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A review by ssshira
Jessi and the Troublemaker by Ann M. Martin
5.0
in this book by ghostwriter [author:Nola Thacker|133114], danielle (the cancer survivor kid from [book:Jessi's Wish|776140]) is back, and she's wilder than ever! seriously though, she has boundless energy and is trying to make up for the time she spent dealing with cancer. she does some things that most kids wouldn't be able to get away with because everyone is just so happy that she's healthy. it's not until she literally crashes her parents car (she is nine) that everyone starts to take it more seriously. in a completely stupid but also hilarious subplot, jessi and becca think that their aunt cecilia is planning a surprise wedding to a guy named mr. major, and they prepare for it only to get horribly embarrassed to discover that cecilia and mr. major are just participating in someone else's wedding. in a subsubplot, stacey is flaking out on bsc responsibilities (foreshadowing [book:Stacey vs. the BSC|794905]).
highlights:
-claudia's race and ethnicity are never stated. nola thacker is the only ghostwriter who ever seems to not mention characters' races.
-aunt cecilia and mr. major plotline is kind of dumb but is mostly just delightful. I particularly like its resolution: jessi and becca decide that they will feel less embarrassed if they can get cecilia and mr. major to fall in love, so they make them a romantic dinner. but cecilia and mr. major talk about how they are good friends who met on the worst blind date ever, and they have no romantic interest in one another. it's really sweet.
-according to this book, silk suits in pastels are popular for brides at second weddings. I don't know if this is true but it's such a funny bsc book-style "factoid"
-it's cold and aunt cecilia tells mr. major he has to go home and jessi narrates, "what about having love to keep her warm, the way the songs all said."
-this jessi quote: "we'll probably never hear the end of this. you know how adults get sometimes."
-the robertses are apologetic for danielle's behavior. how fortunate that they knew it was their fault and didn't blame the babysitters.
-stacey saves the day, convincing danielle's friends to be friends with her again because they actually made bad decisions too. I like this because she's mostly getting depicted as a flaky jerk at this point, and I like a reminder that stacey is a layered person.
-danielle and friends trick or treat at a bsc meeting at the end of the book. it's very cute, and a good representation of how they will still be silly and wild but not do anything dangerous anymore.
lowlights:
-I have studied this cover so much, because danielle is clearly taller than jessi in it (though danielle is 9 and jessi is 11, which would make danielle being taller totally conceivable, but jessi is described as being tall w/ a ballerina's physique). also danielle's torso is CLEARLY on backwards.
-jessi narration: "and now the BSC has two associate members as well." literally BOTH logan and shannon joined before you and mal did, jessi.
-why does charlotte open the shower door that she and danielle and co had filled with water to make a swimming pool? it doesn't make sense. also how did the food colorings that they added to the water not just mix into a brownish mess?
danielle "accidents":
-uses rollerblades indoors
-"sleds" down the basement stairs on a crib mattress
-fills the shower with food coloring-colored water to make a shower swimming pool
-attempts to drive the car down the street but crashes, and vanessa pike hits her head on the windshield and gets stitches.
claudia outfit:
-"She doesn't often wear jeans, but she was wearing them today - only she'd cut patterns in the legs of the jeans (which were major faded) and was wearing leopard tights underneath so that they showed through. She was wearing her black Doc Martens with yellow shoelaces, and she'd used matching shoelaces to pull her hair back into a long, thick braid. Her earrings were a pair she made herself, out of little yellow feathers and black beads. And she was wearing a black and yellow striped flannel shirt buttoned up to her throat, with another pair of shoelaces made into a sort of bow tie."
squirt outfit (for the "wedding"):
-"I scooped Squirt up and put him in his best winter outfit: a white turtleneck shirt and a little navy jacket u that buttoned up the front, with a pair of matching navy elastic-waist baby pants."
in jessi's kid kit:
-puzzle (replaces a united states one with a butterfly one)
-book (replaces one about animal jobs with [book:Bea and Mr. Jones|1200830])
-office supplies: magic markers, pens, erasers, colored pencils, red white and blue paper clips, blunt scissors, tape, a memo pad, rubber bands, stickers, animal stamps, writing paper, and envelopes
in mary anne's kid kit:
-[book:Freckle Juice|37738]
snacks in claudia's room:
-chocolate chip cookies (n.s.)
-oatmeal raisin frookies (n.s.)
-mallomars (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-coconut cream puff (n.s.)
-oreos (n.s.)
-gummi worms (n.s.)
-hershey hugs and kisses (n.s.)
highlights:
-claudia's race and ethnicity are never stated. nola thacker is the only ghostwriter who ever seems to not mention characters' races.
-aunt cecilia and mr. major plotline is kind of dumb but is mostly just delightful. I particularly like its resolution: jessi and becca decide that they will feel less embarrassed if they can get cecilia and mr. major to fall in love, so they make them a romantic dinner. but cecilia and mr. major talk about how they are good friends who met on the worst blind date ever, and they have no romantic interest in one another. it's really sweet.
-according to this book, silk suits in pastels are popular for brides at second weddings. I don't know if this is true but it's such a funny bsc book-style "factoid"
-it's cold and aunt cecilia tells mr. major he has to go home and jessi narrates, "what about having love to keep her warm, the way the songs all said."
-this jessi quote: "we'll probably never hear the end of this. you know how adults get sometimes."
-the robertses are apologetic for danielle's behavior. how fortunate that they knew it was their fault and didn't blame the babysitters.
-stacey saves the day, convincing danielle's friends to be friends with her again because they actually made bad decisions too. I like this because she's mostly getting depicted as a flaky jerk at this point, and I like a reminder that stacey is a layered person.
-danielle and friends trick or treat at a bsc meeting at the end of the book. it's very cute, and a good representation of how they will still be silly and wild but not do anything dangerous anymore.
lowlights:
-I have studied this cover so much, because danielle is clearly taller than jessi in it (though danielle is 9 and jessi is 11, which would make danielle being taller totally conceivable, but jessi is described as being tall w/ a ballerina's physique). also danielle's torso is CLEARLY on backwards.
-jessi narration: "and now the BSC has two associate members as well." literally BOTH logan and shannon joined before you and mal did, jessi.
-why does charlotte open the shower door that she and danielle and co had filled with water to make a swimming pool? it doesn't make sense. also how did the food colorings that they added to the water not just mix into a brownish mess?
danielle "accidents":
-uses rollerblades indoors
-"sleds" down the basement stairs on a crib mattress
-fills the shower with food coloring-colored water to make a shower swimming pool
-attempts to drive the car down the street but crashes, and vanessa pike hits her head on the windshield and gets stitches.
claudia outfit:
-"She doesn't often wear jeans, but she was wearing them today - only she'd cut patterns in the legs of the jeans (which were major faded) and was wearing leopard tights underneath so that they showed through. She was wearing her black Doc Martens with yellow shoelaces, and she'd used matching shoelaces to pull her hair back into a long, thick braid. Her earrings were a pair she made herself, out of little yellow feathers and black beads. And she was wearing a black and yellow striped flannel shirt buttoned up to her throat, with another pair of shoelaces made into a sort of bow tie."
squirt outfit (for the "wedding"):
-"I scooped Squirt up and put him in his best winter outfit: a white turtleneck shirt and a little navy jacket u that buttoned up the front, with a pair of matching navy elastic-waist baby pants."
in jessi's kid kit:
-puzzle (replaces a united states one with a butterfly one)
-book (replaces one about animal jobs with [book:Bea and Mr. Jones|1200830])
-office supplies: magic markers, pens, erasers, colored pencils, red white and blue paper clips, blunt scissors, tape, a memo pad, rubber bands, stickers, animal stamps, writing paper, and envelopes
in mary anne's kid kit:
-[book:Freckle Juice|37738]
snacks in claudia's room:
-chocolate chip cookies (n.s.)
-oatmeal raisin frookies (n.s.)
-mallomars (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-coconut cream puff (n.s.)
-oreos (n.s.)
-gummi worms (n.s.)
-hershey hugs and kisses (n.s.)