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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.
impybelle's review
3.0
This is the book that the "Abby is totally gay" contingent in fandom points to and says, "Look. PROOF." Since Abby was mostly after my time in the BSC, apart from the occasional book picked up out of curiosity, I'd never read it before and I was curious. Thanks to a friend who shall remain awesome, I finally got to read the book after all this time.
And... I... don't really get the Abby is gay vibe. Instead it seems that Abby isn't interested in anyone. At all. Male or female, thank you very much, and that she's perfectly fine with this, but she's not fine with how no one else seems to be fine with her decision to not date. Things are complicated by the fact that the guy who has a crush on her, Ross, is much more suited to her twin sister, Anna. Inadvertent twin switches ensue.
The B-story involves Andrew Brewer's guide puppy having grown up enough to be sent off to guide dog school. Since his sister, Karen, has a new kitten, and his step-brother David Michael has permanent puppy Shannon, Andrew is clinging desperately to having his own dog. He's not willing to give up Scout easily, even going so far as to try and sabotage her training. I admit it. I cried when Scout left, but so did Kristy. So there.
And... I... don't really get the Abby is gay vibe. Instead it seems that Abby isn't interested in anyone. At all. Male or female, thank you very much, and that she's perfectly fine with this, but she's not fine with how no one else seems to be fine with her decision to not date. Things are complicated by the fact that the guy who has a crush on her, Ross, is much more suited to her twin sister, Anna. Inadvertent twin switches ensue.
The B-story involves Andrew Brewer's guide puppy having grown up enough to be sent off to guide dog school. Since his sister, Karen, has a new kitten, and his step-brother David Michael has permanent puppy Shannon, Andrew is clinging desperately to having his own dog. He's not willing to give up Scout easily, even going so far as to try and sabotage her training. I admit it. I cried when Scout left, but so did Kristy. So there.
peachani's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
finesilkflower's review
3.0
Abby is the object of unrequited love.
Abby thinks she's bonding with classmate Ross Brown over their mutual shared hatred of Valentine's Day and love poetry until he asks her to the dance. She says no, then catches grief from her friends about her meanness. Having learned, apparently, from the many stalkery romantic comedies, Ross continues to try to win her over by leaving her little presents, but she holds her ground and only becomes more anti-romance. Eventually, she is able to fob Ross off on her sister.
What I like about this storyline is that Abby doesn't "come around" and realize that the guy is great after all. I was in a similar situation when I was a kid, including the friends who thought I was being mean, and I found it really difficult. I think a lot of kids find themselves in this situation at one time or another, and it's nice that they showed Abby standing strong. Though having the boy end up with the twin seems a little too neat. I thought they'd sidestep that for awhile since it came up so early in the book, but it landed there anyway.
Meanwhile, the story of Scout the dog from Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer concludes as Kristy's family has to give up the guide-puppy-in-training and send her to school to complete her training and then on to her forever owner. Andrew takes it the hardest, attempting to undermine Scout's discipline, but the baby-sitters help him understand that Scout has a destiny she needs to fulfill. David Michael offers to share Shannon, clearly a worse dog.
Highlights: When Abby and Kristy bond over their shared disinterest in boys, I'm genuinely touched when Kristy voices the unpopular opinion that Abby did the right thing by being clear in her refusal to date Ross. In a moment rich in character truth and continuity, she points to her own relationship with Bart as an example of what not to do: kind of take the path of least resistance into dating, but then end up hurting the boy's feelings more when you realize you don't want to be with him after all, and ruin your friendship maybe forever.
Lingering Questions: Abby explicitly states that her family moved to Stoneybrook to shorten her mother's commute to New York (from the trip on the LIRR to their previous home on Long Island). I don't know how far out on Long Island they lived, but, man, is this the same Stoneybrook that Stacey's dad uprooted his whole family from in order to work in Manhattan? Did they get a new Metro-North station since then or something?
Author Gratefully Acknowledges: Nola Thacker. "Of COURSE," I said to myself when I read the acknowledgement page, after spending the whole book like, "Is this a Lerangis? It's juicy, but... it's not got that Lerangis flair, somehow." Thacker's writing is a bit stilted, like she's going for Lerangis's precocious-kid writing style, but it doesn't have the same edge of humor. Or the off-the-wall insanity. Or the car wrecks.
Abby thinks she's bonding with classmate Ross Brown over their mutual shared hatred of Valentine's Day and love poetry until he asks her to the dance. She says no, then catches grief from her friends about her meanness. Having learned, apparently, from the many stalkery romantic comedies, Ross continues to try to win her over by leaving her little presents, but she holds her ground and only becomes more anti-romance. Eventually, she is able to fob Ross off on her sister.
What I like about this storyline is that Abby doesn't "come around" and realize that the guy is great after all. I was in a similar situation when I was a kid, including the friends who thought I was being mean, and I found it really difficult. I think a lot of kids find themselves in this situation at one time or another, and it's nice that they showed Abby standing strong. Though having the boy end up with the twin seems a little too neat. I thought they'd sidestep that for awhile since it came up so early in the book, but it landed there anyway.
Meanwhile, the story of Scout the dog from Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer concludes as Kristy's family has to give up the guide-puppy-in-training and send her to school to complete her training and then on to her forever owner. Andrew takes it the hardest, attempting to undermine Scout's discipline, but the baby-sitters help him understand that Scout has a destiny she needs to fulfill. David Michael offers to share Shannon, clearly a worse dog.
Highlights: When Abby and Kristy bond over their shared disinterest in boys, I'm genuinely touched when Kristy voices the unpopular opinion that Abby did the right thing by being clear in her refusal to date Ross. In a moment rich in character truth and continuity, she points to her own relationship with Bart as an example of what not to do: kind of take the path of least resistance into dating, but then end up hurting the boy's feelings more when you realize you don't want to be with him after all, and ruin your friendship maybe forever.
Lingering Questions: Abby explicitly states that her family moved to Stoneybrook to shorten her mother's commute to New York (from the trip on the LIRR to their previous home on Long Island). I don't know how far out on Long Island they lived, but, man, is this the same Stoneybrook that Stacey's dad uprooted his whole family from in order to work in Manhattan? Did they get a new Metro-North station since then or something?
Author Gratefully Acknowledges: Nola Thacker. "Of COURSE," I said to myself when I read the acknowledgement page, after spending the whole book like, "Is this a Lerangis? It's juicy, but... it's not got that Lerangis flair, somehow." Thacker's writing is a bit stilted, like she's going for Lerangis's precocious-kid writing style, but it doesn't have the same edge of humor. Or the off-the-wall insanity. Or the car wrecks.
sammah's review
1.0
This is really one of the last books in the regular series? Seriously? Ugh.
Abby, you suck. You suck, and you will never TRULY be a member of the BSC. You were barely here, and I am now glad you're gone because you're annoying. so is your sister. So is Ross Brown.
At least we got some weird closure about Scout the guide dog in training. I guess.
Abby, you suck. You suck, and you will never TRULY be a member of the BSC. You were barely here, and I am now glad you're gone because you're annoying. so is your sister. So is Ross Brown.
At least we got some weird closure about Scout the guide dog in training. I guess.
pastelpaperback's review
3.0
This was an interesting read.
As an older BSC fan, I had stopped reading by the introduction of Abby (and her twin Anna) to the series. I have no nostalgia or attachment to her as a character. And jumping into an end-of-the-series book about a character I know nothing about probably wasn't the smartest. Yes, this is my first Abby book.
This really didn't feel like a Baby-Sitters Club book to me. I'm not sure if the ghostwriter just didn't hit the usual notes that I've come to expect, or if my lack of attachment to the later books just made it more difficult to read.
What I did like about this book was the way Abby really didn't like Valentine's Day and made it perfectly clear that she wasn't going to bend. A boy in their class is persistent in inviting her to the SMS V-Day dance, but she's clear that she's not interested. Eventually, she hooks the boy up with her twin sister (a little weird,) and ends up going to see a horror movie with Kristy (ahem?) on Valentine's Day. I really liked that. And it was odd how the other club members were pushing her to date, even though she told them that's not what she wanted.
There's also a side plot with the Thomas-Brewer's having to give back a dog they've been training to be a guide animal and *that* part of the book was handled so well. Poor Andrew. But also, what is this family doing? They have a bazillion people living together, plus pets, plus a rather young new adopted child and now they're training a guide dog? My god.
As an older BSC fan, I had stopped reading by the introduction of Abby (and her twin Anna) to the series. I have no nostalgia or attachment to her as a character. And jumping into an end-of-the-series book about a character I know nothing about probably wasn't the smartest. Yes, this is my first Abby book.
This really didn't feel like a Baby-Sitters Club book to me. I'm not sure if the ghostwriter just didn't hit the usual notes that I've come to expect, or if my lack of attachment to the later books just made it more difficult to read.
What I did like about this book was the way Abby really didn't like Valentine's Day and made it perfectly clear that she wasn't going to bend. A boy in their class is persistent in inviting her to the SMS V-Day dance, but she's clear that she's not interested. Eventually, she hooks the boy up with her twin sister (a little weird,) and ends up going to see a horror movie with Kristy (ahem?) on Valentine's Day. I really liked that. And it was odd how the other club members were pushing her to date, even though she told them that's not what she wanted.
There's also a side plot with the Thomas-Brewer's having to give back a dog they've been training to be a guide animal and *that* part of the book was handled so well. Poor Andrew. But also, what is this family doing? They have a bazillion people living together, plus pets, plus a rather young new adopted child and now they're training a guide dog? My god.
nataliesboooks's review
2.0
This one wasn’t my favorite. The subplot was too sad and Abby is usually funnier than she was in this one. Also, as someone who is friends with identical twins, it is possible to tell them apart, so it seemed far fetched that Ross would mix up Abby and Anna, especially since their hair looks different. On the plus side, I love Charlie (Kristy’s brother). It seems like he always has good advice, or a funny comment.
ssshira's review
5.0
this is my first time reading this book.
note: this is my first 5-star review for a bsc book read since [b:Claudia and the First Thanksgiving|371065|Claudia and the First Thanksgiving (The Baby-Sitters Club, #91)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387713856l/371065._SX50_.jpg|361032] which I read over a year ago.
in this book by ghostwriter [a:Nola Thacker|133114|Nola Thacker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], abby is crusading against romance. everyone at sms and in the bsc seems obsessed with romance, including abby’s classmate ross brown (who we know from being referenced as stacey’s crush in [b:Stacey’s Emergency|794933|Stacey's Emergency (The Baby-Sitters Club, #43)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387735085l/794933._SX50_.jpg|251850]). ross seems to have seen one too many movies and thinks that when girls show that they’re not interested in you it just means you have to act more rapey until they like you. but what’s worse is that all of abby’s friends think ross is such a nice guy and that abby is lucky such a nice guy likes her, so they keep trying to convince her to date him. he shows up at her house with roses (which, by the way, abby is allergic to) and compliments the music playing (which, by the way, is anna’s music). abby finds out that stacey has been helping ross woo her, and she is understandably PISSED. claud, stacey, mary anne, and jessi are all extremely condescending to abby, so finally abby fights back by implying that they only have boyfriends because they’re desperate. BOOM. abby tries to get ross to date anna instead but through a series of slightly unbelievable circumstances (“here anna, wear my shirt! oh no, my contacts tore, better put on my glasses!”) ross thinks abby is anna and vice versa. he gets along well with anna, though he thinks she’s abby, and he’s humiliated when he finds out he had the wrong twin. finally abby apologizes to ross and suggests he date anna, so he does. and the bsc make up and apologize to abby for being super acephobic. the subplot is that scout (from [b:Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer|558315|Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer (The Baby-Sitters Club, #118)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328835550l/558315._SX50_.jpg|545492]) has to go back to the guide dog foundation and andrew is upset because he’s come to think of her as his dog. he’s a huge brat about it, but it’s also a sad plotline.
highlights:
-in 2018, there aren’t enough stories about ace/aro teens. but in 1998, there were even fewer. though they never call it what it is, it’s incredibly powerful reading a book about a teen who just plain DOESN’T want to date, and everyone trying to convince her she’s wrong, and finally by the end they get it and leave her alone.
-valentine’s anecdote from abby's youth: she and anna bought their parents a box of valentine candy but it was abby's favorite candy so she ate the whole box before she could give it to them.
-erica blumberg won abby's best excuse for not doing homework award for telling the teacher her mom had composted it
-abby composes a sonnet in her head, "to valentine's day: how do I detest thee? let me count the ways." it’s basically the scene from 10 things I hate about you
-inspired by the scene in my so-called life (YES!) abby reads sonnet #130 to the class as a romance buzzkill
-there’s a fun babysitting chapter where they make wood davers and watch birds and talk about how it's bird tv. it's because andrew is being too much like strong sad:
-the bsc members keep pressuring abby to go to the dance with ross, and abby says she doesn't want to, so jessi says that maybe someone she likes will ask her. abby says that no matter who asks her she'll say no. I love abby so damn much.
-abby puts it so well: "I didn't ask ross to like me. so why does everyone act as if I did something wrong when I told him no?"
-kristy is the only one who doesn't pressure abby and who totally gets it. she didn't want to date bart but felt like she was supposed to (see [b:Kristy + Bart = ?|646461|Kristy + Bart = ? (The Baby-Sitters Club, #95)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387712240l/646461._SX50_.jpg|632608])
-kristy pretends to be a blind person who needs scout and talks about how she's going to give scout a good home because she's such a good dog, and says andrew has to let her go, and he does, and I actually cried at this part. poor andrew. he’s so little, and it’s kind of cruel that his parents put him in this situation and expected him to be okay with saying goodbye to scout.
-abby: "what part of 'no' does ross not understand?" jessi: "it's nice that someone likes you." abby: "no, it's not. not if you don't like him back." BOOM.
-abby and kristy go on valentines day to see a movie called pepperoni man (YES!). abby wins a box of valentines chocolates. the movie theater manager says "I hope you have someone special to share it with." abby says she does, and brings it back to kristy. maybe abby isn't aro actually and she and kristy can be ace together forever?
lowlights/nitpicks:
-abby says something about how claud's parents should be okay with her eating junk food, "as long as claud eats her vegetables and doesn't pork out." eeechhhh abby, we're in a fight now
-abby says that they moved to stoneybrook because their mom couldn't take the long commute on the LIRR. but depending on where they lived in long island, it might be closer than stoneybrook.
-how did ross get abby and anna confused when they have different length hair?
-maybe the ending is a little too neat. there’s a twin who does like ross. I personally wouldn’t want to date the guy who kept harassing my twin sister to date him. but it’s okay because I just want abby to be happy, and in the end she is.
claudia outfit:
-"Today she was dressed in ski-lodge mode. That meant a woolly sweater, long black tights with thick blue socks, and hiking boots. But these weren't just any hiking boots--they were tied with shiny silver shoelaces with little snowflakes on the ends. They'd also been decorated--by Claudia--with a motif of snow-capped mountains running along the outside of each boot. Claudia's sweater was blue, white, and gray with a snowflake-patterned yoke. It was enormous, stretching almost to her knees. Her hair was pulled back in a long braid. From one ear dangled a silver earring in the shape of a pair of crossed skis, and from the other hung a small silver polar bear."
stacey outfit:
-"Today she was wearing a short, dark brown leather skirt over pale stockings. She had on these cool boots that came to just above her knees. Her sweater was the color of butter, and it looked unbelievably soft. There were three pearl buttons at the collar. Stacey had left two of them unbuttoned. Her blonde hair was pulled into a French braid, and she was wearing what looked like real pearl earrings."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-salt-and-vinegar chips (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-hershey's kisses (n.s.)
-bite-size snickers (n.s.)
note: this is my first 5-star review for a bsc book read since [b:Claudia and the First Thanksgiving|371065|Claudia and the First Thanksgiving (The Baby-Sitters Club, #91)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387713856l/371065._SX50_.jpg|361032] which I read over a year ago.
in this book by ghostwriter [a:Nola Thacker|133114|Nola Thacker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], abby is crusading against romance. everyone at sms and in the bsc seems obsessed with romance, including abby’s classmate ross brown (who we know from being referenced as stacey’s crush in [b:Stacey’s Emergency|794933|Stacey's Emergency (The Baby-Sitters Club, #43)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387735085l/794933._SX50_.jpg|251850]). ross seems to have seen one too many movies and thinks that when girls show that they’re not interested in you it just means you have to act more rapey until they like you. but what’s worse is that all of abby’s friends think ross is such a nice guy and that abby is lucky such a nice guy likes her, so they keep trying to convince her to date him. he shows up at her house with roses (which, by the way, abby is allergic to) and compliments the music playing (which, by the way, is anna’s music). abby finds out that stacey has been helping ross woo her, and she is understandably PISSED. claud, stacey, mary anne, and jessi are all extremely condescending to abby, so finally abby fights back by implying that they only have boyfriends because they’re desperate. BOOM. abby tries to get ross to date anna instead but through a series of slightly unbelievable circumstances (“here anna, wear my shirt! oh no, my contacts tore, better put on my glasses!”) ross thinks abby is anna and vice versa. he gets along well with anna, though he thinks she’s abby, and he’s humiliated when he finds out he had the wrong twin. finally abby apologizes to ross and suggests he date anna, so he does. and the bsc make up and apologize to abby for being super acephobic. the subplot is that scout (from [b:Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer|558315|Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer (The Baby-Sitters Club, #118)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328835550l/558315._SX50_.jpg|545492]) has to go back to the guide dog foundation and andrew is upset because he’s come to think of her as his dog. he’s a huge brat about it, but it’s also a sad plotline.
highlights:
-in 2018, there aren’t enough stories about ace/aro teens. but in 1998, there were even fewer. though they never call it what it is, it’s incredibly powerful reading a book about a teen who just plain DOESN’T want to date, and everyone trying to convince her she’s wrong, and finally by the end they get it and leave her alone.
-valentine’s anecdote from abby's youth: she and anna bought their parents a box of valentine candy but it was abby's favorite candy so she ate the whole box before she could give it to them.
-erica blumberg won abby's best excuse for not doing homework award for telling the teacher her mom had composted it
-abby composes a sonnet in her head, "to valentine's day: how do I detest thee? let me count the ways." it’s basically the scene from 10 things I hate about you
-inspired by the scene in my so-called life (YES!) abby reads sonnet #130 to the class as a romance buzzkill
-there’s a fun babysitting chapter where they make wood davers and watch birds and talk about how it's bird tv. it's because andrew is being too much like strong sad:
-the bsc members keep pressuring abby to go to the dance with ross, and abby says she doesn't want to, so jessi says that maybe someone she likes will ask her. abby says that no matter who asks her she'll say no. I love abby so damn much.
-abby puts it so well: "I didn't ask ross to like me. so why does everyone act as if I did something wrong when I told him no?"
-kristy is the only one who doesn't pressure abby and who totally gets it. she didn't want to date bart but felt like she was supposed to (see [b:Kristy + Bart = ?|646461|Kristy + Bart = ? (The Baby-Sitters Club, #95)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387712240l/646461._SX50_.jpg|632608])
-kristy pretends to be a blind person who needs scout and talks about how she's going to give scout a good home because she's such a good dog, and says andrew has to let her go, and he does, and I actually cried at this part. poor andrew. he’s so little, and it’s kind of cruel that his parents put him in this situation and expected him to be okay with saying goodbye to scout.
-abby: "what part of 'no' does ross not understand?" jessi: "it's nice that someone likes you." abby: "no, it's not. not if you don't like him back." BOOM.
-abby and kristy go on valentines day to see a movie called pepperoni man (YES!). abby wins a box of valentines chocolates. the movie theater manager says "I hope you have someone special to share it with." abby says she does, and brings it back to kristy. maybe abby isn't aro actually and she and kristy can be ace together forever?
lowlights/nitpicks:
-abby says something about how claud's parents should be okay with her eating junk food, "as long as claud eats her vegetables and doesn't pork out." eeechhhh abby, we're in a fight now
-abby says that they moved to stoneybrook because their mom couldn't take the long commute on the LIRR. but depending on where they lived in long island, it might be closer than stoneybrook.
-how did ross get abby and anna confused when they have different length hair?
-maybe the ending is a little too neat. there’s a twin who does like ross. I personally wouldn’t want to date the guy who kept harassing my twin sister to date him. but it’s okay because I just want abby to be happy, and in the end she is.
claudia outfit:
-"Today she was dressed in ski-lodge mode. That meant a woolly sweater, long black tights with thick blue socks, and hiking boots. But these weren't just any hiking boots--they were tied with shiny silver shoelaces with little snowflakes on the ends. They'd also been decorated--by Claudia--with a motif of snow-capped mountains running along the outside of each boot. Claudia's sweater was blue, white, and gray with a snowflake-patterned yoke. It was enormous, stretching almost to her knees. Her hair was pulled back in a long braid. From one ear dangled a silver earring in the shape of a pair of crossed skis, and from the other hung a small silver polar bear."
stacey outfit:
-"Today she was wearing a short, dark brown leather skirt over pale stockings. She had on these cool boots that came to just above her knees. Her sweater was the color of butter, and it looked unbelievably soft. There were three pearl buttons at the collar. Stacey had left two of them unbuttoned. Her blonde hair was pulled into a French braid, and she was wearing what looked like real pearl earrings."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-salt-and-vinegar chips (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-hershey's kisses (n.s.)
-bite-size snickers (n.s.)
liannakiwi's review
3.0
(LL)
Eh, this was okay. Could have been done a lot better to get the same message across, which was decent in the end.
Eh, this was okay. Could have been done a lot better to get the same message across, which was decent in the end.