The Babysitters Club #34: Mary Anne and Too Many Boys

The Pikes are going back to Sea City and hire Mary Anne and Stacey again to help out. They think it will be a fun and relaxing two weeks. The Pikes decide that they need a new rule. Instead of giving both girls the night off, they each get a different night off. On their first beach day, they run into Alex and Toby. Conveniently, the two got jobs helping two families for a month.

Mary Anne gets ready for a date with Alex, but runs into Stacey getting dressed for her own date with Toby. Stacey plays it off like she should get first dibs on a night off work. Mary Anne agrees to wait until the next night, but sees Stacey getting ready to sneak off again. Mary Anne goes off on her and Stacey tries to let her have two nights off the next week. She refuses and rushes off for her own date.

Things go weird with Alex. He doesn’t seem like the same guy she dated last year, he isn’t funny, and he just acts different. They can barely find anything to talk about, but she still agrees to see him again. Mary Anne spends most of the book worrying about what Logan would say if he knew. She finally tells Alex about her boyfriend and he admits that he has a girlfriend. They get a big laugh out of it, but decide to stay friends.

Vanessa gets a crush on the 12-year-old guy working at the ice cream shop. She leaves him notes from a secret admirer. When she sees him again, he wants to meet Mallory because he thought she was his admirer. Vanessa mopes around for a few days, but finally leaves him one last note saying goodbye. Mary Anne talks things through with her and makes her feel better.

She avoids Stacey for a few days, but they finally make up before leaving Sea City. Stacey admits that Toby broke up with her because he didn’t want to feel tied down to her, so she cries to Mallory and Mary Anne. They head home and Mary Anne finds a poem tucked into her bag. Vanessa wrote a poem thanking her for her help.

Kristy sits for the Rodwosky boys in this book. She takes them to the city pool and constantly lets Jackie go off on his own, but then gets ticked when he messes up. He drops a huge cookie in the pool, steps on a huge bee, and takes so long at the snack shop that a huge line forms. Kristy whines about it and decides that she never wants to take three kids to the pool again.

Dawn goes back to visit her dad. Carol randomly shows up with her friend’s two kids and her dad got them tickets to a show. He decides that Dawn will sit for the kids without even asking her about it AND, one of the kids has colic. Jeff does such a good job helping that she splits the cash with him and wonders if he might sit in the future.

Jessi sits for Charlotte, Becca, and Squirt. Becca notices that Frodo (the Pikes’ hamster) is inside Misty’s cage and it happens a few times. Jessi thinks that Becca did it, but sees Squirt near the cages. He watched a TV show on same things and moved the hamsters together because they were the same. Yes, because he is what, 1? I’m sure he can not only say, “same”, but unlock cages.

*The whole point of the Pikes not giving them the same night off is because they want the freedom to go out every night. That isn’t me blowing smoke, that is exactly what the book says! Why can’t the Pikes stay home with their kids one night out of the week?

*They stop for ice cream on the way there and Claire wanders off. The best part is that Mary Anne notices it, but not her freaking parents. The Pikes just go about eating their ice cream.

*This book mentions all these little things that you think are a part of the book, but never appear again. It’s always stupid things, like someone mentioning going for ice cream or introducing the kids Alex watches.

*I missed all the references to stuff they go in town. They walk by the mini golf course and Burger Garden, but never actually go.

*Check out that cover! Notice how Mary Anne is wearing a bikini and yet in the book, she never goes to the beach without a kaftan.

*Mallory is a regular sitter, but this is technically her vacation, so she should have free time. According to her parents, she will help watch the kids when one of the girls has the night off. Yet she never does any real sitting in this book.