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illreadmyownway's review against another edition
0.25
I was enjoying it until there was fat shaming at the end of the book.
tibbarasden's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.0
I was not ready to read another book with pop culture references (pet peeve), especially ones that didn't make sense. The Shining and I Love Lucy for middle schoolers? Not only that, the editing wasn't very good, and it was more than just typos, "pretty many kids"? The plot was also a bit of a slog. It was cute, but not great. This was my first official read of a BSC book, so we will see how I feel about the main series. I do like the variety of characters that make up the main group.
claudiecakes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
*starting 2024 with a BSC Besties reread with KK and Dani <3
i will forever love this book, but as we discussed the girls with 13yo unhinged lol
i will forever love this book, but as we discussed the girls with 13yo unhinged lol
situationnormal's review
2.0
I feel like I liked the Super Specials as a kid, and maybe it's the weird timeline, or maybe it's that some of the characters always seem to get the shaft in these compilations, but this is sort of awful and it took me almost a week to get through. Mary Anne and Kristy are insufferable, Stacey is barely there (but, to be honest, insufferable when she is because boys...again), and the rest of the plot is shaky. Also major fat shaming at the end and some vague racism. Not cool, BSC.
bibliotequeish's review against another edition
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
kelseywaters's review against another edition
3.0
Funny to read this book again as a teacher who has chaperoned overnight field trips several times, for kids who are the same age as the members of the babysitters club. What a flip in perspectives!
I didn’t feel the same nostalgia reading this one as I did reading the Little Sister Super Special.
2021 notes for the book written in 1989:
-Guy’s handling of Claudia’s crush on him is disturbing. He’s a grown man with a wife and child, yet has a skiing student who is infatuated with him. He responds by slow dancing with her and then writing her a postcard. The book treats it as normal.
-there’s a brief anecdote of fat-shaming with the boys in the back of the bus on the way home. What makes it worse is that Mary Anne snidely narrates that the taunting of the boys didn’t stop the girl they made fun of from eating three snickers bars. Shut up Mary Anne.
-I believe that, if written today, Ms Halliday would be gay and not crying in the bathroom, missing her fiancé bc she was away from home for five days.
-Jessi’s story line involves her wondering if Pinky is mistreating her out of “prejudice”. Jessi learns at the end that she was mistaken and feels ashamed for thinking that, wondering if maybe SHE Has maybe been racist for wondering such a thing. That she needs to go home and think through that with her parents. This…felt weird.
-Mallory’s story line was underdeveloped. She was terrified of going to the dance. She ended up going and Stacey mentions off hand that Mallory was dancing with a boy! Well who was it?! It never comes up again.
Anyways, criticism aside, I still remember being swept away by this story the first time I read it and thought of all the BSC members as adults away on a skiing trip.
I didn’t feel the same nostalgia reading this one as I did reading the Little Sister Super Special.
2021 notes for the book written in 1989:
-Guy’s handling of Claudia’s crush on him is disturbing. He’s a grown man with a wife and child, yet has a skiing student who is infatuated with him. He responds by slow dancing with her and then writing her a postcard. The book treats it as normal.
-there’s a brief anecdote of fat-shaming with the boys in the back of the bus on the way home. What makes it worse is that Mary Anne snidely narrates that the taunting of the boys didn’t stop the girl they made fun of from eating three snickers bars. Shut up Mary Anne.
-I believe that, if written today, Ms Halliday would be gay and not crying in the bathroom, missing her fiancé bc she was away from home for five days.
-Jessi’s story line involves her wondering if Pinky is mistreating her out of “prejudice”. Jessi learns at the end that she was mistaken and feels ashamed for thinking that, wondering if maybe SHE Has maybe been racist for wondering such a thing. That she needs to go home and think through that with her parents. This…felt weird.
-Mallory’s story line was underdeveloped. She was terrified of going to the dance. She ended up going and Stacey mentions off hand that Mallory was dancing with a boy! Well who was it?! It never comes up again.
Anyways, criticism aside, I still remember being swept away by this story the first time I read it and thought of all the BSC members as adults away on a skiing trip.
leedigesu's review against another edition
4.0
I will always have a special place in my heart for the BSC.
jamietherebelliousreader's review
2.0
2 stars. My least favorite BSC book. A lot of the girls felt out of character. And then Claudia was crushing on an older guy which was super freakin’ weird. But what really pissed me off was Jessi’s storyline. She gets stuck with a kid, Pinky, who is shitty towards her and Jessi thinks the girls is racist. Turns out the kid is just a little shit and then Jessi feels bad about thinking she was racist. Martin does not handle Jessi being Black well at all and she tends to always brush off Jessi’s problems with other people when it comes to her race. She minimizes it into “Well, everyone has problems and is judged for something.” I hate it. Pinky very much could have some bias towards her because of her race but Martin dropped the ball completely. It just was handled so terribly and did not sit right with me at all.