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The Baby-Sitters Club #61
Jessi and the Awful Secret
When Jessi's dance teacher asks for volunteers to help out in ballet class for children, Jessi gladly signs up. She loves kids, and volunteering will also give Jesse a chance to get to know some of the girls in her own class better. Jessi discovers that one of the girls in her dance class is anorexic, and she and her friends soon learn about the seriousness of the illness.
139 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1993
57 people are currently reading
805 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,112 books3,056 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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June 17, 2016
this is my first time reading this book!
in this afterschool special on top of afterschool special book by ghostwriter Suzanne Weyn jessi starts volunteering for a free ballet class for "underprivileged" kids. in the class she notices that one of the other volunteers/one of the girls in her regular ballet class is not eating much, is losing weight, and keeps getting sick/fainting. anorexia, race & other minority statuses, and what "underprivileged" means are all addressed in kind of idiotic ways. meanwhile, kristy gets mad at the bsc for hanging out with shannon--the associate member of the bsc, not the puppy--and not hanging out with her as much.
highlights:
-the one real highlight is the martha plotline. martha is a black girl in jessi's "underprivileged" ballet class who has natural talent. her mom keeps staring at jessi. it turns out that she had sent martha to dance classes before but stopped when her neighbor told her she was wasting her money because there is "no room for people of color" in ballet. seeing jessi being part of this school's ballet community helps. also, jessi talks about alvin ailey & judith jamison. it's a nice bit of mini-education about the state of being black in mainstream american dance circa 1993.
-watson brewer ends up sponsoring two scholarships to the ballet school, given to martha (see above) and devon, a boy who is really hyper and silly but ends up getting serious about dance.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-kristy subplot. she just doesn't know what she wants. she complains about shannon, who she says is trying to hang out with her too much. then when others hang out with shannon she gets mad. it's very dumb. it also seems really inappropriate to have such a shallow idiotic plotline in such a SERIOUS DRAMA kind of book.
-jessi notes that she hadn't thought of the kids as underprivileged until she saw their parents who looked sad and tired. uggghhhh. not everybody who is "underprivileged" (what does that word even mean? it's like "at-risk" -- isn't there a better way of saying what you're trying to say?) is totally beaten down by life all the time.
-raul (one of the volunteers) thinks that mme dupre (the ballet teacher) doesn't take the free classes seriously because the kids are charity cases. he defends his belief, saying, "being a minority you become used to getting a raw deal. you get defensive. haven't you found that, jessi?" jessi replies, "no...not especially. I mean, I know what you're saying, but that hasn't been my experience." SERIOUSLY? I am sorry but I can point to a thousand examples in Hello, Mallory and Jessi's Secret Language alone wherein you say the EXACT opposite of this. I am really tired of the poor handling of race in these books.
-jessi suggests mary (the anorexic girl) order a salad at burger king and she says that salad dressing is too fatty so she gets fries instead. you know you don't have to put the dressing on right? salad with no dressing is probably less fatty than fries.
-nobody in the bsc can understand anorexia. I don't buy it. you take any group of seven tweenage people socialized to be girls (especially ones that read teeny bopper magazines, which these ones DO) and there is at least one who has thought they were fat when they weren't. claudia is sitting and eating a twinkie and says something about how she couldn't imagine anyone thinking that way. if you didn't have an unbelievable metabolism that allows you to eat nonstop junk and still be thin, maybe you could get off your high horse and be more empathetic about this.
-mmes noelle and dupre don't automatically assume mary is anorexic when she is super thin and pale and keeps fainting. this seems unrealistic to me. you guys teach ballet. you encourage rigorous exercise and strict diets. you can't pick out a malnourished person in a crowd?
-why do they keep calling yvonne (one of the free ballet class kids) plump in a book about anorexia? seriously, this is THE WORST THING about this book. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? at 30, after struggling with body image stuff off and on for years, I have virtually no body image problems at all/am stoked on being a semi-chubby/curvy/whatever person. still, this almost made me feel weird about my body because it's treated like everyone else is normal and this "plump" person is so unusual that plumpness becomes her main character trait. UGH. I HATE THIS.
claudia outfit:
-"For example, today she was wearing a neon green tank top under a white oversized man's shirt and fuschia [sic] pink stirrup pants. The shirt was rolled at the sleeves and belted with a colorful woven belt."
jessi outfit:
-"I settled on a neon-green leotard and a pair of deep blue work-out pants with heavy yellow slouchy socks."
snacks in claudia's room:
-twinkies (n.s.)
-potato chips (n.s.)
in this afterschool special on top of afterschool special book by ghostwriter Suzanne Weyn jessi starts volunteering for a free ballet class for "underprivileged" kids. in the class she notices that one of the other volunteers/one of the girls in her regular ballet class is not eating much, is losing weight, and keeps getting sick/fainting. anorexia, race & other minority statuses, and what "underprivileged" means are all addressed in kind of idiotic ways. meanwhile, kristy gets mad at the bsc for hanging out with shannon--the associate member of the bsc, not the puppy--and not hanging out with her as much.
highlights:
-the one real highlight is the martha plotline. martha is a black girl in jessi's "underprivileged" ballet class who has natural talent. her mom keeps staring at jessi. it turns out that she had sent martha to dance classes before but stopped when her neighbor told her she was wasting her money because there is "no room for people of color" in ballet. seeing jessi being part of this school's ballet community helps. also, jessi talks about alvin ailey & judith jamison. it's a nice bit of mini-education about the state of being black in mainstream american dance circa 1993.
-watson brewer ends up sponsoring two scholarships to the ballet school, given to martha (see above) and devon, a boy who is really hyper and silly but ends up getting serious about dance.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-kristy subplot. she just doesn't know what she wants. she complains about shannon, who she says is trying to hang out with her too much. then when others hang out with shannon she gets mad. it's very dumb. it also seems really inappropriate to have such a shallow idiotic plotline in such a SERIOUS DRAMA kind of book.
-jessi notes that she hadn't thought of the kids as underprivileged until she saw their parents who looked sad and tired. uggghhhh. not everybody who is "underprivileged" (what does that word even mean? it's like "at-risk" -- isn't there a better way of saying what you're trying to say?) is totally beaten down by life all the time.
-raul (one of the volunteers) thinks that mme dupre (the ballet teacher) doesn't take the free classes seriously because the kids are charity cases. he defends his belief, saying, "being a minority you become used to getting a raw deal. you get defensive. haven't you found that, jessi?" jessi replies, "no...not especially. I mean, I know what you're saying, but that hasn't been my experience." SERIOUSLY? I am sorry but I can point to a thousand examples in Hello, Mallory and Jessi's Secret Language alone wherein you say the EXACT opposite of this. I am really tired of the poor handling of race in these books.
-jessi suggests mary (the anorexic girl) order a salad at burger king and she says that salad dressing is too fatty so she gets fries instead. you know you don't have to put the dressing on right? salad with no dressing is probably less fatty than fries.
-nobody in the bsc can understand anorexia. I don't buy it. you take any group of seven tweenage people socialized to be girls (especially ones that read teeny bopper magazines, which these ones DO) and there is at least one who has thought they were fat when they weren't. claudia is sitting and eating a twinkie and says something about how she couldn't imagine anyone thinking that way. if you didn't have an unbelievable metabolism that allows you to eat nonstop junk and still be thin, maybe you could get off your high horse and be more empathetic about this.
-mmes noelle and dupre don't automatically assume mary is anorexic when she is super thin and pale and keeps fainting. this seems unrealistic to me. you guys teach ballet. you encourage rigorous exercise and strict diets. you can't pick out a malnourished person in a crowd?
-why do they keep calling yvonne (one of the free ballet class kids) plump in a book about anorexia? seriously, this is THE WORST THING about this book. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? at 30, after struggling with body image stuff off and on for years, I have virtually no body image problems at all/am stoked on being a semi-chubby/curvy/whatever person. still, this almost made me feel weird about my body because it's treated like everyone else is normal and this "plump" person is so unusual that plumpness becomes her main character trait. UGH. I HATE THIS.
claudia outfit:
-"For example, today she was wearing a neon green tank top under a white oversized man's shirt and fuschia [sic] pink stirrup pants. The shirt was rolled at the sleeves and belted with a colorful woven belt."
jessi outfit:
-"I settled on a neon-green leotard and a pair of deep blue work-out pants with heavy yellow slouchy socks."
snacks in claudia's room:
-twinkies (n.s.)
-potato chips (n.s.)
December 7, 2010
i feel like there are 76 different plotlines in this book. we open with jessi at ballet class. at the end of class, mme noelle tells everyone that the ballet school is going to be hosting a children's beginning ballet class for local under-privileged youth, & she asks for volunteers that might want to work with the kids. jessi volunteers right away & is surprised that more of her classmates are not chomping at the bit to spend their regularly scheduled dance class time (for which they pay out the nose) teaching strange children ballet skills for free. but one other girl in the class, mary, does volunteer.
in the locker room later, mary remarks that she is having a hard time doing the pas de chat because she can't get enough height of her jumps. another student, mindy, suggests that mary lose some weight. she says she lost weight & could jump higher as a result. "don't you find that to be true, jessi," asks mindy. jessi starts to say no, but gets distracted by something.
at that afternoon's babysitters club meeting, a call comes in that none of the regular sitters can take, & mary anne says she knows logan is busy that day as well. they have to call shannon. but kristy frowns & asks someone else to do it. she explains that shannon has more free time recently, & has been spending it by hanging around with kristy & monopolizing her time. she doesn't want to risk calling shannon & getting shanghaied into another tedious hang-out. stacey tells kristy to tell shannon to call her, claudia, dawn, etc. they all think shannon is cool & would like to get to her know her better. this makes kristy happier, & she makes the call to shannon.
at the first under-privileged kid dance class, jessi notices a few kids that seem especially talented. one is a dark-skinned little girl who seems to naturally fall into proper ballet postures, but is very shy. another is a rowdy latino boy with tons of energy & natural grace, but a tendency to disrupt the concentration of the other kids around him. jessi helps out with the class as much as she can, & afterwards, mary is again complaining about her weight. mindy again encourages her to try dieting. jessi is confused because mary is already quite thin, but she brushes off her concerns. the volunteers all decide to go out for snacks together at burger king. mary seems alarmed by the idea of eating at burger king, & is reluctant to order anything, & even more reluctant to eat what she ordered. one of the boy volunteers, a latino dude named ramon, remarks that the class teacher, mme dupre, doesn't really seem to be pushing the kids to do any real ballet. she just let them fool around. he suggests that she doesn't think it's worth teaching them anything because they are mostly poor &/or of color & won't go on to have ballet careers after all. i imagine him jumping up on the table & being all, "mme dupre doesn't care about black people!" he asks jessi to back him up, but she demurs & says that she doesn't feel she has ever faced prejudice in her ballet classes. jessi is the dinesh d'souza of the ballet world.
& from here the story drags on. jessi notices that mary is a little thinner during every ballet class, & she starts wearing baggy clothes to hide her body. she frets over her weight, skips a trip to burger king in order to go running, & even faints in class one day. the naturally talented kids that jessi noticed on her first day of volunteering with the kids' class continue to be good dancers, & the high-spirited little boy dedicates himself to learing the steps after mme dupre benches him one day for distracting the other students. ramon backs off his assessment of mme dupre when he realizes that the first class was basically just a taster, & that she is planning to make the kids work. claudia, stacey, & dawn spend more time with shannon, & kristy acts more & more pissed off for reasons no one can understand.
finally, jessi tells the other babysitters & aunt cecelia her suspicions about mary. they all agree that mary may be on the road to anorexia, & that jessi should say something to her &/or mme noelle. jessi also realizes that the under-privileged kids she's teaching won't be able to afford to continue taking ballet classes after the free starter class is over. she mentions this to the other babysitters & kristy suggests soliciting corporations to sponsor some of the more talented kids. she offers to talk to watson about it. kristy also finally admits that she's been pissy because she was worried that the babysitters were replacing her with shannon as a friend. she was jealous. she apologizes to shannon & everyone feels better. jessi confronts mary about her fears regarding anorexia, mary gets pissed, so jessi goes to mme noelle. there's all this narration on jessi's part about how mme noelle probably has no idea what's going on with mary. because i'm so sure a professional ballet teacher is totally unfamiliar with the symptoms of anorexia. mme noelle talks to mary's parents, who enroll her in some hardcore eating disorder treatment program. watson volunteers to fund two scholarships for under-privileged kids, & they go to the two kids jessi noticed on her first volunteer day.
this wasn't that awful of a book, but i don't know what all the kristy/shannon drama had to do with anything else. just a way to bring the other sitters into the story somehow, i guess. but there was already an A-plot (mary's anorexia) & a B-plot themed around kids (the volunteer class), so the kristy/shannon stuff seemed like a distraction. & the volunteer class stuff was incredibly tedious. the little girl who got the scholarship had taken a few lessons before, but her mom pulled her out after a neighbor said that a black girl could never really be a professional ballerina, so lessons were a waste of money. i can't believe that the mom would listen to that shit. jessi talks to her & explains that she has gotten some big parts in performances "even though" she is black. sometimes i wonder what the hell is going on with jessi's racial self-perception. then i remind myself that her books are written by white people, which explains a hell of a lot.
in the locker room later, mary remarks that she is having a hard time doing the pas de chat because she can't get enough height of her jumps. another student, mindy, suggests that mary lose some weight. she says she lost weight & could jump higher as a result. "don't you find that to be true, jessi," asks mindy. jessi starts to say no, but gets distracted by something.
at that afternoon's babysitters club meeting, a call comes in that none of the regular sitters can take, & mary anne says she knows logan is busy that day as well. they have to call shannon. but kristy frowns & asks someone else to do it. she explains that shannon has more free time recently, & has been spending it by hanging around with kristy & monopolizing her time. she doesn't want to risk calling shannon & getting shanghaied into another tedious hang-out. stacey tells kristy to tell shannon to call her, claudia, dawn, etc. they all think shannon is cool & would like to get to her know her better. this makes kristy happier, & she makes the call to shannon.
at the first under-privileged kid dance class, jessi notices a few kids that seem especially talented. one is a dark-skinned little girl who seems to naturally fall into proper ballet postures, but is very shy. another is a rowdy latino boy with tons of energy & natural grace, but a tendency to disrupt the concentration of the other kids around him. jessi helps out with the class as much as she can, & afterwards, mary is again complaining about her weight. mindy again encourages her to try dieting. jessi is confused because mary is already quite thin, but she brushes off her concerns. the volunteers all decide to go out for snacks together at burger king. mary seems alarmed by the idea of eating at burger king, & is reluctant to order anything, & even more reluctant to eat what she ordered. one of the boy volunteers, a latino dude named ramon, remarks that the class teacher, mme dupre, doesn't really seem to be pushing the kids to do any real ballet. she just let them fool around. he suggests that she doesn't think it's worth teaching them anything because they are mostly poor &/or of color & won't go on to have ballet careers after all. i imagine him jumping up on the table & being all, "mme dupre doesn't care about black people!" he asks jessi to back him up, but she demurs & says that she doesn't feel she has ever faced prejudice in her ballet classes. jessi is the dinesh d'souza of the ballet world.
& from here the story drags on. jessi notices that mary is a little thinner during every ballet class, & she starts wearing baggy clothes to hide her body. she frets over her weight, skips a trip to burger king in order to go running, & even faints in class one day. the naturally talented kids that jessi noticed on her first day of volunteering with the kids' class continue to be good dancers, & the high-spirited little boy dedicates himself to learing the steps after mme dupre benches him one day for distracting the other students. ramon backs off his assessment of mme dupre when he realizes that the first class was basically just a taster, & that she is planning to make the kids work. claudia, stacey, & dawn spend more time with shannon, & kristy acts more & more pissed off for reasons no one can understand.
finally, jessi tells the other babysitters & aunt cecelia her suspicions about mary. they all agree that mary may be on the road to anorexia, & that jessi should say something to her &/or mme noelle. jessi also realizes that the under-privileged kids she's teaching won't be able to afford to continue taking ballet classes after the free starter class is over. she mentions this to the other babysitters & kristy suggests soliciting corporations to sponsor some of the more talented kids. she offers to talk to watson about it. kristy also finally admits that she's been pissy because she was worried that the babysitters were replacing her with shannon as a friend. she was jealous. she apologizes to shannon & everyone feels better. jessi confronts mary about her fears regarding anorexia, mary gets pissed, so jessi goes to mme noelle. there's all this narration on jessi's part about how mme noelle probably has no idea what's going on with mary. because i'm so sure a professional ballet teacher is totally unfamiliar with the symptoms of anorexia. mme noelle talks to mary's parents, who enroll her in some hardcore eating disorder treatment program. watson volunteers to fund two scholarships for under-privileged kids, & they go to the two kids jessi noticed on her first volunteer day.
this wasn't that awful of a book, but i don't know what all the kristy/shannon drama had to do with anything else. just a way to bring the other sitters into the story somehow, i guess. but there was already an A-plot (mary's anorexia) & a B-plot themed around kids (the volunteer class), so the kristy/shannon stuff seemed like a distraction. & the volunteer class stuff was incredibly tedious. the little girl who got the scholarship had taken a few lessons before, but her mom pulled her out after a neighbor said that a black girl could never really be a professional ballerina, so lessons were a waste of money. i can't believe that the mom would listen to that shit. jessi talks to her & explains that she has gotten some big parts in performances "even though" she is black. sometimes i wonder what the hell is going on with jessi's racial self-perception. then i remind myself that her books are written by white people, which explains a hell of a lot.
December 21, 2016
This book focuses in more on Jessi and her dance classes, than on baby-sitting kids, which is actually something of a nice change. Though there's still plenty of children needing supervision as Jessi volunteers to help with a class of underprivileged youth at her ballet studio.
The focus though is on another student in her class who has a very real, and very serious problem. This is part of the later half of the BSC series where the books started sounding a little more like an After School Special in that there are more "issues" related books. But the topic of eating disorders is an important one to address, and this is the most natural place to find it. I do like that grown-ups handled the problem, and that it wasn't up to an 11 year old kid to fix her friend. At the same time, I do like the message that we all need to look out for each other
This is a good book. Maybe not the best in the series, but still a solid read, and a nice way to get to know Jessi better.
The focus though is on another student in her class who has a very real, and very serious problem. This is part of the later half of the BSC series where the books started sounding a little more like an After School Special in that there are more "issues" related books. But the topic of eating disorders is an important one to address, and this is the most natural place to find it. I do like that grown-ups handled the problem, and that it wasn't up to an 11 year old kid to fix her friend. At the same time, I do like the message that we all need to look out for each other
This is a good book. Maybe not the best in the series, but still a solid read, and a nice way to get to know Jessi better.
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February 24, 2025Jessi and the Awful Secret
Madame Noelle makes an announcement that the Stamford Ballet School will be giving a free six-weeks dance class for some of the less privileged kids. It will be held every Tuesday and they need volunteers. Volunteers will receive six free classes to make up for the ones they miss. She says that it’s up to them. At some point, they might consider teaching and this will be a good experience. Jessi immediately raises her hand. Mary Bramstedt also raises her hand. Weirdly, Jessi is surprised to see that more of the girls don’t raise their hands. (I’m DEFINITELY not surprised.). She thinks it’s because they don’t want to take time away from their own classes which NOOO JESSI. That ought to show you something that if they’d rather do SCHOOL WORK than teach.
Then she’s surprised because Mary isn’t *the* best dancer herself and she’s a perfectionist. (I guess Jessi thinks she’ll be hard on the kids). But she likes her for volunteering. After class, Jessi hears Mary venting to a girl named Mindy that her jumps aren’t high enough and Mindy tells her she had that problem until she lost weight (meaning it’s gonna turn into one of THOSE books). Mary says she could lose a couple pounds (of course she doesn’t have any to lose) and Mindy can’t really jump all that high. Jessi just hopes that when she gets older, she won’t be as obsessed as Mindy and Mary. Right now, she’s naturally thin so she’s good. I hope so too because I really don’t need a book about Jessi starving herself.
It's a busy day at the meeting. Mrs. Newton needs a sitter but they’re all busy. Kristy tells someone else to call Shannon. She feels guilty because Shannon’s been asking her to hang out but she’s been to busy. Claudia, Stacey, and Dawn tell her to tell Shannon to call them. They’d love to hang out with her and get to know her better. So, Kristy does.
Madame Dupri is who Jessi and Mary will be working with. She tells them on Tuesday they can wear more casual clothes. Mary tells her about Vince Parsons-who says is a snob-. There’s another dark-haired boy that Mary wants to get to know and a red head named Darcy. There’s also a dark-haired girl. The kids are wild and Madama Dupri settles them and asks if they’ve danced before. A boy named Devon says he knows the funky chicken and demonstrates. None of them seem to have an prior experience. She introduces them to the volunteers. Then she goes into the basic movements.
Devon is disappointed. Jessi has to get on two girls that are talking.
They say don’t pay them any attention. Their mothers made them come. Jessi tries to plead with them. Madama tells them if they can’t cooperate, they’ll have to leave and their mothers will be told. This makes them straighten up.
She then puts on the music to “Fantasia” and tells them to move. The volunteers have to walk around and rate them for potential from 1-5. Most fall into the 2-3 rating. There’s something about Devon that makes her 5. Then there’s a quiet girl who also gets a 5. The two talking girls get a 1. There’s another girl with unique movements that gets a 5 too. After the class, Mary starts talking about how she needs to lose weight again and Mindy is there again co-signing. They ask Jessi’s opinion but before she can respond Carrie (another student) asks were the kids monsters. Jessi says no but they have their work cut out for them and Mary agrees.
Kristy sits for the Papadakis (with Karen and Nancy) and they end up playing “Let’s All Come In”. Shannon stops by to say hi and hang out. Linny doesn’t want to be the bell hop anymore so Shannon takes his place. Kristy asks if she called Stacey and Claudia and Shannon says they’re supposed to hang out Saturday. Kristy says no one told her and Shannon says they thought she’d be busy and she invites her to come with them but Kristy says she’s sitting on Saturday so Shannon says another time. Kristy says another time and we get the sense she’s bothered by it (or maybe just me).
Jessi starts to notice Mary checking her appearance more and pinching her waist and stomach. Darcy invites Jessi and Mary out with the volunteers to get to know each other better. They invite them to Burger King. Mary says it’s not the kind of food they usually get. Darcy says its just closer. Jessi says once won’t kill them. Darcy says it’s on them. Mary gives a lot of excuses. She already knows Vince and Mary is too pretty. At the BSC meeting, Jessi doesn’t get any jobs and the weekend turns out to be boring. She’s looking forward to going to Burger King Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Madame divides the class into six groups and gives each a volunteer. This day Mary wears very baggy sweats. They work on ballet moves and the last 15 she tells them to use the moves to the music of “Fantasia”. Darcie says it’s the screwiest technique she’s ever seen. Vince says he doesn’t think the teacher is taking them seriously because their “inner city” kids. (Even tho a lot of them are white). Jessi says they should hold back their judgement. At BK, they critic their students and Madame. Vincent says they’re just there for fun. Maybe they shouldn’t expect too much from them. Raol says they should be given the same chance as anyone else and that will only happen if the program is done right. He says he knows what its like as a minority to get the raw end of the stick. He thinks Jessi will back him on this but this hasn’t been her experience. Mary just plays with her food and makes it look like she’s eaten some of her fries and drank some of her soda. Jessi is starting to like her new friends and Mary but she’s concerned about Mary’s issue with food.
For the next class, Madame Dupri brings in a piano and a pianist. Then she puts them in their groups and leads them in warm up excersizes. Nora and Jane are even working hard. Devine tho is fooling around so she makes him come to the front to demonstrate the five positions. He can’t get them right so she lectures him and sends him back in line. The other kids struggle with the positions but a girl named Martha gets them right. Raol tries to work with Devone but he’s determined to act up so eventually Madame sends him to sit by the door. Mary says she feels like she’s getting sick so Jessi is asked to stay with her until her mother comes. She’s way too thin. Jessi offers her a bag of chips but she says she’s not hungry.
When she returns, they’re dancing to “The Dance of the Cat” from Sleeping Beauty. Devone is paying attention now and trying to memorize the movements. Martha gets the steps right. She’s a natural. At the end of class, Madame tells Devon if he continues to act out he can’t come back next week. Devone can’t believe she did that and he says it’s dumb anyway. Jessi notices Martha’s mother (who also has dark-skin) look at her in surprise before she leaves. Devon walks out with a man in a construction jacket (silently). Madama thanks the pianist and the volunteers. The other kids ask Jessi to hang out again at Burger King.
The BSC talk about Mary and being anorexic and how they thought Stacey was at first. Stacey says there’s nothing wrong with dieting the right way but for the right reasons. And you should always talk to a doctor first. Jessi wonders why she can’t just look in the mirror and see that she doesn’t need to lose weight and no one has an answer. Dawn says she thinks it’s a psychological thing. Claudia says she bets Janine has some books on it. So, they go to her room (luckily, she’s not there) and find three of her books. One of the books says it can start with someone making a comment about someone’s weight and Jessi says that happened and tells them about Mindy. The book says from there it gets out of control and the girl becomes obsessed with thinness.
Another book says they become secretive and make it look like their eating. Another book says they can become moody and irritable. Stacy says there’s still time. If it continues the disease can led to fatigue, and depression, along with low blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature. Kristy says talk to her. Maryanne says talk to one of the teachers. Jessi says maybe she’ll get tired of it on her own. Stacey gets a job from Watson. She says maybe she can invite Shannon over. They all had a ball Saturday and start talking about what they did. Claudia invites her to the movies with her Dawn, Maryanne, and Shannon. She asks Kristy to go but she says she has to go to a basketball game but she says it in a way that Jessi can’t call. Now she wonders what’s going on with Mary and Kristy.
Stacey sits for Andrew, Karen, David Micheal, and Emily. Emily has learned a new word “Puway” (put away). Nanny’s been teaching her to put her things away and as a result they find things all over the house. They watch “Pete The Dragon” and play a game of hide and seek. After finding her text book behind the curtain, Shannon comes by and tells her about the detective money they saw. Then Kristy returns. When she sees Shannon her smiles fades. Kristy asks her if she has a problem at home. She never wants to be there. So, Shannon leaves. Stacey asks if everything’s ok but Kristy says fine.
Jessi gets a letter from Quint the next week. She tells him about her teacher’s methods and what she should do about Mary. Jessi enjoys the class but notices Devon doesn’t come back. Raol says the teacher was too hard on him. Mary says he can’t have it both ways. Mary says she’s better and only had a 24-hour virus but she still gets pale. In class tho on Tuesday, Mary faints. Madame revives her with smelling salts and tells them not to call an ambulance. She says she just has another virus. Her parents are then called. Jessi goes with her and tells her she thinks she should stop dieting. Mary tells her what does she know. She’s just a kid. Jessi asks if she knows what anorexia is and she says yes and she’s not anorexic. But then Jessi sees how much thinner she is. Mary then gets mad when she finds out Jessi told her friends (and they looked it up).
She tells Jessi its not her business and tells her she better not tell anyone else. Jessi is almost in tears because no one ever screamed in her face before. It attracts the attention of Madama but they tell her nothings wrong. Mary apologizes. Jessi tells her to get some help. Madame tells her she talked to her father and suggested they get a doctor and tells her to get some rest.
Devone is there for the next place. There’s a change in him. He isn’t as wild. None of the kids are. Mary’s clothes are even bagger. Her features are sharper. It’s clear she’s avoiding Jessi. Jessi sees that Martha is a natural and finds out she took five lessons but she stopped. Jessi tells her she should start again. Devon’s leaps are too big but he’s full of energy. Sometimes Mary needs some of and he needs some of her technique. Before leaving, Martha gives her a hug. This makes Jessi feel like crying. After class, (again) she sees Martha’s mother staring at her. Jessi is asked by the kids again to go to Burger King. Mary says she can’t come. She has to go running.
Jessi tries to ask Mary in the dressing room, but she tells her to lay off. In Quint’s letters he talks about the pressures of dieting on girls. After reading it Jessi feels better. He sees there’s a trend now to be a little heavier for dancers and maybe he should tell that to Mary. He says he should talk to Madama about offering a scholarship o a couple of the kids who seem very gifted. They might be white or not, but the point is, they would be kids who otherwise couldn’t afford class. Kristy calls and asks Jessi to sit for her on Saturday. Or will she be going to Shannon’s fair. Jessi says she can sit and she’ll be there at 2. She then asks Aunt Cecelia what she’d do if someone was hurting themselves and didn’t know it. She says she might have to tell an adult. Jessi says wouldn’t this be tattling. She says not if her health is at stake. Aunt Celia says you have to be cruel to be kind. She’ll see that in time Jessi was just trying to be a good friend.
Claudia and the Korman’s have a snowball fight and then Shannon and her sister come by and join them. Then they make snow forts and villages. They’re also joined by Linny and Hannie. Kristy sees them and Claudia invites her over. Shannon asks if Kristy has an idea and she says no. This is when Claudia knows something is wrong. Shannon leaves and Claudia goes after them. Shannon asks why she’s being so rude to her. She finds out Kristy thinks Shannon is trying to take her place and steal her friends. Claudia says she doesn’t think Kristy is being fair. She says she *would* take up for Shannon. Claudia says they’re still her friend. Kristy says could have fooled her.
So, the meeting is tense. Kristy tho says that she can find out from Watson if he can find a corporation to sponsor the scholarship (Since everyone loves the idea). On Friday, Jessi tries to talk to Mary. She says either she talks to Madama Noelle oro she will. Mary says she has no right to do this and she better not. Mary stumbles during class and her leg gives out. She continues on tho. She also crumbles a second time. Madama Noelle helps her up and tells her she’d like to speak to her after class. Jessi is relieved.
When Mary leaves class her head is down and it only takes two minutes. So, Jessi talks to Madame Noelle. She says she’s seen it many times. It sneaks up on you. She’s had her suspicions and that’s why she told her to talk to a doctor. They decide to talk to her and find her in the bathroom crying. So, they talk to her and Madame says they’ll talk more when her mother comes. Kristy says Watson will offer the scholarship himself. Watson tells jessi he can offer the school two scholarships whenever they need it. The scholarship is announced in class and so is a recital.
After class, Jessi tells Martha’s mother she should apply for the scholarship. She says she knows Martha is talented. She was told tho not to waste her money by a neighboor who told her there was no room for people of color in the ballet and she didn’t want to get Martha’s hopes up. She’d been staring at Jessi because she’d wondered how she felt about her future as a dancer. She says she feels good about it and she thinks there’s a lot of opportunity because of Alvin Ailey and she names the productions she’s had the lead in. Her mother says Martha has spoken very highly of her.
At the BSC, meeting Mrs. Johansen needs a sitter but they’re all busy. Claudia says she’ll call Shannon (no one else wants to bring her up). Kristy says she will and she does and apologizes. She confesses that she thought they were trying to replace her and they say they could never do that and tell her they’ll invite Shannon to more meetings now that she has the free time and Kristy would love to hang out with her but she can’t (as a way of compromise). And they’ll still get to hang out with her.
Jessi is told Mary is getting treatments by a medical doctor and a therapist. Raol says he misjudged Madame. There was a method to her madness after all. Flaws and all the show goes well. The winners of the scholarship are announced. It’s Martha and Devon. Mary isn’t there so Claudia offers to give Jessi copies of the pictures she took to give her.
My Thoughts:
I didn’t have that many thoughts for this one. It made me shake my head in disbelief that Jessi can not BELIEVE that someone would DARE not want to spend their spare time teaching children. SHAME on anyone who has a life outside of wanting to watch children every waking minute.
Same disbelief with Kristy trying to put Shannon off on the other club members and then getting mad when they *actually* spend time with her when she said it was a good idea. And then I also had to shake my head at Shannon because twice in this book, she just randomly shows up on the other girls’ jobs because she’s bored. REALLY? You don’t have ANYTHING other to do than hang around and watch while someone else sits? I think I could think of *SOMETHING* even if I *didn’t* have a lot of friends to hang out with.
As for Mary’s awful secret, I wrote a review on a book called “Shrink To Fit” which was basically the same plot and I’ll said what I said there. I’ll never understand why a person would want to make themselves go through all that (the weakness, and the dizziness, and the making yourself sick) unnecessarily because I had a health condition that caused these things not of my control. So, why a person would do this to themselves ON PURPOSE it’s just beyond me!
Rating: 5
Madame Noelle makes an announcement that the Stamford Ballet School will be giving a free six-weeks dance class for some of the less privileged kids. It will be held every Tuesday and they need volunteers. Volunteers will receive six free classes to make up for the ones they miss. She says that it’s up to them. At some point, they might consider teaching and this will be a good experience. Jessi immediately raises her hand. Mary Bramstedt also raises her hand. Weirdly, Jessi is surprised to see that more of the girls don’t raise their hands. (I’m DEFINITELY not surprised.). She thinks it’s because they don’t want to take time away from their own classes which NOOO JESSI. That ought to show you something that if they’d rather do SCHOOL WORK than teach.
Then she’s surprised because Mary isn’t *the* best dancer herself and she’s a perfectionist. (I guess Jessi thinks she’ll be hard on the kids). But she likes her for volunteering. After class, Jessi hears Mary venting to a girl named Mindy that her jumps aren’t high enough and Mindy tells her she had that problem until she lost weight (meaning it’s gonna turn into one of THOSE books). Mary says she could lose a couple pounds (of course she doesn’t have any to lose) and Mindy can’t really jump all that high. Jessi just hopes that when she gets older, she won’t be as obsessed as Mindy and Mary. Right now, she’s naturally thin so she’s good. I hope so too because I really don’t need a book about Jessi starving herself.
It's a busy day at the meeting. Mrs. Newton needs a sitter but they’re all busy. Kristy tells someone else to call Shannon. She feels guilty because Shannon’s been asking her to hang out but she’s been to busy. Claudia, Stacey, and Dawn tell her to tell Shannon to call them. They’d love to hang out with her and get to know her better. So, Kristy does.
Madame Dupri is who Jessi and Mary will be working with. She tells them on Tuesday they can wear more casual clothes. Mary tells her about Vince Parsons-who says is a snob-. There’s another dark-haired boy that Mary wants to get to know and a red head named Darcy. There’s also a dark-haired girl. The kids are wild and Madama Dupri settles them and asks if they’ve danced before. A boy named Devon says he knows the funky chicken and demonstrates. None of them seem to have an prior experience. She introduces them to the volunteers. Then she goes into the basic movements.
Devon is disappointed. Jessi has to get on two girls that are talking.
They say don’t pay them any attention. Their mothers made them come. Jessi tries to plead with them. Madama tells them if they can’t cooperate, they’ll have to leave and their mothers will be told. This makes them straighten up.
She then puts on the music to “Fantasia” and tells them to move. The volunteers have to walk around and rate them for potential from 1-5. Most fall into the 2-3 rating. There’s something about Devon that makes her 5. Then there’s a quiet girl who also gets a 5. The two talking girls get a 1. There’s another girl with unique movements that gets a 5 too. After the class, Mary starts talking about how she needs to lose weight again and Mindy is there again co-signing. They ask Jessi’s opinion but before she can respond Carrie (another student) asks were the kids monsters. Jessi says no but they have their work cut out for them and Mary agrees.
Kristy sits for the Papadakis (with Karen and Nancy) and they end up playing “Let’s All Come In”. Shannon stops by to say hi and hang out. Linny doesn’t want to be the bell hop anymore so Shannon takes his place. Kristy asks if she called Stacey and Claudia and Shannon says they’re supposed to hang out Saturday. Kristy says no one told her and Shannon says they thought she’d be busy and she invites her to come with them but Kristy says she’s sitting on Saturday so Shannon says another time. Kristy says another time and we get the sense she’s bothered by it (or maybe just me).
Jessi starts to notice Mary checking her appearance more and pinching her waist and stomach. Darcy invites Jessi and Mary out with the volunteers to get to know each other better. They invite them to Burger King. Mary says it’s not the kind of food they usually get. Darcy says its just closer. Jessi says once won’t kill them. Darcy says it’s on them. Mary gives a lot of excuses. She already knows Vince and Mary is too pretty. At the BSC meeting, Jessi doesn’t get any jobs and the weekend turns out to be boring. She’s looking forward to going to Burger King Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Madame divides the class into six groups and gives each a volunteer. This day Mary wears very baggy sweats. They work on ballet moves and the last 15 she tells them to use the moves to the music of “Fantasia”. Darcie says it’s the screwiest technique she’s ever seen. Vince says he doesn’t think the teacher is taking them seriously because their “inner city” kids. (Even tho a lot of them are white). Jessi says they should hold back their judgement. At BK, they critic their students and Madame. Vincent says they’re just there for fun. Maybe they shouldn’t expect too much from them. Raol says they should be given the same chance as anyone else and that will only happen if the program is done right. He says he knows what its like as a minority to get the raw end of the stick. He thinks Jessi will back him on this but this hasn’t been her experience. Mary just plays with her food and makes it look like she’s eaten some of her fries and drank some of her soda. Jessi is starting to like her new friends and Mary but she’s concerned about Mary’s issue with food.
For the next class, Madame Dupri brings in a piano and a pianist. Then she puts them in their groups and leads them in warm up excersizes. Nora and Jane are even working hard. Devine tho is fooling around so she makes him come to the front to demonstrate the five positions. He can’t get them right so she lectures him and sends him back in line. The other kids struggle with the positions but a girl named Martha gets them right. Raol tries to work with Devone but he’s determined to act up so eventually Madame sends him to sit by the door. Mary says she feels like she’s getting sick so Jessi is asked to stay with her until her mother comes. She’s way too thin. Jessi offers her a bag of chips but she says she’s not hungry.
When she returns, they’re dancing to “The Dance of the Cat” from Sleeping Beauty. Devone is paying attention now and trying to memorize the movements. Martha gets the steps right. She’s a natural. At the end of class, Madame tells Devon if he continues to act out he can’t come back next week. Devone can’t believe she did that and he says it’s dumb anyway. Jessi notices Martha’s mother (who also has dark-skin) look at her in surprise before she leaves. Devon walks out with a man in a construction jacket (silently). Madama thanks the pianist and the volunteers. The other kids ask Jessi to hang out again at Burger King.
The BSC talk about Mary and being anorexic and how they thought Stacey was at first. Stacey says there’s nothing wrong with dieting the right way but for the right reasons. And you should always talk to a doctor first. Jessi wonders why she can’t just look in the mirror and see that she doesn’t need to lose weight and no one has an answer. Dawn says she thinks it’s a psychological thing. Claudia says she bets Janine has some books on it. So, they go to her room (luckily, she’s not there) and find three of her books. One of the books says it can start with someone making a comment about someone’s weight and Jessi says that happened and tells them about Mindy. The book says from there it gets out of control and the girl becomes obsessed with thinness.
Another book says they become secretive and make it look like their eating. Another book says they can become moody and irritable. Stacy says there’s still time. If it continues the disease can led to fatigue, and depression, along with low blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature. Kristy says talk to her. Maryanne says talk to one of the teachers. Jessi says maybe she’ll get tired of it on her own. Stacey gets a job from Watson. She says maybe she can invite Shannon over. They all had a ball Saturday and start talking about what they did. Claudia invites her to the movies with her Dawn, Maryanne, and Shannon. She asks Kristy to go but she says she has to go to a basketball game but she says it in a way that Jessi can’t call. Now she wonders what’s going on with Mary and Kristy.
Stacey sits for Andrew, Karen, David Micheal, and Emily. Emily has learned a new word “Puway” (put away). Nanny’s been teaching her to put her things away and as a result they find things all over the house. They watch “Pete The Dragon” and play a game of hide and seek. After finding her text book behind the curtain, Shannon comes by and tells her about the detective money they saw. Then Kristy returns. When she sees Shannon her smiles fades. Kristy asks her if she has a problem at home. She never wants to be there. So, Shannon leaves. Stacey asks if everything’s ok but Kristy says fine.
Jessi gets a letter from Quint the next week. She tells him about her teacher’s methods and what she should do about Mary. Jessi enjoys the class but notices Devon doesn’t come back. Raol says the teacher was too hard on him. Mary says he can’t have it both ways. Mary says she’s better and only had a 24-hour virus but she still gets pale. In class tho on Tuesday, Mary faints. Madame revives her with smelling salts and tells them not to call an ambulance. She says she just has another virus. Her parents are then called. Jessi goes with her and tells her she thinks she should stop dieting. Mary tells her what does she know. She’s just a kid. Jessi asks if she knows what anorexia is and she says yes and she’s not anorexic. But then Jessi sees how much thinner she is. Mary then gets mad when she finds out Jessi told her friends (and they looked it up).
She tells Jessi its not her business and tells her she better not tell anyone else. Jessi is almost in tears because no one ever screamed in her face before. It attracts the attention of Madama but they tell her nothings wrong. Mary apologizes. Jessi tells her to get some help. Madame tells her she talked to her father and suggested they get a doctor and tells her to get some rest.
Devone is there for the next place. There’s a change in him. He isn’t as wild. None of the kids are. Mary’s clothes are even bagger. Her features are sharper. It’s clear she’s avoiding Jessi. Jessi sees that Martha is a natural and finds out she took five lessons but she stopped. Jessi tells her she should start again. Devon’s leaps are too big but he’s full of energy. Sometimes Mary needs some of and he needs some of her technique. Before leaving, Martha gives her a hug. This makes Jessi feel like crying. After class, (again) she sees Martha’s mother staring at her. Jessi is asked by the kids again to go to Burger King. Mary says she can’t come. She has to go running.
Jessi tries to ask Mary in the dressing room, but she tells her to lay off. In Quint’s letters he talks about the pressures of dieting on girls. After reading it Jessi feels better. He sees there’s a trend now to be a little heavier for dancers and maybe he should tell that to Mary. He says he should talk to Madama about offering a scholarship o a couple of the kids who seem very gifted. They might be white or not, but the point is, they would be kids who otherwise couldn’t afford class. Kristy calls and asks Jessi to sit for her on Saturday. Or will she be going to Shannon’s fair. Jessi says she can sit and she’ll be there at 2. She then asks Aunt Cecelia what she’d do if someone was hurting themselves and didn’t know it. She says she might have to tell an adult. Jessi says wouldn’t this be tattling. She says not if her health is at stake. Aunt Celia says you have to be cruel to be kind. She’ll see that in time Jessi was just trying to be a good friend.
Claudia and the Korman’s have a snowball fight and then Shannon and her sister come by and join them. Then they make snow forts and villages. They’re also joined by Linny and Hannie. Kristy sees them and Claudia invites her over. Shannon asks if Kristy has an idea and she says no. This is when Claudia knows something is wrong. Shannon leaves and Claudia goes after them. Shannon asks why she’s being so rude to her. She finds out Kristy thinks Shannon is trying to take her place and steal her friends. Claudia says she doesn’t think Kristy is being fair. She says she *would* take up for Shannon. Claudia says they’re still her friend. Kristy says could have fooled her.
So, the meeting is tense. Kristy tho says that she can find out from Watson if he can find a corporation to sponsor the scholarship (Since everyone loves the idea). On Friday, Jessi tries to talk to Mary. She says either she talks to Madama Noelle oro she will. Mary says she has no right to do this and she better not. Mary stumbles during class and her leg gives out. She continues on tho. She also crumbles a second time. Madama Noelle helps her up and tells her she’d like to speak to her after class. Jessi is relieved.
When Mary leaves class her head is down and it only takes two minutes. So, Jessi talks to Madame Noelle. She says she’s seen it many times. It sneaks up on you. She’s had her suspicions and that’s why she told her to talk to a doctor. They decide to talk to her and find her in the bathroom crying. So, they talk to her and Madame says they’ll talk more when her mother comes. Kristy says Watson will offer the scholarship himself. Watson tells jessi he can offer the school two scholarships whenever they need it. The scholarship is announced in class and so is a recital.
After class, Jessi tells Martha’s mother she should apply for the scholarship. She says she knows Martha is talented. She was told tho not to waste her money by a neighboor who told her there was no room for people of color in the ballet and she didn’t want to get Martha’s hopes up. She’d been staring at Jessi because she’d wondered how she felt about her future as a dancer. She says she feels good about it and she thinks there’s a lot of opportunity because of Alvin Ailey and she names the productions she’s had the lead in. Her mother says Martha has spoken very highly of her.
At the BSC, meeting Mrs. Johansen needs a sitter but they’re all busy. Claudia says she’ll call Shannon (no one else wants to bring her up). Kristy says she will and she does and apologizes. She confesses that she thought they were trying to replace her and they say they could never do that and tell her they’ll invite Shannon to more meetings now that she has the free time and Kristy would love to hang out with her but she can’t (as a way of compromise). And they’ll still get to hang out with her.
Jessi is told Mary is getting treatments by a medical doctor and a therapist. Raol says he misjudged Madame. There was a method to her madness after all. Flaws and all the show goes well. The winners of the scholarship are announced. It’s Martha and Devon. Mary isn’t there so Claudia offers to give Jessi copies of the pictures she took to give her.
My Thoughts:
I didn’t have that many thoughts for this one. It made me shake my head in disbelief that Jessi can not BELIEVE that someone would DARE not want to spend their spare time teaching children. SHAME on anyone who has a life outside of wanting to watch children every waking minute.
Same disbelief with Kristy trying to put Shannon off on the other club members and then getting mad when they *actually* spend time with her when she said it was a good idea. And then I also had to shake my head at Shannon because twice in this book, she just randomly shows up on the other girls’ jobs because she’s bored. REALLY? You don’t have ANYTHING other to do than hang around and watch while someone else sits? I think I could think of *SOMETHING* even if I *didn’t* have a lot of friends to hang out with.
As for Mary’s awful secret, I wrote a review on a book called “Shrink To Fit” which was basically the same plot and I’ll said what I said there. I’ll never understand why a person would want to make themselves go through all that (the weakness, and the dizziness, and the making yourself sick) unnecessarily because I had a health condition that caused these things not of my control. So, why a person would do this to themselves ON PURPOSE it’s just beyond me!
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2021
This is another one of those books in the series that I have a huge love for but can't explain why. All I know is, while I was really sick, this book popped in my head and it was the perfect medicine.
I swear I didn't remember this next part, though. Jessi is describing Mallory to us, and says that Mal doesn't think she's pretty. Jessi basically agrees, but then says "Mallory has so much goodness inside of her that after you know her awhile, she starts to look pretty." WHAT? I would be devastated if my supposed best friend described me that way!
I swear I didn't remember this next part, though. Jessi is describing Mallory to us, and says that Mal doesn't think she's pretty. Jessi basically agrees, but then says "Mallory has so much goodness inside of her that after you know her awhile, she starts to look pretty." WHAT? I would be devastated if my supposed best friend described me that way!
March 4, 2017
Jessi helps teach a special dance class for children, and discovers that one of her fellow dance helpers may be anorexic. In the meantime the older girls in the BSC get to know Shannon Kilbourne, to Kristy's annoyance.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
I read this when I was ten or eleven, and I remember how Jessi agonized over what to do about Mary, the girl she thinks has an eating disorder. She refuses to talk to her parents, she only vaguely mentions it to her aunt Cecelia, but she spends forever researching the problem with the other members of the BSC. She finally decides to tell her dance teacher, but I felt like she wasted a lot of time doing it.
As a kid I assumed that the secret the title mentioned had to do with something more sinister than anorexia based on the cover. Mary had a torn skirt, wrinkled leotard, no leg warmers, a vacant expression, and stringy hair. I'm not sure what any of those factors have to do with an eating disorder other than not getting enough calories would make your hair look bad, and cause you to be distracted while dressing. I had thought Mary was being neglected at home, or something.
I loved reading about Jessi helping out in the dance class for kids. The class seemed similar to the classes I took as a kid, and I liked the fact that a male dancer ended up with a scholarship to continue taking dance classes.
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
This book talks a lot about the "underprivileged" people that the special dance class is serving. Jessi doesn't quite know why they are different from the people she interacts with in Stoneybrook, but they make her feel "sad". This pity feels super awkward, especially coming from Jessi, who is so often pitied by her best friends for having such a hard time dealing with racism in Stoneybrook. It's always weird when the series throws in characters that don't have lots of money, and shiny, well-behaved, enthusiastic children. Even the way this book throws around the word "minority" sort of bothers me, although I feel this book deals with the minor subplot of racism better than any of the other books. Raul is angry when he feels that Madam Dupre isn't teaching what he considers a real ballet class. He assumes this is because she thinks inner city kids, some of whom are children of color, aren't worth teaching a real ballet class to. He asks Jessi if she feels dismissed for her skin color, and Jessi tells him "That hasn't been my experience . . . I've been very lucky." Even though she's worried about being cast for roles that traditionally go to white dancers. Even though she knows that she sticks out as the only black student in her ballet class. I guess since Jessi's family has a lot of money racism isn't so bad. Money = well behaved, optimistic, happy children who only want to see the good things. Underprivileged/no money = unfocused, misbehaved, defensive children who are just so negative. But I liked that the book mentions Raul's point of view, even though the white kids and Jessi don't agree with him. This book acknowledges that it's hard to be a minority, no matter what, and that the racism faced by people of color include directors and choreographers being afraid to pair a dancer of color with a white dancer, and non-white dancers having trouble being accepted by ballet companies.
There is a lot of after school special type information in this book about dieting, given in the earnest, mimeographed pamphlet conversation. Always check with your doctor before dieting. Eat healthy foods. As a kid I must have found this interesting since I remember liking this book, but as an adult it was tedious, and not very well written. Stacey sounds like an old lady spouting off advice she pilfered from a housewife's blog about health. It is a little sobering at the end of the book when Madame Noelle tells Jessi that she has seen this extreme dieting happen to her students before. It seems that she tries to get their parents involved by suggesting they take them to the doctor, but I guess that doesn't always work. I don't quite buy her explanation that "it sneaks up so gradually" but I suppose if she only sees Mary twice a week for ballet class it would be gradual. The book also slips into "let's teach a lesson mode" when it has Jessi talk about the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and how hopeful the future looks for dancers of color. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this (as a teenager Alvin Ailey's dance company was a big inspiration) but this information is not inserted into the story with any grace at all. It's just a truth bomb planted when the "underprivileged" mother can't bear to see her daughter's dreams of being a dancer dashed because of racism. And Jessi in her wise benevolence gives it to this suffering mother. The class-ism in this book is just . . . yeah. Obnoxious.
For a woman who struggled as a single parent with four children for years, Kristy's mother has taken to the role of society wife very well. In this book she traipses off to dinner in a blue evening gown, and attends a luncheon to benefit a children's hospital, where she suffers such indignities as bad food and boring speeches. And then complains about to her eleven year old baby sitter. "Oh you know how these things are," she says when Jessi ask her how her afternoon went. Because clearly Jessi has to deal with these gauche shindigs all the time, and would completely sympathize. "I suppose it was all worth it," the second Mrs Brewer, nee Thomas concludes. I always think of Kristy's mother as being an awesome, determined woman, one who just picked up the pieces of her life, and carried on to keep her family from falling apart. However, this side of her sets my teeth on edge a little, until I consider that it sounds like she was raised in Stoneybrook. Which means her family must have some money, so maybe she used to attending a lot of society functions. Which means it's still pretty cool that she worked hard to provide a life and structure for her children after her ne'er do-well husband ran off. She could have run crying to Nanny, but she chose to get a real job instead. I'm guessing she met Watson at one of the fancy functions she still attended, even if she didn't have the money to buy a new dress for every single one.
I'm glad Watson decided to sponsor a dance scholarship (doing this has always been in my dream) but I'm not quite understanding how everything came together so quickly. Of course, I know absolutely nothing about setting up a scholarship, but it just seemed too convenient and easy.
It seems odd that in this book only Shannon, who is usually so busy she can't be full time member of the BSC, suddenly has lots of free time on her hands and expects to hang out with Kristy. Why does she assume Kristy, who is also pretty busy, would just have time to spend with her, and why does Kristy feel so guilty about not spending time with her? I would think that Shannon would understand being busy, and not hold it against Kristy. After all, Shannon can't commit to being in the BSC, so why does it matter to Kristy that she's too busy to be with Shannon? I'm also dying to know why Shannon has the random time off, for this book only. Was one of her after school projects canceled because the instructor went to jail? Did she have a fight with her other friends? It also seemed very childish to me that Kristy got so bent out of shape about her friends spending time with Shannon. The cult of BSC rears its ugly head. What with Jessi becoming friends with her dance school classmates, and the older BSC girls spending too much time with a mere associate member, Kristy, the cult leader of the BSC, is just not having a good month. I did find it somewhat amusing and curious that Kristy asks Shannon if she's having trouble at home. It was just such a non-sequitur that I can't tell if Kristy is being a real bitch, or if she's truly concerned and can't think of a better way to ask, or if it was the first thought that came to her mind and her famous big mouth got the better of her. So now I'm very curious, especially since we know very little about Shannon's life, even after she becomes a more permanent member of the club. Is Shannon having trouble at home, and what kind of trouble could it be? Does her mom drink? Does her father hit (or worse)?
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
I read this when I was ten or eleven, and I remember how Jessi agonized over what to do about Mary, the girl she thinks has an eating disorder. She refuses to talk to her parents, she only vaguely mentions it to her aunt Cecelia, but she spends forever researching the problem with the other members of the BSC. She finally decides to tell her dance teacher, but I felt like she wasted a lot of time doing it.
As a kid I assumed that the secret the title mentioned had to do with something more sinister than anorexia based on the cover. Mary had a torn skirt, wrinkled leotard, no leg warmers, a vacant expression, and stringy hair. I'm not sure what any of those factors have to do with an eating disorder other than not getting enough calories would make your hair look bad, and cause you to be distracted while dressing. I had thought Mary was being neglected at home, or something.
I loved reading about Jessi helping out in the dance class for kids. The class seemed similar to the classes I took as a kid, and I liked the fact that a male dancer ended up with a scholarship to continue taking dance classes.
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
This book talks a lot about the "underprivileged" people that the special dance class is serving. Jessi doesn't quite know why they are different from the people she interacts with in Stoneybrook, but they make her feel "sad". This pity feels super awkward, especially coming from Jessi, who is so often pitied by her best friends for having such a hard time dealing with racism in Stoneybrook. It's always weird when the series throws in characters that don't have lots of money, and shiny, well-behaved, enthusiastic children. Even the way this book throws around the word "minority" sort of bothers me, although I feel this book deals with the minor subplot of racism better than any of the other books. Raul is angry when he feels that Madam Dupre isn't teaching what he considers a real ballet class. He assumes this is because she thinks inner city kids, some of whom are children of color, aren't worth teaching a real ballet class to. He asks Jessi if she feels dismissed for her skin color, and Jessi tells him "That hasn't been my experience . . . I've been very lucky." Even though she's worried about being cast for roles that traditionally go to white dancers. Even though she knows that she sticks out as the only black student in her ballet class. I guess since Jessi's family has a lot of money racism isn't so bad. Money = well behaved, optimistic, happy children who only want to see the good things. Underprivileged/no money = unfocused, misbehaved, defensive children who are just so negative. But I liked that the book mentions Raul's point of view, even though the white kids and Jessi don't agree with him. This book acknowledges that it's hard to be a minority, no matter what, and that the racism faced by people of color include directors and choreographers being afraid to pair a dancer of color with a white dancer, and non-white dancers having trouble being accepted by ballet companies.
There is a lot of after school special type information in this book about dieting, given in the earnest, mimeographed pamphlet conversation. Always check with your doctor before dieting. Eat healthy foods. As a kid I must have found this interesting since I remember liking this book, but as an adult it was tedious, and not very well written. Stacey sounds like an old lady spouting off advice she pilfered from a housewife's blog about health. It is a little sobering at the end of the book when Madame Noelle tells Jessi that she has seen this extreme dieting happen to her students before. It seems that she tries to get their parents involved by suggesting they take them to the doctor, but I guess that doesn't always work. I don't quite buy her explanation that "it sneaks up so gradually" but I suppose if she only sees Mary twice a week for ballet class it would be gradual. The book also slips into "let's teach a lesson mode" when it has Jessi talk about the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and how hopeful the future looks for dancers of color. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this (as a teenager Alvin Ailey's dance company was a big inspiration) but this information is not inserted into the story with any grace at all. It's just a truth bomb planted when the "underprivileged" mother can't bear to see her daughter's dreams of being a dancer dashed because of racism. And Jessi in her wise benevolence gives it to this suffering mother. The class-ism in this book is just . . . yeah. Obnoxious.
For a woman who struggled as a single parent with four children for years, Kristy's mother has taken to the role of society wife very well. In this book she traipses off to dinner in a blue evening gown, and attends a luncheon to benefit a children's hospital, where she suffers such indignities as bad food and boring speeches. And then complains about to her eleven year old baby sitter. "Oh you know how these things are," she says when Jessi ask her how her afternoon went. Because clearly Jessi has to deal with these gauche shindigs all the time, and would completely sympathize. "I suppose it was all worth it," the second Mrs Brewer, nee Thomas concludes. I always think of Kristy's mother as being an awesome, determined woman, one who just picked up the pieces of her life, and carried on to keep her family from falling apart. However, this side of her sets my teeth on edge a little, until I consider that it sounds like she was raised in Stoneybrook. Which means her family must have some money, so maybe she used to attending a lot of society functions. Which means it's still pretty cool that she worked hard to provide a life and structure for her children after her ne'er do-well husband ran off. She could have run crying to Nanny, but she chose to get a real job instead. I'm guessing she met Watson at one of the fancy functions she still attended, even if she didn't have the money to buy a new dress for every single one.
I'm glad Watson decided to sponsor a dance scholarship (doing this has always been in my dream) but I'm not quite understanding how everything came together so quickly. Of course, I know absolutely nothing about setting up a scholarship, but it just seemed too convenient and easy.
It seems odd that in this book only Shannon, who is usually so busy she can't be full time member of the BSC, suddenly has lots of free time on her hands and expects to hang out with Kristy. Why does she assume Kristy, who is also pretty busy, would just have time to spend with her, and why does Kristy feel so guilty about not spending time with her? I would think that Shannon would understand being busy, and not hold it against Kristy. After all, Shannon can't commit to being in the BSC, so why does it matter to Kristy that she's too busy to be with Shannon? I'm also dying to know why Shannon has the random time off, for this book only. Was one of her after school projects canceled because the instructor went to jail? Did she have a fight with her other friends? It also seemed very childish to me that Kristy got so bent out of shape about her friends spending time with Shannon. The cult of BSC rears its ugly head. What with Jessi becoming friends with her dance school classmates, and the older BSC girls spending too much time with a mere associate member, Kristy, the cult leader of the BSC, is just not having a good month. I did find it somewhat amusing and curious that Kristy asks Shannon if she's having trouble at home. It was just such a non-sequitur that I can't tell if Kristy is being a real bitch, or if she's truly concerned and can't think of a better way to ask, or if it was the first thought that came to her mind and her famous big mouth got the better of her. So now I'm very curious, especially since we know very little about Shannon's life, even after she becomes a more permanent member of the club. Is Shannon having trouble at home, and what kind of trouble could it be? Does her mom drink? Does her father hit (or worse)?
January 23, 2023
talks about a very serious topic ❤️
February 20, 2020
I liked this book a lot more than I remember, usually I feel like "very special episodes" kind of make me roll my eyes. (And is it just me, or does Jessi seem to get a lot of those books?) I liked the story with Mary, and that she wasn't miraculously cured by the end of it. I liked Martha's little story, and Jessi being an inspiration to another young black dancer. And I liked the Shannon subplot, I feel like we still don't really know her all that well, though it was disappointing that the readers didn't really get any quality time with Shannon, as all her appearances seemed to be told rather than shown.
April 29, 2009
I generally liked the Jessi books, and this one teamed up a couple of my other interests - ballet and eating disorders... yes, I was a weird child, okay? But I kind of liked reading about girls with eating disorders. Maybe looking for tips? I don't know, but looking back, probably.
September 21, 2019
I was kinda sad! But it was mostly good.
April 15, 2024
This is a well written book .THis is about a ballet classmate named Mary who is made to feel fat falsely. This girl is then convinced to fallow a diet which is really a starvation diet belonging to someone who has anoexia. Jessi is very slow to realize that it is too far largely because of the dieting which is part of the life of all ballet dancers and because she doesn't want to believe what's happening. I think she wasted a lot of time and should have gone to the ballet teacher much sooner. The truth is I think she should have gone directly to Marys parents instead of the ballet teacher. But the fact is what if the parents don't believe Jessi because they don't want to. Marys condition should have been obvious to everyone. It's like competition is getting in the way of being a good human being. I am glad that eventally she gets help and this real life advice is being given to what is mainly a audience of young girls. I think it might save e lives. Then there is a side piece about how Jessi is in the minority of her class and most schools or dance companies don't traditionally take people of colour but that's changing. Jessi has already played a lead role in a production of Sleeping Beauty. Then there is a side piece about how Kristy is upset about the other girls spending time with Shannon , which is kind of childish.ITs allabout how Kristy wants to spend time with Shannon. Jessi and some other students are vounteering for a six week class of underprivileged kids. It became a real ballet class that taught these kids the basics of ballet. I loved the scenes covering the underprivileged kids. I loved the scenes involving Jessi telling the BSC about MAry and the research they do . I recommend this book .
August 25, 2023
This book is such a mixed bag. On the one hand, the way disordered eating is discussed is so outdated that it's borderline misinformative. Several other things feel outdated also, although on a smaller scale, such as the use of the word "minorities" to talk about non-white and socioeconomically disadvantaged people. But I actually wound up really impressed with the progressive elements of this book, including: a Latinx character thinks one of the ballet teachers expects less of the "poor kids," but turns out to have misjudged her-- and acknowledges it; a ballet scholarship is given to a rowdy boy, whose seeming working- class father brings him to ballet classes, which is never treated as unusual or questioned at all; several characters discuss the lack of racial (and to a degree other) diversity in ballet; Jessi is the one who helps get the scholarships for the lower-income kids, bypassing the white savior trope (although if the story is written by a white person, does it still maybe have some white savior flavor to it? It would still be a white person's perspective on help, who needs it, who deserves it, what it would do...) Still. Overall, I wound up being pleasantly surprised by this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2021
I liked this one and thought both the main and side storylines were interesting and well-balanced--it's nice to see both Kristy and Jessi needing a little help from the people around them and finding that support in their friends.
What I didn't like was that everything about how dangerous anorexia is was amended by, but diets can be awesome even for kids!!!!!!! As long as you're *actually* fat!!!!!!! Granted, these books were written forever ago, but ew. I wonder if the BSC would have been so concerned about Mary if she hadn't started off thin?
I honestly wish that the BSC books would leave health issues alone--even if the advice they give was valid back in the day, who would have wanted their kids to get health advice from a BSC book?
What I didn't like was that everything about how dangerous anorexia is was amended by, but diets can be awesome even for kids!!!!!!! As long as you're *actually* fat!!!!!!! Granted, these books were written forever ago, but ew. I wonder if the BSC would have been so concerned about Mary if she hadn't started off thin?
I honestly wish that the BSC books would leave health issues alone--even if the advice they give was valid back in the day, who would have wanted their kids to get health advice from a BSC book?
January 18, 2024
A good book, but I think it could have handled the anorexia better. There are dozens of additional symtoms they could have mentioned and additional areas could have been addressed, but I get that it was to educate people.
Additionally, Kristy had no reason to be mad at her friends in this book, she practically begged them to get Shannon off her back and then when it turns out her friends actually like her, she gets jealous and feels replaced. They didn't replace her, she was always busy so they did what she asked and hung out with Shannon. But of course all ends well in the end and she realizes she has nothing to worry about.
Additionally, Kristy had no reason to be mad at her friends in this book, she practically begged them to get Shannon off her back and then when it turns out her friends actually like her, she gets jealous and feels replaced. They didn't replace her, she was always busy so they did what she asked and hung out with Shannon. But of course all ends well in the end and she realizes she has nothing to worry about.
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July 29, 2020These are some hard hitting topics for young ones,
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
December 16, 2020
(LL)
This book does another great job tackling a difficult topic: eating disorders. Specifically about anorexia and how it happens to dancers frequently.
As an aside: topics in the story could have been handled and written a little better, but the overall message and delivery of such a taboo topic was good enough to warrant four stars. There were also a lot of plot holes within this specific story, but every single one of these stories has them, and the ones here don’t make the overall message bad or invalid so I’m not taking off point/stars for that.
This book does another great job tackling a difficult topic: eating disorders. Specifically about anorexia and how it happens to dancers frequently.
As an aside: topics in the story could have been handled and written a little better, but the overall message and delivery of such a taboo topic was good enough to warrant four stars. There were also a lot of plot holes within this specific story, but every single one of these stories has them, and the ones here don’t make the overall message bad or invalid so I’m not taking off point/stars for that.
January 10, 2024
4 stars. This was wonderful. I love Jessi so much. She’s such a great character. This one is one I definitely don’t remember reading as a child but it was so good. It deals with such a serious topic (anorexia) and handles it in a way that it’s easy for kids to understand without talking down to them. My heart hurt for Mary. She’s so young to to feel that way about her body already but Jessi doing everything she could to help her get help was wonderful to see. This was a really good read and one that is still relevant today.
October 8, 2022
3.5 stars. I think this is a very 1990s way of dealing with eating disorders, but it's an important way to broach the topic with young readers. I appreciated the mentions of Mary, the girl that Jessi rightly suspects of having a problem, having to go see a counselor, which is another important for young people to know about. Another thing I appreciated--the fact that Jessi asked an adult for help!
March 5, 2023
When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
August 30, 2017
This book wasn't bad, per say. Boring and full of ballet stuff like every single Jessi book, but just..meh. Also what did the Kristy/Shannon plot have to do with anything else going on in this book? Oh, wait. It didn't have anything to do with the other plots. I see. That makes sense.
September 3, 2023
This is a very nice book about friends loving friends and you can learn from this book that some things feel like your doing something bad but you are doing good you know what I mean?
Ivy age 11
Ivy age 11
October 14, 2018
2.5 stars
May 30, 2019
Best
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October 9, 2019
Review on www.Audible.com please listen to this book.
March 1, 2020
Jessi’s books always seem to have interesting plot lines that I can’t really get into, even if it’s about a tough topic like anorexia.
August 28, 2020
the ‘everyone’s in love with shannon’ sub plot? love that for me
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September 4, 2020Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...
February 15, 2021
Jessi is dealing with a lot at her ballet studio: her teacher needs volunteers for a class to teach underprivileged children, and a fellow ballet student is anorexic.
July 7, 2023
esta padre
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