Logan Bruno, Boy Baby-Sitter

Baby-Sitters Club Special Edition #2

by Ann M. Martin

Poor Logan. The kids at school are always busting him for being a 'boy baby-sitter.' And then Logan blows a track event that causes SMS to lose the meet. He's feeling pretty bummed. . .

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Juvenile, Collections, Contemporary

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Ann 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...

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Badd Boyz, Badd Boyz, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when Logan Bruno comes for you? 😂

[FIND ME ON STORYGRAPH · Rating 4 out of 5]

in this second BOY BOOK by ghostwriter Peter Lerangis, logan starts hanging out with the badd boyz, a middle school gang. he keeps giving them the benefit of the doubt in spite of the fact that they're obviously using clean-cut-looking logan as their beard for when they are going out stealing things (this plotline is addressed in a more interesting way in later book Stacey and the Bad Girls). when he figures them out and tries to confess, they threaten him and mary anne (see the note in highlights). meanwhile, the bsc charges are all scared of their school's bully, EJ. there seems to be some mystery about EJ, but the resolution is that she's a girl and everyone is surprised that kids are scared of a girl. really? okay.

highlights:
-nicky cash, the pop artist that all the girls of stoneybrook are currently obsessed with, was a member of group 2 hot 4 u (was it featuring prince?) and his real name is reginald fenster. I love details like these.
-the badd boyz symbol on their leather jackets: "two eyes, angry and bloodshoot, with a dagger underneath, slicing through the letters BB" hahaha these are MIDDLE SCHOOLERS
-some of the badd boyz' names: t-jam, skin, ice box, butcher boy, jackhammer, g-man. I reiterate, MIDDLE SCHOOLERS. I love this stuff. even The Outsiders' fake-sounding names were original weird names like sodapop and ponyboy, not like the names of dick tracy villains.
-when logan and mary anne are talking about having a candlelight dinner, kristy asks charlie if he's ever tasted candlelight. "make my candlelight medium rare -- and you, dear?"
-when kristy calls a meeting to order logan says "BLT on rye toast!" and kristy gets pretend mad. but that is also SUCH a kristy joke. see above, re: candlelight.
-this creepy note that logan gets, intended to make him think the badd boyz are going to hurt mary anne if he finks on them:

-when the badd boyz buy logan's silence by giving him nicky cash tickets (stolen from another girl) so he can take mary anne to the concert, he kind of goes along with it. I like this sort of conflict of interest, internal struggle that logan has.

lowlights/nitpicks:
-marilyn and carolyn concoct schemes to get back at EJ, their bully. one of them that is discussed is bringing a bomb to school. woof. claudia, you gotta talk to parents about this stuff!
-also charlotte and becca concoct schemes to get back at EJ and one is poisoning her. SERIOUSLY GUYS THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF.
-EJ the bully is a girl. seriously? that's the mystery? everyone is embarrassed to be bullied by a girl?

no outfits

snacks in claudia's room:
-milky way bar (n.s.)
-chips (n.s.)
-"bag of hay or something" (n.s., editorializing by logan)
-caramels in a shoe box in her closet
-lorne doones (n.s.)
-"flourless, yeastless, sugarless, and probably tasteless walnut fudgie bars" under her bed (editorializing by logan)

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I actually started reading around age 3 (thank you, my Granny's Dick and Jane books!), this series is what I remember most about loving to read during my childhood. My sister and I drank these books up like they were oxygen. I truly think we owned just about every single one from every one of the series. We even got the privilege of meeting Ann M. Martin at a book signing, but of course little starstruck me froze and could not speak a word to my biggest hero at that time. Once in awhile if I come across these at a yard sale, I will pick them up for a couple hour trip down memory lane, and I declare nearly nothing centers and relaxes me more!

[Lucy]

oh I longed for a boyfriend like Logan in childhood

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is the second of the absurd "reader's request" books featuring logan as narrator & primary protagonist. i think it's kind of weird that both the logan books came out so much earlier than the one shannon book. were babysitters club readers in the early 90s really that enamored by logan? even after mary anne broke up with him for turning into a controlling monster?

anyway, logan & mary anne are happily together in this book. happily, that is, save for mary anne's new obsession with hunky boy pop singer nicky cash. nicky cash has a new album coming out soon, & mary anne of course wants to buy it for herself. he's also playing in stamford soon, but tickets have been sold out for ages. remember this.

okay, so, logan is still facing some teasing for being a boy babysitter from some of his football/track teammates. this book is kind of weird because it specifies that the worst of the bullies, king, is on the track team with logan, even though the last logan book had a happy ending in that logan made the track team while king did not. let's just ignore this little inconsistency. one morning, king is teasing logan when t-jam, a member of the completely lame-sounding middle school "gang" the badd boyz (seriously? & i thought "crips" was embarrassing), sticks up for him. t-jam gets into king's face, & logan is surprised when king backs down. later t-jam compliments logan on his work in english class & invites logan to join the badd boyz during lunch. logan agrees, but is taken aback when lunch involves sneaking out of the school & waiting around in the parking lot for some older gang dudes to show up with "'za" (that's "pizza" for all you losers still speaking multi-syllabically). but it doesn't take long for logan to stop worrying about breaking the rules & enjoy the thrill that comes from hanging out with the badd boyz.

t-jam invites logan along on a trip to the local shopping area, which sounds kind of like a strip mall. this has nothing to do with the book, but god, i really hate strip malls. i don't think there is anything more depressing than a strip mall. i have occasion to visit them every now & again, & i always want to cry for the rest of the day after i do.

anyway, the badd boyz notice that logan is pretty friendly with the owner of the local music store. apparently the owner is friends with logan's dad. the owner dude shares A LOT of sensitive information with logan & the other badd boyz concerning when the latest shipment of nicky cash tapes is due to arrive, & exactly how deliveries are facilitated. he's kind of like the security guard played by chris farley in "wayne's world". logan is oblivious, but t-jam takes careful mental notes. he also steals a pair of sunglasses out of an unlocked car in the parking lot, & logan realizes that the other guys they were with were acting shifty as well. he knows that "badd boyz" is not just an incredibly witty & clever name, but that some members of the gang also engage in various illicit activities. he confront t-jam about the sunglasses & t-jam returns them.

on saturday, t-jam calls logan to invite him to go shopping again. this time, logan is picked up by some of the older boys, who can drive. they make a beeline for the record shop, & then the older guys wander off to shop on their own. the owner sees logan & the younger badd boyz & invites them over to watch the shipment. because what could be more fascinating to middle school boys than watching a box of tapes be placed on a loading dock? AMAZING. there's a commotion inside the store, the owner runs in to check things out, a woman breathlessly exclaims that her purse was nearly snatched, & the next thing you know, t-jam grabs logan & hustles him back to the car. everyone else jumps in & logan notices a stolen box of nicky cash tapes in the front seat. when he confronts t-jam about the theft, t-jam insists that logan is in as deep as any of the dudes who were there to commit the theft, & that if he squeals, the authorities will think he's guilty. which makes absolutely no sense if you really think about it, but the rest of the plot hinges on logan being scared & reluctant to tattle, so...he goes with it.

at school, t-jam leans on him some more not to tell, & also manipulates him into helping a couple of badd boyz sneak into the school after-hours to rob lockers (logan doesn't know that's what they're going to do). when logan protests the locker thefts, t-jam again insists that logan is as guilty as the guys actually doing the stealing & to stay quiet. the hammer the point home, the badd boyz leave threatening notes in logan's locker. one insinuates that if logan tells, the badd boyz will hurt mary anne somehow. logan doesn't tell. as a thank you, the badd boyz leave a special badd boyz gang jacket in logan's locker. i forgot to mention that all the badd boyz wear matching black (leather?) jackets with their names stitched on them, & they all dress like arthur fonzarelli, because that is so menacing in modern times. logan tells t-jam to take the jacket back & there's a genuinely hilarious exchange in which logan asks who t-jam "conned into stitching my name" on to the jacket & t-jam replies, "hey, man, leave my mom out of this." i LOLed.

finally the badd boyz leave two nicky cash concert tickets in logan's locker as a thanks for not telling. logan doesn't want to accept them but mary anne sees them before he can do anything with them, & of course assumes that logan somehow procured the tickets to take her to the concert. she is over the moon, so logan backs down & agrees to take her to the concert. he is, however, overcome with guilt & confusion. he suspects that the badd boyz are planning to rob the record store yet again, & he feels that he will be responsible if they pull it off. but he doesn't know who to tell or how to tell without incriminating himself.

logan & mary anne go for dinner before the concert, & mary anne casually mentions that two nicky cash concert tickets were stolen from a girl's locker a few days before. logan realizes that is where the badd boyz got the tickets they gave to him. he takes a deep breath & admits everything to mary anne. she is pissed with logan for getting in so deep with the badd boyz, but first she calls the girl whose tickets were stolen in order to return them. then she tells logan to tell his parents everything, & then to go to the cops. which logan does. the cops are understanding & say that members of the badd boyz gang are familiar faces around the station. the cop encourages logan not to become familiar himself. the cop also explains that the badd boyz recruit people by manipulating them into helping with crimes & then bullying them & buying their silence with gifts & favors, until the new person is incorporated into the group. like they tried to do with logan.

the older members are arrested for the record store thefts in a sting operation, & after a little while, some of the younger members ditch their jackets & gang nicknames & start making new friends. the image on the cover absolutely never happened.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the main thing I dislike about the Logan books is that we're supposed to believe that Logan's fellow 13-year-old male friends bully him for having a serious girlfriend and lots of attractive female friends. What??? He describes Claudia as "drop-dead gorgeous," Stacey as "talk about gorgeous," and Dawn as "awfully healthy, tan and trim." These dudes would be all over Logan, trying to meet them!

In this book, Logan joins a fifties greaser gang because the other jocks are mean to him about babysitting. I don't think anyone who ghostwrites these books has ever been to a middle school.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a kid I was a BSC addict. I read them all with feverish delight and I could not get enough. I do not remember reading this one, so I didn't tag it as a re-read. I'm pretty sure I'd remember something as stupid sounding as the Badd Boyz.

I can't review this. I'm still laughing.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 2.5

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is WEIRD. And it should have been a musical. Logan is way more likeable, which is cool. And there is so much stuff that is just so bizarre that I was cracking up out loud. What is going on with this weird middle school "gang"? Overall, I enjoyed this book. However, it is excessively carceral. As cheesy as it would likely have been, I think leaning a bit more into after school special territory could actually have served a more useful restorative justice purpose. The "bad" kids seemed pretty nice at first, and I would rather have seen that turn out to have been the truth. I would have preferred a scenario where Logan convinced them it's not cool to take other people's stuff, but he was trusting them to do the right thing, etc etc. They could have apologized for using Logan, and stayed casual friends. It didn't need to be so black and white. They are human, and children at that. I don't think they needed to end up in the carceral system.

[Stasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've remembered the secret formula to read these books faster...just skip the twenty some pages explaining in detail every BSC member and their family members and medical background and social security numbers, and before you know it, you'll be almost done with a book. No. But for real... EVERY STINKING BOOK...🤣🤷🏻‍♀️ Also, 'Logan Bruno: Boy Babysitter' seemed like the wrong title for this story? Because he never even babysits in this one, just attends meetings.... 'Logan Bruno: Badd Boy' would have fit better and made so much more sense.

Other than this bothering me, this is a pretty good story about Logan.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subplot isn't given the time or attention it deserves tbh but the main plot is interesting and almost...suspenseful? For a BSC books. Logan was a little annoying in his last Special but this one was actually fun and, despite subplot issues, not quite as focused on toxic masculinity which is a relief.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy baby-sitter! Mary Anne’s boyfriend, a big brother, and an overall good guy with a conscience. When he gets caught up with the bad crowd, does he follow along or does he finally do the right thing and tell? Find out in this special edition of The Babysitters Club series.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it bad that I liked T-Jam and would like him and Logan to become real friends? (Especially since Logan doesn't really seem to have any actual friends of his own. Yes, he has people who he sits with at lunch, and he has his teammates, but who is Logan Bruno's best friend??)

[Sharon W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Choose your friends Carefully

One of my favourite books. I love Peter Lerangis books. Logan gets mixed up in the wrong crowd. Live how these books can be so easily applied to life even now decades later they still have a great message.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much baby-sitting but it was nice having a book from Logan's POV. Good story about Logan dealing with peer pressure and some Badd Boyz (yes that's really how these tough guy 13 year olds spell their group name, lol).

[Gen Blew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suspect that the people who are reading this book and mocking the terrible lameness of the 'cool' gang forget what it was like to be 13 in the 90s. Fonzie was cool. Being 'cool' was pretty much everything.

Greaser wannabes? Absolutely! Terribel gang name? Totally! Very 90s nostalgic.

[Beau N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I clearly remember the cover of this book, but have zero memory of the content. But I know I read it, because it was a Baby-Sittters Club Book.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A star off for the use of these words: “squank”, “Tsup” and sexy. 🙄

[Christina]

Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...

[Dr. Aditi Kapoor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The babysitters club from a male perspective. A must read for all fans. It depicts peer pressure at different levels for kids and teens irrespective of gender and it is handled. It's more of a unique Logan story than one with emphasis on babysitters

[Ellis Billington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely preferred the first of the two Logan books—this one had its fun moments, but didn’t suck me in quite as much, I think because the “gang” just felt a little too silly.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was dumb. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of Logan or maybe because despite the title little babysitting takes place and the sitting jobs they have are not Logan's. So after screwing up at a track meet Logan is humiliated and picked on by a fellow jock, same jerk from the last Logan book. Then he gets mixed up with the bad crowd called Badd Boyz. Cringe. They rob a record store using Logan's goody two shoes image and his friendship with the owner. Then blackmail him to keep him quiet. Including stealing tickets to a concert of s former boy band member who's the latest heartthrob which is fitting for that time. Boy bands were huge in the late 80's through early 2000's. Of course he ends up doing the right thing because he always does. The other plot involves kids being terrorized by a bully EJ who turns out to be a girl which shocks everyone because girls can't be bullies. The handful of girls/women who almost destroyed my self esteem throughout my life beg to differ on that. Yeah this was stupid and cringey and not even an enjoyable dumb. But it's over with so onto the next book.

[Stephanie (Once Upon a Chapter) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first book from Logan's POV (Logan's Story), but this one was just stupid. Somehow Logan gets involved in a gang (YES A GANG in Stoneybrooke, Connecticut) that carry out such crimes as stealing sunglasses from unlocked cars and threatening people with notes showing them as mice caught in giant mouse traps. Wow.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always felt the two Logan books were mistitled. This one should be Logan's Story with the other one being Logan Bruno, Boy Baby-Sitter since that one's actually about him baby-sitting.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In which Logan joins a problematically racially stigmatized gang and does not do any babysitting.

[Wolfdreamer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall a very boring book. I can definitely see why Logan did not receive many books in the series. The writers obviously did not know how to write as a boy. He is very oblivious to everything happening around him, and when push comes to shove, he doesn't "man up" Mary Anne, you know miss "cry baby" is the one who does the right thing and makes him do it too.