California Girls] (Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, #5) (Babysitters Club Specials, #5)

by Ann M Martin

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



I actually really did enjoy this Super Special. I think that for the most part the girls acted like most normal teenage girls would with a trip to California. This is so different from my childhood that taking a plane without an adult just seems like fantasy but I know it happens all the time. The only thing that got to me in this book is Mallory trying to change herself entirely. Also I'm probably imagining how badly it would have gone if (or maybe more accurately when) I would have done this and it just annoys me all the more. I get where she's coming from because I was there but at 35 I am who I am and that's is more than okay. I just wish Mallory knew that too.




This book really made me angry but mainly because I was mad for Claudia. Here this poor girl has been killing herself to get better grades and then the whole system fails her. I don't know if this same situation would happen today but I can totally see it happening when I was in school. I'm just glad Claudia's sister and her friends were behind her all the way. Of course, in the flair for the dramatic the girls go to extremes to try and prove Claudia's innocence but again, I can remember those days and it doesn't seem so far fetched. Lol.





Oh young love. It is as intense in its ending as it is during its living. Mary Anne is the first (and only) girl in the BSC to have a serious boyfriend. You can't miss this fact, they tell you in every single book while introducing Mary Anne's character. This also means that Mary Anne is the first to open herself up to heartbreak. There's a period in a relationship where you just take for granted that you have to be together and do the same things all the time. Mary Anne and Logan are awful young to fall into that and I loved that Mary Anne was willing to risk the pain of a breakup to make sure she was in a healthy relationship. The lesson here was pretty obvious.





There is nothing more petty than a teenage girl who doesn't get something she feels she deserves (except for grown ass women who didn't mature beyond teenager mentality). Jessi works hard with practice and discipline in all aspects of her life in addition to her natural talent for dance. That dedication shows and its why she gets a lot of good parts at the dance company she takes lessons at. The BSC has Jessi's back when she starts to get threatening messages. I love how close knit these girls are!