Review: "Dawn & The We Love Kids Club: The Baby-Sitters Club #72"

Dawn & The We Love Kids Club: The Baby-Sitters Club #72 by Ann M Martin

2 out of 5 stars

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!

I know Stacey got a book 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 California Diaries 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.

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 "show the community the good things that are happening with our kids." 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.

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.

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. Joanna came in, dressed [for her birthday] in a short fringed skirt and a tight-fitting beaded top, her dark hair pulled back in a sleek, elegant style. 

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:

Dear Dad,

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.

Love, Dawn

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.

Review: "Claudia & The Perfect Boy: The Baby-Sitters Club #71"

Claudia & The Perfect Boy: The Baby-Sitters Club #71 by Ann M Martin
4 out of 5 stars

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 that super-special, tingly, in-love thing. 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 What Claudia Was Wearing already!

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.)

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.

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 Chain Letter book.) 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.

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 First Date Outfits #1 & #2. Is it just me or are these basically the same outfit? Also, not the one on the cover.

I'd settled on a long white shirt under a green tapestry vest, green corduroy pants, and low boots.

I slipped into my new brown suede cloth pants. [Stacey suggests I wear] 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 had to take some extra liberties with these!)

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.

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.

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 well over 30 reading this lol. Scatterbrained and old (she was at least thirty as far as I could tell), Mrs Barrett with her three wild kids had a boyfriend, and I didn't. 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.

Review: "Stacey & The Cheerleaders: The Baby-Sitters Club #70"

Stacey & The Cheerleaders: The Baby-Sitters Club #70 by Ann M Martin

2 out of 5 stars

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!

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. "Hmm, I guess you better wash those pants separately," Claud remarked. 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 What Claudia Was Wearing, plus Stacey's winter outfit above.

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.

In Mallory news: Kristy shook her head. "Mal said she's having a fantastic time. She spends all day reading." Hahah...Also, Shannon Kilbourne's youngest sister is having issues not living up to her fantastic, super-talented sisters. Classic middle child syndrome. 

Date outfit with RJ: a black-and-white plaid unitard with a tankstyle top, covered with a black, over sized cotton knit jersey. 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!

Stacey starts getting it in her head that her old friends are embarrassing, even though Claudia wears this awesome outfit to the basketball game: a sequined vest over a man's white shirt and bell-bottomed spandex pants. 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. 

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.

Date outfit with Robert: 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. 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. The ball is in play again at SMS. And this time, we can all be winners. Gag.

Review: "Get Well Soon, Mallory! The Baby-Sitters Club #69"

Get Well Soon, Mallory! The Baby-Sitters Club #69 by Ann M Martin

5 out of 5 stars

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. 

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.

Next day, Halloween, finds Vanessa practicing her different waves for the parade cameras: "the windshield wiper, screwing in the light bulb, and the flap." 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.

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.

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 "you have the distinction of having one of the worst looking throats I've ever seen." 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.

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! 

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.

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 special occasion outfit: 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. 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.

Review: "Jessi and the Bad Baby-Sitter: The Baby-Sitters Club #68"

Jessi and the Bad Baby-Sitter: The Baby-Sitters Club #68 by Ann M Martin
4 out of 5 stars

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!

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 last book 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 What Claudia Was Wearing!

...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.

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. "No, I'm NOT kidding. We're in a mess here and we need you back." "No, you can't talk to [Mary Anne] until you swear you'll come back right away." Yikes.

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.

"You knew the rules when you joined," Kristy said.

"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."

"That's just one too many people bossing me around."

So yeah, Kristy is livid. But Jessi kind of sees both sides and stays friends with Wendy. Well away from Kristy, of course.

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.

Let's end with another What Claudia is Wearing, rollerblading edition!! Claudia wore hot pink stirrup pants and a fuzzy pink sweater that made a nice contrast with her neon green pads and helmet. 

Review: "Dawn's Big Move: The Baby-Sitters Club #67"

Dawn's Big Move: The Baby-Sitters Club #67 by Ann M Martin

4 out of 5 stars

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 tug-of-war, pie-eating contests, underwear race... Somehow the girls convince Mister Stuffy Pants Spier to practice for the underwear race.

[Mrs Schafer] 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.

"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.

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.

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):

Dawn, Dawn, please don't go,

We all love you so.

Your nice to us, you make us smile

We love your hair, your laugh, your stile.

When you're away in California

We'll be so sad, we'll really moarn ya.

We wish you luck, tho you upset us

Please, please, please, Dawn, don't forget us.

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 "let Daddy love you as much as I do." And that's the end. Honestly, I'm bumping it down to 3 stars. And there's no Claudia outfit, so here's my own quick one (she can go stylish sometimes).

Review: "Maid Mary Anne: The Baby-Sitters Club #66"

Maid Mary Anne: The Baby-Sitters Club #66 by Ann M Martin
3 out of 5 stars

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.)

The book starts off with Mary Anne daydreaming about her nice, happy, unlike-other-families, family. 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 too self-involved. Maybe even self-centered. Yeah, I can see that. So she decides to put other people's needs first. Nothing can go wrong with that, right?

Elvira the goat 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.

There's not a Claudia outfit, so I'm making my own 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

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.

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.

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!

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. 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. 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...