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A review by burialshroud
Dawn and the Surfer Ghost by Ann M. Martin, Hodges Soileau
3.0
I really enjoyed The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, it really spoke to me, especially because one of the only books Kimmy has while she’s kidnapped is this Babysitter’s Club Mystery. It’s not one of the ones I read when I was going through my BSC phase, and it piqued my interest. A mystery? A surfer? A GHOST?!
Spoiler alert, it’s not a ghost. Because whatever else BSC is, it’s not Sweet Valley High (don’t know if this is a good or bad thing) so you’re not going to get werewolves or vampires, there may appear to be a werewolf or a vampire, but there’ll end up being a perfectly reasonable explanation.
It’s my first BSC book in a really long time. I’m disappointed to find the books are more MG than YA and that there is a LOOOOTTTT of babysitting. I know right, big surprise the Babysitter’s Club books feature babysitting…I just don’t remember it being so prevalent.
There is a crazy amount of hair description in this book. Every time a new character is introduced, the first piece of information we have about them is what kind of hair they have, second thing is what illness do they have, apparently Mallory has ME? This is news to me. The surfer ghost, whose name is Thrash has shoulder-length, platinum blond hair, and his illness is wearing lots of tacky jewellery.
In this book Dawn is living in California, for good apparently, and oh my God Dawn writes to the BSC a LOT. Every other day she’s writing to one or another of the club, Claudia I wish you were here to help me pick an outfit, Kristy I wish you were here to help me deal with my grief over the death of the guy from the surf shop I spoke to once, Mallory, gee, having ME must suck. She’s moved away from Stoneybrook to be in California even though she thinks about Stoneybrook constantly and it seems like her dad is never around and her brother couldn’t care less. Go back to Stoneybrook, Dawn. They love you in Stoneybrook. In California you’re just another surfing blonde, sucking down raw broccoli as a fun snack (?!?!?!).
I read the UK version so it’s been changed a bit for UK audiences, like I guess “math” has been changed to “maths” and every so often I’d come across something like “ I put on my tracksuit trousers” and think hang on, would an American say this? And in the case of “tracksuit trousers”, would a human say this? It’s another example of children being underestimated by publishers (the other one I’m specifically thinking of is updating 80s/90s series to appeal to today’s youth). They’re not stupid and would probably figure out that “math” means “maths” and that when Americans say cookies they’re referring to any type of biscuit. The cover for the UK version is whack too. On the US cover Dawn looks like a kid. She is a kid! On the UK cover she looks about 25.
Anyway, this Babysitters Mystery did not stir my ardour to re-read any of the others. I might though? I sort of remember some good stuff happening, like they go to camp and Disney World and a Jersey Shore knockoff that I can’t remember the name of. Sea City! So I might have to revisit some.
Spoiler alert, it’s not a ghost. Because whatever else BSC is, it’s not Sweet Valley High (don’t know if this is a good or bad thing) so you’re not going to get werewolves or vampires, there may appear to be a werewolf or a vampire, but there’ll end up being a perfectly reasonable explanation.
It’s my first BSC book in a really long time. I’m disappointed to find the books are more MG than YA and that there is a LOOOOTTTT of babysitting. I know right, big surprise the Babysitter’s Club books feature babysitting…I just don’t remember it being so prevalent.
There is a crazy amount of hair description in this book. Every time a new character is introduced, the first piece of information we have about them is what kind of hair they have, second thing is what illness do they have, apparently Mallory has ME? This is news to me. The surfer ghost, whose name is Thrash has shoulder-length, platinum blond hair, and his illness is wearing lots of tacky jewellery.
In this book Dawn is living in California, for good apparently, and oh my God Dawn writes to the BSC a LOT. Every other day she’s writing to one or another of the club, Claudia I wish you were here to help me pick an outfit, Kristy I wish you were here to help me deal with my grief over the death of the guy from the surf shop I spoke to once, Mallory, gee, having ME must suck. She’s moved away from Stoneybrook to be in California even though she thinks about Stoneybrook constantly and it seems like her dad is never around and her brother couldn’t care less. Go back to Stoneybrook, Dawn. They love you in Stoneybrook. In California you’re just another surfing blonde, sucking down raw broccoli as a fun snack (?!?!?!).
I read the UK version so it’s been changed a bit for UK audiences, like I guess “math” has been changed to “maths” and every so often I’d come across something like “ I put on my tracksuit trousers” and think hang on, would an American say this? And in the case of “tracksuit trousers”, would a human say this? It’s another example of children being underestimated by publishers (the other one I’m specifically thinking of is updating 80s/90s series to appeal to today’s youth). They’re not stupid and would probably figure out that “math” means “maths” and that when Americans say cookies they’re referring to any type of biscuit. The cover for the UK version is whack too. On the US cover Dawn looks like a kid. She is a kid! On the UK cover she looks about 25.
Anyway, this Babysitters Mystery did not stir my ardour to re-read any of the others. I might though? I sort of remember some good stuff happening, like they go to camp and Disney World and a Jersey Shore knockoff that I can’t remember the name of. Sea City! So I might have to revisit some.