FF#6 Stacey and the Boyfriend Trap

Summary

It's New Year's Eve, and Stacey's in New York with her dad. She convinces him and Samantha to head down to Times Square to watch the ball drop live, and while they're there, Stacey gets interviewed for tv. She also makes a New Year's resolution: to be a better friend. She starts on that the next morning by giving Ethan a call. They haven't seen much of each other since their breakup, and Stacey misses him. They have a good time together, but it's cut short when Stacey has to catch her train back to Stoneybrook. When she meets her mom at the station back home, there's mail for her: a letter from Toby, the guy she dated in Sea City. He's going to be traveling the East Coast with his family while his brother looks at colleges, and he wants to stop in Stoneybrook and see her. She decides not to respond right away, and calls Jeremy instead. She's glad to see him again, but decides that it would be best not to say anything about Ethan or Toby. Jeremy was busy when she was gone, too: he went to the mall with Claudia and Erica. This doesn't exactly make Stacey happy; she still doesn't want Jeremy spending time with her ex best friend.

When school starts up again after the break, Stacey gets some bad news. Her math teacher, Mr. Zizmore, is moving to Texas so his wife can take a job there. Pete Black is also in Stacey's class, and he pulls her aside afterwards to talk to her about an idea he has: he wants the students to throw Mr. Z. a goodbye party, and he wants Stacey's help in making it happen. They make plans to go to Mr. Kingbridge the next day and ask him if it would be okay. He loves the idea, and suggests that the students combin with the faculty to make one really great party. Just as they're leaving Mr. Kingbridge's office, Stacey runs into the last person she ever expected to see: Wes, her former substitute and possible future full time teacher (he's applying for Mr. Z's job). She invites him to the party on the spot.

Word about the party get around. Even Robert Brewster, who's still dealing with the effects of his depression, wants to be involved. Stacey has to talk Jeremy into participating, though, and when she tries to be nice and ask Claudia to help with the decorations, but Claud ignores her. In between trying to recruit people for the party, Stacey finally finds time to reply to Toby's letter. He had included his email address. so she writes back that way. She doesn't specifically tell him whether or not she wants to see him, though; she just sort of updates him on what's going on in her life. The next time she's online, Toby IMs her and asks about coming to visit. Stacey finally says yes, figuring that it couldn't hurt anything.

A date for Mr. Z's party has finally been nailed down. At lunch that same day, Kristy asks Stacey if Sam can help out. He had Mr. Z back in the day, and credits his former teacher with showing him that math can be fun. Claudia laughs at this, and says that math only has its uses for someone like Stacey, who needs it to count all her ex boyfriends. That makes Stacey think. She DOES have an awful lot of them....is that normal at 13?

The planning committee for Mr. Z's party decides on "Great Math Minds' as their theme. They want to hang up pictures of famous mathematicians, but they need someone with artistic talent to draw them. Jeremy suggests Claudia...a fact that doesn't make Stacey happy. Remembering her New Year's resolution, though, she heads to Claud's house early for that day's BSC meeting to talk to her. Claudia agrees to help with the pictures for the party, and they both end up apologizing for the rotten things they've said to each other over the last few months. Things aren't totally back to normal, but they're on their way.

Saturday, the day of the party, arrives. It also happens to be the day of Toby's visit. He looks exactly the same to Stacey, although he seems to think he's changed for the better. They spend a few hours hanging out, and it's not exactly fun for Stacey. Then, just as Toby is heading outside to wait for his dad to come back for him, Ethan shows up. He's in Stoneybrook for an exhibit at the museum, and he thought he'd stop by and see Stacey. Stacey is frantically trying to figure out what to do with the guys when Toby's mom calls to say that they're going to be late. Stacey has no choice but to take both guys over to SMS with her while she helps set up for the party. The guys pitch in, which means that Stacey doesn't have to entertain them. After awhile, Jeremy pulls Stacey aside for a chat. He's noticed the copious amount of Stacey's exes in the room, and that she has a lot more in common with them than him. He wants to break up, and Stacey is actually not that upset about it. She seems to be getting closer to Ethan again, and even wonders if maybe all of her ex boyfriends were brought together in one place so she could see who she was really supposed to be with.

Rating: 2.5

Thoughts and Things

• This book could totally have been fan fiction. Think about it; how many times have we made fun of Stacey's dating habits? :)
• Toby is so lame, it's not even funny. I don't see him as a military guy at all (that's what he plans to do after high school). I see him putting the minimum effort into his classes at some party school, and living in a frat house. He'd be the one in the frat who thinks he's a lot cooler than he really is. :)
• Thank goodness the Claudia/Stacey fight basically ends in this one; I was getting really tired of it!
• There's a chapter when Stacey and Kristy help Mary Anne pick out a design for her new bedroom. I love the descriptions of the rooms that they each pick out...so reflective of their personalities!
• I wonder who the two guys in the pictures on the cover are supposed to be? Any thoughts?
• Stacey is such a hypocrite. She's allowed to spend time alone with Ethan and Toby, and she can keep that from Jeremy, but it's a crime for him to go to the mall with Claudia AND ERICA BLUMBERG, especially when he freely admits it? Ridiculous. I don't like the FF Stacey at all.

FF#5 Kristy Power!

Summary


Kristy's English teacher, Mrs. Simon, has left to have a baby. Her class has a great subsitute, Ted Morley. One day, Ted (that's what the students call him) announces two special projects. Each student is going to read a book from a list he provides and then write a paper about what it meant to him or her. Each student is also going to write the biography of another student in the class, and he's already paired everyone up. Kristy, unfortunately, is paired up with Cary Retlin. He's not any happier about working with her than she is about working with him, and they both approach Ted after class to try and get out of it. No dice; they're stuck with each other, at least for this project. Later that evening, though, Cary calls Kristy and asks for a truce. Neither of them wants a bad grade on the project, so Kristy agrees.


The following week, Ted has some bad news for Kristy's class. Some of the SMS parents objected to the books on the list he provided, and they want him removed from his job because of it. Ted is standing behind the list he provided, since no student is obligated to read anything that they or their parents find inappropriate or offensive. Since there isn't much else they can do at that point, the class concentrates on their projects. Kristy and Cary meet up in the library to interview each other, and it's an interesting experience. Cary asks Kristy all sorts of weird questions and doesn't take any notes. Then, he won't answer any of Kristy's questions normally. The next afternoon, Kristy heads to Cary's house to interview his family. His youngest brother, Steig, gleefully tells her about every little thing Cary's ever done wrong, but Benson Retlin is a little less talkative. When Kristy asks why the family left their home in Illinois, Benson won't talk. That's where the interviews end. Kristy can't resist going upstairs to take a look at Cary's room (he's outside at this point), and while she's up there, she sees a notebook open on his desk. She can't help reading just a little of it, and she's pretty shocked by what she sees. The paragraph she reads is all about how Cary did something to get himself kicked out of school, and how he still thinks about his old life all the time. Before Kristy can read any more, Cary arrives, wondering what she's doing in his room. Kristy is totally jumpy and nervous, but Cary doesn't seem to put two and two together and realize that Kristy's weirdness is because she read his journal.


The next day, Kristy still feels awfully guilty about snooping. She temporarily forgets about that, though, when she gets to English class and finds Mr. Taylor the principal waiting there instead of Ted. Ted's officially been suspended until the whole book list situation can be further examined. To his credit, Mr. Taylor doesn't seem particularly happy about the suspension, and neither do a lot of the other adults at SMS. He promises that Ted will get a fair trial, so to speak.


The next day, it's Cary's turn to interview Kristy's family. She's a little afraid of what they might tell him, and (of course) her brothers have plenty of embarrasing stories to share. Cary totally makes fun of her, and Kristy responds by saying that at least she didn't get kicked out of school. Cary figures out that Kristy read his notebook, calls her a jerk, and stomps out of the house angrily. Kristy feels horrible, and want to apologize the next day at school. Cary seems to be avoiding her, though, so she doesn't get a chance to. What's also disappointing is the boring sub they get in place of Ted. That is, she seems boring until the kids get around talking about the Ted situation. She lets them know that there's going to be a public meeting about the case, and lots of the kids in Kristy's class plan to attend. Enough people speak up in favor of Ted (and against censorship) that he's reinstated as a teacher. Their next class with him is definitely a celebration, but they quickly get back to work on their projects. Ted tells the students that he wants to meet with each pair after school to see where they are with their biographies. Cary talks to Kristy just long enough to set up their meeting time. Ted seems pleased with their progress (he doesn't know they've been fighting), and as Kristy and Cary are leaving, Ted asks Cary how his novel is going and compliments him on using notebooks instead of a computer. That's when Kristy realizes that she didn't see Cary's journal; she saw his novel in progress. Now it's Kristy's turn to be mad; even though Cary never confirmed or denied that what she read was a journal, he let her go on thinking it was and feeling bad about it. They end smoothing things over at Kristy's Christmas party, and things go back to normal with the two of them. At least, they're as normal as they can be with Cary involved....

Rating: 2.5

Thoughts and Things

• What exactly does the title have to do with anything? What kind of power is Kristy supposed to have???
• At one point, Kristy is trying to decide between The Outsiders and The Red Pony for her book report. It's funny that those books are on a list that parents objected to, because they were both required reading for me in 7th grade.
• In the last book, Jeremy transferred in to Claudia's English class, which is taught by Ms. Hall. She's been Claud's English teacher for most of the series. So why, then, are both Claudia and Jeremy in Kristy's class, normally taught by Mrs. Simon?
• It's kind of awesome that Cary has Dali and Escher on his walls. I also like that skeleton lamp he has. :) I don't necesarily WANT one, but it does sound cool.
  

FF#4 Claudia and the Friendship Feud

Summary

Claudia and Stacey are still fighting, so when a job at the Pikes comes up that only the two of them are available for, neither is thrilled with the idea. Stacey gets out of it by claiming she has a conflict, and suggests that they call Erica Blumberg instead. Rather than pitching a fit about a non-BSC member getting half of a BSC job, Kristy is actually into the idea. Claudia has a really good time working with Erica, and she begins to think that she may have found herself a brand new friend. She and Erica go to the mall together, and Claud drags her to all sorts of stores that Stacey used to like to visit. Erica's not really into that sort of thing, but she's a pretty good sport about it anyway. She's also a good sport when Claudia drags her shopping a second time, in downtown Stoneybrook. She finally hits her limit, though, when Claudia mistakenly calls her "Stace." Erica doesn't to be anyone's rebound friend, and she lets Claudia know.

Meanwhile, Claudia seems to be making another friend as well: Jeremy Rudolph, the boy she claims Stacey stole from her. They keep running into each other at school, and when Jeremy calls her one night, they end up talking for an hour. Jeremy really seems to want to be friends, but Claudia still wants more. When Stacey gets wind of what's going on, she pulls Claudia aside at school and orders her to stay away from Jeremy. Claudia nods as if she agrees, but she's really just shocked at Stacey's audacity.

The Pike kids are tired of the whole Stacey vs. Claudia fight (what a coincidence...so am I) so the orchestrate a sitting job with the two of them. They start talking, and though it looks like things are going well, the girls end up fighting again. Stacey really doesn't seem to understand why Claudia is still so upset. Claudia, on the other hand, realizes something important: she owes Erica a major apology. Erica doesn't need to be more like Stacey; Stacey needs to be more like Erica. After the sitting job, Claudia heads to Erica's house to apologize. Erica forgives her. It looks like things are getting interesting on the Jeremy front, too: at the end of the book, he transfers in to Claud's English class.

Rating: 2.5

Thoughts and Things

• Lord, could Stacey be more horrible?
• Claudia really needs to stop telling people that Stacey stole her boyfriend and that she dated Jeremy first. Neither is true! That being said...I'm still totally on Team Claudia.
• Yay for someone having a non-BSC friendship that doesn't end when the book does.
• The jewelry that Claudia and Erica were looking at during their mall trip sounds so 90's! I love it! :)
  

FF#3 Mary Anne's Big Breakup

Summary

So...it was pretty well established in Everything Changes that Mary Anne was having some issues with Logan. Those issues haven't gone away; he's still smothering her, and she's tired of not feeling like a complete person when she's with him. She finally gets up the nerve to end things with him when they're out to dinner one night, and Logan doesn't take it well at all. That upsets Mary Anne, but she holds off on crying until Logan is out of sight.

News of the breakup travels fast, and by the following Monday, everyone at SMS knows. The girls seem pretty sympathetic, but the boys are totally on Logan's side. They ignore Mary Anne, or are really cold to her when she tries to say hi. Kerry and Hunter Bruno are convinced that Mary Anne hates them, hates Logan, and thinks she's too good for everyone. Mary Anne tries to set them straight. Not everyone is totally unhappy about the breakup, though. Both Dave Griffin and Pete Black ask Mary Anne to the upcoming Fall Fling dance, but she turns them both down. She's just not ready to go out with anyone else yet. She's not sure Logan is in the same place, though, especially when she sees him laughing it up with Kristy. Mary Anne is pretty upset at the thought of the two of them ending up together, but she doesn't come right out and ask Kristy at first. Then, Kristy invites her to go pumpkin and apple picking with her family, and the whole story comes out then. Kristy and Logan AREN'T together, and have no intention of dating. That makes Mary Anne feel better.

The night of the dance arrives, and Mary Anne is home alone. She decides to watch a movie, but before she can pick one, Logan calls. He's got the new Robin Williams movie, and he wants to watch it with Mary Anne, just as friends. She agrees, but before the movie ends, Logan starts pushing for them to get back together. They end up having a huge fight, and Logan leaves angry. Mary Anne freaks out, but after talking to both Dawn and Claudia, she realizes that ending things with Logan was best for her. Now, she can start figuring out who she is as an individual.

Rating: 2.5

Thoughts and Things

• So, Mary Anne and Logan breaking up seemed to affect all of SMS in one way or another. Is that even realistic? Who cares about a couple of 13 year olds ending their relationship...even if they HAD been dating for about 12 years. ;)
• Stacey, Kristy, Claudia and Mary Anne are about to go to a crafts fair at the end of the book. I really wish we'd gotten a chapter of them actually shopping there. I love stuff like that!
• I so wish Mary Anne had gotten together with Pete Black by the end of the series. They totally need to get married. :)
• Jessi was basically written out of the series completely, after her mentions in Everything Changes. Even Abby and Dawn make appearances in some of the FF books, but I don't think Jessi reappears until Graduation Day. I bet she'd accuse the ghostwriters of racism...if she were real, that is. :D
• If SMS is having a Fall Fling, does that mean they're not having the Halloween Hop?

FF#2 Stacey vs. Claudia

Summary

There's a new boy at SMS, and he's caught Stacey's eye. His name is Jeremy Rudolph, and he's just moved to Stoneybrook from Olympia, WA. Stacey and Claudia invite him to sit with the BSC at lunch, and he accepts. Jeremy is pretty cool, and it doesn't take long for Stacey to feel like she's known him for ages. When he leaves the lunch table, though, Mary Anne comments that he'd be perfect for Claudia. Claud is definitely not opposed to the idea; later that afternoon, when Stacey arrives for the BSC meeting, she finds Claudia alone in her room, sketching him from memory. Stacey encourages her to ask Jeremy out...but she's starting to wish she could do that herself. She's still technically dating Ethan, but they're having trouble finding time together, and eventually, Ethan suggests they cool things off.

One day, Claudia begs Stacey for her help with Jeremy. Claud is totally smitten at this point, and Stacey (who is also pretty smitten), realizes that she has to choose Claudia over Jeremy. So, she orchestrates a little plan to give the two of them some time alone. She invites Jeremy to the mall with her and Claudia, but claims to be sick at the last minute and cancels. The next day, Claudia calls Stacey and tells her all about the fabulous time she had with Jeremy...much to Stacey's disappointment. Later that same day, though, Jeremy stops by to check on Stacey. He admits that he doesn't like Claudia romantically, and that he'd like to go out with Stacey sometime. Stacey is stuck; she really wants to date Jeremy, but she wants to be a loyal friend to Claudia, too. She asks Jeremy for some time to think about it, and he agrees.

The next morning, Stacey still hasn't made a decision. She goes for a jog to try and clear her head, and runs into Rachel Griffin, a girl who's just moved back to Stoneybrook after being away for a few years. She's not exactly friends with the other members of the BSC, so Stacey talks to her about the Jeremy situation in the hopes that Rachel will have a more objective opinion. Rachel reasons that even though Claudia's feelings would be hurt if Stacey dated Jeremy, Jeremy isn't going to go out with Claudia no matter what. She also advises Stacey to talk to Claudia first. Needless to say, Claudia doesn't exactly take the news well. She's furious, because she feels like Stacey stole Jeremy from her. Stacey decides she doesn't care what Claudia is thinking or feeling about the situation anymore, and agrees to go out with Jeremy. They hang out in downtown Stoneybrook after school, and have a great time. The next day, though, Jeremy is really cold and distant with Stacey....after she's seen him talking to Claudia. As it turns out, Claudia was telling Jeremy about Ethan, and she made it seem like Stacey was still dating him. Stacey tries to explain the situation to Jeremy, but he's still unhappy about Stacey's lack of honesty. Later that day, Claudia and Stacey really have it out after the BSC meeting, and that friendshis is officially off, for the time being.

Eventually, Jeremy gets over Stacey's lack of forthrightness about Ethan, and they make plans to go out again. As Stacy is busy getting ready for the date, who should show up but Ethan! He thinks they're still together. Stacey gently tells him that things aren't working out, and that she's already seeing someone else. Ethan leaves, and Jeremy arrives for their date. Again, it's fun...and Stacey is plus one boyfriend, and minus one best friend.

Rating: 2

Thoughts and Things

• Stacey was a total cow in this one. Everyone knows you don't go out with someone your friend currently likes, whether that friend has a chance with their crush or not. It just isn't done.
• That being said, Claudia was a little off the mark. She kept accusing Stacey of stealing her boyfriend, and ruining her chances with Jeremy. Too bad Jeremy wasn't her boyfriend and she never really had a chance with him in the first place.
• This books wasn't nearly as well written as the last one, but I still found myself identifying with what Claudia felt. It's hard to be logical in those situations.
• I'm pushing 30, and I'm actually identifying with stuff that happens in these FF books. There's either something really wrong with me, or really right with the books. ;)

FF#1 Kristy's Big News

Summary

Kristy and her family are at dinner one night when they get a phone call. It's Patrick, and he wants to talk to Kristy, Sam, and Charlie. He's got some big news: he's getting married, and he wants the three of them to come out to California for the wedding. He's bought them plane tickets already, and Sam and Kristy have both agreed to go. Charlie, however, refuses. Patrick also makes no mention of David Michael, and when the tickets arrive the next day, there are only three.

Kristy isn't sure how she feels about everything. She and Sam and Charlie are supposed to stay out there for an entire week, and they haven't spent that much time with Patrick for years. Plus, the whole David Michael situation is weird. He really wants to go to the wedding, but he wasn't invited. Then, there's Charlie. He's still got a lot of anger towards Patrick, and he wants nothing to do with him or his wedding. Finally, Elizabeth lays down the law: if Charlie doesn't go, neither can Kristy and Sam. Kristy talks Charlie into going, and they set off the following week. Patrick and his fiancee, Zoey, leave one of their cars at the airport for the kids to take back to the house. Kristy expects her father to live in some shack, so she's pretty surprised to see that his house is actually very nice. Both Patrick and Zoey are at work, so the kids have a chance to look around first. Then, Patrick and Zoey show up. The meeting is a bit awkward, particularly between Patrick and Charlie, but Zoey is really friendly and eases the tension. They serve the kids lunch from Zoey's restaurant, where Patrick is the chef. He's still doing some sportswriting, but not full time. He also wants Charlie and Sam to be his best men. Sam agrees, but Charlie flips his lid. He has no intention of being all buddy-buddy with Patrick....

The next day, Patrick and Sam go shopping for tuxes, and Zoey takes Kristy shopping for a dress. Kristy starts to like Zoey more and more, and she starts to wonder exactly what she sees in Patrick. He and Sam pick out the world's ugliest tuxes for the wedding, so the whole family has to go back out on another shopping trip. Patrick is sulky and snappish almost the whole time, and Kristy realizes that she actually likes Zoey better than her own father. On another day, Zoey sends Patrick, Kristy, Sam, and Charlie on a picnic together. It's a failure; there's a lot of tension, and Patrick and Charlie end up fighting again. Charlie ends up refusing to go to the rehearsal dinner, and the other two stay home with him...at least at first. They have a pretty deep talk about their dad, and their expectations of him. The three of them realize that they need to accept Patrick for who he is, and stop wanting him to be someone he's not. They call a cab, and show up in time for the rehearsal part of the rehearsal dinner.

That night, Zoey asks to sleep in Kristy's room so Patrick won't see her on the wedding day until it's time for the ceremony. For the whole trip, Kristy has been wondering exactly how much Zoey knows about Patrick and what he did to them in the past, and it finally all comes out. Zoey pretty much everything already, and she lets Kristy know that he's grown up a lot. She seems to be going into the marriage with her eyes wide open, which puts Kristy's mind at ease just a little bit. The next day, the wedding goes well. Kristy has some thoughts about her mom and dad and what their wedding must have been like as she's watching the ceremony, but she realizes that she'll probably never have a lot of the answers she wants about what happened there. The ceremony is short, and the reception goes well. Charlie even gives a toast that's not hostile, and (we think) Patrick and Zoey live happily ever after.

Rating: 4

Thoughts and Things

• This book has always resonated with me. Not only is it better written than a lot of the laster BSC books, but I identify with a lot of what Kristy, Sam, and Charlie are going through. I'm a divorced kid, too, and I see some of my dad's personality in Patrick.
• It's weird that it was never explained why Patrick ignored David Michael. He didn't even acknowledge his existence when Charlie brought it up. I know there's a lot of talk out there in the fan world that DM might not be Patrick's, but I don't buy it. Elizabeth doesn't seem like the type to cheat on her husband....even when things get bad.
• The girl that they got to play Kristy on these covers is adorable!
• Kristy actually refers to Watson as a "mild-mannered millionaire" at the beginning of the book. That was kind of funny!
• Ooooooh, Patrick and Zoey live together....AND SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM!!!! So scandalous for the BSC world. ;)
• Is it wrong that I kind of want to marry a grown up version of Charlie, minus all the anger?

Everything Changes

It's summer (for the last time!), and, well, everything is changing for the members of the BSC. I think I'll recap this one Super Special style.

Kristy is freaking out about how the BSC will run in July. Abby, Mary Anne, Stacey, Claudia, and Kristy herself are all going to be out of town for the whole month, Dawn won't be in Stoneybrook until August, and no one else has much time for sitting. Things get worse from there: first Logan and then Jessi drop out of the BSC completely. At least heading back to Camp Mohawk as a CIT will take Kristy's mind off of things. She's not happy that Mary Anne decides not to go at the last minute, but she and Abby are in the same cabin, which gives them a chance to get to know each other better. They actually get pretty close....and then Abby drops out of the club, too. Kristy refuses to speak to her for days, until their campers unite to try and get them talking again. Abby explains that she just wants some free time, and being in the BSC was definitely getting in the way of it. Kristy understands how Abby feels....which scares her.

As I said, Mary Anne decides to stay home rather than go to Camp Mohawk. There's so much up in the air with her family and her life that she feels she should stick around to see what happens. Logan is also proving to be a bit of a problem; he's trying so hard to be supportive of Mary Anne with everything she's gone through that he's actually smothering her. She tries to talk things out with him a couple of times, but it just doesn't go very well. Mary Anne realizes that she needs to consider a permanent break-up. In other news, her grandmother visits from Iowa, and brings a bunch of Mary Anne's mother's old things to replace what was lost in the fire. Also, Richard decides not to take the job in Philadelphia. They're going to renovate the barn into a house, and they'll be renting the Goldman's house (next door to Claudia) in the meantime.

Claudia's family takes a vacation to Monhegan, an island off the coast of Maine. The Kishi parents want to "get back to nature," which means no phone, tv, computer, etc. Claud isn't exactly thrilled with the whole idea, but she actually gets pretty into it. There are artists around for her to hang out with, and Monhegan is beautiful. She even gets to eat lobster every day of her trip. As it turns out, Claudia is the only one in the family who really took the "getting back to nature" theme of the trip seriously; Janine snuck her computer into the house, her mom gets caught reading a cheesy romance novel when they're supposed to be reading worthwhile stuff, and Mr. Kishi sneaks over to the neighbor's to watch tv.

Stacey spends the month of July in NYC with her dad and Ethan. It's fun at first....until her dad sees Ethan outside of some adult nightclub and restricts the amount of time they can spend together. Then, Mr. McGill drops another bombshell: he and Samantha are seriously thinking of living together. Stacey doesn't want this to happen, even though she likes Samantha. They decide to wait another month before making any decisions; they're taking things slowly. Also, Mr. McGill lifts the restriction on Stacey's Ethan time after the four of them (Mr. McGill, Samantha, Stacey, and Ethan) have dinner together and he sees how mature Ethan really is.

After everyone gets back from vacation, the four original members of the BSC get together. It's pretty clear that they won't be able to run the BSC like they did before, since it's only the four of them now (Shannon dropped out when they called her to see how much she'd be able to help in the coming year). They decide to cut back on their number of meetings per week, and on the amount of sitting they do. Kristy is really sad about this, but even she knows that it's for the best.

Rating: 3.5

Thoughts and Things

• In Claudia's first postcard to Stacey after she finds out that she's going to Monhegan, she says she's never been stuck on an island before. I guess she hasn't read SS#4. :)
• Another inconsistency: Stacey decides she wants to learn to needlepoint, but she brought some needlepoint with her to Sea City in #8. I can forgive that, though; #8 happened well over 10 years before this book. She probably just forgot how. :)
• It really, really annoys me how Kristy refuses to use words like I, he, she, we, the, etc. in her journal entries. It just doesn't work.
• Lobster every day for a whole month might get a little....old. ANYTHING every day for a whole month would.
• The whole book consists of Kristy writing to Mary Anne (and vice versa) and Claudia writing to Stacey (and vice versa). Am I really supposed to believe that Kristy never wrote to Claudia, Stacey never wrote to Mary Anne, etc?
• Mr. McGill keeps emphasizing that the club he saw Ethan outside of was for ADULTS. Was he trying to imply that it was a strip club?
• I have to say...I'm really looking forward to NOT having to slog through a chapter 2 from here on out!