Secret Santa

Original Publication Date: 1994

Ghostwriter? Not that I can tell

Synopsis:

The BSC members draw names for a Secret Santa exchange (Dawn mails hers from CA). Rather than tangible or easy gifts, they put down what they wish for. They also get a child's letter to Santa, from Eliza who asks for her runaway sister to come home.

Kristy wishes she didn't have such a big mouth. Mary Anne is her Secret Santa, and she knows what Kristy really wants: a Christmas card from her father.

Mallory wishes to be remembered forever. Logan fulfills her wish by having a tree planted in her name, with a plaque by it so people will know.

Claudia wishes to do something meaningful for someone. Mallory writes a really sweet letter to her that all the work Claudia did for Eliza was meaningful.

Shannon wishes for a better sense of humor. Jessi gets her a joke book and props from the McBuzz catalog (no picture, though).

Stacey wishes she could be in New York City at Christmas. Claudia paints her a mural of the scene (even though it would be perfect for a picture, there isn't one).

Mary Anne wishes for a real letter, not a form letter, from Cam Geary (probably the easiest of these, but still pretty hard!). Dawn gets to make up for needlessly lying to Mary Anne in the last letter book by sending Cam Geary a blank card, already stamped and addressed. It works!

Jessi wishes to be able to dance in the New York City ballet. Shannon has a poster made up with Jessi listed as prima ballerina.

Logan wishes for three more wishes. Stacey cleverly gets him a wishbone, a penny, and a four-leaf clover (but no letter to take a picture of).

Dawn wishes for her BSC and W♥KC friends to be better friends with each other. Kristy works with Sunny to make a scrapbook of all Dawn's friends, and gets to know her better in the process.

Eliza gets the few small toys she asked for plus some other fun things, and the BSC sends a letter to her parents to tell her about her main wish. It turns out that Jennifer has been living with her uncle in another CT city, so she's safe but not really talking with her parents. Claudia tracks her down and it's able to be arranged that the sisters see each other Christmas Eve.


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: none

nothing new.


Their Families:

Becca still believes in Santa (at 8, that's realistic).


The Club: nothing new.


SMS: nothing new.


PSA Time: nothing comes to mind.


Misc:

The traditional NYC sights that Stacey mentions are real, at least according to my Modern Marvels: Christmas Tech DVD I bought from the History Channel.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 7

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Christmases in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 7

BSC Fights: 9

SMS Staff and Faculty: 47

Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified

Clients: 31

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 97

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1

Mallory Pike, #1 Fan (RS#80)

Original Publication Date: 1994

Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn

Synopsis:

Mallory has a fangirl crush on her latest favorite author, Henrietta Hayes. It seems to have affected her mind, judging by how immensely stupid Mallory is in this book. You see, the girl who's been dreaming her whole life of being an children's book author and once wrote a story about mice who wear clothes (New York, New York!), now thinks that YOU MUST ONLY WRITE BASED ON REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE.

She gets the chance to meet her idol, who conveniently lives nearby, through a school project (it also involves writing a play for the Kids Can Do Anything Club, which portrays the Pikes pretty badly; it doesn't go well). When she discovers that the author's life is vastly different from the FICTION books, Mallory reads her the riot act. It's just so not Mallory. She starts out wondering how much of the author's life influenced her writing (totally fine), but then loses it. Things do work out in the end when Mallory starts to return to her normal self, but everything before that...Her behavior is so cringe-inducing and unbelievable. This is not one of the better BSC books. It's so painful to read, especially chapter eleven.


Greer at http://blog.stoneybrookite.org/ is diligently posting about the BSC Challenge. Here are my last answers:

One thing you learned from the BSC: Just one? I learned that you shouldn't refreeze defrosted chicken and the "continue on" is redundant. I also learned the trick about not guessing what a child's drawn because you could very well be wrong, and how to look for secret passages by knocking on walls to listen for hollow spots (and even found the compartment where my great-grandparents kept the deed to their house and other papers like that).

Favorite BSC villain: Cokie Mason was always good for a laugh, as was Cary Retlin. Most entertaining though is Stacey when she quits/is fired.

Biggest "that would never happen in real life" moment: Hmm. There are so many...Mallory's delusions in this book, Logan just randomly picking up pole vault and being amazing at it with no experience especially during TRY-OUTS for TRACK AND FIELD, Mary Anne--an accomplished knitter--thinking that a hat is easier than a baby blanket, ten-year-olds obeying eleven-year-olds (I have trouble with eight-year-olds sometimes, and I've got almost two decades on them), Kristy finding softball teams in neighboring towns to play hers, Jessi getting all those ballet lead roles, the Baby-sitters' Island Adventure fiasco...again, just one?


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: none mentioned

Mary Anne's back to being short again.

Mallory tells us, "Dawn swears she'll be back, but sometimes I wonder." I guess there was no set date for her return then? Or is this foreshadowing?

Sure, Kristy runs her mouth a lot, but some things need to be said, like in this book when she tells Mallory in vain that her play is offensive.


Their Families:

Vanessa Pike is still a deep sleeper.


The Club:

Danielle Roberts's leukemia is back.


SMS:

The continuity with teachers has been pretty good lately.

I don't get the point of this assignment...doing a bunch of work kinda-sorta in the realm of what you might want to do when you grow up...as a sixth-grader...My twelfth grade (last year of high school for those with different school systems) had something like this, but much more organized. We were supposed to report on the training required for your intended career, the upward mobility of it, the pay range, what locations it was available in and if your pay would cover expenses. And you know what? Even though I was certain what I'd be doing, four years later I was somewhere totally different. Not bad, but different.


PSA Time:

When someone starts acting wildly different (especially paranoid) it's not a bad idea to suggest medical intervention. I'm just saying, Mallory hangs out with Charlotte Johanssen, maybe she should go see her mom. Might be a brain injury or something.

The Pikes use a microwave to heat their water? Have fun with the exploding!


Misc:

This book is full of "Remember when...?" and they seem pretty on.

This book also has a lot of unnecessary commas.

Either streets are labeled differently on the East Coast or the ghost writer (Suzanne Weyn) doesn't understand street addresses. A house with the number 312 won't be crazy-far away from one with 80 (although 80 is a weird house number for the US); it will be two blocks away. And one street branching off another...both shouldn't be "Road"...one should be "Court" or "Place" or something.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 7

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 7

BSC Fights: 9

SMS Staff and Faculty: 47

Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified

Clients: 31

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 97

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1

Mary Anne Breaks the Rules (RS#79)

Original Publication Date: 1994

Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis

Synopsis:

Mary Anne's been sitting for the Kuhns a lot lately, and notices that Jake could use a male role model, his dad living so far away and all. She enlists Logan to come on occasion and hang out. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kuhn arrives home early one day and thinks Mary Anne was hanging out with Logan and ignoring the kids. Instead of just explaining things and solving the problem, Mary Anne just stammers out a weak apology (doesn't help that Logan runs off without explaining). Mrs. Kuhn even calls the BSC to complain, and they aren't too nice to Mary Anne about her HONEST MISTAKE.

It's also almost Halloween (the same Halloween as in the Dawn mystery). Some of the kids decide to make a couple haunted houses, one to scare people and one to be funny/gross. Logan ends up helping with the latter and Mary Anne voices concern that doing so is unfair. She needn't worry, because none other than Alan Gray helps with the other haunted house. Guess he's good for something!

Greer at http://blog.stoneybrookite.org/ is diligently posting about the BSC Challenge. Here are my next answers:

Moments/scenes from the books that stand out to you: The description of the "dark and stormy night" in Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, the generic and genuine fear that The Ghost at Dawn's House inspired in me before I finished it (I was young, okay?), the scene in Claudia and Crazy Peaches when Claudia finds out about the miscarriage, the Pikes eating the melting ice cream in Snowbound!, and (spoiler alert) Sunny's mom's last words in the California Diaries series (they were my nana's too).

Favorite Claudia outfit: I've never been too into outfits, so only a few even stand out in my memory, including the Ms. Frizzle outfit from Claudia and the Middle School Mystery and the one that she tie-dyed a bunch of colors that ran in the rain on her way to sit at the Newtons'.

Favorite Stacey outfit: The only one that I even remember is the one with the plum-colored pants that leave a stain in the snow in Stacey and the Cheerleaders.


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: Gummi worms, Mallomars, chips, Chunky bar, pretzels, Milk Duds, Heath Bars, M&Ms

This is the book in which Shannon mentions her desire to take sackbut lessons (a musical instrument).

Claudia, at first, is very sweet and understanding to Mary Anne in this book. Before everyone gives Mary Anne the cold shoulder enough for me to add to my BSC fights count.


Their Families:

Mary Anne's dad is watching his cholesterol.


The Club:

Buddy Barrett and Jake Kuhn come up with devastating insults for each other: Cruddy Carrot and Fake Prune.


SMS:

A few people from the basketball team are mentioned, and the context fits which, frankly, surprised me.


PSA Time:

You can order extras of most prescriptions, contact lenses included, before you run out of them to avoid having to go without. Or you can call your doctor's office at 4:45 on a Friday because you took your last pill yesterday (why no, I've never worked at a doctor's office and taken dozens of calls like this, why do you ask?).


Misc:

Got nothing this time. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it, and to the rest, have a good Sunday.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 7

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 7

BSC Fights: 9

SMS Staff and Faculty: 47

Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified

Clients: 31

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 97

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1

Dawn and the Halloween Mystery (M#17)

Original Publication Date: 1994

Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles

Synopsis:

Dawn witnesses the getaway to a robbery that could result in Halloween trick-or-treating being canceled. She and the We ♥ Kids Club organize a party for the sure-to-be devastated kids, but also want to solve the mystery. In a truly shocking turn of events, the robber who for once Dawn did NOT insist might be a woman is a woman! A recently divorced woman who's trying to earn money to be able to see her son (a friend of some of Dawn's sitting charges) more often, as her ex has primary custody.

Back in Stoneybrook, the Barretts and DeWiits finally succeed in finding a house that they all agree on. It will be a little cramped, but the kids are happy and the parents can afford it.

Greer at http://blog.stoneybrookite.org/ is diligently posting about the BSC Challenge. Here are my next answers:

Major or minor character you could see yourself being friends with: I think I could be friends with Claudia as long as we didn't send each other letters. Bad grammar really irks me when it's a lot in a row (as in, more than just typos and obviously not caring). I also think I'd get along well with Shannon.

Favorite Friends Forever book: Kristy's Big News is the most memorable storyline, although I also really like reading about Claudia and Alan's interactions in Claudia and the Disaster Date.

Least Favorite Friends Forever book: Kristy Power was too over-the-top for me. I don't think that censorship is a good thing, but this book and others in the BSC books that deal with are so heavy-handed.


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy:

Dawn claims she doesn't care if her brother eats candy because that's his business. Right.

Dawn still has the ring she got from Thrash in her last mystery book.


Their Families:

Dawn and Carol are getting along better now, and Dawn's pretty much accepted her as a stepmom. Dawn also still owes her dad money for the plane flight back to CT.

Jeff's still into bad puns.


The Club: nothing new.


California:

It's Halloween, so Dawn's short visit has officially lasted more than a year...or only a month?


PSA Time:

Dawn and the members of the We ♥ Kids Club enjoy chips with freshly-made salsa. Salsa is easy to make, but like cheesecake, it tastes better after it sits overnight in the fridge.


Misc:

Dawn says that every race is exciting to watch even if it's not the Olympics. Having done distance races, I would clarify that the last 400 meters or so are exciting, not necessarily the entire thing.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 7

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 7

BSC Fights: 8

SMS Staff and Faculty: 47

Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified

Clients: 31

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 97

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1

Shannon's Story (RR#3)

Original Publication Date: 1994

Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker

Synopsis:

Shannon's mother is requesting more and more of Shannon's time, and Shannon's feeling stifled. She can't seem to get away from her mom, who is trying to involve herself in her daughter's life very awkwardly: buying matching outfits for them to wear together, wanting Shannon to spend time home instead of doing her usual activities, suddenly treating her like a little kid, and generally passive-aggressively inserting herself into Shannon's life. At the same time, her dad is becoming more and more distant, always at work and hardly involved with the family at all. Shannon won't let it get her down, though. She's too excited for her French class trip to Paris. Until her mother signs up to chaperone! Shannon can't stomach the idea, and purposely tanks the final exam so that her French GPA is too low. While her mom is on the trip, Shannon's in charge when her father's at work. She starts to understand her mom's actions: she's bored. Upon her mom's return, the two talk and things are somewhat sorted out, but things are still tense with between her parents.

It's also Mother's Day. The BSC organizes an event for kids to make different gifts (actually sounds kinda cool, too) and a mother-child softball game (not so much).

Even though this book was published around the time of other books that take place in the fall, I think this was supposed to be with the "last" Mother's Day, based on the talk of Tiffany's garden and Dawn being in California.

Greer at http://blog.stoneybrookite.org/ is diligently posting about the BSC Challenge. Here are my next answers:

Favorite couple in the books: Stacey and Sam. I love the way they are together.

Favorite couple you wish were in the books: In the Friends Forever books, Mary Anne and Cary Retlin seem to get along well.


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: chocolate-covered coffee beans in her desk, chocolate-covered Oreos and graham crackers under her mattress, Mallomars, Frookies, Gummi Worms, Cheez Doodles

Any time anyone takes a language, it's French. Shannon, Stacey, Mary Anne, Jessi...all French.


Their Families:

All the Kilbourne girls have blonde hair. I thought one used to be brunette...

Shannon's mom apparently does the family's laundry. By the time I was Shannon's age I'd been doing my own for a while. The kids also drink whole milk and their dad one percent (no mention of the mom's preference).


The Club: nothing new.


SMS: nothing new, but Shannon's school no longer has the astronomy club that she wanted to join in her vivid memory story; it's now a four-member group lead in part by Shannon herself.


PSA Time: nothing stood out.


Misc:

Shannon mentions an upcoming meteor shower. This book was published the same month as Claudia and Crazy Peaches so at first I thought she meant the October Draconids or Orionids. But then this book takes place around Mother's Day, so it's probably the Eta Aquarids.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 7

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 3 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 7

BSC Fights: 8

SMS Staff and Faculty: 47

Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified

Clients: 31

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 97

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1

Claudia and Crazy Peaches (RS#78)

Original Publication Date: 1994

Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner

Synopsis:

This is, sadly, another book in which Claudia gets angry with someone close to her, that person has something bad happen, and Claudia thinks it's somehow at least partially her fault, as if her anger caused it.

Anyway, Claudia starts out thrilled: her aunt Peaches (given name Miyoshi) and uncle Russ are going to have a baby! Peaches is about two months along, and she and Russ are moving to Stoneybrook. Since their old house sold so quickly they're going to stay with the Kishis for a month. Claudia gets some help preparing the house from a new sitting charge, Natalie Springer (who volunteers to come and clean; she's not forced to). Natalie ends up being very clingy, since she has no friends. The BSC decides to help, but Natalie's bossiness with her peers gets in the way. But some new friends help her overcome that.

Claudia's attention is also being demanded of her by her aunt, who recently quit her job in anticipation of the baby. Claudia accompanies her shopping, helps her make fancy dinners, and goes with her on a midnight craving run. Her grades falter and she gets in trouble with her parents. Frustrated, she blows up at Peaches. They walk on eggshells around each other for a few days. Claudia decides that she has some blame in the situation, and is ready to apologize and get back to normal.

Then Peaches has a miscarriage.

She has to be admitted to the hospital overnight (she's late first trimester or early second; she may have needed surgery). When she comes back to the Kishis' she and Claudia are able to patch things up. The doctors also say that it will be safe for her to try for another baby when she's ready. Peaches and Russ say they will, but not for a while yet.


Greer at http://blog.stoneybrookite.org/ is diligently posting about the BSC Challenge. Here are my next answers:

Favorite BSC organized event: the outing in Stacey's Mistake. It was fairly sensible, they were well-prepared, and it sounded like a blast for the kids.

Favorite vacation spot: I like the road trip they go on in BSC in the USA. It was fun to read about the different areas, especially since I've been a few road trips (seen all the CONUS!). I just wish Seattle had gotten a little more screen time...

Favorite holiday book: Christmas is my favorite holiday, but the BSC books that feature Christmas don't really do it justice in my opinion. However, I do love Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery, which is a Halloween book. Spooky, entertaining, and funny.



Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: pretzels

I've never liked "Claud" as a nickname. Sounds like "clod" to me.

Claudia's still writing for the school newspaper.

No wonder Claudia has such trouble with school; she thinks there's only one hour between 4:00 and 6:00.


Their Families:

Now, I know a lot of people think you shouldn't reveal pregnancies until after the first trimester because of the risk of miscarriage or potential backlash from an employer (I happen to disagree when it's my pregnancy; if the worst happened I'd rather have shared some happiness while it lasted). That said, I would not call anyone to share the news before 8:00 am, like Peaches does.

Karen informs Natalie Springer that no, Claudia is NOT her friend because Stacey is Claudia's best friend. Then Kristy claims Karen worries that Natalie has so few friends. Maybe it's because people are jerks to her, KAREN.


The Club:

New client: Natalie Springer, a classmate of Karen's.


SMS:

School's back in session.


PSA Time:

Trust me, I know how exciting it is to be waiting on the arrival of a baby. But save your money and don't go buy everything for the baby right away. You'll probably have a baby shower or two; wait until after that. Then you can see what's still left and use the gift cards you're bound to receive.

Peaches says something that is important: pregnancy loss isn't something to assign blame over. Especially with miscarriage, it's almost always something that just happens without any external factors. But she also says, "It was probably for the best." No one except the mother is allowed to say things like that. Also not allowed, "You can always try for another." Not helping, those.


Misc:

Claudia has a wonderful, touching idea: to have Mary Anne, who learned to knit from Mimi, teach Claudia to knit. That way, Claudia can knit something for Mimi's grandchild. BUT: the ghostwriters clearly don't knit. Mary Anne thinks a blanket is too complicated and suggests booties instead. A simple baby blanket is the perfect beginner project while even simple booties have complicated steps. The description of knitting sounds like someone who's watched knitting but never done it.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 7

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 3 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 7

BSC Fights: 8

SMS Staff and Faculty: 47

Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified

Clients: 31

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 95

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1

Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever (RS#77)

Original Publication Date: 1994

Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker

Synopsis:

Dawn gets a regular sitting job, but an unusual one. She's to be a companion for a twelve-year-old named Whitney who has Down syndrome. Whitney doesn't know that her parents are paying Dawn for her time, which predictably causes an issue when it slips out. But Dawn and the parents apologize for the deception and Whitney eventually accepts it, but not after trying to prove that she's grown up by taking two girls Dawn is sitting for to a carnival without telling Dawn. It turns out fine, but does scare Dawn. Whitney is even made a member of the We ♥ Kids Club, though of course she'll go on jobs where another sitter is present.

During this time, Dawn's dad goes on dates with several women, trying to fill the hole left by Carol. Dawn and Jeff get subjected to "family dates" with a few. Some women just don't click, and one is outright nasty to Whitney. But by the end of the book, Jack starts seeing Carol again, and after talking it over with his kids, proposes to her. She accepts, and no one commits felony theft over it.

Greer at http://blog.stoneybrookite.org/ is diligently posting about the BSC Challenge. Here are my next answers:

Favorite BSC fight: The fight in Mary Anne Saves the Day is just so funny. "Sheep are in!"

Favorite BSC love interest: Will Yamakawa, the boy Claudia meets at Camp Mohawk. I wish they'd stayed in touch. They did exchange addresses, and some letter back and forth after Mimi's death would have been appropriate.



Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: none

Dawn is noticeably silent on exactly WHY her dad and Carol broke off their engagement.


Their Families:

Dawn counts the ghost of Ben Brewer as a member of Kristy's household, which makes sense for her.

Oops, one of Jack Schafer's dates calls him Richard (page 69). He's Jack again on page 114.


The Club:

Mrs. Barrett is now engaged to Franklin DeWitt.


California:

Sunny's still a little boy-crazy; or at least, she places a high importance on dating.


PSA Time: nothing stood out.


Misc:

This book takes place in the summer and Jeff goes to bed after sunset, at which point Dawn and Sunny decide it's not too late to call Stoneybrook. Sunset in Anaheim in July is around 8:00. So, they're calling at the earliest maybe 11:30 pm Eastern Time. At the end of the book something similar happens. I think the author (Nola Thacker in this case) got confused and was thinking Eastern Time is three hours BEHIND Pacific.

Yeah, food does get all mixed together in your stomach regardless of how much you keep it separate while eating, but you know what? There are no taste buds in your stomach.

Dates with your family sound weird, Dawn? I don't know what you're talking about: A Date with Your Family.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 6

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 3 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 7

BSC Fights: 8

SMS Staff and Faculty: 47

Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified

Clients: 29

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 95

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1