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The Baby-Sitters Club #34
Mary Anne and Too Many Boys
Mary Anne and Stacey are in Sea City working as mother's helpers for the Pike family. When each of the girls meets up with her boyfriend from last summer, things start to get complicated.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1990
108 people are currently reading
943 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,102 books3,047 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 61 reviews
March 6, 2016
-this is my first time reading this book!
in this unofficial sequel to Boy-Crazy Stacey written by ghost writer mary lou kennedy, mary anne and stacey are once again asked to be mother's helpers on a two-week trip to sea city, new jersey. the boy mother's helpers (alex and toby) they had been vaguely romantically involved with in that book are back, and mary anne is uncertain about whether she wants to date alex or stay true to logan. meanwhile, vanessa has a crush on a boy who works at the ice cream palace and leaves him secret admirer notes, but he thinks the notes are being left by mallory, who he is crushing on (since he is around 12, and mallory is much more age-appropriate for him than 9-year-old vanessa).
highlights:
-a good jackie walking disaster chapter (kristy is back home baby-sitting) in which they go to the community pool and disasters transpire.
-the book ends with a sweet poem from vanessa to mary anne about how she helped her out.
-uhhh... stacey gets dumped by toby. that's kind of cool. I like stacey but she's kind of a turd about boys.
-uhhhh... I think that's it. it was hard for me to even think of those highlights.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the biggest problem for me was that it was too soon for another mary anne book. I am still furious with mary anne for the way she behaved in Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation (five books ago), Mary Anne and the Great Romance (four books ago), and Dawn's Wicked Stepsister (three books ago). one kristy book and one claudia book isn't enough space from mary anne as a main/major character. I would have appreciated it if they'd gone through the whole rotation again before having another mary anne book.
-the second biggest problem with this book is that it should be similar to boy-crazy stacey but it doesn't have any of the charm of that book. boy-crazy stacey has all the fun beach trip bits, and it goes into details about the pike kids' personalities and their experiences. this book barely even has the pike kids in it at all.
-the bacon problem (for sea city breakfast the pikes microwave their bacon). who microwaves bacon? unless you're a freshman in college and eat nothing but ramen and easy mac, you should be FRYING bacon. especially if you're also cooking pancakes and will need some kind of grease for that skillet. COOK THE BACON FIRST, then USE THE BACON GREASE TO COOK THE PANCAKES!
-both stacey AND mary anne made dates without consulting each other, so why does mary anne say that stacey is being a jerk? they're BOTH jerks!
-frodo (the pikes' hamster) gets lost, but it turns out that squirt took him out of his cage and put him in misty's cage (misty is the ramseys' hamster). I do not buy that a kid who is less than two years old has the fine motor skills required to open a hamster cage, pick up a hamster without squeezing said hamster to the point of killing it, carry the hamster upstairs, open another hamster cage, put the first hamster in that cage (once again without causing the hamster bodily harm), close that cage, and then go downstairs to close the original cage. I mean, it's very cute to picture, but I was just worrying about flash, the guinea pig who lives at the library where I work, and thinking about how all of the toddlers who want to say hi to him look like they're going to poke his eyes out.
-weird pacing. mary anne has a date with alex which must be in the first week (because stacey says something about "next week") and then the next chapter that takes place in sea city is two days before they are leaving after the two-week trip. part of the problem is that this book has THREE chapters devoted to one-off baby-sitting stories (kristy and the rodowskys, dawn in california with carol's friends' kids, and jessi with the hamster incident). this is way too many chapters to waste when you have already developed too many plots and subplots (mary anne and alex, stacey and toby, stacey and mary anne's fight, vanessa's crush).
-mary anne and alex are friends forever? seriously? mary anne, you barely know this guy, and you want to be FRIENDS FOREVER WITH HIM? UGHHHH I HATE YOU.
-at one point dawn and her mom make "tofu delight" for dessert. I am a vegetarian who eats a ton of vegan food, and I still know that this is bullshit. whatever "tofu delight" is (it's probably just buddha's delight), it does NOT sound like something someone would eat for dessert. if you want to have some gross-sounding hippie dessert, call it "carob delight with sunflower butter" or something.
-mary anne says dawn's room looks cluttered because it's small. it was big enough to fit both of your beds, both of your desks, and at least one armchair in it in Dawn's Wicked Stepsister!
one stacey outfit:
-'Stacey looked very "New York" as usual, in a pair of khaki safari pants, topped with a jungle-print blouse and a leather belt that must have cost two months' allowance.'
note: mary anne calls it "new york" but I think it sounds more like ellie sattler from jurassic park
jackie disasters (all at the community pool):
-drops a cookie into the pool near a circulation vent so pieces of it go everywhere
-steps on a bee and gets stung on the bottom of his foot
-tries to buy a ton of candy and doesn't have enough money
-takes a shower without telling kristy so she can't find him anywhere
snacks in claudia's room:
-twinkies in a shoe box under her bed
-gummy bears in a shoe box under her bed
-m&ms in a shoe box under her bed
in this unofficial sequel to Boy-Crazy Stacey written by ghost writer mary lou kennedy, mary anne and stacey are once again asked to be mother's helpers on a two-week trip to sea city, new jersey. the boy mother's helpers (alex and toby) they had been vaguely romantically involved with in that book are back, and mary anne is uncertain about whether she wants to date alex or stay true to logan. meanwhile, vanessa has a crush on a boy who works at the ice cream palace and leaves him secret admirer notes, but he thinks the notes are being left by mallory, who he is crushing on (since he is around 12, and mallory is much more age-appropriate for him than 9-year-old vanessa).
highlights:
-a good jackie walking disaster chapter (kristy is back home baby-sitting) in which they go to the community pool and disasters transpire.
-the book ends with a sweet poem from vanessa to mary anne about how she helped her out.
-uhhh... stacey gets dumped by toby. that's kind of cool. I like stacey but she's kind of a turd about boys.
-uhhhh... I think that's it. it was hard for me to even think of those highlights.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the biggest problem for me was that it was too soon for another mary anne book. I am still furious with mary anne for the way she behaved in Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation (five books ago), Mary Anne and the Great Romance (four books ago), and Dawn's Wicked Stepsister (three books ago). one kristy book and one claudia book isn't enough space from mary anne as a main/major character. I would have appreciated it if they'd gone through the whole rotation again before having another mary anne book.
-the second biggest problem with this book is that it should be similar to boy-crazy stacey but it doesn't have any of the charm of that book. boy-crazy stacey has all the fun beach trip bits, and it goes into details about the pike kids' personalities and their experiences. this book barely even has the pike kids in it at all.
-the bacon problem (for sea city breakfast the pikes microwave their bacon). who microwaves bacon? unless you're a freshman in college and eat nothing but ramen and easy mac, you should be FRYING bacon. especially if you're also cooking pancakes and will need some kind of grease for that skillet. COOK THE BACON FIRST, then USE THE BACON GREASE TO COOK THE PANCAKES!
-both stacey AND mary anne made dates without consulting each other, so why does mary anne say that stacey is being a jerk? they're BOTH jerks!
-frodo (the pikes' hamster) gets lost, but it turns out that squirt took him out of his cage and put him in misty's cage (misty is the ramseys' hamster). I do not buy that a kid who is less than two years old has the fine motor skills required to open a hamster cage, pick up a hamster without squeezing said hamster to the point of killing it, carry the hamster upstairs, open another hamster cage, put the first hamster in that cage (once again without causing the hamster bodily harm), close that cage, and then go downstairs to close the original cage. I mean, it's very cute to picture, but I was just worrying about flash, the guinea pig who lives at the library where I work, and thinking about how all of the toddlers who want to say hi to him look like they're going to poke his eyes out.
-weird pacing. mary anne has a date with alex which must be in the first week (because stacey says something about "next week") and then the next chapter that takes place in sea city is two days before they are leaving after the two-week trip. part of the problem is that this book has THREE chapters devoted to one-off baby-sitting stories (kristy and the rodowskys, dawn in california with carol's friends' kids, and jessi with the hamster incident). this is way too many chapters to waste when you have already developed too many plots and subplots (mary anne and alex, stacey and toby, stacey and mary anne's fight, vanessa's crush).
-mary anne and alex are friends forever? seriously? mary anne, you barely know this guy, and you want to be FRIENDS FOREVER WITH HIM? UGHHHH I HATE YOU.
-at one point dawn and her mom make "tofu delight" for dessert. I am a vegetarian who eats a ton of vegan food, and I still know that this is bullshit. whatever "tofu delight" is (it's probably just buddha's delight), it does NOT sound like something someone would eat for dessert. if you want to have some gross-sounding hippie dessert, call it "carob delight with sunflower butter" or something.
-mary anne says dawn's room looks cluttered because it's small. it was big enough to fit both of your beds, both of your desks, and at least one armchair in it in Dawn's Wicked Stepsister!
one stacey outfit:
-'Stacey looked very "New York" as usual, in a pair of khaki safari pants, topped with a jungle-print blouse and a leather belt that must have cost two months' allowance.'
note: mary anne calls it "new york" but I think it sounds more like ellie sattler from jurassic park
jackie disasters (all at the community pool):
-drops a cookie into the pool near a circulation vent so pieces of it go everywhere
-steps on a bee and gets stung on the bottom of his foot
-tries to buy a ton of candy and doesn't have enough money
-takes a shower without telling kristy so she can't find him anywhere
snacks in claudia's room:
-twinkies in a shoe box under her bed
-gummy bears in a shoe box under her bed
-m&ms in a shoe box under her bed
May 14, 2021
A perfect book for the beginning of summer. The BSC girls have just graduated 8th grade and are ready to start their summer vacation. Mary Anne and Stacey are going with the Pikes to Sea City again like they did last year. Dawn is visiting with her brother and dad in California. The rest of the girls stay home in Stoneybrook and continue babysitting like normal and we get updates from them in the midst of hearing about Mary Anne and Stacey’s adventures in Sea City for most of the book.
Random things:
Jessi has a problem with a hamster getting loose while she is babysitting.
Kristy has a hard time babysitting for the Rodowsky’s because Jackie is a walking disaster!
Dawn sits for a baby in California who won’t stop crying because he has colic. Her brother, Jeff, helps her sit and Dawn thinks he could be a great babysitter some day!
Random things:
Jessi has a problem with a hamster getting loose while she is babysitting.
Kristy has a hard time babysitting for the Rodowsky’s because Jackie is a walking disaster!
Dawn sits for a baby in California who won’t stop crying because he has colic. Her brother, Jeff, helps her sit and Dawn thinks he could be a great babysitter some day!
August 19, 2010
the awesome thing about this book is that there's so much plot, all the introductory character/club descriptions are shoehorned into the very first chapter, & mixed with tolerable (if stilted) meeting banter. thank god! i wasn't relishing the idea of reading 200 books that all contained variations on the, "let me tell you about myself & the babysitters club. kristy thomas started the club one day when her mom couldn't find a sitter blah blah blah."
but maybe they dispatched with a lot of the intro because this book is set almost exclusively in sea city, & the only two sitters that get a lot of face time are mary anne & stacey. & really, just mary anne. mary anne & stacey have been hired by the pike family again to serve as mother's helpers during the pikes' annual two week sea city summer vacation. pretty sweet gig. i'd love to do something like that now, let alone when i was 13! & i love the description of the house the pikes rent, with all the gingerbread trim & the ld-fashioned wallpaper & the window seat on the third floor. i LOVE window seats. i guess i'm an old lady that way, just like ann m. martin.
the titular "too many boys" are really just three boys. the first is chris, the 12-year-old that flouts federal child labor regulations to work at the ice cream palace. on the pikes' first visit to the ice cream palace, mary anne notices that chris is appreciatively eyeing either mallory (age 11) or vanessa (age 9). & she suspects that vanessa is eyeing chris in return, though it's hard to tell because vanessa is a poet & sometimes she lives in her own little universe.
the other two boys are toby & alex, the boy mother's helpers that mary anne & stacey had met the summer before while they were working in sea city. pretty convenient that everyone is back at the beach again at the same time this year. you may recall that mary anne & alex had a special connection that culminated in the exchange of boardwalk rings engraved with one another's initials. stacey & toby had somewhat more of a romance, when toby gave stacey her first kiss in the tunnel of love. both stacey & mary anne are surprised & excited to see the boys again, & it seems that the feeling is mutual.
but discord is sown when mr. & mrs. pike tell the girls that they can each have one night off per week. both girls make dates with their respective dudes for the same night, without conferring with one another first. the way the scene is depicted in the book, stacey surprises mary anne by starting to iron her white sundress, even though she hates to iron. mary anne asks her about it & stacey states that she is going out with toby. mary anne gets really mad because she had made a date with alex. i think we are supposed to feel that mary anne is the wounded party in this situation. but i think both girls are equally in the wrong, because they both made dates without checking in with the other about how to divvy up their nights off.
anyway, mary anne backs down after stacey promises that mary anne can have the next night off. but the next night, stacey starts once again getting ready to go out with toby. she tells mary anne that mary anne can have two nights off the next week. but mary anne puts her foot down (rightfully so) & demands her night off.
incidentally, mallory is kind of dumbfounded by the fact that mary anne is going out with alex at all, since she has logan waiting back home for her & everything. stacey suggests that what logan doesn't know won't hurt him (she really comes across as a nasty piece of work in this book), & mary anne gets all offended at the aspersion that she would ever cheat on logan...even though she admits that she doesn't know how she feels about logan now that alex is back in the picture. &...seriously? she's been dating logan for like a year. i know sometimes the spark fades, especially when there's someone new hanging around, but mary anne's feelings for logan seem uncharacteristically flighty in this book. though i guess she's feeling pretty par for the course if she were a regular real life 13-year-old with a steady boyfriend. that shit is ridiculous. i'll never forget being 13, in eighth grade, & walking down the hall behind the most popular girl in school while she talked with her best friend about her boyfriend (who was also 13) wanted to have sex. she didn't know if she was ready. & even though i was only 13 too, i was thinking, "of course you're not ready! YOU'RE THIRTEEN YEARS OLD!" even at the age, i knew it was too young to be worrying about sex & commitment & rings & god knows what else.
back to the book. mary anne has her date with alex. it's kind of awkward. they don't really know what to say to each other, even though they've been having a great time every day at the beach, looking after their sitting charges together. the ice is broken when alex's lobster arrives & the waiter puts a bib ob him. mary anne finds this hilarious & the rest of the night is great.
back at ye olde ice cream palace of underage laborers, vanessa has been leaving secret admirer poems for chris. & somehow chris has gotten the idea that they are from mallory. he grabs vanessa one day & asks her to tell mallory that he can take her on a date in a few days. vanessa is really crushed that chris isn't interested in her, even though a 12-year-old trying to date a 9-year-old is a little weird. i even feel that a 9-year-old girl interested in dating is a little precocious. but maybe i am out of touch with the kids. vanessa is very sad & doesn't know what to do, & mary anne doesn't know how to advise her.
but after a lot of thinking, vanessa concocts a solution. the pikes are going home to stoneybrook before chris's proposed date with mallory. (which, incidentally, it's weird that he's asking her sister to ask her on a date for him--have they ever even talked face to face? wouldn't that have spilled the beans about mallory not being the author of the secret admirer poems? how does he even know her name? & how slick can vanessa be if chris knows she is somehow connected to the poems?) so she decides to write a sad "i can't go out with you/but i'll always love you" poem & leave it during his busiest shift. she gets to express her feelings, chris can keep thinking mallory digs him, & mallory never needs to know anything. mary anne is very impressed by vanessa's mature solution.
& the toby dumps stacey & stacey is really bummed. he wants to be able to play the field when he goes home, without being all tied down with stacey. which is ridiculous in some ways, because they were dating for all of maybe two weeks, after forgetting that the other existed for an entire year. & also, as if kids toby's age ever "play the field". when mary anne has her last date with alex, she accidentally lets it slip that she has a boyfriend back home. & alex admits that he has a girlfriend. & mary anne realizes that alex is just a good friend who is a boy, but logan is her "one true love" (please). even though she'd speculated earlier in the book that she was "in love" with alex (please again).
i was into all the boy drama & did not miss boring babysitter hijinks. i could live forever without reading another description of karen brewer playing let's all come in. so that was really nice. but the idea of girls ranging in age from nine to thirteen having these kinds of boy troubles was too weird for me to give any more but three stars.
but maybe they dispatched with a lot of the intro because this book is set almost exclusively in sea city, & the only two sitters that get a lot of face time are mary anne & stacey. & really, just mary anne. mary anne & stacey have been hired by the pike family again to serve as mother's helpers during the pikes' annual two week sea city summer vacation. pretty sweet gig. i'd love to do something like that now, let alone when i was 13! & i love the description of the house the pikes rent, with all the gingerbread trim & the ld-fashioned wallpaper & the window seat on the third floor. i LOVE window seats. i guess i'm an old lady that way, just like ann m. martin.
the titular "too many boys" are really just three boys. the first is chris, the 12-year-old that flouts federal child labor regulations to work at the ice cream palace. on the pikes' first visit to the ice cream palace, mary anne notices that chris is appreciatively eyeing either mallory (age 11) or vanessa (age 9). & she suspects that vanessa is eyeing chris in return, though it's hard to tell because vanessa is a poet & sometimes she lives in her own little universe.
the other two boys are toby & alex, the boy mother's helpers that mary anne & stacey had met the summer before while they were working in sea city. pretty convenient that everyone is back at the beach again at the same time this year. you may recall that mary anne & alex had a special connection that culminated in the exchange of boardwalk rings engraved with one another's initials. stacey & toby had somewhat more of a romance, when toby gave stacey her first kiss in the tunnel of love. both stacey & mary anne are surprised & excited to see the boys again, & it seems that the feeling is mutual.
but discord is sown when mr. & mrs. pike tell the girls that they can each have one night off per week. both girls make dates with their respective dudes for the same night, without conferring with one another first. the way the scene is depicted in the book, stacey surprises mary anne by starting to iron her white sundress, even though she hates to iron. mary anne asks her about it & stacey states that she is going out with toby. mary anne gets really mad because she had made a date with alex. i think we are supposed to feel that mary anne is the wounded party in this situation. but i think both girls are equally in the wrong, because they both made dates without checking in with the other about how to divvy up their nights off.
anyway, mary anne backs down after stacey promises that mary anne can have the next night off. but the next night, stacey starts once again getting ready to go out with toby. she tells mary anne that mary anne can have two nights off the next week. but mary anne puts her foot down (rightfully so) & demands her night off.
incidentally, mallory is kind of dumbfounded by the fact that mary anne is going out with alex at all, since she has logan waiting back home for her & everything. stacey suggests that what logan doesn't know won't hurt him (she really comes across as a nasty piece of work in this book), & mary anne gets all offended at the aspersion that she would ever cheat on logan...even though she admits that she doesn't know how she feels about logan now that alex is back in the picture. &...seriously? she's been dating logan for like a year. i know sometimes the spark fades, especially when there's someone new hanging around, but mary anne's feelings for logan seem uncharacteristically flighty in this book. though i guess she's feeling pretty par for the course if she were a regular real life 13-year-old with a steady boyfriend. that shit is ridiculous. i'll never forget being 13, in eighth grade, & walking down the hall behind the most popular girl in school while she talked with her best friend about her boyfriend (who was also 13) wanted to have sex. she didn't know if she was ready. & even though i was only 13 too, i was thinking, "of course you're not ready! YOU'RE THIRTEEN YEARS OLD!" even at the age, i knew it was too young to be worrying about sex & commitment & rings & god knows what else.
back to the book. mary anne has her date with alex. it's kind of awkward. they don't really know what to say to each other, even though they've been having a great time every day at the beach, looking after their sitting charges together. the ice is broken when alex's lobster arrives & the waiter puts a bib ob him. mary anne finds this hilarious & the rest of the night is great.
back at ye olde ice cream palace of underage laborers, vanessa has been leaving secret admirer poems for chris. & somehow chris has gotten the idea that they are from mallory. he grabs vanessa one day & asks her to tell mallory that he can take her on a date in a few days. vanessa is really crushed that chris isn't interested in her, even though a 12-year-old trying to date a 9-year-old is a little weird. i even feel that a 9-year-old girl interested in dating is a little precocious. but maybe i am out of touch with the kids. vanessa is very sad & doesn't know what to do, & mary anne doesn't know how to advise her.
but after a lot of thinking, vanessa concocts a solution. the pikes are going home to stoneybrook before chris's proposed date with mallory. (which, incidentally, it's weird that he's asking her sister to ask her on a date for him--have they ever even talked face to face? wouldn't that have spilled the beans about mallory not being the author of the secret admirer poems? how does he even know her name? & how slick can vanessa be if chris knows she is somehow connected to the poems?) so she decides to write a sad "i can't go out with you/but i'll always love you" poem & leave it during his busiest shift. she gets to express her feelings, chris can keep thinking mallory digs him, & mallory never needs to know anything. mary anne is very impressed by vanessa's mature solution.
& the toby dumps stacey & stacey is really bummed. he wants to be able to play the field when he goes home, without being all tied down with stacey. which is ridiculous in some ways, because they were dating for all of maybe two weeks, after forgetting that the other existed for an entire year. & also, as if kids toby's age ever "play the field". when mary anne has her last date with alex, she accidentally lets it slip that she has a boyfriend back home. & alex admits that he has a girlfriend. & mary anne realizes that alex is just a good friend who is a boy, but logan is her "one true love" (please). even though she'd speculated earlier in the book that she was "in love" with alex (please again).
i was into all the boy drama & did not miss boring babysitter hijinks. i could live forever without reading another description of karen brewer playing let's all come in. so that was really nice. but the idea of girls ranging in age from nine to thirteen having these kinds of boy troubles was too weird for me to give any more but three stars.
November 16, 2022
Look, I'm no prude, but these girls are thirteen damn years old (permanently) and this book felt more like the ghostwriter wanted to write a YA book, not a middle grade.
This one just bugs me. First, Mary Anne being a starter ho and eagerly going out on dates with a boy while her boyfriend with whom she is supposedly desperately in love is waiting back home for her. I mean, it ain't like they had an open relationship or something, and I'm sure if it had been Logan going on dates to a fancy restaurant with some random chick he met at the beach, Mary Anne would've wept enough to flood the whole town. And then even the fact that two thirteen year olds go on a date to a semi-fancy sit-down restaurant on their own...like, the hostess didn't ask where their parents were? Did that boy even know how to tip properly? It just felt bizarre. Plus, Stacey turned into a total bitch the moment Toby showed up again, which is just uncomfortable, because I don't like when the girls in this series completely lose their minds over some lame ass boy.
Then we get Mary Anne encouraging Vanessa in her crush on a 12 year old boy when Vanessa is only 9 and I'm like, good Lord, slow your roll! When they realize the boy likes Mallory and not Vanessa, Mary Anne is like "Oh yeah, that makes sense, since she's only 9" and I'm like YEAH SHE'S ONLY 9 WTF. Also, why is a 12 year old working anyway? Do they not have child labor laws in Sea City?
I think this concept would have worked better if it were Claudia in place of Mary Anne--you know, someone without a boyfriend back home--and Claudia and Stacey both met two boys they liked while they were there. That would still be a little chaotic but at least more realistic for this series.
I will say that I did appreciate Mary Anne eventually realizing that it's cool for boys and girls to be friends, since the idea that it's impossible is implanted very early in kids' minds. I also liked the touristy beach town setting because it reminded me a bit of the touristy beach town I used to live in and made me a little nostalgic while also making me very glad I am not surrounded by people like the Pike family all Spring and Summer anymore.
This one just bugs me. First, Mary Anne being a starter ho and eagerly going out on dates with a boy while her boyfriend with whom she is supposedly desperately in love is waiting back home for her. I mean, it ain't like they had an open relationship or something, and I'm sure if it had been Logan going on dates to a fancy restaurant with some random chick he met at the beach, Mary Anne would've wept enough to flood the whole town. And then even the fact that two thirteen year olds go on a date to a semi-fancy sit-down restaurant on their own...like, the hostess didn't ask where their parents were? Did that boy even know how to tip properly? It just felt bizarre. Plus, Stacey turned into a total bitch the moment Toby showed up again, which is just uncomfortable, because I don't like when the girls in this series completely lose their minds over some lame ass boy.
Then we get Mary Anne encouraging Vanessa in her crush on a 12 year old boy when Vanessa is only 9 and I'm like, good Lord, slow your roll! When they realize the boy likes Mallory and not Vanessa, Mary Anne is like "Oh yeah, that makes sense, since she's only 9" and I'm like YEAH SHE'S ONLY 9 WTF. Also, why is a 12 year old working anyway? Do they not have child labor laws in Sea City?
I think this concept would have worked better if it were Claudia in place of Mary Anne--you know, someone without a boyfriend back home--and Claudia and Stacey both met two boys they liked while they were there. That would still be a little chaotic but at least more realistic for this series.
I will say that I did appreciate Mary Anne eventually realizing that it's cool for boys and girls to be friends, since the idea that it's impossible is implanted very early in kids' minds. I also liked the touristy beach town setting because it reminded me a bit of the touristy beach town I used to live in and made me a little nostalgic while also making me very glad I am not surrounded by people like the Pike family all Spring and Summer anymore.
February 12, 2021
before i can actually review this, i have to discuss these grumbles first: there's a baby named sheila in this book and i find that so wild. no babies in the 80s were named sheila! also, kristy - of all people - is the constant reminder throughout these books that 13 really is too young to be fully in charge. finally, the pikes need to address the "silly billy goo goo" of it all--the girls always say claire uses that when she's in one of her moods, but more often than not, it's used as an insult. fix it.
this is an unofficial sequel to "boy crazy stacey" and as mary anne states plainly on page 68, there quite simply too many boys! the girls met toby and alex the last time they were mother's helpers for the pikes in sea city, but logan was not a thing last time so mary anne is confused about her excitement when she sees alex. when she finally confesses to him (on their second date?!??) that she has a boyfriend, alex says he's got a girlfriend back home too. what....the hell? vanessa pike has a crush, mallory doesn't. overall, boys are confusing.
3 stars--mary anne is emotionally unstable, not enough claudia, too much dawn. rounded up from 2.5 because we're treated to mallory sleepwalking.
this is an unofficial sequel to "boy crazy stacey" and as mary anne states plainly on page 68, there quite simply too many boys! the girls met toby and alex the last time they were mother's helpers for the pikes in sea city, but logan was not a thing last time so mary anne is confused about her excitement when she sees alex. when she finally confesses to him (on their second date?!??) that she has a boyfriend, alex says he's got a girlfriend back home too. what....the hell? vanessa pike has a crush, mallory doesn't. overall, boys are confusing.
3 stars--mary anne is emotionally unstable, not enough claudia, too much dawn. rounded up from 2.5 because we're treated to mallory sleepwalking.
July 7, 2020
While I actually started reading around age 3 (thank you, my Granny's Dick and Jane books!), this series is what I remember most about loving to read during my childhood. My sister and I drank these books up like they were oxygen. I truly think we owned just about every single one from every one of the series. We even got the privilege of meeting Ann M. Martin at a book signing, but of course little starstruck me froze and could not speak a word to my biggest hero at that time. Once in awhile if I come across these at a yard sale, I will pick them up for a couple hour trip down memory lane, and I declare nearly nothing centers and relaxes me more!
January 4, 2025
I liked how Ann M. Martin gives a good background story at the beginning for each member of the BSC. I also liked how she included lots of drama for the characters in Sea City.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2019
Summer Vacation is finally here for the girls of the BSC! Dawn is off the California for a 2 week stay with her dad, Claudia is off on vacation with her family, Kristy and Jessi are stuck in Stoneybrook and Stacey and Mary Anne are heading BACK to Sea City with the Pike Family. The girls went last year as well and ran into two boys named Toby and Alex. This year they ran into them again! What luck. But Mary Anne has a boyfriend now...she still likes Alex though....also young 9 year old Vanessa has a crush on the 12 year old ice cream scooper! So much drama and fun in this book.
November 10, 2020
(LL)
Man, these past few books in the series have been bad. This one promotes the idea that going out on dates with another boy you used to like while having a boyfriend is okay...simply because you realized at the end you wanted to be friends? Nope. There is a name for that: cheating. You went out on two dates, straight up called them that, with another person. Not cool or an appropriate message for kids.
Man, these past few books in the series have been bad. This one promotes the idea that going out on dates with another boy you used to like while having a boyfriend is okay...simply because you realized at the end you wanted to be friends? Nope. There is a name for that: cheating. You went out on two dates, straight up called them that, with another person. Not cool or an appropriate message for kids.
December 5, 2022
Maryanne and too Many Boys
It’s the first day of summer and they’re all at a BSC meeting. Dawn is going back to Cali to visit her Dad and brother. Maryanne will be at Sea City for two weeks helping the Pikes again. Stacey will also be going again. Kristy will be staying there. Jessi won’t be going anywhere either. Mallory of course will be going with Stacey and Maryanne and Claudia will be going to Vermont to the mountains (tho not the same place because of Mimi’s death).
Maryanne, Sharon, and Richard take (a too-overdressed) Dawn to the airport, and the next morning Maryanne and Stacey head off with the Pikes to Sea City. On the way there Vanessa drives everyone crazy by turning everything into a rhyme, Nicky and the triplets annoy each other from separate cars, and Claire goes missing briefly at Howard Johnson (She goes back in to get some ice cream after hers leaks).
Once they get there, they all start to unpack. Stacey and Maryanne start to reminisce about Scott, Toby, and Alex. Stacey says wouldn’t it be something if Scott and Toby showed up. Then Claire runs in and wants to go to the beach. So they and all the Pikes (except Vanessa who says she’ll join then later) head out.
The next day, Stacey takes the boys scuba diving and Maryanne takes the girls around Sea City. They end up at the Ice Cream Palace where there’s a cute boy (Chris) whose eyeing either Vanessa or Mallory. (Umm a twelve-year-old working at an ice cream parlor?). Claire turns over her chocolate soda. Then he gets her another one. While he’s looking over his shoulder making Mal’s strawberry sundae the whip cream machine goes crazy and it starts squirting massive balls. He unplugs the machine and apologizes (maybe this is why twelve-year-olds shouldn’t work at ice cream shops). They leave but Vanessa is upset.
Kristy takes Shea, Jackie, and Archie to the community pool. Jackie drops his cookie in the pool, gets stung by a bee, orders too much food, and doesn’t have enough money, and then they can’t find him (he goes to take a shower).
As we all know they would Alex and Toby show up. Claire gets jealous of Sheila but Alex suggests all the kids make sandcastles. Maryanne tells Mallory Logan doesn’t have any competition but at the same time, she’s wondering if Alex will ask her out and does he still have the ring she gave him.
Maryanne and Stacey have a fight because they both make plans to go out on the same night and it’s a rule that one of them always has to be there to help Mal. Vanessa confesses to Maryanne, she wrote love poems to Chris that she’ll deliver to him as his secret admirer.
Dawn and Jeff have an unexpected babysitting job with some kids of a friend of Carol (their Dad’s girlfriend). Dawn worries about how serious her Dad and Carol are because she’s over all the time (Been there!).
Stacey makes a date for the next night, but Maryanne puts her foot down. At first, the date is awkward (it’s at a seafood restaurant) but then something funny happens (the waitress puts a bib on Alex) and they laugh. They go to the arcade and he wins her a purple hippo. Maryanne feels happy but guilty.
Margo and Vanessa don’t have great days their next visit to Sea City. Margo gets sick from jumping in Trampoline Town, and Chris thinks the poems are from Mal and wants to go out with her.
Jessi finds out how smart Squirt she is while sitting for him, Charlotte, and Becca when he removes the Pike's hamster and picks it in the cage with their hamster because he watched a kids show about things that are the same,
Stacey gets pissy with Maryanne again and later she finds out Toby dumped her (because Spencer is probably waiting for him back in Rosewood).
Maryanne and Alex go out and the date again is awkward but they both discover they have someone else at home, So they both say its one of the best nights they ever had.
Vanessa writes a poem to Chris saying she’d love to go out with him, but she’ll be gone the next day (knowing Mal will never find out). That is until the next time they go back to Sea City and they bump into him too.
And they all go back to Stoneybrooke. Mal is gonna scare the hell out of her boyfriend or husband one day because she eerily sits up in bed and talks in her sleep.
My Thoughts:
Sea City just always for some reason makes me feel nostalgic. Maybe it’s the memory of the beach trips I use to take with my aunt and cousin on the bus with her school. Then all the different things to do there just sound fun! Now Stacey in this was a jerk throughout this whole book. I really think because of her attitude she’s the reason she keeps getting dumped on these trips. Sorta like karma for the way she treats Maryanne. I’d rather be organized and boring than a “sophisticated” slob. Now in the case of Maryanne. I just I’ve just never been that person that felt like if she already had a good thing (probably because I don’t) I’d feel the need to “resurface” what I had in the past with someone else. That really doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Even though I know it *can* happen. But all I’m saying is that if I had a Logan that would be IT for me. All other guys be DAMNED! And if Alex knew that he had a girlfriend back home, why did he even ask Maryanne out to a *real* restaurant? And I wonder how Maryanne is gonna explain that purple hippo? Maybe it’s a good thing Richard probably doesn’t let boys in her room. This one felt shorter but then I guess that’s the way it is when you go out of town on vacation. The trip is over before you know it. Much like the book. I did feel bad for Vanessa and I just hope don’t the line she’ll find a cool, poet, that will appreciate her. That would make a nice third book about Sea City.
Rating: 6
It’s the first day of summer and they’re all at a BSC meeting. Dawn is going back to Cali to visit her Dad and brother. Maryanne will be at Sea City for two weeks helping the Pikes again. Stacey will also be going again. Kristy will be staying there. Jessi won’t be going anywhere either. Mallory of course will be going with Stacey and Maryanne and Claudia will be going to Vermont to the mountains (tho not the same place because of Mimi’s death).
Maryanne, Sharon, and Richard take (a too-overdressed) Dawn to the airport, and the next morning Maryanne and Stacey head off with the Pikes to Sea City. On the way there Vanessa drives everyone crazy by turning everything into a rhyme, Nicky and the triplets annoy each other from separate cars, and Claire goes missing briefly at Howard Johnson (She goes back in to get some ice cream after hers leaks).
Once they get there, they all start to unpack. Stacey and Maryanne start to reminisce about Scott, Toby, and Alex. Stacey says wouldn’t it be something if Scott and Toby showed up. Then Claire runs in and wants to go to the beach. So they and all the Pikes (except Vanessa who says she’ll join then later) head out.
The next day, Stacey takes the boys scuba diving and Maryanne takes the girls around Sea City. They end up at the Ice Cream Palace where there’s a cute boy (Chris) whose eyeing either Vanessa or Mallory. (Umm a twelve-year-old working at an ice cream parlor?). Claire turns over her chocolate soda. Then he gets her another one. While he’s looking over his shoulder making Mal’s strawberry sundae the whip cream machine goes crazy and it starts squirting massive balls. He unplugs the machine and apologizes (maybe this is why twelve-year-olds shouldn’t work at ice cream shops). They leave but Vanessa is upset.
Kristy takes Shea, Jackie, and Archie to the community pool. Jackie drops his cookie in the pool, gets stung by a bee, orders too much food, and doesn’t have enough money, and then they can’t find him (he goes to take a shower).
As we all know they would Alex and Toby show up. Claire gets jealous of Sheila but Alex suggests all the kids make sandcastles. Maryanne tells Mallory Logan doesn’t have any competition but at the same time, she’s wondering if Alex will ask her out and does he still have the ring she gave him.
Maryanne and Stacey have a fight because they both make plans to go out on the same night and it’s a rule that one of them always has to be there to help Mal. Vanessa confesses to Maryanne, she wrote love poems to Chris that she’ll deliver to him as his secret admirer.
Dawn and Jeff have an unexpected babysitting job with some kids of a friend of Carol (their Dad’s girlfriend). Dawn worries about how serious her Dad and Carol are because she’s over all the time (Been there!).
Stacey makes a date for the next night, but Maryanne puts her foot down. At first, the date is awkward (it’s at a seafood restaurant) but then something funny happens (the waitress puts a bib on Alex) and they laugh. They go to the arcade and he wins her a purple hippo. Maryanne feels happy but guilty.
Margo and Vanessa don’t have great days their next visit to Sea City. Margo gets sick from jumping in Trampoline Town, and Chris thinks the poems are from Mal and wants to go out with her.
Jessi finds out how smart Squirt she is while sitting for him, Charlotte, and Becca when he removes the Pike's hamster and picks it in the cage with their hamster because he watched a kids show about things that are the same,
Stacey gets pissy with Maryanne again and later she finds out Toby dumped her (because Spencer is probably waiting for him back in Rosewood).
Maryanne and Alex go out and the date again is awkward but they both discover they have someone else at home, So they both say its one of the best nights they ever had.
Vanessa writes a poem to Chris saying she’d love to go out with him, but she’ll be gone the next day (knowing Mal will never find out). That is until the next time they go back to Sea City and they bump into him too.
And they all go back to Stoneybrooke. Mal is gonna scare the hell out of her boyfriend or husband one day because she eerily sits up in bed and talks in her sleep.
My Thoughts:
Sea City just always for some reason makes me feel nostalgic. Maybe it’s the memory of the beach trips I use to take with my aunt and cousin on the bus with her school. Then all the different things to do there just sound fun! Now Stacey in this was a jerk throughout this whole book. I really think because of her attitude she’s the reason she keeps getting dumped on these trips. Sorta like karma for the way she treats Maryanne. I’d rather be organized and boring than a “sophisticated” slob. Now in the case of Maryanne. I just I’ve just never been that person that felt like if she already had a good thing (probably because I don’t) I’d feel the need to “resurface” what I had in the past with someone else. That really doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Even though I know it *can* happen. But all I’m saying is that if I had a Logan that would be IT for me. All other guys be DAMNED! And if Alex knew that he had a girlfriend back home, why did he even ask Maryanne out to a *real* restaurant? And I wonder how Maryanne is gonna explain that purple hippo? Maybe it’s a good thing Richard probably doesn’t let boys in her room. This one felt shorter but then I guess that’s the way it is when you go out of town on vacation. The trip is over before you know it. Much like the book. I did feel bad for Vanessa and I just hope don’t the line she’ll find a cool, poet, that will appreciate her. That would make a nice third book about Sea City.
Rating: 6
September 28, 2019
3.5 stars
December 21, 2023
Read via audio (narrated by Emily Bauer).
December 19, 2025
This book was very good. I liked all of the aspects of it, how there was so many things going on but they all came together to form a stray so nicely. I also really liked the lesson at the end where Mary Ann learns that you can have friends that are boys.
October 25, 2016
Mary Anne and Stacey head back to Sea City, and deal with various (pretty standard and dull) boy issues. I read this book when I was eight or nine, and thought it was so racy.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
I remember Stacey being dumped by Toby. Stacey was not my favorite baby sitter, especially in this book when she acts like a spoiled, manipulative mean girl, and I loved seeing her get her comeuppance.
I remember being mystified that Mary Anne had such complex feelings about her friendship with Alex and her relationship with Logan. In my young mind your friend was your friend, and your boyfriend was your boyfriend, and everyone stayed in their category, and it was as simple as that. I was amazed at the implication that she would cheat on Logan. As an adult. . .
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
. . . I actually think this love triangle that really isn't one is very well done. The tone of this book is very odd, and it was clearly planned with an older audience in mind, although the writing isn't very good -- a little trite and too simple. The ghostwriter is listed as Mary Lou Kennedy, and from what I remember this was the only book in the series with her name on it. I'm guessing she didn't quite meet the tamer standards of the series, because right from the first chapter she has Mary Anne struggling with her feelings for Logan. ("I knew I would miss Logan. A lot.") However, the bigger story is good -- Mary Anne thinks it's great to see Alex again, although she hasn't really thought of him in a year. She is happy and excited to see him looking good, watching kids, and being nice (in other words, just like she remembers him being). She wants to know what he's been up to, if he has a girlfriend, and she's excited at the thought of spending more time with him (in other words, she's excited to run into an old friend). At first she freaks out a little, wondering what this means for her future with Logan, especially since these feeling are egged on by Stacey, and to some degree, the judgement she faces from Mallory, who feels that Mary Anne should only have eyes for Logan. If Mary Anne had to deal with her feelings on her own, I think she would have realized her feelings for Alex were friendly feelings, not romantic ones much more quickly and easily. But because she faces the judgemental voice of Mallory, and the "what he doesn't know won't hurt him" attitude of Stacey she becomes defensive, then starts questioning her feelings about Logan. As an adult this whole scenario was very obvious, and a little dull to read about, but as a kid it was sort of interesting, and I would have been fascinated with the whole thing as a teen.
In the second chapter of this book Dawn is "dressed for traveling, which meant she was wearing a beautiful Laura Ashley dress and had swept her long blond hair back in pearl barrettes." My grandmother is the only person I know who "dressed for traveling" in nice clothes, and even she would never have worn a Laura Ashley dress and pearl barrettes. Dawn sounds like a stuffy old lady, which is interesting considering earlier in the chapter she was having trouble deciding which string bikini to take with her to California.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
I remember Stacey being dumped by Toby. Stacey was not my favorite baby sitter, especially in this book when she acts like a spoiled, manipulative mean girl, and I loved seeing her get her comeuppance.
I remember being mystified that Mary Anne had such complex feelings about her friendship with Alex and her relationship with Logan. In my young mind your friend was your friend, and your boyfriend was your boyfriend, and everyone stayed in their category, and it was as simple as that. I was amazed at the implication that she would cheat on Logan. As an adult. . .
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
. . . I actually think this love triangle that really isn't one is very well done. The tone of this book is very odd, and it was clearly planned with an older audience in mind, although the writing isn't very good -- a little trite and too simple. The ghostwriter is listed as Mary Lou Kennedy, and from what I remember this was the only book in the series with her name on it. I'm guessing she didn't quite meet the tamer standards of the series, because right from the first chapter she has Mary Anne struggling with her feelings for Logan. ("I knew I would miss Logan. A lot.") However, the bigger story is good -- Mary Anne thinks it's great to see Alex again, although she hasn't really thought of him in a year. She is happy and excited to see him looking good, watching kids, and being nice (in other words, just like she remembers him being). She wants to know what he's been up to, if he has a girlfriend, and she's excited at the thought of spending more time with him (in other words, she's excited to run into an old friend). At first she freaks out a little, wondering what this means for her future with Logan, especially since these feeling are egged on by Stacey, and to some degree, the judgement she faces from Mallory, who feels that Mary Anne should only have eyes for Logan. If Mary Anne had to deal with her feelings on her own, I think she would have realized her feelings for Alex were friendly feelings, not romantic ones much more quickly and easily. But because she faces the judgemental voice of Mallory, and the "what he doesn't know won't hurt him" attitude of Stacey she becomes defensive, then starts questioning her feelings about Logan. As an adult this whole scenario was very obvious, and a little dull to read about, but as a kid it was sort of interesting, and I would have been fascinated with the whole thing as a teen.
In the second chapter of this book Dawn is "dressed for traveling, which meant she was wearing a beautiful Laura Ashley dress and had swept her long blond hair back in pearl barrettes." My grandmother is the only person I know who "dressed for traveling" in nice clothes, and even she would never have worn a Laura Ashley dress and pearl barrettes. Dawn sounds like a stuffy old lady, which is interesting considering earlier in the chapter she was having trouble deciding which string bikini to take with her to California.
April 12, 2023
I'm starting to get into the did I read this one? I can't remember, but the last clear memory of reading a BSC book is Claudia's Friend which is 30 books away. This is basically book 8 a year later told from Mary Anne's perspective. There are only three boys which I guess is too many. Toby and Alex, the boys acting as mother's helpers that the girls dated last year and Chris a 12 year old working at the Ice Cream Palace that has a crush on Vanessa but who actually has a crush on Mallory. Seriously, I don't think I cared about boys at 11 let alone age 9 but gotta have a plot somewhere right? It's summer yet again making this the third summer of the series at least. Dawn is off to California, Stacey and Mary Anne are off to Sea City with Mallory and the Pikes. The good news is the usual repetitive chapter 2 and sometimes even 3 are shoe horned into chapter one. As always in Sea City Stacey is truly awful trying to cheat Mary Anne out of her day off and acts like she's most important just like last year when she blew off her job to chase some lifeguard. Vanessa is hurt that her sweetheart is interested in her big sister but gets over it eventually. There's a side plot with three other baby sitting jobs, Kristy with the Rodowsky boys. Jackie makes me happy I never had kids. Then Jessi who loses the Pikes hamster because her toddler brother is a genius i guess and Dawn in California. Dawn is also having a tough time with her dad's girlfriend Carol but I guess that's standard for kids that age when divorced parents start to date again and explains how awful she would be to Carol in the California Diaries series. I had vague memories of this book not many but enough to know I did read it at one point.
August 27, 2012
Sea City again!! Woot woot! This one wasn't quite as good as the first, but not too bad. It's summertime again (already??) and Mary Anne & Stacey are going with the Pikes to their summer home. Mallory is a sort-of baby-sitter this time too, but her parents mostly want her to enjoy her vacation. So basically, she has to watch the kids, but she doesn't get paid. How come Mary Anne & Stacey get to go each time? That doesn't really seem fair. I mean, Claud is going to Vermont with her family and Dawn is going to sunny Cali to meet her soon-to-be, foreshadowed like crazy, stepmom. But Jessi & Kristy are both staying home. Nofe-air as Claire would say.my full review here!
November 9, 2021
This was a way less interesting version of Boy Crazy Stacey. For one thing, it's the same boys. For another thing... Mary Anne has a boyfriend, so it's not like there's any real suspense here.
I need some more information on the "rules" for dating in Stoneybrook, because I feel like Ann M. Martin uses the term “boyfriend” very confusingly. Mary Anne and Logan seem extremely serious, and the BSC makes such a big deal out of how she has a boyfriend, yet the book treats her essentially dating another guy on vacation like it's no big deal.
I need some more information on the "rules" for dating in Stoneybrook, because I feel like Ann M. Martin uses the term “boyfriend” very confusingly. Mary Anne and Logan seem extremely serious, and the BSC makes such a big deal out of how she has a boyfriend, yet the book treats her essentially dating another guy on vacation like it's no big deal.
November 3, 2009
It's time for Mary Anne and Stacey to take their annual trip to the Atlantic City to baby-sit some brats on the beach - wait, didn't they already go to Atlantic City this year? It used to be blonde Stacey who got all the guys. Not this time! Mary Anne might iron her underwear, but this summer brunettes are in!
May 30, 2020
What is it about Sea City that turns Stacey into such a horrible person?
Also, even though I love this book, I do miss “seeing” all the fun Sea City outings like Gurber Garden and mini golf and stuff. I kept waiting for those to show up, and instead we got random baby-sitting chapters from Dawn, Kristy and Jessi. I don’t care what they’re up to - I want more Sea City shenanigans!
Also, even though I love this book, I do miss “seeing” all the fun Sea City outings like Gurber Garden and mini golf and stuff. I kept waiting for those to show up, and instead we got random baby-sitting chapters from Dawn, Kristy and Jessi. I don’t care what they’re up to - I want more Sea City shenanigans!
Read
May 26, 2021the last bsc i bought (from Paperback Trade & Save at pine creek plaza) and read. this seemed like a good place to stop because i was tired of the all the little kids (i skimmed the notebook entry chapters), and this one promised some good 13 year old stuff
January 19, 2022
Mary Anne and to many boys was about Mary Anne and Stacey who Mrs. Pike asked them to be mothers helpers when they go to sea city. Mary Anne and Stacey were excited to see Toby and Alex. My favorite character was Mary Anne because Stacey was selfish.
August 7, 2022
This one was good - another vacation at Sea City - Stacey being a boy-crazy jerk lol. Not as good as the other Sea City one because they didn't spend as much time describing the town. Personal summary/spoiler in comments
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2022
I didn't really remember this book, but I loved it this go-around!
February 7, 2021
The Pike Family, as well as Mary Anne and Stacey, go back to the beach for vacation. While Mary Anne and Stacey avoid fighting...they can't avoid the boys!
Read
October 3, 2022Hilarious and Sweet
This was a fun Baby-Sitters Club book! It was funny and sweet. It was very easy and predictable, but it was nice not to have to think while reading this.
This was a fun Baby-Sitters Club book! It was funny and sweet. It was very easy and predictable, but it was nice not to have to think while reading this.
July 27, 2023
What can I say? Nostalgia at its best! A
September 18, 2019
"The problem is there were just so many boys. Things got so complicated."
In this follow-up to Boy-Crazy Stacey, Mary Anne and Stacey once again accompany the Pike family on their annual vacation to Sea City, New Jersey, so they can babysit for the family's eight children. I did not like this book as much as Boy-Crazy Stacey. I enjoyed that the previous novel had detailed descriptions of the beach town and gave each member of the Pike family almost equal billing. Instead, the only member of the Pike family the book focused on was Vanessa, the family's nine-year-old child who enjoyed talking in rhyme and writing poetry.
The book also included multiple chapters about other club members' babysitting adventures. While I enjoyed reading about accident-prone Jackie's trip to the pool, I wish there had been slightly fewer chapters on other club members so the focus could remain on Sea City. I also found the title to be both misleading and a major turnoff. When Alex and Toby showed up, I thought they would bring a slew of little boys with them. But no, Mary Anne was deciding between two boys (and Stacey and Vanessa Pike had their own boy drama), which was "just so many boys". Overall, I am giving this book 3 stars.
In this follow-up to Boy-Crazy Stacey, Mary Anne and Stacey once again accompany the Pike family on their annual vacation to Sea City, New Jersey, so they can babysit for the family's eight children. I did not like this book as much as Boy-Crazy Stacey. I enjoyed that the previous novel had detailed descriptions of the beach town and gave each member of the Pike family almost equal billing. Instead, the only member of the Pike family the book focused on was Vanessa, the family's nine-year-old child who enjoyed talking in rhyme and writing poetry.
The book also included multiple chapters about other club members' babysitting adventures. While I enjoyed reading about accident-prone Jackie's trip to the pool, I wish there had been slightly fewer chapters on other club members so the focus could remain on Sea City. I also found the title to be both misleading and a major turnoff. When Alex and Toby showed up, I thought they would bring a slew of little boys with them. But no, Mary Anne was deciding between two boys (and Stacey and Vanessa Pike had their own boy drama), which was "just so many boys". Overall, I am giving this book 3 stars.
April 21, 2019
Mary Anne Too Many Boys is a great book. It is pretty much like #8 (Boy Crazy Stacey)💑. Mary Anne went back to Sea City with Stacey and the Pikes! They were at the beach and ... TOBY AND ALEX WERE THERE 🙋🏼♂️🙋🏼♂️🙋🏻♂️ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were happy and going on dates and then suddenly Mary Anne had planned a date with Alex at the same time Stacey planned one with Toby. They fought and one day Stacey was very VERY mad. Later Mary Anne found out that Stacey broke up with Toby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then they get along and go back to Stoneybrook.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2017
It feels like we were just IN Sea City. I guess because we were there in, what? Book eight? This only book 34, so it feels close together. I also can't believe there's a SS dedicated to Sea City still ahead of me either. I feel like I'VE been to this little junky New Jersey tourist town!
This is kind of a sequel to Boy Crazy Stacey, featuring the return of Alex and Toby. While I didn't much care for Mary Anne and Stacey bickering and going out with boys for all those pages, at least we were sparred a ton of Kristy sitting jobs back in Stoneybrook! Praise that!
This is kind of a sequel to Boy Crazy Stacey, featuring the return of Alex and Toby. While I didn't much care for Mary Anne and Stacey bickering and going out with boys for all those pages, at least we were sparred a ton of Kristy sitting jobs back in Stoneybrook! Praise that!
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July 29, 2020As 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.
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