2.5 out of 5 stars
Jessi gets alllll the After School Special books. So much that it makes me wonder why they're giving the "only black person in Stoneybrook" all these sensitive topics. I'm sure this was interesting and thought-provoking as a kid, but as an adult it's torture lol. And while I'm complaining, this cover is bad. Jessi looks totally different from her other books and Mary, who is supposed to be super thin, barely looks smaller than Jessi, if at all. She just looks like a robot.
Okay, starting the actual book. Jessi is in ballet class and Mme Noelle tells them about a volunteer opportunity to help under-privileged kids learn dance. Jessi volunteers immediately along with a few other kids, even though they'll be missing some of their own classes in the meantime. [Jessi] wasn't worried about falling behind in my work [though]. As it is, I'm the youngest in class. And - though I wouldn't say this to anyone else - I'm one of the best. I don't mean to sound conceited. It's just true. Sorry Jessi, that does sound conceited. The other girl to volunteer is Mary, which surprises Jessi because she's very focused on her own work. Oh! Jessi calls her robot-like; I was right about the cover! In the locker room after class, Mary is complaining about not jumping high enough and another girl tells her it's because she needs to lose 10 pounds. And thus, Mary's story begins.
Time for a BSC meeting and introductions! Jessi is right on time so doesn't get Kristy's Look; Mallory is pretty once you get to know her; Stacey has diabetes, Mary Anne and Dawn are BFF sisters, Claudia is a trendy dresser and hello What Claudia Is Wearing!
Today she was wearing a neon green tank top under a white oversized man's shirt and fuschia pink sitrrup pants. The shirt was rolled at the sleeves and belted with a colorful woven belt. Claud finished the outfit with dangly ceramic-bead earrings she'd made herself in pottery class. (Earrings are on Etsy!)
The club is busy right now, so they have to call Shannon for a job. Kristy doesn't want to do it at first, because she's been blowing Shannon off lately. Shannon wants to hang out because her super regimented schedule is slightly open but Kristy is too busy now and feels bad for telling her no. The other BSCers are like "tell her to call us! We could hang out. I want to get to know her better." And Kristy is like "great!" But then later on, when they actually do start hanging out with Shannon, Kristy gets super jealous and it's honestly annoying and I'm not wasting time on it.
In the kids' ballet class, Jessi has lots of fun volunteering but is getting more and more worried about Mary. There are a few stand-out kids: Martha, a young black girl whose mom is very interested in Jessi each time she picks up her daughter. Turns out it's because she'd never seen a black ballet dancer and that's why she never let her daughter take classes, even though she's got great raw talent. And Devon, who jokes around the first few classes but starts taking it seriously and is really good. Mary however is not doing good. She's getting weaker and weaker in class and actually faints at one point.
Jessi does a bit of her own research, with the BSC, and decides she must be anorexic. She tries to talk to Mary several times, but it doesn't go well. Finally, Jessi threatens to tell Mme Noelle if Mary doesn't and that does the trick. What I want to know though, is why didn't the teachers see this themselves? They're watching these kids like a hawk, they see Mary faint and get sick, but they don't think anything is seriously wrong? Mme Noelle "suspects" something but just tells Mary to go see her doctor. Doesn't talk to her parents or anything until it's nearly too late.
There's a few baby-sitting plots but they're not very big or interesting. Karen plays a rousing game of Let's All Come In, Emily Michelle learns a new game called Put Away which consists of putting the tv remotes in impossible-to-find places.
The dance class goes well, Watson Brewer agrees to his company sponsoring 2 scholarships, they have a recital in the end, and everyone is happy. Oh and there's a bonus What Jessi is Wearing Ballet Edition. They get to wear more casual clothes to the volunteer classes and Jessi takes this very seriously. After a lot of thought, I settled on a neon-green leotard and a pair of deep blue work-out pants with heavy yellow slouchy socks. It was important to me not to look babyish. What about clownish?
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