Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Logan gets a book! He's asked to temporarily replace Dawn as a regular member while she and her mom go to California for two weeks while Jeff recuperates from an appendectomy (his appendix burst, too). He agrees, even though some jobs conflict with his football practice. Frankly, I think it's really unfair of the BSC to expect him to miss practices for a team he's committed himself too, considering that Shannon could probably have filled in once or twice. Anyway, his teammates give him a hard time for it. When Logan is sitting and takes his charges to the health fair, some of his teammates even start teasing his charges (the Hobarts). It causes a big mess, and Logan decides he can't do the BSC and do sports, so he resigns. Of course, after a little while, he realizes that he misses sitting, so he goes back to being an associate member with the understanding that sports come first.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: chocolate marshmallow cookies behind her pillow, tortilla chips under her bed
Logan has blue eyes.
If Claudia remembers rights, she has type O blood (no mention of Rh factor).
Their Families:
Logan's dad manages a sporting goods manufacturer. He's also into traditional gender roles.
I understand that they live on opposite coasts, but isn't it weird that Jeff Schafer is rarely if ever described as Mary Anne's stepbrother?
Mary Anne's mom is back from the grave. She herself mentions "my mom" in the present tense. Presumably she meant Sharon, but why not just say "Sharon"?
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
Students: Lew Greenburg, Peter Hayes, Irv Hirsch, Clarence King, Harry Nolan, Jim Poirier, Steve Randazzo, Bob Stillman, Alex Turnbull (8th)
Okay, I've addressed the anachronism in the past (no pun intended) about SMS not converting to metric for its track and field team, but the track tryouts? No mention of any throwing or distance events and the coach selects all of SIX people for it. What?
PSA time:
Go donate blood if you're eligible. You'll get cookies.
Misc:
Stacey's partially right in calling people with type O blood universal donors. O+ can donate to all blood types with an Rh factor; O- can donate to everyone.
Ooh, very nice, Logan. Saber-tooth TIGER is a misnomer; it's more proper to call the animals saber-tooth cats, as done in the book.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 60 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
5/26/11
5/17/11
Jessi's Gold Medal (RS#55)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
The summer olympics are on (they were held in this book's publication year, in Barcelona) and they inspire both a sports festival at SMS and mini olympics for the BSC charges (Jessi's idea). About a month before both, SMS gym classes have a swimming session, during which Jessi is asked to join the synchronized swim team. She competes in it for the sports festival and wins, which should come as no surprise to anyone who read the title of the book. Most of the BSC competes, too, including Kristy who beats Alan Gray in an obstacle course, winning a bet that indentures him to a week of servitude to Kristy. Mary Anne mans the concession stand so that she can still be part of the day with doing a sport, and Mallory tries to fake-sprain an ankle to avoid being pressured to compete but sprains it for real.
The mini-olympics goes pretty well, although Andrew gets upset at losing every event he tries to enter (why didn't they separate the kids by age groups?). Fortunately, it's an Everyone Gets a Trophy Day, and he gets a ribbon for trying so hard. Totally appropriate for a four-year-old, but I would think that ten-year-olds can handle someone coming in first.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Ring Dings, Milky Ways, pretzels, chips, malt balls, Oreos (no hiding places mentioned)
This book says Kristy "lets her long, brown hair hang straight." I think it's supposed to mean that she doesn't curl or perm it, but it doesn't quite sound like a ponytail. I've also never pictured her hair as long, more medium-length, like around her shoulder blades.
It also implies that Mary Anne was dressing in little girl clothes with pigtails until her dad remarried. And that she didn't start dating Logan until after that.
Their Families:
Mr. Pike has "brewer's yeast" sitting around that Byron mixes with water and drinks...I know there wouldn't be any alcohol in it the way he makes it (just water, drinks it right away) but it seems weird to throw that into the story.
The Club:
The BSC still puts out ads from time to time.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Ms. Walden (6th gym)
Students: Elise Coates and Janet Gates (unspecified), Maya Condos (6th)
PSA time:
No. No, no, no. You can't just walk out and try pole vault. It's dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Utterly fantastic event, but please practice it before you actually go compete in it. (No, the author didn't confuse it with high jump or javelin; both are mentioned separately.)
Misc:
Hee. This line: "Horses sweat, gentlemen perspire, and ladies glow." I used to say that to the cross country team I coached.
Should you ever do high jump, the Fosbury Flop is almost certainly a better option than the Western Roll. Dick Fosbury was an engineer in addition to an athlete, and figured out the mathematics of it.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 75; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 58 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
The summer olympics are on (they were held in this book's publication year, in Barcelona) and they inspire both a sports festival at SMS and mini olympics for the BSC charges (Jessi's idea). About a month before both, SMS gym classes have a swimming session, during which Jessi is asked to join the synchronized swim team. She competes in it for the sports festival and wins, which should come as no surprise to anyone who read the title of the book. Most of the BSC competes, too, including Kristy who beats Alan Gray in an obstacle course, winning a bet that indentures him to a week of servitude to Kristy. Mary Anne mans the concession stand so that she can still be part of the day with doing a sport, and Mallory tries to fake-sprain an ankle to avoid being pressured to compete but sprains it for real.
The mini-olympics goes pretty well, although Andrew gets upset at losing every event he tries to enter (why didn't they separate the kids by age groups?). Fortunately, it's an Everyone Gets a Trophy Day, and he gets a ribbon for trying so hard. Totally appropriate for a four-year-old, but I would think that ten-year-olds can handle someone coming in first.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Ring Dings, Milky Ways, pretzels, chips, malt balls, Oreos (no hiding places mentioned)
This book says Kristy "lets her long, brown hair hang straight." I think it's supposed to mean that she doesn't curl or perm it, but it doesn't quite sound like a ponytail. I've also never pictured her hair as long, more medium-length, like around her shoulder blades.
It also implies that Mary Anne was dressing in little girl clothes with pigtails until her dad remarried. And that she didn't start dating Logan until after that.
Their Families:
Mr. Pike has "brewer's yeast" sitting around that Byron mixes with water and drinks...I know there wouldn't be any alcohol in it the way he makes it (just water, drinks it right away) but it seems weird to throw that into the story.
The Club:
The BSC still puts out ads from time to time.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Ms. Walden (6th gym)
Students: Elise Coates and Janet Gates (unspecified), Maya Condos (6th)
PSA time:
No. No, no, no. You can't just walk out and try pole vault. It's dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Utterly fantastic event, but please practice it before you actually go compete in it. (No, the author didn't confuse it with high jump or javelin; both are mentioned separately.)
Misc:
Hee. This line: "Horses sweat, gentlemen perspire, and ladies glow." I used to say that to the cross country team I coached.
Should you ever do high jump, the Fosbury Flop is almost certainly a better option than the Western Roll. Dick Fosbury was an engineer in addition to an athlete, and figured out the mathematics of it.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 75; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 58 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
5/10/11
Kristy and the Missing Child (M#4)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Jake Kuhn goes missing one afternoon after a Krusher practice. The Kuhn parents are in the final stages of a divorce, and Mrs. Kuhn thinks Mr. Kuhn has taken him. Kristy was one of the last people to see him, and feels guilty that she didn't insist on walking him home. She's also not convinced Mr. Kuhn was involved in the disappearance. She spearheads an auxiliary search to the official one the police have. With a lot of help from Matt Braddock, who know the places Jake likes to frequent, Kristy's search team finds Jake in a construction site nearly two full days after he went missing. He's bruised and dehydrated, but okay.
Kristy ends up getting a special award at the eighth grade award ceremony for her efforts. Mary Anne gets one, too, the Most Improved Home Ec award. She'd been struggling with sewing and cooking, but stumbles upon the recipe for Jello Jigglers without realizing it, which gets her enough extra credit to bring her grade up.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Kristy says that when she was eight, the furthest she'd been from home was Stamford. But we know (from Mary Anne Saves the Day that she's been to Florida, which I think was before her dad left, which would have been before she was eight.
Their Families:
It's implied a lot in this book, and others if you think about it, that Kristy is closer to David Michael than Sam or Charlie, despite being closer in age to her older brothers. I think that's reasonable; I'm closer in age to my older brother but have spent more "quantity time" (my brother's words) with my younger brother, including coaching him in sports.
The Club:
Shannon attends an emergency meeting AND has speaking lines!
Jake Kuhn has brown eyes.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Mrs. Ploof, home ec
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Patsy Kuhn thinks everyone has The Little Mermaid. I...do have it. And not because I now have a daughter, either.
Whoa. Mr. Kuhn has a lady friend...their divorce isn't quite finalized yet. Even Kristy is surprised that Mrs. Kuhn isn't jealous. Perhaps that's the reason for the divorce?
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Jake Kuhn goes missing one afternoon after a Krusher practice. The Kuhn parents are in the final stages of a divorce, and Mrs. Kuhn thinks Mr. Kuhn has taken him. Kristy was one of the last people to see him, and feels guilty that she didn't insist on walking him home. She's also not convinced Mr. Kuhn was involved in the disappearance. She spearheads an auxiliary search to the official one the police have. With a lot of help from Matt Braddock, who know the places Jake likes to frequent, Kristy's search team finds Jake in a construction site nearly two full days after he went missing. He's bruised and dehydrated, but okay.
Kristy ends up getting a special award at the eighth grade award ceremony for her efforts. Mary Anne gets one, too, the Most Improved Home Ec award. She'd been struggling with sewing and cooking, but stumbles upon the recipe for Jello Jigglers without realizing it, which gets her enough extra credit to bring her grade up.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Kristy says that when she was eight, the furthest she'd been from home was Stamford. But we know (from Mary Anne Saves the Day that she's been to Florida, which I think was before her dad left, which would have been before she was eight.
Their Families:
It's implied a lot in this book, and others if you think about it, that Kristy is closer to David Michael than Sam or Charlie, despite being closer in age to her older brothers. I think that's reasonable; I'm closer in age to my older brother but have spent more "quantity time" (my brother's words) with my younger brother, including coaching him in sports.
The Club:
Shannon attends an emergency meeting AND has speaking lines!
Jake Kuhn has brown eyes.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Mrs. Ploof, home ec
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Patsy Kuhn thinks everyone has The Little Mermaid. I...do have it. And not because I now have a daughter, either.
Whoa. Mr. Kuhn has a lady friend...their divorce isn't quite finalized yet. Even Kristy is surprised that Mrs. Kuhn isn't jealous. Perhaps that's the reason for the divorce?
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
5/1/11
Mallory and the Dream Horse(RS#54)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner
Synopsis:
Mallory couldn't be happier when she sees riding lessons advertised at a nearby stable. She and Jessi both plan to go, but Jessi's parents say she's too busy already with ballet and the BSC. Mallory get the go-ahead, and is excited to learn, even if Jessi can't be there.
But it doesn't go well. She's clearly the outsider among the students, who know each other from a different school they attend together. And she doesn't realize it at first. It's pretty painful to read about her introducing herself to several students and offer to host them at her house and give out her phone number, only to have no one reciprocate. She does end up invited to another student's birthday party, but is so out of place that she can't wait to leave. And her horse throws her badly during the second lesson, so she gets nervous about riding, which the other students pick up on and tease her for. Mallory tries to vent to Jessi, but Jessi's too busy being jealous of the riding lessons. I mean, sure, it would be hard to hear Mallory go on about how great they are, as she initially does, but later Mallory just needs someone to be there for her. And she comes across as such a genuinely nice person in this book. Of course, the friends do patch things up, and Mallory gains enough confidence to ride in the competition at the end of the session (not placing very high, sixth of twelve, because it's Mallory), but decides to not sign up for the next session.
Meanwhile, Nina Marshall is having trouble adjusting to preschool, largely because she insists on taking her huge once-blue-now-grey security blanket with her. The BSC figures it out pretty quickly, but in this instance where it would be really helpful to tell the parents, they keep it to themselves. Even when it-GASP-impedes on Nina's joining the talent show the younger Pikes are hosting. Tragic, as you can't ever have someone who'd simply rather not participate (it does make it hard for her to make friends, though). Anyway, Dawn ends up solving the problem when the blanket disintegrates in the dryer. Dawn show Nina that she can take tiny pieces of the blanket with her and people won't notice. On second thought, that doesn't really solve the problem, does it? Just hides it. Oh well, maybe one of the pieces is the right size to be a handkerchief for Nina at her wedding someday.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
Why is it such a big deal that Jessi's full name is Jessica but it's rarely mentioned that Stacey is short for Anastasia?
Dawn and Lewis Bruno are still writing to each other.
Their Families: nothing new
The Club:
Fail: Mallory describes the additions of Logan and Shannon as associate members happening after she and Jessi joined the BSC. No mention of Stacey's moving back and forth.
However, obscure win: a callback to Eleanor Marshall's ear infections.
Nina Marshall has blue eyes.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Mallory indicates that she wore her own regular clothes on a trail ride at Camp Mohawk. That's surprising, given that Camp Mohawk required uniforms.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 25
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner
Synopsis:
Mallory couldn't be happier when she sees riding lessons advertised at a nearby stable. She and Jessi both plan to go, but Jessi's parents say she's too busy already with ballet and the BSC. Mallory get the go-ahead, and is excited to learn, even if Jessi can't be there.
But it doesn't go well. She's clearly the outsider among the students, who know each other from a different school they attend together. And she doesn't realize it at first. It's pretty painful to read about her introducing herself to several students and offer to host them at her house and give out her phone number, only to have no one reciprocate. She does end up invited to another student's birthday party, but is so out of place that she can't wait to leave. And her horse throws her badly during the second lesson, so she gets nervous about riding, which the other students pick up on and tease her for. Mallory tries to vent to Jessi, but Jessi's too busy being jealous of the riding lessons. I mean, sure, it would be hard to hear Mallory go on about how great they are, as she initially does, but later Mallory just needs someone to be there for her. And she comes across as such a genuinely nice person in this book. Of course, the friends do patch things up, and Mallory gains enough confidence to ride in the competition at the end of the session (not placing very high, sixth of twelve, because it's Mallory), but decides to not sign up for the next session.
Meanwhile, Nina Marshall is having trouble adjusting to preschool, largely because she insists on taking her huge once-blue-now-grey security blanket with her. The BSC figures it out pretty quickly, but in this instance where it would be really helpful to tell the parents, they keep it to themselves. Even when it-GASP-impedes on Nina's joining the talent show the younger Pikes are hosting. Tragic, as you can't ever have someone who'd simply rather not participate (it does make it hard for her to make friends, though). Anyway, Dawn ends up solving the problem when the blanket disintegrates in the dryer. Dawn show Nina that she can take tiny pieces of the blanket with her and people won't notice. On second thought, that doesn't really solve the problem, does it? Just hides it. Oh well, maybe one of the pieces is the right size to be a handkerchief for Nina at her wedding someday.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
Why is it such a big deal that Jessi's full name is Jessica but it's rarely mentioned that Stacey is short for Anastasia?
Dawn and Lewis Bruno are still writing to each other.
Their Families: nothing new
The Club:
Fail: Mallory describes the additions of Logan and Shannon as associate members happening after she and Jessi joined the BSC. No mention of Stacey's moving back and forth.
However, obscure win: a callback to Eleanor Marshall's ear infections.
Nina Marshall has blue eyes.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Mallory indicates that she wore her own regular clothes on a trail ride at Camp Mohawk. That's surprising, given that Camp Mohawk required uniforms.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 25
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
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