It’s been a while since I recapped one of these, so here goes. I had fun reading this one. I think the reason I love this series so much is because the four main characters are such good friends. I have never had a close group of friends, and I envy the Fab Four. I ❤️ their loyalty. I ❤️ their strong bond. I ❤️ their youth and vitality.
This book tells the story of the girls and Hitline USA, a television talent show. The show features singing groups who dress up and lip synch to popular music. It’s a nationally televised show that just happens to be hosting auditions in nearby Minneapolis. Sabrina, Randy, Allison, and Katie form a group called Pump it Up and dance to a song called Bounce Right Back. They’re competing against four other groups, including The Valentines, which happens to be Stacy the Great’s group. Sabrina, our narrator for this book, is totally jelly because The Valentines have glamorous dresses with sequins and high heels. Sabrina’s friends decide to dress as bouncing balls to fit with their Bounce Right Back theme. Sabs thinks the bouncing balls idea is a bad one because it’s corny, and I agree with her, but she doesn’t want to upset her friends, especially after she finds out that Randy’s mom has sewn ball costumes for everyone and Katie’s mom has bought rubber balls that Sabrina’s friends plan to sew onto the costumes.
Plot twist: Sabs’ dog Cinnamon chews up their bouncing ball costumes, so they wind up wearing matching minidresses with low heels instead. Sabrina’s friends buy her a gold jacket to wear since she’s kinda the leader of the singing group and she’s the most excited about being on TV. Look at the cover art:
Sabrina’s jacket looks cool, and I like the girls’ tights and heels. I always liked these book covers. The artist makes the girls look as described in the text. We can always tell who each girl is supposed to be. Randy has the spiked hair, and Allison is the tall, slim one, etc. However, the girls often look more like college-age women than middle schoolers, though.
Stacy is obnoxious as usual in this one. She taunts and harasses Sabrina, telling her that The Valentines will win the competition. The best quote from the book is from the moment where Sabrina describes Stacy’s arrogance and hair flip as she brags:
“Stacy flipped her hair one last time—rather strongly. The ends hit me right in the face.” 😂🤣
Sabrina and the gang work well together and are overall proud of their performance. The Valentines screw up royally by bumping into each other on stage, teetering on their too-tall heels, and forgetting the song lyrics. The Valentines come in last place. Sabs’ group wins the runner-up prize, which is a gift certificate to a record store and some tote bags.
The girls have a blast on camera dancing around and just being friends. They also learn a bit about show business. For instance, someone on set holds up a card reminding the audience to clap. Also, the show’s host, Rick Stevens, has the stereotypical diva attitude that I imagine some celebrities have. The celebrity guest, Alek Carreon, is the opposite; he’s sweet and down-to-earth.
Ciao for now! 😊
Monic Ductan 
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