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ssshira's review
1.0
in this second ever super mystery by ghostwriter [a:Nola Thacker|133114|Nola Thacker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], the babysitters are getting stalked--lots of calls and hangups, notes that say things like “you’re next” delivered via tigger the kitten’s collar or spray painted on kristy’s door, stacey almost getting run over by a sportscar, the trash cans outside claudia’s house getting set on fire, etc. they think it might be connected to an incident where kristy and abby saw some burglars break a window at the rodowskys’ next door neighbors’ house. they also suspect it might have something to do with karl tate, the guy who was smuggling dogs in [b:Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs|48909|Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #7)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389413521s/48909.jpg|979666], since they find a photo of the bsc from the local paper after they helped solve that case in the library’s copier machine, and it’s only the bsc members depicted in the photo who are getting harrassed. some of the babysitters (kristy, claud, stacey, and abby) go to shadow lake with kristy’s family for the skiing, and the harrassment gets worse: kristy’s ski poles are broken, they find blood outside the lodge, and someone blocks up the chimney so the house fills with smoke when they attempt to light the fireplace. it turns out that the stalker is karl tate’s SON, who is mad at them for helping to catch his father, who was STEALING NEIGHBORHOOD DOGS AND SELLING THEM TO OTHER PEOPLE. I mean, this guy definitely deserved to get caught. anyway, the burglary was really a red herring: the burglar was the son of the guy who owned the house who was stealing from his father just because he was in trouble and needed money. some subplots include claudia being jealous of abby’s talent at skiing, since she thinks of herself as the best skier (this actually has basis in reality--she was really into how good she was at skiing in [b:Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation|371080|Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation (The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, #3)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387711881s/371080.jpg|361047]), mary anne and logan each respectively receiving mean and creepy notes in each other’s handwriting, and mal transferring information about the previous mysteries into a new mystery notebook, at the expense of being a good babysitter. this book is a piece of work (not in a good way) and feels like a frankenstein’s monster of a book, with lots of pieces all jumbled together and none really well fleshed-out. don’t bother.
highlights:
-there's a guy at the lodge at shadow lake who is described as having an eyepatch and a mean expression which makes him look sinister. wait, for real? really, nora thacker, you’re gonna go this route? one of the suspects will be a man who has an EYEPATCH and a MEAN EXPRESSION and therefore looks SINISTER. I know this sounds like it should be in lowlights/nitpicks based on my reaction, but I was straight up laughing out loud and the unnuanced writing here. it’s like those neighborhood watch signs that have a guy with a hat and trenchcoat:
-there’s skiing-related sabotage that happens, which will always remind me of the jem and the holograms episode.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the biggest problem of the whole book is that the karl tate plotline comes back. disappearing dogs was already a really, really crappy mystery. it’s like when frank grimes’s son comes back. I already hated frank grimes and found his whole episode infuriating, so why would I care about his son? these are the kinds of things that happen when a series becomes too self-referential because the writers have run out of original ideas.
-the mary anne subplot where she finds mean notes in logan's handwriting (and he finds mean notes in her handwriting) and they NEVER TALK ABOUT IT. they just stew privately and resent each other, but they NEVER TALK. and it’s like...well, I guess they’re made for each other, because neither of them is remotely equipped to have any kind of healthy relationship.
-becca ramsey has been seeing a man with a blue tattoo around town and the bsc entertains the idea that he might be the stalker. what a miserably small old fashioned town you must live in if you've been noticing a man with a blue tattoo around and it’s notable enough to talk about.
-there’s a reference to jackie and shea calling cookies "edible slammers" which (according to mallory) is a reference to "their pogs and slammers games." first off, mallory is 11 and it’s 1995, which means she's almost exactly my age and therefore should know that they're not called "pogs and slammers games" but the game itself is just called pogs. secondly, by 1995 nobody was playing with them anymore. a classic case of ghostwriters trying to be hip by referencing a trend that had already fallen out of vogue.
-mal is working too intensely on the mystery notebook and pays no attention to babysitting, and jessi has to have a talk with her about it. it's kind of obnoxious.
-the bsc members that aren't at shadow lake meet at shannon's house. why? she lives far from all of the others (on the same block as kristy and abby, who are both at shadow lake). all the other bsc members live walking distance from each other.
-back in stoneybrook the other bsc members get stuck in karl tate's house when following astrid, shannon's dog, who chases a cat through the cat door. she is a fully-grown BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOG and she runs through a cat door. none of the kids can fit through it but astrid can. has nora thacker ever seen a bernese before? trust me, they can’t fit through cat doors. most of them are bigger than eighth-graders.
-stacey's insulin is stolen but it's okay because she has extra in her backpack. huh? does she have a perpetual ice pack in there too? because insulin doesn't work well if you don't keep it refrigerated.
-woodie (karl tate’s kid) falls down a snowbank, through ice, and into the freezing shadow lake. at night. during a blizzard. and yet the police manage to get there in time and save him before he dies. I just don’t buy it.
claud oufit:
-'Claudia...was wearing leggings, too--purple ones--with black Doc Martens, red slouch socks, black bicycle shorts over the leggings, a big T-shirt with the words "This Might Be Art" scrawled on it in purple (I knew she'd made it herself), and an old black suit jacket of her father's, with the sleeves rolled up...Claudia's earrings were purple feathers (she made those herself, too).'
stacey outfit:
-"Stacey...wore black leggings with cowboy boots, an oversized turtleneck sweater, and this cool black suede vest with pearl buttons...Stacey had gone for your basic gold earrings."
jackie disasters:
-while sweeping, knocks over a chair, which hits the trashcan, which tips over and spills garbage in addition to hitting bo the dog's food and water dishes and spilling their contents everywhere
-cuts mallory off, opens the oven door, and then slams it shut, knocking a pot off the stove onto mallory's foot
-slams the door on his cookie and it falls to the floor in crumbs
snacks in claudia’s room:
-assorted halloween candy (n.s.)
-chips (n.s.)
-dove chocolate bar (n.s.)
highlights:
-there's a guy at the lodge at shadow lake who is described as having an eyepatch and a mean expression which makes him look sinister. wait, for real? really, nora thacker, you’re gonna go this route? one of the suspects will be a man who has an EYEPATCH and a MEAN EXPRESSION and therefore looks SINISTER. I know this sounds like it should be in lowlights/nitpicks based on my reaction, but I was straight up laughing out loud and the unnuanced writing here. it’s like those neighborhood watch signs that have a guy with a hat and trenchcoat:
-there’s skiing-related sabotage that happens, which will always remind me of the jem and the holograms episode.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the biggest problem of the whole book is that the karl tate plotline comes back. disappearing dogs was already a really, really crappy mystery. it’s like when frank grimes’s son comes back. I already hated frank grimes and found his whole episode infuriating, so why would I care about his son? these are the kinds of things that happen when a series becomes too self-referential because the writers have run out of original ideas.
-the mary anne subplot where she finds mean notes in logan's handwriting (and he finds mean notes in her handwriting) and they NEVER TALK ABOUT IT. they just stew privately and resent each other, but they NEVER TALK. and it’s like...well, I guess they’re made for each other, because neither of them is remotely equipped to have any kind of healthy relationship.
-becca ramsey has been seeing a man with a blue tattoo around town and the bsc entertains the idea that he might be the stalker. what a miserably small old fashioned town you must live in if you've been noticing a man with a blue tattoo around and it’s notable enough to talk about.
-there’s a reference to jackie and shea calling cookies "edible slammers" which (according to mallory) is a reference to "their pogs and slammers games." first off, mallory is 11 and it’s 1995, which means she's almost exactly my age and therefore should know that they're not called "pogs and slammers games" but the game itself is just called pogs. secondly, by 1995 nobody was playing with them anymore. a classic case of ghostwriters trying to be hip by referencing a trend that had already fallen out of vogue.
-mal is working too intensely on the mystery notebook and pays no attention to babysitting, and jessi has to have a talk with her about it. it's kind of obnoxious.
-the bsc members that aren't at shadow lake meet at shannon's house. why? she lives far from all of the others (on the same block as kristy and abby, who are both at shadow lake). all the other bsc members live walking distance from each other.
-back in stoneybrook the other bsc members get stuck in karl tate's house when following astrid, shannon's dog, who chases a cat through the cat door. she is a fully-grown BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOG and she runs through a cat door. none of the kids can fit through it but astrid can. has nora thacker ever seen a bernese before? trust me, they can’t fit through cat doors. most of them are bigger than eighth-graders.
-stacey's insulin is stolen but it's okay because she has extra in her backpack. huh? does she have a perpetual ice pack in there too? because insulin doesn't work well if you don't keep it refrigerated.
-woodie (karl tate’s kid) falls down a snowbank, through ice, and into the freezing shadow lake. at night. during a blizzard. and yet the police manage to get there in time and save him before he dies. I just don’t buy it.
claud oufit:
-'Claudia...was wearing leggings, too--purple ones--with black Doc Martens, red slouch socks, black bicycle shorts over the leggings, a big T-shirt with the words "This Might Be Art" scrawled on it in purple (I knew she'd made it herself), and an old black suit jacket of her father's, with the sleeves rolled up...Claudia's earrings were purple feathers (she made those herself, too).'
stacey outfit:
-"Stacey...wore black leggings with cowboy boots, an oversized turtleneck sweater, and this cool black suede vest with pearl buttons...Stacey had gone for your basic gold earrings."
jackie disasters:
-while sweeping, knocks over a chair, which hits the trashcan, which tips over and spills garbage in addition to hitting bo the dog's food and water dishes and spilling their contents everywhere
-cuts mallory off, opens the oven door, and then slams it shut, knocking a pot off the stove onto mallory's foot
-slams the door on his cookie and it falls to the floor in crumbs
snacks in claudia’s room:
-assorted halloween candy (n.s.)
-chips (n.s.)
-dove chocolate bar (n.s.)
liannakiwi's review
2.0
(LL)
Yeah, half of this stuff just wouldn’t happen. It was suspenseful at times, but the unrealistic things going on took me out of the story too often.
Yeah, half of this stuff just wouldn’t happen. It was suspenseful at times, but the unrealistic things going on took me out of the story too often.
leighannsherwin's review
5.0
Well this was different. A much darker scarier book that if I had read when younger probably would've kept me up all night. But I know I didn't read this book before because Abby is in it and I stopped the BSC books long before she arrived. So while the first super mystery took place in the summer, this was in late fall early winter. Kristy is praying for snow, she and her family, as well as Claudia, Stacey and Abby are heading to Watson's cabin at Shadow Lake and she wants to ski. But before they leave, they witness a burglary which starts off something more sinister although the actual burglary mystery has nothing really to do with them and the events hat affect the club. Soon other things happen, a rock thrown through a window, a fire in garbage can outside Claudia's, phone calls, notes attached to cat collars and someone is playing Mary Anne and Logan against each other by leaving notes in their lockers. Then they head out to Shadow Lake and it gets really dark, a malfunctioning chair lift, signs to danger ski trails go missing, it seems someone is truly out to get the girls and it seems it could be linked to a previous case. Then the wished for snow arrives at the worst time, the power goes off, the phone lines go dead and with the adults and younger children in town it seems that the stalker is about to make their move. This was a darker spookier story. It had some light hearted and annoying moments. Claudia being a whiny brat about Abby being a better skier, Mallory whining about insulation, Abby and her ridiculous puns and sense of humour. Most annoyingly we never really did find out about the notes between Mary Anne and Logan, it's hinted at but never really confirmed. Overall it was a good story, the only down side the one case unsolved. But a quick read and a darker twisted spin on a beloved series.
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