Full disclosure: I picked this one because they take a trip to Boston, and I’ll be down in Boston (well, technically Cambridge) later this week for a really important job interview. So, I’ve got Boston on the brain.
To the bat-book! Dawn’s crazy excited because her younger brother, Jeff, is coming to visit. But his visit doesn’t go very well. The Pike triplets—oh horror of horrors--don’t play soccer! And Richard (Mary Anne’s dad) is completely NOT athletic, and he takes Jeff to museums (what can I say, he’s a PBS dad!), which Dawn thinks is “ruining Jeff’s vacation.” Meanwhile, Jeff’s being a whiny little bitch, and Dawn keeps defending him (which I can’t quite figure out, cause when I was that age, and my little bro was being a little shit, it drove me nuts). And Dawn and Mary Anne start fighting.
So, they go on a long weekend to Boston…Short version of vacation: the kids’ fighting totally ruins the adult’s vacay, complete with Mary Anne sleeping in their room, effectively preventing any naked fun for the parents. [Okay, so they’ve got 2 rooms at the Parker House, which is ultra-expensive; now, they make a big deal out of how Kristy’s rich now, but the Spiers must not be hurtin’ for cash. Oh, and they stop for gas in Providence, which is funny for me, cause my hate for Providence knows no bounds—don’t ask.] They do nothing but fight when they’re together, so they start splitting up, Schafers vs the Spiers, as the cover says. Finally, the parents get pissed and let the kids know. So, they go home early, and finally make up during a family portrait session. (Yeah, right.)
And Richard sings this song that I thought was that Phantom Planet song that’s the theme for the O.C., but it’s actually an Al Jolson song from the 20s.
Oh, other story: one single-parent family with three kids is dating another with four kids…
I liked all the references to real places in my section of the world, even if they stopped in Providence for gas… I know it right on 95, but it’s a city. Sure, it’s a crappy little city with major issues and a giant inferiority complex, but why would you stop in a city. I mean, get gas in East Greenwich or Woonsocket. Whatever.
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8 comments:
"And Richard sings this song that I thought was that Phantom Planet song that’s the theme for the O.C., but it’s actually an Al Jolson song from the 20s."
If you forget that Mr Spier's first name is Richard, this is the most confusing sentence ever.
Especially if, like me, the first Richard you think of is usually Mr Brown.
well, i tried to clear up the richard issue earlier in the posting, but if you're too dumb to remember that our lovely little pgh richard was never a character in any of the baby-sitters club books, well i just can't help you
Felt very sorry for Richard and Sharon, due to Mary Anne butting into their room. I mean it was meant to be sort of their honeymoon, couldn't she have even guessed that they'd want the room to themselves for some fun? ;) Very selfish of her.
My favorite part of this book is that the girls thought the Boston Tea Party was a real tea party, despite being in 8th grade and having grown up in New England.
This book marked the beginning of the end of my BSC obsession, because I finally realized that even though I was younger than them, I was already smarter than these girls would ever be.
I know this is way late, but I just reread this book (complete with the used bookstore owner's snotty bullshit! OF COURSE I know this is a JUVENILE book!). Anyway- I loved my cat, I had him from when I was 4 until I was 22, BUT I would never have been allowed to include him in the fam photo, and I prolly wouldn't have WANTED to (he was bitchy at times). Also- the BSC need some Pamprin! You can almost pinpoint the days they are PMSing! Jeez- if my lil bro was such a fucker, I would have sent him back to Cali ASAP! BTW- I also just finished "Mallory and the Ghost Cat" (SNARKINGLY FUCKTASTIC!) and "Claudia and the Sad Goodbye" (I cried, so maybe it's a good thing you haven't done that one. It is as poignant as ANM can get, I'm sure!)
Don't forget, a lot of the later books were ghostwritten by a guy, so if you're reading one that is majorly screwed-up, instead of just a little, chances are that it was him.
Shannon
I think it's also stupid to stop in Providence for gas because you could totally make it from Stoneybrook to Boston on a tank. Did you ever notice how real life distances are completely ignored in the BSC books? Stacey's train rides from Stoneybrook would take FOUR HOURS to get to NYC? The fuck?
Good point Ryan Michele. I'm from Oz and lived in NYC for awhile and it amazed me that I could visit my relatives in Stanford CT with a train ride of about 1 hour as I'd grown up believing the distance btw the two places was epic.
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