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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)
  • Jean (Rachel's first cousin)
    • Amy and Sheila (Jean's daughters)


BSC Members

Kids

Teenagers

Adults

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

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.
Baby-Sitters Club Books
The Summer Before | #1 Kristy's Great Idea | #2 Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls | #3 The Truth About Stacey | #4 Mary Anne Saves the Day | #5 Dawn and the Impossible Three | #6 Kristy's Big Day | #7 Claudia and Mean Janine | #8 Boy-Crazy Stacey | #9 The Ghost at Dawn's House | #10 Logan Likes Mary Anne! | #11 Kristy and the Snobs | #12 Claudia and the New Girl | #13 Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye | #14 Hello, Mallory | #15 Little Miss Stoneybrook... and Dawn | #16 Jessi's Secret Language | #17 Mary Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery | #18 Stacey's Mistake | #19 Claudia and the Bad Joke | #20 Kristy and the Walking Disaster | #21 Mallory and the Trouble with Twins | #22 Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter | #23 Dawn on the Coast | #24 Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise | #25 Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger | #26 Claudia and the Sad Good-bye | #27 Jessi and the Superbrat | #28 Welcome Back, Stacey! | #29 Mallory and the Mystery Diary | #30 Mary Anne and the Great Romance | #31 Dawn's Wicked Stepsister | #32 Kristy and the Secret of Susan | #33 Claudia and the Great Search | #34 Mary Anne and Too Many Boys | #35 Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook | #36 Jessi's Baby-Sitter | #37 Dawn and the Older Boy | #38 Kristy's Mystery Admirer | #39 Poor Mallory! | #40 Claudia and the Middle School Mystery | #41 Mary Anne vs. Logan | #42 Jessi and the Dance School Phantom | #43 Stacey's Emergency | #44 Dawn and the Big Sleepover | #45 Kristy and the Baby Parade | #46 Mary Anne Misses Logan | #47 Mallory on Strike | #48 Jessi's Wish | #49 Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street | #50 Dawn's Big Date | #51 Stacey's Ex-Best Friend | #52 Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies | #53 Kristy for President | #54 Mallory and the Dream Horse | #55 Jessi's Gold Medal | #56 Keep Out, Claudia! | #57 Dawn Saves the Planet | #58 Stacey's Choice | #59 Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym) | #60 Mary Anne's Makeover | #61 Jessi and the Awful Secret | #62 Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever | #63 Claudia's Freind Friend | #64 Dawn's Family Feud | #65 Stacey's Big Crush | #66 Maid Mary Anne | #67 Dawn's Big Move | #68 Jessi and the Bad Baby-sitter | #69 Get Well Soon, Mallory! | #70 Stacey and the Cheerleaders | #71 Claudia and the Perfect Boy | #72 Dawn and the We Love Kids Club | #73 Mary Anne and Miss Priss | #74 Kristy and the Copycat | #75 Jessi's Horrible Prank | #76 Stacey's Lie | #77 Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever | #78 Claudia and Crazy Peaches | #79 Mary Anne Breaks the Rules | #80 Mallory Pike, No. 1 Fan | #81 Kristy and Mr. Mom | #82 Jessi and the Troublemaker | #83 Stacey vs. the BSC | #84 Dawn and the School Spirit War | #85 Claudia Kishi, Live From WSTO! | #86 Mary Anne and Camp BSC | #87 Stacey and the Bad Girls | #88 Farewell, Dawn | #89 Kristy and the Dirty Diapers | #90 Welcome to the BSC, Abby! | #91 Claudia and the First Thanksgiving | #92 Mallory's Christmas Wish | #93 Mary Anne and the Memory Garden | #94 Stacey McGill, Super Sitter | #95 Kristy + Bart = ? | #96 Abby's Lucky Thirteen | #97 Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby | #98 Dawn and Too Many Sitters | #99 Stacey's Broken Heart | #100 Kristy's Worst Idea | #101 Claudia Kishi, Middle School Dropout | #102 Mary Anne and the Little Princess | #103 Happy Holidays, Jessi | #104 Abby's Twin | #105 Stacey the Math Whiz | #106 Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade | #107 Mind Your Own Business, Kristy! | #108 Don't Give Up, Mallory! | #109 Mary Anne to the Rescue | #110 Abby the Bad Sport | #111 Stacey's Secret Friend | #112 Kristy and the Sister War | #113 Claudia Makes Up Her Mind | #114 The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier | #115 Jessi's Big Break | #116 Abby and the Best Kid Ever | #117 Claudia and the Terrible Truth | #118 Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer | #119 Stacey's Ex-Boyfriend | #120 Mary Anne and the Playground Fight | #121 Abby in Wonderland | #122 Kristy in Charge | #123 Claudia's Big Party | #124 Stacey McGill... Matchmaker? | #125 Mary Anne in the Middle | #126 The All-New Mallory Pike | #127 Abby's Un-Valentine | #128 Claudia and the Little Liar | #129 Kristy at Bat | #130 Stacey's Movie | #131 The Fire at Mary Anne's House
Super Specials
#1 Baby-sitters on Board! | #2 Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation | #3 Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation | #4 Baby-sitters' Island Adventure | #5 California Girls! | #6 New York, New York! | #7 Snowbound | #8 Baby-sitters at Shadow Lake | #9 Starring the Baby-sitters Club #10 Sea City, Here We Come! | #11 The Baby-sitters Remember | #12 Here Come the Bridesmaids! | #13 Aloha, Baby-sitters! | #14 BSC in the USA | #15 Baby-sitters' European Vacation
Portrait Collection
Stacey's Book | Claudia's Book | Dawn's Book | Mary Anne's Book | Kristy's Book | Abby's Book
Other
The Baby-Sitters Club Notebook (1987) | The Baby-Sitters Club Postcard Book (1991) | Trivia & Puzzle Fun Book (1992) | Ann M. Martin: The Story of the author of the Baby-sitters Club (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Guide to Babysitting (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Chain Letter (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Secret Santa (1994) | Audio Books on Cassette Tape (1994-5) | BSC Movie Novelization (1995) | The Complete Guide to the Baby-Sitters Club (1996) | Autograph Book (1998) | BSC Graphic Novels (2006-present) | We Are the Baby-Sitters Club: Essays and Artwork from Grown-Up Readers (2021) | Welcome to Stoneybrook: A Guided Journal (2021) | The Official Coloring Book (2023)
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