Published: 2018 Author: Emma Carlson Berne. Illstrator: Kelley McMorris
Summary
On April 14, 1912, Samantha, Jenny, and Bridget are at their New York City boarding school when they learn that the Titanic has sunk. Aunt Cornelia, Nelly, and baby William were on it, heading home from Ireland. Samantha is reminded of her time on the Queen Caroline, when Grandmary thought it unwise for boat owners to obsess over who could make a crossing the fastest. Was speed a factor? Sick with worry, they return home to be with Uncle Gard while waiting to hear if any of three survived. All they know is that most of the passengers made it, but they can't help worrying that their family wasn't among them. On April 17, they learn that the death toll has risen significantly: only 868 of the 2,200 people on the Titanic survived. Samantha and Uncle Gard are now more worried than ever that they've lost more loved ones to drowning, but they try to stay brave for Jenny and Bridget. It's not until the next that a telegram finally arrives from Aunt Cornelia, with the information that she, Nellie, and William are safe on the Carpathia and due to dock in New York that afternoon at three. A few days later, Samantha and her sisters walk the few blocks to the just-founded Titanic Relief Fund office: Samantha's family is intact, but there are many orphans and widows and other survivors who need help.
Misc
Dedicated to "Oscar, my sunshine-faced little boy--and my last baby."
Nellie has really been through a lot of childhood trauma.
I knew the Titanic had a pool (thanks to the joke about how even today, its pool has water in it) but I didn't know it was heated!
The book includes several anecdotes and photographs (due to lack of cameras, there are drawings but not photographs in the books set earlier) of Titanic passengers, crew, construction, and more; really giving it a nice historical context. There is a lot of great information, from the three-year construction of the ship to where different people were billeted on the boat to how the disaster happened to the aftermath.
The epilogue mentions Robert Ballard's expedition which found the remains of the Titanic in the 1980s and answered many questions about the disaster. I think the book was remiss in not mentioning the further work that James Cameron did in his research for his movie. His team discovered a lot of information as well.
1/1/21
The Baby-sitters Club Netflix Series: Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls
Netflix has a new original series: The Baby-sitters Club! The first season covers the first eight books plus a sort of adaptation of of the second super special, Baby-sitters Summer Vacation. AND...it's set in the present day (2019/2020), updated accordingly, and much more diverse. The plots are broadly the same as the original books, although here the focus is more on the school dance and Claudia's relationship with her parents in regards to her grades, and the only phantom calls we see on-screen aren't a shy boy trying to ask someone out. Here are some other things that I noticed:
What stood out as surprisingly (not necessarily good or bad) different to me:
Trevor is an artist like Claudia instead of a poet, which is how he and Claudia notice each other in the first place. Because he knows her better in this version, he actually asks her out to the Halloween Hop in the first place instead of calling, getting nervous, and hanging up.
Stacey offers Claudia her own math test to pass off as Claudia's, since Claudia failed hers and her parents won't allow her to go to the dance with a failing grade. Claudia takes her up on the offer, too. Claudia does come clean on her own to her parents, rather than being found out. Her parents aren't thrilled about her lying, but they do acknowledge that she's putting in an effort and has improved a bit. They don't let her attend the dance, but they are more obviously supportive of her than some of their book appearances seem.
Janine is more overtly antagonistic toward Claudia in the series, which makes Claudia's reactions to her more understandable. Janine's the one to suggest that the Kishi parents not allow Claudia to attend the Halloween Hop if she fails her test.
Karen has more of a creepy child vibe than an overbearing one.
The titular phone call turns out to be Mary Anne, calling from an old phone to talk to Kristy.
What I was happy stayed the same:
I love the scene with Claudia and Mimi cooking together.
Mary Anne and Kristy communicate by flashlight.
Other interesting touches:
Mary Anne has to use a flip phone as part of her punishment for not calling her dad to let him know she's running late.
Claudia dresses in a style evocative of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hoping it will inspire her to understand math better.
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