California Girls!

The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #5

by Ann M. Martin

Who would believe it--the Baby-sitters have won the lottery! And with their winning money, the girls are all going with Dawn to. . .California!

What adventures they have. Jessi lands a (tiny) part in a TV show, Kristy gets into a kind-of fight with Dawn's We ❤️ Kids Club, and Stacey turns into a surfer girl! And in between all that excitement, they still have time for baby-sitting, sight-seeing, and the beach.

How can they go back to Stoneybrook now that they've turned into California girls?

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

255 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1990

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

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This features Elaine Stritch, so it’s the best book in the series.

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

goddamn, this book is boring. the premise is that the connecticut state lottery has climbed to 23 million dollars. claudia has been buying tickets, but all the babysitters chip in to buy seven tickets & watch the draw together at a slumber party at kristy's house. dawn's ticket has five of the six numbers, so the babysitters win $10,000. ludicrous. they use the money to fund a vacation to california, where they all stay at dawn's dad's house. i can't even fathom how huge his house must be, to shelter six extra teenage girls for two weeks (i'm not counting dawn because she already has her own room there). each babysitter has an "adventure" of some sort.

kristy & the other babysitters all attend a meeting of the we [heart] kids club, the babysitting club started by dawn's california friends. kristy is very distressed by the way they run their club. there are only three members, they don't have regular meetings days or time frames, they don't keep a club notebook, they just put their hands over the receiver & ask who wants the job rather than calling parents back, etc. kristy thinks she knows everything about babysitting clubs & by extension, babysitting. so when the club gets a call about sitting two rambunctious little boys that happen to be terrors, kristy volunteers for the job. she plans to do an awesome job & prove that the we [heart] kids girls just aren't as good at babysitting as she is.

of course it doesn't pan out that way. the boys are just as awful for her as for every other babysitter they have. kristy gets permission for the boys to join her & the other sitters for a day at universal studios, where they throw wet paper towels at the ceiling of the bathroom, stand up in the special effects tour train, & generally make mischief. kristy has to concede that she's a good sitter, but that doesn't mean she's necessarily the child whisperer.

mary anne also accepts a job at the we [heart] kids meeting. she gets a job sitting for stephie. stephie's mom died when she was little, & stephie's dad is kind of strict with her. plus, stephie is shy & sensitive. basically, mary anne feels like she can relate to stephie. but stephie also has asthma, which is triggered by emotional distress. mary anne is constantly panicked about stephie's asthma & thinks she's going to have an attack every thirty seconds. she's constantly clutching stephie's "inhalator" (i have friends with asthma, & they call them inhalers, so...?) & trying to make sure stephie doesn't do anything too rambunctious. stephie also joins the group at universal studios, & mary anne worries incessantly that all the scary special effects are going to trigger stephie's asthma. but stephie is fine & mary anne finally learns to relax.

mary anne sits for stephie one last time before heading back to connecticut, & stephie is really sad to see mary anne go. this would count as emotional distress, i guess, & stephie has an attack. mary anne handles it pretty well, & mary anne & stephie decide to be pen pals.

mallory feels insecure about her looks in california because she thinks everyone out there is blonde & made-up. which just isn't true. once again, ann m. martin displays her lack of experience in california, where probably the overwhelming majority of people are in fact not blonde at all. but try telling that to mallory. she gets carol, dawn's dad's girlfriend, to drive her to the max factor museum, which could not sound more dull. she spends almost all of her traveling money on tons of make-up that she isn't even allowed to use back in stoneybrook. she spends over an hour in the morning making up her face...even though there's nothing she can do about her glasses & contacts. she even buys "wash-out" blonde hair dye so she can be blonde. which would really just turn red hair orange, but...whatever. supposedly it works. the babysitters are not especially impressed by mallory's transformation. & jessi is especially frustrated because now mallory has to keep borrowing money from her for food & trips & stuff.

mallory accompanies jessi to the set of "p.s. 142," the sitcom on which derek masters stars. the director asks for extras for a crowd scene, & mallory volunteers, but he says she doesn't have the "right look". mallory is crushed. she's blonde & wearing nineteen pounds of make-up--how much more right can her look get? she mopes & doesn't join the other babysitters when they go to an amusement park the next day. she just stays home & reads & feels sorry for herself. what a baby.

she also realizes that her makeover has to go away when they go back home, so the babysitters help her choose some new hair dye that matches her old hair color, & stacey & claudia pool their money to buy mallory's make-up off of her. mallory uses the money to pay jessi back what she owes. i don't know if this is really a happy ending, because it doesn't seem like mallory really learned anything about accepting herself.

jessi is hanging out a lot with derek masters on set. she is chosen to be in a crowd scene, & derek again encourages her to pursue an agent & get involved with acting. jessi considers it, but decides that ballet is her true passion. again.

she also fumes a lot over mallory & her makeover. she displays a lot of maturity by wondering if maybe their arguments are her fault, that she's not being supportive enough. so she talks to mallory, but nothing really gets resolved. because this whole thing is actually mallory's fault! but in the end, jessi gets paid back & tells derek that she is going to focus on ballet. *yawn*

stacey takes a beginning surfing class at the beach & gets surf fever. she pretty much just wants to go to the beach everyday & ride the waves. she even rides a few waves that are way too big for her, & dawn gets mad at stacey for endangering herself. stacey morphs into an adrenaline junkie. she makes friends with some local kids that are really into surfing.

but one of the kids stacey has befriended is a really reckless driver. at first, stacey thinks it's exciting, & she even goes so far as to tell the dude that he's a good, offensive driver. but her tune changes when he gets into a car accident on the highway with stacey & all her new friends in the car. no one is badly hurt, but the situation scared the shit out of stacey. she is taken to the hospital to be checked over, & calls dawn's house for a ride home. carol answers & stacey & dawn are both relieved because they think carol will keep the accident a secret. carol has been acting more like their friend or a big sister than an adult. but carol puts her foot down & tells them that she has to tell dawn's dad what happened because he's responsible for everyone's safety while the girls are staying at his house, & they will have to call stacey's parents. at first stacey is upset (& embarrassed), but she realizes that carol is right. she agrees not to hang out with those kids anymore.

claudia meets a cute boy at the beach & they go on a date. but claudia quickly realizes that she's out of her depth with terry. he's really smart. he takes her to a french restaurant & wants to see an italian movie with subtitles. claudia thinks she's too stupid to hang out with him. so she decides not to see him anymore.

but stacey runs into him at the beach & gives him dawn's dad's phone number. he calls because he wants to see claudia again. at first, claudia is angry, but she likes terry a lot, so she goes. & it's just one disaster after another. she borrows boring, conservative clothes from the other babysitters for her dates & calls janine to get ideas on smart things to discuss with terry. terry seems woefully oblivious to the fact that claudia can barely manage her end of the conversation. claudia talks things over with carol, & carol says that sometimes people change who they are for a relationship. dawn cuts carol off & says that's terrible advice (she would know from book #37...but she forgets quickly enough when lewis comes to town a few books later). rather than clarifying that she also thinks it's a bad idea, carol says nothing. um...okay? claudia thinks carol is actually giving her some awesome advice, so bends over backwards to change herself for terry.

finally she realizes it's not working out & she ends up talking to terry about what she really likes--art, mimi, babysitting, etc. it turns out that terry has some less cerebral interests as well & claudia is relieved that she was herself...though she is sad that she'll have to leave terry behind when she goes home. the girls have a long conversation about how upsetting it is that they always "fall in love" with awesome dudes on vacation when the relationship doesn't really have a future. yeah, that is a truly ridiculous trope of the super special books.

& lastly, we have dawn. her big arc concerns her relationship with carol. at first, dawn doesn't like carol at all. she thinks carol tries too hard to be friends with the girls & doesn't act her age. dawn is disgusted when carol wears a bikini to the beach. she thinks carol is too old tow ear bikinis...even though it's stated in some book that carol is in her late 20s. if you can't wear a bikini in your late 20s, when can you wear one? way to make me feel a million years old.

anyway, dawn's feelings change after stacey's car accident. she's impressed that carol did the difficult & adult thing. she writes carol a letter apologizing for her behavior, & she tells her dad that it's okay with her if he wants to marry carol. again, *yawn*.

& then the babysitters go back home. the book closes with some of the correspondence they receive from their california friends. stephie's dad is letting her get a dog. carol misses dawn. terry will love claudia "forever". etc etc etc. nobody cares.

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

finally a super special that I enjoyed (the first since Baby-Sitters on Board!)! our favorite baby-sitters win $10k in the lottery and decide to spend it on a trip out to california to hang out with dawn's family. they each respond to the different setting in a different way (check out character plotlines), most of which fit their characters pretty perfectly. dawn is the overarching narrator in this one (two in a row -- she narrated Baby-sitters' Island Adventure).

character plotlines:
-dawn: hates carol, her dad's girlfriend. she thinks carol acts too much like a teenager and not like a responsible adult. when an emergency happens (see stacey's plotline) she ends up handling it like an adult, and dawn is angry at first but then gets over it and tells her dad that she'd be okay with him marrying carol (which he will in Here Come the Bridesmaids!). annoying level in this book: 3/10
-kristy: thinks the we <3 kids club is dumb since they don't have strict rigid beliefs about how to run their business. she babysits erick and ryan dewitt (whom the w<3kc members have told her are terrors) and decides that she can handle taking them to universal studios (where they are wearing jams! how 1990 of them!) and has to deal with their hyperactivity. annoying level in this book: 5/10
-mary anne: babysits stephie robertson and is overprotective and annoying, since stephie has asthma. mary anne keeps thinking she's gonna have an asthma attack every time she seems excited about anything. then as they're saying goodbye because mary anne is leaving stephie says she wishes mary anne were her mother. ew. and as stephie is crying about having to say goodbye, she FINALLY actually has an asthma attack because she's sad. annoying level in this book: 6/10
-stacey: gets into a reckless surfer dude lifestyle (takes 1-2 lessons then thinks she can ride the biggest waves, thinks it's cool that her new older kid surfer friends are negligent and aggressive drivers). of course she gets into car crash because the dude driving (beau) doesn't look or signal before switching lanes on the freeway, and it turns into a 4-car + one huge truck pileup. carol comes to get her from the hospital and says she's gonna have to tell dawn's dad and stacey's parents, and stacey is all like, "I thought you were cool, man." but dawn ends up being impressed by carol acting like an adult. annoying level in this book: 3/10
-claudia: meets and dates terry who is into foreign films and douchey restaurants, so she tries to pretend to be that.. they see an italian film and claud can't deal with the fact that you have to read the english words written across the bottom of the screen (subtitles, LOL) and she says she didn't get the movie because, "the story made no sense to me. it was just a lot of people bicycling around the italian countryside." double LOL. she orders escargots bc she thinks she can pronounce it (why doesn't she just get the chicken that terry's having?) and then has to eat em. she asks about the situation in the soviet union so terry talks about glasnost. finally she calls janine who tells her to be herself and they end up having stuff in common (terry likes old movies, claudia likes movies, terry is interested in her art, etc). annoying level in this book: 5/10
-jessi: goes with derek masters from Jessi and the Superbrat) to his tv studio where they film P.S. 162. she is an extra in an episode & learns facts about the biz (special effects, etc) which she then annoys mallory with at universal studios. she and mallory fight and she initiates the end of the fight. annoying level in this book: 3/10
-mallory: is a shallow idiot. dyes her hair blonde and buys makeup. spends all her money on the dye and makeup and expects to borrow from jessi for the rest of the trip. when she goes with jessi to P.S. 162 she doesn't get cast as an extra because the guy doesn't like her look. kristy saves the day by telling her she's being a jerk and that everyone likes the old mallory better/it doesn't matter if the guy didn't like her "look" because it's not what she actually looks like. she is the mary anne of this book. annoying level in this book: 10/10

highlights:
-not really a highlight but an interesting thing. this book is dedicated to lisa novak and gregg peretz. I looked them up out of curiosity. they were a young married couple who were murdered while celebrating their first anniversary in southern vermont. I assume ann knew lisa novak because she was an editor of children's books. ann even created a book donation organization in lisa novak's name: http://www.lisalibraries.org/
-jeff and his friend rob have a fight over who is the biggest deadhead.
-elaine stritch from the woody allen movie september is visiting ps 162/doing a guest appearance. this is so random and funny to me.
-jenny prezzioso wants to name her new baby "yucky toilet"
-they call it magic mountain, not six flags. someone did their west coast lingo vs. east coast lingo research!
-I love stacey's recklessness because it's in character and I could see myself getting swept up into that storyline.
-every moment claudia tries to impress terry is HILARIOUS. read her character plotline part. it's funny.
-I love california. I love all the universal studios stuff -- I was getting some serious nostalgia. I wish they went to disneyland though... :(
-jessi calls a movie a picture. not only is she turning into a hollywood douche, she's turning into a hollywood douche from the 1930s!

lowlights/nitpicks:
-I find it hard to believe that claudia's conservative, practical dad would buy her lottery tickets every week. I also find it hard to believe that kristy would use the lottery money she won on a trip instead of putting it into a savings account or something.
-dawn gets chicken on the plane. IS SHE OR ISN'T SHE A VEGETARIAN?
-dawn says san diego is really far from LA, which isn't true, especially considering dawn lives near anaheim. they keep going to hollywood, burbank (which is in the valley), etc. which is almost as far as san diego, just in the opposite direction. both over an hour from anaheim.
-I don't buy that mallory doesn't know what asthma is, especially since she knows that a mortgage means the bank owns your house and you pay it off in installments every month (which she clearly stated in Poor Mallory!)
-this is presumably winter break (mostly because it's a two week break and they have their coats on the plane). december isn't hang out in a bikini/swim in the extremely cold pacific ocean time of year.
-when carol says, "I know people who change to please--" and dawn cuts her off so claudia thinks that's all she was gonna say. and claudia thinks it sounds like good advice. but carol was obviously going to say, "but that's a bad idea."
-blonde hair dye on auburn hair wouldn't work. you'd need to strip it with bleach first, which is not wash-out. the reason sun-lite works is the lemon principle: lemons interact with the sun to bleach your hair. also when they dye mallory's hair back to its original color, if it's REALLY blonde, it won't look right. you need a base color to add the sort of natural looking different colors (natural highlights and lowlights) to hair before you can get it to look right. otherwise it looks too perfectly one color and doesn't look natural. /hair science rant
-jessi says she woke up early on wednesday to go with derek to the taping of his show, and she says mallory is blonde by that point. but mallory ends up dying her hair later on wednesday (after going to the mall) so she can't be blonde yet
-they're all bewildered by mchale's navy and have never heard of it but they are stoked on lucille ball and leave it to beaver references? consistency, ann! are the members of the bsc or are they not 40 years old?
-terry says he usually likes old movies but lately he's been watching woody allen movies (implying that he means he's watching new movies) like interiors, annie hall, and love and death. those all came out in the 70s. why not actually name contemporary ones? crimes and misdemeanors, alice, september, etc? those all came out in the late 80s (or in alice's case, 1990).

one claudia outfit:
-"For instance, on the day of this meeting, she was wearing a red shirt with Mexican hats and cactus plants printed on it, and blue-and-white-striped pants held up by polka-dotted suspenders. On her head was what looked like an engineer's cap (it matched her pants), and dangling from her ears were miniature cowboy boots, which she'd made herself."

one stacey outfit:
-"On this particular day, Stacey was wearing wide-legged, cropped pants; her Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt; and high-topped running shoes."

no snacks in claudia's room.

[Swankivy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The thing I remember most vividly about this book was that the girls won the lottery and decided to go to California, and Mallory felt like the ugly duckling so she spent a bunch of money and time trying to look super hot with pricey beauty treatments and hairstyles. Because of this, when the girls get to be extras in a movie for like a second, Mallory is excluded because she looks too fake and they want the crowd to look natural. She's totally bummed. I remember being surprised that anyone would sell that much expensive crap to a preteen, but I guess it's not that surprising. Oh, and since she threw all her money away on makeup she keeps leaning on Jessi to cover her. Jessi almost doesn't have her own plot because most of it involves a) being ticked at Mallory and b) doing the exact same "considering going into acting/deciding nah, she likes ballet" thing she did in a previous book. Can't she do both?

I don't remember the other storylines quite as vividly. But I remember that since this is California they of course have to go to Dawn's house, and meet up with Dawn's old friends who have their own babysitting club. You'd think these kids would want to do something besides babysit on their vacation, but of course they have to work the designated subject matter in, so they decide it'll be fun to attend Dawn's friends' club meetings and Kristy tries to tell everyone what to do because apparently the only person on the whole planet who knows how to run a babysitting club is Kristy Thomas. Of course you know she's setting herself up to fail when she tries to prove that she's the greatest thing since sliced bread by taking a sitting job with kids who are known to misbehave constantly, and she has to eat her words. Oh, and Mary Anne gets to sit for a kid she relates to because they had a similar dead mother/protective father situation, but Mary Anne flips out over the kid's asthma which just goes to show you how it's hard not to be "over"protective sometimes.

The Stacey plot is kind of annoying because she just decides that she's obsessed with surfing and starts craving high-risk behavior, including getting into a car with a guy who drives aggressively. As soon as this enters the plot you KNOW there's going to be an accident. Well, no surprise, there is. And of course this teaches her a lesson. If someone seems to like high-risk behavior, they're bad and don't hang out with them. 'Kay. (Stacey gets barked at by Carol, Dawn's dad's partner, which makes Dawn happy because she's been all grouchy about the fact that her dad's significant other is kind of young and possibly immature, so this brings new respect to the table.) And since this is Baby-Sitters Club, and a vacation, someone has to do something ridiculous over boys. That would be Claudia. She tries to change herself for a boy who's really smart and sophisticated, and of course learns that's the wrong thing to do.

The thing I hate most about these books is that the "lessons" they learn on several levels always happen to be intertwined and related while teaching the same lesson in a parallel fashion, and that made them feel constructed rather than lived. I know I'm probably expecting too much, but just because a book's for kids does not mean it should get a pass on presenting life and human nature unrealistically to make a point.

[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!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In which a group of 13 year olds win the lottery and go to OMGCALIFORNIA. STFUDawn hates Carol - who, at 32, acts pretty much the same way I do, and I'm 34, so STFU, Dawn. Stacey surfs, Caludia falls in LUV with another Asian, K. Ron takes over the We *stupid hearts symbol that drives me crazy* Kids Club, and MA frets. In other news, Jessi is an extra who surprisingly experiences no racism, and Mel-ry is a complete asshole. Seriously, I hate Mal so much in this book. I want to maim her.

[✨Jordan✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole gang is heading to California! After winning some money from a lottery ticket the babysitters club heads to California for a two week long vacation at Dawns fathers house. So much happens. Mallory dyes her hair blonde!! Jessi meets up with a child movie star she used to babysit. Dawn is annoyed that her dads new girlfriend keeps coming over, Claudia finds a new boy she likes (but he seems too smart for her), Stacey finds a new love with surfing and makes friends with some older kids, Kristy and Mary Ann both find new kids to babysit! Come along for a girls summer trip.

[Lily M · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I heard about this book, I had to get it! I just started this account, like, a week ago! I have read 36 books out of 88! (I read A-LOT!) I am starting to get into the babysitters club books! I am on BOOK 20! I have read almost ALL of the SUPER SPECIALS! Dawn is an amazing and healthy character! Also, after reading this book, I WANT TO VISIT CALIFORNIA! Maybe not live there, beacuse a snowy Christmas? Well I would recomend this book if you love the babysitters club series or summer! I love both! -Lily M.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

listen maybe i’m in a bad mood but this one just isn’t it. claudia gets a cute boyfriend who i’m sure will never be mentioned again, stacey gets into a car accident because she’s with older kids AGAIN (i love you forever stacey but chill out,) dawn is mean to her dad’s girlfriend, mallory discovers makeup and hair dye, jessi is rational beyond her years, mary anne has a very sweet babysitting charge who reminds her of herself, and kristy gets knocked down a peg which makes this 3 stars instead of 2. also not for nothing, what single man lets his daughter and her six friends that’s he’s never even met fly across the country and stay with him for more than 2 weeks? nonsense.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story about the babysitters club winning money in the lottery and deciding to go on a vacation to California. They stayed with Dawns dad and brother. Made new friends and also had lots of fun adventures.

[Ashley Purdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for nostalgia’s sake and the legit laughing out loud I did at phrases like “dibbly fresh.” 😆

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be the most iconic of the Super Specials, I don't know. Maybe I'm just blinded by Mal's blonde hair. Either way, it's definitely one of the more fun and exciting Super Specials, what with all the exciting plots.

Needed more Jeff, though.

[Kelsey Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baby-Sitters Club series was to me at 9, what Sex And The City is to me at 27. Oddly enough, I didn't really enjoy babysitting and only did it a handful of times when I was a teen. But I totally considered myself part of this pre-teen sisterhood of do-gooders. I also have not an ounce in common with rich, thirty-something single Manhattanites. So I guess things don't really change.

Back to BC Club. There was the one that annoyed me: Mary Anne was a total bully bitch in my mind (but with good reason - quite the backstory with her). There was the one I had nothing in common with: Claudia was way too into fashion for me to comprehend. And there was Stacey, who, for the life of me, all I can remember about her is that she had diabetes. And then there was the one I worshipped: Dawn was a blonde vegetarian from California and I had a major girl-crush on her. In this particular book the girls get to come with Dawn one Summer when she visits her dad back in California. Wait, now that I think about it, one of my favorite episodes of Sex And The City is when they all visit LA for a weekend. Wow, the song has certainly remained the same.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reread this for Terrible-Book-Club. I'm giving this book 3 stars because it really isn't that terrible for a young adult/children's book. I LOVED BSC when I was a kid! As an adult, however, it's just so silly. The plot is silly and the characters are silly. But none of this detracts from how I felt about these books 20 years ago.

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it as usually,i don't really have bad reviews.I love all the books that i read(sometimes)

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is in California over a school holiday. Jessi visits a child actor she sometimes baby-sits and works as an extra on his show. Mallory gets a makeover. Stacey learns to surf and gets into an accident. Claudi dates a boy that's as smart as her sister. Dawn gets to know her Dad's girlfriend. Kristy and Mary Anne baby-sit. All of the girls go to the beach, many amusement parks, and take a driving tour of famous homes.

[Anne Ahrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite BSC book and reading it aloud to my 10 year old was super fun. She didn’t get a lot of cultural references but I was loving remembering my childhood. The number of times they went to the mall was fantastic. I miss the days of going to the mall for social purposes. And the independence afforded to 11-13 year olds is hard to imagine even though I lived it.

[Karly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is honestly such a shame my school library didn’t have most of these books when I was a kid. I fear I’m going to hit my reading goal on just Babysitter’s Club books…and I’m not even logging all of them.

[Janel G. B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, Babysitter's Club. I loved these books so much. Somehow I remember this special edition one more than the others. Maybe because California just seemed so far from my own life.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dawn is annoying. Stacey is off her rocker. Mallory has completely lost it. Claudia has vacation romance boyfriends all over the country. That pretty much sums up the book.

There is no "washout dye" in the world that will turn red hair blonde. That's called bleach. It doesn't just wash out. And a second coat of red drugstore hair dye is NOT going to cover that shit up well enough that her parents don't notice. Well, it's the Pikes, so they probably wouldn't. They seem to never be with their kids anyway. They might not even realize Mal's hair wasn't always Ronald McDonald red.

Honestly, it's getting to the point that I don't understand why people trust their kids to some of these girls.

And damn it, "distant" is not a thing. Leave it alone, AMM.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow, these 7 girls get to go on vacation together, to California to visit Dawn, because THEY WON THE LOTTERY. Setting aside how ridiculous this concept is... Mallory dyes her hair blonde and wants to be a movie star, Mary Anne baby-sits for a girl with emotional athsma, etc. When Mallory finally realizes that her hair looks terrible, it's Stacey to the rescue because apparently once Stacey thought she'd look good as a redhead then had to dye her hair back to blonde.

[Rachel Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, but I definitely prefer the original series - the characterisation in the Super Specials isn't always as good, and the fact that seven storylines are going on all at once sometimes bugs me. Despite this, the Sea City special was one of my favourite books when I was a kid!

[Abby Flanary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Mallory dyed her hair blonde and the go to universal studies and I though that was cool now I want to go there. The book is one of my favorite so many fun things happened it makes me feel like I am there.

[V. Arrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book, even as an adult, gives me the same stomachache as the episode of Full House when Stephanie's friends get into a car accident for literally the exact same reason that Stacey's friends do in this book: Being Cool Teens.

[Palak]

CANNOT BELIEVE!! And the fact that Claudia had a boyfriend! And Mary-Anne Found a mini her!

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

California?? I thought they lived in Connecticut?

[Tiffany Spencer]

California Girls
. When the jackpot reaches 23 million dollars the BSC all buy tickets. The ticket wins ten thousand dollars and they decide to use the money go to a trip to California to visit Dawn’s dad for a break. Jeff and Dawn’s friends will also be on break and Dawn’s dad says he’ll try to take some time off. When they get to Mr. Schafer’s Dawn isn’t happy to Carol there. Carol is there the next day and offers to make brunch. Sunny calls and invites them over to a We Love Kids meeting. We Love Kids is a club that a couple of Dawn’s friends started in imitation of the BSC.

Dawn warns them that Sunny, Jill, and Maggie are a lot more laid back in the way the meetings are run. Kristy starts to feel a little bit competitive. Introductions are made. Right away Kristy finds out there are no officers and no notebook. But they do have an appointment book. Maggie asks what they do when no one can accept the job and she tells them about the associate members. Since the We Love Kids, members can’t take the first job for Steffi Robinson they offer it to the BSC. Dawn says Maryanne would be perfect for it and she gets the job. Kristy isn’t happy about this She’s astounded that clients are calling on a Sunday, they don’t have regular meetings, and they can just call whoever’s house. They also just take whatever jobs they want. Maryanne is told that Steffi is asthmatic. Then Dawn tells her about what asthma is and how an inhaler works. The next job are for two brothers Eric and Ryan. Since the We Love Kids, members don’t want this job, Kristy decides to show them up and take it. They warn her and start bombarding her with advice. But Kristy knows she can handle it (and her own way).

Carol is again on Monday and offers to drive them around. She asks what they all wanna do. The beach wins out. Stacey decides she wants to take surfing lessons. Jessi, Mal, Kristy, Jeff, and Rob play in the water. Maryanne reads and Carol sketches. Claudia has her eye on a boy reading a thick book. She says he’s the most gorgeous boy she’s ever seen. Carol suggests she go over and introduce herself. Stacey has a ball and actually tries to ride her first wave (and falls). Carol tells Claud to invite the boy over. His name is Terry. They find out a lot about him. He loves school and won a first prize in a science fair. It’s obvious Claudia thinks he’s not right for her but he seems to likes her. Mal sees blonds everyone and moans about her hair. Carol suggests that maybe she should change it. Overall it’s a good day.

On Tuesday, Carol shows up again. Dawn doesn’t like it. She thinks Carol is trying too hard to act like one of them. Stacey is ready to go surfing again with Dawn’s friends (even though she got a little woozy the previous day). Dawn says she's going to ride her bike to the mall. Kristy says she’ll go with her. Maryanne says she’ll stay home and look at the tourist books. Carol drives Mal and Jessi to a beauty museum in Hollywood. (The Max Factor Boutique).

Stacey's new friends Paul, Carter, and Alana, and Rosemary head off to the beach. Stacey signs up for another class. Her new friends head off on their own. Stacey actually rides a wave in without falling off. Her instructor isn’t so thrilled and gives her a scolding. Stacey spots Terry after getting a salad and speaks to him. He asks if Claudia is there. She says no and she can see he’s disappointed. The night before Claudia told Stacey she liked Terry but she doesn’t think they’re right for each other. So, Stacey doesn’t see why they can’t be friends or a couple so she gives Terry the number at Dawns’. Stacey doesn’t get back until after six and Mr. Schafer isn’t happy. He questions Stacey about who drove her home. Luckily Dawn in there and tells her dad who the others are.

Terry calls Claudia at the Scafers and asks her out on a date and she’s so flustered she says yes. His mom can drop them off at the mall and they can see a movie. Claudia is furious and says Stacey had no right to give Terry the number but Stacey is delighted and starts picking out Claud’s outfit. Claudia tries to tell Stacey that even though they did talk they ran out of conversation but Stacey isn’t listening. On Wednesday, Terry and Claud have lunch at the Grotto (an Italian restaurant.) The menus in Italian but Terry chooses the Fetticini Alfredo. Then they go see an Italian movie. It’s in Italian and the subtitles are too fast. Claudia says a lot of yeahs and I know and Terry seems to be impressed by her Later she tells Carol she doesn’t think she’s good enough for Terry. Carol says she knows people that try to change in order to make the relationship work. Dawn says that’s stupid but Claudia thinks isn’t that what she’s already doing.

Maryanne finds out Steffi has a nanny ad her nanny got called away that’s why she doesn’t have a regular sister. (Her mom died). So her dad keeps having to line up sitter after sitter. Lisa is the morning sister and Maryanne asks her about Steffi’s asthma. Lisa tells her that Steffi’s attacks are mostly brought on by her emotions. Maryanne thinks Steffi sounds like her. Then she sees her room with all the pink and bunnies and has a flashback. It’s HER old room. So she tells her about her mom (and how she died) and her dad (and how strict he was) and tells her she read the book she’s reading (The Secret Garden). She even looks like her (with the pig tails). Maryanne and Steffi decide to have a picnic in the park Maryanne wants to play but Maryanne waits a bit and tells her some more about her dad. Steffi decides she likes Maryanne. When they get back Steffi asks her dad if can she sit her again.

Dawn, Mal, and Kristy spend the day with Carol at Washington Mall. Jeff comes along because he and Rob had a fight over whose the biggest Dead Head is, First, they go skating. Then they go have lunch at a health food restaurant. Mal says she’s going to the makeup counter and she’ll meet them back in an hour. Mal tells the lady at the counter she wants a complete makeover. The lady suggests wash out dye. Mal blows all her money on cosmetics and dye and only has six dollars left for the rest of the trip. Mal dyes her hair and is satisfied with her look. Jessica thinks it's not her and she’s wasted all her money but Mal doesn’t care.

Jessi spends the day at the movie studio watching Derek's film PS162. Jessi watches as Derek and the others rehearse, and block shots. Then they’re taken off for tutoring for a couple of hours. Jessi gets to see how sound effects are done. The director says they need more people for the crowd scene and Jessii is picked but it takes three hours to film a ten minute outside shot of the school. Derek suggests to Jessi while she’s there she should think about getting an agent and looking into getting on a show.

Five days go by. Carol comes over to pick them up again in a van. They all decide to go to the beach. Only Jeff wants to take the NBC. Tour. So Dawn comes up with the idea that Carol can drop them off at the beach and then she can take Jeff on the tour. This will also allow Stacey to ride to the beach with her surfing friends. They pick Stacey up early and there’s a new driver (Beai) who's a dangerous driver. (Stacey finds this exciting). He likes to swerve in and out of lanes and almost cause accidents. It doesn’t say this but I bet he’s the type that also likes to do donuts. When they get to the beach, Stacey is able to ride a wave standing up (without a lesson). Stacey sees her friends and call for them to watch her. She tries to ride a second wave but falls off and almost kills herself. Dawn jumps on her case that she doesn’t know what she’s doing but Stacey just says she does and walks off. At a sleepover with the BSC and the WLK’s club, Dawn vents about Carol and the BSC talk about what they did so far. Dawn says her dad will be taking them to Universal Studios on Saturday but Kristy will be sitting. Kristy says she’ll just bring Eric and Ryan, But the WLK club members look at her like she’s crazy and tell her she doesn’t know what she’s getting into. Maryanne decides to also invite Steffi but worries about her asthma. Maggie says it shouldn’t be an issue tho if she brings her inhaler.

Claudia decides to go out with Terry again. They go out to eat at a French restaurant. Claudia can’t really read the menu so she picks something that sounds simple escargots. Terry looks impressed. Then Claudia asks him what he thinks of the situation in the Soviet Union. Then Terry brings up the Green House Effect. Despite Dawn’s advice to just be herself, Claudia asks Terry about a book she heard Janine say she read. After the date, Claudia cries on the way home. She’s sure she’ll never hear from Terry again.

On the way to Universal Studios, Eric and Ryan are annoying the whole trip and make Steffi cry. They take the tram tour. Volunteers are chosen to demonstrate the special effects. Mal thinks she’ll get picked but she doesn’t meet any of the requirements. They learn about how effects are made. Jessi acts like a know it all and keeps saying she learned that on the set of PS 162. There’s a minute when Eric and Ryan go to the bathroom and don’t come back. So Kristy has to send Jeff to find them and there throwing water and paper towels around. Then there’s another minute when they act up because Jeff is chosen to be Elliot and they start having a fit because it’s not fair they aren’t picked. But otherwise, they love the studio tour. Kristy finds out that Maggie and Jill were right. Eric and Ryan are wild but she can manage them by letting them front about their fears and not call them out.

Maryanne is a little too over anxious that Steffi will have an asthma attack so she’s jumpy with everything fearing it will set one off, but Steffi just seems to laugh at and enjoy everything. Claudia calls Janine for advice (and to tell her about world affairs). Janine tells her just be herself and she suggests she invite Terry to Hollywood the next day. It’s something she’d like to do. Turns out he’s into movies and is excited about going. They see the Chinese theatre (and the stars footprints). Hollywood High, and do a star tour. Terry is the most excited of all. Only he knows stars Claudia’s never heard of. After that they have lunch and Claudia and Terry talk and talk and don’t run out of conversation. Claudia is sad at the end of the day because she’s not ready to say goodbye At the end of the day, Terry kisses Claudia. (He’s very interested in her art).

Jessi decides to make up with Mal. She invites her to come with her to watch Derek the next day. She’s been mad because Mal changed her looks and bought a lot of makeup (which she knew her parents didn’t approve of) and now has to borrow money from her all the time. She’s mad at herself for this bothering her. On Monday, Derek says they’ll be doing more filming so it’ll be a little more interesting. There’s a special guest star and Derek says he’ll get her autogragh so Claudia can give it to Terry. They need another extra for a scene but the director says her looks aren’t right and she’s upset. Jessi tells Derek she’s decided not to get an agent and move to LA. He just shrugs like okaay. Mal apologizes.to Jessi. Jessi apologizes to Mal. Mal cries a little bit. Then Stacey comes in and says she found an old theatre that only plays old movies and they’re playing Mary Poppins. Mal doesn’t go. Maryanne wants to go to Knots Berry Farm (amusement park) the next day. Mal says she just wants to stay home and read. She spends the day looking at herself in the mirror and calling herself ugly. Kristy tho sets her straight. Jessi asks Mal if will she go back to her red hair and she agrees but they have to go to the store to dye her hair to hide the blond. Luckily the dye matches. Claudia and Stacey buy her makeup. Then Mal gives some of the money to Jessi, The next day they go to the park, and a cute guy smiles at Mal.

Beau side-swipes a car and causes a pileup. Stacey tells the cops the truth. She’s then taken to the hospital, Luckily Carol answers the phone and she and Dawn come to get her. Unfortunately, Carol says she’ll have to tell Dawn’s father. When they get home, they tell Mr. Schafer. He makes her call her parents and asks what she’s learned. Carol says she doesn’t have to tell them. He makes her promise to tell him if she has any pain. The BSC later tell her they understand. Stacey is mad that Carol sold her out, but Dawn says she’s still an adult.

Later, Dawn asks her dad if he’s going to marry Carol. He says he loves her but he’s not ready to get married abgain. Besides she and Jeff don’t seem to like her that much. But Dawn says she’s come to respect her and ifhe does marry her it’s ok with her. She then writes Carol a letter. In it she apologizes for not being nice to her and she’s glad she told about Stacey’s accident. She tells her she likes her more as a mother and she’s happy that her dad found someone to make him happy. Steffi has an emotional goodbye with Maryanne and tells her she wishes she were her mother. Then she starts to have an asthma attack. When it’s under control she and Maryanne talk about her father again. Steffi says she wishes her father would treat her a little more grown up but then she’ll have an asthma attack. Maryanne says she’s sure she’ll find a way. It took her until she was tweleve. They agree to be pen pals.

Claudia and Terry go out a final time and she comes in happy and in love. They see an old movie (that Claud picks) and go to a chicken joint. The last thing they do is go to Magic Mountain. After this Dawn gives Carol the letter and she says she really appreciates it,

My Thoughts:
Dawn: I’m glad that in the end, Dawn grew to appreciate Carol. I know what that’s like when your parent chooses someone you aren’t too fond of or just it's hard to get use to them without your other parents. But what happens is usually you just think screw it. It doesn’t look like you’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. Then you talk to em. Then you talk to em some more. Then as the years go by you start to think they aren’t so bad. Then one day you look up and your sending them expensive mothers day baskets from Eatable Arrangements and seeing them as a REAL mother to you. That’s just how it is.

Claudia: This reminded me a lot of a Saved by the Bell episode. The one where Lisa falls in love with the smart guy. She too decides to be herself in the end. But the trick is you really don’t have to *do* anything to change yourself. You just have to be a good *listener* because a lot of times guys that are intellectual REALLY like to talk. My best friend is very VERY smart and knows a little bit about every kind of conversation you can throw at him. When he gets into one of his loooong explanations, I just get quiet and LISTEN. You can learn a lot from just doing this. But there was a time that I admit I felt intimidated because he knew SO MUCH! So, even though I wasn’t very much a news watcher, I started to watch the news. I don’t think it would kill Claudia to look at a world event if she’s gonna continue to date this guy. But it doesn’t matter because after this book she probably will be on to the next one in the series.

Mal, I’m not really sure what the big deal was about Mal changing her looks. She’s eleven but females change their looks all the time. Some more than others but. There’s no no rule that says you have to keep the same look. I wanted to see how Mal looked with the blond hair. And really *blond* is one of the tamer colors. People here have had WAY wilder colors than that. Sometimes two or three colors in one style. I think it was more so her attitude. It’s fine to experiment with a new look but acting like an airhead.. NAH. She was a little *too* obsessed. I bet tho down the line Mal will come into her own looks. I can see her straightening her hair, wearing just a little makeup, and then getting contacts.

Now Jessi, Sometimes the series plays with her wanting to act but it never really falls through. I think this is a GOOD idea to give her more attention. I think they should give her more than dancing. She could dance *and* act, *and* sing. Not sure why though she thought she could get an agent and find work there in the time she was there. It just seemed like a more long-term thing. If she’d been there maybe six months.

Stacey was DUMB There is NOTHING “exciting” about almost getting hit by a car and flipped over. Nor is there anything *exciting* about almost drowning. If she wants to toy around with death, forget to take her injections.

Maryanne Maryanne and Steffi were sweet. Particularly when she Steffi said, “I wish you were my mother.” It reminded me of a memory a long time ago when two little girls named Nyema and Iyawnna.

Kristy, I really didn’t have much of a comment for. Other than it’s just astounding to me that these girls just can NOT seem to do things without inviting a bunch of kids. Yeah, I know I know they love kids. STILL.. I don't think I'd want to spend my day at Universal Studios chasing after some bad little boys that weren't of any relation to me and that other people had warned me about.

Rating: 6 I kind of remember this one from back then. Bits and pieces.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The baby sitters win the lottery, or I guess, part of the lottery. The use their winnings to travel to California to visit Dawn's family. Of course they have crazy adventures. This was one of the few super specials I didn't like as a kid.

Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
I had assumed the whole time I read this series that Dawn was a vegetarian, but I remember reading that she asks for chicken as her meal on the plane, and thinking "WHAT! Dawn's not a real vegetarian!" Lots of books do describe her as not eating red meat, but until I read this book (when I was nine or ten) I was sure she was vegetarian.

Mallory dying her hair blonde, and then dying it back to red, and blowing all her money on make-up and then Claudia and Stacey buying it back from her. As a kid I pictured Mallory looking blonde, and trashy with her insane amount of make-up, sort of like the Texans who traipse around Santa Fe.

Stacey being in a car crash and hoping that Carol wouldn't tell anyone about it. Of course Carol tells Dawn's father, who tells Stacey's parents, and Stacey gets a big lecture. As a kid I could not understand what the big deal was since Stacey wasn't driving, and the wreck wasn't her fault.

Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
I was a little horrified that so much of the plot hinges on the BSC winning a lottery. It seems odd for a thirteen year old girl to buy a lottery ticket every week, especially if that thirteen year old is Claudia Kishi, whose parents are so strict and straight-laced. Because Claudia is under eighteen she has to get her father to buy it for every week, and he apparently agrees. And then when the lottery reaches $23 million (which I guess was a lot of money back then, but seems quaint compared to the lotteries now) the entire BSC buys tickets (I'm assuming with the parents permission)? Mary Anne's strict father, Mallory's protective parents, they were all ok with thirteen year olds, and eleven year olds buying lottery tickets and agreeing to split the money. And then once they win (even though they only win a smaller jackpot, worth only ten thousand dollars -- again quaint) everyone's parents are ok with letting them blow the money (over $1000 apiece) on a trip to California. Even in the early 90s one thousand dollars wouldn't have paid for even one semester of college, but why aren't their parents forcing them to put it in some kind of college fund? Instead they swan off to California, and then complain on the airplane that they don't have enough money for first class tickets.


I can't believe that Dawn's father is totally fine with letting seven teenage girls stay at his house for two weeks. I can barely handle two adult guests for one week. I can imagine he had some regrets, since Mallory and Stacey completely cut loose and lose their minds on this trip. Mallory spends ALL her lottery money on make-up (which seemed like an unethical move on the part of the saleswoman who had no problem selling an eleven year old hundreds of dollars worth of cosmetics) and dyes her hair from red to blonde (now that I know about dying hair, I know that Mallory must have bleached her hair, which is a crazy and sometimes iffy process to do from home) and then has to freak out and dye her hair back to red before her trip home. Stacey goes riding to the beach almost every day with her older friends who have only had their licenses for a short time and drive like maniacs, leading to a car accident, of which they are at fault. I can imagine Mr Schafer surveying the wreck of his home after the girls leave, the bathroom sink stained with red hair dye, a bill for Stacey's ambulance ride and emergency room visit, the kitchen depleted of food, and vowing, "Never, ever again will I have so many teenage girls under my roof at one time."


I hated Dawn's attitude in this book. She is so mean to Carol, and hates everything she says and does, when there's no reason to, like being annoyed that Carol says "you guys". What adult does not say "you guys"? What is Dawn's problem? (Although she has a point when Carol's dating advice to Claudia is "Some people try to change their behavior or personality in order to make a relationship work," although she could have been leading up to a greater point that made more sense. She's cut off by Dawn who tells her she's stupid.) Dawn also acts like a shocked old lady when Stacey expresses an interest in learning to surf. ("Surfing is very dangerous," she says, primly.) In later books Dawn becomes obsessed with surfing, and the books are written like she's done it forever, so I found her attitude weird in this book, especially since she introduces Stacey to her friends who like to surf. Of course, it turns out that Stacey is a cocky surfer who thinks she is better than she is, so maybe Dawn was right to think surfing was dangerous for Stacey, but she still sounds like an old lady.


I had completely forgotten about Claudia's woos of dating a smart boy. She is sure she's not smart enough for him, and makes everything really awkward for herself. I loved this storyline, even though it felt too old for a middle school story. (It reminded me way too much of dating in my early 20s.) Her friends give her good advice about not worrying what Terry thinks of her, and that she is not inferior to him. But instead of trying to find some common ground, and telling Terry about herself Claudia just tries to keep the conversation "smart" and asks him his thoughts on the conflict in the Soviet Union. (Good god, this book is old.) I was fascinated by this storyline that I had mostly forgotten about because it shows how overshadowed Claudia feels by anyone she feels is smarter than her. From what the series has shown of her relationship with Janine, this makes a lot of sense. Claudia assumes all smart people are just like Janine -- hard to talk to, and somewhat patronizing. She doesn't understand that Janine's style of communication is odd, even to intelligent people. Today we would probably say Janine is on the autism spectrum, and that is probably why she has a hard time understanding the rules of socializing. She talks like a textbook, and is obsessed with her computer because that is how she is comfortable processing information. and she doesn't get that it alienates people, and when they get frustrated with her, she just dismisses them. Claudia has grown up with Janine acting like this, and seeing Janine encouraged to be smart and super focused on her classwork by her parents, and she assumes that anyone who loves school, and takes advanced classes acts this way, and that it's a good way to be, since it shows how smart you are, and smart people are better than everyone else. She doesn't want to disappoint the cute boy who seems interested in her with what she thinks of as her lowbrow interests (and she probably thinks this way because Janine or her parents have at some point or another dismissed them as such) so she does her best to keep him interested with "smart" topics. It never once occurs to her that people who take advanced classes in school, and who enjoy foreign films and French food might have interests in things like old movies, or artists. She calls Janine in a panic after two bad dates with Terry to get some talking points about current affairs ("You know, like greenhouses and stuff. . . And some wall came down," is how she sums up her knowledge of current affairs). Janine has to point out to Claudia that smart people may be smart, but they like the idea of Hollywood and movie stars just as much as anyone, and that he would probably enjoy a day of sightseeing in Hollywood. So Claudia invites Terry to look for famous people's houses with her, and they have a great time. And of course, I loved that Terry is a geek for classic Hollywood. He's more excited to see the home of Cornell Wilde than the home of Harrison Ford. I'm assuming he's Asian since his last name is Liang, so I now I have a crush on a forgotten BSC character. I'm guessing we never hear anything about Terry again.


Years ago, when 30 Rock first aired the show that featured Jack Donaghy's mother, I was watching it with a bunch of people. Everyone liked Mrs Donaghy so much that we looked up the actress, and I remember someone saying "Her name is Elaine Stritch." "Who's that? Never heard of her," everyone else said, but like a robot programmed for this exact moment I said, "Oh, she's a famous Broadway actress. I think she was in Woody Allen movies also." I had no idea how these words came to me until I reread this book, and realized I must have remembered the information from reading this book, since Elaine Stritch is the guest star on the TV show Derek Masters stars in. It was a weird moment.


I will never understand why the baby sitters panic so much at the thought of asthma. Mary Anne is so nervous baby sitting for Stephie, who's sweet, smart, and energetic, but she has asthma, so. . . Mary Anne thinks she can't do anything. From what I recall the baby sitters take this attitude toward Abby when she joins the club much later in the series. They are terrified that she isn't fit to baby sit because what if she has an asthma attack on the job? Never mind that one of their original members has diabetes, which is arguably a much more serious and dangerous disease than asthma. Eventually Mary Anne realizes that Stephie can be as active as any kid, but she still freaks when she has to deal with Stephie's mild asthma attack, and is relieved that she doesn't have to baby sit for her anymore. It annoys me that the baby sitters can't handle regular children, just the perfect robotic children of Stoneybrook.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #5 California Girls is iconic. This is the one that many of us who grew up with the BSC remember. I can recall gazing at the cover of the seven members of the BSC as a child, wishing that I could lead such a fun-filled and exciting life. Many a Millennial lived vicariously through the adventures of the Baby-Sitters Club, and California Girls is chock full of them!

With Alternate Officer Dawn being from California, it makes sense that the girls would fly out to the West Coast at some point to soak up the sun and celebrities. That finally happens in California Girls, when the members of the BSC strike it rich by winning the lottery! As a child who grew up playing scratch off tickets, I’m sure I didn’t raise my eyebrows at this when I was young, but it raises some questions now - just who is buying lottery tickets for the girls and which adult is the prize money really tied to? But I digress. The BSC splits their prize money seven ways and uses it to indulge in everything California has to offer!

The girls are staying at Dawn’s house with her dad and brother Jeff … and much to Dawn’s dismay, her dad’s new girlfriend Carol. Carol becomes their chauffeur, tour guide, and best friend, all wrapped in one … and Dawn hates it. Meanwhile, Stacey, who probably has the most exciting adventure of this Super Special becomes a surfer girl, catching the waves while running with a pretty rough crowd. I cringed at the situations they found myself in, thinking this is a lot of freedom for a 17 year old, much less a 13 year old girl from Stoneybrook, CT. Mallory also has a memorable two weeks, when she decides that to become a true California girl, she needs to dye her red hair blonde and blow her entire lottery winnings on a counter full of makeup! Jessica visits the sent of a popular TV series starring Derek Masters, a kid she babysits for back in Stoneybrook, and decides that she wants to become an actress herself, all the while getting irritated with Mallory for suddenly becoming unrecognizable as her best friend - both inside and out. Claudia, of course, falls for a cute boy, who may just be out of her league … until she lets down her facade and truly gets to know him. Kristy takes on the West Coast’s version of the BSC - The We Love Kids Club - and agrees to babysit one of their most challenging chargers … because she practically INVENTED babysitting (didn’t you know?) And lastly, Mary Anne, who adores the stars but hates the sun, spends most of her time hiding indoors, but also takes on babysitting a young girl who is very similar to herself, except for the fact that she has asthma.

California Girls is filled with all of the fun and fancy that you would expect from a novel set in the Golden State! This book is dripping with sun, sand, surf … and of course, stars! You really get a feel for California in the early 90s - beach and celebrity sites aside, there’s so much mall culture here (ahh, the nostalgia!) and there is also a ton of amusement parks, which I definitely remember being a thing in the 90s. My parents took my brother and I on a day excursion to Six Flags once while visiting family, and it was EVERYTHING.

Unlike many of the earlier Super Specials, California Girls has a nice flow and keeps the story exciting throughout by building on the plot as the girls settle more into their California surroundings. It is definitely worthy of the Super Specials name!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of expectation on the readers of this one to be ok with some unbelievable stuff going down- 1. That the BSC would buy lottery tickets/ that their parents WOULD buy them tickets. 2. That they would win money from them the only time they've ever done such a thing. 3.That Dawn's dad would be like, SURE! BRING YOUR SIX FRIENDS TO STAY AT OUR HOUSE FOR TWO WEEKS- TOTALLY COOL WITH HAVING A 14 DAY SLUMBER PARTY THOUSANDS OF MILES FROM THEIR PARENTS. So... the premise is weak, is what I'm saying. The story is classic BSC, though-- Stacey is too cool to hang out with the babysitters and winds up spending most of the trip with a bunch of 16 year olds inexplicably fine with a 13 year old tagalong in their surfing and deviant driving escapades for a week straight. Kristy struggles not to trash Dawn's friends' copycat babysitting business. Mary Anne doesn't want to get sunburnt. Claudia finds yet another hot boy who actually wants to go on dates despite being 13 (ok, when I was a kid and I read these, I thought that may be a real thing- young teens going on dates? But they don't. I don't know if they even USED to or if it was just 5th grade girl fantasy, but 13 year old boys do not, by and large, ask girls out and then proceed to plan actual dates to go on. I say this as a mom to a 13 year old boy-- even though one of my son's friends has a "girlfriend"- they don't date, they don't go on date. They text each other and sit by each other, and occasionally try to hide from their hoarde of friends to grab time enough to share a braces-obstructed kiss probably, but dear lord, they're not ordering Ubers to go to dinner and the movies because...they're THIRTEEN.), and perhaps in the most funny and weird storyline, Mallory Pike dyes her hair blond and goes crazy spending all her money on make up that she doesn't know how to apply and makes it into a THING. I guess at least she isn't playing Harriet the Spy anymore? Other things happen, but those are the plot points I remember a week out after finishing the book. 3 stars.