Charles Synyard (@CharlesSynyard)

“A fresh cut flower was in a bud vase on the table, and she positioned it so that it was near her face, then carefully arranged her orange scarf so that it looked as if it had been casually placed around her neck. Next she tried sitting in different positions, trying to find the one that would have the most dramatic effect. She even sucked in her cheeks to give herself a more mature look. “Feeling as if she was as ready as she could get, Beth tried to hold the pose, peeking out of the corner of her eye every few seconds to see if Marco was coming. It seemed like a zillion minutes passed before he finally walked into the restaurant. Beth froze in position, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the scene in front of her—a sea gull eating a rotten fish.” (85-86) A rare use of symbolism, and so ominous. Is Beth, trying to look pretty, going to be someone’s sordid meal? Finished Caribbean Adventure, the second Fabulous Five Super Edition by Betsy Haynes. Released December 1990, right after Jana to the Rescue, the twenty-first book main series entry, it hit shelves just as readers were hankering for a tropical getaway during the grey winter months. There is some of that, but what looks like a humorous romantic misadventure on the cover turns really creepy and unsettling. While the Fabulous Five all develop big crushes on The Caribbean Sands Village’s calypso singer, and are thrilled to be secretly meeting with him alone, things are not what they seem. He, pretending each is special to him, calculatingly pursues them all in turn, playing to each girl’s likes, while keeping the relationships mutually unknown among the friends. The while, we get enticing descriptions of Barbados, but the reader cannot but feel pained at how much has changed, as the mostly Black island nation has not been immune from the political whirlwind, and woke, anti-White takedowns of statues of our heroes. Mr. Edwards has won a weeklong vacation in Barbados from his employer, and his daughter Melanie and the rest of the Fabulous Five wish they could all go together for winter break, Christmas to New Year’s. Since her pop has won a stay at a spacious three-bedroom suite, Melanie’s parents decide they can come along, and the girls’ parents each decide they can pay their way, making for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation together for the tight-knit Wakeman Junior High clique! Melanie Edwards, Jana Morgan, Beth Barry, Christie Winchell, and Katie Shannon all pledge to write, send postcards daily, and bring back souvenirs for their boyfriends… but if they only knew! On the very first night, the cover scene, the work of regular artist Andrew Bacha, plays out as they all fall for the night entertainment band’s singer, Marco Montavo. I love their enamored expressions! Betsy Haynes may have come up with Marco’s name from her new residence: the back of book About the Author notes had lately changed to say Haynes and her husband lived in Marco Island, Florida. How the Fabulous Five fall: “As The Fabulous Five crossed the deck to the area under the thatched roof where the tables were located, they passed in front of the band. The singer was swaying rhythmically to a fast-beat calypso song, and Jana was startled when he nudged her gently and winked. She could feel heat running up her neck and into her face.” (11) “As the rest of The Fabulous Five ordered tropical juice drinks from the waiter, Beth sat back in her chair to enjoy the show. How old was the guy who was singing? she wondered. He looked about eighteen. ”He was dressed in white pants and a bright green shirt with a cream-colored, palm-leaf pattern. Beth smiled to herself. Katie’s boyfriend, Tony Calcaterra, would love that outfit. He tried to act so macho sometimes. “She stopped in mid-giggle. He was looking right at her, and his dazzling smile seemed to throw off sparks from the spotlights that shone on him. Was he intentionally looking at her, or did it just seem that way?” (12) “As Marco talked, Katie couldn’t take her eyes off him. His hair was jet black, his eyes glittered, and his smile was dazzling. He looks a little like Tony, thought Katie, only older. “Then she noticed his shirt, which was green with palm leaves on it and was open at the front. A silver chain hung from his neck, a huge piece of black coral on the end of it. ”I wanted to bring Tony a piece of black coral just like that, Katie thought. She shook her head without realizing it, trying to clear the confusion from her mind, and Marco looked at her curiously. “For the rest of the time he was at their table, Katie tried unsuccessfully to listen to what he was saying. Instead, all she could do was think to herself that Marco was the best-looking guy she’d ever seen.” (14-15) Marco, aged sixteen (so he claims), is already a jack of all trades. Of Spanish descent, not only does he sing, he sells rides on Jet Skis, teaches scuba diving, ”Anything to make money” (14). Setting up for a goofy romance with an exotic guy getting wrestled over by five thirteen year olds, and while Beth was already wondering if he was smiling her way, it’d be a safe guess that he was just doing his job, engaging with guests and giving them a good time. But things soon begin looking more unnerving. When Mr. Edwards drives the girls around on a tour of historic sites, Marco happens to meet with the girls one by one, alone. After a stop at Trafalgar Square—first pic, shown as it was then; it was renamed National Heroes Square in 1999, and the statue of Lord Nelson removed to a museum in that horrible year, 2020—he meets Christie at Gun Hill Signal Station—second pic—when she had walked off, taking a moment to contemplate the place’s history and natural beauty alone. It is a lovely scene. “There were several old cannons poking over the fortress wall in the direction of the sea, and she decided to look at them more closely. As she walked along behind the cannons, she tried to imagine what it was like for a soldier who’d stood here three hundred years ago, watching for tall-masted ships on the horizon. “Beyond the wall were some steps leading down to where beautiful red and yellow flowers were growing. She followed the path and found a place that was out of view of the others. She loved being with The Fabulous Five in Barbados, but she was still glad to have a chance to be alone for a few minutes. “The green land rolled away from where she sat to the white sand beaches in the distance. Beyond that, Christie could hardly tell where the clear blue sky met the water on the horizon. She had to agree with Jana, it was a breathtaking place. “‘Mind if I join you?’” (47-48) And Marco is there too! “It’s one of my favorite places,” he says (48). It becomes a charmingly romantic moment—but we get a naggling warning sign. ”Marco reached out and took her hand. ‘I’m glad you like my hill. I’m glad you like my island.’ ”She felt as if she were swimming in his deep, dark eyes. ‘I do,’ she said. ‘I do like your hill and your island. I... like them very much.’ “He squeezed her hand and then stood up. ‘I’ll see you again,‘ he said. ‘Soon.’ He turned to leave and then stopped. ‘One thing. Would you not mention our meeting to anyone? Employees of the Village aren’t supposed to fraternize with the guests.’ “Christie nodded and he turned to go. She couldn’t believe it. The handsome island singer must like her. Then another thought crossed her mind. Marco had been the one who had suggested Gun Hill Signal Station to Mr. Edwards this morning. Had Marco planned their meeting? Had he come to this spot just to see her?” (50) Then, Marco just so chances to encounter Melanie in the garden at Villa Nova, a historic plantation (side note, once owned by former British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden, and after Caribbean Adventure appeared, was renovated and became a hotel. I read that one of the suites is named Haynes—after the children’s author who featured the place in her book?), and Jana when she gets lost in Harrison’s Cave. After a return to their lodgings (one of the creepiest parts is when Beth notices “a motorcycle that followed them at a distance“ (60)), Beth runs into him while shopping, and while Katie is walking by the shore, he rides up in a Jet Ski, splashes her, and offers a ride to make up for it. Coincidence? All but Jana are sworn to secrecy (Jana doesn’t want others to think she got lost, so Marco can assume she won’t tell), so it’s a little conspicuous when that night, each one is getting dolled up before they see Marco when his band plays again. As he helps each girl to her feet after a game of limbo, he whispers where they’re to meet next—and from then on, clandestinely meets with all five Fabulous Five girls, each one thinking she alone has Marco’s attention. You may have thought the Fabulous Five books were only for girls, but you’d be dead wrong, Marco knows the girls’ particularities so well I wondered if he’d been the most faithful reader in Barbados. Actually, he learns everything there is to know about them when he meets Christie at the tennis court early the second day, and “she told him about life at Wakeman Junior High and about The Fabulous Five, being careful not to mention that they were only seventh-graders” (24). And he uses the knowledge in the most weaselly way! You saw how he said Gun Hill Signal Station was “one of my favorite places”. That’s a good approach for Christie, a straight-A student who will appreciate the history. But when he meets Beth, a dramatic girl who wants to be an actress, at The Flying Fish, a restaurant with a deck over the water, the next morning (after tennis with Christie!), he talks to a different tune. ”After the waitress had brought them two colas, Marco leaned back in his chair. ‘What did you do today?’ he asked, eyeing her closely. ”’We went to Gun Hill Signal Station, a plantation called Villa Nova, and some caves.’ ”Marco stirred his soda with his straw and asked in a low voice, ‘What did you see there?’ ”Beth shrugged. ‘The caves were pretty interesting, but the rest of it was boring. You probably go to those places all the time.’ “For some reason, Marco seemed relieved at her answer. He waved his hand as if dismissing the idea. ‘No,‘ he said. ‘I’m not really interested in that stuff either. I like to be where the action is.’ ”’Me too,’ agreed Beth.” (63-64) Likely relieved Beth didn‘t spot him there, and that he can meet Beth at places separate from the others. It gets to be disturbing. The only time we get to see Marco alone, is between meeting two of the girls, on a secluded spot he dubs Sand Dollar Beach. First he meets Jana there, and gives her an apparently heartfelt gift. “‘Here.’ He put a sand dollar on a thin gold chain into her hand and folded her fingers over it. ‘Something to remember me by. I made it into a necklace just for you.’” (96) Then, perhaps finding it an ideal location, the next day he invites all five girls there in turn, hours apart. Meeting Christie at 8 AM and then Beth at 10 AM, he gives each a sand dollar necklace. “After Beth disappeared around the curve, Marco walked over to his motorcycle and opened one of the saddlebags. Reaching in, he pulled out two more sanddollar necklaces. Since he had given one to Jana the other day, and Christie and Beth each one this morning, these would be for Melanie and Katie. ”He put one of the necklaces back in the saddlebag and scraped at the store label on the back of the other one with his thumbnail until he had it off. Then he polished the sand dollar against his shirt. “Marco looked at his watch. He had close to a half hour before Jana would be there. That would be enough time to take a swim. He stuck the sand-dollar necklace in his pocket and headed back down to the beach.” (131-132) The rat! I can imagine a more innocent reader growing disheartened as she sees what’s going on, and would not be surprised if at least one parent, reading along, called off a family vacation to Barbados from the stoked fears. What is Marco’s game? Five-timing the Fabulous Five is a daring feat for the most inveterate lothario, so one guess was, a bandmate had whispered the idea to him as a dare. But of course, any guy willing to put in that much effort, you have to fear he’s trying to put the girls into a spot, and take sexual advantage of them. Even a Taken-style abduction would not be farfetched. The Fabulous Five realize what Marco’s doing late in the book. After all the buildup, the resolution was a letdown. The girls prank him, telling him they’ll run away or get their parents to extend the trip to let them stay with him; that night, they put all the necklaces he gave them around his neck. They even feel sorry for him. ”’He said, like Magnum, P.I. says on TV, “Another boring day in paradise.“ Everything he does has to do with people who come here from someplace else... ”’One time when we were talking,’ Beth added, ‘he said that the Peg Leg Pete, the boat that takes people out to party, was for rich tourists like me. He told me he is usually in the water with the rest of the guys selling Jet Ski rides.’ ”’I think Marco’s bored and resents everybody having a good time while he has to work,” said Christie. “Flirting with each one of us was his way of creating some fun for himself.‘“ (161-162) Stalking and deceiving five middle schoolers, with we don’t know what plans for their last day or evening there had his scheming gone undetected? Lenient. Have to think, this is an instance of letting a hot guy off for something that would have landed an ugly guy, had he managed it, in serious trouble. How I wanted it to end: with Jana all primed to be his first victim at some secluded spot, when who walks up? All the boyfriends. ”RANDY?!?!” ”We know all about it, Jana. Mr. Edwards let slip you were all hanging around with a Marco Montavo. Say’s he’s 16? Rich. 22 is he’s a day, and wanted for a string of statutorys in Antigua. And while we boys show Mr. Montavo not to fool with Wakeman girls, YOU have some explaining to do.” One fun passage that IS in the book finds Beth weighing buying a swimsuit, for $39.95 in 1990. Marco shows up, and says it’d look terrific on her. ”’I’ll take the swimsuit,‘ she told the clerk suddenly. What the heck, Beth thought. Marco likes it, and Laura McCall [leader of the rival Fantsatic Foursome clique back home] will probably commit suicide when she sees me in it next summer.” (62) Some attitude! Anyway, next up is Melanie’s Valentine—but not before the slim Just For Girls “peripheral” volume, also including an episode from Bonnie Bryant’s Saddle Club series, that came with a bottle of Petite Naté Spray-On Soft Cologne! Seen is an ad for the brand at the back of Caribbean Adventure. Aww man, it expired 35 years ago. #BetsyHaynes #CaribbeanAdventure #FabulousFive #AndrewBacha #Barbados #Caribbean #vacation #resort #winterbreak #hypergamy #romance #seduction #cautionarytale #childrensliterature #childrensbooks #literature #books