the best thing about this book is i finished it. the later you get into the super specials, as well as the regular series, you can tell that the author is having to come up with wild ideas and just... 8% of this book is plausible. y’all went to london and france and i was bored the whole time!! bsc-reread middle-grade4 s FIND ME ON STORYGRAPH448 99

this is my first time reading this book!
in this FINAL MAIN SERIES SUPER SPECIAL (I’m so close to the end of these books! aaaahhh!) by ghostwriter Peter Lerangis, some of the babysitters go on the sms-hosted trip to london and paris, while the others stay in stoneybrook to work at the playground camp referenced in Mary Anne and the Playground Fight. the framing device for the book is that jessi is making a travel journal for mary anne, dawn, and claudia, since they’re stuck in stoneybrook. don’t ask me why mary anne, dawn, and claudia narrate chapters in the travel journal, but whatevs. see the narrator character plotlines before (all bsc members, with one chapter narrated by stacey’s ex boyfriend robert).

character plotlines:
stacey: accidentally took the wrong luggage at the airport and finds that the luggage she took has cremains in it. she can’t decide whether she’s more horrified by the cremains or by having to wear clothes she borrows from other people. turns out the cremains belong to a wwii veteran whose friend was going to scatter them on the beach at normandy, because they were in d day together. stacey helps him out and has a meaningful experience thinking about veterans and how tough they’ve had it.
mal: hangs out with her english cousin gillian who is a writer. finds out she's a descendant of shakespeare due to gillian’s family tree and spends the rest of the book writing (a very mal plotline)
kristy: has a will-they, won't-they thing with a canadian boy, michel. they end up getting lost from their group in paris and spend an afternoon together and bicker so much until they finally kiss.
jessi: goes to see david brailsford’s dance team (from Jessi's Big Break) perform in london. one of their dancers sprains her ankle and the understudy has food poisoning. conveniently enough, they're doing a dance that jessi knows, so they ask her to step in and she does well. see lowlights for my thoughts on this.
abby: victoria kent is supposed to present flowers to the queen and asks abby to stand with her for it. then she steps on the prince's shoe and a photo is taken of it and published in local papers.
robert: jacqui is still obsessed with him (as she has been in Stacey and the Stolen Hearts and Stacey’s Ex-Boyfriend) and being grossly flirty ("we don't have to tell stacey, you know." "about what?" "you know. about us!" ewwwww!) but robert finally is a jerk to her and she backs off.
claudia: (in stoneybrook) works at playground camp. janine works there too and is super controlling towards her. turns out it's because her ex boyfriend jerry, who is also working there, is being a jerk to her, so she bottles up her grumpy feelings and unleashes them unintentionally on claudia. finally, egged on by claud, she stands up to jerry.
dawn: (in stoneybrook) works at playground camp. one day she subs at sunshine gang, a camp for kids with developmental and intellectual disabilities. susan (from Kristy and the Secret of Susan) is there and has a temple grandin hug machine which freaks dawn out. they don't say temple grandin's name but they reference her specifically.
mary anne: (in stoneybrook) works at playground camp. cokie is bad at her job and mary anne has to pick up the slack. that’s basically it.

highlights:
-alan gray gets stopped by security at the airport for acting suspicious on purpose. this is so pre-9/11. , post 9/11 he would've been detained for so long as to miss the flight and maybe would’ve still been arrested. but also it’s so alan gray and he’s just so precious.
-they're on a trip with a canadian school: zehava berger junior high. they don’t explicitly stay that it’s a jewish day school, but do they even have to? I go to ???? ???? ????? ??????
-the stoneybrook kids say something about how they do things in america and michel says that canada is part of america too and that they live in a country called the united states. BOOM. nobody ever addresses this in anything, but it needs to be addressed. the country is the united states of america. the americas include many countries. it’s super ethnocentric to call the united states "america" when it’s just not.
-when writing my rant below about jessi’s ridiculous coincidental luck, I realized something. one of the dancers sprains her ankle and another has food poisoning. is there any chance jessi gave the understudy some expired tapioca and told the dancer the nearest bathroom was just past the extremely slippery, recently waxed hallway? COULD JESSI HAVE ORCHESTRATED HER OWN DEBUT BY SABOTAGING OTHER DANCERS? she has way more ambition than, , anyone else in any of these books, so I definitely buy it. now I’m rethinking the conclusion of Jessi and the Dance School Phantom...

lowlights/nitpicks:
-the biggest problem with the book is how preposterous and coincidental everything is. it’s when I’m talking about how jem and the holograms is a fantasy show and it has nothing to do with the fact that jerrica has magical earrings that turn her into the truly outrageous hologram jem, but actually it’s just that jem wins the freakin’ indy 500 the first and only time she ever tries to compete in it, without ever practicing or anything. and how she gets nominated for best actress at the academy awards even though she’s never acted before and is in a crappy cheesy movie. this book is jem and the holograms, but not in a charming way. jessi conveniently is in the right place at the right time so that when one of the dancers gets hurt and the understudy has food poisoning, jessi gets asked to step in last-minute. and she does so, and she does well? SERIOUSLY? that kind of crap doesn’t happen in real life. abby wants to meet the queen and then coincidentally is asked to come to an event where she will see the queen by a princess that she knows for no real reason other than she happened to live in her podunk connecticut town for a while? HUH? stacey grabs the wrong luggage and it has FREAKIN CREMAINS IN IT? NO WAY, DUDE.
-jessi says abfab (absolutely fabulous) is british slang for a good thing. is it actually? I’m pretty just it’s just slang for patsy and edina getting sloshed and acting this:

-stacey makes a fawlty towers reference. really? even for someone as "cultured" as she, I just can’t imagine a 13-year-old in 1998 making a fawlty towers reference.
-the chaperones from sms are stacey's mom and an english teacher, mr. dougherty. that's too few if you ask me, but whatever. anyway, dougherty is flighty and keeps wandering off and waxing poetic and is just the worst. it’s frustrating to read, and nothing really comes of it. poor mrs. mcgill.
-in london they go to see shenandoah, the musical. but it's about the us civil war. I don't think it ever ran in london, and I can’t imagine it ever would.
-shakespeare is nobody's great-grandparent! he had one grandchild who never had kids. so the whole mal plotline is impossible.
-they see a portrait of susanna hall (shakespeare's daughter) and she looks just gillian (mal's cousin). really? even if she were susanne hall’s great great great (etc) granddaughter (which I’ve already told you is impossible) then it would be weird for them to look exactly a. unless they only ever married their siblings, in which case I guess they would look the same but mal would probably have extra fingers or something.
-abby: "(the queen) was escorted by a guy I recognized. Prince Something. I forget. He's been on the news." really? she recognizes the prince, but she doesn’t know his name? looking at the photo, he looks to be the generation of charles, andrew, and edward, but doesn't look anything them. here’s the photo:
2016-bsc-challenge3 s Samantha Ania497 29

Well, I did it. I read all the BSC Super Specials. On to the Super Mysteries, I think.

It was okay. Not exactly what I was expecting from the last one. would--to-own2 s Kayla260 6

They sure travel a lot, don't they?2 s CiaraAuthor 3 books367

the last of the super specials! the end is in sight! though it's kind of amazing that they managed to make a trip to london & france so boring.

picking up where mary anne & the playground fight left off, some of the babyistters are preparing for their school trip to europe, while the others are staying in stoneybrook to work on the playground play group thing. kristy, abby, stacey, mallory, & jessi are going to europe. mary anne, claudia, dawn, & logan are staying put.

let's get the playground shit out of the way first. claudia is upset because one of the counselors had to drop out, & the head counselor, janine's ex-boyfriend jerry, drafted janine to take her place. for some reason, claudia doesn't think janine will be a good counselor & she is worried that janine will spend all summer bossing her around. which is pretty much exactly what happens. jerry makes some joke about janine giving claudia preferential treatment, so janine starts coming down a ton of bricks on claudia for all kinds of stupid shit, having the kids do papier mache projects. finally claudia confronts janine, & janine says that she's been hard on claudia because jerry is being hard on her. claudia thought jerry chose janine to be a counselor in an effort to woo her back into a relationship, but he's actually been a real dick to her. when janine organized some math & science games for campers, jerry made fun of her & told her it was an inappropriate activity for kids, even though a lot of the kids were having fun. janine confronts jerry & he backs down, & then janine is nicer to claudia. it's...kind of confusing, really.

cokie mason was also selected as a counselor, apparently because her parents are friends with someone on the parks & rec board, which is overseeing the playground camp. cokie predictably sucks as a counselor & spends most of the summer flirting with logan, much to the consternation of both logan & mary anne. i've said it before, but i'll say it again: it really bothers me that we are supposed to believe that cokie has a crush on logan when mary anne & the bad luck mystery was all about cokie interfering in their relationship because her best friend, grace, had a crush on logan. the babysitters are always referring to the bad luck mystery plot as evidence that cokie once tried to break up logan & mary anne so she could steal logan for herself, & that's not what happened at all! i guess cokie makes a better villain than grace? i don't know. anyway, eventually cokie cottons on to the fact that logan isn't interested, & she quite playground camp.

janine was supposed to be a counselor for a special camp for special needs kids. they hired someone else when janine left to do the playground camp. one day their counselor is absent, so dawn is sent in her stead. she watches susan felder (from kristy & the secret of susan) play piano & get a hug from a hug machine. it couldn't be more boring. i also have to question the wisdom of stuffing a bunch of kids into a special camp just because they have various disabilities. there are autistic kids, kids with down's syndrome, kids with muscular dystrophy--a huge variety of kids with different needs & different abilities. seems kind of insensitive & ignorant about the realities of disability.

in europe, the stoneybrook kids are touring with kids from another middle school in canada. kristy meets a kid named michel & decides she hates him. they are constantly teasing each other & annoying each other. at one point, they get separated from their tour group in paris & have to go off on their own. it's the "plan B" the schools have set up--if anyone is separated from the group, they'll fly solo & meet back up with everyone at the eiffel tower at 5pm. because allowing two 13-year-olds wander around paris on their own for five hours is totally safe. kristy tries to strike out on her own, but fails because she doesn't speak french. michel does. so they stick together & realize they each other. as in, they LIKE each other. at the end of the trip. michel visits kristy in her hotel room (in what world would that be allowed? i guess a world in which teenagers have only smooth areas instead of genitalia) & they kiss.

we are supposed to believe that abby has a special relationship with victoria kent, even though they only got to know each other at the party victoria threw right before she went back to england. the babysitters visit victoria's house & victoria invites abby to accompany her to a special reception at which victoria will present flowers to the queen. abby does so--she has been really pumped about the possibility of meeting the queen since she found out she was going to london. because, you know, that happens. random americans go on vacation & meet the queen all the time! christ. anyway, abby does not meet the queen, but she does accidentally step on the foot of a prince. she really wants a photo of the incident...because a photo of you stepping on someone's foot is going to be really fascinating? it's dumb.

stacey accidentally takes the wrong bag at the airport. the bag she grabbed is full of old man's clothes & an urn containing human cremains. mrs. mcgill (who is a chaperone for the trip) gets in touch with the old man, who asks stacey to bring his bag to him in paris. he explains that he's a world war two vet & the cremains are those of an old army buddy who recently died & wanted his ashes to be scattered at normandy, where they stormed the beach during the war. stacey is all grossed out until she visits a wartime museum in london. suddenly the war seems more real to her & she really feels for this old dude & his buddy who risked their lives to stop the nazis or something. when the tour group gets to paris, stacey does the hand-off & then invites herself along for the ash-scattering. old dude agrees, which seems ridiculous to me. it's kind of a private moment, guys. & didn't the dead guy have family? wouldn't they want to be there for this?

jessi learns that the dance new york group she was in in jessi's big break is doing a european tour & will be performing in london while they are there. she gets in touch & they send her a batch of complimentary tickets. she heads backstage to see everyone before the show, & of course, while she's back there, one of the younger dancers sprains an ankle. & her understudy is back at the hotel with food poisoning. the director says they'll have to scrap part of the show because they're down one dancer. that's when jessi jumps in & offers to dance the part. the director accepts & jessi does a great job. the performance is even filmed for the BBC.

the more i write about this book, the stupider it seems.

mallory has an older cousin that lives in london. they have never met, but mallory gets in touch & arranged a hang-out. turns out cousin gillian is a secret novelist. mallory is pumped because she writes too. gillian shows mallory a family tree she's been working on, which indicates that mallory's mom's side of the family is descended from william shakespeare. mallory is delighted. when the tour group goes to stratford-upon-avon, mallory actually notes that she hasn't been spreading the news about her famous ancestor because she doesn't want the other kids on the tour to treat her any differently. um. i don't think you need to worry about that, dude. mallory starts working on a story about a girl in modern times who goes to sleep one night & wakes up in olden times as shakespeare's daughter. man, would that suck. mallory is all focused on frilly dresses & linen curtains & doesn't stop to consider things bubonic plague, lack of women's rights, & the smell of sewage in the streets.

so that's that. pretty dumb.kids-books read-in-20111 Leah1,909

The only Super Special that I didn't . This one was boring, and it shouldn't have been. Half of the BSC goes to London and Paris. The other half stay in Stoneybrook, which was also boring. I just wasn't surprised about that part of the story. Kristy, Stacey, Jessi, Mallory, and Abby go to London and Paris. It is a school trip and includes a middle school in Canada. Kristy begins a romantic relationship with one of the Canadian students, Michel. Stacey meets a WWII veteran. Mallory meets some of her relatives. Abby almost meets royalty. Jessi dances in London. Mary Anne, Claudia, Dawn, Logan, and Shannon are in Stoneybrook. The remaining BSC members, minus Shannon, are working at playground camp, which is a local day camp. Dawn spends one day at a different camp. Claudia spends most of the time fighting with her sister, who is also working at the camp. Shannon is off doing something else in this book. Tiffany Spencer1,617 17 Read

The BabySittters In Europe
Jessi talks to her friend Marriz before leaving for Europe. Jessi tells her friend they’ll be going to England, France, and London. She finds out her friend’s sister (and the whole NY dance company) will be there performing. Jessi feels a little bitter. If she’d taken the instructor up on his offer to join them she’d be performing with them. But she tells herself she did the right thing by staying in Connecticut and not moving to NY.

At the going away party, we find out Maryanne will be staying behind to work at Playground Camp. So will Dawn, Claudia, and Logan. Jessi, Abby, Stacey, and Kristy will be going with some Canadian kids and Mrs. McGill is one of the chaperones (Stacey isn’t happy about this).

. Stacey and Robert end up siting next to each other on the plane (which is awkward for her) but his attention isn’t on Stacey. It’s on Jackie (and her right outfit). Whose coming on to him? On the way to the hotel, they pass Baker Street and Marylebone Lane (where Charles Dickerson wrote some of his books). They’re staying at the Carrington. Mal and Jessi get a room together. Abby gets paired with a girl named Kara. Stacey and Kristy get a room together. Stacey is excited but then she finds out she has the wrong suitcase. Among the men’s clothes are a jar of ASHES!

Fortunately, there’s an ID card that says Louis B Anderson and it gives his address. So, they decide to contact the airport. Stacey thinks it shady that this guy is carrying around ashes. The airline says they’ll contact Mr. Anderson There’s a meeting for the Stoneybrooke students and the Berger students. The hosts Mr. and Mrs. Post have a get-to-know-you activity. They make all the stends take off one does and put in in a pile for their separate schools. They have to first remove a shoe. Then pick a shoe from the other school’s pile and find out who it belongs to. They’ll find out about the other person. Kristy puts “Let’s Go Mets” on her shoe. Kristy gets a loafer. She throws it up in the air and the owner isn’t happy. It’s Michel (from the Girl Talk books) -no but wouldn’t that be a cool crossover?- This boy's name is also Michel DuMoulin. He and Kristy don’t hit it off. She insults him by saying his name sounds her sister. He insults her back by holding up a Doc Martin in a size 13 and calling her Christopher. Luckily a girl comes over (Shushana) holding Kristy’s sneaker. Michel then insults Kristy's taste in teams. Micheal asks for an introduction so Kristy whistles and announces him loudly to the group. After that, she hopes she’s done with him.

Janine is one of the head counselors at the camp. She gets put in charge of Claudia, Dawn, and Maryanne’s group. Janine first tells them to check the equipment. After this they don’t have anything to do so they get on the swing set. Janine gets a little slack from Jerry (whose her ex and over the camp) for giving her sister special privileges. Because of this Janine gets super bossy and starts shooting out instructions a drill sergeant. Claudia tells herself she won’t let Janine spoil her summer. Mallory is reunited in London with her cousin Gillian )whose a writer and a professor)n, her husband Peter, and their two songs (Bret and Bernard. Bret also writes. Later, Gillian shows her the library and a book of her ancestors. At the top of names in the book is William Shakespeare.

After coming back from Harrods and having tea, Mrs. McGill talks to Mr. Anderson who tells her he was a WW2 vet. His friend Denny (who fought the war with him) passed recently. He wanted him to spread his ashes in Normandy in Paris. Mrs. McGill didn’t feel right about sending the ashes by flight so she told him they’d deliver them to him in person. That night they see a play about the Civil War and the next day they see a war exhibit. By the end of the day, Stacey decides delivering the ashes to him is the right thing to do. The first day of the play group is rainy so they have to take the activities inside. Cookie Mason is also one of the counselors. She’s not really a good counselor. She’s more ** one of the kids. She doesn’t want to play with the kids and she makes a lot of messes. Her mom is on the board and she was probably forced into it.

At the performance, one of the dancers gets an injury. Mr. Brailsh says her understudy has food poisoning. So he asks Jessi to dance in her place for the dance “Gotham Rhythm”. Of course, Jessi agrees. Jessica gets a bad case of stage fright and messes up a little, but before she knows it it’s over. Abby, Stacey, Jessi, and Kristy are invited to Victoria Kent’s castle. They’re shown around Kent Castle and have lunch on the grounds with Sir and Lady Kent. Victoria tells them they’re going to meet the Queen tomorrow at Buckingham Palace. Victoria will be presenting her flowers. Victoria asks Abby to stand with her (as she needs a guardian). So Abby agrees.

Jackie continues to come on to Robert, but by this time he just wishes she’d leave him alone, Jackie wants to know what’s up with him and Stacey and he says they’re just friends. She says she’ll have to tell them about *us*. She accuses him of lying and that’s why he’s scared of her. He goes off on her and tells her knows exactly what he and Stacey are. So then she wonders why he’s not into her. He says je just doesn’t want a girlfriend right now. Later, he tells Stacey and she says she’s proud of him for doing that on his own. Dawn volunteers to work at another camp (the Sunshine Gang Day Camp). It’s a camp for kids with special needs. Susan attends the camp. Mrs. Schwatze introduces Dawn to Susan (whose in a room by herself practicing the piano). She discovers there’s a device that Susan now uses that feels a hug.

Mallory visits Stratford (the home of William Shakespeare). Stacey tells her Shakespeare is her great-grandfather. They take a two-hour ride on Paddington Station. Mal thinks it’s time-traveling back. Although Shakespere’s original home was turned into the Shake sphere’ Center. His grave is there tho. Mal asks Will to inspire her to write a new story she’s working on. Later, they go see Romeo and Juliet which leaves Mal, Jessi, and Gillian in tears. They also visit Shakespeare’s daughter’s house. Mal sees a portrait of her that looks just Gillian. The resemblance haunts Mal and stays on her mind that night. That night she also thinks of her story. If Life is a Barrel of Monkeys I must be a Banana. It’s about a girl whose best friend moves. But Mal has writer's block. The story is too real. But then she decides to make it about a girl who wakes up and time travels back in time. Maybe she switches place with Shakesphere’s daughter.

Mal’s group is gone so Kristy has to go with Michel’s group.. They visit a cricket field. Michel annoyingly pulls out his harmonica and starts to play. Michel sits by Kristy when they sit down to watch the game. After the game, Kristy goes into a shop that has a juggling kit. Michel takes it from her and the balls spill out. They have have a brief moment involving juggling balls and a slobbery dog when Michel shows he has a sense of humor. Abby finds out she’s not expected to greet the Queen just stand there, shut up, and look pretty. The girls present a flower to a lady that’s with the Queen. The Queen is escorted by a prince. She says something to Victoria which leaves Mrs. Rutherford in tears. Abby tears too. Abby accidentally steps on the foot of someone that turns out to be the prince.

Claudia is playing ball with Logan and Cookie, and Janine chews her out for not working. Earlier she’s called her a laggard. Claudia’s had enough and tells her off. Claudia says she’s jealous because she knows how to have fun. Janine gets red and starts to cry. She straightens herself out and says Claudia doesn’t need to remind her of her shortcomings. She gets enough of that daily. when she sees Janine. She apologizes later s but Janine says she deserves it. Jerry’s been on her case because she’s not as experienced but that’s no reason to take it out on Claudia. Claudia tells her she was doing fine She said she set up a math contest for the kids but Jerry told her it wasn’t appropriate but that’s how she relates to kids (by tutoring them and teaching them math and science). She says as hard as she tries it’s not good enough. Claudia tells her to ignore him and do things her way. If he doesn’t tell Mrs. Garcia. If not she’ll take care of it. She hugs her sister and tells her she’s doing a fine job (except when she yells at her).

Tanisha, the other dancers, and Jessi’s dance instructor come to say goodbye and they present her with gold ballet slippers mounted on a platform. They and the BSC all applaud her. After this, they take a three-hour train from London to Paris. After hearing Mr. Anderson talk about Dennis and seeing his pictures of him, Dennis, and his wife, Stacey asks to go to Normandy with him. So she and her mom do and they watch as he spreads his friend's ashes out to sea.

Kristy spends the day at the Llove. They discover that everyone else is gone after they separate. They decide to go back to the station. Kristy blames Michel and they start to argue back and forth. Michel reminds Kristy that they were taught a Plan B. Kristy remembers erhe supposed to meet at the Eiffel Tower at five. Four hours from now. First, they go to a pastry shop, Kristy says they’ll sit t at separate tables and pretend they don’t know each other. Kristy sees Michel’s food and reluctantly admits she needs his help to translate. But when she gets to the counter the server knows English. Michel pranked her. Michel says he did it because Kristy says she didn’t know him and it was the only way to get her to sit with him. Then she notices he looks dad. Not sure if it’s a joke, Kristy walks away. He follows her and she starts screaming at him that she doesn’t him and she attracts a lot of attention. He tells her he thought they were just kidding around. He wouldn’t dream of hurting her. He suggests they pretend to be friends. She could use him and he doesn’t want her to wander around Paris alone. Kristy decides what the hell. They go to a garden with a lot of flowers.

. Kristy trips and all the moms and nannies laugh. Then they get out of there and they end up at another pastry shop. Michel makes a comment that makes Kristy laugh and then she starts choking. So he wraps his arms around her to do the Heimlich, but Kristy tells him don’t think about it. So Michel calls the hotel but it’s just four. So, they go for a walk by the river and look at the Eiffel Tower. Michel puts his arm around Kristy’s shoulder. Then Mr. Dougty greets them at the elevator. Cookie railroads Maryanne and Logan and she are picked to be the playground monitors. Janine stands up to Jerry and speaks her mind. Cookie says Maryanne just wants to volunteer to be near Logan, But then Maryanne realizes she’s forcing her to make decisions and says Cookie can have it. Logan makes the nooo sign and Cookie sees him and quits. Jerry blames Janine. Janine tells him to stuff it. Janine then goes after Cookie and talks to her rationally and gets her to come back.

Mallory starts to get so into her story, Jessi scolds her for not paying more attention to what’s in front of her. Mal admits she’s write and they go to the Latin Quarter and a bistro. Next, they visit the sewers, Kristy and Abby argue in the answers about her liking Michel. Abby suggests she tell him. Kristy says no way. Abby says if she doesn’t she will. Kristy says she’ll think about it.

While the others are at the party, Kristy and Michel spend the evening watching the Effiel Tower from the balcony. Kristy kisses him and in that moment she knows he already knows. Then everyone leaves the next day to go back to their schools. Kristy kisses him on the cheek the next day. As her eyes start to water after he’s gone she blames it on her “just being tired”.

My Thoughts
Character by Character
Jessi With a name Gotham Rhythm I REALLY wanted to see this dance! Here’s the thing tho. A lot of times in books the girl doesn’t want to take her chance and shine in the area she excels at because she doesn’t want to step out on faith because she thinks she’ll lose her friends. Jessi is young and she *still* has an opportunity to attend this school down the line. But number one would it be so bad to be somewhere that you felt you *really* belonged and I really feel Jessi belongs at this school? I never felt she belonged in Stoneybrooke. Number two it may not feel it now but the BSC can’t be with Jessi forever. I learned that you can not take everyone with you on your journey. If she REALLY wants to go on to study dance seriously then one day she’s going to have to make a hard decision. Whether it be after college or before. These people are *not* gonna be with you. That’s not to say they won’t stay friends. Only time will tell but I just don’t books that the girl lets’s other people “friends” dictate or be a major factor in what’s best in the long run. If they truly are her friends they’ll understand. They didn’t let Stacey's moving back to NY stop their friendship.

Stacey: I’m just starting to notice something in the Super Specials. This series is “light”. It does deal with serious topics from time to time but touches on heavy historical events. It just feels off. where is this coming from? Particularly in the characters Claudia and Stacey. In one book Stacey’s greatest concern was making to the mall to get her hair permed for a dance despite there being a snowstorm. In this book, she’s worried that she has to wear the same outfit to a meeting. I can’t honestly believe that she’s changed so much from seeing the war exhibit that now she wants to help a stranger go and spread his friend's ashes. Maybe that was the point but I just can’t see her getting this much depth. I’m trying to think if she’s ever shown it again in the books.

Kristy: Kristy meeting her father was QUICK! I wrote it didn’t bother her but she did shed some tears. I just don’t know. First of all, it just seems the odds would be very slim of you see your deadbeat father that you haven’t seen in years on a screen at a crowded baseball game. Much less for you to find him in a crowd. Then for Kristy not to have more to say to him with her big mouth and all. why the hell did you leave us or something? I’m not even sure I’d *want* to go over to this man. He hasn’t even *tried* reach out to her. If I would have recognized him at all, I would have acted I hadn’t even seen him.

Mallory: Mallory’s story (for once) was slightly interesting. I definitely think the second story had more potential and I think it would be interesting to see this part of England. Because I write, I think I understand a little more than Jessi what it’s to get caught up in the story and just immerse yourself in it and forget everything else around you. Sometimes there’s just this pull that just drives you and won’t let you go until all the words are out. This can happen at the most inconvenient times but YOU HAVE TO GET IT OUT! Cause if not it will drive you crazy! And what happened? Did Kristy and Bart break up?

Dawn, Claudia, Maryanne, and Logan: I’ll lump them all together because this plot really didn’t have anything to do with either one of them. IT had more to do with Janine. I was proud of Janine for standing up for herself. I can definitely see why she kept breaking up with Jerry but maybe she should STAY broken up with Jerry. But there was a part where I sympathized with Claudia (even tho I did understand why Janine was acting she was) and it made me think of something. A year ago my family had a reunion at a park. If you thought this was just something we could go to. THINK AGAIN! It was.. VERY badly organized. Because of this people in the family that didn’t plan on doing anything other than going found themselves being *volunteered* to help plan the thing. It had two consecutive events. One was a picnic. So I remember going out to set up for the picnic. I did NOT wanna be there. I HATE big social events that. My sister was being JUST LIKE Janine. First, she told me put the tablecloths on the tables. I did that (although this was difficult because there weren’t anything to hold them down and they kept flying off when the wind blew). Then she saw me standing by a table. Then she told me “Go help make the centerpieces” After that it was “Go put the lights up”. Every time she saw me doing nothing she had something else for me to do and she was REALLY getting on my nerves! Claudia and Janine, we don’t always have the best relationship. It's gotten a little better tho (a smidge). But at that scene in the book I UNDERSTOOD. Maryanne's plot was so lazy that it just cut itself off. I guess she didn't even find it interesting enough to finish. It was mention of one of the main kids CHECK! Next!

Rating 6 Morghan302 9

This was cute! I was feeling nostalgic and the Babysitter's Club always helps. In this book some of the sitters go to Europe while the rest help out at a summer camp back in Stoneybrook. We get a different POV in each chapter, which I think really adds to the story. 1 Leigh974

Usually the super specials are pretty good but in the final one it was just boring. Most of the club is heading for London and Paris, the rest including Dawn (ugh Dawn) remain on Stoneybrook as playground monitors. As usual each girl has their own story and Robert even has one pointless chapter. So here goes. The European group is traveling with a Canadian group a French emersion school in Toronto because we all know the only cities in Canada are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Kristy meets one of the Canadian kids Michel and you can see they will end up together despite constantly torturing each other, they do share a kiss. Abby is excited because she and the princess from a previous book Victoria are going to meet the queen (RIP your majesty). Abby ends up stepping on the toes of a prince who really doesn't look any of the Queen's sons and William and Harry would've been too young so I'm not sure who it was. Wouldn't Philip be the one with her? Whatever. Stacey's luggage gets mixed up with a veteran and she's freaked out by the ashes found in her suitcase. The man whose suitcase she has is going to scatter the ashes on the Normandy beaches. Stacey sacrifices a Paris outing to go to Normandy which being a history nerd I would've jumped at. Who goes to France on a school trip and doesn't go to at least one war memorial? Mallory meets an English cousin and learns she's related to Shakespeare somehow. Jessi ends up dancing in a London production because of course she does. Robert is dealing with an annoying girl Jacqui. In Stoneybrook Claudia is dealing with her sister Janine who is being extra tough on her, Mary Anne is dealing with Cokie who's being well Cokie and Dawn thankfully is hardly in the story at all. This is my last actual BSC book and sadly it was almost as boring as most of the mysteries were.2022 fictional-series friendship Christine393

This super special picked up where Mary Anne and the Playground Fight left off. Kristy, Stacey, Abby, Jessi, and Mallory went on a school trip to London and Paris. Mary Anne, Claudia, and Dawn stayed in Stoneybrook and worked at the playground camp. It took me more than a week to finish this book because the plot was surprisingly dull, considering it took place in London and Paris. Also, I thought the students would evenly split their time between the two cities, but the group arrived in Paris almost 80% into the novel.

My least favorite Baby-Sitters Club book, Kristy and the Secret of Susan, was referenced in this book because Dawn met Susan Felder (an eight year-old autistic savant) while working as a substitute at a camp for children with disabilities. Susan's residential school was closed for one week during the summer, so she attended camp for that week only. The ‘definition’ of autism changed between the books, from being synonymous with having an intellectual disability in Kristy and the Secret of Susan to being someone who has difficulty communicating with other people. The improved definition of autism continued to be overly simplistic; I prefer this one instead.baby-sitters-club middle-grade read-in-2021 Colette!235 23

I blame the Baby-Sitters Club Club podcast for causing me to check out tween chapter books from the local library. Baffling detail: the only copy I could find was an e-book and IT HAD A WAIT LIST.

Suddenly I'm convinced it's just adult readers re-reading their favorite mass produced series.

This one was a yawn. Half the group goes on an implausible school trip, the other half...baby-sits. (As if the ghostwriter went "Oh..yeah, the plot behind this whole thing.") Kristy develops a crush (on a boy?! I could have swore she played for the home team.) Janine grows a spine. 9/11 has not yet forever changed the lives of everyone in Stoneybrook. Now there's a Super After-School Special. 2019 ebook Leane446 35

This one was just okay. Quick little stories about each of the members.
I realized from the last one (the two roadtrips across the US, although that one was better) I don't when they split in two groups.
In this one some of the girls (and Logan) stay in Stoneybrook to run a camp while the others go off to Europe. But even within that I can think of 4 times some of the BSC went off on their own while in London and Paris.


I'm also kind of bummed because this is the last in the Super Specials series so I've now finished them all.
But I did save this as the last book I needed to meet my GR Reading Challenge for this year so in some way I feel the BSC helped me meet my goals. :) Maria ElmvangAuthor 2 books101

A 1.5 star review. Rounded up because I didn't actually dis it, I just found it very poorly written.

This was clearly written by a ghostwriter - and probably a rather inexperienced one at that. The style didn't quite match the previous books, the characters acted out of characters and many of the plotlines were even more farfetched than usual (Abby meeting the Queen? Jessi dancing on stage? A teacher being horribly irresponsible while on a school trip to another country? Suuuuuure....). I know it's harder to capture the BSC charm in Super Specials than in the regular series, but they usually do better than this!2-stars 2023 childrens ...more Pei-jean Lu268 1 follower

The new series on Netflix brought me back to the world of the Babysitters Club. There’s always something to be said about feeling nostalgic about a series you have read as a child. This is one though that I had not read as I’d long stopped reading the series by the time this was published. Was great to revisit the characters and even more poignant for me as a military history buff the visit to the Churchill War Rooms as well as Omaha Beach in Normandy (of which I have visited). This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review Sayo -bibliotequeish-1,637 26 Read

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 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.old-reads SamanthaAuthor 33 books30

The last super special, and potentially the worst. It was more convoluted than usual, which is saying a lot for a BSC book. Meeting the queen (sort-of)? Getting lost in Paris and having the chaperones be cool with it? Janine Kishi volunteering for something that involves being outside all summer? I don't buy any of this! I CALL SHENANIGANS! childhood-throwback favorites kindle ...more Steph4,805 70

I read every BSC book as a kid - mostly 3rd and 4th grade - and while I was traveling through Europe this summer I thought it would be fun to read this one again.

Whhhhhy was I reading this series as an 8-year-old?! Lol... so many teenage issues that I’m sure were over my head, so it’s funny to look back! Still love the BSC girls and their adventures! Jennifer477 16

This is the last super special of the babysitters club book. Kristy, Stacey, Abby, Jessi and Mal are all going to London and Paris with their school. Claudia, Mary Anne and Dawn decide to stay in Stoneybrook helping run a camp for the summer. Lots of adventures. Kacey Martin29

super cute, a lovely dose of nostalgia after watching the Netflix series last year, so glad I bought this on a whim it combined my first favourite author and a lot of places I enjoyed visiting when we were able to travel Chiara187 117

lol had never read this one. Debra1,118 77

For my written review, please check out the link below:
Debra's Book Cafe

Debs :-)
2018-reads books-i-own-read Jade755 1 follower

Aggghhh, I love the Super Specials!!! This one didn't disappoint in the least. What an absolute delight! Kristy's story arc was adorable, and the whole thing was so fun! Angelia36 1 follower

4.5 stars.favorites Lianna Kendig752 24

(LL)
This was pretty boring for me, but I suppose the target audience would find this book interesting. It was pretty anticlimactic for the final super special. Christina488 2 Read

Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/baby-s...baby-sitters-club Lindsey Thomas261 20 Read

A good walk down memory lane of one of my old favorites. I read the original print copy, so some of it didn’t age well, but I bet the e-versions are updated. Gina561 3

I love the Baby-Sitters Club and I love when they go on trips. This time to Europe! Just a fun read. Ashley1,501 31

I can't believe this is the last Super Special, wah! This is a fun on, I Claudia and Janine's plot, and I forgot about Michel and how much I love him and Kristy. 2023 bsc own ...more1 Liesl Miller308 5 Read

I want to go back to London and Paris. Carolyn693

Autor del comentario:
=================================