Supernatural Shakedown: Season 6 Episode 12 OR It's Good Bein' Easy

It's Friday night. It's 9 o clock. So sit your Ass-butt down and lets watch some Supernatural!
Don't forget to drink along! 

Episode #12: Like A Virgin.
Previously on Supernatural...
Who the fuck can remember?!?!? It's been on hiatus so damn long! From what i recall, Dean died and became Death for a day in order to FiNALLY get Sam's soul back. Death kept his promise and returned Sammy his soul. But, uh oh, we don't know if Sam is gonna be fucked up now because Lucifer and Michael were playing hacky-sack with it. So now we're on Sammy-Watch 2011 as to be vigilant when it comes to even the slightest indication of demonic fuckery. In other words, Dean, Cass and Bobby are now proud new members of The Baby-Sitters Club!

Now...
There is a couple riding in a plane. The guy is piloting it and the girl is freaking out. Well sure, because they are flying during a thunderstorm. Not the best time to go for a joyride. 
The girl thinks she sees some huge, ominous, shadowy winglike thing out the window. Uh oh.
As faithful Supernatural viewers, we all know that ominous shadowy things are NEVER good and always lead to some sort of destruction.
So now the girl is super freaked. 
The guy is trying to calm the girl down. He tells her to close her eyes. She does. The windshield breaks, the guy is gone, the girl is REALLY freaking out now, and the plane is going down.
Glass shattering. Supernatural logo. Showtime!
Cass and Dean are arguing about Sam's soul. Again. Dean wants to pretend everything is gonna be just fine. 
Cass doesn't believe that it will.
Cass leaves. 
Sam is asleep on a cot in the panic room.
Bobby and Dean are now talking about a job. Bobby has a paper with the story of the airplane couple on it. It basically says that the guy was completely toasted and the girl is missing. So Bobby thinks this might be "supernatural-y." 
Sam enters the room. This is the first time he's been up since Death put his soul back in.
What's gonna happen?!?!?
Awww! Sam hugs Dean!
Awww! Now he's hugging Bobby! We got old Sam back, y'all! 
But Sam seems to have some kinda memory lapse. The last thing he remembers is falling in the hole and then waking up in the panic room. 
Sam wants to know how Dean got him outta the hole.
Dean tells Sammy that he made a deal with Death. Sam doesn't like that. 
Oh. Apparently Dean isn't gonna tell Sam any of the shit that has gone down since Sam got all resurrected. Not about him losing his soul, not about working for Crowley, not about Lisa, nothing. It's as if the first part of season 6 NEVER EVEN HAPPENED.
Bobby is out working on a car. Dean joins him and they talk about how Sam has done a complete 180. But,unlike Sam, Bobby can't just pretend that the first half of season 6 didn't happen. Sam tried to slit his throat, after all. Oh come on Bobby, bygones! 
Dean, however, wants to continue lying to Sam. Or not lying so much as omitting the truth. 
Dean and Bobby start to pack up for the mission. Sam joins them and wants to go too. 
Dean doesn't know if that's such a good idea but Sam convinces him to let him go. 
Bobby is uncomfortable and bails but does it in a way as to not show Sam that he's bailing because of him. 
So now it's just Dean and Sam. On a mission. In the Impala. Just like old times. 
The brothers drive off. 
Sam finds out that there have been two other disappearances. Both are girls. 
Sam shifts from "hunter talk" and accuses Dean of not trying to live a normal life while he was in the hole. Dean tells him that he did try. He lived with Lisa and Ben for a year. 
Sam asks what happened. 
Dean tells him that it just didn't work out. 
Now we're at the home of missing plane girl. Her sister answers the door. 
Sam is showing empathy again, y'all!!! 
They talk to the sister and search missing plane girls room.
Now we're at a motel. Just like old times!
Sam is doing research! Just like old times! 
He found a connection between the two missing girls. They were baking cookies for the Lord. Meaning they were apparently in some type of church group which was all for not fucking. 
Turns out Dean has stolen missing plane girls diary. 
They read it and find out that, like the other two girls, MPG (missing plane girl) was also a virgin. 
Cut to three school girls walking alone at night. This probably won't end well, especially since one of the girls is branching off from the group. Oh girl! i hope you're a whore otherwise your night is about to take a really bad turn. 
The girl hears a noise. 
She looks behind her. There's something in the air! It's coming right for her! She screams!
And now it's time for a commercial.

The boys are in a hospital room. They are interviewing the girl. Her name is apparently Melissa. 
Dean and Sam are posing as suits. Really hot, fine ass suits! 
Melissa tells them that, crazy as it seems, she was attacked by a giant bat or something giant and bat-ish. She shows them her back which has two huge scratches down it. 
She tells them that her promise ring is gone too. 
Dean is fishing to see if Melissa was actually a virgin. And he's not doing it very tactfully either. As it turns out, and luckily for her, Melissa is not a virgin. 
Sam and Dean leave the hospital and are awesomely quippy!
Back at the motel Sam googles a few key words pertaining to the case but all he ends up with are links to World of Warcraft sites. And all signs are pointing to dragons. 
Wait. Dragons? Say what?!
In a situation like this, the only logical thing to do is call Bobby. 
It seems that even though Bobby has seen a shitload of crazy stuff in his day, he does not believe in dragons. Then he makes a funny about Hogwarts! And on a sidenote, Bobby is still concerned that somehow Sam is gonna learn all that has gone down in the past year. 
Dean wants Bobby to relax. He is an excellent liar. Sam will be none the wiser. So quite harshin' his buzz, Bobby! 
Bobby needs to do some dragon research. 
He calls back and tells Dean to go see a doctor that he knows. Sam will continue with the web research. Oh, i'm so glad he's back to his nerdy sexy self!!! Click those keys, baby! 
Now we're in a dark room. Perhaps underground or in some kinda warehouse, after all this is Supernatural and we do love our abandoned warehouses!
There are a bunch of what i'm assuming to be virgins crowded into a small cage built into the floor. 
Some winged dude flies in carrying yet another virgin. She doesn't wanna go in the hole. 
He breaks her arm and pushes her into the cage. Then he welds the door shut- WiTH HiS HAND! 
But, wait, is this guy supposed to be the dragon? He looks more like an angel. Not that he's particularly angelic. It's just that he's got a dude body, dude face and then some wings. He just doesn't look all that dragon-y to me. 
Lets ponder that while we suffer through these commercials.

Dean pulls up to a big ass house. 
Oh. This is the doctor's house. Dean rings the bell. 
OMG! It's Ivy from the craptastic soap Passions! She's playing the doctor!
Apparently Ivy and Bobby had a little thingie-thang. And it did not end well. 
But luckily Ivy is willing to help and knows a lot about dragons. 
Dean tells her that there is a dragon in town. Ivy tells him in order to kill a dragon you need a sword dipped in dragon's blood. Well that shouldn't be hard to obtain. (Yeah right.)
Oh. Well apparently it won't be hard to obtain. Ivy's got one in the basement. That's rather convenient. 
They go down to Ivy's basement. 
The sword is stuck in a stone. Of course it is. 
Ivy says that to get the sword out of the stone you need a brave knight that is willing to step up and kill the beast. So Dean's like, well i guess that's me.
He goes to pull the sword out. Dramatic music begins to play. It's very hilarious! 
Dean falls. 
He goes to pull the sword out again. Dramatic music once more. Dean looking kinda constipated. The sword is still stuck. Apparently Dean is not the brave knight we are looking for.
Lets check in with Sam.
Sam is looking at a map of the area trying to figure out where in the hell the dragons lair could be. He calls Bobby for some help. There aren't any caves around so Sam is thinking maybe the sewers are where the dragon is hiding. 
Sam notices the awkwardness between him and Bobby and asks if Bobby is mad at him.
Bobby lies and then quickly hangs up. Sam is bummed so he decides to call Cass. 
Cass appears.
Sam tells Cass that Bobby told him everything so thinking Sam already knows what's happened, Cass inadvertently spills the beans and tells Sam that he has been walking around soulless for the last year. 
Sam has a sad. 
Now back to Dean and Ivy. Dean has an idea on how to get the sword loose. He's gonna blow up the rock! 
He hooks up explosives and him and Ivy hide behind the door. He detonates the explosives. 
They go back into the room and the rock is in several pieces. 
Dean goes to pull the sword out.
The sword has been broken in half. Womp-womp. 
Commercial time again.
I Am Number Four trailer. Don't know how i feel about this movie, y'all. i do love me some hot aliens. But i just don't know. 

Dean is back at the motel. He's got the sword and is showing it to Sam. 
Sam tells Dean that he thinks the dragon (is it a dragon, y'all?) is hiding in the sewer somewhere. 
So it's to the sewer we go. 
There's a pile of something. Assorted baubles, for some reason. i guess these are the discarded promise rings? 
Whatever they are, Dean picks up a handful and stuffs it into his pocket. Keeping it classy!
There's some kind of alter too. Candles and an old looking book. 
We can't deal with that now though because one of the virgins just screamed for help. 
The boys go to investigate and find the virgins locked up tighter than their own virginity. i wonder how many of these girls are gonna get out and immediately try to get laid after this ordeal.
Sam and Dean try to unlock the cage and free the virgins but Sam gets tossed by the Dragon Dude.
Man down!
Dragon Dude sees the sword and asks Dean where he got it from. 
Dean, wittily replies, Comic Con!
Then he slashes at Dragon Dude with it. 
Wait now there are two dragon dudes? Where the hell did this guy come from? Is he a dragon or just some bothersome demon? 
There's a big ass, awesome fight. The Demon Dragon Dude is all up in Dean's grill. Sam stabs Demon Dragon Dude in the back and saves Dean.
Meanwhile, Original Dragon Dude is so outta here. 
More commercials.

Dean is playing with the baubles that he stole from the sewer.
So i guess the virgins were rescued and returned to their homes? It's not really clear. We apparently no longer care about the virgins well being. 
Sam tells Dean he's sorry. Dean asks for what. Sam tells him, you know what. He tells him that Cass told him the truth. Dean is pretty pissed. 
Sam wants to know what he did but Bobby calls them inside to show them something. 
He's been trying to figure out what's up with the book from the alter. Turns out it's super old and made from human skin. Uh, yuck.
Now we're back to Original Dragon Dude. He's in the woods and he meets up with another Dragon Dude. 
They've got a van full of virgins! They take one of the girls and walk off with her. 
Back to Bobby and the Winchesters. It seems that the book is about purgatory. It's like an instruction manual on how to open the door to purgatory. And a page is missing. Original Dragon Dude has it. 
Back to Original Dragon Dude. He's reading something off of the missing page. He throws the virgin into a hole full of fire. 
Back to the Scooby Doo Gang. Bobby says that what he's been able to decipher is that it's about letting something into our world. The Mother of all. 
Back to the Dragons. Mother has flown her ass outta the hole.
Back to Our Boys. Dean asks what "mother of all" means. Bobby admits that he doesn't know. 
Back to Dragons and Mother. Mother tells the Original Dragon Dude that they have a lot of work to do. 
Seems like we've got ourselves a new baddie, guys.

Next time on Supernatural...
Sam seems to be reliving everything that he did in the year he can't remember. There's a sheriff, a whore and lots o' blood. Plus Gramps is back.

The Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge: Round 1 Reviews

Welcome to the first Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge post! I was hoping to kick this shizz off by reading The Baby-Sitters Club series in order. However, my small town library is somewhat, well, "small town." Turns out they only had a mish-mash of the books and they weren't in any kind of order. I did manage to find book #1 though. So I'll start there.

SIDENOTE: These posts will be structured a little differently from my regular book reviews. 


EvilEva reviews...... The Baby-Sitters Club #1: Kristy's Great Idea by Ann M. Martin.

Circa: 1986. 


Dissecting The Cover:

Because you can judge a book by its cover!

The cover is, of course, 80's-tastic. 
*The girl I'm assuming to be Stacey, is totally rocking the tween girls equivalent of a Cosby sweater. Plus she totally has a permed side-ponytail going on. 
*Claudia has a red T-shirt that may have shoulder pads or it could just be the way she's laying, a yellow JUMPSUIT with what appear to be tiny red palm trees (or maybe red flowers?) all over it, paired with a pair of mustard yellow socks and sneaks. 
*Kristy (I'm guessing) is dressed very un-Kristy-like. She's wearing a blue sleeveless DRESS over a pink and white striped long-sleeve shirt and what look like either white go-go boots (which I highly doubt!) or she' got white socks on and has them pulled all the way up. 
*Mary Anne (?) looks the least timewarp-y. She has on a long-sleeve shirt, pink sweater vest and a denim skirt. Although she has chosen to pair said outfit with Keds and slouchy pink socks. 
*There is an honest to God, what do you even call it? A plug-in phone? Unportable phone? It has a fucking cord, y'all!
*The tagline on the front cover reads: 

Four friends and baby-sitting- 
what could be more fun?

Um, ANYTHING! Have you met kids? They are AWFUL! They're pretty much the last thing I would wanna devote a whole club to!
* Y'all, according to a sticker that has been placed on the spine of this book, I am an Accelerated Reader! What what!
*Ah, it's the good old Scholastic Apple Paperbacks!

Lets Review:

This is the first book in the series of about a billion! It introduces us to the four main characters. And now I will introduce them to you (as I see them!) 
Kristy Thomas- Well, this story is told from Kristy's POV and the title is Kristy's Great Idea, so that should tell you volumes about her right there. Kristy is bossy and loud and nosy and full of "great ideas" and perhaps a lesbian. Maybe that could be Kristy's next "great idea." Coming out of the closet, I mean. Actually the next "Kristy" book is Kristy's Big Day; in which Kristy tongue kisses a girl? Maybe. 
Mary Anne Spier- Mary Anne is somewhat of a Nothing Girl. She's shy and quiet and very blah. Plus she cries a lot. And she's got this crazy unseen dictator of a father. I'm 99% sure that Mary Anne may be locked in her attic at this very moment.
Stacey McGill- Stacey is the new girl in town. She's wild and completely boy crazy and fab-u-lous! Example-

Most high school boys wouldn't be caught dead with a lowly junior high girl- unless the girl was a knockout. So i figured that Stacey's permed hair and colorful clothes (and the fact that she came from New York City) made her pretty special.

In other words, Stacey is perfect, bitches! Well, except for the fact that she's harboring a deep, dark SECRET.
SPOILER ALERT- She has diabetes. So really not that deep or that dark (or that uncommon, Stacey.)
Claudia Kishi- Claudia is the sassy cool Asian girl. And, Truth Serum Time, I TOTALLY wanted to be her when I was a tweenie! I thought she was SOOO COOL! She was an artist and she dressed like a colorblind homeless woman that's been struck by lightning and she wasn't a genius like boring Janine she was just smart enough and she hid junk food all around her room! She was the AWESOMEST of the awesome in my mind. 
Exhibit A-

But she has this wild streak in her that makes her buy belts made of feathers and wear knee socks with palm trees on them. 

Yes kids, palm tree socks and feather belts are what constitutes as "wild" in Stoneybrook. That's why there's no, "The Baby-Sitters Club #485: Mary Anne and the Meth Head" or "The Baby-Sitters Club #666: Stacey Joins a Satanic Cult." But be advised, palm trees and feathers are apparently a gateway drug. (Fedoras are perfectly acceptable, though.) 
Now that I've introduced you to the girls, here's what the rest of the book is about.
Kristy has A Great Idea. The girls should form a club! And baby-sit! But what should they call such a club? *Gasp!Light bulb!Kristy's a genius!* The Baby-Sitters Club! So they form the club. And baby-sit.
There are many misadventures such as pissing off a "witch," ignoring their charges when they are referred to as a "mean baby-sitter," and accidentally agreeing to watch what they think are odd named children but are in actuality two giant Saint Bernards!
There's also a subplot of how Kristy's mom has been dating this guy named Watson and, boy! does Kristy dislike him, what with his being nice and bringing her Chinese food and all. What a bastard! And he's got these two kids that he would like for her to watch. Ugh, as if! What does she look like, a baby-sitter?! God! 

Say Whaaat!?!?

And the most ridiculous line in the entire book goes to...
Kristy's mom with this gem:

"I agreed to become engaged," she said.

Yes. She agreed to become engaged. Not agreed to get married. She agreed to become engaged! Who the fuck says that?

Bonus Shizz!:

There's a form on the last page to send in to enroll you into The Baby-Sitters Fan Club. Your membership package includes:
a t-shirt, a poster, a pad and pencil, an official membership card, a Guide to Stoneybrook, plus four additional newsletters each year! All this for just $7.95! I wonder what would happen if I mailed this in now, 25 years later! Is anyone still a member? Do they still send you newsletters? Please let the answer be YES! 

EvilEva reviews...... The Baby-Sitters Club #7: Claudia and Mean Janine by Ann M. Martin. 
Circa: 1987.  

Dissecting The Cover:

*Now Claudia is rocking the tween girls equivalent of a Cosby sweater. This one, perhaps even uglier than Stacey's from the Kristy's Great Idea cover. I mean, it is REALLY fugly! Very boxy and unflattering. She's also got on big "wild" earrings. And, it's 1987, so she MUST have a side-pony. It's like the law.
*Janine looks so totally unhip that it physically hurts. She's wearing a poo colored skirt and a snot green sweater. And she has big round glasses, so she must be a GIANT NERD. Janine, possessing no pizazz whatsoever, has a mushroom cap in place of an actual hairstyle. Her whole look screams, "I'm a librarian from the 50's! Please don't look at my lady parts!" 
*Completing the cover is some little douche-nugget standing between the sisters and plugging his ears. He apparently doesn't wanna hear the merits of modern science over Coca-Cola bottle earrings. 
*Turns out I'm STILL an Accelerated Reader!

Lets Review:

Tonight on a very special episode of The Baby-Sitters Club:
Shit. Gets. Real.
Seriously, y'all. Claudia's grandma, whom she refers to as Mimi, has a stroke. And *gasp* Claudia may have caused it because she was being such a saucy bitch to Janine! Janine, for those of you that don't know, is Claudia's older sister. She's an actual genius which makes her annoying and boring. And she's always on her computer studying! (Or maybe she's in a chat room talking to people that might actually like her. Wait though. This is 1987. Did they have chat rooms back then? Had Al Gore invented the internet yet? Hmm.)
Anyway, Claudia and Mean Janine is about how Claudia and Janine have nothing in common and hate each other until the end of the book when they learn A VERY IMPORTANT LESSON. We also learn that stroke victims hardships last for about 50 pages and then they're miraculously all better! Yay! 
There is also a subplot about how the BSC started a day camp because it's summertime and who doesn't wanna spend their summer vacation watching kids when you don't have to!
SIDENOTE: I knew you were my favorite, Claudia Kishi!
Proof-

My favorites were Nancy Drews, which the library doesn't have, and which I have to hide from my parents. They think Nancy Drews aren't worthwhile.

P.S. What is wrong with your public library that they don't have ANY Nancy Drews?
P.S.S. There's that "wild" streak again. Hiding Nancy Drews from your parents as if it were mystery-solving porn! Oh Claudia! You are so badass!

Say Whaaat!?!?

And the most ridiculous line in the entire book goes to...
Mrs. Newton; while talking about son Jamie's jealousy over the new baby:

"Oh, dear," said Mrs. Newton. "I think we've got a problem. The children are well, but Jamie's suffering from jealousy."

Drat! It seems Jamie's gotten over his cold IN A DAY, only to come down with a horrible case of the jealousy! What ever shall we do!?


EvilEva reviews...... The Baby-Sitters Club #20: Kristy and the Walking Disaster by Ann M. Martin. 

Circa: 1989.

Dissecting The Cover:

The cover is tres Traveling Pants-y. To the left there's a swatch of denim with a headshot of each girl from the club on it. 
*First, Kristy looking very butch. Then, Mary Anne, I think. She actually looks ok but way older than 13. Next is Claudia with her gaping piehole and enormous hoop earrings. Then there's Dawn who looks as if she's in a pose-off with Benny Ninja for the title of America's Next Top Model. Don't forget to smize, boo. Next up, looking all redheaded and astigmatism-y, is Mallory. And there's one more girl, who I'm guessing is Jessi but the library has the Dewey Decimal/ binding thingie covering her face. Racists!  
*There's also a more prominent picture to the right. It's Kristy, looking slightly less butch, and her ragtag team of baseball-lovin' minions! Or Kristy's Krushers as we will come to know them.
*The tagline is:

Guess which one's the walking disaster!

Well, with those pants which appear to be TUCKED INTO HER SOCKS, my guess would be Kristy. 
*The cover also boasts special photos, BSC notebook pages and a message from Ann M. Martin! (We'll get to those later!) 

Lets Review:

Y'all Kristy has YET ANOTHER great fucking idea! Some of the kids are upset because they're either too young or too shitty to play Little League baseball. So in her infinite wisdom, Kristy decides to take these little, uncoordinated misfits and make her own team! They can't hit and they're afraid of balls flying at their faces (Kristy can relate) but dammit!, they're gonna keep practicing! Because what they lack in actual talent they make up for in TEAM SPIRIT. Well, except Jackie because he is just fucking terrible. Even though David Michael is an admitted klutz and Jake is the team "fatso" and to this day Claire's batting average is still a big zero but Jackie is the walking disaster of this tale. He trips and falls and knocks shit over. It's as if he's in a Sandra Bullock movie playing the role that would normally go to Sandra Bullock. 
But even though the Krushers are horrible (and have an actual 2 year old playing for them) they agree to play another team that is bigger and better than they are. This team, the Bashers, is coached by local dreamboat, Bart Taylor. And guess what! Kristy has a Gigantic Crush on him! Wait. What!? Uh, Kristy I thought we agreed that you are probably a lesbian. This "Bart Taylor," he's a fella, right? Lesbians don't date fellas.

Say Whaaat!?!?

And the most ridiculous line in the entire book goes to...
Kristy. And there were plenty to choose from:

One of the most important things to know about me is that i am the president, founder, and creator of a business called the Baby-Sitters Club.

Here's Kristy's horn. And toot, toot!

One thing about Claudia that's a problem is that she's a terrible student. 

Way to talk smack about one of your best friends, Kristy. What a bitch!

You should see how she dresses- wild! Baggy jeans, skintight pants, miniskirts, odd layers of things, bright colors, and weird jewelry. Also, she fixes her hair differently every day, and she does things like paint her toenails with sparkles. Once, she went to school with glitter in her hair. 

And the Claudia-bashing continues. Maybe she should dress like you, Kristy, in old ratty boys clothes! Stop trying to stifle her creativity, damn you!

Here's the one big difference between Mal and Jessi. Mal is white and Jessi is black. That hasn't mattered to either of them, but being black in Stoneybrook can be difficult. 

So not only are you a know-it-all bitch that wants to stomp out all creativity but you're also a racist!

Bonus Shizz!:

*Bust out the VCR, y'all because The Baby-Sitters Club now has a Video Club! For only $14.95 every other month you can enjoy such classics as Claudia and the Mystery of the Secret Passage, Mary Anne and the Brunettes, Dawn Saves the Trees and more!
*The All-New Baby-Sitters Fan Club is here! Now you can receive a hot pink digital watch, a BSC mood ring, BSC address book and you can hear Ann M. Martin ON TAPE! In your cassette player! Which you don't own anymore! 

EvilEva reviews...... The Baby-Sitters Club MYSTERY #3: Mallory and the Ghost Cat by Ann M. Martin.  
Circa: 1992.

Dissecting The Cover:

*Mallory is searching the attic (see if you can find Mary Anne while you're up there, 'kay, Mal) with three, lets face it, ugly children. I find the little one in the pink party dress (while everyone else is wearing jeans and sweatshirts, mind you) to be particularly creepy. I mean, seriously, why is that girl so dressed up? You're in a dusty attic, kid, dress accordingly! 
*The tagline for this book is:

It looks and sounds like a cat- but is it real?

Uh yeah, judging from the picture, I would say it is. It's just white, that's all.
*This is a Baby-Sitters Club MYSTERY, y'all. Which is different from a regular Baby-Sitters Club book because it's, uh, mysterious, I guess.

Lets Review:

Mallory gets to baby-sit the newest clients BY HERSELF! Oh happy day! But wait, what's that sound? Something is meowing, y'all. It's a cat! But the Craines don't own a cat. Then what is making that catlike noise? It's a MYSTERY! Except not really because we discover pretty early on in the book that there's a cat in the attic. And surprise, surprise it's the one making all those catty sounds. 
Even though it's quite obviously a real live ordinary cat, we have to call Dawn The Ghost Expert to run some tests just to make absolutely sure we're not petting a ghost here. And Whattayaknow, Dawn's test prove that Ghost Cat is in fact NOT a Ghost Cat. Better start thinking of a new name, girls. 
They also find some letters in the attic and discover that forever-ago some man lived in their house and he was lonely and he found a cat and it became his best friend and then it died and the man got all depressed and blah, blah. 
The subplot, which was really more of the main plot because we heard more about it than the stupid cat mystery, was that Mallory's Uncle Joe came to live with her and her enormous family. According to Mal's Dad, Uncle Joe is totes awesome. He likes to fish and can pull money out of your ears! But we soon find out that Uncle Joe isn't awesome at all. He just sleeps a lot and he isn't very nice or friendly and he refuses to learn any of the 5 million Pike childrens names. It's as if he's old and junk. Then we learn A LESSON. Yes, Uncle Joe is old and junk but he's also in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. But Uncle Joe, the Pike's can't take care of their 19 and counting family AND you. So it's back to the old folks home with you but thanks for stopping by!
SIDENOTE: I'm glad I don't live in Stoneybrook. They are so super judgy. Check this shizz out:
Stoneybrook citizens on...

*The Wealthy

Kristy was unlucky enough to have a father who ran out on her family, but she was lucky to get Watson for a stepfather. He's a millionaire.

I mean, who gives a shit if he's a nice, decent human being. He's loaded!

*Race

Just because the Ramseys are black, people were ready to think all kinds of terrible things about them.

Welcome to Stoneybrook! Population 584 (and 6 Black People.)

*Female Motorcyclists 

I'd never met a woman who rode a motorcycle before. She'd probably be wearing a leather jacket. What if she offered me a beer? I wondered if she had any tattoos.

What is one day a rich, black woman came roaring through Stoneybrook on her hog? I guess the residents would collectively shit their pants.

Say Whaaat!?!?

And the most ridiculous line in the entire book goes to...
The Pike triplets along with their little brother Nicky. And it's not just a line- It's a rap, motherfucker!

We're the rappin' Pikes, and we're here to say
We're hip, we're def, we're cool in every way
I'm Byron, I'm Adam, I'm Jordan, I'm Nick
For a real happenin' dude, just take your pick!
I'm a real jammin' dude and the girls agree
There's no cooler guy than Jordan P.
So, hey, don't be jive
Give the Pike high five!

You're welcome, bloggermuffins. You're very welcome. But why is Jordan the only Pike to get a shout out? I'm sure the other boys are just as "jammin."

Bonus Shizz!:

Here is a subliminal message straight from the pages of this book, subconsciously urging you to BUY MORE BABY-SITTERS CLUB BOOKS!

It's great having a best friend who loves to read. We're always recommending books to each other, and we have so much fun talking about them. There's something special about reading a great book and then discussing it with someone like you; it makes you appreciate the book- and your friend- in new interesting ways.

Now here's the same paragraph but this time lets read between the lines.

It's great having a best friend who loves to read (the Baby-Sitters Club series!) We're always recommending books to each other, (like Mary Anne Saves the Day!) and we have so much fun talking about them (like Claudia and the Bad Joke!) There's something special about reading a great book (like Boy Crazy Stacey!) and discussing it with someone like you; it makes you appreciate the book (Kristy's Great Idea!)- and your friend- in new and interesting ways. (available wherever you buy books... or use this order form!)

Well, I did it!
Yes, I realize that I'm posting these reviews in February but, trust me, I read all four books in January. I'm late posting because it took me so long to write all this baby-sittin' goodness down!
I think from now on though instead of posting all four reviews at once, I'll spread them out so they won't be quite so long. I'll post two reviews at the beginning and two at the end of every month. 
So. That's the first Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge.
What do you guys think? Got any suggestions on which throwbacks I should read next? 
Comment away in the section below! 

EvilEva Reviews... Gregor The Overlander

EvilEva reviews...... Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins.

The Underland Chronicles.

Gregor's summer looms before him; long, boring and lonesome. Until he follows his little sister, Boots, through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment, which transports the two to a very strange Underland.
There, they encounter not only odd humans but giant cockroaches, bats, rats and spiders! 
It seems Gregor and Boots have landed in the middle of a war between this worlds inhabitants. Not only that, but it has been foretold in a prophecy that Gregor may be the key to ending this war. And the Underland may be the key to Gregor finding his long lost father.

Y'all know that I have a raving author crush on Suzanne Collins, right? And after reading About The Author in the back of this book and discovering that she worked on Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files Of Shelby Woo (two of my fave Nickelodeon shows when I was a tweenie!) I now heart her even more! Just had to say that. Now onto the review:

Gregor the Overlander is kinda like the kids version of Lord of the Rings. But instead of hobbits, elves, and dwarfs you've got bats, roaches, rats and spiders! 
It's an adventure in a strange land with strange allies and even stranger foes. 
I liked it because it wasn't your run of the mill adventure story. The protagonist wasn't an adult or even a teenager but an 11 year old boy saddled with his 2 year old sister. 
And even though Gregor was supposed to be this "hero," there were times when he doubted himself and his abilities and very much wished for a grown up to step in and help. That felt very real to me. He wasn't this overly confident boy. He was a scared kid that had this enormous weight thrust upon his shoulders and he just wanted to try to be as brave as he could be and do what he thought was right. 
I thought Suzanne Collins did a great job with making him progressively more mature and surer of himself.

And I loved Boots! At first when she was introduced into the "adventure" part of the story I thought "How are they gonna fight and run and go into dangerous areas with a baby in tow?" But it worked!
That's not something you see very often in books. In fact, not since wonderful Sunny from A Series Of Unfortunate Events, has a toddler toddled so fearlessly into the fray. At least not that I've come across.

Another rarity? Super-sized, talking pests. Well, super-sized talking pests that you didn't wanna stomp on with your Doc Martens. All the creatures personalities and quirks were done so well. Even though some weren't in the story long, you still got the feeling that you actually got to know them even a little bit. 

This is the first of the five book series. 
So I'm hoping that Dulcet gets a larger storyline because I liked her even though she didn't have much to do in this particular book. 
I also hope that we get better acquainted with Ripred the rat. I bet he has some intriguing stories to tell. 
I'm really interested in where the next four books will go. 
Gregor the Overlander ended with most of the loose ends tied up but there were a few left dangling. 
So here's to more adventures in book two!

The Scale of Judgment says......4.

The TBR Back Burner Challenge: Round 1 Reviews

Because it can't always be about YA. So I've decided to kick off the TBR Challenge with something a little different. I've selected two Chick-Lit novels for the month of January. Truthfully, my Chick-Lit TBR pile is ridonkulously out of control. However, I have already taken the first steps in correcting this problem. Here are my reviews for I'm So Happy For You and Dixieland Sushi! 

EvilEva reviews...... I'm So Happy For You by Lucinda Rosenfeld. 

 
Wendy and Daphne have been besties for years. Wendy has been the stable, reliable, responsible one, having a steady job, a husband and now desperately wanting a baby to complete the picture. While Daphne has always been the melodramatic mess, bouncing from one unavailable guy to the next.
But then Daphne meets the rich and handsome Jonathan, and suddenly she gets everything that Wendy has ever wanted. A successful husband, a gorgeous townhouse and baby makes three.
Is their friendship strong enough to withstand serious jealousy, a devastating secret and the lies friends tell each other? 

I had a few issues with this book. Most of them, now that I'm recalling them for this post, seem somewhat nit-picky. But, regardless, here they are:

1. I HATE when authors name like 50 different people and their various associations with the main character within the first chapter. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo!) 
It feels so tedious. Why do I need to know the mailman, the yoga instructor, idiotic coworker #2 or that guy you had a crush on in the fifth grade? Answer- I DON'T! And more often than not these characters will never be heard from again, so excuse me if I could give a shit about Carol or Marcia or Lois!

2. My second gripe is REALLY nit-picky. But I feel it must be said. The author used the word "insofar" waaaaay too many times. (See what I mean? Real nit-picky.) You may be thinking "Ok, well who cares?" I do! Because who goes around saying insofar? I for one have never used it in a sentence. I mean, other than when I just wrote- who goes around saying insofar. I don't know anyone who has or would ever use insofar in normal conversation. Maybe I only know stupid people. And maybe I'm one of them. Maybe people all over the world right now are insofar-ing it up. It just really bugged me. 

3. I didn't find either Wendy or Daphne particularly likable. And I didn't really buy them as friends. I kinda felt like it was more of the author telling us how BFF-y they were as opposed to showing us. The "show" part was lacking, in my opinion. Like, outside-looking-in you wouldn't really peg these two as friends at all. Wendy resented the hell out of Daphne and at times it was as if Daphne completely forgot that she was even friends with Wendy. I don't know. It just seemed to me that they were pretty sucky friends. I mean, I know that no friendship is perfect but theirs was hugely dysfunctional. Throughout the book I kept wondering: why are these two friends and why is it so important to Wendy to make this work? As that bastion of knowledge, Kenny Rogers would say: You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run.
So, Wendy, what my good friend Kenny and I are trying to say to you is this: Run bitch run! 

4. That whole thing near the end of the book when Daphne suddenly, randomly writes a screenplay. Let me get this straight. She's basically been in Awww!Sweetie!Land since the beginning of the book and now all of a sudden she has the focus to sit down and hammer out a screenplay? Methinks not. Plus, she seems fairly stupid. I'd be surprised if she could write her own name (I mean, it is tricky with that p and h that sound so very much like an f) much less a fucking screenplay. I mean, this just seemed ludicrous to me and was completely out of nowhere and had absolutely nothing to do with the plot. 

5. The supporting characters were so one-dimensional. They came in, said their piece, left. I didn't connect with any of them on any kind of personal level. In fact, the only character I semi-liked was the unlikable Paige. She was a bitch and a shit-stirrer but I found her unintentionally funny because she so reminded me of Amy Farrah Fowler. Just totally blasé and unemotional. 

6. I expect a certain amount of sexy times from my Chick-Lit. I am a woman for God's sake! I want romance and kisses and swoony-swoon and lovemakin'. There were no sexy times to be had here. This book was like a barren sexy times wasteland. 

Wow. I just realized what a large list of gripes that is. I NEVER wanna be a complete Debbie Downer about a book. (Unless, of course, I absolutely hate it and find it lacking any redeemable qualities. Then I'll gripe until my fingers bleed!) 
There are a few good one-liners peppered throughout. And at times I felt connected enough to Wendy to feel sorry for her. (When she wasn't getting on my nerves with her incessant whining.) But those moments were too few and too far between. 
It's not like this book was horrible. It just wasn't for me.

The Scale of Judgment says......2.

EvilEva reviews...... Dixieland Sushi by Cara Lockwood. 

Jen Nakamura Taylor's life has been a series of awkward moments, growing up half Japanese and half white in the small Southern town of Dixieland. But now she's an adult on the fast track to success as a producer for a popular news show in Chicago. 
Just when Jen is flying high with the promise of a promotion, news from home sends her crashing back down to Earth. 
Jen's younger cousin, Lucy, is set to marry Kevin Peterson. This isn't too much of a big deal except for the small fact that Jen has been TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY in LOVE with Kevin Peterson FOREVER! 
She decides to take her friend Riley as he date for the wedding, to give her moral support and maybe even elicit a little jealousy from THE Kevin Peterson. But somewhere between Chi-Town and Dixie, sparks begin to fly. Now Jen is more confused than ever.
Is Kevin Peterson her eternal flame or could it be possible that Riley is her own personal Jake Ryan?

Let it be known that I have a complete author crush on Cara Lockwood! I loved Pink Slip Party, Wuthering High, and I Do But I Don't (even though I thought Lifetime did a shitous job of casting Denise Richards as Lauren. But that's not Cara's fault.) And, as expected, I loved Dixieland Sushi. For one thing, it is LOADED with pop culture references much to the delight of any 80's baby! (Advice from Mr. Miyagi begins every chapter!) 
Plus, you know I love a good quip and quips abound in this futhermucker! There was such snappy banter between Jen and Riley, which i loved! Sometimes vocal foreplay is better than the actual thingie-thang. So while there were limited sexy times in this book, the author totally made up for it with Jen and Riley's sexually charged bantering. 
As a Southern girl (Georgia peach, what what!) with a loopy family of my own, I could most def  identify with Jen. But instead of seeing them as a bunch of ass-backward loons, I saw them as lovable eccentrics. I wanted to know more about Vivien and Grandma Saddie and Bubba and Aunt Teri. Because here in the South we don't refer to our crazies as "crazies." Oh no. They're "characters." And Vivien, Grandma Saddie, etc. seemed like some really interesting "characters." 
I also really liked the flashback to the 80's chapters. It took me back to the totally tubular days of friendship bracelets, John Hughes brilliance and L.A. Gear! *wistful sigh*

I have but one gripe for this book and really it only involves the beginning as, it seems about halfway through, Cara Lockwood righted this wrong. But anyhoo, my gripe is this: It seemed to me that the first few chapters were heavily layered with Asian/Southern/British clichés. Which, I get it, I mean, the book is called Dixieland Sushi. But I just felt like it was a little much.

Other than that one little gripe though, I enjoyed this book. And it reminded me of how much I like Cara Lockwood's writing style. So perhaps I'll review more of her books in my next TBR posts!

The Scale of Judgment says......4.

Books Into Movies: Trailers A Go-Go

There are a buttload of books being turned into movies this year. So i've rounded up some info, linky-dinks and trailers to help you sort through them all.
Jane Eyre

Starring Mia Wasikowska.
This one actually looks kinda hot. Which is pretty surprising since it's obvs based on a classic and everyone knows Classics Are Not Hot. i don't mean Hollywood hot, mind you, more literary hot. Old fashioned hotness. Stolen kisses, discreet glances. Knowwhatimsayin'? 
Anyhoo, i'm thinking of reading the book as one of my classic picks for The Resolution Challenge. i'm ashamed to admit that i have never read this book before. i know! Look away! i'm a monster! i'm trying to change my ways, though. And i promise that i'll read the book before seeing the movie, which comes out March 11th.

The very much hyped The Help by Kathryn Stockett is getting the book to movie makeover. 
Starring Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek and Viola Davis.
There isn't a trailer up for it yet but you can click here to see a few stills from the movie. i haven't read the book but i gotta say, with all the buzz surrounding it, it's got me pretty intrigued. The movie is set for August 12th.  

Beastly

Starring Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer, Neil Patrick Harris and one of the Olson twins.
This is based on the YA novel by Alex Flinn and that is based on the story of Beauty and the Beast. i don't know about this one y'all. It looks a little juvenile. Like it could very easily be High School Musical 4: Shit Gets Real. And i swear, if Vanessa Hudgens manages to weasel another song out of yet another one of her movies then i'm definitely gonna pass on this one. We get it. You like to sing and aren't completely tone deaf. Congrats. Now either be a singer or make another shitty movie but please, for the love of God!, DON'T do both! 
It also stars Alex Pettyfer, who will also star in I Am Number Four which is also based on a YA novel and which comes out February 18th. Beastly hits theaters March 18th.

Kid-Lit fave, Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, is also headed for the big screen. 
Starring Chloe Moretz, (woo-hoo! HitGirl!) Jude Law, Ben Kingsley, and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Another no-trailer-haver, but you can go here for some movie stills. The movie should be out December 9th.

Water For Elephants 

Starring Reese Witherspoon as Christina Aguilera's character from Burlesque (Right? i mean, look at her hair! And her smolder-whore makeup!) and Robert Pattinson as Not Edward Cullen. 
This one looks a little Snoozie Suzie to me. i read the book (by Sara Gruen) awhile back and wasn't a big fan. Scale of Judgment would probably give it a 2 and a half. But i'm sure Team Edward will come out in droves to represent. i'll probably just wait til it comes to Netflix. Personally i like to fawn over R. Pattz British hotness from the comfort of my own home. 
Water for Elephants will be at a theater near you April 22nd.

One of my fave books, Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, is getting the rom-com treatment. 
Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield and John Krasinski.
i REALLY hope they don't fuck this one up because i love this book and these characters so much! No trailer but here are some stills to hold you over until its release on May 6th.

This is the big one, y'all. Hunger Games movie news!!! 
There's an interview with Gary Ross, The Man Who Will Direct The Hunger Games!, in this weeks Entertainment Weekly (#1137- with the new American Idol judges on the cover.) After reading the interview, i'm pretty confident that Gary Ross won't screw this up for all of us HG fans. In fact, i think he's one of us! (Turns out, he's a fan of YA reading too! You just became even more awesome, sir.) i hope they'll have more scoop for us soon but for right now, the interview was pretty awesome. 

Now i'll end with two more biggies:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the finale to end all finales, will be in theaters July 15th! i'm both excited (because this is gonna be FUCKING AWESOME!) and sad (because it's really over. *falls into a hysterical mess*) 
2. Breaking Dawn Part 1. Wait. Is it Part 1? Did we ever decide if they were gonna split this film into two parts? i'm confused. Anyway, Part 1 (?) will be out November 18th.
i'll post more on both of these when more info becomes available. 

So. What do you guys think? Which movies are you on pins and needles to see? 
As always, dish the shizz in the comments section and let me know.

EvilEva reviews... How To Say Goodbye In Robot

EvilEva reviews...... How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford.  

Bea is used to being the new girl. So when her dad gets a job in Baltimore during her senior year, she's not that torn up about the move. 
She'll make friends, she'll graduate and she'll blow this pop stand for a life of her own. 
She never expects to find a best friend but that's exactly what happens when she meets Jonah, aka Ghost Boy. They share secrets, confessions and a love for the Night Light radio show. 
But will Bea be able to let go of this new found friendship to pursue what she wants? Or will she give up everything for a Ghost? 

I wanted to like this book because I'm somewhat of a Robot Girl myself (*beep,bop,boop*) and in high school I had my own Ghost Boy. We were best friends and nothing more and no one ever believed us. 
So when I read the blurb on the back of the book:

"It's not exactly romance- but it's definitely love. And it means more to them than either one can ever really know..." 

I thought I would, for sure, connect with this book and these characters. But I didn't. 
To me, Jonah wasn't that great of a friend to Bea. Everything they did or didn't do hinged on what he wanted and how he felt. Bea did a lot of bending for Jonah, substituting her wishes for his. I felt like Jonah was very controlling in their relationship. And that's not how a friend should be.

There were a few times when i wished Bea would've just said "Fuck Jonah," and then gone and hung out with Walt instead.
I would've much preferred Walt as my Ghost Boy. He was funny and sweet and not featured nearly enough. I wish Bea had given him more of a chance. 

I didn't really understand the deal with Bea's mom. Half of the book she's acting all nutsy and then there's a reveal of sorts to explain her complete nuttery and then after that confession, it's like she's cured. No more Mama Nutcase. I didn't find that believable in the least. In fact, I found her mother's whole purpose to be rather pointless. 

There were a few funny parts in the book though. 
My favorite scene was when Tom and Walt were giving Bea a guided tour of a typical Canton party.
I also liked Kreplax and his idea for a Party for People from the Future. (What can I say? I love a good theme party!) 

I think the premise of the book is an intriguing one, a not-love story. A story where the two main characters don't actually fall in love at the end. They don't realize suddenly that it's been this person all along. Sometimes there really is just friendship. And that's enough but sometimes even more than you could imagine. 

So, I think the idea of the book is lovely. But, for me, the execution fell a little flat. But maybe that's because I had a Ghost Boy, so I was expecting too much. 

The Scale of Judgment says...... 2 and a half. Or *bee,blee,bo* in Robot. ;)