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situationnormal's review
4.0
This could have been five stars if not for the ending. Delightfully creepy and anxiety inducing (at least as far as BSC books go) with a sad story to go with the mystery.
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.
lberestecki's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
finesilkflower's review
2.0
I read this book, but I don't remember much about it. Kristy and Charlie are driving Kristy's child baseball team home when they're stuck in a rainstorm and have to take refuse in a creepy old mansion. The opening, where they deal with the realities of trying to take care of kids in an abandoned house, is semi-realistic and kind of deeply scary on a practical level, but then they get involved in some dumb Scooby Doo type mystery. The longer they're stuck, the less believable it becomes.
sammah's review
3.0
In yet another thrilling mystery installment, these crazy kids go sticking their noses in places they don't belong! Perhaps to a lesser extent than usual, but still!
This one sees Kristy and Bart combining their little kids baseball teams to make the Krashers. Somehow, for some reason, Charlie is driving them all around in a van instead of having an adult do it. Clearly it's a plot device, but still. Come on.
A big storm kicks up after the game, and Charlie can barely see the road. They miss their turn, and take a different turn instead. The bridge ahead is washed out, and by the time they turn back so is the one they just crossed. So, naturally, they must spend the night in a big old mansion that they think might be haunted.
It isn't, of course, but they do find a *gasp* Mystery! The house is owned by a man named Will, whose fiance disappeared in the 40s on the even of their elopement. Turns out in the end she isn't dead, but is running the sewing store in Stoneybrook and she took off on purpose so she didn't have to rely on a man.
Badass, old woman! Badass!
This one sees Kristy and Bart combining their little kids baseball teams to make the Krashers. Somehow, for some reason, Charlie is driving them all around in a van instead of having an adult do it. Clearly it's a plot device, but still. Come on.
A big storm kicks up after the game, and Charlie can barely see the road. They miss their turn, and take a different turn instead. The bridge ahead is washed out, and by the time they turn back so is the one they just crossed. So, naturally, they must spend the night in a big old mansion that they think might be haunted.
It isn't, of course, but they do find a *gasp* Mystery! The house is owned by a man named Will, whose fiance disappeared in the 40s on the even of their elopement. Turns out in the end she isn't dead, but is running the sewing store in Stoneybrook and she took off on purpose so she didn't have to rely on a man.
Badass, old woman! Badass!
xtinamorse's review
Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/kristy-and-the-haunted-mansion
ssshira's review
4.0
this is my first time reading this book!
in this kinda great mystery by ghostwriter [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] the krashers (the krushers/bashers team introduced in [b:Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs|48909|Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #7)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389413521s/48909.jpg|979666]) are going home from an out-of-town softball game when the rain floods two bridges, trapping them. their only option is to seek help/sleep over at the huge empty mansion on the hill, which is cared for by a creepy old caretaker who lives in a cottage on the property. don't think I wasn't singing over at the frankenstein place while I was reading this. anyway, turns out there's a spoooooky mystery in the house. the young woman who lived there in the 1930s, dorothy, wanted to elope with her beloved, will. her dad did not approve. on the day of the secret elopement, though, she disappeared, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. so spooky. anyway, the krashers make it home safe and the mystery is solved (see highlights). the only subplot is that folks in stoneybrook are worried.
highlights:
-claud has a freshly tie-dyed shirt that she wears to babysit for jamie newton and in the rain the dye runs all over her. HAHA.
-the mystery resolution. this book is pretty straightforward, but I do like what ends up happening with the mystery. the bsc (and karen brewer) realize from seeing photos of dorothy that she is the same woman who is now running the sewing shop in town. they go and talk to her about trying to get her in touch with will again (after discovering that the creepy caretaker is in fact will, her beloved) and she says that she faked her death so that she could be free of her father AND her beloved, because she doesn't need no man. BOOM.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-why is charlie driving a van? whose van? it's never explained.
-why is karen one of the krashers, when there are older kids who are better at sports on the krushers (and the krashers are the all-stars). also I thought all of the bashers were boys (or at least they were described that way in [b:Kristy and the Walking Disaster|48912|Kristy and the Walking Disaster (The Baby-Sitters Club, #20)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388254433s/48912.jpg|527369]), so where did patty come from?
claudia outfit:
-"She was wearing white knee-length jeans shorts, white Keds, and a tie-dyed T-shirt she'd made the weekend before. It was a beautiful one, with spirals of yellow and green and purple, and she was proud of it. She was also wearing a pair of earrings she'd made from green glass she had found on the beach. The glass had been polished by the waves so it had no sharp edges, and Claud had hung two pieces in little silver cages that now dangled from her ears."
jackie disaster:
-plays with the drapes and pulls one down over him
no snacks in claudia's room.
in this kinda great mystery by ghostwriter [a:Ellen Miles|286072|Ellen Miles|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] the krashers (the krushers/bashers team introduced in [b:Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs|48909|Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #7)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389413521s/48909.jpg|979666]) are going home from an out-of-town softball game when the rain floods two bridges, trapping them. their only option is to seek help/sleep over at the huge empty mansion on the hill, which is cared for by a creepy old caretaker who lives in a cottage on the property. don't think I wasn't singing over at the frankenstein place while I was reading this. anyway, turns out there's a spoooooky mystery in the house. the young woman who lived there in the 1930s, dorothy, wanted to elope with her beloved, will. her dad did not approve. on the day of the secret elopement, though, she disappeared, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. so spooky. anyway, the krashers make it home safe and the mystery is solved (see highlights). the only subplot is that folks in stoneybrook are worried.
highlights:
-claud has a freshly tie-dyed shirt that she wears to babysit for jamie newton and in the rain the dye runs all over her. HAHA.
-the mystery resolution. this book is pretty straightforward, but I do like what ends up happening with the mystery. the bsc (and karen brewer) realize from seeing photos of dorothy that she is the same woman who is now running the sewing shop in town. they go and talk to her about trying to get her in touch with will again (after discovering that the creepy caretaker is in fact will, her beloved) and she says that she faked her death so that she could be free of her father AND her beloved, because she doesn't need no man. BOOM.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-why is charlie driving a van? whose van? it's never explained.
-why is karen one of the krashers, when there are older kids who are better at sports on the krushers (and the krashers are the all-stars). also I thought all of the bashers were boys (or at least they were described that way in [b:Kristy and the Walking Disaster|48912|Kristy and the Walking Disaster (The Baby-Sitters Club, #20)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388254433s/48912.jpg|527369]), so where did patty come from?
claudia outfit:
-"She was wearing white knee-length jeans shorts, white Keds, and a tie-dyed T-shirt she'd made the weekend before. It was a beautiful one, with spirals of yellow and green and purple, and she was proud of it. She was also wearing a pair of earrings she'd made from green glass she had found on the beach. The glass had been polished by the waves so it had no sharp edges, and Claud had hung two pieces in little silver cages that now dangled from her ears."
jackie disaster:
-plays with the drapes and pulls one down over him
no snacks in claudia's room.
liannakiwi's review
3.0
(LL)
There were some good suspenseful moments in here. The ending was a little ridiculous, but it was a decent story overall.
There were some good suspenseful moments in here. The ending was a little ridiculous, but it was a decent story overall.
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