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The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #10
Sea City, Here We Come!
Every summer the Pikes rent a house right on the ocean in Sea City, New Jersey. And they bring two sitters along to take care of the Pike kids. Only this time, the whole entire Baby-sitters Club is going!
Mary Anne shows Logan all the sites - the beach, the boardwalk, the infamous Tunnel of Luv. Mallory gets asked out on a date (except it's with Stacey's ex-boyfriend!). And Jessi's busy being Sea City's Super Sitter. In fact, the Baby-sitters are having so much fun, no one's noticed that a gigantic hurricane named Bill is headed straight for Sea City!
227 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1993
62 people are currently reading
602 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,113 books3,057 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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May 13, 2020
One of my not so lofty life goals is to read all of The Babysitters Club books. Google tells me there are 131 in the core series, 213 in total, plus 122 Little Sister books. Pretty impressive for what was intended to be a four-part miniseries.
Before I can do that I'll to find them all first! Original covers only, by the way! They don't feel like Babysitters Club books without the cool portraits.
In the meantime, I came across this Super Special in a charity shop the other day, and really enjoyed reading it. Both Claudia and Stacey are ridiculously cool thirteen year olds. I'm still impressed by them, to be perfectly honest.
Recently I've become oddly protective of Mallory. She's so uncool, and is easily the least memorable character, but she's also sweet and relatable. There is a BSC book called 'Poor Mallory!', and its become my default response to most things Mallory related to think of that title. Here are some of my favourite Mallory Moments from this book:
'Jessi has regular ballet classes, Claudia takes art lessons, Mal goes to the orthodontist'
'Jessi's black, and she has the long, long legs of a dancer. Mal is white, with red hair and normal legs. Mal also wears glasses and braces (the clear kind).'
From Mallory's perspective:
'I have red hair and freckles to begin with, so I look like a ripe, hairy tomato when I blush.'
'Left side of face. Right side of face. No pimples. Good.
It had not been a great summer, blemish-wise. When you're as fair as I am, your skin can do weird things in the heat. Blisters, pimples, heat rashes, you name it.'
'Okay. Hair. Horrendous as usual. Thick and frizzy and piled up on one side from sleeping. A cross between Bozo the Clown and the Bride of Frankenstein (Frankenstein the Clown? The Bride of Bozo?) But I could deal with that.'
'What would I wear? Should I put on makeup? Could I learn how to put on makeup in time? Should I practice what to say? Should I leave my glasses home?'
And finally:
'Claudia laughed. "After you'd had that big fight with Ben --- over how to use the library card catalog?" '
Now, I mostly identify as a Mary Anne, but maybe I'm just as much a Mallory! I didn't have a steady boyfriend at 11 (that's the Ben they reference) but if I did, I could easily imagine a similar fight. Also, is a steady boyfriend at 11 typical in America? I realise it's all pretty innocent, but it seems so young.
Anyway, Mallory is great, an unexpected highlight of this book. The overall plot of this wasn't that exciting considering a gigantic hurricane played a big role, but it was a good read.
Before I can do that I'll to find them all first! Original covers only, by the way! They don't feel like Babysitters Club books without the cool portraits.
In the meantime, I came across this Super Special in a charity shop the other day, and really enjoyed reading it. Both Claudia and Stacey are ridiculously cool thirteen year olds. I'm still impressed by them, to be perfectly honest.
Recently I've become oddly protective of Mallory. She's so uncool, and is easily the least memorable character, but she's also sweet and relatable. There is a BSC book called 'Poor Mallory!', and its become my default response to most things Mallory related to think of that title. Here are some of my favourite Mallory Moments from this book:
'Jessi has regular ballet classes, Claudia takes art lessons, Mal goes to the orthodontist'
'Jessi's black, and she has the long, long legs of a dancer. Mal is white, with red hair and normal legs. Mal also wears glasses and braces (the clear kind).'
From Mallory's perspective:
'I have red hair and freckles to begin with, so I look like a ripe, hairy tomato when I blush.'
'Left side of face. Right side of face. No pimples. Good.
It had not been a great summer, blemish-wise. When you're as fair as I am, your skin can do weird things in the heat. Blisters, pimples, heat rashes, you name it.'
'Okay. Hair. Horrendous as usual. Thick and frizzy and piled up on one side from sleeping. A cross between Bozo the Clown and the Bride of Frankenstein (Frankenstein the Clown? The Bride of Bozo?) But I could deal with that.'
'What would I wear? Should I put on makeup? Could I learn how to put on makeup in time? Should I practice what to say? Should I leave my glasses home?'
And finally:
'Claudia laughed. "After you'd had that big fight with Ben --- over how to use the library card catalog?" '
Now, I mostly identify as a Mary Anne, but maybe I'm just as much a Mallory! I didn't have a steady boyfriend at 11 (that's the Ben they reference) but if I did, I could easily imagine a similar fight. Also, is a steady boyfriend at 11 typical in America? I realise it's all pretty innocent, but it seems so young.
Anyway, Mallory is great, an unexpected highlight of this book. The overall plot of this wasn't that exciting considering a gigantic hurricane played a big role, but it was a good read.
December 15, 2010
the babysitters club once again exercises its bizarre ability to get adults to take them on free vacations. its summertime again (already?) & the pikes are returning to their annual rental home in sea city. this time, they have enlisted mallory as a mother's helper (what happened to wanting mallory to be able to enjoy her vacation without having to look after her siblings?), & she petitioned for jessi to be the other mother's helper. the barretts have also decided to spend two weeks in sea city, renting the smaller cottage right next door to the pikes. mrs. barrett has hired dawn as her mother's helper. doesn't anyone take vacations without mother's helpers anymore? the pikes extended an invite for everyone else in the babysitters club (including logan) to come visit for a week. they're catching a ride with mrs. barrett's fiance, mr. dewitt, & his four kids. logan has to head home early to get back to work at the rosebud cafe (someone needs to call the cops on that place for violating child labor laws), but he is excited about getting to spend some time with mary anne. i can't help but wonder if the younger pike kids ever get pissed off that all of mallory's friends get to tag along on their vacations, while they are stuck with just each other.
this book, despite being a super special, is amazingly boring. it starts off really slow, because most of the club is still back in stoneybrook, & we have to hear about how they are spending their lame summer. kristy has a big game coming up between the krushers & the bashers, & is struggling because her players keep dropping out to go on vacation. she gets down to only having seven players left (out of a team of like twenty kids), so she canvases the neighborhood in search of substitute players. she manages to interest quite a few kids, but none of them are actually any good. the krushers lose the game in a crushing defeat--34-1.
meanwhile, claudia has to attend four weeks of summer school because she failed math. she quickly earns a reputation for being "the smart one," which goes to show how dubious this summer school really is. nonetheless, she becomes good friends with several other girls in her class. she is hopeful that they can continue their friendships during the regular school year, but she doesn't seem to hold out much hope. she says her summer school friends "know how strong [her] babysitters club friendships are." once again, the tyranny of the babysitters club squelches any attempts its members make at developing outside interests.
mary anne & dawn are running a mini-summer camp for neighborhood kids. if you can believe it, their storyline is actually even more boring than the krushers storyline, & that's saying something, because i fucking hate the krushers. basically, the kids act like kids & wreak a little havoc. jenny sits on a hard-boiled egg, for example. can you believe it? mary anne & dawn should hang up their babysitting hats post-haste.
not that things in sea city are much more interesting. jessi has decided to be a super sitter. you'd think that such a grand ambition would lend itself well to some kind of storyline in which reality intrudes & jessi learns that she can't be all things to all sitting charges, but the worst thing that happens is that the big sand castle-building contest that margo, claire, & suzi barrett wanted to enter is canceled due to bad weather. the girls are disappointed for all of one second before jessi suggests going home & making hot cocoa, & then everyone is happy again. wake me up when this book is over.
stacey is in a really crummy mood. for some reason, she is totally bummed out about working as a mother's helper for the barretts instead of the pikes--even though the pikes are right next door, & her job seems to constantly involve looking after pikes as well. you'd think she's be pleased to be responsible for fewer children & have more privacy, but mrs. barrett gets on stacey's bad side on the drive down to sea city, because she's such a nervous driver. which translates to apparently being a terrible driver.
the most interesting storyline in the book is between stacey & mallory. upon their arrival in sea city, all the kids immediately want to hit the beach. & when they do, they run into toby & alex, the boy mother's helpers that mary anne & stacey met back in book #8, boy-crazy stacey. regular readers may recall that stacey & toby heated up their romance again in book #34, mary anne & too many boys, & toby dumped stacey at the end of the book & apparently broke her heart or something. so stacey is not psyched to see toby again. he is very friendly to her & she's all like, "god, how can he even look me in the eye after dumping me like that?" i think it would probably be more mature & less embarrassing for her to laugh it off & act like she forgot it ever happened, but instead, she acts like a jerk. toby gets the hint & starts flirting with mallory instead. i know. mallory. no word on when his laser eye surgery is scheduled, but it clearly hasn't happened yet. he's all like, "wow, you have changed." gross, toby.
anyway, mallory is like, "whoa, a cute older boy likes me!" she asks stacey if she is 100% done with toby & stacey confirms that she is. so mallory asks if it would be okay if she went out with him, because she thinks he likes her. stacey is like, "whaaaaat?" that is seriously her reaction. that's a quote from the book. but then she recovers & tells mallory to watch her step, because toby will probably just dump her & hurt her feeling like he did stacey's. mallory of is like, "right, thanks for the tip, i'm going to go on a date with him anyway." stacey gets pissed & starts giving mallory the cold shoulder...but she won't admit that she is jealous. stacey, stacey, stacey...don't you know that jealousy kills girls? these ladies would benefit from some riot grrrl zines, i think.
so we have like eighty chapters where the stoneybrook girls are talking about their summers & nothing all that interesting happens in sea city. then finally the members of the club that remained in stoneybrook finally head out to sea city...& still nothing all that interesting happens. i honestly don't think dawn had her own plotline at all. all that happens is that she rooms with stacey for a few days & stacey snaps at her for using her towel. nothing really happens to kristy at all--not even anything as scintillating as verboten towel usage. ditto claudia. mary anne & logan get a little bit of a story in which logan becomes jealous of alex. he knows that mary anne & alex are friends & he can't imagine how any guy could hang out with mary anne in a setting as romantic as sea city & not want to kiss her.
just as an aside, i think it would be really cool if it turned out that sea city was like the beach town in "the lost boys" & was teeming with vampires. that would make the book A LOT more interesting. someone should write some fan fic in which logan falls in with a crowd of "bad boys" that are actually vampires.
anyway, we finally have our big climactic plot point. a hurricane is on course to hit sea city. after a lot of dithering, the pikes & the barretts decide to pack up & get back over to the mainland to wait out the storm in a motel. traffic is bumper to bumper because everyone in sea city had the same idea. before they can leave, the causeway that connects sea city to the rest of new jersey floods. so they all have to stay, but are evacuated to the elementary school overnight. the electric goes out & everyone has to sleep on cots. it is seriously not interesting. karen gets a chapter back in stoneybrook (why, god, why?) when the hurricane hits there. she gets to talk about helping seth the bearded carpenter tape the windows, & getting up the next morning to help clean up debris in the yard. FASCINATING.
anyway, after the hurricane, everyone gets to go home again, to their beach houses. their houses are okay, although the beach is covered in dead fish. they decide to see their vacations through. toby FINALLY asks mallory out & she accepts. she even enlists claudia's help in picking out a special date outfit. but right before the date, she starts thinking about ben hobart back in stoneybrook, & she decides not to go out with toby. then she runs into stacey, who makes a few pointed comments, & mallory decides she DOES want to go out with toby after all. but when he comes to pick her up, she explains that she has a boyfriend & can't go out with him. he accepts that, though he makes some comment about her being "another cute girl". she is remarkably incensed by that, for someone who is in no way a cute girl. she accepted his date & then backed out at the last second. is she really wounded that he doesn't see her as a unique & special butterfly? come on, mallory.
anyway, then everyone goes home & the last chapter is the usual round-up of letters everyone sends to each other. the best one is the one toby writes to mallory, asking if jessi is dating anyone & if he could maybe get her address. that guy is a dog. oh, & also, logan rents a horse & buggy to pick mary anne up & take her home (from the pikes' house?). she finds this romantic, as opposed to embarrassing. i call shenanigans on that.
this book, despite being a super special, is amazingly boring. it starts off really slow, because most of the club is still back in stoneybrook, & we have to hear about how they are spending their lame summer. kristy has a big game coming up between the krushers & the bashers, & is struggling because her players keep dropping out to go on vacation. she gets down to only having seven players left (out of a team of like twenty kids), so she canvases the neighborhood in search of substitute players. she manages to interest quite a few kids, but none of them are actually any good. the krushers lose the game in a crushing defeat--34-1.
meanwhile, claudia has to attend four weeks of summer school because she failed math. she quickly earns a reputation for being "the smart one," which goes to show how dubious this summer school really is. nonetheless, she becomes good friends with several other girls in her class. she is hopeful that they can continue their friendships during the regular school year, but she doesn't seem to hold out much hope. she says her summer school friends "know how strong [her] babysitters club friendships are." once again, the tyranny of the babysitters club squelches any attempts its members make at developing outside interests.
mary anne & dawn are running a mini-summer camp for neighborhood kids. if you can believe it, their storyline is actually even more boring than the krushers storyline, & that's saying something, because i fucking hate the krushers. basically, the kids act like kids & wreak a little havoc. jenny sits on a hard-boiled egg, for example. can you believe it? mary anne & dawn should hang up their babysitting hats post-haste.
not that things in sea city are much more interesting. jessi has decided to be a super sitter. you'd think that such a grand ambition would lend itself well to some kind of storyline in which reality intrudes & jessi learns that she can't be all things to all sitting charges, but the worst thing that happens is that the big sand castle-building contest that margo, claire, & suzi barrett wanted to enter is canceled due to bad weather. the girls are disappointed for all of one second before jessi suggests going home & making hot cocoa, & then everyone is happy again. wake me up when this book is over.
stacey is in a really crummy mood. for some reason, she is totally bummed out about working as a mother's helper for the barretts instead of the pikes--even though the pikes are right next door, & her job seems to constantly involve looking after pikes as well. you'd think she's be pleased to be responsible for fewer children & have more privacy, but mrs. barrett gets on stacey's bad side on the drive down to sea city, because she's such a nervous driver. which translates to apparently being a terrible driver.
the most interesting storyline in the book is between stacey & mallory. upon their arrival in sea city, all the kids immediately want to hit the beach. & when they do, they run into toby & alex, the boy mother's helpers that mary anne & stacey met back in book #8, boy-crazy stacey. regular readers may recall that stacey & toby heated up their romance again in book #34, mary anne & too many boys, & toby dumped stacey at the end of the book & apparently broke her heart or something. so stacey is not psyched to see toby again. he is very friendly to her & she's all like, "god, how can he even look me in the eye after dumping me like that?" i think it would probably be more mature & less embarrassing for her to laugh it off & act like she forgot it ever happened, but instead, she acts like a jerk. toby gets the hint & starts flirting with mallory instead. i know. mallory. no word on when his laser eye surgery is scheduled, but it clearly hasn't happened yet. he's all like, "wow, you have changed." gross, toby.
anyway, mallory is like, "whoa, a cute older boy likes me!" she asks stacey if she is 100% done with toby & stacey confirms that she is. so mallory asks if it would be okay if she went out with him, because she thinks he likes her. stacey is like, "whaaaaat?" that is seriously her reaction. that's a quote from the book. but then she recovers & tells mallory to watch her step, because toby will probably just dump her & hurt her feeling like he did stacey's. mallory of is like, "right, thanks for the tip, i'm going to go on a date with him anyway." stacey gets pissed & starts giving mallory the cold shoulder...but she won't admit that she is jealous. stacey, stacey, stacey...don't you know that jealousy kills girls? these ladies would benefit from some riot grrrl zines, i think.
so we have like eighty chapters where the stoneybrook girls are talking about their summers & nothing all that interesting happens in sea city. then finally the members of the club that remained in stoneybrook finally head out to sea city...& still nothing all that interesting happens. i honestly don't think dawn had her own plotline at all. all that happens is that she rooms with stacey for a few days & stacey snaps at her for using her towel. nothing really happens to kristy at all--not even anything as scintillating as verboten towel usage. ditto claudia. mary anne & logan get a little bit of a story in which logan becomes jealous of alex. he knows that mary anne & alex are friends & he can't imagine how any guy could hang out with mary anne in a setting as romantic as sea city & not want to kiss her.
just as an aside, i think it would be really cool if it turned out that sea city was like the beach town in "the lost boys" & was teeming with vampires. that would make the book A LOT more interesting. someone should write some fan fic in which logan falls in with a crowd of "bad boys" that are actually vampires.
anyway, we finally have our big climactic plot point. a hurricane is on course to hit sea city. after a lot of dithering, the pikes & the barretts decide to pack up & get back over to the mainland to wait out the storm in a motel. traffic is bumper to bumper because everyone in sea city had the same idea. before they can leave, the causeway that connects sea city to the rest of new jersey floods. so they all have to stay, but are evacuated to the elementary school overnight. the electric goes out & everyone has to sleep on cots. it is seriously not interesting. karen gets a chapter back in stoneybrook (why, god, why?) when the hurricane hits there. she gets to talk about helping seth the bearded carpenter tape the windows, & getting up the next morning to help clean up debris in the yard. FASCINATING.
anyway, after the hurricane, everyone gets to go home again, to their beach houses. their houses are okay, although the beach is covered in dead fish. they decide to see their vacations through. toby FINALLY asks mallory out & she accepts. she even enlists claudia's help in picking out a special date outfit. but right before the date, she starts thinking about ben hobart back in stoneybrook, & she decides not to go out with toby. then she runs into stacey, who makes a few pointed comments, & mallory decides she DOES want to go out with toby after all. but when he comes to pick her up, she explains that she has a boyfriend & can't go out with him. he accepts that, though he makes some comment about her being "another cute girl". she is remarkably incensed by that, for someone who is in no way a cute girl. she accepted his date & then backed out at the last second. is she really wounded that he doesn't see her as a unique & special butterfly? come on, mallory.
anyway, then everyone goes home & the last chapter is the usual round-up of letters everyone sends to each other. the best one is the one toby writes to mallory, asking if jessi is dating anyone & if he could maybe get her address. that guy is a dog. oh, & also, logan rents a horse & buggy to pick mary anne up & take her home (from the pikes' house?). she finds this romantic, as opposed to embarrassing. i call shenanigans on that.
July 19, 2016
this is my first time reading this book!
in this first super special to be credited to a ghostwriter (Peter Lerangis) everyone in the bsc except shannon gets to go to sea city. the pikes hire mal and jessi to be their mother's helpers, and the barretts hire stacey. plus, when the dewitts (erroneously called the harrises in this book, for some reason) come to stay with the barretts for a weekend, dawn is hired to be a second mother's helper. the others all just stay with the pikes as houseguests. eventually a hurricane comes to town and the causeway that is the only way back to the mainland gets flooded, so everyone has to stay at the elementary school for safety's sake.
character plotlines:
-claudia: before the sea city trip she goes to summer school, where she makes new friends (something kind of unheard of among bsc members -- consider how angry everyone is at her in Claudia and the New Girl), and she is the "smart" one among them. aw, claud should just hang out with near-dropouts to start to feel better about herself!
-mallory: toby (stacey's backup boo in Boy-Crazy Stacey, who also appears in Mary Anne and Too Many Boys) is tryna real hard with mallory, which is creepy bc I think he's 14 and she's 11, but whatever. stacey gets mad and keeps talking about how toby is a creep, and mal thinks she's just jealous, but then it turns out he actually is a creep -- he even asks about if jessi is single in a note to mal in the epilogue (I kind of hate this -- I wanted stacey to be wrong about him and just have to deal with this boy who liked her being into an 11-year-old)
-stacey: is a jerk/baby to mallory about toby stuff (see mallory plot)
-logan: super jealous of alex (mary anne's boo in Boy-Crazy Stacey who also appears in Mary Anne and Too Many Boys) and paranoid that mary anne is going to have some romantic feelings for him or something. between these jealous paranoid fantasies and mary anne's in Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation these freaks are MADE for each other.
-mary anne: along with dawn, before the sea city trip she hosts a mini-camp for bsc charges
-dawn: see mary anne plot
-kristy: before the sea city trip she tries to get replacement krushers for a game since many of her players are out of town. she gets snooty kids from her neighborhood, most of whom have no idea how to play sports and are not athletic at all. they lose terribly to the bashers. this is maybe my favorite chapter in this book.
-jessi: thinks the guy at the ice cream palace is a babe but that is never mentioned again. she is excited that the storm cancels the sand castle building contest bc the young pikes had wanted to participate but would absolutely lose, since most of those in the contest were building house-type sand castles, and then the young pikes would be bummed.
highlights:
-on the way to sea city the young pikes play a game of counting the nose pickers in cars near them on the highway
-the girl with her swimsuit getting pulled by a dog billboard (one of the indicators that you are arriving at sea city, discussed in Boy-Crazy Stacey and Mary Anne and Too Many Boys) is replaced by a sign for "weiner's wieners"
-one of the new rich kid krushers is named s. emerson pinckney iv. his nickname is quad. this whole plotline is hilarious to me.
-at one point there's a margo chapter. there's a tidepool full of small sea creatures. margo calls it her beach zoo and tries to charge admission. such a cute little kid chapter.
-pizza falafel! there's a pizza falafel place! is it falafel in a pita that also has pizza stuff inside? is it falafel balls as pizza toppings? this is the most intriguing part of this book
-nicky & buddy are fighting and call each other "nicky-nicky-got-so-sicky" and "buddy-buddy-elmer-fuddy"
lowlights/nitpicks:
-claudia has a theory that summer school teachers want the time off and when they have to teach in the summer they resent the kids for that. this may be true, but not everyone HAS to teach summer school. it's something you sign up to do, and you get paid more for it.
-they say horseshoe crabs are dangerous. they're not! they're one of the most defenseless animals in the world, and people take advantage of that and hunt them frequently, using them as bait for fishing other animals and use their blood for testing pills.
-there's a place called kotton kandy korner (and jessi wonders why they can't spell it right, not realizing that it's obviously a KKK front -- of COURSE jessi wouldn't notice something like this, because of all of her not seeing racism speech in Jessi and the Awful Secret)
-franklin harris? it's dewitt. come ON. they get married and become the barrett-dewitts.
-stacey says she's never been in a hurricane. maybe she hasn't been in a terrible one, but there have been at least a couple in nyc when she's been alive.
-mallory writes a letter to mrs. mcgill (which makes NO sense to begin with -- yeah, I like to write letters to my friends' moms when I'm on vacation) and addresses it "dear mrs. mcgillicuddy" -- this is a WEAK i love lucy reference.
-"madame trousseau's wax museum"? I think you mean madame tussaud's
-they go to a double feature of the sword in the stone and robin hood. I can only imagine they mean disney's robin hood, since it's a double feature with the sword in the stone. then there's a reference to prince john's death scene. HUH? he doesn't die. last we see him, he is chasing sir hiss around the burning castle, but he could easily still get out, especially considering the castle seems to be mostly stone and probably doesn't catch fire that easily. at most it's an implied death, but there's no DEATH SCENE.
jackie disaster:
-scratches his eye with a plastic drinking straw and has to wear a patch
claudia outfits:
-"That Friday, for instance, she was wearing ripped cut-off jeans held up by a frayed rope belt, a T-shirt with the collar torn off, huge white socks all bunched around the ankle, and old-fashioned black lace-up shoes."
-"I was wearing the only long pants I had packed, these overdyed navy jeans. I was also wearing a loose black cotton sweater over a white tank top."
stacey outfit:
-"At our Friday meeting she was wearing this white T-shirt that hung practically to her knees (Stacey calls it a "jersey tunic" or something), white stretch pants ("ribbed leggings"), to mid-calf, a tan leather belt over the T-shirt, and leather-strap sandals."
mal outfit:
-"I ended up choosing a short, flared, white-on-blue polka-dotted skirt (mine); a white, ribbed tank top (Jessi's); and a long, royal-blue men's shirt with the tails tied in front (Claudia had run to her room for that.)...Claudia yanked back my mane and figured out how to put the flamingo barrettes in it so they wouldn't get lost."
snacks in claudia's room:
-heath bars (n.s.)
-skor bars (n.s.)
-corn chips (n.s.)
-twinkies in a shoebox in her closet
-pretzels in a suitcase in her closet
in this first super special to be credited to a ghostwriter (Peter Lerangis) everyone in the bsc except shannon gets to go to sea city. the pikes hire mal and jessi to be their mother's helpers, and the barretts hire stacey. plus, when the dewitts (erroneously called the harrises in this book, for some reason) come to stay with the barretts for a weekend, dawn is hired to be a second mother's helper. the others all just stay with the pikes as houseguests. eventually a hurricane comes to town and the causeway that is the only way back to the mainland gets flooded, so everyone has to stay at the elementary school for safety's sake.
character plotlines:
-claudia: before the sea city trip she goes to summer school, where she makes new friends (something kind of unheard of among bsc members -- consider how angry everyone is at her in Claudia and the New Girl), and she is the "smart" one among them. aw, claud should just hang out with near-dropouts to start to feel better about herself!
-mallory: toby (stacey's backup boo in Boy-Crazy Stacey, who also appears in Mary Anne and Too Many Boys) is tryna real hard with mallory, which is creepy bc I think he's 14 and she's 11, but whatever. stacey gets mad and keeps talking about how toby is a creep, and mal thinks she's just jealous, but then it turns out he actually is a creep -- he even asks about if jessi is single in a note to mal in the epilogue (I kind of hate this -- I wanted stacey to be wrong about him and just have to deal with this boy who liked her being into an 11-year-old)
-stacey: is a jerk/baby to mallory about toby stuff (see mallory plot)
-logan: super jealous of alex (mary anne's boo in Boy-Crazy Stacey who also appears in Mary Anne and Too Many Boys) and paranoid that mary anne is going to have some romantic feelings for him or something. between these jealous paranoid fantasies and mary anne's in Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation these freaks are MADE for each other.
-mary anne: along with dawn, before the sea city trip she hosts a mini-camp for bsc charges
-dawn: see mary anne plot
-kristy: before the sea city trip she tries to get replacement krushers for a game since many of her players are out of town. she gets snooty kids from her neighborhood, most of whom have no idea how to play sports and are not athletic at all. they lose terribly to the bashers. this is maybe my favorite chapter in this book.
-jessi: thinks the guy at the ice cream palace is a babe but that is never mentioned again. she is excited that the storm cancels the sand castle building contest bc the young pikes had wanted to participate but would absolutely lose, since most of those in the contest were building house-type sand castles, and then the young pikes would be bummed.
highlights:
-on the way to sea city the young pikes play a game of counting the nose pickers in cars near them on the highway
-the girl with her swimsuit getting pulled by a dog billboard (one of the indicators that you are arriving at sea city, discussed in Boy-Crazy Stacey and Mary Anne and Too Many Boys) is replaced by a sign for "weiner's wieners"
-one of the new rich kid krushers is named s. emerson pinckney iv. his nickname is quad. this whole plotline is hilarious to me.
-at one point there's a margo chapter. there's a tidepool full of small sea creatures. margo calls it her beach zoo and tries to charge admission. such a cute little kid chapter.
-pizza falafel! there's a pizza falafel place! is it falafel in a pita that also has pizza stuff inside? is it falafel balls as pizza toppings? this is the most intriguing part of this book
-nicky & buddy are fighting and call each other "nicky-nicky-got-so-sicky" and "buddy-buddy-elmer-fuddy"
lowlights/nitpicks:
-claudia has a theory that summer school teachers want the time off and when they have to teach in the summer they resent the kids for that. this may be true, but not everyone HAS to teach summer school. it's something you sign up to do, and you get paid more for it.
-they say horseshoe crabs are dangerous. they're not! they're one of the most defenseless animals in the world, and people take advantage of that and hunt them frequently, using them as bait for fishing other animals and use their blood for testing pills.
-there's a place called kotton kandy korner (and jessi wonders why they can't spell it right, not realizing that it's obviously a KKK front -- of COURSE jessi wouldn't notice something like this, because of all of her not seeing racism speech in Jessi and the Awful Secret)
-franklin harris? it's dewitt. come ON. they get married and become the barrett-dewitts.
-stacey says she's never been in a hurricane. maybe she hasn't been in a terrible one, but there have been at least a couple in nyc when she's been alive.
-mallory writes a letter to mrs. mcgill (which makes NO sense to begin with -- yeah, I like to write letters to my friends' moms when I'm on vacation) and addresses it "dear mrs. mcgillicuddy" -- this is a WEAK i love lucy reference.
-"madame trousseau's wax museum"? I think you mean madame tussaud's
-they go to a double feature of the sword in the stone and robin hood. I can only imagine they mean disney's robin hood, since it's a double feature with the sword in the stone. then there's a reference to prince john's death scene. HUH? he doesn't die. last we see him, he is chasing sir hiss around the burning castle, but he could easily still get out, especially considering the castle seems to be mostly stone and probably doesn't catch fire that easily. at most it's an implied death, but there's no DEATH SCENE.
jackie disaster:
-scratches his eye with a plastic drinking straw and has to wear a patch
claudia outfits:
-"That Friday, for instance, she was wearing ripped cut-off jeans held up by a frayed rope belt, a T-shirt with the collar torn off, huge white socks all bunched around the ankle, and old-fashioned black lace-up shoes."
-"I was wearing the only long pants I had packed, these overdyed navy jeans. I was also wearing a loose black cotton sweater over a white tank top."
stacey outfit:
-"At our Friday meeting she was wearing this white T-shirt that hung practically to her knees (Stacey calls it a "jersey tunic" or something), white stretch pants ("ribbed leggings"), to mid-calf, a tan leather belt over the T-shirt, and leather-strap sandals."
mal outfit:
-"I ended up choosing a short, flared, white-on-blue polka-dotted skirt (mine); a white, ribbed tank top (Jessi's); and a long, royal-blue men's shirt with the tails tied in front (Claudia had run to her room for that.)...Claudia yanked back my mane and figured out how to put the flamingo barrettes in it so they wouldn't get lost."
snacks in claudia's room:
-heath bars (n.s.)
-skor bars (n.s.)
-corn chips (n.s.)
-twinkies in a shoebox in her closet
-pretzels in a suitcase in her closet
Read
January 22, 2023Quick, easy re-read. Just an impulse picked it up off my shelf. Missed my old friends 😁
December 16, 2018
The Jersey shore is where most of this book takes place. Stacey goes to help the Barrett family, and Jessi and Mallory go to help the Pike family. Claudia goes to summer school for math, Kristy works on her softball team, Dawn and Mary Anne work at a summer camp, and Logan works at a restaurant as a busboy, and Shannon is in her drama club's production of Oklahoma. Everyone but Shannon ends up in Sea City for part of the summer. Most of the story takes place on the beach or in one of the beach houses. I liked the tidal pool. Also, there is a hurricane that hits New Jersey and Conneticut.
August 7, 2022
I came back to this as an adult and am surprised how good it holds up. The characters feel real and the “situations” age appropriate. Also despite all the story lines I never got lost or confused.
January 31, 2020
When I was younger my favorite BSC books were Boy-Crazy Stacey and Dawn on the Coast. I liked the former because Sea City reminded me of Wildwood, NJ, where I used to go on vacation most summers. In truth they probably weren’t that alike other than being in New Jersey and having a few generic similarities (the Ferris wheel!). But anyway, since then I’ve always had an affinity for books set in Sea City, which is my long way of saying I’m probably being a bit generous with my rating.
July 29, 2024
2.5 stars
Not my favorite BSC story. For one, Stacey (who is my favorite sitter) was really immature in this one. And did no one think it was super sketchy that 14-15 year old Toby liked 11 year old Mallory?!?! Gross!!!! And after Mallory realized she liked Ben Hobart instead, Toby started sniffing around after Jessi (also 11!). Ew. That kind of ruined the whole book for me.
**read for Book Scavenger Hunt — a book about an environmental issue (part of the book takes place during a hurricane)**
Not my favorite BSC story. For one, Stacey (who is my favorite sitter) was really immature in this one. And did no one think it was super sketchy that 14-15 year old Toby liked 11 year old Mallory?!?! Gross!!!! And after Mallory realized she liked Ben Hobart instead, Toby started sniffing around after Jessi (also 11!). Ew. That kind of ruined the whole book for me.
**read for Book Scavenger Hunt — a book about an environmental issue (part of the book takes place during a hurricane)**
Read
June 24, 2024Sea City Here We Come
The BSC club will be going to Sea City for Mrs. Barette’s wedding. This time around Stacey will be with the Barett’s instead of the Pikes. Maryanne gets a letter from Alex that says he and Toby will be there again as Mother’s helpers. Stacey isn’t thrilled. Toby is the last person she wants to see. Neither is Logan who isn’t thrilled himself about Alex being there.
But first Claudia has to finish summer school which she has to go to because she failed math. Claudia meets two new friends in summer school (Theresa and Carly) and is sad that the month went by quick. She doesn’t know how she’ll continue to be friends with them and the BSC. From what I can tell Mallory and Jessi will be going with the Pikes to Sea City. Stacey will be going with the Barettss (Shouldn’t it be Dawn). Dawn, Logran, Kristy, Claudia, and Maryanne will be coming later. Upon leaving, Claire loses her teddy bear Thomas (she finds it), Margo trips over her suitcase, and Nicky gets in trouble (for aggravating Margo). All the BSC get emotional (although it won’t really be all that long before they meet up there).
When they arrive at Sea City, Mal, and Jessi claim the yellow room which use to be Maryanne and Stacey’s. They’re the mother’s helpers this year. Of course, they’re all barely out the car and decide to head for the beach. Stacy has joined them with Buddy and Suzy. Immediately she sees Toby and brushes him off to go help the Barette’s kids. Toby tho seems to take an interest in Mal and keeps looking at her on and off while they’re at the beach.
Stacey’s tr first day is already going bad because Mrs. Barette is in a bad mood driving to City. Then she sees Toby. It doesn’t help when Mallory tells her later that he’s interested in her. Stacey tells her to just forget about him. He’ll just break her heart. But Mal tells Stacey she’s just jealous and says he might have changed. This leaves Stacey in disbelief.
Dawn and Maryanne talk about a day at mini (summer) camp. They’ll be making summer collages. Some of the kids attending are Jenny, Mariah, Jaime, and Charlotte This gets a lil messy. Matt puts an egg under Jenny and she sits on it. So, they abandon this and go to the Stones (who own a farm). The Stones have a goat named Elvira and the kids love her. Mrs. Stone is nice enough to give them lunch. They get to see the goats and cows. and a goose who thinks it’s a dog. Elvira keeps trying to butt Jenny in the behind which makes Jenny cry and want to go home. Dawn realizes it’s the smushed egg on Jenny’s pants. One of the dogs start to chase Johnny because he tries to poke at him with a stick. Elivar’s nose gets stuck in a jar when Jaime offers it to her and it goes flying. Mrs. Stone is cool, but they decide to leave. Later Dawn thinks of having a sleepover under the stars to celebrate the last day of camp.
Kristy has an upcoming game with the Bashers but keeps losing kids. Luckily she has 10 for the game. (You need nine). Practice goes well but Jake is hesitant. Kirsty finds out Jake’s family is leaving Friday. Kristy starts to think who she can get to fill Jake and his sister's (sister?) places. Bart walks Kristy home and she tells him about how she’s short players. He tells her it’s too bad she’ll have to forfeit but Kristy isn’t hearing it. So, that evening she goes around the neighborhood recruiting payers. Kristy writes down a few potentials. She has about six by the end of the night. They’ve never played but she vows they will by next Friday.
Margo tries to have a beach zoo, but the tide comes in and that’s pretty much the end of that. Jessi takes Claire, Margo, and Suzi to the Ice Cream Palace and they see a singing quartet. It talks about all the distractions and food places on the boardwalk like Burger Garden, Kotton Kandy Korner, and Pizza Falafel. They all go to a souvenir shop after they get their ice cream cones (large scoops thanks to the cute African American guy with the deep voice at the counter). Suzy sees a stuffed sea girl in the window of a souvenir shop and they all go in just to look. They each want something (Syzy wants the stuffed animal, Margo wants a snow globe, and Claire wants chocolate) but what they wind up getting is a free Sea City pencil. On the way out they see an advertisement for a traveling circus (which they plan on going to) and a sand castle contest (which they want to enter). So immediately they head to the beach to practice. Jordan just snorts when the girls tell him. He then shows them how amazing and intricate all the other castles are on the beach. Jessi doesn’t want to hurt their feelings or discourage them, but after seeing all the others well.. she knows no way will the girl's castles even come close.
\
Dawn and Maryanne hold their sleepover the last night before the last day of mini-camp (Thursday). They play “Red Light Green Light” and “Freeze Tag” until it’s dark. Then they sit around the grill and cook smores. Dawn has sesame sticks and surprisingly the kids like these too. After this is starts to rain and they have to move the party to the barn. Jaime starts to miss his mommy and daddy and wants to go home. Maryanne says if he wants he can go home after the bedtime story. Then Dawn tells the ghost story of what happened on her property. Dawn even tells about Priscilla who was in love with Jared but Jared’s father wouldn’t let them marry. He even moved Jared out of town. There was another man named Obediah who tried to pursue her but her heart was committed to Jared. One day Obediah is trying to propose, but she hears a voice that said “Come to the barn.” Priscilla rushes to the barn recognizing Jared's voice. Then there’s a scream. Obediah rushes in after he with his gun and shots are fired, but then only Obediah comes out. After this, he goes home. His black hair now stark white. He lays down on his bed and never got out. But he lived twenty years after. There are rumors that Jared and Priscilla went to Alaska. Dawn tells them about the trap door and the secret passage. But after this Dawn suggests they all turn in and the kids start to nod off. Maryanne is grateful she didn’t let them go into the passageway.
Katie, Kate, Richard, Alexandra, and Sheila are the new kids. Basically, they aren’t good, Bart offers to postpone the game but Kristy is determined not to quit. Watson agrees to be the home plate umpire, The Bashers win the game and even the new kids don’t seem to mind. Karen is upset because she and Nany baked a victory cake for her but Kristy says it’s the thought that counts. When Kristy comes in they still have a surprise party she just (Karen) changes the words on the cake to “Goodbye Coach.” So the victory party is now a farewell party.
All the BSC members (and Logan) reunite at Sea City at last. Dawn will be at the Barents to help with Franklin’s kids (he has four from another marriage). Logan, Kristy, Maryanne, and Claudia will stay at the Pikes. On Monday night Logan will go back with Franklin and Dawn will go to the Pikes. Of course, they all hit the beach. Kristy calls a meeting but it's just to catch up. Logan is kind of quiet. There’s a radio announcement that there’s a hurricane on the rise (in Jamaica?). Logan admits (to us) that he’s a little bothered about Maryanne and Alex. After the meeting, he and she go for a walk on the beach, and guess who they see ((Toby and Alex). Logan admits he’s good-looking. There’s some awkward conversation and then Alex goes back to his charges. There’s no mention of him the rest of the night. Logan and Maryanne have a date on the boardwalk. He wins her a stuffed penguin (cute) and she wins him cheap shades. They ride the Ferris wheel after having taffy and fudge. They’re having a great time but Logan starts thinking about Alex again. He tries to put him out of his mind. While riding the haunted house ride, Logan hears some guys talking about what to do with the rides if the hurricane comes.
Mal takes Margo and Nicky into Sea City They each take turns pointing out what they see on binoculars that you can pay to use to look around Sea City. They then decide to go play miniature golf. On the way, they stop by Burger Garden. They see a clown advertising the traveling circus. While there they run into Toby and his charges. Getting sodas. They all end up playing miniature golf together. Mal and Toby talk. The kids play together and cheat. Then they finish the game and walk home together. Toby asks Mal if she can get a break Friday evening. She says she’ll love to and he says he’ll pick her up at seven. She goes home and tells Jessi she’s in love.
Stacey is in a funky mood with Dawn the next morning. She’s pissed off because she thinks someone used her face towel. Dawn asks if it's about Toby and Mal. She laughs it off (bitterly) and says he’ll just use her. Franklin wants to take the kids to Smithtown with Mrs. Barrett but they want to go to the traveling circus. The circus wins out. Dawn and Stacey will take them. But the circus is very basic and nothing like Ringling Brothers. They see a life-like pirate but when Buddy goes to touch it, the wax figure slaps its hand away and then walks away. He tells them to expect the unexpected at the Dixie Brothers. The show isn’t great. There’s one ring. The tent looks like it’s going to fall down. The animals are rinky dink but the kids love it all the same. Stacey wants some peanuts and Dawn goes to get them, but she can’t find any. Stacey goes to find them but comes back without and she says she thought she saw people with them. This puts Stacey back in a funk. Mr. Franklin on the way back says people are stocking up on supplies he’s heard. But it’s just a rumor. The next day is supposed to be sunny and the hurricane is in Jamaica. Dawn is looking forward to Franklin’s kids leaving so she can move to the Pikes and have a real vacation.
Buddy and Nickey get in a fight because Nickey accidentally messes up the castle they’re making. This causes an snarky comment from Stacey to Mal about paying more attention to the kids. Tuesday it’s overcast and some of the kids and babysitters go to the movies, When the babysitters come back the Pikes are discussing what to do if the hurricane hits. The Pikes decide to stay and Mr. Pikes says he’ll go into town and get some supplies. Jessi has a dream she’s on stage when an earthquake hits. She wakes to find Claire and Margo jumping up and down wanting to go to the beach and practice making castles. But it’s way too early. After breakfast, they head for the beach. Claire and Margo are excited because they think they’ll win. (Jessi was hoping they’d just want to enter for fun and isn’t looking forward to the heartbreak). Since it’s cold, Jessi tries to talk them out of it but she doesn’t succeed. Luckily, the contest is called out because of the storm and says it’ll be next week. Jessi decides “Bill” is her hero.
When it’s confirmed that the hurricane is really coming, Kristy comes up with the idea to go inlaid. So they all pack up to go to a hotel. On the way out of town, a policeman says the cosway has drowned and there’s no way out of town. So they’re all stranded. The police instructs them all to take shelter in the elementary school. They finally make it there. Inside there’s pandemonium! A man announces there setting up sleeping cots and there’s food in the cafeteria. After this, the lights go off, but the emergency lights come on. Flashlights and candles are passed out.
The storm hits Stoney brooke. Some power lines are down and a bunch of trees have fallen. The storm also passes in Sea City. Everyone leaves the shelter and goe back to the Pike's house. Everything looks normal. Nothing’s fallen. But the beach is a mess, dead fish, and trash are everywhere. There’s no electricity when they get to the house. They all decide to stay. Some neighbors start a group to clean up the area. They all have to eat bbq for two days because they have no power. Logan is still feeling unsure about Maryanne and Alex and decides to throw her a welcome home party. He tries to call and check on her but the phone lines are down in Dea City. This doesn’t help. Logan’s mind is playing tricks on him imagining Alex and Maryanne somewhere snuggling up together, But she calls and says she’ll be home the next day.
On the day of her date, Mallory, Clauid, and Jessi go into town and shop. Mal gets some flamingo barrettes and buttons. Mal runs into Stacey and she makes fun of the things Mal brought which makes Mal upset because she thinks Stacey hates her. Claudia and Jessi bring up memories of Ben and Mal feels a little guilty. She then gives him a call. and they talk and talk. By the end of their conversation, Mal realizes Ben is the only one she wants to talk to. So, now she’s confused. Jessi tells her to follow her heart. Msl is deciding to call the date off but she runs into Stacey and doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction so she tells Stacey she’s still going. Mal tho tells Toby she’s got a boyfriend and turns down his offer to hang out as a friend. She says she’s going to spend the last evening there with her family. He tells her if she knows of another cute girl when she comes back that he can go out with let him know. Mal and Stacey makeup and Stacey apologizes.
My Thoughts
I was disappointed that it didn’t get right into Sea City. I didn’t need to know about summer school and mini-camp. I especially didn’t need to read about Kristy going around from door to door focing children into playing baseball or read about a baseball game PERIOD. Most of this book was about the hurricane, Logan's insecurity, Stacey’s bad attitude, and Mallory’s infatuation with Toby. It really went kind of quick. Toby got what he gave and I was HAPPY to see it, but then I really don’t think it did much good because Toby is definitely the “on to the next one” type. That same night I wouldn’t be surprised if he went down to the boardwalk alone and hooked up with some other “cute girl” he saw. The hurricane was kind of exciting! Surprisingly I’m the exact opposite about tornados and hurricanes. People in my family will be FRANTIC and rushing around trying to get into the basement. Most of the time I either keep on doing what I’m doing OR I either just lay down and go to sleep. Because usually, all it amounts to is a few minutes (not even hours) of heavy rain and strong wind. I guess I’m not the excitable type. But in this story, I wanted to see what was going to happen. But that’s about it. I didn’t have any other thoughts on this one. I thought the traveling circus would be interesting. It wasn’t. It definitely wasn’t the Universe Soul circus!
Rating 5
The BSC club will be going to Sea City for Mrs. Barette’s wedding. This time around Stacey will be with the Barett’s instead of the Pikes. Maryanne gets a letter from Alex that says he and Toby will be there again as Mother’s helpers. Stacey isn’t thrilled. Toby is the last person she wants to see. Neither is Logan who isn’t thrilled himself about Alex being there.
But first Claudia has to finish summer school which she has to go to because she failed math. Claudia meets two new friends in summer school (Theresa and Carly) and is sad that the month went by quick. She doesn’t know how she’ll continue to be friends with them and the BSC. From what I can tell Mallory and Jessi will be going with the Pikes to Sea City. Stacey will be going with the Barettss (Shouldn’t it be Dawn). Dawn, Logran, Kristy, Claudia, and Maryanne will be coming later. Upon leaving, Claire loses her teddy bear Thomas (she finds it), Margo trips over her suitcase, and Nicky gets in trouble (for aggravating Margo). All the BSC get emotional (although it won’t really be all that long before they meet up there).
When they arrive at Sea City, Mal, and Jessi claim the yellow room which use to be Maryanne and Stacey’s. They’re the mother’s helpers this year. Of course, they’re all barely out the car and decide to head for the beach. Stacy has joined them with Buddy and Suzy. Immediately she sees Toby and brushes him off to go help the Barette’s kids. Toby tho seems to take an interest in Mal and keeps looking at her on and off while they’re at the beach.
Stacey’s tr first day is already going bad because Mrs. Barette is in a bad mood driving to City. Then she sees Toby. It doesn’t help when Mallory tells her later that he’s interested in her. Stacey tells her to just forget about him. He’ll just break her heart. But Mal tells Stacey she’s just jealous and says he might have changed. This leaves Stacey in disbelief.
Dawn and Maryanne talk about a day at mini (summer) camp. They’ll be making summer collages. Some of the kids attending are Jenny, Mariah, Jaime, and Charlotte This gets a lil messy. Matt puts an egg under Jenny and she sits on it. So, they abandon this and go to the Stones (who own a farm). The Stones have a goat named Elvira and the kids love her. Mrs. Stone is nice enough to give them lunch. They get to see the goats and cows. and a goose who thinks it’s a dog. Elvira keeps trying to butt Jenny in the behind which makes Jenny cry and want to go home. Dawn realizes it’s the smushed egg on Jenny’s pants. One of the dogs start to chase Johnny because he tries to poke at him with a stick. Elivar’s nose gets stuck in a jar when Jaime offers it to her and it goes flying. Mrs. Stone is cool, but they decide to leave. Later Dawn thinks of having a sleepover under the stars to celebrate the last day of camp.
Kristy has an upcoming game with the Bashers but keeps losing kids. Luckily she has 10 for the game. (You need nine). Practice goes well but Jake is hesitant. Kirsty finds out Jake’s family is leaving Friday. Kristy starts to think who she can get to fill Jake and his sister's (sister?) places. Bart walks Kristy home and she tells him about how she’s short players. He tells her it’s too bad she’ll have to forfeit but Kristy isn’t hearing it. So, that evening she goes around the neighborhood recruiting payers. Kristy writes down a few potentials. She has about six by the end of the night. They’ve never played but she vows they will by next Friday.
Margo tries to have a beach zoo, but the tide comes in and that’s pretty much the end of that. Jessi takes Claire, Margo, and Suzi to the Ice Cream Palace and they see a singing quartet. It talks about all the distractions and food places on the boardwalk like Burger Garden, Kotton Kandy Korner, and Pizza Falafel. They all go to a souvenir shop after they get their ice cream cones (large scoops thanks to the cute African American guy with the deep voice at the counter). Suzy sees a stuffed sea girl in the window of a souvenir shop and they all go in just to look. They each want something (Syzy wants the stuffed animal, Margo wants a snow globe, and Claire wants chocolate) but what they wind up getting is a free Sea City pencil. On the way out they see an advertisement for a traveling circus (which they plan on going to) and a sand castle contest (which they want to enter). So immediately they head to the beach to practice. Jordan just snorts when the girls tell him. He then shows them how amazing and intricate all the other castles are on the beach. Jessi doesn’t want to hurt their feelings or discourage them, but after seeing all the others well.. she knows no way will the girl's castles even come close.
\
Dawn and Maryanne hold their sleepover the last night before the last day of mini-camp (Thursday). They play “Red Light Green Light” and “Freeze Tag” until it’s dark. Then they sit around the grill and cook smores. Dawn has sesame sticks and surprisingly the kids like these too. After this is starts to rain and they have to move the party to the barn. Jaime starts to miss his mommy and daddy and wants to go home. Maryanne says if he wants he can go home after the bedtime story. Then Dawn tells the ghost story of what happened on her property. Dawn even tells about Priscilla who was in love with Jared but Jared’s father wouldn’t let them marry. He even moved Jared out of town. There was another man named Obediah who tried to pursue her but her heart was committed to Jared. One day Obediah is trying to propose, but she hears a voice that said “Come to the barn.” Priscilla rushes to the barn recognizing Jared's voice. Then there’s a scream. Obediah rushes in after he with his gun and shots are fired, but then only Obediah comes out. After this, he goes home. His black hair now stark white. He lays down on his bed and never got out. But he lived twenty years after. There are rumors that Jared and Priscilla went to Alaska. Dawn tells them about the trap door and the secret passage. But after this Dawn suggests they all turn in and the kids start to nod off. Maryanne is grateful she didn’t let them go into the passageway.
Katie, Kate, Richard, Alexandra, and Sheila are the new kids. Basically, they aren’t good, Bart offers to postpone the game but Kristy is determined not to quit. Watson agrees to be the home plate umpire, The Bashers win the game and even the new kids don’t seem to mind. Karen is upset because she and Nany baked a victory cake for her but Kristy says it’s the thought that counts. When Kristy comes in they still have a surprise party she just (Karen) changes the words on the cake to “Goodbye Coach.” So the victory party is now a farewell party.
All the BSC members (and Logan) reunite at Sea City at last. Dawn will be at the Barents to help with Franklin’s kids (he has four from another marriage). Logan, Kristy, Maryanne, and Claudia will stay at the Pikes. On Monday night Logan will go back with Franklin and Dawn will go to the Pikes. Of course, they all hit the beach. Kristy calls a meeting but it's just to catch up. Logan is kind of quiet. There’s a radio announcement that there’s a hurricane on the rise (in Jamaica?). Logan admits (to us) that he’s a little bothered about Maryanne and Alex. After the meeting, he and she go for a walk on the beach, and guess who they see ((Toby and Alex). Logan admits he’s good-looking. There’s some awkward conversation and then Alex goes back to his charges. There’s no mention of him the rest of the night. Logan and Maryanne have a date on the boardwalk. He wins her a stuffed penguin (cute) and she wins him cheap shades. They ride the Ferris wheel after having taffy and fudge. They’re having a great time but Logan starts thinking about Alex again. He tries to put him out of his mind. While riding the haunted house ride, Logan hears some guys talking about what to do with the rides if the hurricane comes.
Mal takes Margo and Nicky into Sea City They each take turns pointing out what they see on binoculars that you can pay to use to look around Sea City. They then decide to go play miniature golf. On the way, they stop by Burger Garden. They see a clown advertising the traveling circus. While there they run into Toby and his charges. Getting sodas. They all end up playing miniature golf together. Mal and Toby talk. The kids play together and cheat. Then they finish the game and walk home together. Toby asks Mal if she can get a break Friday evening. She says she’ll love to and he says he’ll pick her up at seven. She goes home and tells Jessi she’s in love.
Stacey is in a funky mood with Dawn the next morning. She’s pissed off because she thinks someone used her face towel. Dawn asks if it's about Toby and Mal. She laughs it off (bitterly) and says he’ll just use her. Franklin wants to take the kids to Smithtown with Mrs. Barrett but they want to go to the traveling circus. The circus wins out. Dawn and Stacey will take them. But the circus is very basic and nothing like Ringling Brothers. They see a life-like pirate but when Buddy goes to touch it, the wax figure slaps its hand away and then walks away. He tells them to expect the unexpected at the Dixie Brothers. The show isn’t great. There’s one ring. The tent looks like it’s going to fall down. The animals are rinky dink but the kids love it all the same. Stacey wants some peanuts and Dawn goes to get them, but she can’t find any. Stacey goes to find them but comes back without and she says she thought she saw people with them. This puts Stacey back in a funk. Mr. Franklin on the way back says people are stocking up on supplies he’s heard. But it’s just a rumor. The next day is supposed to be sunny and the hurricane is in Jamaica. Dawn is looking forward to Franklin’s kids leaving so she can move to the Pikes and have a real vacation.
Buddy and Nickey get in a fight because Nickey accidentally messes up the castle they’re making. This causes an snarky comment from Stacey to Mal about paying more attention to the kids. Tuesday it’s overcast and some of the kids and babysitters go to the movies, When the babysitters come back the Pikes are discussing what to do if the hurricane hits. The Pikes decide to stay and Mr. Pikes says he’ll go into town and get some supplies. Jessi has a dream she’s on stage when an earthquake hits. She wakes to find Claire and Margo jumping up and down wanting to go to the beach and practice making castles. But it’s way too early. After breakfast, they head for the beach. Claire and Margo are excited because they think they’ll win. (Jessi was hoping they’d just want to enter for fun and isn’t looking forward to the heartbreak). Since it’s cold, Jessi tries to talk them out of it but she doesn’t succeed. Luckily, the contest is called out because of the storm and says it’ll be next week. Jessi decides “Bill” is her hero.
When it’s confirmed that the hurricane is really coming, Kristy comes up with the idea to go inlaid. So they all pack up to go to a hotel. On the way out of town, a policeman says the cosway has drowned and there’s no way out of town. So they’re all stranded. The police instructs them all to take shelter in the elementary school. They finally make it there. Inside there’s pandemonium! A man announces there setting up sleeping cots and there’s food in the cafeteria. After this, the lights go off, but the emergency lights come on. Flashlights and candles are passed out.
The storm hits Stoney brooke. Some power lines are down and a bunch of trees have fallen. The storm also passes in Sea City. Everyone leaves the shelter and goe back to the Pike's house. Everything looks normal. Nothing’s fallen. But the beach is a mess, dead fish, and trash are everywhere. There’s no electricity when they get to the house. They all decide to stay. Some neighbors start a group to clean up the area. They all have to eat bbq for two days because they have no power. Logan is still feeling unsure about Maryanne and Alex and decides to throw her a welcome home party. He tries to call and check on her but the phone lines are down in Dea City. This doesn’t help. Logan’s mind is playing tricks on him imagining Alex and Maryanne somewhere snuggling up together, But she calls and says she’ll be home the next day.
On the day of her date, Mallory, Clauid, and Jessi go into town and shop. Mal gets some flamingo barrettes and buttons. Mal runs into Stacey and she makes fun of the things Mal brought which makes Mal upset because she thinks Stacey hates her. Claudia and Jessi bring up memories of Ben and Mal feels a little guilty. She then gives him a call. and they talk and talk. By the end of their conversation, Mal realizes Ben is the only one she wants to talk to. So, now she’s confused. Jessi tells her to follow her heart. Msl is deciding to call the date off but she runs into Stacey and doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction so she tells Stacey she’s still going. Mal tho tells Toby she’s got a boyfriend and turns down his offer to hang out as a friend. She says she’s going to spend the last evening there with her family. He tells her if she knows of another cute girl when she comes back that he can go out with let him know. Mal and Stacey makeup and Stacey apologizes.
My Thoughts
I was disappointed that it didn’t get right into Sea City. I didn’t need to know about summer school and mini-camp. I especially didn’t need to read about Kristy going around from door to door focing children into playing baseball or read about a baseball game PERIOD. Most of this book was about the hurricane, Logan's insecurity, Stacey’s bad attitude, and Mallory’s infatuation with Toby. It really went kind of quick. Toby got what he gave and I was HAPPY to see it, but then I really don’t think it did much good because Toby is definitely the “on to the next one” type. That same night I wouldn’t be surprised if he went down to the boardwalk alone and hooked up with some other “cute girl” he saw. The hurricane was kind of exciting! Surprisingly I’m the exact opposite about tornados and hurricanes. People in my family will be FRANTIC and rushing around trying to get into the basement. Most of the time I either keep on doing what I’m doing OR I either just lay down and go to sleep. Because usually, all it amounts to is a few minutes (not even hours) of heavy rain and strong wind. I guess I’m not the excitable type. But in this story, I wanted to see what was going to happen. But that’s about it. I didn’t have any other thoughts on this one. I thought the traveling circus would be interesting. It wasn’t. It definitely wasn’t the Universe Soul circus!
Rating 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2022
I was super excited about this super special because the Sea City books are my favorites and I didn't really remember reading this one. Well, it was just okay. I mostly had issues with Stacey's 'tude towards Mallory and in general nastiness. Also, Mrs Barrett was extra frazzled. Why was Mrs Barrett there, you ask? Let's get into it and find out, okay? Okay!
The book starts off with a handful of letters and postcards from various people, giving us the setting and various handwritings we have to suffer thru in this book. It's summertime again in Stoneybrook and the Pike family is getting ready for their annual trip to Sea City, New Jersey. They've decided to let Mallory & Jessi be the baby-sitters this time. Not sure why. They've said before that they want Mallory to enjoy vacations as a family member not a sitter. Oh well. Then Mrs Barrett decides to get a beach house too and asks Stacey to come along. Mary Anne & Dawn are running some kind of camp for the kids staying home. Kristy has some issue with the Krushers. And Claudia...has summer school. Whomp whomp.
At the last BSC meeting before vacation, Logan and Shannon are there for once and they are having an End-of-the-Season Junk Food Blind Taste-Off, between Heath Bars or Skor Bars. (Heath, obviously.) And right away, we get not just a Claudia Outfit but also a Stacey Outfit, woo!
That Friday, for instance, she was wearing ripped cut-off jeans held up by a frayed rope belt, a T-shirt with the collar torn off, huge white socks all bunched around the ankle, and old-fashioned black lace-up shoes. She looked totally cool.
At our Friday meeting she [Stacey] was wearing this white T-shirt that hung practically to her knees (Stacey calls it a "jersey tunic" or something), white stretch pants ("ribbed leggings") to mid-calf, a tan leather belt over the T-shirt, and leather-strap sandals. Sometimes Stacey likes to wear all black, which seems kind of weird in the summer. (That's a weird thing to say, Kristy, when she is literally wearing the opposite of that.)
We also get the full intro chapter, which we are not supposed to have in the Super Specials. Annoying. Anyway, they all start talking about what they're doing the next 2 weeks, like I mentioned above. Shannon is going to drama camp and is playing Ado Annie in Oklahoma. (I've never seen it, is that a good role?) Logan is going to Sea City with the gang too (seems like a great idea: 1 guy and 7 girls) but is annoyed that Mary Anne's former TRU LUV Alex is going to be there too. (Also, stupid Toby.) Kristy is gearing up for her big flirt-o-rama Krushers vs Bashers game with Bart. Stacey mentions she wishes she was with the Pikes again instead of the Barretts. Foreshadowing of her bad attitude the whole time.
Let's start with Claudia, at summer school, just to get that bummer out of the way fast. It's torture, prison, awful, all the usual things you would think. And annoying Janine is taking summer classes at the university, just for fun. Ugh. Claudia gets to know her fellow classmates and become friends with a couple of them, good friends with one fellow artist. They actually start calling Claudia "the smart one". Wow. I feel bad for these kids.
On to the Pike gang. First of all, they have to rent a minivan to get everyone there and back. And it's pure chaos on the day they're leaving, naturally. Vanessa recites annoying poems, Nicky barfs in the car, the kids play a game counting people picking their noses in their cars, the suntan tushy billboard is gone and in its place, Weiner's Wieners, and they finally make it to the beach house.
Meanwhile, Stacey rides down with the Barretts and is already having a miserable time. Mrs Barrett is a terrible driver and gets road-ragey, she sees Toby immediately on the beach and tries to ignore him, but he doesn't take the hint. And then...Mallory comes up to her and says she thinks Toby likes her (Mallory). Like, what?? We get this gem from Mal's POV: But I liked the way he was making me feel. I'd never felt that way before. Wow, okay. Stacey tries to warn Mallory away from him, because he's nothing but trouble, but Mallory thinks Stace is just jealous. Double wow.
Mary Anne & Dawn are hosting some kind of mini-camp baby-sitting thing. I don't know, I didn't pay much attention lol. There was a mess with eggs, Elvira the goat attacks Prissy Jenny Prezzioso, Glynis the goose attacks Charlotte, it rains at their sleepover, and Dawn scares the kids (and Mary Anne) silly with a ghost story in the barn.
Kristy does boring stuff with the Krushers: nearly her entire team can't play for one reason or another, Kristy freaks and starts canvassing the neighborhood looking for kids to play, Bart offers to cancel the big game, she refuses, the Krushers lose 34-1.
Finally, the whole BSC team (plus Logan) is together again, on the beach, and they brought with them a hurricane. Sort of, but not quite yet, we'll get to that. Mrs Barrett's boyfriend & kids come down too and Dawn is set to watch them with Stacey. Stacey complains about Mallory a lot. And Mrs Barrett. And people using her towel. She mostly just complains a lot. Mallory sends a postcard to Stacey's mom for some reason. Toby ASKS OUT Mallory. Like for real. I know, I was as shocked and honestly dismayed as Stacey.
Is this getting too long and boring? Probably. Alright, speedy version! Hurricane Bill shows up, the Pikes decide to wait it out but then get worried, so try to get more inland, but don't get very far because everyone else on the island is thinking the exact same thing. Turns out the causeway is flooded so they have to take shelter at the local elementary school. Everyone is crying and freaking out, they have to eat canned ham for dinner, the power goes out, and they can't get thru to Stoneybrook for several days. And then we get a random chapter from Karen Brewer? I swear, that kid just insists on being in every story no matter what. After the hurricane passes, the families decide to stay til the end of their vacation and have fun no matter what. Mallory's hot date comes up and she picks out an outfit:
I ended up choosing a short, flared, white-on-blue polka-dotted skirt (mine); a white, ribbed tank-top (Jessi's); and a long, royal-blue men's shirt with the tails tied in front (Claudia had run to her room for that). Claudia insisted I not wear anything too light or it would "wash out my face." We carefully placed some of the buttons we'd bought on the tanktop. Claudia yanked back my mane and figured out how to put the flamingo barrettes in it so they wouldn't get lost.
And then, she remembers she's kind of dating Ben Hobart still and probably doesn't really want to go out with anyone else. Duh. These girls all just think with one thing when they're on vacation! So she let's him get all the way there to pick her up and THEN tells him she can't go out with him. He's like, oh okay and "...if you come back next summer and know of another cute girl who's unattached, let me know, okay?" Mallory & Stacey finally make up, vacation is over, we end with a few more letters wrapping things up and Toby writes Mallory, asking if Jessi is available and how old she is. Wow, what a sleaze.
Blogged & full outfit pictures at SeeJennRead!
The book starts off with a handful of letters and postcards from various people, giving us the setting and various handwritings we have to suffer thru in this book. It's summertime again in Stoneybrook and the Pike family is getting ready for their annual trip to Sea City, New Jersey. They've decided to let Mallory & Jessi be the baby-sitters this time. Not sure why. They've said before that they want Mallory to enjoy vacations as a family member not a sitter. Oh well. Then Mrs Barrett decides to get a beach house too and asks Stacey to come along. Mary Anne & Dawn are running some kind of camp for the kids staying home. Kristy has some issue with the Krushers. And Claudia...has summer school. Whomp whomp.
At the last BSC meeting before vacation, Logan and Shannon are there for once and they are having an End-of-the-Season Junk Food Blind Taste-Off, between Heath Bars or Skor Bars. (Heath, obviously.) And right away, we get not just a Claudia Outfit but also a Stacey Outfit, woo!
That Friday, for instance, she was wearing ripped cut-off jeans held up by a frayed rope belt, a T-shirt with the collar torn off, huge white socks all bunched around the ankle, and old-fashioned black lace-up shoes. She looked totally cool.
At our Friday meeting she [Stacey] was wearing this white T-shirt that hung practically to her knees (Stacey calls it a "jersey tunic" or something), white stretch pants ("ribbed leggings") to mid-calf, a tan leather belt over the T-shirt, and leather-strap sandals. Sometimes Stacey likes to wear all black, which seems kind of weird in the summer. (That's a weird thing to say, Kristy, when she is literally wearing the opposite of that.)
We also get the full intro chapter, which we are not supposed to have in the Super Specials. Annoying. Anyway, they all start talking about what they're doing the next 2 weeks, like I mentioned above. Shannon is going to drama camp and is playing Ado Annie in Oklahoma. (I've never seen it, is that a good role?) Logan is going to Sea City with the gang too (seems like a great idea: 1 guy and 7 girls) but is annoyed that Mary Anne's former TRU LUV Alex is going to be there too. (Also, stupid Toby.) Kristy is gearing up for her big flirt-o-rama Krushers vs Bashers game with Bart. Stacey mentions she wishes she was with the Pikes again instead of the Barretts. Foreshadowing of her bad attitude the whole time.
Let's start with Claudia, at summer school, just to get that bummer out of the way fast. It's torture, prison, awful, all the usual things you would think. And annoying Janine is taking summer classes at the university, just for fun. Ugh. Claudia gets to know her fellow classmates and become friends with a couple of them, good friends with one fellow artist. They actually start calling Claudia "the smart one". Wow. I feel bad for these kids.
On to the Pike gang. First of all, they have to rent a minivan to get everyone there and back. And it's pure chaos on the day they're leaving, naturally. Vanessa recites annoying poems, Nicky barfs in the car, the kids play a game counting people picking their noses in their cars, the suntan tushy billboard is gone and in its place, Weiner's Wieners, and they finally make it to the beach house.
Meanwhile, Stacey rides down with the Barretts and is already having a miserable time. Mrs Barrett is a terrible driver and gets road-ragey, she sees Toby immediately on the beach and tries to ignore him, but he doesn't take the hint. And then...Mallory comes up to her and says she thinks Toby likes her (Mallory). Like, what?? We get this gem from Mal's POV: But I liked the way he was making me feel. I'd never felt that way before. Wow, okay. Stacey tries to warn Mallory away from him, because he's nothing but trouble, but Mallory thinks Stace is just jealous. Double wow.
Mary Anne & Dawn are hosting some kind of mini-camp baby-sitting thing. I don't know, I didn't pay much attention lol. There was a mess with eggs, Elvira the goat attacks Prissy Jenny Prezzioso, Glynis the goose attacks Charlotte, it rains at their sleepover, and Dawn scares the kids (and Mary Anne) silly with a ghost story in the barn.
Kristy does boring stuff with the Krushers: nearly her entire team can't play for one reason or another, Kristy freaks and starts canvassing the neighborhood looking for kids to play, Bart offers to cancel the big game, she refuses, the Krushers lose 34-1.
Finally, the whole BSC team (plus Logan) is together again, on the beach, and they brought with them a hurricane. Sort of, but not quite yet, we'll get to that. Mrs Barrett's boyfriend & kids come down too and Dawn is set to watch them with Stacey. Stacey complains about Mallory a lot. And Mrs Barrett. And people using her towel. She mostly just complains a lot. Mallory sends a postcard to Stacey's mom for some reason. Toby ASKS OUT Mallory. Like for real. I know, I was as shocked and honestly dismayed as Stacey.
Is this getting too long and boring? Probably. Alright, speedy version! Hurricane Bill shows up, the Pikes decide to wait it out but then get worried, so try to get more inland, but don't get very far because everyone else on the island is thinking the exact same thing. Turns out the causeway is flooded so they have to take shelter at the local elementary school. Everyone is crying and freaking out, they have to eat canned ham for dinner, the power goes out, and they can't get thru to Stoneybrook for several days. And then we get a random chapter from Karen Brewer? I swear, that kid just insists on being in every story no matter what. After the hurricane passes, the families decide to stay til the end of their vacation and have fun no matter what. Mallory's hot date comes up and she picks out an outfit:
I ended up choosing a short, flared, white-on-blue polka-dotted skirt (mine); a white, ribbed tank-top (Jessi's); and a long, royal-blue men's shirt with the tails tied in front (Claudia had run to her room for that). Claudia insisted I not wear anything too light or it would "wash out my face." We carefully placed some of the buttons we'd bought on the tanktop. Claudia yanked back my mane and figured out how to put the flamingo barrettes in it so they wouldn't get lost.
And then, she remembers she's kind of dating Ben Hobart still and probably doesn't really want to go out with anyone else. Duh. These girls all just think with one thing when they're on vacation! So she let's him get all the way there to pick her up and THEN tells him she can't go out with him. He's like, oh okay and "...if you come back next summer and know of another cute girl who's unattached, let me know, okay?" Mallory & Stacey finally make up, vacation is over, we end with a few more letters wrapping things up and Toby writes Mallory, asking if Jessi is available and how old she is. Wow, what a sleaze.
Blogged & full outfit pictures at SeeJennRead!
August 14, 2020
I hate when I don't write reviews as soon as I finish books, because 1) I forget when I read/finished it (I've been off all week, so every day has kind of blended together) and 2) I forget what thoughts and observations I wanted to make while reading. Sigh.
This is an interesting Super Special because, unlike previous books where there is maybe one chapter leading into the big adventure, this book is kind of broken into three parts: pre-Sea City, where the girls wrap up whatever else they were up to for the summer (softball, camp, school - only Mal, Jessi, and Stacey are in Sea City for most of the book), Sea City itself, when the rest of the BSC goes for a week, and Hurricane Bill, where the Sea City adventure takes a turn. I just find it interesting that a solid chunk of the book, probably about half, takes place before Sea City.
As for the stories, they're all okay. I liked Claudia's summer school, and that she made new friends. It's actually disappointing that we never hear of Carly or any of them ever again. I already said it in a status update, but I would have liked to see the BSC have some other good friends who weren't baby-sitters. I guess we kind of get that with Anna in the future, and a lot more in the Friends Forever series, but yeah, it felt like there was some good potential there. I also didn't really understand why Karen had a chapter in the book, considering she wasn't in the book at all. I love Karen and all, but it was kind of out of place. I suppose they just wanted to show how Stoneybrook was affected by the hurricane, but since all the BSC were in Sea City, they didn't really have anyone else to narrate, and Karen already has her own series? Logan was home by then, but I guess that would have cut into his moping about Mary Anne time... (Between him in this book and Mary Anne in Super Special 3, ugh, these two are made for each other.)
tl;dr you can't go wrong with a Super Special.
This is an interesting Super Special because, unlike previous books where there is maybe one chapter leading into the big adventure, this book is kind of broken into three parts: pre-Sea City, where the girls wrap up whatever else they were up to for the summer (softball, camp, school - only Mal, Jessi, and Stacey are in Sea City for most of the book), Sea City itself, when the rest of the BSC goes for a week, and Hurricane Bill, where the Sea City adventure takes a turn. I just find it interesting that a solid chunk of the book, probably about half, takes place before Sea City.
As for the stories, they're all okay. I liked Claudia's summer school, and that she made new friends. It's actually disappointing that we never hear of Carly or any of them ever again. I already said it in a status update, but I would have liked to see the BSC have some other good friends who weren't baby-sitters. I guess we kind of get that with Anna in the future, and a lot more in the Friends Forever series, but yeah, it felt like there was some good potential there. I also didn't really understand why Karen had a chapter in the book, considering she wasn't in the book at all. I love Karen and all, but it was kind of out of place. I suppose they just wanted to show how Stoneybrook was affected by the hurricane, but since all the BSC were in Sea City, they didn't really have anyone else to narrate, and Karen already has her own series? Logan was home by then, but I guess that would have cut into his moping about Mary Anne time... (Between him in this book and Mary Anne in Super Special 3, ugh, these two are made for each other.)
tl;dr you can't go wrong with a Super Special.
December 25, 2021
This book was a mess! Absolutely the worst Super Special so far. There are so many plotlines crammed in here–summer school, BSC mini-camp, Krushers drama, babysitting and mother-helping, Sea City, boy drama, a fucking hurricane. And somehow they are ALL boring and underwhelming.
Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Dawn basically have no point in this book after their random pre-Sea City stories were wrapped up. They literally do nothing in Sea City but just tag along with two other family vacations. They don’t even do anything as a club but have a “meeting” in which they recap the first half of the book.
Stacey goes along as a mother’s helper to Mrs. Barrett and is salty about it the entire book for no reason whatsoever. Stacey also got the honor of being Mallory’s bully in this book, because apparently every Super Special must have Mallory getting bullied for being the ugliest person to ever dare exist.
The premise of Jessi and Mallory taking the “mother’s helper” spots also makes no sense. Junior sitters are only allowed to sit in the afternoon, so I would think vacationing with the family would be considered at least as senior as night sitting. Also, the point of hiring Mary Anne and Stacey back even though Mallory was in the BSC in Mary Anne and Too Many Boyswas because Mallory wasn’t meant to be working her family vacation. They would have invited Jessi anyways, since literally the entire rest of the BSC + Logan got invited on the trip, too.
I guess this is the shitty parenting of the Pikes again, because they seem to do nothing on this trip to care of all their children. Jessi is cooking breakfast everyday! That seems WAY beyond the scope.
Additional perspectives from Margo Pike, Logan, Buddy Barrett, and Karen Brewer (who is just at home in Stoneybrook!!!) add nothing except further evidence that Logan is a controlling, possessive creep.
Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Dawn basically have no point in this book after their random pre-Sea City stories were wrapped up. They literally do nothing in Sea City but just tag along with two other family vacations. They don’t even do anything as a club but have a “meeting” in which they recap the first half of the book.
Stacey goes along as a mother’s helper to Mrs. Barrett and is salty about it the entire book for no reason whatsoever. Stacey also got the honor of being Mallory’s bully in this book, because apparently every Super Special must have Mallory getting bullied for being the ugliest person to ever dare exist.
The premise of Jessi and Mallory taking the “mother’s helper” spots also makes no sense. Junior sitters are only allowed to sit in the afternoon, so I would think vacationing with the family would be considered at least as senior as night sitting. Also, the point of hiring Mary Anne and Stacey back even though Mallory was in the BSC in Mary Anne and Too Many Boyswas because Mallory wasn’t meant to be working her family vacation. They would have invited Jessi anyways, since literally the entire rest of the BSC + Logan got invited on the trip, too.
I guess this is the shitty parenting of the Pikes again, because they seem to do nothing on this trip to care of all their children. Jessi is cooking breakfast everyday! That seems WAY beyond the scope.
Additional perspectives from Margo Pike, Logan, Buddy Barrett, and Karen Brewer (who is just at home in Stoneybrook!!!) add nothing except further evidence that Logan is a controlling, possessive creep.
January 28, 2022
Bleeech. Third time's not a charm for the BSC descending on Sea City. And though the writer started reasonable figuring since Mallory is now old enough and has best friend Jessi, the entire club doesn't need to make an appearance. Only Stacey is hired as mother's helper for the Barrett family who is traveling up with them. But the formula squad must have paid the ghost writer a visit, deciding this was too sane to have everyone doing their own thing for summer vacation and ensures all the BSC will stop what they're doing and make an appearance at Sea City - which is mostly being used for nostalgia purposes ... again.
There's a super boring twist about a hurricane scare giving Kristy a chance to bless everyone with her great idea -lets go to a hotel to hunker down. An even more boring Karen chapter. But it was a hoot to see Stacey flip out over Tobey eyeing Mallory as his next conquest. For a longer review check out my blog - https://cliqueypizza.wordpress.com/20...
There's a super boring twist about a hurricane scare giving Kristy a chance to bless everyone with her great idea -lets go to a hotel to hunker down. An even more boring Karen chapter. But it was a hoot to see Stacey flip out over Tobey eyeing Mallory as his next conquest. For a longer review check out my blog - https://cliqueypizza.wordpress.com/20...
July 13, 2019
I discovered this Babysitters Club book in a little free library and knew I had to pick it up and read it. I used to love the Babysitters Club series when I was a kid—both the books about Kristy and her friends, and the ones about her little sister Karen—and all the memories of reading those books came back to me as I revisited this one. The story itself was kind of pointless in my opinion, that of everyone going on vacation and experiencing various different things while there (chaos, crushes, jealousy, whatever), even in spite of the specter of a hurricane bearing down on them—although maybe that could have been because I haven't read this series in ages. I felt a bit disinterested in the story after a while—espiecally since I'd forgotten how each chapter is narrated by a different person, which tends to make the story jump around a bit—but it was kind of fun to be reminded of the series that I used to love.
August 1, 2019
I absolutely love this book - even the non-Sea City storylines like Kristy looking for Krusher replacements (which is usually a subject I’m bored by), Dawn and Mary Anne’s mini-camp (I especially love the ghost story Dawn makes up!) and Claudia making friends at summer camp (that we never, ever hear of again.)
And then of course I love the subplots like Logan being jealous of Alex “for no reason” (clearly Mary Anne never told him they exchanged rings with their initials on them...), the sand castle competition, and Hurricane Bill.
Once again, though - what is it about Sea City that turns Stacey into such a horribly unlikeable person!? She’s even worse in this book than the other two, and that’s saying a lot.
And then of course I love the subplots like Logan being jealous of Alex “for no reason” (clearly Mary Anne never told him they exchanged rings with their initials on them...), the sand castle competition, and Hurricane Bill.
Once again, though - what is it about Sea City that turns Stacey into such a horribly unlikeable person!? She’s even worse in this book than the other two, and that’s saying a lot.
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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.
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.
December 10, 2024
Really fun and wholesome read :))
Loved the summer camp and friend group club vibes, all in a seaside setting with mail from each character in between!
I'm looking forward to reading more from The Babysitters Club, mainly to help me figure out which character is which because I'm still confused about most of them and have no idea how kids are supposed to keep up with it.
Thats all from me,
"your pal,"
Manouka
Loved the summer camp and friend group club vibes, all in a seaside setting with mail from each character in between!
I'm looking forward to reading more from The Babysitters Club, mainly to help me figure out which character is which because I'm still confused about most of them and have no idea how kids are supposed to keep up with it.
Thats all from me,
"your pal,"
Manouka
July 7, 2025
I needed a brain break so I decided to bust out a book from
the past. The floods in Texas, missing and lost people, and the girls from Camp Mystic were heavy on my heart and mind and I just needed something easy and mindless to escape. I forgot about the hurricane in this book, so it brought me right back to reality but mostly it was a good escape. I may even read another one tonight.
As an adult re-reading a book from a series I loved as a kid, it wasn’t long enough!
the past. The floods in Texas, missing and lost people, and the girls from Camp Mystic were heavy on my heart and mind and I just needed something easy and mindless to escape. I forgot about the hurricane in this book, so it brought me right back to reality but mostly it was a good escape. I may even read another one tonight.
As an adult re-reading a book from a series I loved as a kid, it wasn’t long enough!
October 30, 2017
Are we serious with this, guys? Come ON!
First of all, we had to endure Krushers bs in this book. Can't we have ONE book without that nonsense? Also I HATE when the Super Specials feature chapters from the younger kids POV. You are a 6 year old! I do not care!
Also the whole hurricane thing was so convoluted I can not even.
First of all, we had to endure Krushers bs in this book. Can't we have ONE book without that nonsense? Also I HATE when the Super Specials feature chapters from the younger kids POV. You are a 6 year old! I do not care!
Also the whole hurricane thing was so convoluted I can not even.
January 4, 2021
(LL)
This is the third or fourth book about going to the same place. Nothing new and really not necessary. Boring. The hurricane plot line could have been good, but all the kids kept saying how “cool” it was and how it was “boring” because there wasn’t much damage for them to look at in the aftermath. Like the hell? There was also some casual fat shaming thrown in here too.
This is the third or fourth book about going to the same place. Nothing new and really not necessary. Boring. The hurricane plot line could have been good, but all the kids kept saying how “cool” it was and how it was “boring” because there wasn’t much damage for them to look at in the aftermath. Like the hell? There was also some casual fat shaming thrown in here too.
September 4, 2021
Maybe all of the hurricanes I've experienced on the coast here in NC are the reason, or maybe Florence really just drove the nail in the coffin for me, but reading about hurricanes is so not fun it hurts. Also I love Stacey but she's always a jerk in Sea City.
But at least the BSC officially voted that Skors bars are better than Heath bars. I love both but the Skors bars have the edge. Fight me.
But at least the BSC officially voted that Skors bars are better than Heath bars. I love both but the Skors bars have the edge. Fight me.
May 29, 2022
This was a good one, in terms of plots for characters who primarily get the shaft-- Mallory is being macked on my Stacey's ex, Toby, and Logan is a jealous mess that Alex exists, and Claudia makes friends in summer school, and Mrs. Barrett has a boyfriend. Big ass hurricane, snippy babysitters, a few cute chapters about the kids- easy, fun summer nostalgia. Makes me miss Ocean City. 3 stars.
June 2, 2019
This was a good one, especially to read right now...the summer. Because I live in NJ going to the Jersey shore has a particular fondness for my childhood, as do these books.
If anything, I'm now plotting how I can plan a few days down at the water.
If anything, I'm now plotting how I can plan a few days down at the water.
August 19, 2019
The babysitters club have all been invited to Sea City by two families. Stacey is babysitting for the Barrett’s and Mal and Jessi are babysitting for mals brothers and sisters. Things are fun down by the beach until hurricane bill arrives and causes chaos for everyone.
January 13, 2024
Starting the year with a blast of nostalgia. I loved this series as a tween/young teen. Two stars is a relative rating, versus my memories of other super specials in the series. It’s not Austen, but the sense of happiness after reading it was off the charts.
September 17, 2019
Awesome book! I thought Toby was a really jerk! I always thought he was a sweetie, but i guess I was wrong :).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2020
The hurricane was fun and Logan was cute but TOBY IS A CREEP AND THAT IS NEVER ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED.
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September 15, 2020Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...
October 28, 2020
A nice happy read
December 20, 2020
Pretty good
This was not my favorite BSC book, but still a good one. These books are great just to have o my phone.
This was not my favorite BSC book, but still a good one. These books are great just to have o my phone.
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