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The Baby-Sitters Club #62
Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever
The big news in Kristy's neighborhood is that the Papadakis family is getting a foster child. The Baby-sitters think taking in a troubled child is a really special thing to do. Kristy's sure the new kid will fit right in. Only Lou (and don't call her Louisa!) turns out to be a terror. She's rough, and tough, and none of the kids want to play with her. Kristy knows that she should feel sorry for Lou. But Kristy's even sorrier that she has to baby-sit for her!
163 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
67 people are currently reading
732 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,128 books3,095 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 35 reviews
December 11, 2010
the book in which the members of the babysitters club are staggeringly unsympathetic to a foster child.
the "worst kid ever" is lou mcnally, an eight-year-old girl whose father recently passed away. her mother had abandoned the family when lou was a baby, & in the absence of a guardian, lou & her brother jay are placed into foster care. as if this weren't bad enough, the foster care people can't seem to find a family that can take both kids, so lou & jay are placed with different families in different towns. lou is placed with the papadakises, across the street from kristy. hannie & linny are pumped about adding a new kid to the family. they think it will be like getting a new live-in friend. all the babysitters & neighborhood kids are also excited to meet the foster kid & get to know her.
but shockingly, when lou arrives, she is not all that friendly. she's a big tomboy who makes fun of the "playhouse" that karen, hannie, & nancy dawes are building at watson's house (those girls love their fucking playhouses, don't they?). she would rather play soccer with the boys. she thinks the papadakises have too many rules, like asking to check the kids' homework after they complete it, & insisting that the kids get permission before wandering around the neighborhood without supervision. "it's like prison," she says. i like to imagine what lou's back story is, that she thinks basic adult supervision is like prison.
everyone tries to be nice to lou at first, but lou's not really having it. on numerous occasions, the babysitters observe lou acting sad or lonely & they try to hug her, but lou always freaks out over it. it doesn't really take a genius to understand that this kid is going through a serious rough patch at a really young age, & that maybe they should try to be a little more understanding, but everyone in the book seems to be a fucking dumbass. they're all like, "what's the deal with lou? why isn't she skipping around puking rainbows?" uh...'cause her dad just died? & somehow the papadakises couldn't take jay as well, even though they live in a fucking mansion? & mr. mcnally somehow failed to write a guardianship into his will, even though that's the first thing a competent person does when he finds out he's having a child? & for some reason, even though the papadakises signed on to be a foster family, they still leave their kids with babysitters literally every single day? i don't know.
the babysitters all have a sleepover at kristy's house one night, & when they get up the next day, lou is over with the papadakises. kristy discovers lou in the living room, having stuffed boo boo into a pillowcase & jumping on the couch with him, trying to convince shannon (the dog, not the person) to jump. when kristy rushes over to rescue boo boo, lou drops the cat on her & kristy gets all scratched up. kristy tells lou that it's cruel to tease animals & not to do it again, but ten minutes later, she walks in on lou having blindfolded shannon (the dog again) to see if she can find her bone without seeing it. this is when kristy decides that lou is the "worst kid ever". very charitable.
the next time dawn sits for the papadakises, she has them all make carob brownies. lou drops a spoonful of brownie batter on hannie's head, & dawn loses her temper & sends lou to her room. she later finds lou in hannie's room, holding a baby doll & crying. lou says that everyone has abandoned her--her mother when she was a baby, her father by dying, even her dog, which ran away. (maybe it was dog-napped by mr. tate.) dawn lets her cry it out & tells her that the papadakises, the babysitters club, & all the kids in the neighborhood are there for her. dawn realizes that lou isn't bad--she's sad. she tries to push everyone away before they can leave her alone.
the next time kristy sits for the papadakises, like twenty minutes after dawn's job, she gets a call from lou's social worker. the social worker needs to talk to lou right away. lou is convinced that the social worker has found her mother, who will be arriving post-haste to whisk her & jay off into a perfect new family. but the social worker actually informs lou that she's located her uncle--lou's father's brother. & he has agreed to become lou's & jay's new permanent guardian. not sure where the fuck this dude was in the whole time that jay & lou have been alive to this point--was their dad estranged from him or something? i don't tak to my siblings much, but we usually clue each other in if we're, say, having a child. anyway, lou freaks, because she only wants her mom, & she rampages through the house destroying everything, & eventually wrecks karen's playhouse (yay) & then disappears. kristy manages to track her down that evening at the brook near the school. she convinces lou to go home.
by the time lou's uncle comes to get lou, she has become more agreeable to the idea. the papadakises throw her a going-away party, & jay is there too. he & lou have a touching reunion. the uncle tells lou that he has a special present for her: a puppy. lou is totally pumped & displays a lot more maturity & good dog care than she did when she was blindfolding shannon. the babysitters all hope that lou & jay will be well taken care of by their uncle & able to forge a new happy family together.
but i still think it sucks that kristy described lou as "bad" just because she was acting out because she was going through so much emotional hardship. i guess she must be forgiven, because she lives in stoneybrook, land of the stepford child. throw a regular kid into the mix & the babysitters just can't handle it (see also: the barrett kids, jackie rodowsky).
the B-plot involves a fundraiser at the middle school to raise money for a new computer lab. all the students are asked to bring in items that will be auctioned off. the babysitters have no clue what to donate. they think about things like free babysitting (only it's not "free" because obviously whoever wins it will have to pay for it), petsitting, etc. then kristy has one of her infamous brain waves & suggests writing to celebrities & asking them to donate items. all the babysitters do so, & shortly before the auction, their bounty begins to arrive: a baseball autographed by every member of the team that just won the world series, toe shoes from a famous ballerina, the blanket of the horse that just won the kentucky derby. mary anne is stoked when she receives a jacket that cam geary wore in his most recent movie. unfortunately, the babysitters are motivated less by their desire to have a sweet computer lab than they are by wanting to best cokie mason, who has donated a certificate for a three-minute shopping spree at the local record store. & they succeed. for whatever dumbass reason, everyone is totally psyched for the celebrity donations. the biggest ticket celebrity donation is cam geary's jacket, which goes for "over $100," according to kristy. really? the signed baseball went for under $100? a signed baseball from a world series team these days fetches thousands of dollars. i guess things were different in 1992 or whenever this book was published.
but the babysitters are all amused & proud when stacey crunches the numbers & announces that their "24 hours of free babysitting" was the highest ticket item in the auction. which means someone paid over $100 for it. which means that they just paid at least $4 or $5 an hour for some babysitting. which is about what i charged in the early 90s when i was a teen babysitter. someone did not think their auction bid through all the way.
the "worst kid ever" is lou mcnally, an eight-year-old girl whose father recently passed away. her mother had abandoned the family when lou was a baby, & in the absence of a guardian, lou & her brother jay are placed into foster care. as if this weren't bad enough, the foster care people can't seem to find a family that can take both kids, so lou & jay are placed with different families in different towns. lou is placed with the papadakises, across the street from kristy. hannie & linny are pumped about adding a new kid to the family. they think it will be like getting a new live-in friend. all the babysitters & neighborhood kids are also excited to meet the foster kid & get to know her.
but shockingly, when lou arrives, she is not all that friendly. she's a big tomboy who makes fun of the "playhouse" that karen, hannie, & nancy dawes are building at watson's house (those girls love their fucking playhouses, don't they?). she would rather play soccer with the boys. she thinks the papadakises have too many rules, like asking to check the kids' homework after they complete it, & insisting that the kids get permission before wandering around the neighborhood without supervision. "it's like prison," she says. i like to imagine what lou's back story is, that she thinks basic adult supervision is like prison.
everyone tries to be nice to lou at first, but lou's not really having it. on numerous occasions, the babysitters observe lou acting sad or lonely & they try to hug her, but lou always freaks out over it. it doesn't really take a genius to understand that this kid is going through a serious rough patch at a really young age, & that maybe they should try to be a little more understanding, but everyone in the book seems to be a fucking dumbass. they're all like, "what's the deal with lou? why isn't she skipping around puking rainbows?" uh...'cause her dad just died? & somehow the papadakises couldn't take jay as well, even though they live in a fucking mansion? & mr. mcnally somehow failed to write a guardianship into his will, even though that's the first thing a competent person does when he finds out he's having a child? & for some reason, even though the papadakises signed on to be a foster family, they still leave their kids with babysitters literally every single day? i don't know.
the babysitters all have a sleepover at kristy's house one night, & when they get up the next day, lou is over with the papadakises. kristy discovers lou in the living room, having stuffed boo boo into a pillowcase & jumping on the couch with him, trying to convince shannon (the dog, not the person) to jump. when kristy rushes over to rescue boo boo, lou drops the cat on her & kristy gets all scratched up. kristy tells lou that it's cruel to tease animals & not to do it again, but ten minutes later, she walks in on lou having blindfolded shannon (the dog again) to see if she can find her bone without seeing it. this is when kristy decides that lou is the "worst kid ever". very charitable.
the next time dawn sits for the papadakises, she has them all make carob brownies. lou drops a spoonful of brownie batter on hannie's head, & dawn loses her temper & sends lou to her room. she later finds lou in hannie's room, holding a baby doll & crying. lou says that everyone has abandoned her--her mother when she was a baby, her father by dying, even her dog, which ran away. (maybe it was dog-napped by mr. tate.) dawn lets her cry it out & tells her that the papadakises, the babysitters club, & all the kids in the neighborhood are there for her. dawn realizes that lou isn't bad--she's sad. she tries to push everyone away before they can leave her alone.
the next time kristy sits for the papadakises, like twenty minutes after dawn's job, she gets a call from lou's social worker. the social worker needs to talk to lou right away. lou is convinced that the social worker has found her mother, who will be arriving post-haste to whisk her & jay off into a perfect new family. but the social worker actually informs lou that she's located her uncle--lou's father's brother. & he has agreed to become lou's & jay's new permanent guardian. not sure where the fuck this dude was in the whole time that jay & lou have been alive to this point--was their dad estranged from him or something? i don't tak to my siblings much, but we usually clue each other in if we're, say, having a child. anyway, lou freaks, because she only wants her mom, & she rampages through the house destroying everything, & eventually wrecks karen's playhouse (yay) & then disappears. kristy manages to track her down that evening at the brook near the school. she convinces lou to go home.
by the time lou's uncle comes to get lou, she has become more agreeable to the idea. the papadakises throw her a going-away party, & jay is there too. he & lou have a touching reunion. the uncle tells lou that he has a special present for her: a puppy. lou is totally pumped & displays a lot more maturity & good dog care than she did when she was blindfolding shannon. the babysitters all hope that lou & jay will be well taken care of by their uncle & able to forge a new happy family together.
but i still think it sucks that kristy described lou as "bad" just because she was acting out because she was going through so much emotional hardship. i guess she must be forgiven, because she lives in stoneybrook, land of the stepford child. throw a regular kid into the mix & the babysitters just can't handle it (see also: the barrett kids, jackie rodowsky).
the B-plot involves a fundraiser at the middle school to raise money for a new computer lab. all the students are asked to bring in items that will be auctioned off. the babysitters have no clue what to donate. they think about things like free babysitting (only it's not "free" because obviously whoever wins it will have to pay for it), petsitting, etc. then kristy has one of her infamous brain waves & suggests writing to celebrities & asking them to donate items. all the babysitters do so, & shortly before the auction, their bounty begins to arrive: a baseball autographed by every member of the team that just won the world series, toe shoes from a famous ballerina, the blanket of the horse that just won the kentucky derby. mary anne is stoked when she receives a jacket that cam geary wore in his most recent movie. unfortunately, the babysitters are motivated less by their desire to have a sweet computer lab than they are by wanting to best cokie mason, who has donated a certificate for a three-minute shopping spree at the local record store. & they succeed. for whatever dumbass reason, everyone is totally psyched for the celebrity donations. the biggest ticket celebrity donation is cam geary's jacket, which goes for "over $100," according to kristy. really? the signed baseball went for under $100? a signed baseball from a world series team these days fetches thousands of dollars. i guess things were different in 1992 or whenever this book was published.
but the babysitters are all amused & proud when stacey crunches the numbers & announces that their "24 hours of free babysitting" was the highest ticket item in the auction. which means someone paid over $100 for it. which means that they just paid at least $4 or $5 an hour for some babysitting. which is about what i charged in the early 90s when i was a teen babysitter. someone did not think their auction bid through all the way.
March 16, 2025
Why on earth would you foster a child and then continuously leave them with random baby-sitters? Why couldn’t the Papadakises take Jay, too? And why did they have an uncle who apparently didn’t even know he had a niece and a nephew and that his brother had died? We are supposed to treat it as a happy ending that he shows up to adopt them, but he’s a complete stranger!
Also, I’m genuinely concerned that they gifted Lou a puppy at the end of this. The way she treated Shannon and Boo Boo was alarming, and her traumatic background does not excuse being cruel to animals.
(Side note: the Craines appear in this book! I didn’t recall ever hearing about them again, and I truly thought they were a one-and-done after Mallory and the Ghost Cat.)
Also, I’m genuinely concerned that they gifted Lou a puppy at the end of this. The way she treated Shannon and Boo Boo was alarming, and her traumatic background does not excuse being cruel to animals.
(Side note: the Craines appear in this book! I didn’t recall ever hearing about them again, and I truly thought they were a one-and-done after Mallory and the Ghost Cat.)
June 28, 2016
this is my first time reading this book!
in this book by ghostwriter Nola Thacker, a foster kid, lou, comes to live with the papadakises. her father recently died, and her mother had taken off when she was very young. she and her brother were split up, so she is stuck in an unfamiliar house with nobody she knows around her. unsurprisingly, she has trouble adjusting and acts out. meanwhile, stoneybrook middle school is hosting an auction to earn money for new computers. the bsc want to give the most exciting donations for the auction. they end up getting donations from celebrities. it's not very interesting.
highlights:
-hannie papadakis has an art project wherein she has to draw dinosaurs. she draws them purple, and when kristy says that she thinks dinosaurs weren't purple, hannie says that we don't know what color they were, so they could be purple. BOOM.
-the papadakises' monopoly game is really old and has wooden colored pieces instead of the metal pieces. on a hunch I researched this and found that my suspicion was correct: this was something that only existed during WWII when they were trying to conserve metal. super interesting. I wonder if nola thacker had a WWII-era monopoly set growing up and that's how she knew about it.
-the resolution to the lou plotline is good. she keeps saying she wants them to track down her mom. in the end, they don't. they find her uncle and aunt, who are willing to be her (and her brother's) permanent family. I really appreciate this -- it seemed like they were building to her mother coming to get her, and that isn't what ended up happening. it's still a (maybe semi-unrealistically) happy ending, but it's not super unbelievable.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-three musketeers (karen brewer, hannie, and nancy) make a playhouse and david michael and linny want it to be a fort instead. this is EXACTLY the same plot as what happened in Baby-sitters at Shadow Lake.
-the bsc members (but especially mary anne) insist on calling lou "louisa" (which is her birth name but she clearly doesn't identify with it -- she's at least a tomboy, if not more gender neutral/masculine-identified than that). acknowledge and respect people's gender presentations, please. thank you.
-in the scene depicted on the cover, lou takes boo boo the cat and puts him in a pillow case. she then swings him over shannon the puppy. later it's explained that she lost her dog who was very smart and whom she had trained, so the ways she treats the neighborhood pets are because she's testing them or trying to keep them at a distance from her. but this is seriously cruel/sadistic, and I don't think it's really explained. at the end her aunt and uncle (and brother) get her a puppy, and I don't know that she should get a puppy before she gets a talking-to about animal abuse.
-a coupon for 24 hours of baby sitting by the bsc earns more in the auction than any of the celebrity prizes. really? I don't buy it.
-when claudia says "hurray for the bsc of sms" stacey says "claudia, you're learning how to spell." how rude.
-I had a problem where I read this book and Orbiting Jupiter at the same time, and that book is just SO GOOD and about a similar thing, so I couldn't like this book that much. orbiting jupiter feels so brutal, and this book seems so tame in comparison.
claudia outfit:
-"Today she was wearing purple-and-white-striped tights, Doc Martins [sic] (except she'd taken them off to sit on the bed), a short black ruffly skirt that looked like it was part of a women's Olympic figure-skater's costume, a purple cropped sweater with silver button covers on the back buttons, and a scrunchy black velvet hat decorated with purple and red velvet flowers."
stacey outfit:
-Today she had pulled her blonde permed hair back into a complicated bread threaded with green ribbon. The ribbon matched her shoes. She was wearing silver capri pants, an oversized shirt with a green belt, a green checked short skirt, and gold leaf-shaped earrings."
sari papadakis outfit:
-"...she insisted on wearing one blue tennis shoe and one red one to match her red, white, and blue playsuit...Sari completed her ensemble by grabbing her latest favorite toy, a plush green pickle with yellow felt eyes and a big red felt smile."
auctioneer outfit:
-"This auctioneer was wearing diamond earrings, but just one in each earlobe, and a beige suit, a silky ivory wrap blouse, pale beige stockings, and dark brown pumps."
kristy gross food comment:
-"you know what sprouts look like?...hairs. little curly green hairs. and they get caught in your teeth, too."
auction celebrity donations:
-old toe shoes from a famous prima ballerina
-boxed set of autographed books from one of mal's favorite authors
-baseball autographed by everyone on the team that had just won the pennant
-warm-up blanket from the horse that had recently won the kentucky derby
-jacket he actually wore in a movie from cam geary
snacks in claudia's room:
-yogurt raisins under her bed
-sourdough pretzels (n.s.)
-mallomars (n.s.)
-frosted flakes (n.s.)
-marshmallows in the bottom drawer of her dresser
-fig newtons (n.s.)
in this book by ghostwriter Nola Thacker, a foster kid, lou, comes to live with the papadakises. her father recently died, and her mother had taken off when she was very young. she and her brother were split up, so she is stuck in an unfamiliar house with nobody she knows around her. unsurprisingly, she has trouble adjusting and acts out. meanwhile, stoneybrook middle school is hosting an auction to earn money for new computers. the bsc want to give the most exciting donations for the auction. they end up getting donations from celebrities. it's not very interesting.
highlights:
-hannie papadakis has an art project wherein she has to draw dinosaurs. she draws them purple, and when kristy says that she thinks dinosaurs weren't purple, hannie says that we don't know what color they were, so they could be purple. BOOM.
-the papadakises' monopoly game is really old and has wooden colored pieces instead of the metal pieces. on a hunch I researched this and found that my suspicion was correct: this was something that only existed during WWII when they were trying to conserve metal. super interesting. I wonder if nola thacker had a WWII-era monopoly set growing up and that's how she knew about it.
-the resolution to the lou plotline is good. she keeps saying she wants them to track down her mom. in the end, they don't. they find her uncle and aunt, who are willing to be her (and her brother's) permanent family. I really appreciate this -- it seemed like they were building to her mother coming to get her, and that isn't what ended up happening. it's still a (maybe semi-unrealistically) happy ending, but it's not super unbelievable.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-three musketeers (karen brewer, hannie, and nancy) make a playhouse and david michael and linny want it to be a fort instead. this is EXACTLY the same plot as what happened in Baby-sitters at Shadow Lake.
-the bsc members (but especially mary anne) insist on calling lou "louisa" (which is her birth name but she clearly doesn't identify with it -- she's at least a tomboy, if not more gender neutral/masculine-identified than that). acknowledge and respect people's gender presentations, please. thank you.
-in the scene depicted on the cover, lou takes boo boo the cat and puts him in a pillow case. she then swings him over shannon the puppy. later it's explained that she lost her dog who was very smart and whom she had trained, so the ways she treats the neighborhood pets are because she's testing them or trying to keep them at a distance from her. but this is seriously cruel/sadistic, and I don't think it's really explained. at the end her aunt and uncle (and brother) get her a puppy, and I don't know that she should get a puppy before she gets a talking-to about animal abuse.
-a coupon for 24 hours of baby sitting by the bsc earns more in the auction than any of the celebrity prizes. really? I don't buy it.
-when claudia says "hurray for the bsc of sms" stacey says "claudia, you're learning how to spell." how rude.
-I had a problem where I read this book and Orbiting Jupiter at the same time, and that book is just SO GOOD and about a similar thing, so I couldn't like this book that much. orbiting jupiter feels so brutal, and this book seems so tame in comparison.
claudia outfit:
-"Today she was wearing purple-and-white-striped tights, Doc Martins [sic] (except she'd taken them off to sit on the bed), a short black ruffly skirt that looked like it was part of a women's Olympic figure-skater's costume, a purple cropped sweater with silver button covers on the back buttons, and a scrunchy black velvet hat decorated with purple and red velvet flowers."
stacey outfit:
-Today she had pulled her blonde permed hair back into a complicated bread threaded with green ribbon. The ribbon matched her shoes. She was wearing silver capri pants, an oversized shirt with a green belt, a green checked short skirt, and gold leaf-shaped earrings."
sari papadakis outfit:
-"...she insisted on wearing one blue tennis shoe and one red one to match her red, white, and blue playsuit...Sari completed her ensemble by grabbing her latest favorite toy, a plush green pickle with yellow felt eyes and a big red felt smile."
auctioneer outfit:
-"This auctioneer was wearing diamond earrings, but just one in each earlobe, and a beige suit, a silky ivory wrap blouse, pale beige stockings, and dark brown pumps."
kristy gross food comment:
-"you know what sprouts look like?...hairs. little curly green hairs. and they get caught in your teeth, too."
auction celebrity donations:
-old toe shoes from a famous prima ballerina
-boxed set of autographed books from one of mal's favorite authors
-baseball autographed by everyone on the team that had just won the pennant
-warm-up blanket from the horse that had recently won the kentucky derby
-jacket he actually wore in a movie from cam geary
snacks in claudia's room:
-yogurt raisins under her bed
-sourdough pretzels (n.s.)
-mallomars (n.s.)
-frosted flakes (n.s.)
-marshmallows in the bottom drawer of her dresser
-fig newtons (n.s.)
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February 25, 2025Kristy and the Wort Kid Ever
Kristy is watching her siblings. Karen is trying to get Shannon to talk (weirdly) and say “Ball”. Then she and David Micheal start to play keep the ball away from Shannon. After this, they play “Where’s the Ball?” Karen thinks they should give her a hint and says “table”. Hannie and Linny drops by and they tell them their going to become a foster family. Then it’s explained that this is a temporary arrangement when the kid can’t stay with their real parents.
Then they can go back to their own family. The kids disagree over what they’d want boy or girl. Hannie says they want a girl. Then they ask if Nancy can come over. Karen, Nancy, and Hannie take stacked crates and tell Kristy they’re going to build a play house. David Micheal and Linny think a fort would be better. Umm! We’ve already done this plot in Shadow Lake. Kristy suggests they have a house-warming party and invite everyone to see it when their done. Kristy wonders what it would be like to be in a foster family and can’t imagine not having a home.
At the BSC meeting, they talk about the Papadakis. Stacey says she saw a show about foster families. Usually, they go back to their families or relatives. If not their put up for adoption. Maryanne worries what happens if they’re not adopted. Stacey says they just stay foster kids until they grow up. A lot of times they get moved around a lot. She tells Maryanne sometimes the kids are tough to handle. Maryanne still doesn’t think it’s right. Kristy says she’s sure the Papadakiss’s will take care of the kid as long as they need too.
At lunch, they hear an announcement about having an auction to raise money for new computers. Kristy wonders what to donate to the auction. They say maybe Claudia can donate some of her art. They talk about a few ideas and then see Cokie and Grace and wonder what they’ll donate. They agree to talk about ideas at the meeting. Kristy sits for Emily and David Micheal and they play a game of hide-and-seek. While they’re playing Linny comes over and says the foster kid is coming this afternoon. David Micheal asks can he come over, but Kristy says it’s probably not a good idea on the kids first day. They see a car pull up and see the social worker and a kid that they can’t tell if it’s a boy or a girl.
They stand there a minute and then the kid marches back to the car, goes over the fender, then over the hood, and across the roof. Then the kid swings off the roof into the car. The kid grabs his suitcase and a backpack while everyone looks on stunned. Kristy sits for her siblings again. (Even to her it sounds repeated). Hanny, Nancy, and Karen are looking at wall paper and shelf paper. David Micheal and Linny are running in and out milk bottles practicing soccer drills. Maryanne comes by and so does Lou McNally.
Lou’s father passed recently. She has an older brother who’s with another foster family. And there mother as far as they know is alive. They just don’t know where. She left when Lou was a baby. She’s not exactly friendly. “The Three Musketers” invited her to help pick wallpaper but she shook her head. She’s looking at Kristy, Emily, and Maryanne with suspicion across the yard and she has a scarf covering her nose and pulled her cap down over her eyes. She seems mysterious and tough. She turned down Kristy’s offer to get her a jacket and said she didn’t need it. Kristy thinks Emily is trying to say she wants David and Linny’s soccor ball but Lou says she’s saying bottle. They thank her and try to talk to her but she isn’t really all that chatty and just shrugs.
Karen, Hanny, and Nancy keep trying to get her involved with the playhouse. Karen wants to paint it pink. But Hanny says real houses aren’t pink. She wants to paint it blue. Kristy says maybe they can paint it both. They finally decide to paint it a mix or pink and blue (lavender). Lou doesn’t see the big deal. It’s not even a *real* house. Maryanne sits for Kristy’s siblings. Karen, Hanny, and Nancy try again to get Loud to help with the playhouse, but she thinks they ought to build a fort or a private clubhouse and she once again says pink is a dumb color. Instead, she plays catch with David and Linny. After a while, she says they should go to the park, but they say they have to stay in the backyard. Lou talks about them for being babies and then starts to vent about all the rules the Papadakis have enforced. They even make her show them her homework. Her father never did that.
In defiance she starts to leave and Linny and David Micheal follow her. Maryanne stops Linny and David Micheal (by screaming their names). Then she marches over to Lou and snatches her up by the arm and threatens to take her back to the Papadakis.
Lou says she was “just joking” but Maryanne doesn’t see the humor in it and *asks* if she wants to come back to their backyard. Lou just shrugs like whatever. Maryanne starts to think she really doesn’t like this kid. Well... they aren’t *all* sweet and well behaved. At the meeting, they talk about Lou (She looked pleased when Maryanne made her mind). Then Kristy comes up with an idea to get celebrities to donate things to the auction. They come up with Cam Gary and Derek Masters. Kristy sits for Linny, Lou, Hannie, and Sari. Their supposed to finish their homework first and then they can play Monopoly. Linny has to write a report about a state. Hannie has to do a project with a dinosaur. She chooses a stegosaurus. Hanny finishes first. Kristy goes to check Lou’s and she gives her an attitude and won’t give her (her homework). She tells Kristy forget it so Kristy leaves her there. When she comes downstairs, she says she’s finished. Kristy goes to check and when she comes back and Linny and Lou are arguing. Lou wants them to start over and Lou says its her fault she got there late. They call each other babies back and forth. Lou ends up winning the game.
When Kristy puts Lou to bed, she starts to tell Kristy her dad wouldn’t have given her a time to go to bed. She says he knew all kinds of things. He was teaching her about the constellations. He also knew how to make owl sounds (and owls would respond to him). He was teaching her before he died. He’s also take her on night time walks. Kristy tells her about how her dad walked out on her family. Lou asked didn’t he like them. Kristy says she thinks he did love them but he just didn’t know how to show it. Lou says her mom didn’t love her. She walked out on them. She asks Kristy if she thinks she’ll be found and she’ll come back to them. This makes Kristy emotional and she tries to reach out for Lou, but she jerks away and becomes distant. She tells Kristy to get out of her room or she’ll scream (and she starts to scream). So, Kristy leaves. She thinks about her situation and thinks even though Lou is frustrating she reminds her of herself and how things *could* have turned out if she and her family didn’t have money.
Jessi sits for the Cranes. These must be new. There’s Margerette, Sophie, and Katie. They get bored so she takes them to SMS. She shows them around the track and then the classroom in the back where all the donations for the auction are being stored. None of the celebrities have written them back yet. Jessi tells herself there just busy but when they do they’ll have tons of stuff. At school, Kristy finds out that Cokie is donating a three-minute shopping spree to a music store. So, she decides to go through her attic on Saturday. She gets her siblings to help her (after proving that Ben Brewer won’t come out of his room to get them). All they find of interest in the attic is a pink bowling ball. Then for some reason, Lou comes over and they AGAIN try to get her to work on the playhouse but AGAIN she says it’s not a real house. She checks the mailbox and there’s nothing there. Just like she did (I’m losing track of the times she’s been over but I think it was the time she told them Emily meant bottle instead of ball).
The BSC has a sleepover and come up with a couple ideas. One is to have a party and give the kids clown makeup. The other is to pass out Kid Kits. Umm.. This auction isn’t for their clients. The next morning, they hear a noise. Lou has taken Boo-Boo, put him in a pillow case, and is swinging him around in front of Shannon and telling him to jump. Kristy is able to rescue Boo-Boo but gets scratched up in the process. I’m not sure how Lou avoided this. Then she blind-folds Shannon and tries to see if she can find her bone (despite Kristy telling her tormenting animals isn’t a joke). She calls Shannon dumb and says there’s a dog she knew that could do this, which makes David Micheal get mad at her.
Dawn sits for the Papadakis and Lou. Lou has the bright idea to flush Noodles (the poodle’s) toy down the toilet. Dawn is afraid of a STUFFED PICKLE TOY THE HELL! There’s an argument between Lou and the Papadakis cat not being able to do tricks. Then Dawn says their mom gave her permission to try a carob brownie recipe. It goes relatively well until Lou pours batter over Hannie’s head. Hannie tells her she hates her. Lou says she hates her too. Dawn snatches her up and takes her to her room and tells her she has to stay there until she behaves She tells Dawn she hates her too.
Dawn goes to check on Lou. She has one of Hannie’s dolls cradled in her and she’s been crying. Lou says she hates her and everyone else. Then she says all her family is gone. Her mother left her and she wants her mother and wants to go home. Dawn tells her she has friends and it’ll work out but she keeps saying she wants her mother. When Dawn tries to tell her she tells her she’ll just leave her. Just like her dog Jingles. Dawn realizes that’s why she tortures animals and is distant to people so they won’t get too close.
Mrs. Graves (the social worker) calls while Kristy is baby-sitting and tells her she needs to speak to Lou. Lou gets excited and thinks she’s going to tell her she found her mother. Instead, she tells her they found her uncle (dad’s brother) and aunt. Lou goes berserk, demands her mother, and starts destroying the house. By this time the Papadakis’s come back and tell Kristy she can go home. Mrs. Papadakis comes by later. Lou is missing. David Micheal says Karen’s playhouse has been wrecked. Kristy remembers Lou telling her about her and her father going to a certain stream by the playground. And this is where she finds her. Kristy tells her it’s time to go home. Lou says she doesn’t have one. Kristy tells her she has a aunt and uncle. She says it’s not the same but after a minute she says ok and follows Kristy back to the Papadakis’s.
There’s a going away party for Lou. Lou is surprised to see her brother Jay (whose 11). Her whole demeanor changes. Then there’s another surprise from Jay-a black Labrador puppy-. Lou apologizes to Karen, Hanny, and Nancy for wrecking their playhouse and they say they’re going to change it to a castle anyway. Then they cut the cake. Lou gets two presents a doll and a football. Claudia says she’ll always be in trouble because she’s “creative”. Creative people “think different” Kristy then gives Mr. Papadakis a present to give to Lou (a book).
Kristy gets a tee-shirt from a celebrity with her signature. Mallory gets a set of her books with her autograph. Jessi gets a pair of ballet slippers from a famous dancer. They get a blanket from a horse owner who’s horse won a famous race. Best of all they get Cam Gerry’s jacket from his movie. So, Mr. and Mrs. Brewer buy a phonograph and a collection of records (Cole Porter). Logan buys pearl earrings and gives them to Maryanne. The 3-minute shopping spree is bought by Cokie’s father. Kristy gets an autographed photo of J.C Kalisi the first woman to win an Olympics gold medal. Cam Gerry’s jacket goes to a high school senior (girl). Stacey says they donated the highest ticket item. (24 hours of baby-sitting to be scheduled at the convenience of the purchaser.
My Thoughts
Sooo... I guess the moral of the story is you can be a HUMUNGEOUS BRAT and torment animals and destroy people’s houses and property and be dismissive and rude to other people but it’s okay because creative people just “think differently” and trouble just follows them. And then at the end of the day you also get a puppy. (rolling my eyes).
Rating: 5 They didn’t even switch the sitting jobs up in this one and then whoever wrote this didn’t read “Shadow Lake”. I keept thinking UMM we’ve heard this plot before about Karen having and decorating a playhouse and someone else thining she should have a fort. I don’t know maybe it’s just me but this series is getting less and less interesting. I’m gonna stick it out but..
Kristy is watching her siblings. Karen is trying to get Shannon to talk (weirdly) and say “Ball”. Then she and David Micheal start to play keep the ball away from Shannon. After this, they play “Where’s the Ball?” Karen thinks they should give her a hint and says “table”. Hannie and Linny drops by and they tell them their going to become a foster family. Then it’s explained that this is a temporary arrangement when the kid can’t stay with their real parents.
Then they can go back to their own family. The kids disagree over what they’d want boy or girl. Hannie says they want a girl. Then they ask if Nancy can come over. Karen, Nancy, and Hannie take stacked crates and tell Kristy they’re going to build a play house. David Micheal and Linny think a fort would be better. Umm! We’ve already done this plot in Shadow Lake. Kristy suggests they have a house-warming party and invite everyone to see it when their done. Kristy wonders what it would be like to be in a foster family and can’t imagine not having a home.
At the BSC meeting, they talk about the Papadakis. Stacey says she saw a show about foster families. Usually, they go back to their families or relatives. If not their put up for adoption. Maryanne worries what happens if they’re not adopted. Stacey says they just stay foster kids until they grow up. A lot of times they get moved around a lot. She tells Maryanne sometimes the kids are tough to handle. Maryanne still doesn’t think it’s right. Kristy says she’s sure the Papadakiss’s will take care of the kid as long as they need too.
At lunch, they hear an announcement about having an auction to raise money for new computers. Kristy wonders what to donate to the auction. They say maybe Claudia can donate some of her art. They talk about a few ideas and then see Cokie and Grace and wonder what they’ll donate. They agree to talk about ideas at the meeting. Kristy sits for Emily and David Micheal and they play a game of hide-and-seek. While they’re playing Linny comes over and says the foster kid is coming this afternoon. David Micheal asks can he come over, but Kristy says it’s probably not a good idea on the kids first day. They see a car pull up and see the social worker and a kid that they can’t tell if it’s a boy or a girl.
They stand there a minute and then the kid marches back to the car, goes over the fender, then over the hood, and across the roof. Then the kid swings off the roof into the car. The kid grabs his suitcase and a backpack while everyone looks on stunned. Kristy sits for her siblings again. (Even to her it sounds repeated). Hanny, Nancy, and Karen are looking at wall paper and shelf paper. David Micheal and Linny are running in and out milk bottles practicing soccer drills. Maryanne comes by and so does Lou McNally.
Lou’s father passed recently. She has an older brother who’s with another foster family. And there mother as far as they know is alive. They just don’t know where. She left when Lou was a baby. She’s not exactly friendly. “The Three Musketers” invited her to help pick wallpaper but she shook her head. She’s looking at Kristy, Emily, and Maryanne with suspicion across the yard and she has a scarf covering her nose and pulled her cap down over her eyes. She seems mysterious and tough. She turned down Kristy’s offer to get her a jacket and said she didn’t need it. Kristy thinks Emily is trying to say she wants David and Linny’s soccor ball but Lou says she’s saying bottle. They thank her and try to talk to her but she isn’t really all that chatty and just shrugs.
Karen, Hanny, and Nancy keep trying to get her involved with the playhouse. Karen wants to paint it pink. But Hanny says real houses aren’t pink. She wants to paint it blue. Kristy says maybe they can paint it both. They finally decide to paint it a mix or pink and blue (lavender). Lou doesn’t see the big deal. It’s not even a *real* house. Maryanne sits for Kristy’s siblings. Karen, Hanny, and Nancy try again to get Loud to help with the playhouse, but she thinks they ought to build a fort or a private clubhouse and she once again says pink is a dumb color. Instead, she plays catch with David and Linny. After a while, she says they should go to the park, but they say they have to stay in the backyard. Lou talks about them for being babies and then starts to vent about all the rules the Papadakis have enforced. They even make her show them her homework. Her father never did that.
In defiance she starts to leave and Linny and David Micheal follow her. Maryanne stops Linny and David Micheal (by screaming their names). Then she marches over to Lou and snatches her up by the arm and threatens to take her back to the Papadakis.
Lou says she was “just joking” but Maryanne doesn’t see the humor in it and *asks* if she wants to come back to their backyard. Lou just shrugs like whatever. Maryanne starts to think she really doesn’t like this kid. Well... they aren’t *all* sweet and well behaved. At the meeting, they talk about Lou (She looked pleased when Maryanne made her mind). Then Kristy comes up with an idea to get celebrities to donate things to the auction. They come up with Cam Gary and Derek Masters. Kristy sits for Linny, Lou, Hannie, and Sari. Their supposed to finish their homework first and then they can play Monopoly. Linny has to write a report about a state. Hannie has to do a project with a dinosaur. She chooses a stegosaurus. Hanny finishes first. Kristy goes to check Lou’s and she gives her an attitude and won’t give her (her homework). She tells Kristy forget it so Kristy leaves her there. When she comes downstairs, she says she’s finished. Kristy goes to check and when she comes back and Linny and Lou are arguing. Lou wants them to start over and Lou says its her fault she got there late. They call each other babies back and forth. Lou ends up winning the game.
When Kristy puts Lou to bed, she starts to tell Kristy her dad wouldn’t have given her a time to go to bed. She says he knew all kinds of things. He was teaching her about the constellations. He also knew how to make owl sounds (and owls would respond to him). He was teaching her before he died. He’s also take her on night time walks. Kristy tells her about how her dad walked out on her family. Lou asked didn’t he like them. Kristy says she thinks he did love them but he just didn’t know how to show it. Lou says her mom didn’t love her. She walked out on them. She asks Kristy if she thinks she’ll be found and she’ll come back to them. This makes Kristy emotional and she tries to reach out for Lou, but she jerks away and becomes distant. She tells Kristy to get out of her room or she’ll scream (and she starts to scream). So, Kristy leaves. She thinks about her situation and thinks even though Lou is frustrating she reminds her of herself and how things *could* have turned out if she and her family didn’t have money.
Jessi sits for the Cranes. These must be new. There’s Margerette, Sophie, and Katie. They get bored so she takes them to SMS. She shows them around the track and then the classroom in the back where all the donations for the auction are being stored. None of the celebrities have written them back yet. Jessi tells herself there just busy but when they do they’ll have tons of stuff. At school, Kristy finds out that Cokie is donating a three-minute shopping spree to a music store. So, she decides to go through her attic on Saturday. She gets her siblings to help her (after proving that Ben Brewer won’t come out of his room to get them). All they find of interest in the attic is a pink bowling ball. Then for some reason, Lou comes over and they AGAIN try to get her to work on the playhouse but AGAIN she says it’s not a real house. She checks the mailbox and there’s nothing there. Just like she did (I’m losing track of the times she’s been over but I think it was the time she told them Emily meant bottle instead of ball).
The BSC has a sleepover and come up with a couple ideas. One is to have a party and give the kids clown makeup. The other is to pass out Kid Kits. Umm.. This auction isn’t for their clients. The next morning, they hear a noise. Lou has taken Boo-Boo, put him in a pillow case, and is swinging him around in front of Shannon and telling him to jump. Kristy is able to rescue Boo-Boo but gets scratched up in the process. I’m not sure how Lou avoided this. Then she blind-folds Shannon and tries to see if she can find her bone (despite Kristy telling her tormenting animals isn’t a joke). She calls Shannon dumb and says there’s a dog she knew that could do this, which makes David Micheal get mad at her.
Dawn sits for the Papadakis and Lou. Lou has the bright idea to flush Noodles (the poodle’s) toy down the toilet. Dawn is afraid of a STUFFED PICKLE TOY THE HELL! There’s an argument between Lou and the Papadakis cat not being able to do tricks. Then Dawn says their mom gave her permission to try a carob brownie recipe. It goes relatively well until Lou pours batter over Hannie’s head. Hannie tells her she hates her. Lou says she hates her too. Dawn snatches her up and takes her to her room and tells her she has to stay there until she behaves She tells Dawn she hates her too.
Dawn goes to check on Lou. She has one of Hannie’s dolls cradled in her and she’s been crying. Lou says she hates her and everyone else. Then she says all her family is gone. Her mother left her and she wants her mother and wants to go home. Dawn tells her she has friends and it’ll work out but she keeps saying she wants her mother. When Dawn tries to tell her she tells her she’ll just leave her. Just like her dog Jingles. Dawn realizes that’s why she tortures animals and is distant to people so they won’t get too close.
Mrs. Graves (the social worker) calls while Kristy is baby-sitting and tells her she needs to speak to Lou. Lou gets excited and thinks she’s going to tell her she found her mother. Instead, she tells her they found her uncle (dad’s brother) and aunt. Lou goes berserk, demands her mother, and starts destroying the house. By this time the Papadakis’s come back and tell Kristy she can go home. Mrs. Papadakis comes by later. Lou is missing. David Micheal says Karen’s playhouse has been wrecked. Kristy remembers Lou telling her about her and her father going to a certain stream by the playground. And this is where she finds her. Kristy tells her it’s time to go home. Lou says she doesn’t have one. Kristy tells her she has a aunt and uncle. She says it’s not the same but after a minute she says ok and follows Kristy back to the Papadakis’s.
There’s a going away party for Lou. Lou is surprised to see her brother Jay (whose 11). Her whole demeanor changes. Then there’s another surprise from Jay-a black Labrador puppy-. Lou apologizes to Karen, Hanny, and Nancy for wrecking their playhouse and they say they’re going to change it to a castle anyway. Then they cut the cake. Lou gets two presents a doll and a football. Claudia says she’ll always be in trouble because she’s “creative”. Creative people “think different” Kristy then gives Mr. Papadakis a present to give to Lou (a book).
Kristy gets a tee-shirt from a celebrity with her signature. Mallory gets a set of her books with her autograph. Jessi gets a pair of ballet slippers from a famous dancer. They get a blanket from a horse owner who’s horse won a famous race. Best of all they get Cam Gerry’s jacket from his movie. So, Mr. and Mrs. Brewer buy a phonograph and a collection of records (Cole Porter). Logan buys pearl earrings and gives them to Maryanne. The 3-minute shopping spree is bought by Cokie’s father. Kristy gets an autographed photo of J.C Kalisi the first woman to win an Olympics gold medal. Cam Gerry’s jacket goes to a high school senior (girl). Stacey says they donated the highest ticket item. (24 hours of baby-sitting to be scheduled at the convenience of the purchaser.
My Thoughts
Sooo... I guess the moral of the story is you can be a HUMUNGEOUS BRAT and torment animals and destroy people’s houses and property and be dismissive and rude to other people but it’s okay because creative people just “think differently” and trouble just follows them. And then at the end of the day you also get a puppy. (rolling my eyes).
Rating: 5 They didn’t even switch the sitting jobs up in this one and then whoever wrote this didn’t read “Shadow Lake”. I keept thinking UMM we’ve heard this plot before about Karen having and decorating a playhouse and someone else thining she should have a fort. I don’t know maybe it’s just me but this series is getting less and less interesting. I’m gonna stick it out but..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2020
I wish we got to get to know Lou a little better, instead of just seeing her as a holy terror. But I guess that will have to wait for another time.
I did cackle at Cokie in this one, and enjoyed her dad being the one to bid big bucks on the prize they donated in the first place. So typical.
Edit 7/19/20 - Oop, I'm rereading the series based on publication order, and I realised I read this one out of order. I should have read Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs first, but luckily neither makes any reference to the other. (In fact, I would think that Kristy would mention the Krashers in her book, so maybe revising the list isn't a bad idea...)
I did cackle at Cokie in this one, and enjoyed her dad being the one to bid big bucks on the prize they donated in the first place. So typical.
Edit 7/19/20 - Oop, I'm rereading the series based on publication order, and I realised I read this one out of order. I should have read Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs first, but luckily neither makes any reference to the other. (In fact, I would think that Kristy would mention the Krashers in her book, so maybe revising the list isn't a bad idea...)
September 21, 2019
If you are wondering this book has a foster child in it the foster child is the worst because she doesn't have a family!
August 30, 2023
The middle class liberal values in this really bummed me out. The excessive gendering (why is it funny to make a boy hold a baby doll? Moreover, why is a baby doll a GIRL present, contrasted with a football?), insistence on calling Lou "Louisa," constant assertions that the babysitters "knew" that Lou's father or mother loved her. And then everything got tied up with a nice little bow. Personality change. I get that a book like this has its limitations. Lou seems to have not been in other foster homes, and she's quickly adopted by close relatives who are super nice, and just happen to be a married man and woman who have no kids of their own but are happy to suddenly adopt Lou and her brother, both of whom they seem to have only just learned about. It just really seems to stress that there is a very specific way to be respectable, and a happy ending is attainment of middle class respectability.
February 15, 2026
I do not remember this book at all. It's a good book, but sad that the "worst kid ever" is a girl whose mother left her as a young child, whose father just died, and now she's been separated from her brother and been placed at the Pakadakises as a foster child. The baby-sitters deal with this "worst kid ever" (who actually isn't so bad) and then at the end, she goes to live with her aunt and uncle. It would have been interesting if Lou had stayed with the Papadakises for multiple books.
In B-plot land, the BSC gets way too excited for a school fundraiser auction that's raising money for new computers. They're 8th graders, its springtime, they should be heading to SHS next year and won't even get to use these computers. Hmmm...
Also, super funny that Claudia asked if the new computers could check her spelling, to which Mary Anne replied that some computers can. So I looked it up and the first spellcheck came out in 1980. Lucky Claudia.
In B-plot land, the BSC gets way too excited for a school fundraiser auction that's raising money for new computers. They're 8th graders, its springtime, they should be heading to SHS next year and won't even get to use these computers. Hmmm...
Also, super funny that Claudia asked if the new computers could check her spelling, to which Mary Anne replied that some computers can. So I looked it up and the first spellcheck came out in 1980. Lucky Claudia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2021
When the BSC come across difficult kids, they usually think of clever ways to make the kid think about their behaviour and change their ways. When it comes to this alleged worst kid ever though, they immediately start screaming and getting physical. I guess a foster child isn’t worth the same effort as their usual charges. Nice message. Also Ann’s letter at the end is about how readers thought a book called Stacey and the New Kids on the Block would be about Stacey and New Kids on the Block - nothing about fostering or children’s social care. Garbage book.
Read
July 29, 2020As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
August 18, 2021
This one worked really well for me although the babysitting and secondary storylines didn't mesh. It feels like it's been a while since there was a story mostly set in Kristy's neighborhood and I liked the way this one was set up and handled (not as much an after school special treatment as some of the others). But mostly, I like the BSC sleepover and bonding that I've missed sometimes in this series.
December 20, 2021
This book is unbelievably cruel. Not once do any of these idiots--including the fucking foster parents!--acknowledge that Lou's behavior is clearly a result of experiencing some of the most traumatic things that could ever happen to a child. It also just perpetuates the worst stereotypes of kids in foster care as violent and dangerous, since there's a literally a scene of this kid committing animal cruelty and smashing up homes. Ugh.
March 5, 2023
When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
March 28, 2020
Even though I didn’t like how Lou acted, I can understand why she did. I thought the baby-sitters would be more understanding, but they were pretty insensitive. That and the kinda boring subplot made me want to read something else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2020
(LL)
This was an age appropriate book about how sometimes the worst behaved kids have a very good reason to behaving bad. While there are some questions about the legitimacy of certain plot points (secret aunt and uncle?) it was still a good attempt at tackling orphaned children.
This was an age appropriate book about how sometimes the worst behaved kids have a very good reason to behaving bad. While there are some questions about the legitimacy of certain plot points (secret aunt and uncle?) it was still a good attempt at tackling orphaned children.
July 4, 2025
Very emotional read. Good depiction of what a child in foster care might say and do. The girls were clearly unaware of how to talk to traumatized clients, but they are only in middle school. A good read to teach kids about realities of what some have dealt with.
August 31, 2017
Of course the BSC would refer to a foster child whose father just died as the 'worst kid ever'. I mean what else do you expect them to do? Be sympathetic? Never!
October 10, 2019
Review on www.Audible.com please listen to this book.
September 7, 2020
Actual rating: 4.2
I'm discovering that I'm more of a Kristy fan than I realized
I'm discovering that I'm more of a Kristy fan than I realized
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September 7, 2020Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...
July 7, 2022
Nostalgia 💛
February 10, 2024
3 stars. Not a favorite as it didn’t really grab me but I did like the discussion of adoption and found family. That was great but overall this was a pretty forgettable read.
November 30, 2025
I appreciated the way this book showed how traumatized people—specifically traumatized children—don’t always act in ways that are sweet and palatable. Loved the connection that developed between Kristy and Lou too!
October 7, 2020
This book, ugh. Did not like. I'll blame that on why it took me a year and a half to review it, not just my pure laziness. Of course, now I basically have to reread it to write this review so good job, past Jenn!
Okay, let's get on with it! This might be a short one. Kristy is at home on a lovely Saturday, watching the Thomas-Brewer clan when the Papadakis kids come over and announce that they (their parents, that is) are going to be a foster family. A foster family is a family a kid can stay with when his own parents can't take care of him. After he stays with his foster family for awhile, he can go back to his own family, or to relatives, or even to a brand new family. Nice, neat definition. Karen, Nancy, and Hannie (the Three Musketeers) want a girl of course, and start building a playhouse in the backyard to hopefully entice the foster kid with. Spoiler: it doesn't work.
On to a BSC meeting and What Claudia is Wearing! And eating! Claudia Kishi was under her bed. Only her purple-and-white-striped stocking feet showed--sort of like when the house fell on the witch after the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. ... A moment later she backed out from under the bed holding a bag of yogurt raisins. From various hiding places around her room she'd also produced a bag of sourdough pretzels, a half-bag of Mallomars, and a box of Frosted Flakes. ... Today she was wearing purple-and-white-striped tights, Doc Martins (except she'd taken them off to sit on the bed), a short black ruffly skirt that looked like it was part of a women's Olympic figure-skater's costume, a purple cropped sweater with silver button covers on the back buttons, and a scrunchy black velvet hat decorated with purple and red velvet flowers.
Bonus: What Stacey is Wearing! Today she had pulled her blonde permed hair back into a complicated braid threaded with a green ribbon. The ribbon matched her shoes. She was wearing silver capri pants, an oversized shirt with a green belt, a green checked short skirt, and gold leaf-shaped earrings.
hese outfits are the best things about this book, I'm just letting you know right now! (And I obviously had issues with Stacey's.) The Papadakis' get their foster kid and she makes a big first impression by walking on the car and swinging into the open door to get her bags out. Lou (NOT Louisa) is a tomboy, whose dad died recently and she doesn't have a mom. Her brother was put in another foster family and Lou isn't happy about any of it. She shows it by showing out: pink is dumb, rules are dumb, playhouses are dumb, families are dumb, etc... But honestly, I don't blame her. The BSCers do though. For some reason, they're really hard on Lou and not forgiving at all. They yell at her a LOT, grab her when she very obviously does not like to be touched, and are just generally not nice to her. This is the main point that I don't like in this book. It's not like the BSC to just give up on a kid. All kids are redeemable. Klutzy Jackie Rodowsky, the Barrett kids and their scattered mom, even that girl that broke Claudia's leg! But Lou? The kid with no family? "...she is the absolute worst kid I have ever met."
So yeah, Lou goes to live with her aunt & uncle in the end, with her brother, and the BSC are glad to be rid of her. (They did try a little harder in the last chapter or two but it didn't really make it better for me.) There was also an auction at the middle school and the girls compete against Cokie Mason and her friends to get the best item. Mary Anne gets a genuine Cam Geary jacket donated OMGGGG! And that's it, thank goodness.
Reviewed at SeeJennRead
Okay, let's get on with it! This might be a short one. Kristy is at home on a lovely Saturday, watching the Thomas-Brewer clan when the Papadakis kids come over and announce that they (their parents, that is) are going to be a foster family. A foster family is a family a kid can stay with when his own parents can't take care of him. After he stays with his foster family for awhile, he can go back to his own family, or to relatives, or even to a brand new family. Nice, neat definition. Karen, Nancy, and Hannie (the Three Musketeers) want a girl of course, and start building a playhouse in the backyard to hopefully entice the foster kid with. Spoiler: it doesn't work.
On to a BSC meeting and What Claudia is Wearing! And eating! Claudia Kishi was under her bed. Only her purple-and-white-striped stocking feet showed--sort of like when the house fell on the witch after the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. ... A moment later she backed out from under the bed holding a bag of yogurt raisins. From various hiding places around her room she'd also produced a bag of sourdough pretzels, a half-bag of Mallomars, and a box of Frosted Flakes. ... Today she was wearing purple-and-white-striped tights, Doc Martins (except she'd taken them off to sit on the bed), a short black ruffly skirt that looked like it was part of a women's Olympic figure-skater's costume, a purple cropped sweater with silver button covers on the back buttons, and a scrunchy black velvet hat decorated with purple and red velvet flowers.
Bonus: What Stacey is Wearing! Today she had pulled her blonde permed hair back into a complicated braid threaded with a green ribbon. The ribbon matched her shoes. She was wearing silver capri pants, an oversized shirt with a green belt, a green checked short skirt, and gold leaf-shaped earrings.
hese outfits are the best things about this book, I'm just letting you know right now! (And I obviously had issues with Stacey's.) The Papadakis' get their foster kid and she makes a big first impression by walking on the car and swinging into the open door to get her bags out. Lou (NOT Louisa) is a tomboy, whose dad died recently and she doesn't have a mom. Her brother was put in another foster family and Lou isn't happy about any of it. She shows it by showing out: pink is dumb, rules are dumb, playhouses are dumb, families are dumb, etc... But honestly, I don't blame her. The BSCers do though. For some reason, they're really hard on Lou and not forgiving at all. They yell at her a LOT, grab her when she very obviously does not like to be touched, and are just generally not nice to her. This is the main point that I don't like in this book. It's not like the BSC to just give up on a kid. All kids are redeemable. Klutzy Jackie Rodowsky, the Barrett kids and their scattered mom, even that girl that broke Claudia's leg! But Lou? The kid with no family? "...she is the absolute worst kid I have ever met."
So yeah, Lou goes to live with her aunt & uncle in the end, with her brother, and the BSC are glad to be rid of her. (They did try a little harder in the last chapter or two but it didn't really make it better for me.) There was also an auction at the middle school and the girls compete against Cokie Mason and her friends to get the best item. Mary Anne gets a genuine Cam Geary jacket donated OMGGGG! And that's it, thank goodness.
Reviewed at SeeJennRead
October 16, 2023
At first I thought this was about Karen Brewer after all she is the worst. But now I think the title should've been Kristy and the Future Serial Killer given the treatment of animals and ferocious temper tantrums and vandalism of other people's property. Karen's bad and will no doubt continue to be a sociopath as she ages but this kid just wow. The story revolves around the Papdakises taking a foster kid named Lou. Lou is a tomboy and likes wearing jeans, has short hair and plays sports with the boys and Mary Anne keeps trying to call her Louisa which was annoying. At first I felt bad for Lou. I mean she's shuffled off to a foster home away from her brother, not sure why they couldn't take two kids since they have a huge house, her dad just died and her mom left the family. And I did feel bad for her at first and understood the anger, but then she wrapped up Boo Boo in a pillow case and basically swung him around for Shannon the puppy to catch him. Kristy takes a couple bad scratches for Lou's behaviour. Then she blindfolds Shannon and the poor dog gets hurts trying to find her way around. Later on she tortures Noodle the poodle by trying to flush a tennis ball down the toilet. You don't treat pets that way. Later on when she learns she's going to live with her aunt and uncle and not her mom she destroys the Papadakises house runs across the street and destroys the playhouse Karen and her gang were working on. I'm not a fan of Karen but again that's vandalism and if I did that as an adult or even a teen I'd probably be at the very least fined for it or my parents would. Hell my parents would make me work it off to pay for damages. Her abuse of animals is written off as she had a smart dog who ran away. Given how she treats the pets in this book I'd say the smartest thing that dog did was run away. To make matters worse her aunt, uncle and brother when they come get her give her a puppy. That poor thing. This kid needs serious therapy or else she will definitely be a serial killer. She's already got the school bully thing going for her given her treatment of the other kids. I wanted to feel bad for her, and if they'd kept it yo her doing stuff like dropping brownie batter on Hannie or calling Karen and her friend's playhouse stupid but the poor treatment of animals and destruction of property yikes. Also where were the aunt and uncle all this time? I mean I only see my dad's family once a year or I did until my grandparents died and then the pandemic hit but we still keep in touch, letters, emails, phone calls. It seems weird that they never kept in touch enough to know the dad died but still wanted his kids. And her brother Jay who went through the same thing seems like such a sweet kid. Of course we only saw him for a chapter or two so he might've been just as bad but I don't think so. The fact that it seems the kids of Stoneybrook can get away with murder and never face consequences makes me glad it's a fictional town.
The b plot involves an auction for a new computer lab. Updating from the old Commodore 64s to the fancy new IBM computers I guess given the time it was written. I remember playing the orginal Simcity on the computers at my elementary school. It was fun and exciting and a really big deal if you had your own home computer. The good old days. Anyway Cokie and friends donate a shopping spree at a record store which is so 1990s. The girls determined to best that get celebrity items and also 24 hours of free baby sitting services. Karen bids on and wins a TV aquarium another 90s thing. That part was cute but lord someone tell me they get that kid Lou some therapy otherwise she could end up on Dateline or whatever the Stoneybrook equivalent is.
The b plot involves an auction for a new computer lab. Updating from the old Commodore 64s to the fancy new IBM computers I guess given the time it was written. I remember playing the orginal Simcity on the computers at my elementary school. It was fun and exciting and a really big deal if you had your own home computer. The good old days. Anyway Cokie and friends donate a shopping spree at a record store which is so 1990s. The girls determined to best that get celebrity items and also 24 hours of free baby sitting services. Karen bids on and wins a TV aquarium another 90s thing. That part was cute but lord someone tell me they get that kid Lou some therapy otherwise she could end up on Dateline or whatever the Stoneybrook equivalent is.
May 1, 2013
Fantastic books for young girls getting into reading!! Great stories about friendship and life lessons. The characters deal with all sorts of situations and often find responsible solutions to problems.
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
November 23, 2020
This is a book that always stuck with me since I first read it as a teenager and I was glad for the opportunity to reread. It was still pretty satisfying even given the gaps in realism. I really enjoyed Lou as a character and I appreciated all the dynamics and depth to her character. I loved the ending for Lou - but really didn't care about the auction.
May 20, 2021
The Papadakis family (who lives across the street from Kristy) are getting a foster child! The BSC members want to do the right thing and welcome her to the neighborhood and introduce her to some new friends...but Lou acts terribly. No matter what the baby-sitters try to do, Lou feels unwanted and unlovable. Finally, Lou's aunt and uncle arrive with Lou's older brother to take them both in.
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