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sarahhyatt's review
This whole series was such a weird attempt to continue the BSC while actively distancing the BSC from all things babysitting. Including comments in the actual text about how unimportant it was. "I'm in this club for babysitting, BUT THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT." And then the text would be peppered with the expected Chapter Two BSC member descriptions, as if they just couldn't be left out completely, even if they weren't needed.
Also, disappointingly, no one was kidnapped.
Also, disappointingly, no one was kidnapped.
hyattsarah's review
This whole series was such a weird attempt to continue the BSC while actively distancing the BSC from all things babysitting. Including comments in the actual text about how unimportant it was. "I'm in this club for babysitting, BUT THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT." And then the text would be peppered with the expected Chapter Two BSC member descriptions, as if they just couldn't be left out completely, even if they weren't needed.
Also, disappointingly, no one was kidnapped.
Also, disappointingly, no one was kidnapped.
finesilkflower's review
3.0
Kristy, Abby, and a group of other SMS students who’ve formed a hasty debate club head to Washington, D.C. to participate in a national competition. There, Kristy is teamed with two boys, Kai and David, the latter of whom seems Shady and Shifty. One night, Kristy and David are attacked and a man grabs David and runs off. Kristy calls for security and foils the kidnapping attempt. David explains that his father is a Secret Service agent who has many enemies. David and Kristy are assigned bodyguards. Kristy kind of likes hers, but David tries to shake his, because he is so sick of this bullshit, even though there is a GUY ACTIVELY AFTER HIM. Kids’ books sometimes write themselves into corners with big adult adventure plotlines: resolutions are either narratively unsatisfying (the adults resolve everything offscreen!) or ludicrous (the Secret Service is stumped, but these random schoolkids solved everything!) This book sort of splits the difference, having the bad guy make the insanely poorly-thought-out move of trying to abduct David DURING A DEBATE MEET IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE. Kristy is the first to notice, scream, and push David back behind the stage. So I guess she gets to do something. David’s dad apprehends the dude.
This is a deeply weird story for the BSC series. There’s no baby-sitting, which is standard for FF, but there’s not really any “Friends Forever”: Kristy is the only BSC member in the book. She does have friendship lessons with ex-member Abby, so I guess that’s why it counts.
But for some reason I really overall enjoyed this book. I liked all the details about debate procedure. It’s a perfect activity for Kristy. It made you want to join debate team, which I guess was the point. I also liked the comparatively low-stakes subplots. Kristy and Abby, assigned to different teams, get overly competitive and keep arguing their opposing sides in their off-time, even though both of them were assigned to a side they didn’t actually believe. I even liked the dopey runner about the ditzy third SMS girl who apparently only came to the con to meet up with her long-distance boyfriend, but who busts out an alarmingly good performance in “Extemporaneous Speaking,” shocking Kristy and Abby, who assumed that anyone interested in boys must be an idiot.
Lingering Questions: Leaving aside the various plot holes in the David situation, I do wonder what kind of national debate tournament would accept such a Mickey Mouse team. Also, don’t teams usually work together against each other in these things, rather than getting shaken up onto new teams for con purposes only? I guess it’s not so much a competition as a friendly convention where all the kids get to beef up their skills and meet new people, even though there are trophies and stuff. (Who gets to keep the team trophy when all the kids go back to their respective schools across the country?) I also wonder how Kristy and Abby, in their close-knit little SMS team, managed to avoid ever seeing Melissa perform.
Timing: No specific temporal markers, although I would imagine a competition like this comes in the spring.
Revised Timeline: Spring of third academic year post-grad. In my mind, I’m updating this to a BUSINESS CON! Replace all the debate stuff with Powerpoints about starting a small business. Kristy is, of course, a presenter and success story.
This is a deeply weird story for the BSC series. There’s no baby-sitting, which is standard for FF, but there’s not really any “Friends Forever”: Kristy is the only BSC member in the book. She does have friendship lessons with ex-member Abby, so I guess that’s why it counts.
But for some reason I really overall enjoyed this book. I liked all the details about debate procedure. It’s a perfect activity for Kristy. It made you want to join debate team, which I guess was the point. I also liked the comparatively low-stakes subplots. Kristy and Abby, assigned to different teams, get overly competitive and keep arguing their opposing sides in their off-time, even though both of them were assigned to a side they didn’t actually believe. I even liked the dopey runner about the ditzy third SMS girl who apparently only came to the con to meet up with her long-distance boyfriend, but who busts out an alarmingly good performance in “Extemporaneous Speaking,” shocking Kristy and Abby, who assumed that anyone interested in boys must be an idiot.
Lingering Questions: Leaving aside the various plot holes in the David situation, I do wonder what kind of national debate tournament would accept such a Mickey Mouse team. Also, don’t teams usually work together against each other in these things, rather than getting shaken up onto new teams for con purposes only? I guess it’s not so much a competition as a friendly convention where all the kids get to beef up their skills and meet new people, even though there are trophies and stuff. (Who gets to keep the team trophy when all the kids go back to their respective schools across the country?) I also wonder how Kristy and Abby, in their close-knit little SMS team, managed to avoid ever seeing Melissa perform.
Timing: No specific temporal markers, although I would imagine a competition like this comes in the spring.
Revised Timeline: Spring of third academic year post-grad. In my mind, I’m updating this to a BUSINESS CON! Replace all the debate stuff with Powerpoints about starting a small business. Kristy is, of course, a presenter and success story.
td1's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sammah's review
3.0
I hadn't read many of the Friends Forever books, but I picked this one up at a book sale yesterday and decided why not! I had only read the first one and then just...stopped. I don't know why, but there's no time like the present to fill in the holes!
From what I have read and know about this continuation series, a lot of the plot lines were centered more about the characters personal lives, romances, and things of that sort. This one, however, seems very convoluted and way out there (a lot like some of the plots in the original series). Kidnapping? Secret service agents?
Oh, BSC. Don't ever, ever change you beautiful garbage angel! I will love you forever.
From what I have read and know about this continuation series, a lot of the plot lines were centered more about the characters personal lives, romances, and things of that sort. This one, however, seems very convoluted and way out there (a lot like some of the plots in the original series). Kidnapping? Secret service agents?
Oh, BSC. Don't ever, ever change you beautiful garbage angel! I will love you forever.
ssshira's review
3.0
this is my first time reading this book.
in this book by ghostwriter [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], kristy and abby go to dc for a debate convention along with a few other sms students, including melissa banks (see [b:Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby|48941|Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby (The Baby-Sitters Club, #97)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387740812l/48941._SX50_.jpg|38193]). kristy recognizes one of the dc-based competitors as terry hoyt (see [b:Stacey and the Mystery Money|371053|Stacey and the Mystery Money (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #10)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389413513l/371053._SX50_.jpg|361020]), but his name is now david hawthorne and he’s super avoidant when kristy asks him questions. david ends up on kristy’s debate team, and their assignment is to debate that cats are better pets than dogs. they all like dogs better, so they bemoan their bad luck, but set to work and have great chemistry as a debate team. then one day, david almost gets kidnapped by a man who has been following them, and david explains that his dad has put a lot of people behind bars in his former life as a secret service guy, and the man who tried to kidnap him is probably trying to get revenge. like max cady but it’s a kids’ book so without the whole being a rapist thing. kristy and david are able to identify the attempted kidnapper based on photos that david’s dad shows them, and they have secret service agents tailing them for the rest of the debate convention. that plotline is resolved when the attempted kidnapper comes to the final debate competition and david’s dad and a secret service guy catch him. meanwhile, kristy and abby have been constantly debating cats vs. dogs and have become butthurt about it. when they are forced to actually debate one another in the final, they make it really personal, and the judges call them out for being unprofessional about it, but kristy’s team wins (mostly because kai was the best debater). the most charming plotline involves melissa, who kristy and abby think of as a bad debater because she’s wishy washy in her personal conversations. she runs into a boy she dated from camp named lucas, and they spend the whole trip being lovey-dovey. when it turns out melissa will have to debate lucas, kristy and abby are convinced that she will throw the competition to help lucas win. but of course she doesn’t, she wins because she is an amazing debater, and kristy and abby are both just jerks who think being strong-willed and argumentative automatically makes you a good debater.
highlights:
-classic kristy quote: "I am president of the BSC, since the club was my idea. not that it's important. just thought I'd mention it."
-kristy notes that boys in her debate class crack up at the word rebuttal. me too, boys. it’s a funny word.
-kristy has a dream she's debating bart simpson who keeps telling her to not have a cow, man
-kristy describes an english guy as having "very good diction. (that's when you pronounce all your words carefully and correctly.)" lol thanks for the lesson in what diction means kristy
-I love when melissa owns lucas in the debate after kristy and abby had thought she was going to throw the debate.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-abby says something about going "stark, raving mad." does this mean naked AND raving mad?
-kristy and abby are really mean girl-ish to melissa. they keep nitpicking everything she says and question whether she’s even a good debater.
-kristy quote: "of course, everyone knows dogs make better pets." SURE THEY DO KRISTY. as an unequivocal cat person, I know that there’s no reason to firmly believe that either makes a better pet, because it varies from person to person and animal to animal. some dogs are better pets than some cats, and vice versa.
- there’s a reference to the dj playing "dorky music from the eighties" but first off, these books started in the 80s, and secondly, I feel like 80s music was really cool around 2000
-at one point the agents can't find david and kristy thinks he's been kidnapped but really he's just irresponsibly hanging out avoiding secret service. gross.
-kristy and abby being weirdly defensive in the debate because they make it personal. I mean, I buy this plotline for them, but it’s just uncomfortable to read.
list of "slang" or "rude" words used as examples for alternate scrabble:
-butt
-snot
-fart
-nerd
no outfits. no snacks in claudia’s room.
in this book by ghostwriter [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], kristy and abby go to dc for a debate convention along with a few other sms students, including melissa banks (see [b:Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby|48941|Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby (The Baby-Sitters Club, #97)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387740812l/48941._SX50_.jpg|38193]). kristy recognizes one of the dc-based competitors as terry hoyt (see [b:Stacey and the Mystery Money|371053|Stacey and the Mystery Money (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #10)|Ann M. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389413513l/371053._SX50_.jpg|361020]), but his name is now david hawthorne and he’s super avoidant when kristy asks him questions. david ends up on kristy’s debate team, and their assignment is to debate that cats are better pets than dogs. they all like dogs better, so they bemoan their bad luck, but set to work and have great chemistry as a debate team. then one day, david almost gets kidnapped by a man who has been following them, and david explains that his dad has put a lot of people behind bars in his former life as a secret service guy, and the man who tried to kidnap him is probably trying to get revenge. like max cady but it’s a kids’ book so without the whole being a rapist thing. kristy and david are able to identify the attempted kidnapper based on photos that david’s dad shows them, and they have secret service agents tailing them for the rest of the debate convention. that plotline is resolved when the attempted kidnapper comes to the final debate competition and david’s dad and a secret service guy catch him. meanwhile, kristy and abby have been constantly debating cats vs. dogs and have become butthurt about it. when they are forced to actually debate one another in the final, they make it really personal, and the judges call them out for being unprofessional about it, but kristy’s team wins (mostly because kai was the best debater). the most charming plotline involves melissa, who kristy and abby think of as a bad debater because she’s wishy washy in her personal conversations. she runs into a boy she dated from camp named lucas, and they spend the whole trip being lovey-dovey. when it turns out melissa will have to debate lucas, kristy and abby are convinced that she will throw the competition to help lucas win. but of course she doesn’t, she wins because she is an amazing debater, and kristy and abby are both just jerks who think being strong-willed and argumentative automatically makes you a good debater.
highlights:
-classic kristy quote: "I am president of the BSC, since the club was my idea. not that it's important. just thought I'd mention it."
-kristy notes that boys in her debate class crack up at the word rebuttal. me too, boys. it’s a funny word.
-kristy has a dream she's debating bart simpson who keeps telling her to not have a cow, man
-kristy describes an english guy as having "very good diction. (that's when you pronounce all your words carefully and correctly.)" lol thanks for the lesson in what diction means kristy
-I love when melissa owns lucas in the debate after kristy and abby had thought she was going to throw the debate.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-abby says something about going "stark, raving mad." does this mean naked AND raving mad?
-kristy and abby are really mean girl-ish to melissa. they keep nitpicking everything she says and question whether she’s even a good debater.
-kristy quote: "of course, everyone knows dogs make better pets." SURE THEY DO KRISTY. as an unequivocal cat person, I know that there’s no reason to firmly believe that either makes a better pet, because it varies from person to person and animal to animal. some dogs are better pets than some cats, and vice versa.
- there’s a reference to the dj playing "dorky music from the eighties" but first off, these books started in the 80s, and secondly, I feel like 80s music was really cool around 2000
-at one point the agents can't find david and kristy thinks he's been kidnapped but really he's just irresponsibly hanging out avoiding secret service. gross.
-kristy and abby being weirdly defensive in the debate because they make it personal. I mean, I buy this plotline for them, but it’s just uncomfortable to read.
list of "slang" or "rude" words used as examples for alternate scrabble:
-butt
-snot
-fart
-nerd
no outfits. no snacks in claudia’s room.
sidhe's review
2.0
Couldn't get into it. I've never liked the BSC mysteries very much and this one was no exception. I might try it again later.
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