br />
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<b>Before Reading:</b> Annie Whitman is the "bad girl" in school, isn't she? Her haircut says "can I speak to your manager, please?" though.<br />
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<b>The Main Plot in 50 Words or Less:</b> Annie tries out for the cheer squad. Jessica doesn't want her on the team because she thinks she's "easy". Jess basically gaslights Annie into attempting suicide. Dark book.<br />
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<b>The Second Plot in 20ish Words or Less:</b> Elizabeth and Annie become friends.<br />
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<b>Opening Lines:</b> <i>As she looked over the list of girls who had signed up to try out for the cheerleading squad, Jessica Wakefield purred like a satisfied cat.</i><br />
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<b>Closing Lines:</b> <i>Both girls were filled with anticipation as they pulled into the driveway, jumped out of the car, and raced toward the house.</i><br />
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<b>Best WTF Lines:</b> [see above opening line]<br />
<i>Annie was one of the most beautiful girls in town, but she had a very bad reputation. She seemed to fall deeply in love with one guy after another, but each deep love never lasted more than a night or two.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Annie: <i>Johnny is my mother's "very special friend". We're just one big happy family.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Johnny to Elizabeth: <i>"Just call me Johnny, sugar. All the cute little girls call me Johnny."</i><br />
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<b>Happenings in SV: </b>Cheerleading tryouts. Jessica is a real b----- towards Annie, because she thinks she's "easy". Annie doesn't know about her reputation at school, she just wants some friends and the only ones she can manage to get are guys. Elizabeth starts tutoring her and Jessica is pissed. Liz is torn about it and almost alienates Todd & Enid in the process. Jess convinces all the other cheerleaders not to vote for Easy Annie. The "nice guy" Ricky falls for Annie and she for him but her reputation gets in the way.<br />
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And then, Annie tries to kill herself. She takes some pills. Ricky finds her in time and gets her to the hospital. Jessica & Elizabeth rush to the hospital. Jess blames herself, which she should, but turns it into a pity party for her instead of Annie. Annie isn't doing so well and the doctor says she has no will to live. Jess runs to him and tells him everything. The doctor says if Annie were on the cheerleading squad, maybe she'd want to live. WTFFFF??? Jess gives her the spot, Annie wakes up and is suddenly happy again, and all is well.<br />
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<b>Fashion Icons: </b>[Jessica] <i>was wearing a black-and-red striped top and her shortest skirt. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Annie Whitman was walking through the door-instantly catching everybody's attention in a slinky outfit with a skirt that had a slit almost to the top of her thigh.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Twin Hijinks: </b><i>Jessica had tried over and over again to interest Elizabeth in the cheerleading squad. "The two of us together would be sensational!" she'd told Elizabeth at least a <b>hundred and thirty-seven times.</b></i><br />
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<b>Other Thoughts:</b> I hated this book. Hated it. More than <a href="http://seejennread.blogspot.com/2015/06/review-all-night-long-sweet-valley-high.html">All Night Long</a> and <a href="http://seejennread.blogspot.com/2014/09/review-power-play-sweet-valley-high-4.html">Power Play</a> put together. Annie just wants someone to love her, for herself, for once. Her mom has a string of "boyfriends" herself and drinks a lot, sounds like the current one is after Annie too, her dad beat her mom when she was younger and threw Annie down the stairs. It's no wonder she's so messed up.<br />
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Jessica's behave would have her in jail if she did it now. And she'd deserve it. Outright bullying 100%. Elizabeth wasn't much better. She knew how much Annie wanted it and wanted to change and she also knew what kind of sick, scheming b---- Jessica is. But she did nothing. She should feel just as horrible about the whole situation.<br />
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<b>The Next Book*: </b><i>Both twins get more than they bargained for in Sweet Valley High #11, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.</i><br />
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*(not necessarily what I'll be reading)SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-89372690606521755772020-03-06T10:00:00.000-06:002020-03-06T10:00:09.722-06:005 5-Star Books I've Read in the Last Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKA_TLjION8vRtKWjL9QaYMTR2WueRX-x6M-kHp5oFM8iyzXJj3kNZkDgqV2J2C3X7owyCnqHomNX2DlEBjBUwz70TMMj9dwMG1yacNSZABElBx3-8q-OeuvssfRLX0-wmrGKSekGBe-X3/s1600/Fave1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="601" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKA_TLjION8vRtKWjL9QaYMTR2WueRX-x6M-kHp5oFM8iyzXJj3kNZkDgqV2J2C3X7owyCnqHomNX2DlEBjBUwz70TMMj9dwMG1yacNSZABElBx3-8q-OeuvssfRLX0-wmrGKSekGBe-X3/s200/Fave1.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43575115-the-starless-sea">The Starless Sea</a> by Erin Morgenstern<br />
A story about stories. Adventure, fairy-tales, contemporary romance, pirates, secret book groups, timeless love, twists and turns, endless libraries, <u>Harry Potter </u>and <u>Where the Wild Things Are</u> references. This book has it all. <u>The Night Circus</u> was my favorite book in 2013 and I've been waiting breathlessly for her to release another book. I was absolutely not disappointed, but I know some people were. This is a love/hate book. You will have strong feelings for it. Luckily for me, they were strong feelings of "omg I adored this book, it sucked me in and didn't let go!"<br />
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<i>Not all stories speak to all listeners, but all listeners
can find a story that does,</i><i> somewhere, sometime. In one form or another.</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28110852-the-girl-who-drank-the-moon">The Girl Who Drank the Moon</a> by Kelly Barnhill<br />
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"Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as
an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will
keep her from terrorizing their town." But it turns out that Xan, the witch, isn't terrorizing their town, in fact she thinks the town people are a little crazy, leaving innocent babies in the woods each year. So she feeds them on moonlight and takes them to the next village over, where the people are more than happy to raise the star children. Xan just wants to live peacefully in her swamp with her swamp monster friend and tiny dragon who doesn't know he's tiny. Then she accidentally feeds a baby too much moonlight and things change forever. This middle-grade book broke my heart for awhile but then put it back together.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>How many feelings can one heart hold?... Infinite, Luna
thought. </i></div>
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<i>The way the universe is infinite. It is light and dark and endless
motion; </i></div>
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<i>it is space and time, and space within space, and time within time. </i></div>
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<i>And
she knew: there is no limit to what the heart can carry.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40864790-pumpkinheads">Pumpkinheads</a> by Rainbow Rowell<br />
This graphic novel will have you yearning, yearning I say!, for crisp fall weather, caramel apples, and all things pumpkin (even if you can't stand pumpkin any other time of the year). Think if this was made into a cartoon special! It would become an instant classic, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlovoYDMbCA">It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown</a>. Deja & Josiah are seasonal bffs who work each fall at the local pumpkin patch. It's their last year & they want to have the best night possible. And they totally do. I want to reread this now but I will restrain myself. Maybe.<br />
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<i>Like every autumn smell all at once.</i></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9542593-we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle">We Have Always Lived in the Castle</a> by Shirley Jackson<br />
A dark twisty tale that will leave you breathless at the end. Two sisters and their uncle live together in a large old house after the rest of the family dies under suspicious circumstances. They do not like to go into town or interact with anyone outside their little circle. Until they are forced to and bad things happen. I was completely bewitched by this classic from the very first page. When I finished, I hungered for more and more.<br />
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<i>On the moon we have everything. </i></div>
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<i>Lettuce, and pumpkin pie and Amanita phalloides. </i></div>
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<i>We have cat-furred plants and horses dancing with their
wings. </i></div>
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<i>All the locks are solid and tight, and there are no ghosts.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39280558-the-remarkable-journey-of-coyote-sunrise">The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise</a> by Dan Gemeinhart<br />
For 5 years, Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have been travelling the country in their renovated school bus. They are running from sadness but eventually it will catch up to them. I love roadtrip stories and this one was full of adventure, quirky friends they meet along the way, crazy animals, laughter, songs, tears, and everything you need! When I finished this book, I wondered if I could have a favorite author after only one book. I haven't read any of his others yet, so I'm not sure, but if they're like this one then he will definitely be in the running!<br />
<i style="text-align: center;">I just wanted everyone to be happy...</i><br />
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<i style="text-align: center;">It's hard, though, when everyone carries around a heart </i></div>
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<i style="text-align: center;">inside them </i><i style="text-align: center;">that is so loud and so strong and so easily broken.</i></div>
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SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-40632214640368112352020-03-04T14:27:00.000-06:002020-03-04T14:27:20.053-06:00Musings of a book blogger....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8hdUoPn-YjROyvtQj2jOX82sFzEIhIxteapkbZ6ZTXvXenIgTCvXCzhFlb_9gq_Bn-D127bu_sEV1pV51PvSQ4EoFsq-Amay-4FHa0eb2oeN22M2M4P9krO7yhXOVMpcuV87KePczV-MT/s1600/Me.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="605" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8hdUoPn-YjROyvtQj2jOX82sFzEIhIxteapkbZ6ZTXvXenIgTCvXCzhFlb_9gq_Bn-D127bu_sEV1pV51PvSQ4EoFsq-Amay-4FHa0eb2oeN22M2M4P9krO7yhXOVMpcuV87KePczV-MT/s200/Me.JPG" width="200" /></a>Does book blogging still exist? Does this blog have any readers still? Can I post more than 5 times in one year? Should I still try blogging other books besides Baby-Sitters Club & Sweet Valley High? These are the questions that plague me at night. (Not really, more like at work when I'm bored hah.)<br />
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I am still reading of course, you can check me out on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/seejennread/">Instagram</a> or <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/696078-jenn">Goodreads</a> to see that. So what is stopping me from blogging, which I sincerely enjoy? I would say the rise of streaming tv shows and movies plays a large part. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, I've got them all and I still browse aimlessly trying to find something to watch. A longer work commute is another. When I finally get home, I just want to sit and zone out. I barely have enough energy to cook dinner some nights. Weekends are spent catching up on house stuff and spending time with the <strike>boyfriend</strike> fiance :) <3 or family. And I suppose lack of activity is the final piece. When I haven't blogged in awhile, I forget how. Even now, I am wondering if this is a good post, if it's too wordy, what kind of pictures I should include, should this be another paragraph? It can be hard. Especially knowing you're doing this mostly for yourself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNO12trhBo4ImGZ3bv0raOoIF_Tu-VvUFMFtGuX7A7xCHJ3GDZMWT1E-rTyOAfAb2jFCR7_g6PfUmrIV3dS3est2dVgHt5SiArard1JeUmld0REpIEvfM62rPj-4XTOgwDt92iw6yvpq_/s1600/BSC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNO12trhBo4ImGZ3bv0raOoIF_Tu-VvUFMFtGuX7A7xCHJ3GDZMWT1E-rTyOAfAb2jFCR7_g6PfUmrIV3dS3est2dVgHt5SiArard1JeUmld0REpIEvfM62rPj-4XTOgwDt92iw6yvpq_/s320/BSC.JPG" width="178" /></a>But should that stop you/me? I don't think so. I'm proud of (most of) my posts. The Baby-Sitters Club reviews especially. I want to finish them, to make the <a href="http://seejennread.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-baby-sitters-club-master-list.html">Master List</a> a complete list full of snarky comments, nostalgic sighs, and glorious reincarnations of Claudia's outfits. So how do I do that? Use a planner again? Schedule specific time on the weekends? Stop being so lazy at night, blog while I watch tv, go to bed a smidge later? <strike>(Blog on the sly at work?)</strike> All of these things probably. And I think that's enough semi-rhetorical questions for one post, don't you agree? (See what I did there? Okay, I'll stop.)<br />
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Let's talk books! I want to know what you're reading right now, what your favorite book was last year, what you're most looking forward to this year! I am currently reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/783454.Nureyev">Nureyev</a>, a biography about the male Russian ballet dancer. He is fascinating, I highly recommend watching some of his performances on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDB8fV9PVTU&t=109s">YouTube</a> or reading about him. I have also been reading some <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43339.Where_Are_the_Children_">Mary Higgins Clark</a> books off & on since she died recently. I devoured her books as a young teenager, they were probably some of the first "adult" books I read. She and Dean Koontz really taught me how to be a first rate serial killer stalker. :D I wasn't sure if they would still be as good and engrossing after all this time, but they really are. I'm also reading a graphic novel by Jason Walz called <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37534374-last-pick">Last Pick</a>. Aliens take over Earth and abduct anyone over the age of 16 and in good health. Then it's the kids turn to protect the world and get things back to normal.<br />
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I will have a post up in a few days of my favorite books in the last year so I won't mention those here. I am very much looking forward to reading the sequels for Melissa Albert's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/223745-the-hazel-wood">Hazel Wood</a> series and Kiersten White's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/203120-slayer">Slayer</a> one. I have both already so just need to get to it! And of course, I have an overstuffed library cart of to-read books to choose from. :) I keep saying that I will stop buying books and read the ones I have. Alas, the allure of the library book sale is strong.<br />
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<br />SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-15987770726318870892019-04-08T10:00:00.000-05:002019-04-08T10:00:02.670-05:00Review: "Claudia & Mean Janine: The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel #4"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25246610-claudia-and-mean-janine">Claudia & Mean Janine: The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel #4</a> by Raina Telgemeier<br />
5 out of 5 stars<br />
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This was probably my favorite of the graphic novels so far, even though it is <a href="http://seejennread.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-claudia-mean-janine-baby-sitters.html">one of the saddest books</a> in the series. I'm just saying it now: if they do <u>Claudia & The Sad Goodbye</u>, I don't know if I'll be able to read it!<br />
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Okay, so the story starts off in the last week of school. Claudia has a big math test and Janine is trying to tutor her (which is obviously not working, because she doesn't know her basic times table!?) They get in an argument and Janine storms off; Mimi comes in and helps Claudia. Claudia doesn't know what she or her family would do without Mimi.<br />
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At the BSC meeting the next day, Stacey has a chic new haircut and Pete Black held her hand, Kristy thinks boys are gross and still doesn't like Dawn, and they come up with the idea for a summer playgroup as soon as school lets out. Because they can't spend even one week just chilling and watching Price is Right or whatever. Claudia and Janine continue to fight and cause Mimi to have a stroke. (Not really, but that's what Claudia thinks.) It's really scary and sad and well-done for younger people.<br />
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The playgroup goes well: Andrew makes Prissy Jenny Prezzioso wear her art smock because he's a monster, the kids give Louie the dog a bath, they make lots of money. Kristy & Dawn spend some time together alone and come to a friendly understanding of sorts. Mimi comes home and starts her recuperation, learning words again and how to use her motor skills. Jamie Newton loves his new little sister, Lucy, but gets upset when she gets all the attention and almost pours the punch bowl over her head. Claudia realizes she and Janine are acting like Jamie. They finally talk and both realize they're jealous of the other. They make up and Janine even admits that she hides candy in her room too. The book ends towards the end of summer and the girls realizing they've been the official Baby-Sitters Club for one year.</div>
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Now let's talk about the artwork. Overall, very good and in line with the descriptions. Claudia's room looks a lot better in this one. Plenty of art supplies and stuff on the walls, snacks hidden away, and we even get to see inside her closet! Her fashion was very on-point throughout the book too.<br />
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We see Jeff in this one and Dawn's house and the old spooky barn. And more of the neighborhood kids in the playgroup. Andrew and Karen are so cute. Also, there's apparently at least one other black family in Stoneybrook (at least in Raina's world), before the Ramsey's show up, because their kid is at the playgroup. He never gets named though. I wonder if they'll talk about that when Jessi finally shows up, if she does.<br />
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After the end of the book, Raina talks us through how the graphic novel is formed and it was really interesting to read. I can't wait to read the next one!<br />
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<br />SeeJennReadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16269271869418911280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134685988567056522.post-19833791464487469232019-03-28T09:00:00.000-05:002019-03-28T09:00:06.423-05:00Review: "Starring the Baby-Sitters Club! The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #9"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/137956.Starring_the_Baby_sitters_Club_?ac=1&from_search=true">Starring the Baby-Sitters Club! The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #9</a> by Ann M Martin<br />
3 out of 5 stars<br />
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I was kind of ambivalent about this one at first, mostly because it was Jessi narrating and her handwriting is the <i>worst</i> to read. And in the very first paragraph, she's already talking about being the only black people in Stoneybrook. I wish they would have shown it being "not easy" more, because the way Jessi talks, every single person in Stoneybrook is a racist jerk. Anyway.<br />
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The Stoneybrook school district is putting on a play, Peter Pan, and the entire BSC is determined to be a part of it in some way or the other. Jessi, of course, is positive that she will be the lead. I mean obviously right? She's the only person in the entire school with any talent and the teachers would be stupid not to cast her as Peter. Spoiler: she doesn't get the part. And she's super bitter the whole time. Even when she gets asked to help teach the little kids the dances because she's so aaaamazing. Jessi is annoying in this one so I'm going to stop talking about her.<br />
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Let's talk about the Stoneybrook lunches. Somebody needs to do something about them. <i>"What <b>is</b> this goo?" asked Kristy. She was holding up something from her lunch tray. It was gray and stringy. "It looks like what Watson's cat might bring in --" </i>Gross. I'm with Dawn. Bring your own lunch.<br />
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So Claudia decides she wants to do scenery for the play (obviously) and we don't really get much from her, not even an outfit. Which means <strike>we</strike> I get to make up a What Claudia Should Have Been Wearing. <i>Claud was ready to paint scenery. She had on a purple tank top under baggy white overalls that she had pre-painted with splotches all over. She also had a matching painter's hat. Her overalls were cuffed at the ankles and showed off her rainbow striped socks and galaxy hightops (that she'd painted herself of course). Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid off her face and she was wearing <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/505775528/paint-bucket-brush-set-earrings-color?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=bucket+earrings&ref=sr_gallery-1-14">paint bucket & brush earrings</a> that she had found at the mall.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicycpsCa4T34Kzi5RaVwK0PyuSPsgtOmLkMCbeNQBcKpcL-azQ2JD227pmurYVT3Sv6ij1B0BeBs_VdOdfSgE2ANjSvGBGItk7Omfd__PcQdXfGy8_A64r1I_1L3rY9rsIUixSl9KKeYGJ/s1600/BSC+SS9.4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicycpsCa4T34Kzi5RaVwK0PyuSPsgtOmLkMCbeNQBcKpcL-azQ2JD227pmurYVT3Sv6ij1B0BeBs_VdOdfSgE2ANjSvGBGItk7Omfd__PcQdXfGy8_A64r1I_1L3rY9rsIUixSl9KKeYGJ/s320/BSC+SS9.4.jpg" width="181" /></a>Mallory helps out with costumes and gets totally embarrassed about measuring the guys, Mary Anne becomes the backstage baby-sitter, which basically means keeping Jackie Rodowsky from injuring himself and everyone around him. Kristy wants to be Nana, the dog. Weirdo. Stacey and Logan want to be in the play but don't care how and Dawn really wants to be Tiger Lily, the Indian princess. But so does Cokie Mason, so there's bound to be some drama there. And we even get a chapter or two from Cokie's point of view! That's a first.<br />
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Karen Brewer wants to be Tinker Bell and wants twinkle sounds when she's onstage and glittery lights and throws a big huge tantrum when she doesn't get her way. Kind of like Jessi. Especially after Kristy gets the part of Peter Pan. Which I can totally see. She's small and flat-chested lol. Dawn's audition went so well that she got the part of Wendy, which she is excited about at first. But then when she starts reading the lines and realizing that Wendy was taken to Neverland to be the Lost Boys' mother, she flips out. She tries to change the lines, which messes up Kristy and pisses off the director. Even Logan, who is a pirate named Noodler, has something to say about it. He also gets kicked off the play for the afternoon for playing around with the other pirates and swords. I am so over Logan.<br />
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Stacey and Sam, Kristy's older brother, get cast as Mr & Mrs Darling <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNjXmMbSGOcTm2RYiLj5bkNobKv85l4_X7vaSE4TBvWwGYGUDrJG0-ZobRmGItFKxhnOrvgm2CQ6yGLYehDd_55XFq-iLlxrRwKO0-HDQgOG3kqMCju6siJtipikwqrXZPTYP357SPUz0/s1600/BSC+SS9.3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNjXmMbSGOcTm2RYiLj5bkNobKv85l4_X7vaSE4TBvWwGYGUDrJG0-ZobRmGItFKxhnOrvgm2CQ6yGLYehDd_55XFq-iLlxrRwKO0-HDQgOG3kqMCju6siJtipikwqrXZPTYP357SPUz0/s320/BSC+SS9.3.JPG" width="180" /></a>and they're both embarrassed about it, especially Stacey. They've been casually dating for awhile but Sam hasn't really introduced her to any of his high school friends. Because, you know, he's in the 10th grade and dating an 8th grader. It's kinda weird. Sam jokes around most of the time, in front of his friends, just to show how cool Stacey is but she thinks he's just being annoying.<br />
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<i>"Mother, you look divine," said Sam. He thought for a moment. Then he added, "Mrs Darling, you look darling." He burst out laughing.</i><br />
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It's finally opening day for the play. Jackie is still scared of the crocodile, Kristy forgets her first line, Claudia is scared her scenery is going to fall on someone, Pete Black (who was going to play Nana & the crocodile) breaks his nose so Jessi grudgingly agrees to take his place and is in the play after all, Cokie's dressing room is the janitor's closet, Dawn nearly faints because she didn't eat all day, and overall everything goes well and the play is a success.<br />
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The end.</div>
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