Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed The Summer Before (Baby-Sitters Club, Bk 0) on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com
Ever wondered what the girls of the Baby-Sitters Club were like before KRISTY'S BIG IDEA? How Kristy's mom met her step-dad?
A prequel to the original series, these four girls will do a lot of growing up before Kristy comes up with her great idea for the Club.
The summer before seventh grade is not going as well as Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey thought it would. Kristy's mom is dating a new guy, but Kristy still hopes her dad will come back and pick up where their family left off. Claudia is having her first major crush, but does her crush like her back? Mary Anne is fighting with her dad and trying to get him to realize she's not a little girl anymore. Stacey is moving from everything she ever knew in New York. Will it be worth it? Will she make new friends?
An endearing, great addition to THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB series. The characters are true to their original natures and are well-developed. The plot holds the reader's interest and paints a great picture of these four girls' lives.
Readers who like realistic fiction, the BSC series, and stories about love and growing up will enjoy reading THE SUMMER BEFORE.
Ever wondered what the girls of the Baby-Sitters Club were like before KRISTY'S BIG IDEA? How Kristy's mom met her step-dad?
A prequel to the original series, these four girls will do a lot of growing up before Kristy comes up with her great idea for the Club.
The summer before seventh grade is not going as well as Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey thought it would. Kristy's mom is dating a new guy, but Kristy still hopes her dad will come back and pick up where their family left off. Claudia is having her first major crush, but does her crush like her back? Mary Anne is fighting with her dad and trying to get him to realize she's not a little girl anymore. Stacey is moving from everything she ever knew in New York. Will it be worth it? Will she make new friends?
An endearing, great addition to THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB series. The characters are true to their original natures and are well-developed. The plot holds the reader's interest and paints a great picture of these four girls' lives.
Readers who like realistic fiction, the BSC series, and stories about love and growing up will enjoy reading THE SUMMER BEFORE.
Brenna B. (demiducky25) reviewed The Summer Before (Baby-Sitters Club, Bk 0) on + 161 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"Say hello to your friends, Baby-Sitters Club..." ahhh, I remember the TV series, the the books, and even had the board game. I figured I should read the prequel this summer as a nice trip down memory lane. After all, this book was written about a decade after the last book was published, and I haven't read the books in well over a decade and a half, so I figured the prequel and I could go down memory lane together! There was one summer where I read no less than 40 of the books all in a row, but this time, I think one is probably enough. This book serves as a nice introduction to the series (or a nice nostalgic piece for someone like me). It's not great literature by any stretch of the imagination, but it did make me long for the simpler times of my childhood and caused my brain to conjure of the plots of many of the other books. Perhaps it's because it's been so long since I read a BSC book, or perhaps because it's been so long since Ann M. Martin or one of her ghostwriters wrote a BSC book, but a few things just didn't feel right to me (felt out of place canon-wise, I can't really explain it...example- I remember that early on in the books Mary Anne could only wear long skirts, but here she's wearing like capri pants, I don't quite see how that matches up with older books...though I do know they are trying to update the entire series, so maybe that's part of it).
Anyway, this book takes Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey the summer before they form the BSC. Stacey is still living in NYC, getting ready to move to Stoneybrook, CT (sadly she doesn't get as much "face time" in this book as the other girls). Claudia feels that she's outgrown her friendship with Mary Anne and Kristy. Kristy is dealing with the fact that she wants her father to come home, but her mother is dating someone else. Mary Anne, as always, is dealing with her father's strict rules. Each chapter is told from a different characters POV, kind of like the Super Specials if I remember correctly, rather than the typical set up for the books. It's a fun read for those of us looking to recapture life with the BSC (though maybe I would have been better off reading an old BSC book, I still feel like this was missing something). For younger readers, it's a good introduction to the characters that they can grow and love through the other books.
Anyway, this book takes Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey the summer before they form the BSC. Stacey is still living in NYC, getting ready to move to Stoneybrook, CT (sadly she doesn't get as much "face time" in this book as the other girls). Claudia feels that she's outgrown her friendship with Mary Anne and Kristy. Kristy is dealing with the fact that she wants her father to come home, but her mother is dating someone else. Mary Anne, as always, is dealing with her father's strict rules. Each chapter is told from a different characters POV, kind of like the Super Specials if I remember correctly, rather than the typical set up for the books. It's a fun read for those of us looking to recapture life with the BSC (though maybe I would have been better off reading an old BSC book, I still feel like this was missing something). For younger readers, it's a good introduction to the characters that they can grow and love through the other books.
