#41 Mary Anne vs. Logan

Summary
Mary Anne is having problems with Logan; he's completely taking over her life. He decides when they go out, what they do, and doesn't even ask her if she's okay with the plans. He even orders for her in restaurants, which I HATE. Mary Anne finally decides to let their relationship cool off for awhile, but Logan doesn't take it well at all. He seems to interpret "cooling off" to mean "breaking up," so he barely acknowledges Mary Anne's presence. Right before Valentine's Day, though, the club gets a call from Logan. He and his parents are all going out for the holiday, and they need a sitter for Kerry and Hunter. Logan tells Mary Anne that the kids miss her, and that they requested that she be their sitter. Mary Anne agrees, even though she hates the idea of seeing Logan leave on a date with someone else.

By the time the big day rolls around, Mary Anne has bascially invented a whole new girlfriend for Logan, complete with name and backstory (Olivia, an aspiring singer). When she gets to the Brunos, she finds the house dark and quiet (no new girlfriends in sight), and Logan waiting for her with a nice dinner and a bunch of presents. He'd planned the evening as a surprise, to help them get their relationship going again. Mary Anne is sort of horrified, and doesn't know what to say; Logan may have decided he was ready to pick things back up, but Mary Anne hasn't. She makes it through dinner alive, but comes to an inmportant decision: she needs to break up with Logan. He isn't nice or understanding anymore, and only thinks about his own needs and wants rather than considering hers, too. They meet in the park, and that's that; no more MAS + LB= LUV 4-EVR.

While Mary Anne is busy sorting out her love life, Jenny Prezzioso is having a tough time dealing with the impending birth of baby sister Andrea. Her parents have been buying her all sorts of new things as bribes so she'll like her new sibling, and Jenny knows full well what's going on. She's also upset about the fact that she won't have her parents to herself ever again. Once Andrea's at home, though, it looks like things will be okay. Jenny loves her new sister from the start.

Rating: 3


Thoughts and Things

• Jessi is the one called to stay with Jenny when her parents go to the hospital to have Andrea. When she gets to their house, Mr. P tells her that her friends were all busy or not at home. Does that mean that Jessi was their last resort? If so, ouch!

• Mrs. P has been teaching Jenny all sorts of baby tasks, like giving bottles and changing diapers. That seems like a lot to expect from a 4 year old.

• Logan was such a jerk in this book; he and Mary Anne had some fights before this, but his personality really did a 180. I don't blame her for breaking up with him!

• I like Mary Anne so much better when she's showing some backbone than when she's either oblivious and wrapped up in herself or super sensitive and crying about everything.

• If I were Mary Anne, I totally would have stayed at home to read in front of the fire rather than going to the park with Logan.

• This is another book with lots of good eating: Mary Anne and Logan's Valentine's evening lasagna, the hot chocolate they have at the park, the cheeseburgers and Cokes they have in a restaurant, and the vanilla milkshake and grilled cheese sandwich that Mary Anne actually wanted that night....yum!