This prequel to the beloved series brings back the characters from the original BSC books and shares the store of what happened before they formed the BSC. Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier and Claudia Kishi have always been best friends. Now, the summer before 7th grade, they seem to be growing up and growing apart. Kristy longs for acknowledgment from her absentee father and is trying to avoid her mom's new boyfriend, Watson. She has her baby-sitting and her friendship with Mary Anne to keep her busy, but still, she wants something more. Mary Anne is dying to grow up, and envious of Claudia who is so pretty and stylish. Mary Anne hopes her father will let her baby-sit this summer, which she sees as the first step towards becoming grown-up. Glamorous Claudia wants desperately to be seen as as sophisticated, which means not hanging out with Mary Anne and Kristy as much and experiencing her first crush. Stacey McGill and her parents are preparing to leave their New York City home to move to Stonybrook, CT. Stacey would have been devastated a year ago but now she can't wait to move and get away. Since she started experiencing symptoms of diabetes, her former best friend has turned mean-girl and Stacy is a social outcast. She'll be sad to leave her baby-sitting charges though and hopes she'll find some new kids to love and maybe a new friend or two. The events of this summer will change their lives forever. This book is a nice, simple read aimed at girls who are just now old enough to begin reading the books for the first time. The plot deals with the transitional time between childhood and teen years and teaches some important life lessons. I thought it was a bit too moralistic and corny for my adult tastes but I loved revisiting the BSC girls. I can still relate to Kristi and Mary Anne and their favorite kids and all the supporting characters were fresh in my mind, though I haven't read the books in years. I enjoyed this trip down memory lane and I think girls could read this book before or after reading the series. Adult fans of the series might like this story too. I'd love to see a sequel with Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey as adults with children of their own old enough to revive the BSC! Fantastic books for young girls getting into reading!! Great stories about friendship and life lessons. The characters deal with all sorts of situations and often find responsible solutions to problems.I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
What do You think about The Summer Before (2010)?
A nice trip down memory lane! BSC were the first chapter books I read.
—Abbey4real
I like this better than if AMM had done a sequel.
—live4soccer
