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The Baby-Sitters Club #90
Welcome to the BSC, Abby
As the newest member of the Baby-sitters Club, Abby Stevenson is going a million miles an hour. She has so many things to get used to--SMS, her friends in the BSC, and all those wild baby-sitting charges. Plus, Abby's worried her twin sister and mom aren't excited about living in Stoneybrook.
Abby thinks she has everything under control. But then she has an asthma attack while baby-sitting and must be rushed to the hospital. And now Kristy is starting to have her doubts about Abby.
Abby knows she's good enough for the Baby-sitters Club. Now all she has to do is prove it!
Abby thinks she has everything under control. But then she has an asthma attack while baby-sitting and must be rushed to the hospital. And now Kristy is starting to have her doubts about Abby.
Abby knows she's good enough for the Baby-sitters Club. Now all she has to do is prove it!
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1995
51 people are currently reading
720 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,099 books3,040 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 11, 2017
in this book by ghostwriter Nola Thacker we get a glimpse into new bsc member abby’s narration style (see highlights for my thoughts on this) while we hear some of her story and see how she handles adjusting to her new life in connecticut/as the new alternate member of the bsc. one day, she’s babysitting the papadakises and she has a really bad asthma attack (she is reaching for her inhaler but stupid hannie papadakis thinks she needs help so she runs across the street to get kristy and almost gets hit by a car -- this would give ME an asthma attack and I don’t even have asthma!). kristy thinks abby is ill and doesn’t want her to babysit anymore. this plotline doesn’t REALLY get resolved, but kristy just eventually gets over it. meanwhile, abby and her twin sister anna are unpacking and find a box of their father’s things. he had died about 3 years prior and abby and anna’s mom threw all his things in a box and forgot about it. they sort of go through a new bout of mourning, but it seems cathartic and when they show it to their mom she takes the items out and puts them to use. meanwhile meanwhile, the arts are possibly going to lose their funding at stoneybrook public schools so there is a carnival to raise funds and the bsc participates in a few of the carnival booths.
highlights:
-abby is hilarious and clever and interesting and just a delight of a narrator. see the following examples:
goofball abby: she theorizes that the school bus (the "wheeze wagon" as she calls it) is allergic to roads. "I've got such a headache. I'm allergic to the roads, and what do they make me do all day? Roads, roads, roads. I wanted to be a boat, but does anybody listen to me?"
soapbox feminist abby: "housewives get no respect, no pay, and no tax deductions."
culturally literate abby: "have inhaler, will travel."
soapbox feminist abby: "the rest is history. or herstory."
worldly abby: calls claudia and stacey knockout babes and then says, "this is what the guys in my school on long island would call them."
goofball abby: nobody understands abby because she's too funny and interesting for them. at one point she agrees to sit for the papadakises who live across the street from her because, "I like the commute," and everyone just looks confused.
-the way nola thacker approaches the dead dad plotline is really clever. since he died a while ago, they’ve adjusted to life without him. but having them find the box of his things enables the reader to see their mourning anew and show what their dad really was like. nicely done.
-even better when abby and anna’s mom is supposed to be coming home from work but the train they think she’s on derails. they are freaking out and having horrible flashbacks to their dad’s death. turns out their mom was on the train behind the one that derailed and got stuck in a tunnel with no lights and no cell reception for those that may have had cell phones (though most didn’t, I’m sure...this was 1995, after all).
-the arnolds get elvira the goat to pose for pictures at their booth
-I love lucy reference alert: when crushing empty boxes, abby and anna act like they’re stomping grapes like lucy in the episode where she’s in italy and is going to be in a movie that she thinks is about the wine-making industry (it’s not, but that’s besides the point) so she pretends to be an old italian lady and works at an old-fashioned winery stomping grapes and then gets in a fight with the other lady and can’t be in the movie anymore because her skin and hair is now stained by the grapes.
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lowlights/nitpicks:
-the carnival to raise funds for the arts/music program at stoneybrook public schools. first off, they make enough money that the program is subsequently funded (REALLY? how much money could they possibly have made that it funded an entire school district’s arts and music program? also watson brewer pays for the carnival. it includes rides, food, and other expensive stuff. if he’s paying for all that stuff, why doesn’t he just donate all that money to the school system straight up?
marilyn and carolyn arnold (wearing matching outfits for the first time since they stopped in Mallory and the Trouble With Twins):
-"They were wearing blue denim work shirts, overalls, and black high-top sneakers. Carolyn had tied a red kerchief around her neck."
in abby's kid kit:
-wooden cat puzzle
snacks in claudia’s room:
-dove chocolates (n.s.)
-barbecue potato chips (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-potato chips (n.s.)
highlights:
-abby is hilarious and clever and interesting and just a delight of a narrator. see the following examples:
goofball abby: she theorizes that the school bus (the "wheeze wagon" as she calls it) is allergic to roads. "I've got such a headache. I'm allergic to the roads, and what do they make me do all day? Roads, roads, roads. I wanted to be a boat, but does anybody listen to me?"
soapbox feminist abby: "housewives get no respect, no pay, and no tax deductions."
culturally literate abby: "have inhaler, will travel."
soapbox feminist abby: "the rest is history. or herstory."
worldly abby: calls claudia and stacey knockout babes and then says, "this is what the guys in my school on long island would call them."
goofball abby: nobody understands abby because she's too funny and interesting for them. at one point she agrees to sit for the papadakises who live across the street from her because, "I like the commute," and everyone just looks confused.
-the way nola thacker approaches the dead dad plotline is really clever. since he died a while ago, they’ve adjusted to life without him. but having them find the box of his things enables the reader to see their mourning anew and show what their dad really was like. nicely done.
-even better when abby and anna’s mom is supposed to be coming home from work but the train they think she’s on derails. they are freaking out and having horrible flashbacks to their dad’s death. turns out their mom was on the train behind the one that derailed and got stuck in a tunnel with no lights and no cell reception for those that may have had cell phones (though most didn’t, I’m sure...this was 1995, after all).
-the arnolds get elvira the goat to pose for pictures at their booth
-I love lucy reference alert: when crushing empty boxes, abby and anna act like they’re stomping grapes like lucy in the episode where she’s in italy and is going to be in a movie that she thinks is about the wine-making industry (it’s not, but that’s besides the point) so she pretends to be an old italian lady and works at an old-fashioned winery stomping grapes and then gets in a fight with the other lady and can’t be in the movie anymore because her skin and hair is now stained by the grapes.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the carnival to raise funds for the arts/music program at stoneybrook public schools. first off, they make enough money that the program is subsequently funded (REALLY? how much money could they possibly have made that it funded an entire school district’s arts and music program? also watson brewer pays for the carnival. it includes rides, food, and other expensive stuff. if he’s paying for all that stuff, why doesn’t he just donate all that money to the school system straight up?
marilyn and carolyn arnold (wearing matching outfits for the first time since they stopped in Mallory and the Trouble With Twins):
-"They were wearing blue denim work shirts, overalls, and black high-top sneakers. Carolyn had tied a red kerchief around her neck."
in abby's kid kit:
-wooden cat puzzle
snacks in claudia’s room:
-dove chocolates (n.s.)
-barbecue potato chips (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-potato chips (n.s.)
March 31, 2011
this is the first abby-narrated book of the series. since she is new & everything. i stopped reading the babysitters club series as a child long before abby came into the picture, but i really enjoy her as an adult. i feel like she is a tool for the ghostwriters to make fun of the other characters. in the very first chapter, she refers to kristy as a "bossy beast". i love the tension they have with each other, both being sporty loudmouths. & the tension is really ratcheted up in this book.
the big plotline here is that the school board is thinking about making some budget cuts to all the public schools in town (there are like 47 of them). specifically, they're talking about cutting sports & music. so the community decides to band together & hold a fundraising carnival. which is kind of bogus, because it's really the job of the education budget-makers to come up with the funds for these public education programs. that's why homeowners pay taxes & shit. but once again, the babysitters club universe is a unique world where regular laws & regulations do not apply. at first, abby doesn't really care about the arts budget being in trouble...until she remembers that her sister, anna, is passionate about being a violinist & won't be able to participate in the school orchestra if it gets defunded. she wants her family to staff a booth at the carnival, & comes up with the idea of "fingerpainting food," which is just a gross way to describe the idea of kids decorating their own cupcakes.
anna & mrs. stevenson are remarkably blase about the carnival idea. anna seems almost completely indifferent to the problems with the arts budget. & mrs. stevenson...it's weird. the stevensons moved into kristy's posh neighborhood & hired an interior decorator & put her through the wringer, making sure the decor was completely perfect before they moved in. they bought all new furniture & added an addition on to what is almost certainly already a large home. i'm sure the mortgage is expensive & mrs. stevenson pays out the ass for property taxes. plus, she pulled strings to enroll the girls in stoneybrook middle school specifically for the purpose of anna having access to a school orchestra. literally like two weeks after they moved to town (& i'm sure mrs. stevenson researched lots of options before settling on stoneybrook), the arts budget is in trouble & she doesn't even seem upset about it. pretty weird.
anyway, abby throws herself into the carnival idea. all the other members of the babysitters club, as well as their charges, are also planning to have booth at the carnival. abby even suggests that the babysitters club staff their own booth (i'm sure kristy wanted to murder her for coming up with that gem of an obvious idea before kristy got the chance). the babysitters decide to make arts-themed pins to sell, & some of them will be redeemable for free hours of babysitting. the pikes organize a carousel-themed booth where they will sell handicrafts manufactured by various folks in the neighborhood with too much time on their hands & no etsy access. the arnold twins concoct a plan where people can have their photos taken with elvira the baby goat.
the other big plot involves abby's allergies & asthma. it's actually more interesting than it sounds. abby takes a job sitting for the papadakis kids (she says she "likes to the commute"--they live across the street from her--& none of the other babysitters get the joke; i love how abby is always making ridiculous catskills borscht belt-style jokes that the other sitters are too dumb to understand), but their many pets cause her allergies to act up. so she takes the kids outside, but the mold on the falling leaves make her allergies act up out there. she starts to ask linny to run inside & grab her inhaler, but apparently the look on her face scares the crap out of hannie. hannie decides she needs to go for help, so she runs across the street to get kristy. unfortunately, she runs right out in front of a car & abby panics, which triggers a full-blown asthma attack. linny gets the inhaler, but it doesn't arrest the attack very effectively, & kristy has to call the paramedics. abby recovers quickly in the ER, but kristy is really concerned that abby's asthma & allergies are a liability when it comes to babysitting. she asks what abby would have done if she had just been sitting alone for sari (the baby), with no older kids to fetch her inhaler or call for help. abby tries to explain that she had an attack when hannie scared the crap out of her running into the street, but kristy is not convinced. at the next babysitters club meeting, kristy pulls some strings to get other sitters to take jobs for which abby is available. abby doesn't know how to convince kristy that she's okay & can babysit responsibly.
there is also a bit about abby & anna unpacking crates & finding an old box full of their dad's stuff. their dad died in a car accident when abby & anna were nine years old. their mom rarely talks about him. they didn't know that she had kept any of his stuff, but they find a box containing his bathrobe, which smells of cologne the twins gave him for his birthday one year, his glasses in a monogrammed case, his wristwatch (he wasn't wearing it during the accident), a framed wedding photo of himself & mrs. stevenson, & some other sentimental stuff. abby & anna are kind of emotionally walloped by finding this stuff unexpectedly. they assume their mom had packed it away after he died & forgot about it, & they get angry with her & hide the box in the attic.
i have to admit, this scene actually made me tear up a little. my dad is dead as well, & i can relate to how hard it must be for the girls to stay strong & carry on, & how hard it must have been for mrs. stevenson to suddenly become a widow with two little girls to look after. abby & anna reminisce about when their dad was alive. mrs. stevenson's ambition then was to be a professional chef. their dad was an environmental engineer who specialized in coming up with architecture & technologies that were environmentally friendly. he & mrs. stevenson talked about opening an organic restaurant built into a tree. definitely a goofy idea, especially on long island, but also kind of sweet. after he died, mrs. stevenson took a better-paying job in the publishing industry (boy, does that ever date this book) & started working such long hours that she never had time to cook anymore.
anyway, the carnival happens & abby's cupcake booth is a big hit. both anna & mrs. stevenson promise to help out at the booth the next day. mrs. stevenson has to go into the city to get some work done but promises to leave on an early afternoon train & come straight to the carnival. anna & shannon kilbourne relieve abby from the booth so she can check out the carnival, & an announcer comes over the loudspeaker to say that a train from new york city has derailed. abby think it's her mom's train. she collects anna & they both run off to find kristy & ask her parents for a ride to the train station to get more info. kristy assumes abby is having another asthma attack, but they straighten everything out & go to the station. no one there knows anything, nor do the local police. abby & anna basically just have to sit tight & wait. they go back to the carnival & keep selling cupcakes. finally at 6pm, their mom comes running up. she's fine. she was on the train right behind the one that derailed & got stuck in a tunnel when the derailment happened. everyone was stuck in the tunnel for hours & she had no cell reception so couldn't call. her train was finally evacuated & the passengers had to walk back to the station & then take buses to their destinations. all the stevensons are totally relieved to be together again.
they go home & have a heart-to-heart in which abby & anna tell mrs. stevenson about the box. it's another sad scene in which mrs. stevenson picks up the glasses & says she took them to the hospital when she heard about the car accident, thinking mr. stevenson would need them. she didn't know he was already dead. i cannot even imagine. this is why my boyfriend is never allowed to die. the stevensons hug it out, abby convinces kristy that her asthma won't prevent her from babysitting, & the carnival raises enough money to save the arts programs.
the big plotline here is that the school board is thinking about making some budget cuts to all the public schools in town (there are like 47 of them). specifically, they're talking about cutting sports & music. so the community decides to band together & hold a fundraising carnival. which is kind of bogus, because it's really the job of the education budget-makers to come up with the funds for these public education programs. that's why homeowners pay taxes & shit. but once again, the babysitters club universe is a unique world where regular laws & regulations do not apply. at first, abby doesn't really care about the arts budget being in trouble...until she remembers that her sister, anna, is passionate about being a violinist & won't be able to participate in the school orchestra if it gets defunded. she wants her family to staff a booth at the carnival, & comes up with the idea of "fingerpainting food," which is just a gross way to describe the idea of kids decorating their own cupcakes.
anna & mrs. stevenson are remarkably blase about the carnival idea. anna seems almost completely indifferent to the problems with the arts budget. & mrs. stevenson...it's weird. the stevensons moved into kristy's posh neighborhood & hired an interior decorator & put her through the wringer, making sure the decor was completely perfect before they moved in. they bought all new furniture & added an addition on to what is almost certainly already a large home. i'm sure the mortgage is expensive & mrs. stevenson pays out the ass for property taxes. plus, she pulled strings to enroll the girls in stoneybrook middle school specifically for the purpose of anna having access to a school orchestra. literally like two weeks after they moved to town (& i'm sure mrs. stevenson researched lots of options before settling on stoneybrook), the arts budget is in trouble & she doesn't even seem upset about it. pretty weird.
anyway, abby throws herself into the carnival idea. all the other members of the babysitters club, as well as their charges, are also planning to have booth at the carnival. abby even suggests that the babysitters club staff their own booth (i'm sure kristy wanted to murder her for coming up with that gem of an obvious idea before kristy got the chance). the babysitters decide to make arts-themed pins to sell, & some of them will be redeemable for free hours of babysitting. the pikes organize a carousel-themed booth where they will sell handicrafts manufactured by various folks in the neighborhood with too much time on their hands & no etsy access. the arnold twins concoct a plan where people can have their photos taken with elvira the baby goat.
the other big plot involves abby's allergies & asthma. it's actually more interesting than it sounds. abby takes a job sitting for the papadakis kids (she says she "likes to the commute"--they live across the street from her--& none of the other babysitters get the joke; i love how abby is always making ridiculous catskills borscht belt-style jokes that the other sitters are too dumb to understand), but their many pets cause her allergies to act up. so she takes the kids outside, but the mold on the falling leaves make her allergies act up out there. she starts to ask linny to run inside & grab her inhaler, but apparently the look on her face scares the crap out of hannie. hannie decides she needs to go for help, so she runs across the street to get kristy. unfortunately, she runs right out in front of a car & abby panics, which triggers a full-blown asthma attack. linny gets the inhaler, but it doesn't arrest the attack very effectively, & kristy has to call the paramedics. abby recovers quickly in the ER, but kristy is really concerned that abby's asthma & allergies are a liability when it comes to babysitting. she asks what abby would have done if she had just been sitting alone for sari (the baby), with no older kids to fetch her inhaler or call for help. abby tries to explain that she had an attack when hannie scared the crap out of her running into the street, but kristy is not convinced. at the next babysitters club meeting, kristy pulls some strings to get other sitters to take jobs for which abby is available. abby doesn't know how to convince kristy that she's okay & can babysit responsibly.
there is also a bit about abby & anna unpacking crates & finding an old box full of their dad's stuff. their dad died in a car accident when abby & anna were nine years old. their mom rarely talks about him. they didn't know that she had kept any of his stuff, but they find a box containing his bathrobe, which smells of cologne the twins gave him for his birthday one year, his glasses in a monogrammed case, his wristwatch (he wasn't wearing it during the accident), a framed wedding photo of himself & mrs. stevenson, & some other sentimental stuff. abby & anna are kind of emotionally walloped by finding this stuff unexpectedly. they assume their mom had packed it away after he died & forgot about it, & they get angry with her & hide the box in the attic.
i have to admit, this scene actually made me tear up a little. my dad is dead as well, & i can relate to how hard it must be for the girls to stay strong & carry on, & how hard it must have been for mrs. stevenson to suddenly become a widow with two little girls to look after. abby & anna reminisce about when their dad was alive. mrs. stevenson's ambition then was to be a professional chef. their dad was an environmental engineer who specialized in coming up with architecture & technologies that were environmentally friendly. he & mrs. stevenson talked about opening an organic restaurant built into a tree. definitely a goofy idea, especially on long island, but also kind of sweet. after he died, mrs. stevenson took a better-paying job in the publishing industry (boy, does that ever date this book) & started working such long hours that she never had time to cook anymore.
anyway, the carnival happens & abby's cupcake booth is a big hit. both anna & mrs. stevenson promise to help out at the booth the next day. mrs. stevenson has to go into the city to get some work done but promises to leave on an early afternoon train & come straight to the carnival. anna & shannon kilbourne relieve abby from the booth so she can check out the carnival, & an announcer comes over the loudspeaker to say that a train from new york city has derailed. abby think it's her mom's train. she collects anna & they both run off to find kristy & ask her parents for a ride to the train station to get more info. kristy assumes abby is having another asthma attack, but they straighten everything out & go to the station. no one there knows anything, nor do the local police. abby & anna basically just have to sit tight & wait. they go back to the carnival & keep selling cupcakes. finally at 6pm, their mom comes running up. she's fine. she was on the train right behind the one that derailed & got stuck in a tunnel when the derailment happened. everyone was stuck in the tunnel for hours & she had no cell reception so couldn't call. her train was finally evacuated & the passengers had to walk back to the station & then take buses to their destinations. all the stevensons are totally relieved to be together again.
they go home & have a heart-to-heart in which abby & anna tell mrs. stevenson about the box. it's another sad scene in which mrs. stevenson picks up the glasses & says she took them to the hospital when she heard about the car accident, thinking mr. stevenson would need them. she didn't know he was already dead. i cannot even imagine. this is why my boyfriend is never allowed to die. the stevensons hug it out, abby convinces kristy that her asthma won't prevent her from babysitting, & the carnival raises enough money to save the arts programs.
July 3, 2007
I'm sorry - Abby will never be a 'real' BSC member to me.
October 31, 2021
I'll admit, it's been a long while since I've read any of Abby's books, and this one reminded me why she is one of my favourite sitters. She's funny and energetic, and not at all as annoying as Kristy made her out to be in the previous book. It's a delight to have a new narrator to the stories, and it's fun getting to know a new character and her family.
Needless to say, I loved this book. I completely forgot about the arts carnival plot, which every bit of it sounded like fun. (Also I love Anna and Shannon getting in their little food fight. Do I ship them now? You bet your booty, Shanna for life!) And yes, I teared up more than once reading this, including at the end when Abby talks to Dawn on the phone. I would LOVE to see Abby make it to the graphic novels or onto the Netflix show. I need more Abby in my life!!
This was the last BSC book I bought in stores on publication; I was 12 and outgrowing the series, and I never really did own many BSC books but knew that a new Sitter was major. And I don't think I read any of the books after this, at least not until I got re-obsessed with the BSC in my 20s. (Aside from sneakily reading the first five California Diaries books in my high school library. I've never truly outgrown the world Ann M Martin created!)
Needless to say, I loved this book. I completely forgot about the arts carnival plot, which every bit of it sounded like fun. (Also I love Anna and Shannon getting in their little food fight. Do I ship them now? You bet your booty, Shanna for life!) And yes, I teared up more than once reading this, including at the end when Abby talks to Dawn on the phone. I would LOVE to see Abby make it to the graphic novels or onto the Netflix show. I need more Abby in my life!!
This was the last BSC book I bought in stores on publication; I was 12 and outgrowing the series, and I never really did own many BSC books but knew that a new Sitter was major. And I don't think I read any of the books after this, at least not until I got re-obsessed with the BSC in my 20s. (Aside from sneakily reading the first five California Diaries books in my high school library. I've never truly outgrown the world Ann M Martin created!)
November 1, 2013
In which Abby is welcomed to the BSC by everyone but me. STFU, New Dawn.
July 20, 2025
Even after loving this series, these books at this point were not on my radar as a high schooler. So I’ve finally met Abby and I’m not a fan of honestly she’s almost as annoying as Kristy however, the bonus is that she challenges Kristy and that made me happy lol. A TON of babysitting in this one.
May 31, 2011
Abby calling Kristy a "bossy beast" earned this book an extra star.
I don't really see the point of Abby. Ann M & the ghostwriters had an opportunity to bring a new dynamic into the group and we all we get is Abby? Why create a new character that has the interest in sports/obnoxiousness of Kristy, the overdramatized medical ailment of Stacey & the dead parent of MA...I'm sure there were more interesting an unique characteristics they could have come up with. The one unique thing to Abby is her "humor" which is that of a grandmother's....and what 12 year old in 1995 (or 1985? 1975?) was listening to Aretha Franklin at full volume? L-A-M-E.
I don't really see the point of Abby. Ann M & the ghostwriters had an opportunity to bring a new dynamic into the group and we all we get is Abby? Why create a new character that has the interest in sports/obnoxiousness of Kristy, the overdramatized medical ailment of Stacey & the dead parent of MA...I'm sure there were more interesting an unique characteristics they could have come up with. The one unique thing to Abby is her "humor" which is that of a grandmother's....and what 12 year old in 1995 (or 1985? 1975?) was listening to Aretha Franklin at full volume? L-A-M-E.
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July 29, 2020A NEW sitter?
I'm still getting use to Malory and Jessi
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
I'm still getting use to Malory and Jessi
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
June 5, 2017
I had a very love/hate relationship with Abby. I liked her because she had asthma like me, and I enjoyed her backstory and that she was a twin. However it was hard to imagine her as a real part of the BSC so late in the game. She just never felt like a real, authentic part of things to me, but she wasn't so bad.
I mean, anyone is better than Dawn. Right?
Mostly what I like about this is that she busts Kristy's balls every chance she gets. I like that. About damn time!
I mean, anyone is better than Dawn. Right?
Mostly what I like about this is that she busts Kristy's balls every chance she gets. I like that. About damn time!
April 4, 2011
I remember when this book came out because there had been a contest to name the new characters and I was pissed that I didn't win. Maybe I would have rated this book a bit higher if the twins were named Arielle and Jade Foster. Abby and Annie? Gag
August 16, 2019
Abby has an asthma attack during her first baby-sitting job, causing Kristy to worry that Abby isn't good enough to be part of the club. This storyline is completely ignored for the rest of the book, and in the final chapter, we're told Abby's asthma is not an issue anymore, without any explanation as to WHY it stopped being an issue for Kristy.
Abby is a bit of a wasted opportunity. They could have come up with a really interesting, unique character. I would have picked someone who's different from the others girls, which would create interesting contrasts and tensions.
Instead of doing that, they took the other seven characters and blended them together. So Abby is into sports, like Kristy, has a dead parent like Mary Anne, has a disease like Stacey, is an ethnic minority like Claudia, obsesses over the environment like Dawn, has the same hair as Mallory and constantly tells jokes like Jessi.
Remember how Jessi's love of jokes was a major personality trait that was dropped after, like, two books? Hopefully the same thing will happen to Abby's love of going on random tangents. Yeah, it makes her narration different, but I found it mildly annoying.
The best part of the book is a subplot about Abby's dead father, and her family coming to grips with his death, after Mom gets into a near-death experience.
The majority of the book focuses on a carnival fundraiser. We have five full chapters, of people setting up carnival booths. This is a boring, overused subplot for the series. Anyone could have narrated this section, and it would have been the exact same. It's a shame that Abby's introduction to the series is weighed down by such a bad subplot. I would have loved it if they removed two carnival chapters, and, instead, gave us an actual resolution to the story of Abby and Kristy.
Abby is a bit of a wasted opportunity. They could have come up with a really interesting, unique character. I would have picked someone who's different from the others girls, which would create interesting contrasts and tensions.
Instead of doing that, they took the other seven characters and blended them together. So Abby is into sports, like Kristy, has a dead parent like Mary Anne, has a disease like Stacey, is an ethnic minority like Claudia, obsesses over the environment like Dawn, has the same hair as Mallory and constantly tells jokes like Jessi.
Remember how Jessi's love of jokes was a major personality trait that was dropped after, like, two books? Hopefully the same thing will happen to Abby's love of going on random tangents. Yeah, it makes her narration different, but I found it mildly annoying.
The best part of the book is a subplot about Abby's dead father, and her family coming to grips with his death, after Mom gets into a near-death experience.
The majority of the book focuses on a carnival fundraiser. We have five full chapters, of people setting up carnival booths. This is a boring, overused subplot for the series. Anyone could have narrated this section, and it would have been the exact same. It's a shame that Abby's introduction to the series is weighed down by such a bad subplot. I would have loved it if they removed two carnival chapters, and, instead, gave us an actual resolution to the story of Abby and Kristy.
March 4, 2018
Total nostalgia, I grew up reading the babysitters club series and finally got my hands on one of the books again and I was not disappointed in fact I was taken to an old happy place of mine and found it heavenly to be part of the BSC again.
I absolutely love Abby her personality is amazing, her sarcasm and her sense of humour had me laughing from the first page of the book. She is a wonderful addition to the group and I don’t recall ever reading her book before as a kid. I’m so happy to have been reading about her and her struggles and adjustment to living in Stoneybrook.
This book was perfect though, none of the girls had known about her health conditions much so her having the asthma attack while babysitting was really unusual for them especially Kristy and though she was so sceptical of letting Abby work for them she eventually noticed it was a one time thing and that Abby really can handle the job. This also brought the girls closer to Abby to help her feel wanted within the group and accepted and that was really nice as it’s never easy being the new girl. I also loved how the whole community came together and made this wondrous carnival to save the arts program at school, Abby was so enthusiastic about it which was awesome and the whole thing helped her twin Anna finally fit in. It was really good.
I seriously enjoyed reading this book and am now on the hunt to get the whole collection and re-read them all again, along with many I’m sure I didn’t read. I love the nostalgia.
I absolutely love Abby her personality is amazing, her sarcasm and her sense of humour had me laughing from the first page of the book. She is a wonderful addition to the group and I don’t recall ever reading her book before as a kid. I’m so happy to have been reading about her and her struggles and adjustment to living in Stoneybrook.
This book was perfect though, none of the girls had known about her health conditions much so her having the asthma attack while babysitting was really unusual for them especially Kristy and though she was so sceptical of letting Abby work for them she eventually noticed it was a one time thing and that Abby really can handle the job. This also brought the girls closer to Abby to help her feel wanted within the group and accepted and that was really nice as it’s never easy being the new girl. I also loved how the whole community came together and made this wondrous carnival to save the arts program at school, Abby was so enthusiastic about it which was awesome and the whole thing helped her twin Anna finally fit in. It was really good.
I seriously enjoyed reading this book and am now on the hunt to get the whole collection and re-read them all again, along with many I’m sure I didn’t read. I love the nostalgia.
August 17, 2023
I love Abby and her family.
The only thing is that the story felt a bit unfocused. The mini-subplot about Kristy stressing over Abby's asthma attacking during a job seemed like a big deal but turned into barely a blip. Abby's loneliness at the empty house and her mom's workaholism was mentioned early on and set up as a big deal, but didn't really go anywhere. I do like the mini-subplot about Abby, Anna, and their mom dealing with the dad's death, and then dividing up his belongings. That was heartfelt. And the carnival subplot was mostly just to provide structure, but I like how it ended up showcasing Abby and her family dynamics.
The only thing is that the story felt a bit unfocused. The mini-subplot about Kristy stressing over Abby's asthma attacking during a job seemed like a big deal but turned into barely a blip. Abby's loneliness at the empty house and her mom's workaholism was mentioned early on and set up as a big deal, but didn't really go anywhere. I do like the mini-subplot about Abby, Anna, and their mom dealing with the dad's death, and then dividing up his belongings. That was heartfelt. And the carnival subplot was mostly just to provide structure, but I like how it ended up showcasing Abby and her family dynamics.
October 19, 2023
I liked this book. Abby is baby sitting and had an asthma attack. Kristy takes over the job while Abby is rushed to emerg, but Kristy is skeptical of whether Abby could handle babysitting
However, most of the book is focused on the Stoneybrook fair to raise money for the arts. The BSC have a booth where they are selling cut outs of music and art images with a pin on them. Other baby sitting charges have fortune telling, a booth for selling crafts, and taking pictures with Elvira the goat and buying cookies shaped like goats. Abbys family is running a booth for decorating cupcakes, as well as selling flat cakes shaped like a ballet slipper, a piano, and one that says “support art”
However, most of the book is focused on the Stoneybrook fair to raise money for the arts. The BSC have a booth where they are selling cut outs of music and art images with a pin on them. Other baby sitting charges have fortune telling, a booth for selling crafts, and taking pictures with Elvira the goat and buying cookies shaped like goats. Abbys family is running a booth for decorating cupcakes, as well as selling flat cakes shaped like a ballet slipper, a piano, and one that says “support art”
December 26, 2020
(LL)
This book was successful at introducing a new character into the BSC universe. I like Abby so far, as she is a much better character than Dawn, and I like that she has asthma. It makes her unique, and allows for kids everywhere to learn more about asthma, as Kristy doesn’t really understand it at first either.
Instead of the mother dying when the kids were little it is the father who passed when the twins were nine, so it’s an interesting variation of Mary Anne’s life.
As an aside: I’m just thankful the twins aren’t also form California!
This book was successful at introducing a new character into the BSC universe. I like Abby so far, as she is a much better character than Dawn, and I like that she has asthma. It makes her unique, and allows for kids everywhere to learn more about asthma, as Kristy doesn’t really understand it at first either.
Instead of the mother dying when the kids were little it is the father who passed when the twins were nine, so it’s an interesting variation of Mary Anne’s life.
As an aside: I’m just thankful the twins aren’t also form California!
March 30, 2022
I don't remember Abby books at all from childhood, but this one was surprisingly fun. I know Abby has a twin, but...she's sort of like Kristy's (not) evil twin, in a lot of ways. It's her first book, but we're hard-hitting out of the gate with a tearjerker storyline about her dad's death and fear for her mom.
April 6, 2022
Welcome to BSC Abby was about a girl named Abby who had to go on a baby sitting job and had an asthma attack and had to go to the hospital. And Abby was wondering if Kristy will let her in the BSC. And in the end Kristy let her join. My favorite character was Abby because she does a lot of sports which is pretty amazing.
April 27, 2022
Abby Stevenson is the newest member of the BSC; although she is a great baby-sitter, Kristy is worried since Abby had a serious asthma attack and had to go to the hospital. Abby must not only prove herself to Kristy, but plan a booth for the Stoneybrook carnival (to benefit the arts program) and deal with the grief from her father's death.
March 5, 2023
When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
August 11, 2020
Abby annoyed me. The best part of the book was when she called Claudia and Stacey 'knockout babes' and said they were 'easy on the eye'. The carnival subplot was boring, with multiple chapters spent detailing booth decorating.
June 26, 2024
Meh, there wasn't much of a conflict in this one. But it was nice seeing the kids again (though I didn't really understand what the Pikes' booth was about). Abby didn't feel very "wise-cracking" though, maybe her jokes were just so lame didn't even recognize some of them as jokes.
March 5, 2020
Interesting plotline, but Abby isn’t very funny or sensitive (like Kristy can understandably be).
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November 25, 2020Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...
January 18, 2024
Yaaass queeenn🥳🤩🤩
October 10, 2025
The train scenario was way too real.
May 12, 2024
I love Abby. She is a breath of fresh air in a series that was starting to get a bit stale. So just arrived in the BSC Abby is slowly starting to fit in even though she feels a bit left out, as she mentions at the start everyone is paired off into best friends and she's the odd one out. Anyway she's babysitting the Papadakis kids and begins to have an asthma attack. Hannie panics runs across the street almost gets hits by car and the minor attack turns into a trip to the ER. Kristy being Kristy then cuts Abby off from jobs and thinks Abby will be terrible and have another attack and hurt kids. Then there's the other plot, which isn't really a b plot there isn't a b plot really, the school is going to cut arts programs and they are having a carnival to raise money. It's weird but okay. Abby and Anna also discover a box of their dad's things while unpacking and are mad at their mom at first then have a touching moment when they talk to her about it. Remembering how the mom wore his bathrobe in Abby's Book this made me sad. This family needs some therapy. During the carnival they learn that a train had derailed and are convinced their mom is on it and panic. As someone who has lost a parent this was very well done. I always worry about my dad a lot more now he's my only living parent and can totally put myself in the twins shoes. There is no real resolution to Kristy being passive aggressive about Abby's asthma, the carnival raises lots of money and everyone is happy. All that being said I love Abby and wish I had read them when she was first introduced. She is just what this series needed, someone new and fresh into a series 90 books long and getting repetitive.
May 1, 2013
Fantastic books for young girls getting into reading!! Great stories about friendship and life lessons. The characters deal with all sorts of situations and often find responsible solutions to problems.
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
July 10, 2024
i think this is where the books start to feel a bit fever dream ish. However, say what you’d like about Abby, but I like her. She’s funny, she has a good personality, and she stands up to Kristy.
also, why is kristy absolutely insufferable at this point in the series? I can’t stand her. i don’t know if it’s because I’m older now, or if the ghostwriters just wanted her to suck as much as possible lol.
also, why is kristy absolutely insufferable at this point in the series? I can’t stand her. i don’t know if it’s because I’m older now, or if the ghostwriters just wanted her to suck as much as possible lol.
August 13, 2011
I knew at this point that I was going to cut myself off from BSC books right at #100. I was disappointed Abby seemed so blah. Growing up in a not-terribly-Jewish part of Michigan, I didn't understand why so many series seemed to feature at least one Jewish character in a group of friends. It didn't seem authentic to me.
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