The Fabulous Five #24- the Great TV Turnoff

Tony Calcaterra, Katie’s man, and Katie are at Tony’s house while the baseball game is on. Katie is trying to talk to Tony about Wakeman Jr High gossip, but Tony is completely ignoring her to watch the baseball game.  Katie is fed up with baseball- last week, Tony was late picking Katie up for their date because of a baseball game, and as a result they missed the movie. Katie stopped by Tony’s to spend time with him as she’s barely seen him all week, but Tony is too obsessed with the game.  Katie gets so fed up with Tony ignoring her, that she leaves in a huff.  Katie decides to go talk to one of her friends about Tony’s insensitivity.  Katie bikes to Melanie’s house, and Mrs. Edwards announces that Melanie is watching TV.  Melanie is too wrapped up in the episode of Star Trek she is watching to really listen to Katie’s woes, so Katie gets fed up and leaves Melanie’s house.  When Katie gets home,her mom is working ( she’s a freelance reporter who works from home) so Katie decides to call Christy. Christy’s mom says Christie is watching a nature program on TV for school. Katie can’t believe it- passed over for TV- AGAIN!  Katie is now having a strong urge to talk to someone, so she decides to go into the spare room that serves as Willie’s office ( Willie being Katie’s mom) t0 talk about what is frustrating her.  Willie asks Katie if her home ec teacher has mentioned the harmful effects of TV- like how it can affect basic human relationships and is a substitute for family interaction- during their unit on television? And Katie replies no- all the teacher says is what TV programs to watch and which to avoid. Willie is shocked that the class isn’t participating in a TV turnoff project. Katie asks what that is. Willie remarks that it’s when a group of kids agrees not to watch any TV at all for a week, and sometimes whole schools get involved.  Willie then says that Branford Junior High had a TV turnoff last month, and it was very successful.  Katie had not. Branford Jr High is Wakeman’s biggest rival. Willie is going to write an article for the local paper suggesting that Wakeman Junior High do the same thing that Branford did.  Katie tries to convince her mom not to because if the kids at Wakeman can’t watch TV for a week or more, they are all going to be pretty mad at Katie.  But Willie is too busy scribbing notes down to listen.

 Katie has forgotten about her mom’s plans until she sees the article written by her mom the next Saturday. In it, Willie talks to experts who talk about the harmful effects of TV on children, and some people from Branford Jr High say it was the best thing that ever happened to them at their school. Willie then pleads for Mr. Bell the principal to institute a similar project at Wakeman.  At the mall later, Beth tells Katie that if Wakeman kids can’t watch TV, no one will be able to see the videos the Media Club is working on and she hopes Katie’s mom won’t actually convince Mr. Bell to institute a TV turnoff.  Katie says it’s only for a week and Melanie FREAKS- Melanie says there’s no way she can miss her favorite soap,   Interns and Lovers,  for a whole week!  Jana and Christie say that neither of them really watches much TV and Christie says it may even be a good idea. Then the Fantastic Foursome- Laura McCall, Melissa McCormick, Tammy Lucero, and Funny Hawthorne- saunter over.  Laura and her friends start loudly mocking Katie’s mom’s article.  Katie is about to confront them when Tony and some friends head over to the movie theatre at the mall when the Fab Five is.  Tony waves at Katie, but doesn’t come over. Jana says maybe Tony will sit with Katie at the movies. Katie keeps looking around for Tony but he’s nowhere to be seen.  After the movie, Katie sees that Tony and his friends are watching a baseball game at a store at the mall!

 At school on Monday, Beth  and Dakeisha Adams rush over to the rest of the Fab Five and announce that Mr. Bell is having a big meeting with all of the teachers in the Media Center.  Dakeisha tells Katie she bets it’s about the article Katie’s mom wrote.  Katie is about to protest when the bell rings.  At the cafeteria, Tony asks Katie if he can come over tonight. Katie says yes and Tony says great because his TV isn’t working, and the Yankees are playing the White Sox tonight and he can’t miss it.  Katie starts yelling no way and she’s sick and tired of baseball and television, and Tony is turning into a TV addict!  Laura then goes over to the table and says that Katie only wants a TV turnoff because she doesn’t want to lose Tony to television. 

During Katie’s last class, there is an annoucement over the school loudspeaker- Mr. Bell annouces that there will be a TV turnoff at Wakeman Jr High- and he knows everyone wants to beat Branford as they have beat Wakeman at sports twice this year- so to top Branford’s TV turnoff of one week he wants the Wakeman kids to not watch TV for TWO whole weeks!  Some kids are cheering that they can beat Branford in a flash, other kids are upset that they can’t watch TV for two weeks.  A lot of kids feel it’s Katie’s fault that there’s a TV turnoff. Katie goes to talk to Willie about it,  and Willie says Mr. Bell and most of the teachers pledge their full support, and it may teach the kids that there’s much more to life than TV.  Willie tells Katie that everything will work out in the end, but Katie is NOT believing it.

 Jana calls Katie that night to say that Randy, Jana’s BF, told her that Tony is really mad at Katie and that Katie only got Willie to plan a TV turnoff because Katie is mad at Tony for watching baseball.  Katie is more upset than ever.  At Bumpers the next day,  Beth announces that the Media Club gets to interview Jack Albright, star of a big TV show called Taking Chances!  Beth is upset though, that the interview may air during the TV turnoff  and no one will be able to watch her interview Jack Albright.  Laura starts spreading a rumor at Bumpers that Willie doesn’t like television so she doesn’t want anyone else to watch TV. Katie yells out that it’s not true at all, and Katie is going to help promote the turnoff- uh oh!

 There’s going to be an assembly to promote the TV turnoff, and Dakeisha says the turnoff can’t be all bad if they get to miss a period of class for an assembly!  Kids who want to perform skits about the TV turnoff can sign up to perform.  Katie then hears the two McNatt brothers- one is in eighth grade, one in ninth, saying the turnoff is dumb and they refuse to participate. Katie hopes that kids will actually agree to be part of the TV turnoff.  The next day, the TV turnoff contract goes around. Kids can’t play video games, watch movies or watch videos ( what we call DVD’s today LOL) during the whole turnoff.  Beth is none too happy about possibly missing out on watching herself interview Jack Albright, but she agrees to sign the contract. Melanie says that if Beth can miss out on watching her interview, Melanie can not watch  Interns and Lovers  for two weeks.  Melanie then says that for two weeks she won’t know what happened to Sylvia. Sylvia is this beautiful character on the soap who is so in love with a doctor named Cal she is buying a wedding dress in case he decides he’s in love with her- WHAT THE FRIG?? and Sylvia is in a coma after being hit by a car.  Melanie decides that every day after school she will write a diary describing what she thinks is going on with  Interns and Lovers  and then when the turnoff is done and she can watch the recorded episodes, she will compare her diary to what actually happened on the show.  Shane Arrington, Jon Smith and Keith Masterson ( Jon is Christie’s boyfriend and Keith is Beth’s) are upset that they can’t play video games for 2 weeks, but they decided to launch rockets one morning instead.  The boys have all agreed to participate in the TV turnoff.

It’s the day of the assembly. Dakeisha Adams ( she’s black just so you know) dresses as Bill Cosby and makes these jokes about how Branford is really great and Wakeman will never beat them. Everyone loves her act.  Curtis Trowbridge dresses as Abe Lincoln saying that all kids should be emancipated from TV watching.  The seventh grade cheerleaders do cheers about not watching TV, and the ninth grade cheerleading captain Kaci Davis twirls her baton.  After all that, a boy and girl from each girl are on stage weraing all black. Katie brings out a TV and Mr. Bell pulls the plug and puts a TV in a coffin. Incidentally on the cover of this book none of the kids are wearing all black in this scene.  The six kids take the coffin offstage with the expectation that kids will put their signed contracts into the coffin if they are participating.  Dakeisha Adams warns Katie after the assembly that Laura McCall and her friends are trying to talk kids out of breaking the contract.  Katie says no kids will listen to her, but Dakeisha points out that Mr. Bell says the the TV turnoff is voluntary.

At a Fabulous Five meeting that Sunday, Katie says that she and her mom played Monopoly over the weekend. Jana went bowling with her mom and stepdad and had a lot of fun. Beth says her older siblings Brittany and Brian and her sister Alicia are whining over not being able to watch TV.  Katie then says that the Fab Five need to find spies- girls they are friends with- to watch who Laura and her friends are talking to about breaking the contract, so that the Fab Five can convince those kids not to. Jana bets that Dakeisha, and their other friends Mandy, Alexis and Melinda will agree to be spies for the Fabulous Five.

Two girls named Elizabeth and Lisa come up to Katie whining over not being able to watch TV all weekend. Lisa says her friggin parents are all pissy because they want to watch the news and other programs, so they are still watching TV and not supporting Lisa.  Katie tells Lisa and Elizabeth to try to get their parents to agree to have the TV off, and don’t Lisa and Elizabeth want to beat Branford?  Lisa is not convinced.  Jana then tells Katie that Randy and the other guys had a great time launching rockets, and Tony joined them. He signed the TV turnoff contract! But he’s still not talking to Katie.

Mrs. Clark asks the kids in homeroom what they did besides watch TV. Kids mentioned reading books, the rocket launching, and counting money they have saved. Mrs. Clark praises the kids participating in the turnoff.   At Bumpers, Dakeisha says she heard that Laura and her friends are saying they will watch TV shows for kids for fifty cents an hour and will tell kids what is going on with their favorite TV shows. God, Laura is almost more devious than your average Unicorn Club member!  Katie says that’s cheating and Dakeisha says she bets Laura will let Mr. Bell know who is cheating so that Wakeman fails.  Laura tries to get Melanie to pay her to watch  Interns and Lovers but luckily Melanie refuses.

Katie tells her mom after school that there are parents refusing to participate with the kids in the TV turnoff and Willie is steamed- time f or another article!   The next day at school, Melinda tells the Fab Five that shse made a really yummy fudge cake, and Heather Clark is writing a book.  Instead of homework that night, Katie writes a list of fun things kids can do instead of watching TV, like making beaded jewelry and taking pictures of friends and putting them in a collage.  Then Jana calls Katie and says that Laura is going to have a TV watching party on Saturday and a lot of kids are planning to attend!  Katie comes up with an idea to get the kids away from Laura’s TV party- she says they can get a group of kids together to bike to the amusement park, Adventureland ( like the movie!) and then they can all eat pizza at Mama Mia’s afterward!  Jana is going to see if Randy can ask Tony if he would go to the TV party or Adventureland. Katie hopes this plan works!

Katie gets Lisa to go by saying the boy she likes, Bill Soliday, will be going. Katie and her friends do get some kids to agree to their plans. Beth then says that Willie really cut down parents who aren’t helping their kids stick to the contract. Beth had her interview with Jack and it went great, by the way.  Melanie has Sylvia convalescing on  Interns and Lovers,  and Cal is helping her, according to Melanie’s diary of what is going on with the show. Katie is at the office running an errand for a teacher and Miss Simone the principal’s secretary says Mr. Bell is fielding tons of irate calls from parents mad about Willie’s article.  Parents thought the school talked Willie into writing the article. But Mr. Bell knows this is all for a good cause.

TONS of kids showed up at the Wacko Jr High parking lot ( what the kids call Wakeman) to go to Adventureland and Mama Mia’s! Katie is very impressed, and Jana said it’s one of the rare times, other than sporting events, where she’s seen so many Wakeman kids together! At Adventureland, Jana, Melanie  and Beth went on rides with their boyfriends, and Katie goes with Christie. I thought earlier that Christie was dating Jon Smith, but I guess not. I know she had been! Well, tons of the kids tell Katie this was a great idea, and they are having tons of fun. Then a bunch of boys with Branford Jr High letter jackets show up at the park- wait, kids can letter in sports in junior high?  The Branford boys start taunting the Wakeman kids but then Melanie and Beth spot some friendly Branford High cheerleaders to try to stop the potential violence.  Beth and Melanie plan to do cheers for their schools for the TV turnoff to distract the other kids and it’s a huge success! 

Mama Mia’s is very crowded and Jana reported passing by Taco Plenty and Bumper’s and seeing tons of kids at those restaurants, too.  Randy tells Katie that Jon and Scott didn’t go to Laura’s party because Tony really laid into them about not breaking their contract. Katie is SHOCKED!  Tony goes up to Katie and says he’s been reading a lot about baseball and he’s so glad to have learned a lot more about the sport now. He and Katie make up in case you haven’t guessed.

On Monday, we hear that NO kids but the Fantastic Foursome came to Laura’s party! GREAT SUCCESS!  Lisa then says that her parents were upset by the article written by Willie at first, but they got to thinking and figured if other people can give up TV so can they, and now both parents are reading great books.  Miss Simone even says a lot of parents called back to apologize about being upset before and bunches of kids tell Katie they feel closer to their families.

The turnoff is over, and there’s a big dance to celebrate. Melanie watched one week of her soap- and Sylvia is STILL i n a coma! Melanie can’t believe that nothing happened in a week, and her stories were a lot more interesting.  Mr. Bell then announces the results of the TV turnoff, and how the kids fared vs Branford.  At the end of Branford’s one week turnoff, 64 percent of kids didn’t watch TV. As for Wakeman- SEVENTY EIGHT PERCENT OF KIDS watched NO TV in TWO weeks! WAKEMAN WINS!  Everyone says that the TV turnoff wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t for Katie’s hard work. Katie feels all warm and fuzzy inside. 

The end of the book is the usual chapter introducing the next book- Christie is upset that kids make fun of her for being smart.

At the Chick Manifesto website, ( link on right) there is a contest to win 2 VC Andrews books! Sign up to win!

 

The Unicorn Club #3- The Best Friend Game

I never remember hearing about this series, the Unicorn Club, as a kid.  This book came out in 1994 and I know I still read Sweet Valley Twins sometimes, but I never remember that they had this series and I remember when SVU came out. Ah, well.  Having now read this book, I am very glad I never read these as a kid because the Unicorn Club book series sucks total ass. In this edition of Fitzie’s I am mostly going to provide some background and an intro to the Unicorn Club book series, and a short recap of what happens in this book.

Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are now in seventh grade.  At the beginning of the year, the Unicorns had to pick a club president since Janet Howell is now in high school. Jessica and Lila both thought they should be president, apparently, and they participated in a ” dare war.” This  dare war pissed off Mr. Clark so bad that he said he would totally disband the Unicorns unless they did community service. Along those lines, Jessica and Lila decide the Unicorns need some new and nerdy blood.  The Unicorns have Elizabeth, Maria Slater, and Evie Kim join the club. Maria Slater, in case you do not remember, is the Sweet Valley Twins version of both Jessi Ramsey and Derek Masters. Maria is Jessi because she is black,  and Derek Masters because she’s a former child star. In sixth grade, Maria’s parents decide that Maria should lead a non kid actor, normal childhood life and they move to Sweet Valley.  Evie Kim is a 6th grader and I believe she is of Korean descent. Evie lives with her grandmother, and Grandma owns a vintage clothing shop that Mandy Miller loves to shop at. Evie’s parents are both dead I think- this book doesn’t explain where they are. The other members of this year’s Unicorn club are Jessica and Lila of course, Ellen Riteman, Mandy Miller ( Mandy the vintage clothing store gal who had a touch of the cancer in a Sweet Valley Twins book- I never read that book tho), and Mary Wallace ( Mary Wallace, formerly known as bitchy Mary Giaccio, then sweet Mary Robinson once her bio mom finds her after Mary has been in foster homes for years, and Mary Wallace once Mary’s mom marries this guy Tim who from what I recall is really hunky and likes tugboats.)  Ellen Riteman, by the way, is described as being totally ditzy, but also extremely sweet and loyal. Ummm Ellen was a HUGE bitch in 6th grade what happened? I have no idea what happened to Tamara Chase or Betsy Gordon as they’d be in eighth grade at this time ( guess they are just too boring?) and Kimberly Haver moved.  So that’s the Unicorn Club. They have a new image of being really sweet, caring and frankly I can’t believe I am saying this but they are BORING. They all had to volunteer at a daycare for low income kids, and even when that requirement of community service ended, the girls continue to do it because they have all bonded to the children. We know that Jessica is very tight with a black boy named Oliver, Elizabeth is close to the twins Sandy and Allison, and Lila is very close to a little girl named Ellie. 

Elizabeth Wakefield is the narrator of this book, and ugh I HATE the first person narration in these books- Elizabeth tries to sound wicked damn upbeat about everything ( or else is way melodramatic) and she goes on and on about how she and the other Unicorns are so different, yet they are all really close  and are best friends, and the Unicorn Club is not at all snotty and cliquey anymore. yeah we get it. By the way, the Unicorn Club all wear the same purple jackets with the club name on the back- VERY Pink Ladies.

OK time for the plot of this lame ass book.  A new game show is on TV called Best Friends. Basically two groups of best friends go on the show to find out which group of friends knows each other better, and whatever group knows each other inside and out wins a prize. The Unicorn Club is determined to be on the show, because they know for sure that all of them are best friends and they know each other REALLY well they know it! The Unicorn Club does make it onto the show, but so does a rival clique at Sweet Valley Middle School- the Eight Times Eight Club- a group of 8 girls who are what the old Unicorn Club used to be but also hella lame. The group leader is Amanda, and she always puts down the Unicorn Club. The Eight times eights all dress alike in plaid shirts and jeans all the time and all of them have blown dry straight hair and are quite conformist. Still, the Unicorn Club knows they are true friends and they will win the show. Before the show, the Unicorns all quiz each other about each other’s likes, dislikes and hopes and they feel very well rehearsed when the day of the show arrives. The girls all wear their purple jackets to the show. Originally, the Unicorns thought that on that day they’d be against some boys from another school, but due to last minute changes they are actually against the Eight Plus Eights!!!

The game show is a disaster- the Unicorns can’t even get one damn question right!!!!  The Eight Plus Eights CREAM them because they know every single thing about one another. Because the Unicorn Club lost at the game show and were humiliated on national TV, they all get into a big fight and don’t talk for awhile. But the girls are forced together when they all have to take the little ones to a high school football game ( yep the Unicorn Club is totally like all BSC now and it so doesn’t work) and they all decide that the reason they don’t know everything about one another is because all of them are so unique and they are all very different from one another. The Eight Plus Eights are all major clones of each other and of course they know everything about each other- because they are all wicked alike! The Unicorns are special because each member is so different.  Wow, this series is seeming soooo BSC now- Evie Kim- Claudia Kishi. Mandy Miller- I guess Kristy Thomas because she’s the president of the Unicorns. Maria Slater- Jessi Ramsey of course.  Jessica Wakefield- I’d say Stacey and I guess since Elizabeth is also blonde she could be Dawn.  Mary is apparently very sensitive, so I guess she’d be most like Mary Anne Spier.  Ellen and Lila are nothing like Mal Pike but it still fits I say! And Amanda is Cokie Mason!

I have a couple more of these books so I may or may not read and recap them for this blog, I may not. Really it’s up to you readers- more Unicorn Club or not?  In the meantime, I’ll be back by early next week I believe. I can’t believe I read all of those Sweet Valley themed books in a row. UGH  Well as you know I do have some more Sweet Valley Twins and Kids on the hopper,  and also coming up I will be soon recapping ” Kristy’s Great Idea” and a Little Sister book! As usual- STAY TUNED MY FRIENDS!

Sweet Valley Twins #4 Choosing Sides

Jessica, Ellen, Lila and Janet decided to start a cheerleading squad called the Boosters. In book 3 Mary Giaccio ( who was a total bitch until book #7 for no good reason) was to be one of the four original Boosters, but I guess Janet Howell used her authority to be one of the founding members instead. Auditions have to be open to other girls besides Unicorns. As we left Book 3, remember, Amy Sutton told Liz that she was going to try out for the Boosters, and Elizabeth was none too happy.

Jessica is practicing cheers before dinner, and then Mrs. Wakefield has Elizabeth call Jessica down to dinner. At dinner, Jessica complains about how Ms. Langberg, the gym teacher, said that the auditions have to be open to any girl at Sweet Valley Middle School who wants to try out and this is truly distressing to Jessica. Jessica says ” so many gross girls have tried out, it’s pathetic.” Among these gross girls is Lois Waller who is so fat she could be two people according to Jess, Leslie Forsythe who is scrawny ( so I guess a Boosters cheerleader can’t be too fat or too thin) and always has a runny model ( and who I think became Shandi on America’s Next Top Model), and that icky tomboy Amy Sutton.  Mrs. Wakefield admonishes Jessica for calling Amy icky in front of Liz, and Jessica says she hopes Amy doesn’t think that she can be a Unicorn by getting into the Boosters. Elizabeth says Amy just wants to be a cheerleader and Jessica says Amy was such a klutz in gym class and cheerleaders are supposed to be graceful and beautiful, and Amy is just not cut out to be a Booster at all.

After dinner, Lila calls. Elizabeth answers but Lila doesn’t know it’s Liz, and starts talking to Liz as if it were Jessica. Lila tells Jessica there has to be a way to get rid of all the gross girls who are trying out for the squad, and then Liz tells Lila when she can get a word in that it is Elizabeth Lila is talking to and not Jessica. Elizabeth then calls Jess to the phone. Jessica tells Lila she will agree to whatever Lila decides is the best way to be rid of the gross girls, as long as Ms. Langberg wouldn’t find out. Lila tells Jessica that it will definitely look like a fair tryout, and not to worry.

When Jessica and Elizabeth walk to school with Nora the next day, Nora informs Liz that boys’ basketball tryouts are also today, as well as the cheerleading tryouts.  After school, Elizabeth heads to the gym to cover the tryouts for both the basketball team and the Boosters.  At one end of the gym Elizabeth sees a bunch of nervous looking girls in leotards and gym suits waiting for the Booster auditons.  Elizabeth goes over to Amy to try to convince her not to try out for the Boosters, but Amy isn’t hearing it. Amy tells Liz that she is confident that if the Unicorns see that Amy is good she will be able to join the squad, and nothing is going to stop her. Amy then adds she knows Elizabeth is just trying to be a good friend.  Lila, Ellen, Janet and Jessica all come out of the locker room in matching purple leotards and white tights, and identical regal and bored looking facial expressions.  Lila goes to the front of the crowd, gives a bunch of girls cold  looks and starts making checks on a clipboard. She is so intimidating that some girls immediately leave the line and the gym. Lila announces that she is going to teach the remaining girls one cheer and they have to perfect the cheer for the second round of tryouts next week.  Jessica then shows the girls the cheer - It’s ” Tom, Tom he’s our man if he can’t do it no one can!” Oooh hard. Well some jumps are included in the cheer too,and Elizabeth can see that Jessica has inspired the girls with her graceful movements, gorgeous blonde hair and clear voice. PUH-LEEZ.  Jessica does the cheer again slowly for the girls to try and most of them look really awkward.  Ellen  then has the girls do some baton drills.  Ellen is apparently a great baton twirler, and Amy is one of the girls doing the baton drills with Ellen in the first round. Elizabeth is surprised that Amy is acting as if she’s twirling a baton for the first time,and not showing the Unicorns what she can really do.  Lila whispers to Jessica ” what a bunch of dorks” and Jess then gives Amy a cool glance and Amy gets so embarassed, she drops her baton. Then Jessica thinks that Amy is such a klutz, not even Elizabeth will be upset when they cut Amy from the squad!

Elizabeth is tying together the basketball and cheerleading tryouts for her article.  The boys are dribbling the basketball and making some shots for the basket. Ken Matthews comes out of the locker room and looks very hesitant. Then Bruce Patman screams ” hey midget!” and totally embarasses Ken.  Ken trips over Elizabeth’s backpack as he’s going to leave the gym.  Elizabeth asks Ken why he is choosing to leave tryouts. Ken says that he’s the shortest guy in the whole school and he will never make the team so it’s not even worth trying out.  Elizabeth tells Ken that if he really wants to join the team, nothing should stop him. Yet Elizabeth doesn’t want Amy to try out for cheerleading, even though Amy really wants to do it. Well, of course Elizabeth has inspired Ken to go through with trying out.  Coach Cassels has the boys line up, and Coach Cassells lights up when he sees Ken Matthews has tried out, because Ken’s dad Scott was one of the best players Coach Cassels ever coached. Coach Cassels thinks that Tim Davis, the tallest boy in line, is Ken and claps a hand over one of his shoulders, but then Bruce yells ” no that midget is Ken Matthews!’ Coach Cassels looks shocked, but thinks there’s still hope for Ken as his dad was such a talented ballplayer. But Coach Cassels soon sees that Ken can’t score any goals, can’t dribble, and can’t pass. Coach Cassels tells Ken he will give him a chance because of the respect he has for Ken’s father, but if Ken doesn’t improve he will be cut.

After school, Elizabeth sees Ken.  Ken tells Elizabeth tryouts were horrible and he can’t play basketball. Elizabeth says Ken can come over her house, and maybe Steven who plays JV basketball can give Ken some pointers.  Ken tells Elizabeth he does hope to make the team so that his father will be proud of him because basketball means a lot to his dad. Steven tries to teach Ken about basketball but Ken appears to be hopeless- he can’t shoot, or make any baskets, or pass as we already know. Ken is really dejected after Steven gives up on teaching Ken basketball but Elizabeth gets an idea. When Elizabeth and Jess were little Steven always hogged the basketball so when the girls wanted to play basketball they used a tennis ball. It was a great way to learn how to dribble and pass the ball because it was so small. Sure enough, Ken finds the tennis ball a lot easier to handle and he is doing much better with the tennis ball. As Elizabeth and Ken are practicing, Bruce Patman rides by on his bike and starts laughing at Ken and Liz and calling them the junior basketball league. Ken runs off and almost runs into Jessica.

 Jessica is upset that Ken was over and she doesn’t appreciate Elizabeth inviting geeky guys over especially if say, Bruce Patman rides by. Elizabeth said Bruce did come by and Elizabeth doesn’t really care. Jessica then tells Elizabeth that if she talks to Amy that night to try to convince her to drop the auditions so that Amy isn’t embarassed when she’s cut. After all, Elizabeth sees what a klutz Amy is.

Amy does call, and she tells Elizabeth she wants to be a Booster more than ever. Amy then asks about why Elizabeth was talking to Ken Matthews and Liz wants to keep Ken’s secret so she says Ken just apologized for tripping over Elizabeth’s bookbag.  The next day at school, Ken goes up to Elizabeth and says the tennis ball trick is working great.  Elizabeth tells Ken she’s glad to be of service and as they are shaking hands, Bruce starts teasing Ken and Liz and calling them lovebirds.  By lunchtime, Bruce has told all of Sweet Valley Middle School that Elizabeth and Ken are a couple.  When Jessica hears, she’s upset and pulls Elizabeth aside after dance class and tells Elizabeth to put a stop to the rumors because if kids think Elizabeth and Ken are dating, it will somehow ruin Jessica’s reputation.  Elizabeth thinks that she won’t do any such thing because if kids choose to believe dumb rumors that’s their issue.

After school the next day, Ken, Amy and Liz walk home together. Ken is upset over how the boys are treating him and teasing him and all and Amy tells Ken not to let those dumb boys stop them from something he wants to do, and Amy also talks about how she is trying out for cheerleading even though Lila and Jessica don’t want her to.  Ken is playing basketball with the tennis ball and he is improving a great deal.  Ken decides that if Amy can stand up to the Unicorns and try out for the Boosters, Ken can go for his dream of playing basketball. Amy, meanwhile, is twirling her baton like crazy to practice for Booster auditions.  Amy’s mom calls Amy in saying it’s dark out, and then Lila and Ellen call Amy and tell her to drop out of auditions because plenty of girls are better than Amy is. Amy pretty much tells Ellen and Lila to go to hell.

At lunch the next day, Lila tells Jessica that her favorite singer, Johnny Buck, is going to do a concert in Sweet Valley. Jessica says she HAS to go to the concert this year. Last year, Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield said Elizabeth and Jess were too young to go, but they are in middle school this year so hopefully Ned and Alice will let Jessica attend the show this year- they just HAVE to! Then Janet goes to the lunch table and tells the others that Amy has to be stopped. Jessica decides that the Unicorns will draft a letter to Amy from Ken Matthews. In the letter, Ken writes that Amy should just drop out of the Boosters because most of the other girls trying out are much better and by the way Elizabeth agrees.  Jessica adds the part about Elizabeth because she wants Ken and Amy to stop talking to Liz. Why that’s Jessica’s business I have no clue. Then Jessica suggests one more letter- a letter from Amy to Ken- a LOVE letter.  Later on in the day Amy tells Liz she found a letter that was supposedly from Ken telling Amy not to go through with auditions for the Boosters, but Amy knows Ken would have never written that letter because of the conversation Amy and Ken had the other day.  Amy and Liz see Ken and he blushes and runs away from them. Ken thinks it’s annoying that girls always get mushy and he thought Amy just wanted to be friends.

Lila and Ellen are in the bathroom at school laughing over the letters and saying that if Amy still insists on trying out they will totally embarass her at tryouts. Lila and Ellen don’t realize that Elizabeth was in the stall listening. Elizabeth decides to stop Amy from going to auditions before something awful happens. On the way to auditions, Elizabeth runs into Ken. He won’t talk to Liz at first but then Elizabeth asks Ken if he got a letter from Amy and insists on seeing it. As Lila and Ellen quoted the letter, Liz knows it was their dirty work and tells Ken that the letter is a fake and Amy just wants to be friends.  Elizabeth tells Ken the Unicorns don’t want Amy to be a Booster.  Elizabeth then sees Amy and tells her not to try out because the Unicorns are planning something devious and Amy says they can’t exactly murder her in the gym in front of everyone.  Elizabeth tries telling Amy it could still be horrible and Amy says she doesn’t care and she wants to be a cheerleader more than anything and nothing will stop her, and Amy does call out Liz on her shit- ya know how Elizabeth told Ken to ignore Bruce Patman, but can’t let Amy audition. Elizabeth finally wishes Amy good luck, and Amy says she thinks she will really need it!

Then Elizabeth sees Ken walking out of the gym because he’s too nervous to try out for the team and face Bruce’s taunting. Elizabeth tells Ken what Amy said about not giving up no matter what, and Ken says he will go through with tryouts for Amy because if Amy can be brave against the Unicorns, he can be brave against Bruce.  At Booster tryouts, the 7 remaining girls have to do a cheer- complete with baton twirling- with the Unicorns- each girl will cheer alone with the Unicorns and if they drop the baton once they are OUT!  A pretty blonde named Penny tries out first and poor Penny drops the baton and runs out of the gym crying.  A friend of the Unicorns named Grace is next and she does the routine perfectly. Then it’s Amy’s turn. Remember the cheer is ” a boy’s name he’s our man if he can’t do it no one can!” ya know like ” Frank, Frank he’s our man” for example. Ellen says the name they should use should be KEN!!! Amy thinks it’s pretty low to suggest Ken’s name but at least the Unicorns will cheer with her! Well- NOOOO- As  the cheer starts, Lila, Ellen, Janet and Jess step away from Amy and have Amy cheer Ken, Ken he’s our man ALL BY HERSELF IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE GYM!!!! Amy, of course, is mortified but decides to continue the cheer anyway- and does it perfectly and even does this wicked elaborate baton routine- Amy is better than Ellen at baton! And then Bruce is laughing as Amy is doing this, and Bruce is so distracted that Ken steals the ball from Bruce and makes quite a few baskets! Ken is playing basketball like he’s never played before!  After the  kids in the gym ( yeah tons of kids showed up to watch the final rounds of b- ball and cheerleading tryouts) start cheering wildly for Ken and Amy, the Unicorns realize Amy is great and practically beg Amy to join the Boosters!  And Ken said Coach Cassels said he definitely made the team!  After that excitement ( and after Liz tells Amy she’s sorry for doubting her) Amy tells Elizabeth about Johnny Buck. Elizabeth thinks that she hopes Ned and Alice will let her and Jessica go to the concert this year, especially since Jessica adores Johnny Buck. And of course that leads to the next SVT book (that I read at least 50 times from about 4th-7th grade and loved) Sneaking Out.

Stay tuned this week to a Unicorn Club book recap, and next week it’s the world of Christie Winchell, Jana Morgan, Katie Shannon, Beth Barry and Melanie Edwards-AKA the FAB FIVE!

Sweet Valley Kids #23- Lila’s Haunted House Party

Jessica, Eva and their friends are playing at the park and talking about what all of them are going to be for Halloween. Eva Simpson is going to be a turtle- cool idea, actually. Elizabeth wanted to be a headless horseman, but Jessica told Elizabeth that was too scary so Elizabeth is now going to be a tiger. Jessica is going as a genie. Halloween is going to be special this year. Lila’s dad rented a big house called Hathaway Manor, and Lila is having a big Halloween party there. If Lila lives in a huge mansion, I am not sure why Mr. Fowler had to rent a big house to have a party. There are rumors that the Hathaway mansion is haunted. Damn, Sweet Valley has lots of rumored haunted houses- the Hathaway mansion, the Mercandy house….  Lila says she is not scared because Lila doesn’t believe in ghosts. Eva says she does believe in ghosts and it would be cool to see the Hathaway mansion ghost, who is rumored to be a woman.

At dinner,  Jessica is saying how fun Lila’s Halloween party will be- she will have  a storyteller, spooky special effects and a haunted dungeon. Ned is wearing a tie with jack o lanterns on it.  Ned then says that Lila’s family is related to the Hathaways. There are no Hathaways left, so the house was turned into a museum and people rent it out to have parties.  Mr. Wakefield then says he thought he saw a ghost in the Hathaway house when he was a little kid. Elizabeth says there are no such things as ghosts.  Steven tries to scare the girls into believing there is a ghost in the house, and Mr. Wakefield tells Steven to stop, and that the only ghosts they will see are special effects. Jessica says that if Lila is related to the Hathaway family, than Lila is related to the ghost too. Elizabeth says that is silly as there is no such thing as ghosts.  Elizabeth kids and tells Jessica that if there is a ghost, she will protect Jess from it! Both girls laugh.

The moment Jessica and Liz walk into the Hathaway mansion, a skeleton drops down on them from the door!  Todd says through his astronaut costume that the skeleton drops down automatically whenever the door opens.  Lila is wearing an old fashioned dress and boots, and has on a really pretty gold locket on the end of a chain. Lila says it’s an antique and her dad said she could wear it.  There are real candles in candelabras on all the tables in the house, and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.  Lila says the special effects aren’t that scary, when a ” ghostly man” comes out of a trapdoor! Lila screams and drops her parasol.  Ken laughs and says he thought Lila wasn’t scared of anything.  Elizabeth spots a painting on the wall of a young girl with light brown hair and green eyes  in an old fashioned dress that looks a lot like Lila.  Lila blushes and says the girl does not, and then tells the twins they don’t want to be late for the storyteller.

There is an old man sitting in a rocking chair who says the kids have probably heard a lot of rumors about the Hathaway mansion- and they are all true!  Laura Hathaway was an invalid who could barely walk. Her brother Michael took care of her.  Then the Hathaways fell on hard times, and Michael decided to head to Yukon territory to find gold.  Laura became very sick when Michael left and screamed in her sleep, ” Don’t go come back!!”  Michael never came back, and Laura’s spirit wanders around the house looking for Michael.  The old man then says Laura’s portrait is hanging in the house- the same way Elizabeth, Li and Jess saw!  Lila looks really scared when the old man says that.  The old man says that Laura’s room was on the second floor so whatever the kids do- don’t go on the second floor!

Jessica says the story was really scary, and Lila claims not to be scared but her voice is shaky. Then Dracula comes out and has fangs and blood dripping and scares the heck out of Lila and the twins. Well ” Dracula” is only Charlie Cashman, and he laughs about scaring Lila, Jessica and Liz.  Todd then says he saw the painting of Laura Hathaway, and she looks just like Lila. Jessica is all see Lila we told you so but Lila again denies it.  Charlie and Todd tell Lila to stand next to Laura’s painting so they can compare but Lila refuses and Charlie says Lila is too scared. Jessica then looks up the staircase to the second floor.  It is so dark she can barely see the top steps, and she wonders what is up there.  Lila says the party is only on this floor and there is nothing on the second floor.  Jessica agrees, but she is getting very curious about the ghost.

 A creepy looking witch with long fingernails cackles, ” this way to the dungeon.”  She says ” be careful my pretties or you will never come out.”  When Elizabeth touches the bannister in the ” dungeon” her hand gets covered in gooey slime.  Elizabeth then sees a small hole they have to climb through, and she is not sure how they will get through there.  The girls all go through the tunnel.  The tunnel suddenly slants downward and starts to shake! This sounds like a haunted house my boyfriend and I went to in Lake George.  The girls can hear screaming and wailing, and they see three witches stirring a brew and a man in chains asking for water.  Lila, Elizabeth and Jessica get out of there, and then go into a haunted graveyard. Jessica asks Lila if Laura could be buried there and Lila says it’s all fake. Then Elizabeth sees flickering lights on the third floor of the mansion and figures it’s another special effect.  Elizabeth points out the lights to Lila and Lila says there are no effects on the third floor- the party is only in the basement and first floor.  Elizabeth, Jess and Lila look up and don’t see any flickering lights on the third floor.  Lila looks nervous and says there is not supposed to be anything up there. Elizabeth sees Lila looks spooked and says maybe the lights were her imagination.  But Elizabeth KNOWS she saw a light. Elizabeth wonders if Lila is scared of the ghost.

Elizabeth, Li and Jess join the other kids. They are playing pin the tail on the black cat, bobbing for apples and eating candy eyeballs.  Jessica asks where Charlie and Jerry are, and Ken says they were in front of the staircase to the second floor, and Jess gets all spooked. Elizabeth says Jerry and Charlie always go off by themselves. Maybe Jerry and Charlie like playing doctor a lot???  Todd says that Jerry and Charlie did say they may go upstairs, and Lila says she is not going to look for them. Todd says Lila should as it’s her party.  Then Todd and Elizabeth say that all of the kids can go the second floor together so it won’t be as scary. Winston asks Jessica if she is scared, and Jess says no. 

The second hall floorways smell dusty and dirty ( dust smells?) and both doors on the second floor are shut.  The kids try to open the doors but all of them are locked.  Lila wants to give up, but Elizabeth says they have to keep looking for Charlie and Jerry. Then they all hear a loud thump! Winston says it must be another special effect but Lila says there are no special effects on this floor. The kids then hear another LOUD thump and then oooooooohhhhhhh sounds. All of them scream and run downstairs.

Jessica notices that Lila has lost her locket. Lila freaks saying she begged and begged her dad to wear the locket even though he warned it could get loose really easily.  Lila then realizes she lost the locket upstairs, before they all ran down.  Jessica and Elizabeth agree to go back upstairs to help Lila look for her locket and to try to find Charlie and Jerry again.

The girls link their arms together so that it can give them protection and they won’t be as scared.  The girls hear more thumps and bumps. The noises are coming from the attic and Elizabeth speculates that maybe Charlie and Jerry are making those noises.  Elizabeth screams ” are you up there Jerry and Charlie”? ( like they would say it was them!) and they just hear more screams in response. Lila then finds her locket in a bunch of dust, and sees footprints that Li seems to think only a ghost could make.  Lila, Liz and Jess try to find a secret door, as Li says the footprints look like they go into the wall and only ghosts can walk into walls.  Elizabeth said the footprints look like sneakers, so she still thinks it’s Charlie and Jerry but Lila disagrees. Then all of a sudden,  the panel opens into a hidden hinge, and Lila topples backward into the dark!

Lila, Jessica and Liz have found a secret passage!  Elizabeth, Jessica and Lila close the door and head up to stairs that are in the passage. They see a light is on, and all wonder aloud if it was the ghost.  Then Elizabeth hears a noise and says who’s there!! And they see that Charlie and Jerry are hiding behind a box in the attic! Gee, what  a shock!  Jerry explains that they closed the secret door and got stuck in the attic.  Elizabeth deduces that Charlie’s flashlight was the light she saw flickering, and she asks if the boys were up there trying to scare the girls and they pretty much admit it was them.  Elizabeth, Li, Jess, Charlie and Jerry brag about finding the secret passage and Winston makes fun of Charlie and Jerry saying GIRLS had to rescue them and Charlie retorts that Todd and Winston were too chicken to go upstairs with the twins and Lila. Well, the party is done and Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield are there to pick up Jess and Liz. They thank Mr. Fowler for inviting the whole class, and Mr. Fowler says he hopes none of the kids were too scared. Lila says she sure wasn’t scared and Jessica snickers.  As the twins leave, Jessica swears she sees a light flickering in the attic again. Mr. Wakefield says it was probably moonlight but Jessica doesn’t think so- and if it’s not moonlight or Charlie’s flashlight…. 

Two days later, Jessica is still sure she saw a light in the attic, and Elizabeth says it was Charlie’s flashlight.   Ellen Riteman says ” Hi identical twins” to the girls because Jessica and Liz are dressed alike- well in SVT Book 1 claims Jess and Liz dressed alike until 6th grade- but yeah Sweet Valley Kids insist they dress alike  ” sometimes. ” Jessica jokes to Ellen that the twins may have a TRIPLET- their cousin Kelly looks just like them, and she’s visiting soon so Ellen will see the resemblance. And that introduces the next book… ( which I don’t own).

Hope you enjoyed my Halloween treats of the Haunted House and Lila’s Haunted House Party!! Next week I hope to recap both Choosing Sides ( SV Twins #4) and a Unicorn Club book.  After that, look for some Fabulous Five and Taffy Sinclair books, another Sweet Valley Twins book, and BSC Little Sister #15- Karen’s in Love!

Sweet Valley Kids are not very sweet

So begins my fairly short recap of Sweet Valley Twins #3 The Haunted House. Usually, I found that 12 year old Jess and Elizabeth Wakefield look much cuter than 16 year old Jessica and Elizabeth. Elizabeth has on sort of a fug sweater on the cover, but I like the way her hair is pulled back. Jessica has a more untamed look and a purple sweatshirt. Nora Mercandy, the alleged ” witch” living at the Mercandy mansion, has this beautiful, straight, long black hair that I really wanted and you can tell her jeans are tapered.

There are rumors in Sweet Valley that Mrs. Mercandy is a witch. I almost feel like Karen Brewer should live in Sweet Valley, and if she did, I bet she’d act just as horrid as Lila did in this book. The rumor is that Mrs. Mercandy is a witch who chains her husband in the attic, because the Mercandys never leave the house. So old people not leaving their homes is rare in Sweet Valley? A girl about Jess and Elizabeth’s age moves into the Mercandy mansion and Jessica feels she looks ” spooky.” And naturally her hair is long and black. This girl is Nora Mercandy, and Elizabeth befriends her on her first day of school and gets to really like Nora.

But the Unicorn Club are determined to be really bitchy to Nora from Day 1- and seriously they are SUPER bitchy in this book and I almost don’t get why. The poor girl is new to the school and her mother died a MONTH ago. UGH!! Lila Fowler is especially ROTTEN to Nora. Lila gets really upset when Nora kicks her booty in a tennis match in gym class, and Lila had bet her expensive pen ( yes a pen) that she would win, and when Nora wins the bet Lila makes it seem that Nora stole the pen and Nora gets in trouble with Mr. Edwards, the vice principal ( heh Mr. Edwards was the name of my principal in middle school!) because Mr. Edwards instantly believes Lila’s story. Lila is not satisfied with this bit of revenge so in this unbelievable part of the story, Lila notices that Nora passes in her math quiz right away so Lila erases her name and puts in Lila’s , thinking Nora must be good at math, and Lila writes Nora’s name on Lila’s own quiz while Ms. Wyler is looking through a file cabinet. What happened to teachers watching kids like hawks during tests and quizzes? Stupid Ms. Wyler instantly believes that Lila actually got an A in math, and is wondering why Nora received a D, as Nora was great in math at her old school.  Ms. Wyler, you are a fuckin idiot- you wouldn’t know Lila was bad at math?  Then again, does Sweet Valley employ any SMART teachers?

Nora is completely confused as to why all the kids are so mean to her. Elizabeth says ” oh everyone says your grandma is weird because she never leaves the house”. Nora decides that to get the kids to like her, she will invite everyone over for punch and cookies, and to meet her grandma. The Unicorn Club agrees to go after Jessica talks them into it- after Elizabeth has to bribe Jessica into taking the Unicorns by promising to buy Jessica popcorn with extra butter at the movies,  and that Jess can borrow Liz’s new yellow sweater. At the house, ( Bruce Patman joins the Unicorns on the way) an old man looks stiff and is mumbling ” Nor…. Nor…” these stupid kids all scream and say it’s a zombie coming. Ummm an old man DOES live there, right???  So Lila is more pissed that ever and decides that Nora will be a SLAVE to the Unicorns- this is getting so ridiculous. Nora has to bring fresh cookies to the Unicorns during study hall, and has to do Jess, Lila and Ellen’s math homework.  Then Lila decides she wants to get revenge on Nora like crazy on Halloween by inviting Nora to her Halloween party, telling Nora to dress like the witch she is, while having some of the boys like Charlie Cashman and Bruce Patman to pretty much vandalize the Mercandy backyard.  So Lila all of a sudden starts being sweet to Nora and invites her to the party, and dummy Nora doesn’t see it’s a trick and is all excited to be accepted by the damn Unicorns.

Well at the party when Nora is dressed as a witch everyone is wondering how Nora got such an authentic witch’s costume from her grandma’s attic…. and Lila and Ellen start laughing at Nora and calling her ” Mercandy witch.”  Then Nora overhears Tamara Chase telling some kids what they are doing at the Mercandy mansion, and Nora cries and runs off ( but not before yelling out a Regina Morrow like ” I hate all of you!!” ) to the mansion to protect her grandparents or whatever.  Elizabeth, Amy and Rick Hunter, ( who shows an interest in Nora, which also pissed off Li as Lila likes him) run after Nora and Rick says that they should all go to see what’s up with the Mercandy mansion. Nora is in the attic of the mansion, and then Ken Matthews and Bruce Patman notice all of these posters with ” Marvelous Marvin” who used to be a really famous magician back  in the day, on the walls. Nora says Marvelous Marvin is her granddad, and he had studied under Houdini!!! Nora explains that her grandparents don’t leave the house because Mr. Mercandy had a stroke 10 years ago ( explaining the stiffness and that he can’t talk well) and Mrs. Mercandy has to provide 24 hour care for him. So these Sweet Valley kids chose to be mean to old people and a girl whose mom just died. Way to go! Of course, all of the kids now think Nora is great because her grandfather used to be a famous magician, and Nora even shows them a trick by sawing Elizabeth in half- or pretending to, of course!!

 

By the way, Elizabeth and Amy were both clowns for Halloween. Jessica, Lila, Ellen and Janet were all Hula girls. Charlie Cashman was a pirate.

At the end of the book, we are introduced to a novel I am recapping soon- Choosing Sides! Jessica, Lila and Ellen are starting a cheerleading squad, and Amy sees a flyer for tryouts and says that her aunt taught her baton last summer, and she got really good at it, and she would like to join the squad. Elizabeth hopes Amy doesn’t, because she doesn’t want to lose Amy to the Unicorns like she did Jessica!

Stay tuned early next year where I recap another Halloween book- Lila’s Haunted House Party, a Sweet Valley Kids book. Then- Choosing Sides! After that is a book from the very shitty Unicorn Club series ( the girls are in 7th grade and LIZ is also a Unicorn) the Best Friend Game. And following that, a Fabulous Five book called The Great TV Turnoff.

BSC #15- Little Miss Stoneybrook…and Dawn

This was one of my favorite BSC books as a kid- my favorite of all time is probably Boy Crazy Stacey but this one was definitely one I read A LOT- as did my sister.  The basic plot is that Claudia gets a phone call from Dr. Johannsen specifically requesting Claudia to be Charlotte’s baby sitter one day because Stacey just moved to NYC and Charlotte really misses her. The other members of the BSC now feel that they must not be good sitters because Dr Johannsen only asked for Claudia ( because these girls always think it’s about them.) So when Mrs. Pike asks Dawn to help Claudia and Margo with the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant Dawn feels it’s her chance to prove that she’s the best baby sitter. Little Miss Stoneybrook is for girls ages 5-8 and Claire and Margo both beg to be  in the pageant but Mrs. Pike is too busy with some library project to prepare the girls for the pageant ( I guess Dawn has to help them with the talent portion, assist in how to shake judge’s hands, answer questions crap like that) so of course Mrs. Pike has to pass the job on to a BSC member. Mallory is not asked because Mallory is actually sensible and says beauty pageants and unfair and sexist and has made her viewpoints clear, and Dawn lives right nearby and can just walk to the Pike home.

Meanwhile, this means the other girls just HAVE to find a tot to enter in the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant- so here I will give a description of what goes on with each girl. By the way, Jessi finds pageants sexist as well, and Becca would never enter a beauty pageant as she is too shy.

Soo- Dawn prepares Claire and Margo. Claire decides to sing Popeye the Sailor Man, and wears a cute sailor suit.  Margo’s talent will be reciting the House that Jack Built and peeling a banana with her feet at the same time ( and yes my sis and I at ages 12 and 6 both attempted to perform this same feat too many times). Margo and Claire end up squabbling quite a bit since they will be competing against each other in the pageant. At the pageant , Claire blows it by answering a question ” What is your greatest hope?” with ” I hope Santa Claus is real.” Well, that’s an honest answer from a 5 year old!  Margo blows it because there is this pageant head Jon Benet type, Sabrina Bouvier, who answers a question with the answer Margo wanted to use ( the answer being ” global peace”) so when Margo gets asked a question she can’t think of a damn thing to say so Margo blows her chances of winning Little Miss Stoneybrook as well.

Meanwhile, Dawn is having issues at home- Jeff can’t take living in CT anymore and wants to live with his dad in California. Dawn and her mom are both really upset, and Dawn sort of wishes she could live with her dad too- but Dawn would never leave her mom!! Dawn’s mom eventually tells Dawn that this is best for Jeff, and Dawn is trying her best to adjust when Jeff moves at the very end.

Claudia- Basically forces Charlotte to enter the pageant, even though Charlotte is as shy as Becca Ramsey. Charlotte is going to recite the part where Violet Beaurgard blows up like a blueberry in ” Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and Claud even makes Charlotte a way cool blueberry costume. Charlotte gets WICKED stage fright and can’t go through with reciting the poem and has to be taken off the stage crying. See, what Claudia should have done is pulled a Blanche from the Golden Girls  and just pushed Charlotte aside and finished reciting the part from the book. ( for any of you who haven’t seen this ep, there’s  a great episode of Golden Girls where Blanche forces her niece Melissa to do a beauty pageant, Melissa stands theree frozen, so Blanche says ” give me that boa” and finishes singing the song Melissa was gonna sing! Great stuff,that GG)  Of course, Claudia couldn’t memorize from a book if you paid her. I just don’t get why Claudia EVER thought Charlotte would ever want to be in a beauty pageant! Or why Dr. and Mr. Johannsen agreed to let Charlotte do it!! Claudia is just ridiculous in this book.

Kristy: Gets Karen to agree to be in the pageant after Karen gets all excited about wearing sparkles like ladies on TV. Of course, then Karen gets upset because she’s not going to wear sparkles. Karen’s talent is singing the friggin Wheels on the Bus song. Karen adds numerous stanzas to the songs and bores the hell out of her audience. In a fire, Karen would rescue her pen that writes in four colors, her blanket and her brother Andrew.

Mary Anne: Talks Myriah Perkins into entering the pageant. Myriah is talented at everything and I am surprised Mr. and Mrs. Perkins didn’t have her on the beauty pageant circuit starting at age 1. Myriah sings on the Good Ship Lollipop and tap dances to it, and she is great. But the girls are all upset because even though Myriah is talented and smart, she doesn’t win the grand prize- Jon Benet, or Sabrina Bouvier, wins the pageant- and Sabrina sings a song called ” Moon River” that I had never heard of in my life when I read this book. Sabrina was not even very good but because she is poised and wears tons of makeup, she wins the pageant. Hey, Mal and Jessi warned you guys these pageants weren’t fair! But Myriah is thrilled as she got first place, and first place is a shopping spree at Toy City, a toy store of course. Gabbie Perkins wanted to also be in the pageant, but she is not ages 5-8. Margo and Karen cry hysterically over not winning the pageant, incidentally.

At the end of the book, it’s sort of funny- Claire calls Dawn saying she wants to enter a beautiful child contest at Bellair’s Department Store, and will Dawn help her? That’s too much.  We also learn that when Dawn was a baby, she won a beautiful baby contest. LAME

I won’t be posting again until probably early next week or the end of this week- stay tuned for a most likely short recap ( hey Sada likes ‘em of Sweet Valley Twins #3 The Haunted House.

I wanted to add this story about myself- when I was about 8 and our third grade teacher read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to us, I wanted to try to be like Violet and chew gum continuously for as long as I could- and yes I stuck the gum to the bedpost at night. I lasted about a week and then decided it was just too gross to continue doing it. And I love both the original Gene Wilder movie and the newer Johnny Depp movie- I love both Violets, and Violet’s mom in the newer one is hilarious! Both Augustus Gloops are good too. But Veruca in the Gene Wilder movie is sooo much better than new Veruca!!!! “I want the world, I want the whole world!! ” It’s my bar of chocolate- give it to me now!!”

Sweet Valley Kids #32-Left Back!

A new boy is starting Mrs. Otis’s class, and Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are excited to meet the new boy.  The new boy is named Kisho, and he has olive skin, dark hair and almond shaped eyes- yes he is Asian, people. Kisho is a little taller than the other second grade boys.  The kids start to read aloud, and Kisho has a hard time with reading aloud.  Kisho is happy when his turn is finally over in reading. Elizabeth can see that reading isn’t Kisho’s favorite subject.

It’s almost Grandparents’ Day, and the class is going to work on cards to give to their grandmothers and grandfathers. Wow, I just read a book about Grandparents’ Day and here comes another one!  Friggin Caroline Pearce says to Kisho ” why do you have a funny name?” UGH Kisho explains that it is a Japanese name, and Kisho is from Japan. Kisho helps Amy draw a picture of a bicycle, and Amy is amazed that Kisho is such a good artist. Kisho then announces that his birthday is in eight days, and he is going to have a cookout at the park, and the kids can all play baseball. Lila tells Kisho that Secca Lake has more space for a baseball game, and Kisho says he will tell his mom to have the party at Secca Lake. Todd asks if Kisho plays soccer. Ken says Kisho would be good because he is so tall. Kisho says ” you boys will catch up to me” and looks uncomfortable. Elizabeth tells Amy that maybe Kisho doesn’t like soccer.

The kids are all really excited for Kisho’s birthday party.  The kids are going to learn multiplication tables today, ( in 2nd grade?? We didn’t learn that until at least 3rd) and Elizabeth even has to admit multiplication is hard. Mrs. Otis gives a little test, and Kisho gets one hundred percent.  Jessica asks Kisho how he got so good at multiplication. Kisho replies he learned it last year. Jessica is all ” in first grade?” and Kisho says ” no in second grade” and Jessica asks if he meant the beginning of this year in Oklahoma, where Kisho moved from. Kisho says no he was in second grade last year.  Lila then asks how old Kisho will be on his birthday and he says 9- all the kids in Mrs Otis’s class are 7 or 8. Lila says Kisho is dumb. Jessica points out that he knows how to multiply and Lila says that of course Kisho knows that because he learned it last year. Lila says that since Kisho didn’t get promoted to third grade, he must be dumb, and Lila will not hang out with a dummy. Lila- you hang out with Jessica. Jessica agrees that she will no longer be Kisho’s friend.  Elizabeth says that they promised to go to Kisho’s party, and and Jessica says she is no longer going.

Elizabeth and Amy talk about what they want to get Kisho for his birthday. Jessica says she is not going to Kisho’s party because he’s a ” repeater.” Amy is all ” so?” Elizabeth says the kids all used to like Kisho, and Jessica says that’s before they found out he was a dummy.  Kisho is running with the boys, and Jessica says to Liz she is going on the swings and to join her as Jessica refuses to play with a dummy. And of course because Liz is a doormat, Elizabeth goes off to play with Jessica. Amy says she will play with Kisho. Then Lila and Ellen both say they will not go to Kisho’s party because they don’t go to parties given by dummies. Ummmm Ellen seems like a real dumbass who is she to talk? Winston, Charlie Cashman and Amy look uncomfortable as Lila and Ellen say that, and Elizabeth is a little suprised that Charlie is not teasing Kisho because he’s usually a bully.  Jessica then says she wouldn’t go to the party because she doesn’t want to ” play with rattles.” ?????? Kisho runs away with his face beet red. God, Sweet Valley sucks. Charlie Cashman then balls his hands into fists and says ” you better stop making fun of Kisho or else” and HE runs off to play with Kisho.

Elizabeth goes to the back of the class to talk to Kisho and Charlie. Charlie finds it so cool ( yes the Charlie who later beats up Andy Jenkins just because he is black) that Kisho was born in Japan and moved to the US when he was 4. Kisho lived in New York City for awhile, then Oklahoma and now Sweet Valley. Kisho’s parents are college professors who move around a lot for their jobs, but Kisho’s parents say they should be staying in Sweet Valley for awhile. Because Sweet Valley is the most magical place on Earth. Elizabeth asks Kisho if he had to stay back because he moves around so much, and Kisho says yes and also because he had to miss so much school due to moving, and English is his second language and he can’t read English too well. Kisho says he wishes that kids didn’t tease him- at his old school, the kids didn’t act like it was a big deal. Elizabeth agrees to go to Kisho’s house the next day along with Charlie so Kisho can show them pictures of Japan and Oklahoma. Charlie says to Elizabeth that she must wonder why Charlie is being so nice to Kisho. Elizabeth says she kind of does wonder that. Charlie says it’s because he can be nice to anyone he wants. Good enough. Elizabeth decides she can also be nice to anyone she wants, despite what Jessica thinks. 

Elizabeth tells Jessica after school she is going to play Space Explorers with Charlie and Kisho and Jessica says she doesn’t want to. Jessica thinks that Elizabeth playing with Kisho and Charlie is embarrassing. Jessica tells Lila, Ellen and Caroline that Elizabeth is playing with Kisho, and Lila says it’s because Elizabeth likes Kisho. Jessica says Liz just feels bad for Kisho. Then Jessica marches over to Elizabeth and tells her she wants Liz to stop being that dumbo’s friend.  Elizabeth says Kisho is not dumb and Jessica asks why he was left back. Elizabeth says she “doesn’t know” ( Liz yes you do) but it doesn’t matter and Kisho is not dumb. Jessica says now Lila and Ellen think she is dumb because Liz hangs out with Kisho. So doormat Liz says she and Jessica should just go home.  Elizabeth asks Mrs. Wakefield at dinner why kids are left back in school and Mrs. Wakefield says some kids learn at a slower pace and need more time to learn things, and Mr. Wakefield says it doesn’t mean those kids aren’t smart. Jessica thinks that Kisho needs more time because he is dumb. Jessica YOU ARE DUMB AS BRICKS SHUT UP! Jessica- you only pass college because you sleep with half your professors. SHUT UP! ( Jessica sucks in this book)

Mrs. Murasaki picks up Elizabeth, Kisho and  Charlie so they can play at Kisho’s house the next day.  Kisho has to go to the phone to talk to his grandma in Oklahoma and Elizabeth and Charlie are all amazed to hear Kisho speak Japanese- he said English was his second language! HELLO! Charlie says Japanese is really different from English. Kisho says his grandma is visiting next month to see a baseball game. Kisho then says he and his parents speak Japanese a lot at home.  Charlie then reveals that his grandparents came here from Italy and when they first arrived a lot of people made fun of them because they didn’t speak English well. Charlie says some people still tease his grandpa because his English still isn’t the best. (which of these books was written first? Either way- ghostwriters didn’t do their homework too well, since Charlie later becomes a racist butthole).  Charlie says he speaks a little Italian because his mom and grandparents taught him. Elizabeth then gets why Charlie is nice to Kisho.  Charlie and Kisho say it’d be great if Mrs. Otis could teach in Japanese one day and Italian in another and then Lila and Ellen would have no clue what was going on in class. This gives Elizabeth an idea…

Mrs. Otis gives a lesson about there being all different cultures in our world, with different foods and languages. Mrs. Otis says when people first come to the US they have a lot to adjust to, and have to learn a whole new language, and it can be very tough for new immigrants. Jessica says ” oh Mrs. Otis is talking about this for Caroline to be nicer”- umm for CAROLINE to be nicer, Jess? Mrs. Otis says most of the kids in class had relatives who once came from another country in some point in time.  Elizabeth says to Jessica she will find out what the ” big surprise” is tomorrow.

Kisho’s granddad and Charlie Cashman’s Italian grandma are visiting the class! The old people tell the kids about what it was like to move to America long ago. Mrs. Gangemi Charlie’s grandma talks about all of the buildings in the US being so big. Mr. Murasaki only came to the US three years ago, and has to learn English for hours each day. The kids learn how to say ” Good” in Japanese (  a character that is yoi) and in Italian ( bene). Lila knows how to say good in Spanish, Ken knows the word in German, and Eva Simpson knows the word in French. Mrs. Otis says there are many other languages besides even those spoken in the US. Jessica says she doesn’t think Kisho is dumb anymore. Jessica doesn’t speak Japanese, but it doesn’t make her dumb. Jessica decides she will go to Kisho’s party and she is going to get him a box of 64 crayons, since he likes to draw.

The  morning of Kisho’s party, Jessica asks if there are any relatives of theirs who came from another country. Mrs. Wakefield then tells the story of her great grandma Alice Larsen, who came from Sweden.  The whole class came to Kisho’s party at Secca Lake.  The kids have a Japanese dessert- some pastry with red goo inside that are beans- and Jessica says she likes it.  Charlie says he wants to play a Japanese game and Kisho suggests baseball, because Kisho says the Japanese love baseball. Elizabeth and Charlie are both so happy that Kisho has tons of friends now.  After the party, the kids discuss Halloween and what they will all be for a costume, and it leads up to the next book of course.

Stay tuned for next week’s selection- Little Miss Stoneybrook… and Dawn! If you own the book, read along! If not, watch Toddlers and Tiaras- you will get the general idea.

Freshman Choices and News

http://13readingat30.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/freshman-dorm-14-freshman-choices/

 

Just in case you wanted to read what comes before ” Freshman Heartbreak”- here be the link for Freshman Choices!! 

 

See me later this week when I recap a Sweet Valley Kids book!  As you know, Little Miss Stoneybrook and Dawn are a comin’, as well as some Halloween themed books. Other books coming up are as follows- I am going to pretty much list upcoming books here, and I won’t be doing that for awhile so turn to this post to know what is coming until the NEW YEAR!! ( yes I plan ahead but in case I get busier like if I get a new job which I may posting may be more sporadic, but this is the plan)

Sweet Valley Twins #4- Choosing Sides

The Unicorn Club #3- The Best Friend Game

The Fabulous Five #24- The Great TV Turn-off

Taffy Sinclair and the Melanie Make-over

Sweet Valley Twins #44- Amy Moves In

BSC Little Sister #15-Karen’s in Love

BSC #1- Kristy’s Great Idea

Sleepover Friends #11-Stephanie’s Family Secret

Sleepover Friends #26- The New Kate

Sweet Valley Kids #39- Ellen is home Alone

Freshman Dorm #27- Freshman Passion

BSC Little Sister Super Special- Karen’s Wish

Sweet Valley Kids Super Snooper- The Case of the Secret Santa

Sweet Valley High Super Edition- Special Xmas

BSC #50- Dawn’s Big Date

Freshman Dorm #15-Freshman Heartbreak

The main story in this tale ( Freshman Dorm books always have about 5 plots going on at once) revolves around Winnie Gottlieb. Winnie feels that her relationship with Josh is getting boring, and Josh always puts his computers over her ( ya know, the same recurring themes in their whole relationship.) When Josh tells Winnie he’s not even sure if he will have time to take her to the Spring Formal, that is the final straw. Winnie has been flirting a little with a new guy on campus, Dimitri Costigan Broder, and Dimitri asks Winnie to go to dinner at the fancy Blue Whale restaurant, and Winnie accepts. Dimitri is everything Josh is not- cosmopolitan, sexy, and a real daredevil who adds excitement to Winnie’s life. After a romantic meal at the Blue Whale, Dimitri asks Winnie to meet him the next night ( Spring Formal night) at his friend’s cabin so they can ” spend the night.” Meanwhile, during that romantic dinner, Josh happened to be in town and saw Winnie with Dimitri and he is insanely jealous. Well, turns out that as Winnie is driving to the cabin, she changes her mind about spending the night with Dimitri when she gets lost, and Josh confronts her and tells Winnie he loves her so much, and Josh confronted Dimitri after that date, and told Dimitri he and Winnie were together, and Dimitri told Josh where Winnie would be, as Dimitri is not one to fool around with attached girls. So Winnie and Josh get a hotel room and lie in each other’s arms all night and they have made up. Dimitri, meanwhile, spots Lauren getting out of her Jeep, and asks Winnie to introduce him to Lauren at the end.

Other plots;

KC: KC has decided to study business in Italy with her boyfriend Peter, who has this huge opportunity to study photography there. KC is completely in love with Peter and so excited to go to Italy-until one day when KC sees her Grandma Rose entering the University hospital. KC is convinced Grandma Rose is really sick and never told her about her illness, so KC calls Grandma Rose and asks her to explain. KC and Grandma Rose meet for coffee, and Grandma tells KC she is not at all ill- but her son, KC’s father, has lung cancer and he has to get treatment for it. The cancer has spread, and the chances are not good. KC decides she has to be there for her father, and tells Peter she can’t join him in Italy. Peter is very upset, but he understands.

Faith: Faith is having issues with everyone in her life- her roommate, Liza, moved a DOG into their dorm room, which is against University regulations. The dog has ruined Faith’s trusty cowboy boots, and Liza refuses to get rid of the dog. Liza is also really snotty to Faith at rehearsals of Macbeth, as is Erin Grant, Faith’s bitchy RA. The director of the play, Lawrence Briscoe ( I do have a recap of Freshman Dorm #14 here on this site so look for it!!)  is also giving Faith hell- Lawrence made it so that Faith wouldn’t get in trouble with Erin for having alcohol on campus and Lawrence feels Faith ” owes him one” so Lawrence constantly talks down to Faith and makes her feel like shit. One day, Erin Grant ruins Faith’s overalls by ” accidentally’ spilling grape juice on them, and Liza causes an accident that ruins Faith’s suede jacket. Faith is also upset because her ” sort of” boyfriend Scott Sills isn’t able to take her to Spring Formal because his volleyball team won a huge tournament.

Lauren: Lauren and Dash are not back together- in fact, Dash brings another girl to the Spring Formal- a hot blonde girl. Lauren is still living in her dingy apartment and working long hours at Springfield Mountain Inn because Lauren’s mom cut her off completely when Lauren de-pledged Tri Beta as Lauren’s mom feels college is only worth attending if you are in a sorority. Then none of my friends, or me, had any business attending college! Lauren is completely devestated after seeing Dash with another girl, right as she thinks things may work out, when Faith runs to Lauren at work during the night of the Formal and gives Lauren a letter. Lauren’s dad writes her that he is very upset over what Lauren’s mom did and he can’t live with himself anymore- therefore, he has restored Lauren’s trust fund and Lauren is rich again! GOODBYE to her job, and goodbye to that nasty apartment! Lauren and Faith decide that Lauren can move in with Winnie once Melissa and Brooks get married, and Lauren can be back in the dorms as she always wanted.  Lauren buys Faith a new jacket, overalls and boots with her riches. Dimitri sees Lauren with  her new, expensive clothes on and in a Jeep… but the Lauren and Dimtri romance is to be covered another day.

I know this wasn’t a full recap as I usually do, but Freshman Dorm books can be long with all the plots, so this is what basically happened. I will try to put up a link to Frosh Dorm #14 so you can get background on Lawrence Briscoe and Erin Grant if you never have.

I do hope to fully recap ( it shouldn’t take long) Sweet Valley Kids #32 Left Back by the end of this week.  Next week- Little Miss Stoneybrook… and Dawn!! And for Halloween week- a recap of both SVT #3 The Haunted House and Sweet Valley Kids 23- Lila’s Haunted House party. November will bring awesome books such as Sweet Valley Twins #4 Choosing Sides,  Sweet Valley Twins #44 Amy Moves in and BSC Little Sister #15 Karen’s in Love!

BSC Little Sister #10- Karen’s Grandmothers

Ms. Colman has a special announcement to make.  The class has been given the special honor of ” adopting” one of the elderly people who is staying at the nursing home Stoneybrook Manor.  Any child interested will be assigned to a resident and will visit with that resident twice  per week after school.  Karen really wants to volunteer because right now she has FOUR grandmothers- Watson and Lisa’s mothers of course, but also two stepgrandmas- Nannie, and Seth’s mother. If Karen adopts a grandma she will set the world record for grandmas and have 5 grandmas. Yep, Karen doesn’t even want to adopt a grandparent to keep an old person company or to be altruistic or anything. Nancy Dawes doesn’t have any grandparents and is not interested in the adopt a grandparent program but Hannie, Karen and Ricky all sign up. A bus will take the kids to Stoneybrook Manor after school. 

That usual two two shit. Seth’s mother lives on a farm in Nebraska. Moving on…   Karen wants Nancy to adopt a grandma because Nancy has no sisters or brothers and no grandparents and Karen feels Nancy has a bigger family. Shut UP, Karen.  Karen finds out that Nancy is scared of old people, and that is why she doesn’t want to adopt a grandparent. Karen points out that Nancy isn’t scared of Nannie, and Nancy replies that Nannie doesn’t seem like an old person because she goes bowling and doesn’t act old. Nancy isn’t really sure why she’s scared of old people.

Karen gets a great idea. She thinks that Nancy should have a pen pal grandma- specifically, Karen’s grannie, aka Seth’s mom in Nebraska. Nancy would never have to see how old Grannie looks.  Karen also figures that if Nancy gets mail, it will be almost like Nancy having a real grandma. Wow, Karen is now as meddlesome as Liz Wakefield. Karen gets the ball rolling by writing a letter to Grannie telling her about Nancy. Karen even makes a piece of paper that says ” I would like to be a pen pal grandma” with a box that says yes and one that says no and Grannie could check off either box and mail it back to Nancy. Karen hopes Grannie marks the yes box so that Nancy can have a pen pal grandma!

Karen meets her adopted grandma- Esther Bernard, who tells Karen to call her Grandma B.  Grandma B tells Karen about her six grandkids that live in Chicago and she shows Karen pictures of the grandkids. Karen feels bad that she has no pictures of her family to show.  Karen gets a letter when she gets home- from Grannie ( remember Grannie is Seth’s mom, Nannie is Kristy’s grandma). Grannie marked off yes, and there is another envelope with Nancy’s name on it!  Karen goes over to Nancy’s house and gives her the letter from Grannie and tells Nancy how she now has a pen pal grandma! Nancy is pretty excited that Grannie enclosed pictures of Grannie’s farm, and Nancy says Grannie doesn’t sound old at all! Karen is all pissy that she didn’t get any pictures from Grannie. 

Ms. Colman has another special annoucement. The class will be doing a special event with the residents of Stoneybrook Manor for Grandparents’ Day. Ms. Colman thought that the kids could put on some kind of program, and make gifts for the residents.  Ms. Colman says the kids can put on any sort of program they want.  Nancy starts to cry and says she does not want to go to Stoneybrook Manor and see all of those old people, and no one can make her. Karen asks if Nancy wants to meet Grandma B, and Nancy says she won’t even go to Stoneybrook Manor to meet Grandma B, and she may just play sick that day.

After a few weeks of visiting Grandma B, that shit face Karen says that she is getting tired of Grandma B.  Karen says she is tired of Grandma B because she makes Karen listen to old music with violins in it ( well Susan Felder would love Grandma B!), makes Karen look at photo albums, and teaches Karen old dances like the fox trot. Oh no the poor old lady makes you dance and look at pictures, Karen! God, Karen sucks so much ass in this book I just don’t believe how bratty she is. And why did this kid get her own series? I would have much rather had a series featuring Becca Ramsey, or even Claire Pike!  Karen would much rather do arts and crafts or have Grandma B read stories to her.  So Karen decides to skip a visit to the Manor to go to a Krusher’s practice instead. GGRRRRR I HATE THIS FUG CHILD! And Karen’s mom just tells Karen to call Grandma B and explain that she’s not visiting this week.  Grandma B says it’s OK and she hopes Karen does well in practice, and Karen does great in practice. Like I care.  After practice, Mommy drives Andrew and Karen home ( Andrew is also a Krusher) and Nancy runs up to Karen saying she has great news!  Nancy got a letter back from Grannie after Nancy wrote back and Grannie even knitted Nancy mittens. Of course, Karen is sore because Grannie didn’t even write back to her yet. Yeah, Karen because Nancy is sort of cool ( I prefer Hannie) and you are a shit face, Karen, and fug. And terrible.  Karen is all upset because Grannie did knit Karen mittens for Christmas last year but Karen thought they were special just for her. Nancy says she is so happy to have a pen pal grandma but she can’t call Grannie ” pen pal Grandma” or even   ” Grannie” so Nancy decides to call Grannie ” Big Mama” which Karen thinks sounds awful, but she tells Nancy it’s great.

In Karen’s class, the gift they will be making for the residents of Stoneybrook Manor is decided on- necklaces for the women, and pencil cups for the men. The necklaces will be macaroni necklaces, and  the pencil cups will be soup cans covered in wrapping paper.  Then the kids break up into groups and each group will decide on what type of program they will do for the residents. Nancy is going to participate after all as Nancy just couldn’t resist acting in front of an audience, and Hannie and Ricky are also in the group. Ricky and Nancy want to do a superhero play, but Hannie doesn’t like that idea and wants to do a play about a little lost kitten. Ricky declares that idea is for girls!! Well, Ricky, Hannie IS a girl! Karen and her group decide they will have to put more thought into what type of play to do.

At Karen’s next  visit with Grandma B, Grandma B says that the High Holy Days are coming up, and Grandma B takes the High Holy Days very seriously. Karen is thinking that Christmas is not for a few months ( this book takes place in September.)  Karen tells Grandma B about how much she loves Christmas, and Grandma B talks about the 10 days of Penitence.  Karen has no idea what Grandma B is talking about. Grandma B then talks about Yom Kippur and Rosh Hoshanah and Karen isn’t really listening because Karen sucks. Then Karen pulls out the book Paddington Marches on, and Karen tells Grandma B about Paddington Bear.  Karen reads the book to Grandma B and they have a great time laughing about the story.

Grannie writes to Karen. She didn’t send any photos. Grannie tells Karen she loves having Karen as a step-granddaughter, and Nancy as a pen pal granddaughter. Grannie finds it so funny that Nancy calls her Big Mama, which Karen can’t believe.  Karen wonders if Grannie likes Nancy as much as likes Karen. Karen also wonders if grandmas like adopted granddaughters as much as real ones. So Karen decides to ask Nannie about that, as Nannie has an adopted granddaughter, Emily Michelle of course, and step- grandkids as well.  Nannie tells Karen that she loves her bio, adopted and step grandkids all the same amount and for different reasons. Grandmas  have room in their hearts for many different kinds of grandchildren according to Nannie.

Hannie stops by and says she has a great idea for the Grandparents Day play.  Hannie and Karen decide together that they can do a play about a witch and a ghost, but then decide they can do a play on Georgie the Ghost, based on a book series. Karen could be Georgie ( OF COURSE Karen would be the star), Hannie could be Oliver the Owl Georgie’s friend, Ricky could be Herman the cat, and Nancy could be Mrs. Whitaker. ( Georgie lives in the Whitaker attic.)  Hannie then asks who would be Mr. Whitaker and Karen and Hannie agree they don’t really have enough people to do a Georgie play, and it’s back to the drawing board.

At school the next day, Karen, Hannie, Ricky and Nancy agree to recite scary poems for the residents of Stoneybrook Manor, and they will find both scary and funny Halloween poems to recite.  Nancy gets a picture of Big Mama and her hubby ( Seth’s dad) and Nancy says she didn’t think Big Mama would look so old. Karen tells Nancy she has been trying to tell her that not all old people act old, and they are not scary. Nancy decides maybe Grandparents Day won’t be so bad after all. Nancy also says that since Grandma B dances and sings, maybe she won’t be so bad.

There is a dress rehearsal for the Grandparents Day programs and it does not go very well. Karen and her group don’t have the poems totally memorized, and other groups aren’t so ready either. Ms Colman says the kids have to get much more prepared in order to put on a good show.

It’s Grandparents Day and Rehearsal #2 goes a lot more smoothly. Then, it’s off to Stoneybrook Manor.  Nancy is still a little scared about seeing all of the old people.  The programs go very well and the residents love them. Then the kids have punch and cookies. Ms Colman then asks if Nancy and Karen will go with her to give gifts to six residents who cannot leave their rooms so that they can see two young faces.  Karen says the old people in their rooms looked sick but nice. Now, it’s time for Nancy to meet Grandma B.  Nancy and Grandma B HIT IT OFF GREAT – turns out that the High Holy Days are Jewish, and Nancy is Jewish. Nancy asks Grandma B if she’s going to Chicago for Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur and Grandma B says she really can’t, and Nancy says that Grandma B can go to synagogue with her family as a person has to celebrate High Holy Days with family. Nancy and Grandma B also talk tons about classical music and acting.

Well, Grandma B is now NANCY’S adopted grandma! Mr. and Mrs. Dawes did mind a little that Nancy invited Grandma B to celebrate the Jewish holidays with them before asking the Dawes parents, but they didn’t mind much as they both got along very well with Grandma B.  Karen wanted to take gymnastics, and it was on the same days as Karen went to the Manor, but Karen got to take gymnastics because Nancy volunteered to adopt Grandma B! Nancy is no longer afraid of the old people at the Manor, and Karen is happy that Nancy now has two grandmas- a pen pal grandma and an adopted grandma.  Karen is very happy with only four grandmas now. Grannie calls, and Karen can’t wait to talk to her own special grandma.

I have a few days off from work ( just to relax, not going anywhere great like Malibu or Disney World) and in that time I do hope to recap Freshman Heartbreak ( Winnie cheats on Josh- oooooh) and Sweet Valley Kids #32 Left Back.  I may also try to recap Little Miss Stoneybrook… and Dawn if I have time next week we will see.

And coming up-

 

Sweet Valley Twins #3- The Haunted House

Sweet Valley Kids #23- Lila’s Haunted House Party

Sweet Valley Twins #4- Choosing Sides ( one of my favorite as a kid)

The Unicorn Club #3- The Best Friend Game ( incidentally the Unicorn Club series sorta sucks, and I never heard about these books until I got them in a huge lot of Sweet Valley books on E Bay)

The Fabulous Five #24- The Great TV Turnoff