I was really excited to snark this super special and then I
realized that super specials are…LONG.
And include a lot of, um, how shall I put it nicely, slower
chapters. I like the way Tess divided it
up, so I will do that.
On the cover, the sitters are attempting a chorus kick line
and look extremely awkward. They also
don’t look like teenagers…Mal looks like a deranged chipmunk...
Stacey
We start with Stacey’s point of view. The Stoneybrook BSC has invited/forced Stacey
to join them at Camp Mohawk during the summer (pre divorce and pre Mimi death,
so this must be the summer that’s missing in the time line of books) so she’s
on a bus heading out of NYC to the wilderness known as Camp Mohawk. Stacey has decided to keep a notebook of her
two weeks at camp and she’s going to have her friends write in there too. She’s a little embarrassed since nobody sits by her on the bus. Oh, and I see we are on the “no sugar no
sweets” mantra now. She finally arrives
and is swarmed by the BSC and Charlotte Johanssen, who is sobbing with what
Stacey presumes is excitement from arriving at camp and seeing her bestest
babysitter ever.
Stacey’s first day getting her 6-year-olds settled in is
busy and hectic since they aren’t as able to get their items unpacked. They are also sick and, since Karen Brewer is
in her cabin, they are loud. Karen meets
her Waterloo in
a girl named Nonie, though. They head
for dinner and Stacey is in a predicament.
She has to eat, but she can’t eat everything that is given to her. She goes to talk to the cook, but get scolded
until the camp director, Mrs. Means, arrives and makes sure everything is under
control so that Stacey has enough food to eat that follows her diet. If I were Stacey’s mom, I would be livid that
this happened, especially after 3 phone calls.
Of course, food sensitivity in kids is so prevalent today, most places
are equipped and prepared to deal with special diets. After dinner, they have a campfire, where
Mrs. Means gives a lecture about ticks, poison ivy and poison oak, and not
eating wild mushrooms and berries.
Stacey is getting eaten by mosquitoes, so she hides in some leafy
plants.
It soon is apparent Stacey is not ok and she ends up in the
infirmary. She has a rash on her arms
and legs, a big bump on her shoulder, an itchy patch near her mouth, red eyes
and she feels tired and feverish. She is
certain she has Lyme Disease and heads to the infirmary. It turns out she has poison ivy, pinkeye, an
infected mosquito bite, a cold and impetigo by her mouth. She has to stay in the infirmary while she recovers. I think I’d call it quits and head for
home. She’s excited to be in the
infirmary since she has a roommate. Her
roommate Miko has a broken leg and is in a thigh to ankle cast – why haven’t
her parents taken her home?!?! What is a
girl with her whole leg in a cast going to do at camp? Stacey recovers and is headed back to her
cabin.
Stacey is a little miffed at her parents for calling her
while she was in the infirmary. Had she
been my child, I would not have called her.
I would have gotten in my car, driven to camp and taken her home. I win for most overprotective mom. Her parents want her home too, but she talks
them into letting her stay. That’s why
you don’t call; you just show up.
Muahahahaha! Stacey makes it back
to the cabin and survives the next few days with only a splinter in her
hand. One morning the kids wake her up
saying it’s Christmas! The other cabin
Christmased them!
Kristy
So, apparently Dawn is the reason they’re all at camp. She’s been watching The Parent trap and Meatballs
and everyone has camp on the brain. So
they find a camp and sign up for it. The
best part? They get to be
Counselors-in-training, except for Mal and Jessi, who have to be regular
campers since they’re only 11. Not only
are the BSC going, but also a large amount of their clients as well. So they get on a bus and head to camp. Margo Pike pukes (of course), and the rest
of the kids sing 1 million bottles of beer on the wall. By the time they get to
camp, Kristy is fed up, Charlotte
is crying and everyone is ready to get into their cabins.
Kristy is getting settled with the kids and enjoying her
time with her kids. Charlotte is in her cabin and is severely
homesick. Kristy also mentions that the
other CITs are really nice, but are so not like her. They’re girly
and like make up and boys. Kristy tries
to get into the activities with the kids, but Charlotte refuses to try anything
but the dance program and archery, which she promptly quits when a kid yards
away falls down and Charlotte thinks she has hit her with an arrow. Kristy takes her back to the cabin and reads
to her until she calms down.
Kristy ponders two things Watson has said: You have to take
the bad with the good, and there are ups and downs in life. Apparently Charlotte is having good days and bad
days. Just about every night she has to
call her parents crying, random things are making her cry and she is getting
scared over things she normally wouldn’t.
But she doesn’t want to go home; something is keeping her at camp. Other than Charlotte, Kristy is enjoying herself. There is only one thing challenging her: the
CIT dance with the boys and the fact that her fellow CITs want to give her a
makeover. She is so desperate to avoid
going, she plans to roll in poison ivy to get out of going. The other CITs give her a make over anyway
and she looks good. But she doesn’t feel
like herself, decides she needs privacy and space and wonders why Charlotte is still
here. I don’t like it when other people
force their opinions of what I should eat/drink/wear; I can’t blame Kristy for
feeling a little claustrophobic. When I
tell lovers of the Paleolithic diet, “No thanks” I don’t want them to keep
talking to me. I want them to go
away. Sorry; I was just lectured last
night on the evils of grains. I felt a
little claustrophobic.
Her fellow CITs do her makeup and accessories for the dance,
all while Kristy is protesting that she doesn’t want to go. Charlotte doesn’t want her to go either and
is crying for her. She is talked into getting on the bus, forced by the bus
driver to get off the bus and then stations herself next to the food
table. Lo and behold, someone asks her
to dance! The Logan cuts in! The night ends, Kristy finally feels
comfortable and Charlotte
has quit crying.
Claudia
Everyone is getting excited for assignments and head to the
flagpole to get organized. Claudia and
Stacey are gossiping about hair and Claudia mentions Mimi is having
troubles. Their gab session is
interrupted by Claudia being assigned to Meghan’s cabin, whose campers include
Vanessa Pike and Haley Braddock. They
haul all their junk to their cabin to get settled, Claudia and her co-CIT Sally
claiming bunks for themselves. The theme
along with Claudia always having stalkers seems to be that she has the top bunk and steps on her bunkmates' hands. She finds out there’s a canteen with candy
and suddenly camp is even more interesting.
The next morning the breakfast is terrible, so Claudia and a
bunch of cabin members head to the canteen and Claudia buys a ton of junk
food. They go horseback riding and are
back at the cabin changing when some boys arrive. A gorgeous boy named John is there with some
equally gorgeous compatriots, one of whom may be Japanese, to invite them to a
CIT movie night. Claudia didn’t really
notice, she was too busy ogling gorgeous Japanese guy. The members of her cabin make it their quest
to find out about gorgeous guy and get Claudia to see him before said movie
night.
Claudia’s campers succeed in finding Claudia’s dream boy. His name is Will Yamakawa and he will be at
the CIT movie night. The CITs get ready
for movie night and take a van around the lake to the boys’ side. Claudia introduces herself to Will and they
start to talk. This is not good in a
movie setting so they go outside. They
talk and talk and are almost trampled when suddenly the movie is over. Everyone goes to the fire pit where Claudia
and Will hold hands and roast marshmallows together. Sigh~
The dance has come and gone.
Sigh~ Claudia has a wonderful
time with Will and doesn’t remember anything other than dancing with him. They slip outside just before the end of the
dance and Claudia remarks that they probably won’t see each other again. Will says it’s time to say good bye and Claudia
starts crying. They are hugging when the
dance ends and Claudia just gets on the bus.
No addresses, no good byes, just gone. Sigh~
Jessi
Jessi is feeling nervous because a)she’s never been to camp
before and b) there aren’t many black kids at camp. She and Mal are also set apart because when
they filled out their applications, they begged to be included as CITs since
they have sooo much experience sitting.
The camp director poo-poos that request (yay for adhering to rules!) but
says they can help with the younger campers.
Mal and Jessi get to their cabin and start unpacking their things, while
the other campers giggle at them. Mal
invites Jessi up on her bunk and proudly displays the dorky arm bands she made
emblazoned with JUNIOR CIT. Their cabin
counselor informs them they are in charge of the younger girls’ dance
performance for parent day. Another
camper makes a snide comment about them being twins and another snots it’s
obvious that they’re not. Mal doesn’t
get it, but Jessi does.
They survive camp, even though the other campers don’t
really warm to them. On the last day
they have to pack up and be ready so that they were ready to go when parents
arrived. Mal and Jessi wrote a play
about a black girl and a white girl and the injustices they face. They hope the other girls in their cabin get
the picture. The performance goes off
great and most of the girls in Mal and Jessi’s cabin apologize to them. Some don’t.
They all get together with their families and it comes out that Charlotte wanted to see
if she could make it through camp – and she did. Jessi climbs into her car and promises to
mail Stacey the diary when she gets home!
Mary Anne
MA isn’t overly excited about camp anymore; the other CIT’s
in the 7-year-old cabin are soooo
sophisticated and she’s not. They grill
her about why she came to camp, to which MA says she wants to be near her
boyfriend. They don’t believe she has a
boyfriend. At that moment, MA settles a
dispute between Margo Pike and another CIT’s little sister named Tara, not to Faye’s (CIT) pleasure. MA feels that she has landed in a cabin full
of hotshots and she’s not excited about it.
MA decides to write a sappy love letter to Logan, signing it “your love bunny.” Seriously?!
Richard, there might be something you want to talk to your daughter
about! She only wrote the letter as a
distraction for the other CITs, but her bluff is called. Tara the
terror suggests she sneak it to the other side of the lake to the boy’s
camp. The CITs draw MA a map and then
tell her about a murder loose in the woods.
MA sneaks out before bed checks and is partly through the woods when she
hears her name. Mrs. Means and Connie, MA’s
counselor are there to get her along with some boy counselors. Tara ratted
her out. The counselors offer to take
her letter to Logan. When she gets back, everyone just stares at
her in awe. Apparently only two other
girls have tried to sneak around the lake and she did manage to make it
halfway.
So MA is in a little better with her fellow CITs, but they
are still testing her. The latest test
is to let them pierce her ears. Being
true to herself, MA says, “yes” even though her Dad has a no piercing rule and
she’s cringing inside in pain. The other
CITs are surprised and start getting the stuff together to do the
piercing. MA picks out a pair of earrings,
takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
But nothing happens. The CIT Faye
can’t do it – says she’s never pierced an ear before and can’t stand the sight
of blood. Everyone starts laughing and
now they’re all friends. I am rather
concerned about MA’s following the crowd to be liked, well I would be if I was
her mother.
Dawn
Dawn loves her cabin of 11-year-olds. She gives us a detailed description of all
the girls in her cabin and hesitates about a girl named Heather. Heather is quiet, shy and a bit on the pudgy
side. All the other girls head out
explore, but Heather hangs back. Dawn
puzzles on about her a little more.
Time passes and the other girls aren’t crazy about Heather,
so when they are on the verge of their overnight camping trip, she’s pretty
isolated from the other girls. The night
before the trip, the head counselor is informed her mother is sick and she
heads for home. A replacement counselor
is on the way, but Dawn is in charge for the night and she orders her cabin to
have fun! But Heather stays on her bunk
alone.
The new counselor arrives and her name is Debra. She’s pretty inexperienced as far as camp
goes, but she’s excited to go on the campout.
Her inexperience shows a bit and some of the campers – mainly Heather –
remind her of important items such as a compass, extra canteens, items that are
rather necessary! They are finally ready
to go and start off into the woods following the map and markers to the
campsite. Unfortunately, one of the
markers has fallen over and they unsure which way to go. Debra pulls out the map, makes a wild guess
and says left. Heather has also looked
at the map and disagrees, but goes along with the counselor. Soon Debra realizes they’re lost. Heather spots a clearing and suggests they
make camp there for the night. They get
settled in and make dinner, although some of the girls suggest eating snakes
and rabbits in case they’re not soon rescued.
Yum. Dawn sanctimoniously manages
to “choke” down a hot dog rather than starve but skips the marshmallows. Someone mentions an escaped convict and they
all dive into their tents. They don’t
sleep much and decide to head back to camp right away in the morning. Unfortunately they are still lost and spend
most of the day going in a circle. They
arrive back at the clearing where they had spent the previous night. Heather takes the map and declares she knows
where they are, but that it’s a long walk so they should spend the night in the
clearing again. They start out early the
next morning and are met by a group from camp out looking for them. Mrs. Means gives Heather the medal of
bravery. Dawn says they all deserve one,
but Heather most of all. Now Dawn, what
did you do (aside from choking down a hotdog) that you think merits a medal of
honor? You did nothing really to help
remedy the situation.
Mallory
Mal wakes up before the campwide wake up call and she and
Jessi have a little whisper fest, angering the other girls in their
cabins. At 7am, they snap to and are
dressed and ready before their cabin mates are up. Someone mutters, “oreos” and Jessi
prickles. The counselor sharply
reprimands the offender, but Mal doesn’t get what it means, so Jessi explains
that it’s a racial term meaning you are black but act white. Mal still doesn’t get it since she’s already
white. So they make some jokes and laugh
it off. They head off to the 8-year-old
girls and get started with the dance program.
Charlotte
is there and is still clingy and weepy.
They do some stretching but they have no idea what they’re going to do
for the program.
Logan
Logan
is tired. Jackie Rodowsky is in his
cabin and he has been run ragged trying to keep up with him. He’s relaxing at lunch when he gets the
letter from MA and he’s touched, since this is the most emotional letter she’s
ever written. But another CIT named
Cliff (Cliff? What is this, 1950 Ann?)
reads the letter aloud over his shoulder, embarrassing Logan.
So he flings peas and corn at Cliff, starting a food war and redirecting
attention away from his letter.
Still, Logan’s
fellow CITs think MA’s a “feeb” meaning feeble minded person. They’re right. The bus arrives and MA jumps down and throws
herself into Logan’s
arms. She confesses he wasn’t supposed
to see the note and he says he guessed as much.
They have a good time at the dance and Logan’s fellow CITs say that MA isn’t a
feeb. Rah.
Wrap Up Points:
- Stacey recovers fully from all her maladies
- Claudia and Will end up writing to each other
- Kristy occasionally uses mascara
- MA will never get her ears pierced.
- Dawn wants to sign up for survival training
- Heather will not be returning to camp
- Mal and Jessi are still close friends
- Mal only had one chapter in this book
