Abby's Lucky Thirteen is the 96th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Abby and her twin sister, Anna, recently turned thirteen. They are preparing for their Bat Mitzvah, which is a big deal for the twins and their mother. And now, just when Abby should be acting like an adult, she is caught cheating on a math test and is suspended from school. Even though Abby didn't cheat, she refuses to tell what really happened. She even keeps the suspension a secret from her mother.
Abby is heading for big trouble on the biggest day of her life. Will she be able to get it together without disappointing everyone — including herself?
Main Plot[]
Abby is struggling in math class. When she fails a math test, she tells her mother that her math teacher, Ms. Frost, didn't care, and Mrs. Stevenson comes to Stoneybrook Middle School to confront Ms. Frost, even though Abby didn't tell her mother the whole story. She later buys a study guide from Brad Simon but it turns out to be the actual test. Abby and four other students are suspended for three days, but Abby hides the notices of her suspension from her mother and spends Monday and Tuesday in the Stoneybrook Public Library. On Wednesday, however, she goes shopping and stops for lunch at Pizza Express, where she is caught by her mother. Abby is grounded for a month with no sleepovers, no visits from friends, no phone privileges, and no parties (but she's still allowed to babysit and engage in her after-school activities).
On Thursday (after her suspension), she sees Mary Anne buying a similar "study guide" from Brad, and at the end of the school day, the two girls tell Ms. Frost about what happened. She believes them and apologizes for not believing Abby before. She also gives Abby the chance to retake the test after school next week. On the week of Bat Mitzvah, Abby gives a speech talking about the story of her suspension and talks about the responsibilities of a mature young adult. It ends with a sleepover for the BSC and Anna playing her violin instead of reciting her speech.
Subplot[]
Some of the clients are banned from watching too much TV. The girls try to keep the kids from watching too much before they decide to write the ending to one of their shows, Boo Hoo, Cassandra Clue.
Characters[]
Abby's Family
Extended Family
- Elsie Goldberg
- Morris Goldberg
- David and Ruth Stevenson (paternal grandparents)
- Aunt Judith (Jonathan's younger sister) and Uncle Saul
- Sarah, Lillian (Judith and Saul's daughters)
- Uncle Mort and Aunt Esther (great aunt and uncle - their grandfather's sister and brother in law)
- Micah (Mort and Esther's son)
- Aaron, Bette, and Jonathan (Micah's children from a second marriage)
- Micah (Mort and Esther's son)
- Jean (Rachel's first cousin)
- Amy and Sheila (Jean's daughters)
BSC Members
- Kristy Thomas
- Mary Anne Spier
- Claudia Kishi
- Stacey McGill
- Jessi Ramsey
- Mallory Pike
- Shannon Kilbourne (mentioned)
Kids
- Marilyn & Carolyn Arnold
- Jordan, Adam, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Jenny and Andrea Prezzioso
- Matt & Haley Braddock
- Karen and Andrew Brewer
- David Michael Thomas
- Sari, Linny and Hannie Papadakis
- Jackie, Shea, and Archie Rodowsky
Teenagers
- Charlie Thomas (mentioned)
- Brad Simon
- Lauren - Anna's friend from orchestra
Adults
- Rabbi Dorman
- Ms. Frost
- Linda Arnold
- Mr. Arnold (mentioned)
- Mrs. Towne
- Nick Prezzioso
- Dee Pike (mentioned)
- John Pike
- Mr. Hobart (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Stevenson House
- Kishi House
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Arnold House
- Pike House
- Prezzioso House
- Towne House
- Braddock House
- Rodowsky House
- Unnamed Synagogue
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Leave It to Beaver
- Star Trek
- The Simpsons
- Albert Einstein
- The Young and the Restless (allusion)
- Beethoven's fifth symphony
- Aretha Franklin
- The Grateful Dead
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Abby recalls the Thanksgiving dinner from Claudia and the First Thanksgiving on page 106.
- It's recalled when Claudia was accused of cheating on a math test in book #40.
Inconsistencies
- On page 21 Abby narrates that Claudia, Kristy and Mary Anne had so much business after the club started that Stacey joined the club. Although Stacey was one of the original founding four.
- On page 31 Kristy acts disgusted about getting dressed up when she doesn't mind putting on a dress earlier in the series.
- On page 43 Abby narrates that the Arnold Twins dress alike, however, they had stopped dressing alike since Mallory and the Trouble with Twins.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader, Abby’s Lucky Thirteen is the second book narrated by our newest BSC member, Abby Stevenson. Abby is a lot of fun to write about because she’s so passionate, and she’s so different from the other club members. And I was also particularly happy to write about this very important time in her life, her Bat Mitzvah.
Although I like Abby’s personality, I’m much more like her twin, Anna. Becoming a Bat Mitzvah is highly important to Anna, but she’s terrified of giving a speech — one of the most important parts of the ceremony. I hate speaking in public, too. And I always thought that as I grew older it might become easier, but it never did. Even now when I’m on tour, I love meeting kids individually and signing books for them, but I never give talks. Stage fright has been such a big problem for me that I even wrote a book about it. And guess what the title is: Stage Fright!
Trivia[]
- This book, and the first Abby book Welcome to the BSC, Abby! are the only reprint books not to include the narrator's scrapbook. Later books would include Abby's scrapbook with images from her Portrait Collection book, Abby's Book.
- The clients write their own fanfiction of their favorite show.
- This book has a special thanks note to David Levithan, Helen Perelman, Julie Komorn, and Robin Dorman (Scholastic editors) for sharing their bar and bat mitzvah stories.
- Rachel goes to talk to Ms. Frost at school.
- Abby admits that she is not a good student.
- Abby has a walkman.
- Mr. Pinhead is a made-up TV show mentioned in the book along with Cassandra Clue's Casebook.
- Out of all the kids the girls sat for, only the Rodowsky kids didn't have a television ban.
- The Pike triplets own a keyboard and Linny "plays" the cymbals in this book
- Abby only owns one dress.
- Rachel likes the Grateful Dead.
- This book only has 14 chapters.