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mdevlin923's review against another edition
3.0
Stacey doesn't believe in ghost stories, but when she and Charlotte Johanssen hear noises coming out of the old Hennessey place...Stacey knows that the BSC has a mystery to solve.
situationnormal's review against another edition
4.0
I love the mysteries--even though they all (so far?) have very down-to-earth conclusions. I don't especially love Charlotte in this book, but as a fellow shy kid I feel like I have to try and be a little understanding (although having a meltdown because I was going to spend a week away from home would have never been me. I wish there was a little more of Stacey's mom in this book because she's awesome. But who can complain about a haunted house BSC book? Or about Claudia going to the library to study with the Perkins girls and surprising her mom?
lberestecki's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bibliotequeish's review against another edition
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
jamietherebelliousreader's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. This was a lot of fun and read more like a BSC Mystery book than a main series one but I loved it. It had some super weird and genuinely creepy moments in this and the ending was kind of sad. I loved Stacey and Charlotte’s bond. It was very sweet. Glad to kick off the new year with the BSC gang.
theclumsybookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I could write adequate reviews for this series, because I loved it when I read them. However, it was so long ago, and I was so young, only 10-12 years old, that I do not remember much.
Unfortunately, nothing sticks out in my memory about this particular instalment.
Unfortunately, nothing sticks out in my memory about this particular instalment.
helloskayuu's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
daybreak1012's review against another edition
3.0
Before I get to my actual review, a quick disclaimer: Ever since I learned that Netflix was reimagining one of my favorite childhood book series, I had decided that I would be embarking on a re-read of this series, reliving a series of books that helped to shape me into a voracious reader. I am so excited to embark on this travel back in time. I don't expect to be mentally stimulated -- I mean, I'm not exactly a pre-teen middle-schooler these days -- but I make no apology for choosing to enjoy this series from the perspective of adulthood. Don't expect me to have any sort of psychoanalyst or feminist sermonizing on the appropriateness of the situations or the effects on a young girl reading these books; there's plenty of that to go around already. I'm here for the nostalgia and the meander down memory lane.
*************
Going into this one, I only remembered bits and pieces of the story. As I read, I was able to recall most of it, but the fact that it was something of a mystery has always been a big deal for me -- ever since my first Nancy Drew, I have loved a good mystery. What I really couldn't remember, though, was the outcome or how I felt about Stacey in this book.
*************
Going into this one, I only remembered bits and pieces of the story. As I read, I was able to recall most of it, but the fact that it was something of a mystery has always been a big deal for me -- ever since my first Nancy Drew, I have loved a good mystery. What I really couldn't remember, though, was the outcome or how I felt about Stacey in this book.
What I liked about Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook:
The Stacey/Charlotte angle - We didn't get a ton of Stacey being bratty in this one (sometimes she and Dawn can both be pretty obnoxious in that regard) because she was involved in a unique sitting arrangement with her favorite charge. I loved their dynamic together, especially when Charlotte wasn't feeling well.
The stormy night at the Thomas-Brewer house - That whole scene played out in such a relatable way and when Kristy was searching books in the library and Sam and Charlie scared the wits out of her, I laughed right out loud, because I for certain would have reacted the same way she did, even as an adult.
What I didn't care for:
The actual mystery - The set-up and the premise were decent but the resolution was partially odd and partially unsatisfying. The explanations that were given felt like a stretch, and we kinda just dropped the whole burial ground/map in the book aspects.
More inconsistencies - This check-in is becoming an ongoing theme with my reviews lately. We're back and forth on the "has Dawn ever filled in for Kristy at a BSC meeting" pendulum. How hard is it to keep track of basic details? I mean, I sure seem to be able to from one book to the next.
What left me conflicted:
Stacey and Charlotte at the doctor's office - I just found it rather odd that a doctor wouldn't blink an eye at an 8th grader showing up at the pediatrician with a sick child and no adult.
My vague recollection of this book made me rate this one three stars, and I'm sticking with that assessment. This one was entertaining in some ways but none that really had anything to do with the main plotline.
finesilkflower's review against another edition
1.0
Charlotte Johanssen’s parents leave town for a few days to look after her sick grandfather, leaving Charlotte to stay with Stacey’s family. An old, reputedly haunted house is getting torn down, and Stacey and Charlotte keep seeing and hearing weird things at the house: random flames; a swarm of bees; a face in the window. Charlotte gets sick, and for some low-key entertainment, she and Stacey do research, trying to find out the history of the house. Stacey visits the house’s former owner in a nursing home, and he tells her an elaborate story about the house’s ghostly history. Everyone turns up for the wrecking, and Stacey vividly sees things no one else sees, including a complex multi-sensory hallucination of the house burning down. She returns to the nursing home and discovers that the former owner is dead, but has left her a letter assuring her that nothing he said was really true; he was just entertaining himself. So it all ends on kind of a note of "huh." And "hm." And "nothing was really explained." If this isn’t the most bizarre Baby-Sitters Club book ever, it gives it a run for its money.
To give credit where it’s due, the Charlotte-at-Stacey’s backdrop is good. I like Stacey as sort of demi-baby-sitter (her mother is actually in charge), Stacey and Charlotte as sisters, and Charlotte not enjoying it because she’s too worried and scared. Charlotte’s illness heightens both her own misery and the family dynamic. I can see a book working where Stacey gets Charlotte’s mind off of her own or her relative’s sickness by giving her a mystery to solve, but this isn’t that book. The mystery is too weird to meld with the mundane storyline; it never seems quite clear what plane of reality the writer wants to be on. The supernatural has no place in the BSC world, a fact about which I felt extremely strongly as a kid. Sure, the ending doesn’t require the supernatural to be real, but it also doesn’t offer a satisfying logical explanation for the "clues." It’s like watching Lost: all clues, no solution. Anybody can write a mystery like that.
Lingering Questions: Has Stacey been eating magic mushrooms?
Timing: Fall or spring, I suppose. The weather is mild, and there are mentions of school (Charlotte missing school when she's sick, etc.) Another thing that frustrated me about this book as a kid is that the previous book was very clearly summer vacation, but this book takes place during the school year with no fanfare about a new year, and everyone is back in eighth grade. I know that's a problem for the series as a whole, but this is the first book where the repeated year continuity was really glaring to me.
Revised Timeline: Early tenth grade.
To give credit where it’s due, the Charlotte-at-Stacey’s backdrop is good. I like Stacey as sort of demi-baby-sitter (her mother is actually in charge), Stacey and Charlotte as sisters, and Charlotte not enjoying it because she’s too worried and scared. Charlotte’s illness heightens both her own misery and the family dynamic. I can see a book working where Stacey gets Charlotte’s mind off of her own or her relative’s sickness by giving her a mystery to solve, but this isn’t that book. The mystery is too weird to meld with the mundane storyline; it never seems quite clear what plane of reality the writer wants to be on. The supernatural has no place in the BSC world, a fact about which I felt extremely strongly as a kid. Sure, the ending doesn’t require the supernatural to be real, but it also doesn’t offer a satisfying logical explanation for the "clues." It’s like watching Lost: all clues, no solution. Anybody can write a mystery like that.
Lingering Questions: Has Stacey been eating magic mushrooms?
Timing: Fall or spring, I suppose. The weather is mild, and there are mentions of school (Charlotte missing school when she's sick, etc.) Another thing that frustrated me about this book as a kid is that the previous book was very clearly summer vacation, but this book takes place during the school year with no fanfare about a new year, and everyone is back in eighth grade. I know that's a problem for the series as a whole, but this is the first book where the repeated year continuity was really glaring to me.
Revised Timeline: Early tenth grade.
sammah's review against another edition
2.0
Just imagine: once upon a time we had to read these horrible "mystery" books as part of the regular series! SHOCK! HORROR!
The real mystery here is how are these girls left in charge of small children? I like a good haunted house story but this was a little bit on the silly side. Especially whatever that weird vision thing Stacey had at the end was supposed to be.
The real mystery here is how are these girls left in charge of small children? I like a good haunted house story but this was a little bit on the silly side. Especially whatever that weird vision thing Stacey had at the end was supposed to be.