This was terrible.
What was with Kristy and abbreviating everything? Instead of writing I Am she puts just Am and she abbreviated her friends names which got really annoying. Abby was A. Claudia was Cl and so on.
I could not believe how ungrateful Mary Anne was. She complained about every little thing. The teeny house she was living in. Her boyfriend getting over protective. I mean sure she lost everything but it can all be replaced. Not a life. She's lucky to be alive selfish ungrateful b*tch.
I had a hard time getting through this book.
Glad I didn't waste money to buy the rest of FF series. Just this.
I know this is kind of an old comment, and I agree that this wasn't a great book, but I think you're being harsh on Mary Anne here. What she went through was incredibly stressful. Of course things can be replaced, but it costs tons of money and time. Not to mention she probably lost all her mom's journals. I haven't actually read this in awhile, and maybe Mary Anne was whiny (I can't remember), but it's understandable. Too much change in her life (Richard and Sharon getting married, then Dawn moving to California), changes in the BSC, Sharon possibly wanting to move, etc. It's too much to deal with in a relatively short period of time.
Edited so I don't double post.
Just read this one, and I'm honestly not sure why it made me so upset in the past lol. I also enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Kristy's diary style didn't bother me either. It seems fitting somehow. Claudia's spelling seems actually improved.
Speaking of Claudia, THIS QUOTE: "I have never been stuck on a island before." There was an entire Super Special dedicated to that! Omg. This mistake irks me. It's not even a ghostwriter mistake, since Ann wrote both books. I guess it's sort of funny, though.
Her chapters were my favorite. That's about my speed for a vacation tbh. I liked how she realized she enjoyed having all that free time. Pretty interesting how she ended up enjoying the vacation the most.
I liked the return to camp. Summer Vacation is my favorite Super Special (honestly? I don't know why), so naturally I liked this. I loved seeing Kristy and Abby become closer friends. I don't know if I read all of Kristy's FF, but I'll keep an eye out for Abby. I'm still sad that Un-Valentine was her last book! I liked it, but it didn't feel like a fitting last book to me. I definitely think Abby's decision was a very mature one. I'm still confused as to how she's suddenly overwhelmed (as of Stacey's Movie), but perhaps it's the extra sitting jobs taken in Mallory's absence. I still think the transition is odd after she was so bored in Kristy's Worst Idea.
I like how Kristy wonders about her identity at the end. It's very relatable.
Mary Anne's chapters were okay. I see where she's coming from with Logan and I love how her grandmother makes a return. Mary Anne saying how she felt like she lost her mother twice is really sad.
Mary Anne doesn't mention Dawn at all. That's really odd right? I mean she's her best friend and sister.
Stacey's were kind of my least favorite I guess. Not bad, though. Ed is sort of annoying, but I can see where he's coming from. I like that he asks Stacey how she feels about Samantha moving in (and I do think that her terrible excuses for why she shouldn't are kind of funny). I like that she tries needlepoint and fails terribly. Other than that, her chapters were oddly the least interesting.
It's realistic that they're all overwhelmed, but it's odd that it hasn't come up before aside from a few plots like Kristy for President and Stacey's Movie. I wonder how the club is going to operate on 4 sitters, less meetings, and less jobs overall. How are the Stoneybrook parents going to run errands or go shopping? Oh horrors. I seriously do wonder what they're going to tell their clients, and I think FF sort of... forgets to include this lol. Obviously I think it's great that they're making more time for themselves, but the logistics are confusing to me.
I do wish we had more letters between different characters. Kristy and Claudia, Mary Anne and Stacey etc. Disappointing that only the best friend pairs wrote to each other. I guess in that way the story flowed better.
This should have absolutely been the summer before ninth grade. FF should have covered ninth grade (I think covering all 4 years of high school would be too much). All the changes, like Abby being overwhelmed or Jessi getting into an intense ballet school, would make more sense.
Overall, I like this one more than I thought. I think a 7? I would rate it higher if a few factors were changed tbh.