BSC #43: Stacey's Emergency

Tagline: Stacey just can't win.

Lately, the pressure's really on Stacey. She hasn't been feeling well. Her schoolwork and baby-sitting jobs are almost out of control. And Stacey's tired of being in the middle of her parents' fights.

Then it happens: Stacey ends up in the hospital because of her diabetes.

The Baby-sitters are so worried. So is Stacey.

Why does she always have it so hard?

Stacey's baby-sitting for Charlotte, and reflecting on how things have been lately. Charlotte finds an article in the newspaper she's reading about diabetes, which prompts Stacey to think about how not only does she have diabetes, it seems to be worse than usual. She's been experiencing incredibly high readings when testing her blood sugar, plus she's been super hungry and thirsty all the time, as well as tired and getting sore throats. She hasn't mentioned anything to her parents yet though, because of how the divorce is going. Even though it's been months, and Stacey's gotten used to living in Stoneybrook with just her mom, things aren't getting any easier. Because Stacey hasn't been feeling well, she hasn't been seeing her father as often as he'd like. To make matters worse, Stacey feels like her parents are constantly putting her between them: they're always grilling her about the other parent's life.

Feeling bummed, Stacey goes to hang out with Claudia before the Club meeting. Everything goes well, and Stacey even lines up another job with Charlotte. However, she's hungry. Incredibly hungry. In a moment of weakness, when no one's looking, she sneaks one of Claudia's Ring Dings into her bag. That evening, her father calls her to remind her of their plans this weekend. Much to Stacey's dismay, every minute is scheduled, meaning she'll have no down time in the apartment to breathe and rest and do homework. He then asks about her mother, leaving Stacey to feel caught in the middle again. In her stress, she takes a chocolate bar out from her drawer and eats it.

Stacey is then baby-sitting for Charlotte again. Charlotte wants to make fudge, and asks if she can invite Becca over. Stacey really doesn't want to be tortured by the chocolate, but agrees. The girls have a grand time, and make a huge mess. While they go to watch TV, Stacey stays behind in the kitchen to help clean up. She guiltily sneaks a few pieces of fudge into her purse.

That night, Stacey eats the fudge. She also admits to having eaten another chocolate bar that day in school. She's tired and thirsty and can't focus on her homework. Suddenly, she remembers that she needs to pack for her visit with her father. As she's packing, her father calls and has another argument with her mother. Exhausted, Stacey gives up and goes to bed.

It's time for Stacey to head to New York, which is the last thing she wants to do. She's tired, she's stressed and she's falling further behind in school than ever. Her mom notices that she looks a little pale, and Stacey vows to rest on the train ride and get some homework done. However, she ends up falling asleep and doesn't wake up until halfway to New York. Upon waking, Stacey finds that she's incredibly thirsty. She ends up spending the rest of the train ride getting water and going to the bathroom. Upon arrival in New York, her dad can tell that something's wrong, and actually takes Stacey seriously when she asks for dinner at home. They end up having a nice relaxing evening in, getting a chance to actually talk and connect, which Stacey enjoys a lot. Unfortunately,by 9pm she's completely exhausted and goes to bed.

All night long, Stacey again keeps getting up for water and the bathroom. Her father is now completely worried and suggests that she test her blood sugar at that moment. Stacey, still exhausted, asks if it can wait til morning. When the morning comes though, her father doesn't hesitate: it's time to go to the hospital.

Stacey's admitted, and the doctors aren't too sure what's going on with her diabetes, so it's decided that she'll stay awhile in the hospital. Her mom immediately takes a train to New York and stays with the Cummings to be closer to Stacey. Stacey is aghast, as her parents can't stand to be in the same room for more than a few minutes. The moment one of them shows up, the other one immediately leaves. Finally Stacey asks for some time alone. She's about to start thinking about her parents and her situation, when she starts spiraling down into a pit of despair over hospitals and her diabetes. Just when she's almost too far gone, Laine shows up for a visit! Laine brings with her a few trinkets and news from Claudia and the girls to cheer Stacey up.

Stacey spends several days in the hospital. At her parents' suggestion, she tries to set up a routine for herself, so as to not go crazy. She wakes up, gets dressed and attempts homework. Of course, there's all sorts of interruptions from her parents visiting and doctors and nurses checking up on her. On Wednesday, just before the Club meeting, she gets a phone call from Claudia and everyone. Upon hanging up, she gets a care package from Charlotte. It cheers her up, and she decides to call Charlotte. Everything seems to be okay.

Friday though, Stacey has a setback. Although she was more-or-less fine all week, she wakes up to find she has zero energy again. A nurse looks at her, and Stacey almost immediately falls back to sleep. When she wakes up, her mom is there, and the doctors run a bunch of tests. Stacey confronts her mom about her father not visiting more during the day, and her mother confesses that the two of them agreed that they couldn't be in the same room together and that her mother would visit during the day and that her father would visit in the evening. This upsets Stacey, but she decides not to push it. Laine comes to visit with more treats, and after awhile Stacey starts to feel better emotionally. However, before going to sleep, her doctor comes to inform her that they're going to start her on a new treatment. It scares Stacey, and she starts to cry.

The next morning, Stacey wakes up and is surprised to find the entire Club there visiting her. She's really happy to see them, and everyone fills her in on what she's missed at school that week. Stacey's really not feeling well though, and as she's opening up the card they brought her, her room is suddenly flooded with doctors and nurses. Her blood sugar is dropping and they need to try something new. The girls are ushered out of the room, and Stacey is frightened. They start her on a new treatment though, and by the evening Stacey feels much better. Unfortunately, her friends are already gone. Her mom's visiting though, and since Stacey has all sorts of questions, she loses track of time, and the next thing they know, her father has shown up.

Stacey asks them if they could just please stay in the room at the same time for a little bit. They do so by essentially ignoring each other and speaking exclusively to Stacey. This goes well for about 10 minutes before they start sniping at each other. Finally, Stacey loses it, yells at them, and tells them not to come back for a while, because she needs time to think. Upset, Stacey decides that the best thing for her is her friends, so she calls Claudia to see if she and the girls could come back the next for their visit. They do, and Stacey opens up all the presents they brought for her. She has a great day, and forgets all about her troubles with her parents.

Finally, it's time for Stacey to go home. When she gets there, she's still super tired, but is able to visit with Claudia. After awhile, she finally confronts her mom. She tells her mom that she's tired of being put in the middle of her parents, and that she won't report back on them to each other anymore. Stacey's mom apologizes for having put Stacey through it all. Stacey then admits that she'd been cheating on her diet, and that she feels guilty. Stacey and her mother talk things out, and vow to make things better in the future.

There's really no subplot in this one. Charlotte's super-worried about Stacey being sick, and becomes a hypochondriac because of it. Mostly, she just wants to be sick like Stacey, and go to the hospital with Stacey and know that Stacey is alright. When it's discovered that Stacey will come back, Charlotte's ecstatic and decides to throw a small welcome party for her.

Random Thoughts

• For some reason, this has become one of my favourites. I don't remember having too too much of an opinion of it from when I was younger, but I have to admit: I've re-read it at least 3 times already this year. I just keep finding myself picking it up from my shelves and skimming it. I've definitely been looking forward to blogging about it. I think it's because it's one of the books that centers around more serious things.
• This book always makes me want fudge. God piss haha
• I worked on this entry over a few different evenings, and every single time, I was reminded that I wanted fudge again haha
• I don't have any personal experience in divorce, having never been married and my parents are still together, but I know it's not easy. It's like a really bad break-up, only worse, because there are kids and legal things involved. Anyways. I feel really bad for Stacey when her parents not only put her in the middle, but can't even be in the same room together. DUDE, YOUR KID IS IN THE HOSPITAL. Can't you talk about the weather and maybe a movie you saw or a TV show you watched or something superficial? Just so you can be in the same room together for a few minutes? I dunno. Like I said, I know nothing of divorce.
• How close is Mrs McGill to the Cummings? We always hear about Laine from Stacey, but I still find it weird that their families are really close, despite all the drama of the diabetes, the move, the re-move and then the divorce.
• Where the fuck do the girls get the money to do TWO round trips to New York?? It takes me a good deal of planning just to afford one two-hour trip. I'm sure their parents helped pay for the first one (on account of their friend being in the hospital), but I can't believe they were able to do it a second time. Is it really not that big of a deal? I had lots of friends who had problems affording trains/busses home during university for the holidays, so they would usually skip Thanksgiving and wait until Christmas.
• Damn, it's a good thing Stacey has done the 8th grade so many times. At the start of the book, we know that Stacey has already fallen behind in her school work. Then she misses two weeks of school from being in the hospital in New York. Upon her return, she has to wait another week before she can go back to school. 3 weeks is a lot to catch up on. I know her teachers will make special circumstances for her, extend deadlines or even omit assignments altogether, but damn.

BSC #36: Jessi's Baby-Sitter

Tagline: Jessi doesn't need a baby-sitter - she is one!

Jessi can't believe it. Her dreaded Aunt Cecelia is moving in to take care of Jessi and her brother and sister. How humiliating - Jessi's going to have a baby-sitter!

Plus, Aunt Cecelia is a drill sergeant. She tells Jessi when to go to bed, how to wear her hair, and she even forbids her to go to a Baby-sitters Club Meeting.

Jessi knows she's old enough to take care of herself - but how can she tell Aunt Cecelia that?

Jessi's at dance class and is surprised when it's her father, not her mother, who picks her up. Immediately, Jessi worries that something is wrong. Her father reassures her that that's not the case. Just the opposite in fact: he's off from work early to celebrate. When Jessi gets home, she finds out what the celebration is: her mother has finally found a job and is going back to work! Furthermore, to take care of Squirt during the day and help out around the house, Aunt Cecelia is moving in!

You might remember Aunt Cecelia from the time Becca got stuck on an island while Jessi was left in charge of her siblings for the weekend. If not, Jessi is quick to remind you of that. Apparently Aunt Cecelia remembers it too, because she immediately starts to micromanage their lives: she tells the girls what they can and cannot eat, what to wear and where they can be. They can't go anywhere because Aunt Cecelia's "never met them", never mind the fact that she's only been around for a few days. She insists on knowing exactly where they are at every minute. When Jessi is 10 minutes late coming home from the Rodowkys, Aunt Cecelia punishes her by banning her from that evening's Club meeting, threatening to ban her from more if she keeps up the attitude.

Meanwhile, Jessi and Becca keep pulling all sorts of pranks on Aunt Cecelia, hoping that if they're nasty enough, she'll want to move out again. They short-sheet her bed, leave plastic spiders in it, and put shaving cream in her slippers. Aunt Cecelia never says anything though, and the longer this goes on, the more nervous Jessi feels and the more she feels she can't go to her parents about it all.

Eventually Jessi realizes enough is enough and sits down with her parents. She confesses to them everything that has been going on. Her parents are disappointed that Jessi didn't come to them sooner, but quickly call a family meeting. At first Aunt Cecelia is all haughty and stubborn, insisting that if the girls are so independent, then she's not needed after all. But soon the family talks things out, and Aunt Cecelia admits that she was nervous coming into the family and was only trying to do her best. She also lets Mr and Mrs Ramsey know about the tricks the girls have been playing on her. Everyone apologizes, and decide to do better moving forward.

The girls aren't punished for their tricks, and Jessi spends forever wondering what's going to happen. The book ends with Aunt Cecelia pulling the same pranks on the girls, and everyone laughing it off.

The subplot in this one is the Stoneybrook Elementary Science Fair. Jackie Rodowsky kinda wants to enter it, but is afraid he'll mess up and embarrass himself. Mostly though, he just wants to make a cool volcano and watch it explode. Jessi gets so caught up in making sure that Jackie does it right and succeeds, that she essentially takes over the project and does it all for him. Elsewhere, Kristy is guiding David Michael on building a mobile of the solar system, Mallory is watching Margo build a shadowbox of life on the moon using Barbies, and Stacey watches Charlotte play music to plants. On the day of the science fair, Jackie becomes upset because he can't answer any of the questions, and more importantly, didn't really do any of the project himself. Jessi feels horrible and learns a valuable lesson about caring about people without invalidating them.

David Michael is just happy to get an honourable mention (essentially a participation award), because he gets a ribbon, and Margo just wanted everyone to see Barbie on the moon haha Charlotte actually wins third place!

Random Thoughts

• I love Jessi on this cover. That outfit is awesome. It's so '80s, but it's part of the good '80s haha Plus I just love her physical expression and stance. I think this is my favourite Jessi cover
• It's official: Mallory totes has red hair. This is the second time they've explicitly described her with such.
• I was interested to see that they started foreshadowing Mallory's father losing his job. I was always under the impression that shit happened in these books out of nowhere, but now that I'm consciously reading the books in chronological order, I'm seeing tons of foreshadowing on the major issues, like Mimi dying and Stacey's parents getting divorced
• Likewise, Stacey's still having health problems and keeps saying that she should make an appointment with her specialist, but is reluctant to do so
• In addition to all the foreshadowing, there's also a lot of continuity present, more so than I remember there being when I was a kid:
• Aunt Cecelia can't let go of what happened to Becca that weekend on the island
• The girls compare the science fair to what happened during the beauty pageant: only this time, they keep their heads and are way better about things
• Jessi mentions the time they all went to summer camp together and the school-wide ski trip as some of her favourite memories with her friends
• I don't find it weird that Aunt Cecelia would park Squirt in his playpen while she cleaned or made dinner. What I do find weird is that she won't let Jessi and Becca play with him instead
• Just like with Dawn and Mary Anne's families: I don't know why Mr and Mrs Ramsey didn't sit everyone down for a family meeting sooner. A lot of this book could have been avoided if Mr and Mrs Ramsey had just filled Cecelia in on what the general rules and routines of the house were. I suppose we wouldn't have had this book then haha
• On the otherhand, I totes understand Jessi being reluctant to bother her parents. One, it's hard to confront your parents with problems. Two, she didn't want to worry them or cause them any stress or grief during this already stressful time in their lives
• How late does Mr Ramsey work? Jessi mentions that her dance classes normally end long before he's ready to leave the office. Assuming her dance classes are at 4pm (most of their after school sitting jobs start at 3:30, and her dance classes are in the next town over), and they last an hour, she'd be done dance at 5pm (which also jives with her being able to just make Club meetings on time). I suppose an hour is a long time to wait, and leaving the office at 6pm isn't that late... Okay, nevermind, I rescind my query xD haha
• Is it bad that I want to try to replicate Charlotte's experiment so bad? I want to see for myself what the results are haha
• I feel bad for Aunt Cecelia. Yeah, she's strict (she's totally out of line for most of this book), but she's really not that bad once the family discusses rules and boundaries. She's probably more nervous and lonely than anything, and is trying to overcompensate. She's not nearly as bad for the rest of the series, as far as I can remember. Guess we'll see haha
• After school snacks were always a point of contention for me as a child. We ate lunch around noon, and I got home from school around 4pm. I was pretty darn hungry by the time I got home from school. However, in my family, we ate dinner at 5pm, so I really couldn't eat a large snack at 4pm, or else I really wouldn't have been able to eat my dinner later. Problem is, my tummy isn't satisfied with just a little bit of food. A little bit of food doesn't make my tummy a little less hungry. It actually makes my tummy more hungry until it's satisfied. That hour before dinner was always the longest hour of my life.
• That being said, Jessi's family obviously doesn't eat until 6:30-7pm. And they get home from school at like, 3pm, meaning lunch is probably around 11:30am. 7 hours is a long time to wait to eat something substantial, and 3 hours is more than enough time to work up an appetite again. I can see why Jessi and Becca normally eat a sandwich as an after school snack.
• Aunt Cecelia mentions that "sometimes black people have to work twice as hard to prove themselves". It's pretty deep for a BSC book. It makes me wish we had explored racism with Jessi more. Especially now with all the Black Lives Matters stuff. Crazy how something said in the 1980s can still ring incredibly true today.
• ...not that I wanted to get political. Cuz 1) I'm not a really political person, and 2) it's not that kind of blog haha
• I don't know if Aunt Cecelia was being hyperbolic to make a point, or if she was serious, but there is a huge difference between, "The girls are old enough to pick their own clothes and organize their own schedules" and "We don't need you at all anymore". The girls can't watch their brother during the school hours. It wouldn't be fair for them to have to consistently watch him every single day from 3pm to when their parents got home. Jessi would have to give up dancing, because not only would she now have to watch her siblings, there'd be no one to drive her to class. And there's all the cleaning and the cooking...

BSC #35: Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook

Tagline: Can Stacey solve the haunted house mystery?

Unlike Claudia and Dawn, Stacey's never been much for mysteries and ghost stories. But when she and Charlotte Johanssen hear terrible noises coming out of the old Hennessey place, Stacey thinks the Baby-sitters definitely have a mystery on their hands.

Mallory claims the house once made her have a horrible nightmare. And Kristy discovers taht it was built on top of a graveyard!

Does Stoneybrook have a real, live haunted house? The Baby-sitters are going to find out - no matter how scary it may be!

Stacey's on her way home from another trip to NYC. She admits that while she has a lot of fun with her dad, it's tiring to go visit him. He crams so much stuff into a weekend, and Stacey admits that she's been more tired than usual. When she gets home, she pretty much just passes out, and spends all of Monday running late and feeling behind.

When Stacey gets to the meeting, she can't wait to tell her friends about her weekend in NYC. However, everyone's quickly distracted by neighbourhood news: some developer is tearing down one of the oldest houses in town to develop a series of condos. Stacey can't really figure out what the big deal is, but she's soon distracted by a phone call from Dr Johanssen: she and Mr Johanssen have to leave town for a week to help her father mend from hip surgery, and she was wondering if either Jessi or her would be able to house Charlotte. Jessi's family is headed to New Jersey for the weekend, so it's down to Stacey and Mrs McGill.

Stacey is thrilled. She's always wanted a little sister, and she loves Charlotte like one. She spends the rest of the week getting the guest room all set for Charlotte. Stacey expects it to be a lot of fun, Charlotte's more homesick and worried about her grandfather. Stacey decides to distract her by taking a walk past the old house that's about to be torn down. Even though it's only 4 pm, the workers have all left, leaving the place abandoned and spooky. While they're there, Stacey sees a face in one of the bedroom windows, while Charlotte hears some strange noises. When they both see a swarm of flies come out of the house, they decide to hightail it out of there.

Shortly after, while Kristy's baby-sitting for her siblings, she decides to check out Watson's old library to see if she can find any information about the house. In one of the books, she finds an old map of Stoneybrook, and all signs point to the fact that the old house was built on top of an ancient burial ground. The next day, she heads to Stacey's place with the books for her and Charlotte and Stacey to peruse.

Claudia takes the Perkins girls to the library for story hour. While the girls are busy, Claudia starts looking into the archives, trying to find out who owns the house. Eventually she comes up with a name, and through checking the phonebook, she discovers that the owner is actually still alive and living in Stoneybrook, albeit at the old folks' home. Claudia shares this news at the Club meeting, and it's decided that Stacey, Kristy, Claudia and Charlotte will go visit Mr Ronald Hennessy.

Before they go though, Stacey and Charlotte visit the house yet again. There, Stacey swears she sees a fire, but before she can put it out, it's gone. That night, she and Charlotte have horrible dreams, and the rest of the girls share their own stories of strange encounters at the house. Stacey is now convinced more than ever that the house is haunted.

Their fears are not assuaged by their visit to Mr Hennessy. Although initially surprised at so many visitors, Mr Hennessy soon opens up with stories from his lifetime of weird things happening at the house. Stacey and Kristy aren't too sure what to believe, but it does jive with what they'd heard and seen.

The next day, the house is torn down. Charlie and Sam Thomas stop to talk to some workers, and soon solve the mystery: one of the workers had stayed late the day Stacey saw the face in the window. The weird noises was from wind blowing through exposed pipes. The swarm of flies was really a swarm of hornets, their nest having been disturbed at the deconstruction. However, nothing can explain the fire Stacey thought she saw. In fact, after the house is torn down, Stacey swears she sees the ruins on fire, but no one else reacts! Determined to get to the bottom of things, Stacey quickly heads back to visit Mr Hennessy.

Sadly, it turns out that Mr Hennessy had passed away since their visit. He left her a note though, admitting to having made up all those stories. He hadn't had visitors in such a long time, and knew his life was drawing to a close. He just wanted to have a bit of fun and got so much joy and pleasure out of seeing the girls hang on to his every word. However, that still doesn't explain the fire Stacey saw. Stacey decides that it's probably best to keep that to herself, and the Club considers the mystery solved.

There really isn't a subplot in this one. Like I said, Stacey and her mom are looking after Charlotte for the week, and Charlotte's really homesick and worried about her grandpa. At least, that's all the McGills think it is at first. Eventually, Charlotte comes down with a fever and it's discovered that she has tonsillitis! She has take penicillin for a few days and miss a day of school, but soon she bounces back. She's still horribly homesick though, and while the mystery of the house helps to take her mind off of it, it also scares the shit out of her, so really she's a bit of a mess throughout the book.

Random Thoughts:

• Apparently this one was originally going to be called Stacey and the New Kids on the Block. It was advertised as that in the back of my copy of SS #3 and a few others. Does anyone know the story behind this? I know that it was originally going to be about foster kids. And then #33 was going to be this. Anyone know why they changed it?
• This is our first book to be ghostwritten by Ellen Miles
• I love that this mystery house is on Elm Street. Do they ever mention Stacey living on Elm Street again? Fuck, I wish I still had my copy of  The Complete Guide to the Baby-sitters Club haha
• There are a lot of continuity moments in this book:
• Stacey is surprised at how much Charlotte cries when her parents leave her. After all, she had spent two weeks away from them at summer camp, and had survived.
• Stacey mentions her massive crush on Scott from Sea City
• Stacey also mentions how big of a help Charlotte was on solving the mystery at her house
• Stacey mentions that even though her mom didn't work before, since the divorce happened, she wanted a job. Wanted? More like, needed, right?? I mean, I know Mr McGill is paying child support, but I should hope that whatever he is paying is not enough for Mrs McGill and Stacey to live comfortably in a house together without any additional income. Mr McGill should not be obligated to support Mrs McGill
• Stacey mentions having her diabetes being harder to control than usual, but she seems alright otherwise.
• Claudia takes the Perkin girls to the library for story hour, while she reads up on old Stoneybrook. At the story hour, one of the books they read is The Little House. Stacey makes such a big deal out of this book that I knew it had to be real. Turns out it's a bit of a critique on urban sprawl, which is essentially what is happening to the old house in Stoneybrook.
• Why would the Johanssens ask the girls if they could watch Charlotte? Why wouldn't they just call up either Mr and Mrs Ramsey, or Mrs McGill, and asked the adults first? Haha oh well
• I feel like we don't hear about Jessi's family in New Jersey nearly often enough, considering Jessi says that they were really close before they moved. I also find it curious that the next regular book in the series is the one where Aunt Cecelia comes to join the family.
• If I know anything about contractors, it's that they start at like, 7am, but then leave at like, 3pm haha

BSC #15: Little Miss Stoneybrooke... and Dawn

Front Cover: Everybody in Stoneybrook has gone beauty-pageant crazy!

Back Cover: Dawn's a little jealous when there's a formal ceremony to welcome Jessi and Mallory into the Baby-sitters Club. Don't people know that Dawn's a special baby-sitter, too?

Then it's Dawn's turn to shine. Mrs Pike wants Dawn to help prepare Margo and Claire for the Little Miss Stoneybrookcontest. So what if Margo's only talent is peeling a banana with her feet? Dawn's going to help her charges win that contest any way she can.

The only trouble is... Kristy, Mary Anne, and Claudia are helping Karen, Myriah, and Charlotte enter the contest, too. And nobody's sure where the competition is fiercer: at the pageant - or at the Baby-sitters Club!

Although we never hear about Jessi's test baby-sitting job, it's assumed to have gone well because this book starts off with Mallory and Jessi being officially inducted into the BSC. Dawn is jealous because she didn't get a fancy ceremony, just a pizza toast. Further compounding Dawn's feelings of inadequacy is a special call that comes in from the Johanssen's, requesting that Claudia baby-sit for Charlotte, since Claudia was closest to Stacey and still calls Stacey all the time. Dawn isn't the only one feeling a little inadequate after that, it seems.

Dawn's feeling pretty down about stuff, including her home life and Jeff (more about that in a bit), so she goes to the next meeting early, where she learns about the Little Miss Stoneybrook beauty pageant that's being held. At first, all the girls in the club are in agreement that pageants are sexist, but Dawn's convinced that it could be fun to participate and dress-up. Kristy surprisingly agrees, and the rest of the girls concede that although sexist, they could see why a little girl might be into it. Jessi and Mallory remain firmly against the idea though. Which is ironic, because the next thing the girls know, Mrs Pike is calling requesting if Dawn would help them prepare for the pageant. Mrs Pike just started a new project at the library, and doesn't have the time for the additional prep and patience it would take to prepare two girls (Claire and Margo) for the pageant. She asks if Dawn will do it, because Dawn lives the closest and would be the most accessible. Dawn says yes, pleased that she finally has her own special job. The other 3 older girls are not pleased. Jessi and Mallory are too surprisingly too mature for such shenanigans.

Soon, the other girls start finding their own charges to prepare. Kristy, in an effort to cheer up Karen, mentions the pageant, and Karen's imagination runs away with her and is dead-set on being in it. Mary Anne sits for Myriah and Gabbie Perkins, sees Myriah fooling around, dancing and singing, and dressing up, and mentions the pagaent to her, since Myriah is actually talented and has taken all sorts of lessons. Lastly, Claudia cons Charlotte into entering. So it soon becomes a contest between each girl, with each one trying to prove that they're the best sitter. Because obviously, your child winning a pageant means you're the best baby-sitter.

Right away, it's a loss cause. Claire and Margo, although really excited, have no talent. It's decided that Claire is will "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", and try to make it interesting, while Margo will peel a banana with her feet and then recite "This Is the House That Jack Built". Karen has even less talent, but infinitely more enthusiasm, and decides that she's going to sing "The Wheels on the Bus", but drag it out to infinity by adding all sorts of made-up verses, such as "The people on the bus are tired and hot!" and "The dog in the carrier says Let me out!". Charlotte knows she doesn't have talent, and the only thing she enjoys is reading, so it's decided that she'll do a dramatic reading of the blueberry scene from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Myriah is the only one who should actually entering such a contest, and she decides to sing "On the Good Ship Lollipop" while tap-dancing.

The girls soon start to get downright nasty in their competition, taking all the fun out for the little girls. The little girls are rightfully confused when all they want to do is tell their friends what they're doing, but the girls drag them away and pit them against each other. Things start to get serious, as the girls prep their charges and coach them on what to say, instead of letting them go with their instincts. Luckily, the pageant is being held soon, or else I'm sure an all-out war would have started.

The day of the pageant, things start off tense for the girls. But as things go on, and the girls realize how woefully unprepared their charges are, they start to loosen up. Besides, they're faced with Sabrina Bouvier, who is stereotypical contestant, who's been trained in the art of beauty pageanting. When the girls see how manicured and manufactured Sabrina is, and how much of a stage-mother her mom is, the girls realize how silly they were trying to take the contest so seriously, and how sad Sabrina's life must be.

The pageant goes about as well as can be expected. Claire is adorable but a joke. Her answer to "What do you hope for most of all?" was "Santa. I hope he's real." Margo probably suffers more because she isn't as adorable. Sabrina Bouvier used up the world peace answer right before her, so when she gets her question, "What do you most wish to happen in the year 2010?", she freezes and then gets escorted off stage without answering. Karen has a moral dilemma when asked, "If your house was on fire, what three things would you rescue?" and struggles with her real answer and the "right answer" as coached by Kristy, and eventually settles for her real answer, which is, "I'd rescue Moosie my stuffed cat, and Tickly my blanket, and as many toys as I could carry. Oh, could I rescue a fourth thing? If I could, it would be my brother Andrew. Or maybe my pen that writes in three colours." Charlotte never makes it to the question portion of the pageant, because she completely froze up during the talent portion and ran off the stage in tears. Myriah has the best answer to her question, "If you could change one thing about this world, what would it be?" "It would be wars. I would stop them. I would say to the people who were making the wars, 'Now you stop that. You setlle this problem yourselves like grown-ups. Our children want peace.' That's what I'd change."

In the end, first place goes to Sabrina Bouvier (who sang a horrible rendition of "Moon River", but did it smiling and covered in make-up), and third place goes to some girl we don't know. Myriah wins second place though, which is a shopping spree at the toy store, so that's pretty awesome. The other little girls are devastated and the girls feel bad that they didn't prep their charges in case of loss. In an awesome moment of parenting (which rarely seems to happen in these books), the parents all tell the little girls how winning isn't everything, and how proud they are of them for having just entered.

The girls debrief at their next meeting, each of them admitting that they only entered the contest and used their charges to prove what an awesome baby-sitter they were. They all reflect on how terrible they are, and how they shouldn't do that kind of thing again, because they are all great baby-sitters, and they don't need to prove anything to anyone.

The ongoing subplot with Jeff finally wraps up in this one: Jeff asks if he can return to California and makes a serious case for it. After many phone calls, his mom arranges it for him to go back for 6 months as a trial period. Dawn is furious of course, but eventually decides that it's better to let him go. He ends up leaving the night before the pageant.

Random Thoughts:

• I remember reading this book. A lot. This is definitely one of the ones I owned when I was younger and read and re-read a million times. I have no idea why I did. But I just did haha
• Mallory is still described as having dark hair. Not a red-head yet! I'm still keeping an eye out for that.
• On the back of my copy, it says "Jessica Ramsey" under the list of experienced baby-sitters.
• Even though it's Dawn narrating, Karen Brewer is described as being "funny, daring, imaginative and outspoken", citing "who wouldn't love her?" Karen mildly exasperates all the baby-sitters, especially Dawn. Interestingly, the next book published in the entire Baby-sittersverse is the start of the first spin-off series, Baby-Sitters Little Sister, which follows Karen's adventures. I actually own the first book in the series, since it came in a whole pile of BSC books that I mass-purchased last year, so yep, that's going to be next.
• I like how Mallory and Jessi are way more level-headed than the rest of the girls, being like, "Pageants are sexist and stupid." I somewhat agree. I think constantly entering your child into serious hardcore beauty pageants, where their whole life is nothing but preparing for the next one and being groomed and manicured and manufactured, is bad and detrimental to their mental health and self. However, it's obvious that the contest held in Stoneybrook is in no way that hardcore. I highly doubt any of the parents or kids would have been seriously affected if they had won. It was clear that the parents didn't care and just thought it was a great opportunity for the girls to dress-up and have fun. It was interesting that it was the Club that got all crazy and hardcore, pushing the kids.
• I also love that Jessi and Mallory don't get all petty and jealous over jobs and over who's the best baby-sitter. They don't seem crazy and cultish like the older girls do. Although, I suppose only time will tell if that'll last. 
• The descriptions of Dawn's family foods always makes me hungry. I always want to eat more healthy, but I don't know where to begin. I totes need to remember to start buying brown rice.
• Why the fuck would a professional beauty pageant contestant like Sabrina Bouvier be entered in such a small regional qualifier such as Little Miss Stoneybrook? It's clear that she's been trained and educated as a serious contestant by her mom. You'd think that this was too small potatoes for her. The only thing I can think of is that her mom knew that this one would be a joke and thus an easy win, and who says no to another crown?
• This book is how I discovered the song "Moon River", and to this day, I can't hear the song or the title without thinking of this book.
• I love how in this book, the girls are in the wrong, and the parents are responsible people. Usually it's portrayed that the parents are useless and that it takes the girls to fix anything and get anything done, and that they know what's best haha