Sleepover Friends #5: Lauren's Big Mix-Up

(If you click the cover, you'll see it bigger.)


The Cover: Who are those girls with Lauren and Patti? Seriously, Lauren looks the same, albeit better-dressed the usual. (Because they’re in The City.) And Patti next to her looks the same. But Stephanie’s gone through a change. That’s definitely Stephanie. See the red, black and white? But she doesn’t look like the girl on the previous covers or any of the ones following. Ah, well. And finally, there’s Kate, who got a hot transplant. That’s just not how I picture Kate. Anyways…

CHAPTER 1: Our heroines are on the bus, just arriving in The City. The City is never named. I think some people believe it to be New York, but dude, you do not say “Didn’t our whole class go to the museum in October?” about New York. So it’s gotta be smaller, as New York has WAY more than just one museum. Even my home city of Buffalo does. The writer really should have had Kate specify. I know it’s the natural history museum, because it happened in Book #1, but if you’re talking about a city with a lot of museums, you specify every time. But I digress. The girls are on the bus and Stephanie’s playing tour guide, which Kate tries to nip in the bud by reminding her that they know what the damn city is. Lauren and Patti are a bit overwhelmed, while Kate’s still grumbly. Stephanie continues to city babble and Lauren goes into backstory mode. Lauren finishes that off by saying this trip will give them something to put in their school journals. It’s the typical “get in the habit of writing something every day” assignment. The girls bought four of the same notebook. Gee, I smell trouble coming. Stephanie spots her grandmother, known as both “Nana” and “Mrs. Bricker.” I shall refer to her as Nana because it’s shorter. The girls are all visiting her. They greet Nana and Stephanie asks where her friend Tiffany is. Apparently, Tiff’s staying an extra hour at her dance class and will be dropped off later. Tiffany was Stephanie’s city BFF. She wants to be an actress, her older sister’s a model yadda blah. They get their luggage. Lots of people are around and Patti gets startled by a mime. Yes, Stephanie likes the unexpected and Patti doesn’t. Yadda blah. They take a cab to the apartment building. Kate comments that Lauren’s suitcase is heavy. Lauren narrates that she isn’t used to it yet because it was a Christmas present from her aunt and uncle. A Christmas present? A suitcase? How boring! The girls go to get settled in the guest room, where there’s a double bed, two air mattresses and a chair that folds into a single bed, so there’s enough space for the girls and Tiffany. Stephanie shows off the view and even Kate has to be impressed. Surprise, Lauren’s hungry, so the girls head to the kitchen where Nana has bought “a little of everything” at the deli. The doorbell rings and oh, joy, it’s Tiffany.

CHAPTER 2: Miss Tiffany Parks is “small and slender, with pale skin and a pointy face and eyebrows that reminded me of a cat. She had thick, straight, black hair that was parted on the side and hung down to the middle of her back.” Naturally, Tiffany (in her husky voice) asks why Stephanie cut her hair. Stephanie starts to tell the story of Kate’s birthday, but Tiffany interrupts and says the short hair makes her look six. Then she asks where Stephanie got her sweater. Riverhurst of course and Tiffany’s all snotty. Lauren and Kate exchange a look. Tiffany does a stretch and comments about dancing, so Kate says that she thought Tiffany wanted to be an actress, not a dancer. Tiffany says an actress must dance and sing, and Lauren wonders if one of her soap actresses can dance and sing. Tiffany snottily asks who the actress is and then puts down all soap actresses. Patti tries to head off an argument by asking Tiffany if she’d like something to eat, but Tiffany pronounces the food “Totally fatty and greasy. Yucky for my skin.” Stephanie offers fruit salad and Tiffany picks at the strawberries. Kate’s interest has been piqued and she asks what Tiffany means by a real actress. Apparently, only the stage-trained are the real deal. (Yes, this is why whatever those awards are called are more well-known than the Oscars. Oh, wait…) Tiffany’s been in some plays and not school ones. Stephanie pipes up and actually does the bragging FOR her. Neither Kate nor Lauren has heard of either of the plays Tiffany’s been in. Lauren comments that “this is just about the best hero I’ve ever eaten” and Stephanie brings up an old game she and Tiffany used to play. It’s called “Bests” and basically you say stuff like “best friend,” “best ice cream,” “best trip,” etc. and then fill in the answers. Stephanie says the best ice cream is at Scrumptious, where they’ll go tomorrow. She wants Tiffany to go, but Tiffany’s rather hesitant. Nana comes in then and invites the girls to order movies from her video club. Kate picks out some Swedish flick called Raspberries in the Fall. How does a fifth-grader even know about Swedish movies? Lauren picks a comedy from the 30s and Tiffany requests something called Aardvarks. Lauren is happy they’ll be watching so many movies, because then there will be less talking and less chance of fighting.

The girls take snacks into the living room. They’ve got Dr. Pepper, Cheese Doodles and fudge cake. Tiffany has club soda and celery sticks. Lauren wonders if life is worth living without fudge cake. I agree. Stephanie gives no one a choice and says they’ll watch Tiffany’s movie first. Turns out it’s a filmed play with three people sitting on stools on an empty stage. They do nothing but talk about death. Tiffany and Stephanie declare it powerful and really moving.

“It almost moved me right out of the room,” Kate murmured in my ear.

I have totally used that line multiple times since I first read this book. Patti puts on Kate’s Swedish film, which is subtitled. Tiffany can’t stand subtitles, so she starts yapping about a girl named Myra Dillard, who lost weight, permed her hair and sings in a rock band with seventh-graders. Kate can’t take it and she and Tiffany bitch at each other. Kate calls her rude, which she is, and Tiffany is pissed that Stephanie won’t stick up for her more. She calls Stephanie a hick and bitches her way out the door.

CHAPTER 3: Natch, Stephanie blames Kate for this. She couldn’t get into the hall before the elevator doors were already closing. Nana comes out to see what happened and calls down to the doorman. Apparently, he just put Tiffany in a cab. (She lied and said she had Nana’s permission.) Nana asks the girls what happened and Kate steps up and says she had a disagreement with Tiffany. Nana calls Tiffany’s mom and asks that she call her back when Tiffany gets home to let her know she arrived safely. The girls sit quietly until the phone rings. Tiffany’s home safe and preparing for bed, and Nana thinks the girls should get ready for bed, too. Kate apologizes for the fight and Nana says Tiffany takes herself very seriously. “Perhaps a little too seriously.” Kate tries to apologize to Stephanie, but Stephanie accuses Kate of being jealous of Tiffany. Kate’s not going to take that and calls Tiffany a phony. Stephanie says Tiffany’s not a phony, she really is an actress.

“She’s an actress, all right. Everything she does is one big act. ‘Stephanie, whatever did you do to your hair?’ ” Kate imitated Tiffany’s husky voice. “ ‘And those hicky friends…simply too awful.’ ”

Lauren and Patti can’t help but laugh, but Stephanie doesn’t think ruining a friendship is very funny. Lauren wonders (not aloud) if Tiffany really is Stephanie’s friend. She wouldn’t want a friend treating her the way Tiffany treated Stephanie. Stephanie takes an air mattress and drags it away from the others. Kate says tall Lauren and Patti should get the bed, while she takes the chair. Then she looks out the window and wishes she could see better. Stephanie tells her there are binoculars in the living room and Lauren goes to get them, then asks why Nana needs them. Turns out she’s a birdwatcher. Kate sees a couple “fighting” in one of the nearby apartments and Stephanie grabs the binoculars and says they’re just dancing. Kate sneaks a grin at Lauren. She got successfully Stephanie talking again. The girls spend some time spying on others, then Lauren goes to get her journal to write in…but the clothes in her suitcase aren’t hers!

CHAPTER 4: So Lauren’s got a suitcase full of men’s clothing. She’s not pleased because she’d packed her “turquoise-and-black top, my black stretch pants, two pairs of leg warmers, and my silver Reeboks.” The girls figure that some guy grabbed Lauren’s suitcase by mistake, as the one she’s got is identical to her new one.

“I’m sure the man will call your house as soon as he discovers he’s got a suitcase full of girls’ leg warmers and stretch pants,” Patti said soothingly.

However, the suitcase is so new, Lauren hadn’t gotten around to writing her name on it anywhere. Kate asks if Lauren’s journal is in there and she says yes, so Kate says that’s how he can track her, but Lauren didn’t write her full name on her journal. “It seemed more private that way,” she says. Stephanie says he can’t call the school about a Lauren, as it’s the weekend, so she starts checking the guy’s suitcase for contact info. The girls paw through everything with no luck. At the bottom of the case is a flat box containing a reel of tape. Patti IDs it as being from an old reel-to-reel tape recorder (her dad had one), and the girls wonder where they’ll find something that will play it. Kate discovers a name on the tape: C. Harkness. To the phone book! They find several Harknesses, but none with C as the initial. Lauren’s all gung ho about calling them all, but Kate reminds her that it’s almost midnight. Thankfully, Patti had brought two long tees to sleep in, so Lauren borrows one and it’s bedtime.

Lauren wakes up the next morning to the sound of Kate scribbling in her journal. Patti and Stephanie are still sleeping, so the girls head to the kitchen, where Nana is making breakfast. Lauren and Kate explain to her about the suitcase incident and “C. Harkness” sounds familiar to her, but she can’t quite place it. They’re joined by Patti and Stephanie, who mentions that she thought one of Nana’s friends might have the kind of tape recorder they need. Nana says she’ll check right after breakfast, but for now…blueberry waffles, anyone?

CHAPTER 5: None of Nana’s friends have a tape recorder, but they’re on the hunt to find one, so the girls start with the phone calls. A. R. Harkness is a crotchety old man. D. Harkness is named Daisy and “she’s not answering the phone right now.” Gloria Harkness is a no answer, Laurence Harkness has been disconnected, and N. T. Harkness’ phone gets answered by a child, who gets yelled at for playing with the phone. Stephanie writes down the addresses for the Harknesses (minus the grumpy old dude) and the girls get ready to go shopping. The girls are flying solo, since the shopping area is “busy and safe” and natch, Stephanie knows it like the back of her hand. She’ll meet them at one for lunch at the much raved about Scrumptious, then it’s time for “sight-seeing and Harknessing.” The evening is still up in the air, but dinner and a trip to the Sky Rink are a possibility.

However, Lauren’s still got that clothing issue to get around. Stephanie and Kate are too short for her to borrow from. She gets a pair of dark green stretch pants from Patti and Nana sends Stephanie off to buy socks and underwear. Then she loans Lauren a nice gray wool sweater with flowers and dark green leaves on it. Lauren starts to protest, saying she’s “sort of a slob,” but Nana says it’s washable.

Lauren had thought they were safe from Tiffany, but then she overhears Stephanie calling her. They patch things up (naturally putting all the blame on Kate) and Tiffany might meet them for dinner. Stephanie changes the subject by asking Patti if there are any old friends she’d like to call. But Patti left her first school so long ago, she doubts anyone would remember her, and her best friend from the second school moved to Maine. Stephanie and Kate grab their journals and it’s time to shop. Nana bids them a “Have a good time. Be careful.” (Isn’t that what Stacey’s mom always says in the BSC books?) On the way up the street, the girls notice a missing poster for a little dog. Kate suggests hanging up signs about Lauren’s suitcase, but Stephanie bats that one down. It’s time to catch the bus.

CHAPTER 6: The girls end up in front of a large toy store called Rumpelstiltskin. Patti wants to go in, as her dad used to bring her here. A bratty doll reminds Kate too much of her sister, so they leave and head to a fancy dress shop called Nell’s. The prices scare the girls away and go to a pet store. Patti buys a small lizard for her brother and Lauren gets her kitten a toy. Apparently, all that took until almost one, so they make for Scrumptious.

Nana’s waiting for them and they tell her about what they did.

I ended up ordering a grilled cheese sandwich, which doesn’t sound very special, but it was…

I know how you feel, Lauren. Mmm…grilled cheese.

As they’re waiting for dessert, Lauren laments her lost journal, knowing she’s going to forget “half the things we’ve done today.” Stephanie goes to give her a page from hers, only to discover that she has Kate’s. Unfortunately, she also gets an eyeful of what Kate wrote…about her. Kate wrote that she couldn’t believe how much of a wimp Stephanie was around Tiffany. Stephanie storms off and Nana goes after her, leaving Lauren to ask what that was about. Kate discovers that Stephanie had her journal and with a sigh, passes it to Lauren to read.

“ ‘I never would have believed it, but when she’s around Tiffany, Stephanie turns into a real wimp. And I’ve never met such a self-centered, stuck-up phony. No wonder Stephanie had such an attitude when she first moved to Riverhurst. It’ll take us weeks to get her back to normal after this trip.’ ”

Kate defends her writing, as journals are indeed the perfect place to let off steam. Nana comes back, saying she’s going to put Stephanie in a cab, but Patti suggests that Nana go with her, while she takes Kate and Lauren to the Historical Society Museum at the end of the street. Then they’ll catch a cab back to the apartment. She gives Patti cab money and goes to pay for lunch. Patti sends the lizard back with her.

CHAPTER 7: After lunch, the girls discuss what to do. Patti wonders if they should go try to smooth things over, but Kate says she’ll likely need time to cool off. The girls then discover that the museum is closed for renovation for the next two weeks. Lauren suggests they pay a visit to N. T. Harkness and after some hesitation, Patti says the address is close, so off they go. Little Todd lets them in and two other little boys rush over to greet them, followed by a confused mother. Lauren explains the situation and it turns out neither parent has been anywhere since the kids got chicken pox. The poor kids have been desperate for company and now they’ve just exposed the girls to the pox…and Lauren’s never had them. The girls leave.

“I’m too old for a childhood disease!” I moaned to Kate and Patti outside.

“You’re probably immune,” Kate said. “Or you would have gotten them when I did.”

Patti suggests trying Daisy Harkness to cheer Lauren. The girls take the bus, only to find no Daisy at home. Lauren leaves a message with the doorman. Another few stops away, they find that Gloria is in Europe for the winter. And Laurence has moved to Florida. In defeat, Lauren sinks down on a park bench and Patti points out the school she attended with Stephanie. (Which is why she knows her way around so well.) The girls have fun looking at the school, until they’re interrupted.

“Excuse me…aren’t you Patti Jenkins?”

All three of us turned around to face a girl about my height, with curly light brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses.

Patti nodded.

“Remember me? Myra Dillard,” the girl said, smiling. “In first grade?”

The Myra Dillard who, according to Tiffany, sang with a rock band?

“Of course!” Patti said then. “I’m surprised you remember me.”

“You were always nice to me,” Myra said. “Even when I was fat. I was really sorry when you moved.”

Aww, how nice. Myra lives right across the street, so she invites the girls over, but they say they should get back. They explain that they’re staying with Stephanie’s grandmother and Myra invites them all to get together with her tomorrow. She’s in the phone book and has her own line. As the girls walk away, Lauren asks why Patti didn’t tell Tiffany she knew Myra. Patti says it’s because she didn’t want to argue with Stephanie’s friend.

“Anybody Tiffany Parks doesn’t like has to be okay,” Kate said.

The bus is coming and Lauren complains that her stomach might not be able to take all that starting and stopping. Patti says this bus only makes limited stops and the last one is where Nana lives. Patti gets on, but Lauren is distracted by the mime they saw when they arrived. She and Kate run for a look…and totally miss the bus. Patti mouths something to them, but they don’t catch it. Lauren starts to run after the bus, hoping to catch it at the next stop, until a panting Kate reminds her that it’s limited stops. Lauren says they’ll take the next bus and end up where they need to be. Kate leans against a parked car and moans, at which Lauren asks what she’s moaning about, only to find out that it’s not Kate doing the moaning. Lauren discovers a dog under the car.

CHAPTER 8: The girls call to the dog, but he won’t budge, so under Lauren goes. Lauren reaches out a cautious hand, which the dog licks, so she grabs him and starts to wiggle backwards. She gets out far enough that Kate can grab him and they see how dirty he is. He yelps and the girls think his back leg is hurt. They wrap him in Lauren’s jacket and then realize they can’t walk that far and they doubt they could get on a bus with a dog. So Kate hails a cab “just like a city person.” *snicker* I have to admit I kinda felt that way when I hailed my first cab. On the way, they spot Patti jogging down the street. They yell out the window and get the driver to stop for her. Patti explains that she was trying to tell them to stay there and she’d come back for them. Kate and Lauren explain about the dog and Patti says maybe it’s the dog from the missing poster they saw earlier. He’s wearing a red collar like the poster said. Patti remembers that his name is Max and the dog’s ears twitch a bit when he hears that. Kate says they can call the number on the poster when they get back. Lauren ponders taking the dog home with her if the poster dog has been found already.

The girls arrive at the apartment. Kate hopes Nana doesn’t mind animals, while Lauren hopes she doesn’t mind grease on her sweater. Nana greets them and before they can explain what happened, she says that a friend brought over a tape recorder. They show her the dog and in typical grandmotherly fashion, she goes to see what she can give him to eat. Lauren calls the number from the poster and a woman answers. Max is still missing, so she’s very excited and says she’ll come right over.

CHAPTER 9: The woman arrives very quickly and it turns out to be someone Nana has “shared a bench in the park with several times,” but has never actually spoken to. Her name is Elizabeth Hatch and that’s indeed her dog. Lauren mentions his hind leg and Elizabeth says she’ll take him to the vet. He got lost because she let him off his leash to run in the park, which she says she’s done several times. He chased a squirrel and disappeared. Elizabeth mentions the hundred dollar reward, but Lauren refuses. Elizabeth offers to treat them to dinner, but they say they’re going home tomorrow. So instead she invites them to a performance that evening of a play that she does the lighting for. She even offers to pick them up and bring them back. Nana agrees and Elizabeth heads out.

Stephanie comes running then, having gotten the tape recorder working. She purposely ignores Kate and says the tape is very weird. There’s almost nothing on it until the end when an arguing male voice comes on. There’s a female voice that they can’t quite make out. And the voices end with a gunshot. Patti and Lauren think the tape should go to the cops, but Stephanie and Kate think there’s a more reasonable explanation than…

“Is a murderer really going to make a tape of the crime and then…” She pointed to the big hiking boots lying on the floor next to the open suitcase. “…take it on a hiking trip?”

Yeah, she’s got a point. Lauren’s mind turns to what she’s going to wear. She’s messed up that day’s outfit with her dog rescue. Nana says she washed Lauren’s clothes from yesterday, so they’re ready for the theatre. Stephanie is confused, so Lauren explains. Then Stephanie says she won’t be going…Tiffany’s coming over.

CHAPTER 10: The girls figure they can’t really bring a fifth, since four kids standing around is a lot already. Patti says then they won’t go either, but Stephanie tells them to go. After a rush of eating, dressing and searching for Horace’s escape artist lizard, the girls are ready.

The girls have fun at the play…and discover something interesting. The argument they heard on tape is part of the play! They have to wait until the play is over to ask Elizabeth about it. Turns out Charlie Harkness is the author. He’s a bit hard to reach, but he does drop by the theatre sometimes. Elizabeth says she’ll ask him to get in touch with Lauren. After the play, they go to Elizabeth’s apartment to say goodbye to Max. Clean, he’s light brown and curly. His leg issue was a bad sprain. They have brownies and hot apple cider, then Elizabeth takes them back to Nana’s. Stephanie’s already gone to bed. Lauren starts to tell the Harkness story when Nana says she remembered who he was. She read an article about the play a few weeks before. Patti asks if Stephanie had a good time with Tiffany. The answer?

“I’m afraid not.” Mrs. Bricker shook her head disapprovingly. “Tiffany Parks had something better to do…she stood us up.”

CHAPTER 11: Stephanie tells the tale the next morning. Tiffany apparently called from a friend’s around 8:30. She’d completely forgotten about Stephanie. Stephanie tells Kate that she was right after all. She admits that she always thought everything Tiffany did was fine because she was so talented, but it’s not fine. “She’s a crummy friend.”

The girls end up going to Myra’s that day. Myra’s got a great voice and plays electric keyboard “almost as well as Spud Zircon, who’s the new keyboard player for my favorite new rock group, Boodles.” Patti talks Stephanie into going and Kate helps by pointing out that it would bug Tiffany to hear that Stephanie visited Myra. Myra shows the girls around. Her family has a huge practice room with lots of instruments and video equipment, as her dad and she both play the piano, her brother plays drums, and her mom tapes them. Myra says that she sings and plays in a group sometimes, and Lauren says they heard.

“You did?” Myra looked surprised. “From whom?”

“Tiffany Parks,” Kate answered, glancing at Stephanie.

“Oh…Tiffany.” Myra nodded. “She wanted to be in Breakout…that’s the band…herself.”

“What happened?” Stephanie asked.

Myra shrugged her shoulders. “Tiffany can’t sing. She was furious when the group turned her down, but she just can’t carry a tune.”

Stephanie is intrigued, beginning to realize Tiffany’s not all she says she is. Myra plays and sings for them, including part of a song she’s writing with another band member. Kate gets to use the video camera, Myra’s brother gave a little performance on the drums, and Myra promised to visit the girls in Riverhurst.

I think of that weekend in the city as the “lost and found” weekend. Stephanie lost her friend Tiffany Parks, but we found new friends in Elizabeth and Max and Myra Dillard.

Max was lost and found, Patti found she could manage in the city just fine, and Kate found some things about the city she actually liked…mimes and hailing a cab, for instance.

I lost my suitcase and my favorite sweater, but got them back, sooner than I thought I would, too.

On Monday, Lauren is called to the office. There’s a man on phone saying he’ll put her suitcase on the 4 PM bus to Riverhurst and she can put his on the 5 PM back to the city. Turns out that C. Harkness saw “Riverhurst” and “Lauren” on her journal’s cover, and the names of the other girls inside. He called the school and asked if they could help.

They said yes, of course: Everybody knows the Sleepover Friends!

And thus ends the first big Sleepover Friends trip. The first of many. Including the next book! Book #5 also is the first time we get a preview of the next book. I won't be writing about those, but they're there. This book is your typical girl series wild adventure that very few kids that age ever had. Sadly, I'm pretty sure we never hear from Myra again. They set her up and then dropped her. There are quite a few decent lessons in the book, such as...

-Don't let people treat you shitty just because they're "talented."
-Don't buy the same journal as your friends.
-Always leave contact info in and on your suitcase.
-Pack an extra pair of undies or two in a carry on bag.
-Do not run away from an open bus door. They will not wait for you.
-All mimes are not the same guy.
-Returning a stray dog can get you free play action and brownies. Mmm...brownies.

I hope to update a bit more frequently, but you never know with me. I do have Book #6 down here at work with me. I just don't know if I'll work on it today.

Sleepover Friends #4: Patti's New Look

(If you click the cover, you'll see it bigger.)

The Cover: I’ve always liked this cover. Definitely the strongest one until…#7, I think. I quite like #7’s. It’s mostly because I think Stephanie looks really adorable. Albeit out of her color scheme. Honestly, she doesn’t get put in her proper colors until the next cover. It’s such a huge part of her character that I wonder if there was any knowledge of the books by the artist. But aside from the clothes, this is generally how I picture Stephanie in my head. Kate once again has grown some more hair. I like shorter-haired Kate better. Lauren looks essentially how I imagine her. Patti…well, her face is kinda cute, although not as cute as she was on #2 and #3, and I like the curly ends of her hair, but the outfit. Wow. We’ll get to that later.

CHAPTER 1:
It’s sleepover time! Friday night, Stephanie’s room. Kate is looking outside at the snow while the others read teen mags and stuff their faces. (That’s what it really says. “Stuffing our faces and reading teen magazines.”) Patti, Stephanie and Kate discuss the love lives of three stars: Tanya Colter, Kevin DeSpain and Marcy Monroe. Is Kevin in love with Marcy when he’s been seen out with Tanya? Blah blah. Oh, and ever wonder what happened to the kittens from the last book? Guess. Stephanie now owns the all-black one, named Cinders. Lauren and Patti have the two black and white kittens. Lauren’s is Rocky (to go with Bullwinkle) and Patti’s is Adelaide. Lauren comments that Marcy is boring and reminds her of the dullest girl in their class, Karla Stamos.

“They both wear a lot of brown…nobody wears brown! They’re both always talking about improving their minds and how they can’t stand rock music…they only listen to classical. And they both squint.”

Lauren rests her case. Kate still thinks Marcy’s beautiful though. Stephanie says there’s no way Kevin’s in love with her. Patti comments on Kevin’s cuteness and height. We get it. Patti’s tall. Stephanie gets impatient, because she’s currently into blonds like Donald Foster. Kevin’s dark-haired. (Remember that when I get to book #21. He’s blond then. I can’t remember if he switched in between, but he’s blond on the cover.) Patti turns the page and finds a kissing article, which makes her blush. Lauren wants to postpone the article for a food run. Stephanie says kissing’s more important than food. Lauren disagrees and adds that she knows more about it than the rest of them anyway, thanks to her older brother. Lauren goes for food, giving her the chance for backstory. Lauren returns, post-backstory, to find the girls kissing pillows. Or rather, Stephanie instructing Kate and Patti on how to kiss pillows. Kate sums it up rather well:

“If the first boy I kiss is this soft and fat, he’s the wrong one anyway.”

Lauren says Roger (her brother) used to practice on his arm, so Kate gives it a shot, then tries to get everyone into a festival of film classics. Stephanie says they never can tell when they’ll need to know how to kiss. Kate again:

“Like next Friday at Eckhart’s Rink? With Mr. and Mrs. Sykes sitting there? Give me a break, Stephanie!”

Jane Sykes, one of the girls’ classmates, is having a huge sleepover to celebrate winter vacation. They’re going to the skating rink first, then back to the Sykes’ for the sleepover. Kate gets the magazine away from Stephanie and finds a quiz: “Are You Cautious or Carefree?” I’m not going to type out all the questions, but it’s your typical magazine quiz. The funniest sequence is this:

“When you go to dinner at a new restaurant and discover there’s nothing on the menu that you recognize, do you: A. look on it as an adventure and pick something yourself; B. ask the waiter to bring the closest thing he’s got to a hamburger; C. decide you’re not hungry and couldn’t possibly eat a thing.”

“A,” I said right away. I’m pretty interested in most food.

Stephanie made a face. “B. It’s clear that you’ve never seen baked snails, Lauren.”

The end result of the quiz is that Stephanie gets 25 points, meaning she’s daring and carefree, but could stand to give her decisions more thought. Kate and Lauren get 17 and 18 respectively, meaning they’re sensible, but shouldn’t overdo it. And Patti gets so few points that the article asks if she’s still breathing and says she needs to loosen up fast! Poor Patti is totally flustered and goes on about how boring she is. Kate and Stephanie goof around to try to cheer Patti, but we’re reminded that once she gets something in her mind (see #1), she won’t let it drop.

CHAPTER 2:
The next day, the girls go shopping. They enter Dandelion and we meet the owner, Mrs. Martin. She directs the girls to piles of sweaters and tights near the back wall, some of which are on sale. Stephanie finds a sweater with red and white squiggles on it (no mention of the background color, unless the whole thing is just squiggles) and Kate finds a sweater with yellow and green zigzags and a pair of dark green leg warmers. Lauren finds a turquoise and black top, while Patti chooses a navy blue hooded sweater with white snowflakes…then has a breakdown. On the way to the dressing rooms, she compares herself with Karla Stamos and all her brown, then heads back out into the store. Patti comes back with a wide array of clothes: an electric-blue stretch jumpsuit, bright orange tights, a black Western shirt with rhinestones all over the back, a belt made from a bike chain, and shiny yellow suspenders. She tries everything on, then tries more. She ends up in the outfit on the cover: a pink polka-dotted sweater, a poison-green miniskirt, and striped pink leggings. Patti asks the dread question: how does she look? Lauren hedges and says it’s a great outfit. Kate says the colors look nice on Patti and Stephanie says she looks great, but isn’t it expensive? Patti has Christmas money though. Kate tries a final warning: don’t buy it if you’re not going to wear it, because you can’t return sale stuff. But Patti’s convinced she wants a change and even quotes the quiz. She asks about the chain belt, which Lauren dismisses quickly.

The girls head to Charlie’s Soda Fountain. Lauren tells how they always sit in the last booth and always order the same things. She gets a banana smoothie, Stephanie gets a chocolate milk shake, Kate gets a float with two scoops of vanilla, and Patti gets a lime freeze. So when the waitress appears with menus, Kate dismisses her, but Patti says she wants one. She orders the Secret Weapon: a drink that’s supposed to be a mixture of everything in the store. Lauren mentions in her narration that you have to have a cast iron stomach to even try it and that’s her, not Patti. The waitress asks Patti if she’s sure and Patti nods. The waitress then adds that if Patti finishes it, she gets another free. Kate asks if anyone’s ever finished two. The waitress replies that a year or so ago, one of the high school boys drank one and a half. That would be Tug Keeler, the 250-pound tackle on the Riverhurst High football team. The waitress mentions that they didn’t see him for awhile after that. Soon she’s back with the drinks. The Secret Weapon is in a tall frosted glass with exploding fireworks stamped on it in red. The drink itself is thick, dark and brownish-purple. Kate wonders what the purple is. Stephanie asks if Patti’s going to drink it and Patti replies that she wants to try new things. Kate asks if a strawberry freeze wouldn’t have been new enough. Patti offers sips around and everyone refuses, even Lauren. So Patti takes a deep breath and chugs the entire thing! She says it was very sweet and it coats your throat like cough medicine. When the waitress comes by, she’s shocked and asks if Patti wants a second. She agrees, though Kate tells her not to push her luck. Patti says she won’t drink the whole thing and only manages a couple sips. She’s not saying much and seems very thoughtful. The girls pay and go outside, only to be bombarded by Henry Larkin, Mark Freedman and Larry Jackson, who were in Mimi’s Pizza across the street. It’s snowball fight time! The girls crouch behind a parked car and we’re reminded of Stephanie’s killer arm. She gets Larry on the ear and Henry on the back of the head. Mark’s calling for a regroup when she gets him in the face. (Mark’s my favorite of the boys, though I honestly can’t say why.) Kate and Stephanie run after the retreating boys, but Patti volunteers to stay with their purchases. Lauren notices she’s not feeling well. Stephanie and Kate come running back, as the boys did manage to regroup. Lauren says Patti’s sick and Kate, whose father is a doctor, goes into a “stick out your tongue” routine. Lauren’s exasperated and tells Kate it’s the Secret Weapon. Stephanie yells at the still charging boys and they realize Patti’s sick. Mark starts to apologize, but Lauren tells him Patti drank “one whole Secret Weapon and part of a second.” The boys are stunned, but not into silence.

“Kyle Hubbard drank part of one once on a dare,” Larry told us.

“He thought he was going to throw up for hours afterward. Is that how you feel, Patti?” Henry Larkin wanted to know.

“Please,” Patti murmured queasily. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

“Yeah, thanks for sharing that with us, Henry,” Stephanie muttered.

The girls wonder where Stephanie’s mom, who’s picking them up, could be. Mark climbs a pile of snow and finally declares that she’s coming. Stephanie tells her mom what happened, and Kate and Lauren get Patti and the packages into the car. Naturally, Larry can’t resist a moving target and gets the back window of the car with one final snowball. They get Patti home safely. On the way to drop the other girls off, Mrs. Green asks why Patti finished the drink if it was so bad. The girls explain about the quiz and Patti wanting to try new things. Mrs. Green says it doesn’t sound like Patti and Stephanie says that’s the point. The chapter ends with Kate predicting that Patti will never wear her new outfit.

CHAPTER 3:
Stephanie talks to Patti that night and Patti’s feeling much better. By Monday, she even seems back to normal, wearing navy blue and everything. Then Mark decides to lead a little tour to see the girl who drank two Secret Weapons. His tour includes Larry (“of course, since they’re always together”), Bobby Krieger from 5C (Kate’s old crush), and Alan Reese and Todd Farrell from 5A. Patti modestly says it was only one and a couple sips, but the boys are still impressed.

“Still,” Bobby insisted. “A girl who can finish a whole Secret Weapon!”

Alan asks if the girls are going to Jane’s sleepover. He and Bobby might be at the rink, along with Todd, who’s Jane’s cousin. Then Pete Stone arrives. Pete’s described as having curly dark-brown hair and light green eyes. “We’re sort of interested in each other,” Lauren narrates. The boys say they’ll probably be at the rink. Then Henry comes by and suggests they all go shoot baskets. Once they’re gone, Kate points out that Jenny Carlin is shooting deadly looks at Lauren. Jenny’s got a crush on Pete and hates Lauren because he likes her. But Lauren doesn’t think Pete ever liked Jenny because she’s too pushy. Anyway, Jenny and her Jenny-in-training, Angela Kemp, are glaring daggers at the Sleepover Friends. Stephanie does an amusing imitation of Jenny’s squeaky voice and Kate stares Jenny down until she stops looking at them. Patti asks if Todd is nice. Stephanie says he’s very nice. He was in the same 4th grade class as her and Lauren. Stephanie adds that he’s very shy around girls and Lauren says that he’s tall, too. Todd was the tallest of the boys there and “Pete’s no shorty.” The other girls discuss the party, while Patti watches Todd until he’s out of the room.

However, it turns out Patti can’t even go to the party. Before school the next morning, she says her family is having company, so she can’t go anywhere. The visitor is Karen Lawson. The girls’ parents used to teach at the same university. The families spent a few summers together when the girls were young, then the Lawsons moved to California. Lauren asks what Karen’s going to be doing here. Her older sister Lisa is a high school junior and she and her parents are going to be visiting colleges. Patti describes Karen as short, thin, really quiet and always reading. And she’s staying the entire vacation. Kate gets it in her head to ask Jane if Karen can come to the sleepover. Jane doesn’t mind, because from Patti’s description, probably no one will even notice that Karen is there.

The Lawsons’ plane arrives on Friday afternoon. Patti’s family, including the once again correctly-named Horace, is going to meet them at the airport. Karen will go back with the Jenkins family, while the other Lawsons travel on. Jane’s party doesn’t start until 5:30 and it takes an hour and a half for travel back from the city, so Patti and Karen should still have plenty of time to arrive. Lauren gets there a little late. She’s greeted by Jane and asks if she’s late, to which Kate quips “No more than usual!” Lauren asks if Patti’s there, but the answer is no. Jane leads the way to the living room, where the girls (all 14 of them) will all be sleeping on the floor. Jane instructs them to put their stuff down and come into the kitchen, as they’re eating before heading to the rink at 6:30. Stephanie jokes that Lauren should sleep next to the wall “so Kate and I can protect you if Jenny turns into a vampire in the middle of the night.” The girls giggle and Stephanie adds, “Wait until you see what Jenny’s got on.” Lauren asks who else is there. Sally Mason, Robin Becker, Erin Wilson, Nancy Hersh, Karla… I love how much they use last names in books like these. As if we all constantly use them. The girls head into the kitchen.

CHAPTER 4:
Lauren relates how her older brother sympathizes with Jane’s, because having four girls stay overnight is bad enough, but 14? Wow. However, Dennis Sykes doesn’t seem to mind and is even passing out sandwiches. Mrs. Sykes tells the girls to dig in before taking her husband off to the den. “We’ll need all our strength for later.” Lauren spots Jenny, practically drooling on Dennis, dressed all in black: black sweatshirt with glitter on the sleeves and black pants. Now Lauren understands Stephanie’s vampire comment. (I’m not going to say anything. Even though I wear mostly black every day, I’m not going to say anything.) Jenny’s cohort Angela is wearing blue and she gives Lauren a nod. Dennis heads to his room to watch the hockey game and Mrs. Sykes tells him not to get too involved, as they’re leaving for the rink in about an hour. The Sleepover Friends sit down and Kate comments that Jenny doesn’t have a shot with 16-year-old Dennis.

“Jenny is really operating tonight,” Stephanie said in a low voice. “Better keep your eye on Pete.”

The girls eat, then primp and split into groups. The larger group is going with Dennis and Mr. Sykes in the van, while the smaller is with Mrs. Sykes in her car. Stephanie wants to go in the van to watch Jenny in action…because she’s put on eyeliner now. But the girls end up in the car with Jane. Stephanie wonders where Patti is and Mrs. Sykes says Mrs. Jenkins called a bit ago. They got stuck in traffic and are feeding the girls then bringing them to the rink. Stephanie comments that people can change a lot in two or three years and wonders what Karen will look like.

Lauren deems the rink in great that night, which means they’re playing rock instead of polkas, the ice is in good shape, and it’s not too crowded. Mark, Larry and Henry are already there, and Pete enters as the girls are putting on their skates. Pete’s a “really good” skater, but Lauren’s no slouch, having learned from Roger when she was four. Pete and Lauren try writing their names on the ice, then the girls play crack the whip. Meanwhile, Jenny is hanging on the edge of the rink, shrieking like she’s going to fall. Angela hovers nearby.

“Jenny has one eye on Pete Stone and the other on Dennis Sykes,” Stephanie pointed out. “No wonder she’s having trouble. Her poor feet don’t have a clue about which way she’s going!”

We get a brief run down of what other people are doing and then Henry lets out a “Wow!” Wow, indeed. Patti and Karen have arrived. Patti’s in her new outfit and she looks terrific. But, as Lauren says, Patti may as well have been wearing her old sweater and jeans. All the boys have eyes for Karen only. Short, thin, really quiet and always reading is gone. Only short remains. Karen has real shape, as Lauren puts it. She’s sporting a rubber miniskirt, which Kate points out doesn’t seem comfortable. Karen keeps tugging on the bottom of it. But the deep red mini looks great with the rest of her outfit: white leg warmers, a red sweater sprinkled with black lines and white circles and crosses, an armful of sparkling bangles, and a gold feather earring in one ear. Her hair was honey-colored, shoulder-length and a “mass of tight little waves.” She had straight dark eyebrows, bright blue eyes and kind of pouty lips. And being from California, she’s also tan. Patti calls the other Sleepover Friends over to meet Miss Karen. The girls have to fight their way through the frozen with awe boys to get there. Kate comments that the only good thing so far is Jenny, who’s forgotten her helpless act and is gliding across the ice with ease. Patti introduces everyone and Karen says “Aren’t we going to have fun?” in a “breathless little voice.” Karen then turns to the boys and asks if one of them could teach her how to skate. The other have to jump out of the way of the stampede. Mark takes Karen to the bleachers, while Bobby explains how to lace up her skates. Pete helps her put them on. Kate says Jenny had better take a lesson from Karen and Lauren adds that they’d ALL better.

CHAPTER 5:
Patti exclaims “Isn’t Karen great?” as the girls ride back to the Sykes’. The four Sleepover Friends are crammed in the rear seat of the van, while Karen is up front, between Dennis and Mr. Sykes. Lauren gives a half-assed “Yeah, great,” and Jenny turns around from the seat ahead and says that Pete certainly seemed to think so. Kate starts to take her on, but Stephanie interrupts and says that Karen livens things up. (She whispers in Kate’s ear “Don’t give Carlin the satisfaction.”) Lauren admits that Karen is indeed amazing. She had all the boys, except Todd, eating out of her hand. Lauren compliments Patti on her outfit and Patti replies that Karen talked her into wearing it. She adds that being around Karen is really going to be good for her, but Lauren is unconvinced.

The snacks are out when the girls get home and Karen compliments Mrs. Sykes on her cheese ball. Apparently, they have them at parties in Malibu. Thus begins Karen Time. The girls excitedly ask her questions about celebrities and she rattles on and on. Kate asks her a question, obviously not believing a word. Then Dennis and Karen discuss windsurfing briefly, before he announces he’s off to bed. In the living room, the girls get their sleeping bags out and practically everyone moves closer to Karen. The girls change and Karen’s got some old school PJs with long sleeves and a high neck decorated with lace. Kate mutters that she expected something glitzier and Karen, as if she heard, says her mother got them for her before the Lawsons left. It’s too cold in Riverhurst to sleep as Karen usually does “in the raw.” The girls talk about boys, then get into astrology. Karen gives some girls, including Lauren, brief readings, causing Kate to go “hmm.” Karen says she learned her astrology from a guy named Zoltan, who was born in India and has a bald head covered in tattoos of the heavens. Jenny, bored, asks if anyone wants to play Truth or Dare, and Karen giggles, saying she hasn’t played that in so long she totally forgot about it. This of course prompts other girls to ask what she plays in California. Seven minutes in heaven, natch. The chapter ends with Kate commenting how some of the Riverhurst girls are already picking up Karen’s slang.

CHAPTER 6:
Karen teaches the girls the latest California dance moves, then tells a story about vampires in the sewers. Lauren has a bad dream about vampires, Pete and Karen, and wakes up with a bad headache.

“Me, too,” Kate whispered. “I’ve been awake for hours, having Excedrin Headache Number 102: the visitor from California.”

Lauren and Kate declare that they’re ready for home and sneak off to the bathroom. While in there, they discuss Karen. Kate thinks there’s something unreal about her and Stephanie, joining them, agrees. It’s like Karen had a personality transplant, she says. Kate says poor Patti, but Stephanie points out that Patti loves Karen. Lauren grumbles about Pete and Stephanie asks if the girls were going to leave without her. Kate asks if Stephanie still has the magazine from their last sleepover, but no, she’s thrown it out. Kate wonders if they have it at the library. The girls plan to stop at the library after making their escape, but there’s a knock on the door. It’s Patti, hoping that everyone can give Karen a tour of Riverhurst with her. None of the girls has the heart to say no, so they head home for quick naps, then back into town. At first, Karen seems to be enjoying. She likes Charlie’s a lot, though something odd happens there. She spills some of her strawberry soda on her sweater and mutters “Lisa’s going to kill me.” Kate’s curious, but Karen plays it off by saying her sister’s always yelling at her for being a slob. The girls go to Dandelion and then the mall, but by then, Karen’s bored. She asks if this is really what they do on a regular Saturday. Kate replies, listing off some things, one of which is “go to the movies.” Karen’s into that and promptly asks who’s calling the boys. She declares she’ll call them herself, starting with Pete Stone. The girls aren’t sure what to do and Patti tries to stop Karen, but Lauren says not to bother. She has to go pack for a trip to her grandmother’s. Karen talks to Pete, saying that there are five of them and they don’t want to go to the movies by themselves. Lauren and Kate quickly put in that they’re leaving, so Karen drops the number to three. Karen instructs Pete to bring himself and two other boys, with an ever so subtle “Try to get Todd Farrell, okay?” Patti apologizes to Lauren about the Pete thing and Lauren blows it off, saying she’d rather know now what a rotten person he is. (Go, Lauren!) Stephanie walks Kate and Patti to the mall entrance, saying she’s staying to keep Patti out of trouble.

Kate and Lauren hit the library and Kate finds exactly what she expected: Karen stole her horoscopes from the magazine! Kate also points out some of the magazines have pictures of the stars Karen reported seeing doing the same exact things she said they were doing when she saw them. Lauren’s not convinced until Kate says Karen couldn’t have met the astrologer Zoltan…he died 350 years ago!

CHAPTER 7:
Stephanie calls Lauren and is shocked to hear that Karen’s making up at least half of what she says. Stephanie’s confused on why she would do that and Lauren asks what happened at the movies. Turns out, all of the boys were busy, so Pete ended up bringing Robert Ellwanger, Riverhurst’s biggest nerd, and his cousin Arnold, who’s visiting from another town and is apparently an even bigger nerd than Robert. This is amusing because last book, Kate dared Stephanie to ask Robert out and he accepted, so he finally got his date with her. It also turns out that Karen is a movie talker and Pete wasn’t having it. He moved as far away from her as he could get, leaving the Ellwangers to be her rapt audience!

The next day, Lauren and Roger leave for their grandmother’s and have a blast on her farm. Lauren rushes to the phone as soon as she’s home and asks Kate what she’s missed. Karen and Patti were trying on lipstick at the mall the other day. Patti had borrowed Karen’s rubber mini and was sporting eye shadow. Lauren declares that something has to be done and Kate agrees. It’ll all go down at the next night’s sleepover.

Kate’s mom drives the girls to Patti’s and they make their plan. Lauren’s starting to have second thoughts, because Karen is leaving Sunday, but Stephanie says they have to do it because if they don’t, Patti will keep trying to be like Karen. Kate gets a jab in about Stephanie being able to supposedly spot a fake a mile away, but Lauren heads off that argument by asking what they’re going to do. Kate’s plan is to talk about California to give Karen the chance to confess. If she doesn’t, then they bring out Truth or Dare as their secret weapon.

In Patti’s yard, her brother is making a snow robot. Heh. I love Horace. Patti answers the door in a purple stretch jumpsuit and she’s got her hair pulled back on both sides. She happily greets everyone and then more sullenly declares that Karen’s been reworking her room. Patti’s room usually has a quilt her grandmother had made on her double bed, and bookshelves filled with books, stuffed animals, china figurines from around the world, and very old family photographs. Karen has redone it so that there’s a new blue bedspread with yellow lines and green squiggles. Most of Patti’s books are gone and all of the stuffed animals, leaving the figurines to be spaced out one or two per shelf. Lauren asks about Billy, the stuffed bear Patti got for her 3rd birthday and usually had out in her room. Apparently, he’s in the attic because Karen thought Patti’s room looked like it belonged to a 1st grader. Kate asks where Karen is and she’s gone to a Japanese restaurant to get some snacks. She returns just then and Patti asks Lauren to help her get stuff from the kitchen. Once there, Patti needs to talk. Lauren asks what the problem is and Patti starts to say that it’s her (Patti, not Lauren). She’s interrupted by her kitten meowing and she asks her what’s wrong, only she calls her Tanya. Her name before had been Adelaide. Lauren asks what’s up with the name change and naturally, it’s Karen’s doing. Patti finally says Karen is fine the way she is, but Patti can’t be like her. She thinks she’s an uptight failure. Lauren tells her to stop and says they all like her the way she is. Then she tells Patti that Karen’s not all that she seems. Patti’s confused about why Karen would lie and they race back upstairs because they know that’s what Kate’s trying to find out. And when Kate wants to know something, she won’t be derailed, “not even by the rules of common politeness.” Kate’s got Karen talking about Zoltan and is about to say that Karen couldn’t possibly have studied with him, when a whirlwind hits. The other Lawsons are back and one of them is PISSED. Lisa, Karen’s older sister, flies into Patti’s room, declaring that Karen stole her clothes. Lisa is described as “small, not much bigger than Karen, and very blonde, with spiky hair and dark eye makeup. She was wearing a black and white sweater, a black rubber mini, black tights, and long dangly earrings.” Lisa points out that Karen is wearing her stretch pants and earring and Patti’s got on her purple jumpsuit. Patti’s flustered and Lisa examines the other girls for more of her things. She says that Karen must have raided her suitcase before they left. She had to wear some of the same clothes two and three times (oh, horrors!). Karen apologizes and says she did it because she was tired of looking boring. Lisa growls that if her stuff isn’t back in her suitcase is five minutes, Karen is TERMINATED.

CHAPTER 8:
Once Lisa’s gone, Karen asks if everyone thinks it’s easy, having such a cool sister. Patti and Karen change their clothes as Karen explains. She’s the smart one, Lisa’s the popular one. Kate tells Karen that she’s very pretty, so she shouldn’t have trouble being popular, but Karen replies that what boy is going to want the smartest girl in class? She thought the trip would give her a chance to be cool. Karen admits she stole things from the magazines and even says she took the same quiz and got the same result as Patti! Karen apologizes to Lauren about Pete. She figured it out about them when they were at the movies…because Pete talked about Lauren a lot! Lauren handles it casually. Karen admits she’s glad it’s over because it’s exhausting to act like someone else. The topic shifts to Lauren being able to eat continuously and Stephanie and Karen have a bonding moment over being short and not being able to eat as much or they’ll get fat. Karen shows them the Japanese food she brought back, but Patti declares “Let’s order pizza!” Patti’s kitten enters the room and Karen pushes the sushi towards her, calling her Adelaide again. Stephanie says they’ll eat and then fix Patti’s room back to the way it was. Karen adds that they can play Mad Libs after and scribbles a quick one down, modeling it after Lauren’s horoscope. The book ends with everyone laughing.

So that was Patti’s first personality shift. Each girl has at least once during the series where they behave drastically differently. Kate and Stephanie are both really on in this book. They've got some excellent lines. I also like this one because we meet a lot of the other Riverhurst kids. Karen’s interesting, too, as is Lisa. I always kind of hoped they’d go visit her in California, but the trips in Sleepover Friends are mostly realistic, not big, out there adventures like the Baby-Sitters Club had. The next two books are two of those trips, one to the city and one camping. Until then!

Sleepover Friends #3: Kate's Surprise

(If you click the cover, you'll see it bigger.)

The Cover: This cover is slightly confusing until you read the book. It could be taken as Lauren, Kate and Patti (crouching) spying on Stephanie’s birthday party. But the girl with curly dark hair isn’t Stephanie. It’s Linda, Lauren’s brother’s girlfriend. So presumably that’s Roger giving her the cake. Youngest-looking 17-year-olds I’ve ever seen. Linda’s the oldest-looking one in that picture and she’s 15, tops. Aside from that, we’ve got a Stephanieless cover. Lauren looks the best we’ve seen her yet, Patti looks cute as well, and Kate’s grown a couple inches of hair since cover #2.

CHAPTER 1:
I’m sure you’re shocked to discover that we’re at a sleepover. More specifically, we’re at Kate’s and the girls are mixing up some avocado mask in the blender. (Lauren is narrating again. I’m going to stop mentioning that it’s her until the time comes when it’s not. So just assume that it’s her until said time.) The girls finish the mixture, which Lauren tries to taste natch, and she goes quickly into backstory mode. Good. That’s out of the way. The girls make it safely to Kate’s bedroom without a Melissa incident. (Melissa’s Kate’s little sis. Remember that. She’s one of the most main characters after the girls and their parents. Not that she ever does much. She’s just around often.) The girls settle down to a snack of Lauren’s dip, Kate’s fudge, barbecue chips and Dr. Pepper. The avocado mask is, of course, Stephanie’s idea. The girls spread it on their faces. As if fifth graders should be concerned about maintaining taut skin. The mask needs to stay on for an hour or so, and the girls begin talking about Lauren’s brother Roger and his girlfriend Linda. Roger’s throwing Linda a surprise birthday party. They’ll return to Roger’s a little early from a date, under the guise that Mrs. Hunter made a cake for Linda. But no, it’s a party. Kate expresses how lame she thinks surprise parties are…to the chagrin of the others, who were planning one for her upcoming birthday. Stephanie wants to sneak over and have a peek, and she manages to talk everyone into it. The girls sneak out and it’s time to reintroduce Donald Foster. He’s the blonde-haired, green-eyed 7th grader who lives between Kate and Lauren. Very conceited and he’s seen the girls in some embarrassing predicaments. The girls hide in the lilacs (hey, the cover got it right!) and wait. After a slight awkward moment, Roger gets Linda into the house and SURPRISE! She seems genuinely surprised, too, much to Kate’s disbelief. Bullwinkle, Roger’s mostly Newfie dog, starts to howl along with “Happy Birthday,” so Mrs. Hunter asks her husband to let him out. The girls make a dash for it, but so does Bullwinkle…straight for them!

CHAPTER 2:
Patti, tallest girl in the 5th grade, easily makes it to the gate and climbs right over it. Lauren does well to keep up until she trips over a sprinkler. Lauren falls, Kate and Stephanie land on her and Bullwinkle’s right there, too. He starts licking the avocado mask off Lauren’s face. Stephanie thinks it’s funny until it’s her turn. Mr. Hunter’s onto the fact that something’s going on and calls for the dog. Bullwinkle takes a few steps towards the house, giving Kate and Lauren time to get through the gate. But Stephanie’s on the slow side and Lauren has to slam the gate in her face to avoid Bullwinkle’s getting out, as he did in #1. Stephanie makes it over the gate, but leaves a scrap of her pajamas behind, which Bullwinkle makes off with. The girls make it to the far corner of the Fosters’ house when they run into the dreaded Melissa. Kate and Melissa have a sisterly tussle and the noise summons Donald Foster. Melissa runs for it and Donald mocks Kate’s mask. She takes off after Melissa. Donald identifies the other three girls, then tells Stephanie he hears she’s a good dancer. Stephanie plays modest and Donald asks if she’s going to dance with him at the Masons’ party. This is the first the girls have heard of it and Donald says the invitations probably haven’t been sent yet. It’s a dance party the next Friday night. Donald knows because he’s friends with Royce Mason, another 7th grader. Specifically, one with “curly brown hair, big brown eyes and a terrific smile.” Kate’s had a crush on him for months, though Lauren’s the only one who knows. Royce’s sister Sally is in the same class as the girls, so Donald’s sure they’re invited. Lauren reminds us that Jenny Carlin is also in the same class, as is Pete Stone. Jenny likes Pete who likes Lauren. Let the sparks fly! Lauren says they’d better get going and Stephanie gives Donald her “Brooke Shields smile.” (Ooh la!) Stephanie babbles about Donald’s cuteness, but Lauren’s not into it. She’s lived next to him her whole life and knows how egotistical he is. But the night’s adventure isn’t over. Melissa the Brilliant pulled the door shut behind her, locking them all out of the house. Thus begins the process of trying to wake up the parents, because the doorbell is quiet, the bedroom is upstairs, and they’d been asleep for awhile. After attempts at yelling, Stephanie finally succeeds by throwing her shoe at the window. (Stephanie and her great throwing arm.) Mrs. Beekman isn’t thrilled, but not as pissed as she could be. The girls wash the remnants of the masks off their faces and Stephanie asks if a 7th grader could like a 5th grader. Kate is alarmed until Lauren explains that it’s about Donald. Kate is then grossed out. The girls discuss the party briefly and flop down in Kate’s room. Patti says at least there’s one thing to be grateful for: “Like the fact that we didn’t have that honey conditioner in our hair. By the time Bullwinkle finished with us, we might have all been bald!” Ah, Patti.

CHAPTER 3:
The next morning, the girls are having breakfast when the mail comes. (Boy, early mail.) Kate gets a red envelope…the dance invitation! Kate wants yellow sneakers, so she suggests the mall. The others had made plans to shop for Kate’s birthday present that day, so Stephanie says she can’t because she’s having her hair cut. Stephanie’s been letting her hair grow since 2nd grade, so it’s quite long. Patti says she has to baby-sit for her little brother…Harold. (Patti’s little brother, however, is named HORACE. I remember that easily because Horace was a Roman poet. Nice editing.) Lauren says she’s going with her mom to visit her aunt. Mrs. Beekman reminds Kate to talk to her dad before making plans. You’re in trouble, remember, Kate? So the girls decide to do the mall Monday after school. Lauren, Stephanie and Patti make their exits.

At home, Lauren asks how Linda’s party went. Mrs. Hunter mentions Bullwinkle behaving oddly outside and how he came back inside chewing a piece of red, black and white cloth. The colors reminded her of Stephanie. Lauren gets off the hook by finding her invitation in the mail. Then Stephanie calls, saying she and Patti did, too. The girls agree to meet in front of Dandelion, the kids’ clothing store on Main Street. Lauren questions whether Kate’s party should still be a surprise, but Stephanie says definitely. She wants to prove to Kate that not everyone can figure out they’re getting a surprise party.

At Dandelion, we get to hear how the girls decided to buy Kate one bigger gift from the three of them. The girls veto a sweatshirt that would be better for Stephanie, baggy gray denim pants and yellow sneakers. They head to the mall next, but both Just Juniors and Kid Works are failures. Hungry, Lauren leads the girls to Sweet Stuff, where they purchase a small bag of caramels (Lauren), white chocolate bark (Patti) and chocolate-covered almonds (Stephanie). The girls sit down to enjoy their junk food and spot a pet shop they’ve never seen before. They check it out and are smitten with some kittens. Lauren declares the calico one the perfect gift for Kate. Stephanie and Patti are skeptical, but Lauren tells them that Kate had a cat named Batik that died when they were in 3rd grade (therefore Stephanie and Patti didn’t know about it). Batik was a big calico, who belonged to Kate’s parents before she was even born. The girls go in to see the kitten, though Patti still thinks they should check with Kate’s parents first.

CHAPTER 4:
The girls hold the kitten, but because her mother was a purebred Persian, the kitten costs $40. Deterred, the girls leave the store. They had only planned on spending $6-$7 each. Stephanie says they only need $20 or so more and they could probably earn it. They do have two weeks. The girls agree to head to Stephanie’s to make a list of things they could do to earn money, when they run into Kate! Kate doesn’t look pleased and Lauren’s about to tell her the truth, when Stephanie jumps in and says they’re on their way to Cut-Ups, the hair salon. She says Patti doesn’t have to baby-sit until later so she came with Stephanie. They ran into Lauren because her mother and aunt are buying sheets and towels. Wow. Nice excuse. But Kate buys it and wants to come along, so Stephanie has to sacrifice her hair for the sake of maintaining the surprise. Stephanie’s the determined sort, so it’s off to Cut-Ups! Stephanie goes to the desk in the salon and it turns out her mother is one of the owner’s favorite customers. Of course he can fit Stephanie in! Insert a groan from her. The next issue is how to pay for it. Stephanie gets styled by the owner himself and slowly, her hair falls to the floor. She takes a look, decides it makes her face look thinner, and declares “Larry, let’s go for it!” The final result is “short curls all around her face and loose waves to her shoulders on the sides and in the back.” So Stephanie looks fantastic, but unfortunately, it cost her all the money in her wallet and she still owes $20 more. Her mom will be thrilled she got a haircut, so she’ll cover the extra $20, but now the girls need to make $30 in two weeks.

CHAPTER 5:
Monday arrives and the girls have a new dilemma: they’ve agreed to wash Stephanie’s father’s car, but they promised Kate back on Saturday that they’d go to the mall with her. Stephanie says her grandmother’s coming to visit, Patti’s baby-sitting again, and Lauren…well, Lauren blames it on Bullwinkle. Lauren tells a believable story that she got grounded because her parents saw the scrap of Stephanie’s pajamas that Bullwinkle brought in the house.

While washing Mr. Green’s car, the girls discuss their party problems. Lauren’s worried she can’t keep hiding this from Kate. She thinks they should just tell her. Patti asks if Kate would let them keep working if she knew it was all to buy her a present. No, of course not. The girls decide to keep at it and make $7.50 on the car and $10 repainting Mrs. Jenkins’ gardening shed the next afternoon.

Lauren has her mom call Mrs. Beekman, just in case Kate answers. Lauren gets on the phone and Mrs. Beekman okays both the party and the calico. She even pretends she’s talking to the fish market when Kate comes in the room. Heh.

Wednesday, things aren’t so good. A cranky elderly woman who taught Lauren’s mother in elementary school wants Roger to do some yard work for her. He turns it down flat, but the girls say they’ll do it. Lauren’s worried Kate will see them, as Mrs. Carter only lives on the next street. But Stephanie says the $15 will get them the kitten this week, making it less of a worry that someone else would buy her. The girls have their hands full with Mrs. Carter’s strict instructions, but things get even worse when Kate sees them. The girls all lie and say they owe people money and are cleaning the yard to earn it. Mrs. Carter yells at the girls and Kate bikes off.

The next day, Kate’s being quiet. She asks if they’re busy and when they reply yes, she doesn’t even try to find out what they’re doing. Turns out, they’re going to go buy the kitten. Lauren’s still worried they’re doing the wrong thing, but Stephanie blows off her worries…again. Unfortunately, the girls are too late. The calico is gone.

CHAPTER 6:
Friday comes and the sleepover is at Lauren’s. The girls are bringing their stuff to her house and then her parents are driving them to the Masons’ party. Kate shows up twenty minutes late, despite living two houses over. She’s also not in the outfit the group decided on. The girls had agreed on “pants with the cuffs rolled up, two shirts and colored sneaks.” Kate, however, has on a long printed sweater, pink leggings and gray high-tops. Her usually neat, no fuss hair is pulled back on one side with a red plastic clip and she has on long, dangly, clip-on earrings. The girls aren’t sure what to say. Finally, Patti says she likes the earrings. Kate replies that they’re Tracy Osner’s and the hair clip…is Jenny Carlin’s. Lauren is displeased. Kate’s sleepover stuff is also mysteriously absent. Lauren’s mom drives the girls over and Kate shoots out of the car and into the house. Lauren’s mom is worried and thinks they should tell Kate about the party. Stephanie is still insistent on the surprise.

Apparently, the Masons know how to throw a party. There are “at least forty” people there, a mix of fifth, sixth and seventh grade students. Sally and Royce’s older sister is playing DJ. Patti gets asked to dance by Michael Pastore, which makes her uncomfortable, as she’s so much taller than he is. Pete invites Lauren to go get some food. Mrs. Mason, the choppy-talking nervous mom from book #1, makes another appearance. Lauren finally sees where Kate went: over by Jenny and Tracy. Tracy is wearing blue leggings and Jenny red ones. Both girls also have clips in their hair and dangling earrings. (I never dressed like my friends at a party. Was this a normal practice?) Now for the dance card! Lauren danced with Pete, Larry Jackson and Michael. Patti with Michael, Kyle Hubbard, and Ricky Delman, a tall 6th grader. Stephanie danced with Larry, two 6th graders and three times with Donald Foster. And Kate got to dance with Royce twice. Finally, the girls agree that things have gone to far and decide to tell Kate everything at the sleepover. But Kate doesn’t give them the chance. She thanks Lauren’s dad for the ride home and marches off to her house. Lauren goes after her and Kate basically tells her she’s been a shitty friend, they all have. Lauren tries to tell Kate, but nope, she’s gone. The other three girls go back to Lauren’s…she’s starving, of course. Lauren eats plenty when she’s happy and even more when she’s not. The girls have a lot to be unhappy about, too. It’s the first Kateless sleepover. So they mix up some caramel popcorn, nachos, Dr. Pepper floats, and chocolate chip cookies. Patti asks what they’re going to do about Kate and Stephanie replies that they need to do something quick before Lauren makes her gain a few hundred pounds.

CHAPTER 7:
The next morning, the girls aren’t hungry at all. Lauren’s mom has gone on a mysterious errand and has left instructions with Mr. Hunter to tell the girls not to leave until she gets back. Lauren’s mom soon returns with a giant cardboard box. It’s kittens! Four of them and one is a calico. There are also two black and whites and a solid black. The owner was set to take them to the pound, so Mrs. Hunter figured she could find them good homes. Stephanie declares that the surprise party will be that day. Lauren points out that Kate won’t let them near her house, but Stephanie says Kate wouldn’t say no to a deliveryman. Stephanie’s on a roll. Kate’s getting a heart-shaped pizza for twelve (3 pieces each), an ice cream cake shaped like a cat, and a singing telegram. The girls have $42.50 to spend thanks to Lauren’s mom getting the kitten for free. Lauren wants balloons and her mom asks when all this is going to start. Stephanie replies 4 PM and Lauren’s mom gets on the phone with Mrs. Beekman. Stephanie and Patti get permission to stay at Lauren’s all day and then the planning begins. At 4, the singing telegram. At 4:15, the ice cream cake. At 4:30, the pizza. Then the girls at 4:32 with the balloons and kitten. In the magic world of 1987, the girls are able to buy the cake, pizza and telegram for $29. They spend the other $13.50 on 15 red “happy birthday” balloons. At 4 PM, the clown arrives and performs “happy birthday.” A suspicious Kate looks towards Lauren’s. The cake arrives next and the girls get ready to move. The girls divide up the balloons, putting one around the kitten’s neck. Stephanie and Lauren each have seven balloons and Patti has the kitten with her one. The girls almost make it to Kate’s, but then it’s Bullwinkle on the loose. He thinks the balloons are rubber balls! The girls dodge the dog, but the kitten isn’t having it. She goes into the nearest tree, her balloon taking off for the heavens. Kate thinks everything is hilarious and the girls try to explain that they weren’t avoiding her for the reasons she thought. Stephanie adds, “And if you want your birthday present any time soon, please call the fire department.” Patti and Lauren get Bullwinkle back where he belongs and the fire department gets the kitten for Kate. The fireman who rescued her is named Fred, so Kate’s kitten becomes Fredericka. Stephanie is hesitant, but Patti points out that she’s Kate’s kitten. Kate invites the girls inside for pizza and ice cream cake. Mrs. Beekman okays a sleepover and the girls declare the first Sleepover Weekend. Kate suggests the girls bring the other kittens over to give Fredericka one last night with her littermates.

CHAPTER 8:
Stuffed full of food, Lauren suggests Truth or Dare. She picks on Kate first and Kate chooses Truth. Lauren asks her if she was really surprised and she says yes. She thought everyone was mad at her until the clown showed up. Turns out the clown was a girl. Lauren is thrilled. “Now I know what to tell Aunt Beth when she asks me what I want to be when I grow up.” Stephanie is nailed by a Kate dare. She has to call Robert Ellwanger, the nerdiest kid in class, and ask him to the movies. It’s vengeance for when Stephanie dared Kate to call and ask him over. Stephanie gets up the nerve and asks. Poor Robert isn’t dumb. He asks if this is some sort of joke. Stephanie plays it off and Robert accepts her invitation. He asks what time and which theater She says she’ll check the schedules and let him know. Smart Robert says if he doesn’t hear from her, he’ll give her a call and Stephanie is forced to give up her phone number. Lauren can’t resist teasing. “You should feel flattered, Stephanie. He turned Kate down flat.” But Stephanie gets a shot at revenge in an unusual way. She accepts a dare from Lauren to run around Donald Foster’s house. Stephanie takes her sweet time and the girls begin to worry. The girls go after her and when Kate pushes through the hedge, she finds herself serenaded by Donald, Ricky Delman, Larry Jackson and Royce Mason. Turns out Stephanie interrupted a little campout. Bullwinkle howls along with “happy birthday” (neatly tying into the beginning when he did the same at Linda’s party) and Melissa screeches “Kate, I’m telling Mom!” And everything’s all right again.

Finito! This isn’t one of my favorites. Thankfully, there isn’t another weak book until #8 or so and I liked the characters enough not to drop the series. I’m not big on surprise party dilemmas, so I was irritated with this. It did, however, cement Lauren as my favorite, because she has enough sense to realize it’s not the best idea. We get Bullwinkle and Melissa causing trouble again and it’s only the third book of the series. Bleh. The name mix-up with Patti’s little brother also drove me nuts. I do like how we get to experience more of Riverhurst via the shopping trip. You get the feeling that it’s a safe, fairly small town. And there’s the usual plethora of food. These girls are definitely not watching their weight. I’m sure they eat healthier stuff when they’re not having sleepovers or parties. Stephanie’s haircut is another one of the highlights. Mostly because she looks great on the cover of #4. I think that’s how I always picture her in my mind, though there are prettier pics of her on later covers.

Book #4 is up next. The title is “Patti’s New Look.” I remember being mad when I first read these that Lauren didn’t get #4, but she gets #5 and #8 so it works out. #4 is a good one. More wild clothing descriptions. More parties. I never had that much damn fun in 5th grade!

Sleepover Friends #2: Starring Stephanie

(If you click the cover, you'll see it bigger.)

The Cover: Once again, the who’s who part is easy. From left to right: Patti, Stephanie, Lauren in the back and blonde Kate. Kate always looks about like this in my mind, though it’s not the best cover for the other three girls. Stephanie again is out of her color scheme. This is cute for Patti though. She goes through the most artistic changes, I think.

CHAPTER 1:

Friday night sleepover time again! Lauren is the narrator, as she will be for quite awhile. We’re at Kate’s house, watching some desert movie. Stephanie and Lauren both proclaim thirst.

“Water…water…” the guy on the screen croaked as he stumbled down a sand dune.

“Doctor Pepper…Doctor Pepper…” Stephanie croaked, clutching her throat and staggering around.

I always liked this moment for Stephanie. I thought it was one of her more light-hearted ones. Anyways, Kate still wants to watch the movie, even though she’s seen it a gajillion times. It’s suddenly interrupted by a weird commercial. A band called Boodles is doing a music video in Riverhurst and if you can guess the location, you can be in it. Stephanie is excited and does a few dance steps, then gets on the subject of the band guy’s cuteness. Patti also comments. Kate is less amused.

“For people who were dying of thirst three seconds ago, you certainly recovered fast,” Kate interrupted. “Do you want to go downstairs or not?”

The girls head downstairs with a reminder from Kate not to wake her dad and to watch out for the squeak in the third stair. That triggers Lauren going into backstory mode. (See the post on book #1 for the backstory. I’m not retyping it every time. The only thing of note is that Lauren says HER dad dubbed them the Sleepover Friends. That was actually Kate’s dad in the first book.) The girls pass Melissa’s room and we find out she’s in second grade. Don’t think that was clarified in #1. Lauren’s naturally hungry again and finds some fancy chocolate mousse. Kate determines that one side is higher than the other, so they can each have a small taste. Patti asks what the purple things on it are and they turn out to be crystallized violets. There are extras, exactly four left, so each girl tries one. They make popcorn, get drinks and return upstairs. The movie is over and it’s WBRM request time. The girls like to listen and try to figure out who the requests are for, because a lot of them are high schoolers. Stephanie produces a bunch of red plastic fake fingernails. Patti is in awe.

For someone who grew up in the city, Patti doesn’t know much about makeup or beauty tips or fashion. Stephanie is just the opposite. She’s always coming up with new ideas about clothes and style, like wearing her sweatshirt upside down with the sleeves over a pair of bright tights on her legs instead of her arms.

Yeah, that one always made me curious about what she did with the neck hole.

The girls do their nails and another Boodles ad is heard, this time on the radio. Everyone but Kate is getting into the video fantasizing. Kate is instead wondering how the fake nails would look in Sunset Pink.

“Sunset Pink?” Stephanie said, completely grossed out. “Really, Kate!”

And a couple lines later…

She [Stephanie] stretched out her long red nails. “I feel like Alexis Colby.”

“More like Queen of the Vampires,” Kate said. “I still think they’d look better in pink.”

Heh.

And we get out first recognizable dedication: Todd Schwartz to Mary Beth Young, a high school football star and his chick. Lauren goes down to the kitchen for a drink refill and sneaks another bit of mousse. She returns for a conversation about a “to Michael P. of Gaton Lane from K.S.” dedication. Stephanie is shocked. That’s Michael Pastore, a boy she likes. The girls try to figure out who K.S. is and we learn the names of some more fifth graders (Karen Sims, Kyle Hubbard, Karla Stamos and Christy Soames). Stephanie goes for more water and returns with the answer: Kathy Simons, who’s been hanging around Michael all week. Apparently Kathy has gone from a shy mouse to an eyeshadow-wearing vixen. Rowr! Patti points out that just because she likes Michael, it doesn’t mean that he likes her back, and Kate adds that there’s always Larry. But Stephanie’s over Larry, a major shock to Kate since they’ve been disagreeing about him for a year. Stephanie contemplates a hair change and then declares that if she got on the Boodles video, Michael would have to notice her. The girls make repeated trips downstairs until 1 AM, when an angry Kate asks who ate the mousse.

CHAPTER 2:

Each girl confesses to sneaking more samples, even Kate. Patti suggests they make another mousse, but Kate is doubtful. It’s not easy. The girls head to the kitchen and examine the mousse. There’s definitely too much gone to just smooth it over, so they get the cookbook and get to work. Lauren attempts separating eggs and fails, so Stephanie takes over and does it with no problem.

“You ought to be a cook when you grow up,” Patti said admiringly.

“Are you kidding?” Stephanie grinned. “I’m going to have a cook when I grow up!”

Ah, Stephanie. The girls have difficulties though, including burning a batch of chocolate and having to use Hershey’s Kisses instead. As they go through more eggs, Lauren laments.

“I guess we won’t be having omelettes for breakfast after all,” I said sadly. Even Patti glared at me.

I love Lauren. She doesn’t seem to have much personality, but I find her more likeable than Stephanie and Kate. Patti’s nice, but a little too shy for me, so it’s Lauren.

The girls manage to finally get the eggs yolks and chocolate decent. Then Kate tackles doing the egg whites with a beater. She ends up jerking the electric beater out of the bowl without turning it off…shooting egg whites everywhere. At 4 AM, the mousse is finally done and they add it to the original. Kate sends Lauren and Patti outside to get more violets. Everything is fine until Lauren spots a light in the old McBride house, a vacant house which has a yard that runs into both Kate’s and Lauren’s. Considering there’s also Donald’s house between theirs, the McBride place must be big. The girls are so distracted that Patti knocks over the Beekmans’ metal garbage can. Nosy Melissa hears and the girls are caught. The people in the McBride house also hear and snap off the light. Mrs. Beekman and Melissa come into the filthy kitchen, where Stephanie and Kate are cleaning up. Mrs. Beekman spots something red and freaks that Kate cut herself. She calls for her husband, but Kate’s fine. She just leaned on the pile of discarded fake nails on the counter. The grumpy parents trudge back upstairs, with Kate’s mother warning the girls that she wants “this place so clean by the time I come down in the morning that this will all seem like a bad dream.” Lauren reminds Kate of the violets and Kate dismisses them. She doesn’t think her mom thought too much of the girls’ mousse anyway. Two hours later, the kitchen is clean. It’s too late or too early to go to bed, so Kate suggests scrambled eggs, which gets a resounding “NO!”

CHAPTER 3:

Lauren is so worn that she forgets about the McBride house until lunchtime, when she asks her parents about it. It comes out that she was outside at 4 AM to see the light on and off.

“Are you sure ‘sleepover’ is the right word?” Roger stuck in. “There doesn’t seem to be any ‘sleep’ involved. The ‘Sleepless Friends’ would be more like it.”

I [Lauren] ignored him. Well, first I sneered at him, then I ignored him.

Heh. Lauren’s dad says he’ll mention it to a police officer that patrols their area and Lauren’s mom says she’ll check around the neighborhood.

Later that day, Stephanie calls and asks if Lauren wants to go for a bike ride. The girls head to the mall via Gaton Lane, where Stephanie’s crush lives. They don’t get far though, as Lauren and her sports skills are summoned by one of the boys. The boys on the other team claim Patti and Kate. Kate dislikes sports and doesn’t want to play, but Stephanie begs her to play, since her crush is present. But Stephanie ends up on the opposing team. Blah blah baseball blah Michael hits the ball to Stephanie, who fake bobbles it then misthrows on purpose. Lauren knows it was on purpose because Stephanie has a great throwing arm. Her team never catches up and Patti, Kate and Michael’s team wins. Michael is pleased…with Patti. Then Kathy Simons appears, all decked out in “a pink sweatshirt with gray lines and blue triangles on it, blue sweatpants, and hightop pink sneakers.” I know they’re only in 5^th grade and it’s 1987 (I was 9 then), but were sweatpants ever that stylish? Kate, in one of her more likeable moments, pointedly says hi to Kathy, who completely ignored the girls and greeted only the boys. She asks Michael to help her with her bike chain. Meanwhile, Stephanie grumps about it, causing Kate to point out that Stephanie totally bobbled her play to make Michael look good. The girls ride away. It’s too late to go to the mall, so they turn onto the street parallel to Pine Street, the one the McBride house is on. Lauren brings up the light from last night. Kate is skeptical, naturally. Stephanie, a bit out of character, thinks it might be a ghost. The girls do some investigating, but find nothing. Kate is skeptical again, but Lauren insists she saw what she saw and says she’s going to keep an eye on the place. Stephanie asks how she’s going to get Michael’s attention and Kate replies that she’s sure Stephanie will think of something.

CHAPTER 4:

Stephanie’s solution falls into her lap. The 5^th grade play is announced that Wednesday in school. Lauren and Kate are not thrilled, as they don’t want to be on stage, but Stephanie’s all about the play. She’s been in plays before, when she was in school in the city. She tries to convince everyone to try out. Kate says no, as she wants to assist the director. She wants to be one herself, so this is good experience. Lauren also ixnays, but Stephanie cons Patti into it.

The Friday night sleepover is at Patti’s and they’re going to Mimi’s Pizza for dinner. Unfortunately, Patti’s bratty cousin Lester is visiting. He’s obnoxious and a bad influence on Patti’s little brother Horace. His parents are off on a business trip, so the Jenkins family is stuck with him for the weekend. At Mimi’s, the girls and Mr. Jenkins (Mrs. Jenkins had to go to a meeting) head for the salad bar. When they get back, the drinks and pizza have been served. Stephanie and Lauren dig in, only to regret it. The pizza is too spicy! So they dive for their drinks and swallow greasy liquid. The boys crack up. Patti hands Lauren her drink, but Lauren spots a big glob of olive oil in it. Kate examines the pizza and sees red pepper sprinkled all over it.

CHAPTER 5:

An angry Mr. Jenkins demands apologies from the boys. Horace apologizes immediately, but Lester doesn’t. Mr. Jenkins sends them off to wait in the car. He and the girls order more food. When they get back to Patti’s, the boys are sent straight to bed. The girls flop down on the couch and find a Boodles clue on the TV. Stephanie is again excited at the idea of being in a video, while the other girls try to figure out where it is. Stephanie suggests practicing for the play audition, which worries Patti enough that Lauren asks her again if she’s sure she wants to do the play. Stephanie answers for her and they head up to the attic. Naturally, Stephanie’s trying for the lead part, a woman named Laura who’s betrothed to the villainous Sir Monty. But Laura loves Alex Doright, a penniless art teacher. Patti’s going to try for Laura’s cousin Sara, who doesn’t have many lines. The girls have forgotten their scripts (how do you forget something that important?) so they go to Patti’s room. Stephanie opens her bag and screams. There’s a rat in there! The girls are terrified (*sigh* typical) and Mr. Jenkins runs in.

“A good whack with a broom handle should take care of the rat…permanently.”

But then Lester runs in and declares the rat his.

CHAPTER 6:

Mr. Jenkins is mad, but Patti is totally pissed. She rages at Lester and Stephanie tells her to remember her anger for when she’s acting. Lester gets the rat and taunts the wussy girls with it. (I expected more from at least one of them. Scientific Patti or sporty Lauren, maybe.) Lester is once again banished. Mrs. Jenkins comes home from her meeting and tells the girls about some snacks, then heads to bed. The girls go up to the attic, which is huge. The door to the attic stairs is also right beside Horace’s room. Plot point. The girls go through an amusing scene with Stephanie acting well, Patti stammering and Lauren putting on a deep voice as a stand-in for the male character. Patti gets worse and worse until Lauren suggests a food break. However…Lester has locked the girls in the attic. Patti’s parents’ room is too far away to hear the girls and Lester won’t let Horace unlock the door, so the girls’ only hope is for one of them to climb out the third floor window into a tree. Patti makes it down the tree, but suddenly an alarm goes off. The cops come and both sirens stop wailing. Lester unlocks the door and the girls are free. Apparently, Patti set off the burglar alarm trying to climb inside the kitchen window…the burglar alarm which Patti’s parents don’t use. The switches just happen to be near Horace’s room.

CHAPTER 7:

After everything has settled down, the girls are downstairs watching TV. Another Boodles clue comes on. Once again, the girls can’t guess. Stephanie suggests they rehearse again, but Kate says no. But Stephanie makes Patti do it all weekend and Monday.

Wednesday afternoon arrives and it’s audition time. The auditions go on and Stephanie ends up having to audition with Michael! Stephanie freezes, while Patti is so worried about her that she nails her audition. Stephanie flees. Lauren goes after her and returns to this:

“Patti Jenkins was really good as Laura,” Sally Mason reported. “Does Michael Pastore like her?”

Uh oh! I thought. “Not that I know of,” I said. “Why?”

“He smiled at her the whole time.” Sally added a dab of paint to a window frame. “And I don’t think he was acting.”

CHAPTER 8:

The next morning, Stephanie apologizes to Patti for making her try out. Everything seems okay until the end of the school day, when Mrs. Mead announces that two people in the class will be in the play. One is Mark Freedman as the villain. The other…is Patti! She gets the role of Laura and will play opposite Michael. Outside the classroom, Michael finds Patti and suggests they practice scenes together. Stephanie’s heard enough and she takes off. Lauren calls her later about the sleepover at the Hunter house the next night. Stephanie won’t go if Patti’s there. Patti thinks the whole thing is ridiculous. She only tried out because Stephanie wanted her to and she doesn’t like Michael, as he’s too short for her. Stephanie acts pissy all day in school, even sitting with Lauren’s most-hated Jenny Carlin at lunch.

That night at the sleepover, the girls try to call Stephanie, but she won’t talk. Despondent, the other three eat Chinese food and see another Boodles ad. They try playing Mad Libs and telling ghost stories, but nothing is fun. Then they hear a noise coming from the backyard. The girls investigate and see a light on at the McBride house. They take Bullwinkle the dog as protection and get closer to the house. Bullwinkle goes after someone near the house…Russell Gartner, the Boodles main guy!

They call Stephanie the next morning, instructing her mom to tell her they’re going to be in the video. That does it! Everything is back to normal with Stephanie telling them not to move, she’ll be right over and they have to practice dance steps.

CHAPTER 9:

On Sunday afternoon, the girls are ready to shoot. They’re in the house along with Boodles and a ton of video-making people. Here’s what they’re wearing:

-Kate: black jeans, red and white sweatshirt

-Patti: red and black tee, white sweatpants

-Lauren: red sweatpants, black and white sweatshirt

-Stephanie: black and white jumpsuit, dangly red earrings

The sweatpants again. Ugh. Bullwinkle is also present, because he matched the color scheme, but he howls along with the music and has to be taken home. Patti, Lauren and Kate all agree that Boodles really aren’t very good, but they keep it up for Stephanie’s sake. Here’s the ending scene:

“The longer Boodles played, the worse they got!” she [Kate] groaned with her fingers in her ears. “I bet they never make it to Video Trax!”

“Of course they will,” I said, looking at Stephanie. “And Michael will love it.”

“Michael?” asked Stephanie. She sounded as though she’d never heard of him.

“Michael Pastore?” I reminded her.

“Oh, that Michael,” she said. “I think Russell Gartner’s a lot cuter, don’t you?”

And cue facepalm. This book has an insane number of sequences that are pretty outlandish. The series starts off wild like this, but I think it tones down more later. I still enjoy the first two chapters though. I think they’re fun. Lester is a bit much. He deserves some serious punishment, but we never see him get it. The biggest disappointment is never seeing Patti in the play. She can’t drop out so she must go through with it, but we don’t get to see her do well. The book just ends with Stephanie off on another silly crush. Oh, well.