Annie Bryant

This book was so much fun to read! I loved it! It has so much adventure, feelings, fun, and humor. You will laugh out loud at Annie Bryants’ characters witty thoughts and remarks, and you will be able to feel the rush of emotions going through the characters.

Here is a short summary of the book:

Avery is obsessed with Robbie Flores, a famous baseball player, and she accidentally loses Marty! Charlotte is heartbroken.(And pretty miffed at Avery). She lost her cat Orangina, her mother, and show more now Marty! Of course, it doesn't help that Miss Sapphire, the landlady of the beautiful Victorian house she lives in, has mysteriously disappeared, too.

Meanwhile, Katani is surprisingly enjoying herself at a therapeutic riding stable that she has to go to so she can help her autistic sister, Kelley. When Katani finds out High Hopes Stables is going bankrupt and will have to close down, she is crushed. After all, riding is the only sport Katani has ever been good at. She is so tired of always being compared to her super-athlete sisters, Candice and Patrice. Katani loves riding and she loves her gorgeous chestnut mare, Penelope.

Suddenly, a mysterious message is left by a man who apparently "found" Marty, but there has already been a mean joke left by someone claiming they found Marty. The BSG don't know who to trust!!!

The man from message hinted he would pay $10,000 to the BSG in return of keeping Marty. Maeve, Charlotte, and Avery instantly decide that Marty is not for sale, no matter how frappelicious the price, but Isabel and Katani are having second thoughts. Isabel's mother has multiple sclerosis, and 10,000 bucks sure would help pay the medical bills. And coincidentally, $10,00 is the exact amount High Hopes Stables needs to keep going.

Charlotte and Avery finally stop being mad each other, but now they are furious at Katani and Isabel! This predicament is tearing the Beacon Street Girls apart!

When they find out that Robbie Flores, who is extremely superstitious, considers Marty his "Lucky Charm" and will NOT give him up, they are flabbergasted.

Only through Charlotte's smart thinking do they get Marty back and determine that Robbie's "lucky charm" is really just a stuffed toy that Marty carries with him.

Unfortunately, the toy is very special to Marty and to Avery, who brought the toy home from Korea, where she was adopted from.

Luckily, Katani loves to sew and is very good at it. She is able to make a second little toy and offer it to Robbie Flores instead. He likes it even better than Marty's original toy, and he thinks it will be very lucky for him! In fact, he is so happy with it that he donates enough money to High Hopes Stables that they can get back on their feet!!! Katani is surprised and thrilled!

Join Charlotte, Maeve, Isabel, Avery and Katani on this wild and fun pandemonium of an adventure. I guarantee you will LOVE this book and you won't be able to put it down! show less

I read this book because the synopsis mentioned that the students would be involved in a family history project at school. Although I was excited about finding a book for middle school age students about researching their roots, I quickly became disappointed as the details of the girls' everyday existence seemed to play more importance to the narrative than the pursuit of their class project. Although each student finds items relating to their families, there was a lot of missed opportunity show more in this book to illustrate ways of conducting research. I did like the manner that one student researched the education of African Americans in Boston when she discovered her ancestor had been one of the early African American Boston educators. A lot of the text is gimmicky which would probably be enjoyed more by the intended audience more than by me. This book may work better for some readers than others. show less

I couldn't put this book down! After living in the Boston area for a bit, it was really fun to read a book that takes place in the city. The characters are great and the author presents the story in a creative way. The story has some really hilarious events, which thread through the entire story. It's a great read!

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

Grandma Ruby has received a letter from her Aunt Faith in Jamaica asking her to visit for a little while and help with the family banana bread bakery while her aunt has surgery. Katani can't wait to go along and bask in the tropical sun on the Jamaican beaches, and, soon enough, both she and Grandma Ruby are in the airport at Montego Bay meeting Katani's older cousin, Selvin.

But surf and sand is something Katani sees little of on her Jamaican show more holiday. The bakery where her relatives bake the island's famous "Nana's Banana Bliss" is in danger, threatened by a larger company who might even be using a spy. When Katani's cousin, Olivia, loses a priceless necklace that belonged to her deceased mother, Katani gets roped into helping her get it back from their blind neighbor's dog.

On their midnight mission, they see one of Aunt Faith's employees sneaking around in the bakery. But how can they reveal who the spy is if they would only get in trouble themselves?

This book captivated me with its descriptions of Jamaica, its people, and its traditions, all while tying into an interesting mystery. Aside from a few rather lame attempts at mentioning other characters in the BSG series and how they would appreciate such and such thing, this story stands perfectly well by itself, and it is not necessary to have read any other books in the series prior to this one. show less