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dannic99's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vll295's review against another edition
4.0
The BSC changed my life in the 5th and 6th grade. My friends and I would coordinate so that we could read all of the books. I remember writing to Ann M. Martin to get her autograph. I thought it was amazing that she actually responded to me! Dawn was always 'so cool' with her stories about California!
kelleemoye's review against another edition
4.0
Reread for #BSC #bookaday
I remember really liking this specific BSC book. It is one of the titles I always remembered; however, the title totally doesn't give you any idea about what the book is about. It should be Dawn and the Impossible Mother of 3 Children, because the kids weren't really the issue in this book, the mother was a much bigger pain in the butt. I kept on getting so angry at her! Dawn was much calmer than I would have been.
I remember really liking this specific BSC book. It is one of the titles I always remembered; however, the title totally doesn't give you any idea about what the book is about. It should be Dawn and the Impossible Mother of 3 Children, because the kids weren't really the issue in this book, the mother was a much bigger pain in the butt. I kept on getting so angry at her! Dawn was much calmer than I would have been.
hannahreadsmoer's review against another edition
& thus i continue my life’s work: reading every single one of these books, even if reading 150+ of this formulaic middle grade feels overwhelming. THEY ARE JUST SO NOSTALGIC AND GOOD.
sweeneysays's review against another edition
helendeu's review against another edition
4.0
Reading in chronological order (with the exception of The Kids in Mrs Colman's Class series).
An extra star for nostalgia. Loved this series as a kid and re-reading it is giving me all the warm and fuzzies.
An extra star for nostalgia. Loved this series as a kid and re-reading it is giving me all the warm and fuzzies.
miszjeanie's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorites in the series so far! I think Dawn might be my favorite now. In this installment, she bravely stands up to a client and handles herself like a mature professional. For someone who struggles with confrontation and negotiation, this inspires me to step up.
aurigae's review against another edition
4.0
I always found Dawn to be kind of a mystery and still kind of do. Much is made in the stories of her love of health food and aversion to standard-issue Connecticut fare, but in the course of her first story we see her eating and enjoying pizza (all-natural meatless freezer pizza, but it seems to still have cheese) and various candy from Claudia's room. Dawn's idea of health food is mostly centered around granola bars (which were definitely a thing on the East Coast in the 80s) and tofu. Lots of tofu. I find it a tiny stretch that even Dawn is happy to eat a lunch consisting of lukewarm ginger tofu cooked by her too-scattered-to-wear-matching-earrings mother.
Also - Mrs. Barrett. I don't think I registered much about her as a kid, but in my re-read I had a lot of compassion for her. She has three little kids, one an actual baby, and has just gotten divorced. Many of her outings are for job interviews, presumably so she can afford actual non-child childcare. But, she also forgets to give Dawn basic information about the kids, so at the very least she needs to get organized. As for her house... is Dawn unusually sensitive to the grossness of the Barretts' home because her own mother can't seem to put anything away correctly? Or is she inured to all but the highest levels of mess? I don't know what to make of it.
Either way, I loved seeing Kristy and Dawn find an axis of commonality. I enjoyed getting to know the Pike kids a little better. I'm definitely in favor of Mary Anne and Dawn's parents' relationship and am thinking it would make a great adult romance (which someone has probably already written). But as for the main plot of this book... eh, those kids aren't impossible, or even particularly difficult, at all.
Also - Mrs. Barrett. I don't think I registered much about her as a kid, but in my re-read I had a lot of compassion for her. She has three little kids, one an actual baby, and has just gotten divorced. Many of her outings are for job interviews, presumably so she can afford actual non-child childcare. But, she also forgets to give Dawn basic information about the kids, so at the very least she needs to get organized. As for her house... is Dawn unusually sensitive to the grossness of the Barretts' home because her own mother can't seem to put anything away correctly? Or is she inured to all but the highest levels of mess? I don't know what to make of it.
Either way, I loved seeing Kristy and Dawn find an axis of commonality. I enjoyed getting to know the Pike kids a little better. I'm definitely in favor of Mary Anne and Dawn's parents' relationship and am thinking it would make a great adult romance (which someone has probably already written). But as for the main plot of this book... eh, those kids aren't impossible, or even particularly difficult, at all.