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emark's review
3.25
I am pretty disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this Super Special more. I hadn’t read it yet, but the books set in California always enticed me!! This one definitely wasn’t bad, but I think I didn’t enjoy how spilt up the BSC members were. I didn’t really care about any of the plot lines because I didn’t feel like much was happening. I was surprised about the babysitting jobs (who lets someone they don’t know watch their kids? who babysits on vacation?) but they ended up being decently interesting. I liked Stephie and her connection to Mary-Anne, but I think the asthma was really worked up. I also liked Stacey’s story with the surfing - very on-brand for her. I wish Dawn had something bigger going on but I guess it makes sense that she was worried about her family since that is pretty much why she was there. Glad to have finally checked this one off the list but I think I need a break from Super Specials after this one.
situationnormal's review against another edition
2.0
I remember really liking the Super Specials as a child but they're...wild. I'd say this one had a pretty unbelievable if I hadn't recently read the one where the get stranded on an island. The only storyline that didn't annoy me was Dawn's (am I a Dawn fan now?) and Mallory's was particularly awful.
bibliotequeish's review
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.
leedigesu's review
4.0
I think I remember reading this one before. Not 100% sure.
I always enjoyed when we visited California. I liked Dawn's father and Jeff was the best sibling to me.
I always enjoyed when we visited California. I liked Dawn's father and Jeff was the best sibling to me.
jamietherebelliousreader's review
4.0
4 stars. So much fun. The girls win some money from a lottery and take a trip to California. The girls all have their own things going on when they get out there so that was cute. Though I will say that Mallory (who I usually enjoy) and Kristy (who is my least favorite) were pains in the asses here but Mallory at least came to her senses by the end. My girls Claudia, Jessi, and Stacy had the most interesting plots to me. But as a whole this was a very entertaining read and it has a lot of summer vibes to it.
bookaddictrn's review
3.0
Don’t think I can quite describe this book as dibbley fresh, but’s it’s not stale either. Thought it was shocking (and not true to character) that Dawn ordered the chicken on the flight to LA and never completely recovered from the blow.
amyb24's review against another edition
3.0
My book club did a nostalgia pick this month, and I kind of wish we hadn't because now my childhood is ruined. I loved the Baby-Sitters Club books when I was about 10 or so and have fond memories of waiting for the new one to come out each month.
For the intended audience, the book wasn't the worst. I had to keep reminding myself that the book is for kids when I wanted to hurl it across the room for its pedantic overly detailed explanations of how life works--or, in the case of Mallory's hair dye, how life doesn't work because you cannot effectively lighten darker hair using a non-permanent single process dye. I can see how this appealed to young me and would still seem glamorous to kids of that age today.
Over the years I had forgotten how terrible Mallory is but this book reminded me. She's lucky she met some girls willing to carry dead weight in their club or her plotline would have been her at home in Connecticut crying in a bathroom.
For the intended audience, the book wasn't the worst. I had to keep reminding myself that the book is for kids when I wanted to hurl it across the room for its pedantic overly detailed explanations of how life works--or, in the case of Mallory's hair dye, how life doesn't work because you cannot effectively lighten darker hair using a non-permanent single process dye. I can see how this appealed to young me and would still seem glamorous to kids of that age today.
Over the years I had forgotten how terrible Mallory is but this book reminded me. She's lucky she met some girls willing to carry dead weight in their club or her plotline would have been her at home in Connecticut crying in a bathroom.
finesilkflower's review
1.0
The Baby-sitters Club buys a block of lottery tickets and wins $10,000, which they use to fly themselves to California to vacation at Dawn’s father’s house. Their adventures:
Kristy scorns the disorganized We ♥ Kids Club, but slightly changes her tune when Dawn’s friends prove their knowledge about the children they sit for.
Mary Anne baby-sits Stephie Roberts, who has asthma. Mary Anne keeps fretting about a possible asthma attack, insisting Stephie can’t do things like roller-skate or go on outings, despite the W♥KC sitters assuring her it’s fine. This seems weird; hasn’t she already learned from Stacey that just because you have a disease it doesn’t mean you’re sick all the time?
Claudia awkwardly dates a Japanese boy named Terry who is as smart as Janine. She thinks she’s not good enough for him, and sort of playacts along, pretending to know what he’s talking about. Predictably, things look up as soon as she relaxes and “is herself.”
Stacey hangs around with an older crowd, bonding with them over her sudden interest in surfing. They encourage dangerous surfing practices, but in a weird left turn, it’s not a surfing accident but instead a car accident that provides the climax of her storyline. Stacey is unhurt but shaken.
Dawn is annoyed by her father’s girlfriend, Carol; Carol (Dawn complains) tries too hard to act cool and kid-like. When Carol acts “responsibly” (tattling to Jack Schafer) after Stacey’s accident, Dawn sees Carol in a new light. Personally, I feel like Carol is the worst of both worlds--annoying like a kid and untrustworthy like an adult--but I guess all Dawn wants is some boundaries. And she is incredibly self-aware about it.
Jessi visits Derek Masters on the PS 162 set and is asked to be an extra. The idea to pursue acting is dismissed as quickly as it arises. It’s the exact same plot as Superbrat but in about two sentences.
Mallory decides she wants to be a “real California girl” and dyes her hair using “wash-out” blond dye (I CALL BULLSHIT). She also buys a lot of make-up, even though her parents forbid her to wear it (the laid-back Pikes? Really?) For the rest of the trip she borrows money from Jessi, annoying her. She learns her lesson when the director on the PS 162 set passes her over, and when, after she dyes her hair back to red, a boy checks her out. External validation of her appearance was all she needed!
Like all Super Specials, this book suffers from a lack of focus and an abundance of travel pamphlet product placement (this time, it’s Universal Studios instead of Disney), but at least the plotlines are more or less character-organic, with the possible exception of Stacey’s.
Ann M.’s Obsessions: Claudia mentions I Love Lucy during the overly detailed description of the plane ride (drink!), and later everyone is impressed by the idea of going to Beverly Hills to drive by Lucille Ball’s house.
Timing: It’s not made entirely clear, but this seems to be a one-week school break rather than summer vacation. It was released in December of 1990, but there’s no mention of Christmas or other holidays. However, the next Super Special New York, New York is explicitly spring break, and there’s not enough discontinuity to place this in a different year. Perhaps the girls get a week off after Christmas or something and that’s what this is.
Revised Timeline: Winter break(????) of tenth grade.
Kristy scorns the disorganized We ♥ Kids Club, but slightly changes her tune when Dawn’s friends prove their knowledge about the children they sit for.
Mary Anne baby-sits Stephie Roberts, who has asthma. Mary Anne keeps fretting about a possible asthma attack, insisting Stephie can’t do things like roller-skate or go on outings, despite the W♥KC sitters assuring her it’s fine. This seems weird; hasn’t she already learned from Stacey that just because you have a disease it doesn’t mean you’re sick all the time?
Claudia awkwardly dates a Japanese boy named Terry who is as smart as Janine. She thinks she’s not good enough for him, and sort of playacts along, pretending to know what he’s talking about. Predictably, things look up as soon as she relaxes and “is herself.”
Stacey hangs around with an older crowd, bonding with them over her sudden interest in surfing. They encourage dangerous surfing practices, but in a weird left turn, it’s not a surfing accident but instead a car accident that provides the climax of her storyline. Stacey is unhurt but shaken.
Dawn is annoyed by her father’s girlfriend, Carol; Carol (Dawn complains) tries too hard to act cool and kid-like. When Carol acts “responsibly” (tattling to Jack Schafer) after Stacey’s accident, Dawn sees Carol in a new light. Personally, I feel like Carol is the worst of both worlds--annoying like a kid and untrustworthy like an adult--but I guess all Dawn wants is some boundaries. And she is incredibly self-aware about it.
Jessi visits Derek Masters on the PS 162 set and is asked to be an extra. The idea to pursue acting is dismissed as quickly as it arises. It’s the exact same plot as Superbrat but in about two sentences.
Mallory decides she wants to be a “real California girl” and dyes her hair using “wash-out” blond dye (I CALL BULLSHIT). She also buys a lot of make-up, even though her parents forbid her to wear it (the laid-back Pikes? Really?) For the rest of the trip she borrows money from Jessi, annoying her. She learns her lesson when the director on the PS 162 set passes her over, and when, after she dyes her hair back to red, a boy checks her out. External validation of her appearance was all she needed!
Like all Super Specials, this book suffers from a lack of focus and an abundance of travel pamphlet product placement (this time, it’s Universal Studios instead of Disney), but at least the plotlines are more or less character-organic, with the possible exception of Stacey’s.
Ann M.’s Obsessions: Claudia mentions I Love Lucy during the overly detailed description of the plane ride (drink!), and later everyone is impressed by the idea of going to Beverly Hills to drive by Lucille Ball’s house.
Timing: It’s not made entirely clear, but this seems to be a one-week school break rather than summer vacation. It was released in December of 1990, but there’s no mention of Christmas or other holidays. However, the next Super Special New York, New York is explicitly spring break, and there’s not enough discontinuity to place this in a different year. Perhaps the girls get a week off after Christmas or something and that’s what this is.
Revised Timeline: Winter break(????) of tenth grade.
foleyzac's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0