BSC #51: Stacey's Ex-Best Friend

Tagline: Is Stacey's friend Laine super mature or just a super snob?

Stacey can't wait! Her best friend from New York, Laine Cummings, is coming to Stoneybrook for a whole week. Laine can spend a day at SMS, attend club meetings, and maybe even go to the Valentine's Dance.

But the minute Laine arrives, things don't go as planned. Laine thinks Stacey's sleepover with her friends is so childish. And she can't believe Stacey's still into baby-sitting. Laine's used to hanging out at high school parties. She even has a fifteen-year-old boyfriend!

Stacey doesn't want to lose her childhood friend. But Laine's growing up way too fast for Stacey. Is this the end of their friendship?

The book starts off with Stacey having a cozy winter day indoors. She reflects that since moving to the country, she likes snow and the quiet. As she's doing homework, Laine calls and tells Stacey that she has a week-long break coming up from school. Stacey gets super excited, and invites Laine to stay with her in Stoneybrook. Laine isn't too sure though, but eventually agrees to it. Stacey is super excited and tells all her friends. She plans a sleepover for Laine's first evening. Before Laine comes over, Stacey tidies up her bedroom, hiding anything that she thinks Laine will think is lame. Apparently lately Laine has been saying comments and calling Stacey by her full name, trying to sound more grown-up. Stacey doesn't think too much of it though, and leaves for the train station super excited.

Stacey spots Laine right away wearing a very chic outfit. Stacey is thrilled, but Laine is less than impressed. She wants to know where the town is! Stacey explains that they'll drive through it on the way home to the party Stacey's throwing, which causes Laine to perk up. However, after they drive through Stoneybrook, Laine is still confused, wondering how she could have missed the entire town. Stacey points out the library and the pizza parlour, but Laine wants to know what everyone does for entertainment. Stacey deadpans that they go to New York haha

Laine and Stacey briefly catch-up before the party. Laine tells Stacey all about her new boyfriend King, who is 15 years old and in high school. His hair is long and black, with purple tips, that he wears all spiked up and bushy. When Laine questions why Stacey doesn't have a boyfriend, Stacey says she's waiting for the right guy, which sets Laine off. They quickly put aside their differences though as the girls arrive.

It's clear that when Stacey said "party", Laine figured she meant something loud with boys and girls. The sleepover is definitely not impressing her. The girls are all having fun goofing with make-up and hair stuff, gossiping about boys. Laine keeps putting everyone and everything down, saying that all 13 year old boys are lame, she's on a diet (so no binging on junk foods), and making fun of their slang (Dawn says "dude"). Stacey then gets the bright idea to find Laine a date for the dance next Friday. Laine isn't sure she wants to go: after all, 13 year old boys are dumb and she wants to make sure King is okay with it. But when Stacey points out that Laine has nothing else to do on Friday, Laine is quick to remind them that they are lame. Luckily before things can spiral out of control, they find a movie to watch that even Laine likes.

Laine spends Monday being bored out of her mind while Stacey's in school, so Stacey gets permission for Laine to shadow her for the day. After Stacey explains that she misses having Laine be a regular part of her life, Laine goes for it. However, the day is less than successful. First, Laine makes fun of Stacey and Mallory for how they coordinate walking to school (white towel means Mal wants to walk with them, red means she's looking after her siblings), making Stacey feel embarrassed. Once at school, Laine questions all the school rules, such as them not being able to leave the building during school hours and only one student allowed to the bathroom at a time. Stacey's relieved once it's lunch time, because there are no rules (except for not being able to leave the building), so she figures there's nothing for Laine to critique. Stacey has even arranged it so that a bunch of her non-BSC friends sit with them, giving Laine variety. Among them are Pete Black, Rick Chow and Austin Bentley, which Stacey thinks Laine will like, since they're boys. However, it's clear that Laine thinks they're immature (they spend lunchtime building molecules out of pretzel sticks and prunes), while Pete spends the whole time crushing on Laine.

That night, Stacey and Laine talk about their day, more specifically Pete. Stacey thinks it would be awesome if Pete and Laine went to the dance together, but Laine is all embarrassed, saying that Pete is immature and what would people think? Stacey points out that the only people who would see them would be everyone who already likes Pete and actually thinks he's cool, and that besides, it'd just be for fun. Laine decides to call King first, and shoos Stacey out of the room. Stacey's a bit hurt, but figures whatever. However, when Pete calls to ask Laine out, Laine asks Stacey to stay, before kicking her out again to call King back. While in her bedroom, Stacey overhears snippets of Laine's conversation. Laine makes fun of Pete, and goes on about how "childish" something is. Stacey assumes that Laine is talking about their baby-sitting clients, but it's pretty clear to us readers that Laine is talking about Stacey and her friends. Even so, Stacey starts to feel like something weird is going on between her and Laine, and she doesn't know what to do.

Stacey decides to double-down on making Laine a part of her life, and brings her to the Club meeting on Wednesday. There, the girls all discuss the Valentine's Day Masquerade they're organizing for their clients. They speculate who has a crush on who, and think it's all very cute. Except for Laine. She thinks it's lame. She also wonders if any of the girls plan on getting real jobs for the summer. You see, Laine has a summer job lined up at an accessories store, so she'll be receiving a real paycheque. Stacey now realizes that her and Laine are living in completely different worlds.

Finally it's Friday, the day of the dance and Laine's last full day. Stacey isn't excited about Laine going home soon, but she's somewhat relieved. Still, she's going to give their friendship one last solid try and make the most of their time together. She rushes home to find Laine reading a large book, about an 18 year old who travels and falls in love; when asked what she's currently reading, Stacey is embarrassed to admit that she's reading Black Beauty. Stacey wants Laine's help in getting ready for the dance, but Laine doesn't seem interested. She's too busy thinking about her book and King; besides, it's just a stupid Valentine's Day dance and doesn't really count. Once Stacey picks her outfit (with no help from Laine, other than "it's lame to wear red specifically because it's Valentine's Day"), she tries to engage Laine in some popcorn and gossip, like the good ol' days, but Laine's on a diet and has just finished doing her nails (after making fun of where Stacey got the nail polish). Finally Stacey gives up, and they get to go to the dance.

Laine puts on a great outfit, and Stacey's mom tells them that they look like they're 15; Laine adds that usually she gets mistaken for 18. Despite the fact that Laine is wearing earrings that Stacey gave her (which warms Stacey's heart), Laine quickly takes back any goodwill by appearing horrified that they were meeting the guys at the school; didn't Stacey know that the boys were supposed to pick them up in their own cars? Stacey points out that the boys can't drive... and neither can King for that matter! When they get to the school, Laine is mortified that Kristy greets them with a "yo guys!" That quickly gets overshadowed by Pete's arrival though. Even though Pete's wearing a suit, he's still wearing his trademark converse sneakers, which of course Laine notices and judges him for. Then the poor guy is so nervous, he can't get the corsage he bought on Laine's wrist, and ends up dropping it, only for it to be trampled in the crowd! Laine doesn't care though, and acts dismissive of everything. She makes fun of the décor (to be fair, so did Logan, as it was quite pink, but Laine was definitely much more mean-spirited) and the fact that there isn't a live band playing (there will be, but while they set up, it's just a tape playing). The night doesn't get any better, as Laine insults all sixth-graders (one spilled a drink near her, not on her), insults the band, and then insults the food (heart-shaped cookies and punch are for kindergarten). The final straw comes when Pete asks Laine to slow-dance: she turns him down saying she was tired, only to immediately accept an invitation from some other guy (to Kristy and Claud's delight, a seventh grader!). Stacey has had enough.

She pulls Laine aside to tell Laine how rude she's been. Laine pretends that she doesn't know what Stacey is talking about, so Stacey starts laying everything out on the table. Laine interrupts, saying that she wants to go home. To New York. Immediately. So Stacey calls her mom, which prompts more fighting and arguing from Laine. On the way home, Stacey's mom tries to get the girls to talk, but this just causes more fighting. Finally, Laine reiterates the fact that she wants to go home to New York, so Mrs McGill calls Laine's mom. They get into a brief tiff over their daughters, but arrange for Laine to go home that night.

Stacey spends the rest of the weekend calling all her friends and apologizing for Laine. She also worries that because her friendship with Laine is over, things are over between Mrs McGill and Mrs Cummings; Mrs McGill reassures Stacey that everything is fine. Stacey still feels unresolved though. She spends a lot of time reflecting on her week with Laine, and their 8 years of frienship. Finally, with the help of Claudia, Stacey sees who her real best friend is, and writes Laine a letter, saying goodbye.

The subplot in this one is the Valentine's Day Masquerade that the Club decides to organize for their clients. The girls get excited planning decorations and activities for the kids, while the kids get excited to make Valentines for everyone. Nicky Pike has a crush on a girl in a younger grade. James and Matthew Hobart want to get all dressed up and bring carnations, and James even has a girl he wants to invite. Marilyn and Carolyn are also very excited: Marilyn likes a boy, and Carolyn says she likes a boy in an older grade. Eventually, the sitters deduce that Nicky and Carolyn like each other, and are super excited to see this go down at the Masquerade. However, they soon discover that Nicky likes Marilyn... he just keeps calling her Carolyn. Luckily for him, Marilyn likes him too. Carolyn and James on the other hand, are a perfect match haha

Random Thoughts:

• I think I've only read this one once or twice. I definitely have read it. I remember liking it a lot. But I also remember that it wasn't one of the ones I owned.
• I never understood why Stacey would think it was a good idea for Laine to come up for the whole week, when Stacey was still in school. Visiting someone else's school is definitely cool and fun and novel, especially compared to your own school... but it's still not as fun as vacation! Laine totally should have arrived Wednesday afternoon, attended school with Stacey Thursday during the day, and then Stacey could have taken Friday off and she and Laine could have had a long visit Friday and Saturday, and then Laine could have gone back home Sunday afternoon. I mean, I get that Stacey and Laine have been drifting apart and that they would have eventually had a falling out regardless, but it just seems like a waste of a vacation and a terrible idea to spend an entire week at school/alone at someone else's house.
• The girls are way too excited to watch To Kill a Mockingbird. The only 13 year olds who are excited to watch that movie are the ones who skipped a grade and find themselves in grade 9 studying it, and they're only excited because watching movies is better than reading books haha I like that movie and genuinely get excited when it comes time to show it in class, but even I wouldn't be revved up for it on a Friday night haha
• It's weird that we've had two books in a row where characters have had winter breaks and come up to visit the girls!
• We learn in this one that Mrs McGill and Mrs Cummings have been friends since college. That's crazy! I had always thought they met because of Laine and Stacey. Now I want to know more about them haha
• If I were Marilyn Arnold, I would be super pissed that Nicky didn't know me from my twin and had my name wrong. Especially now that they dress completely differently and have completely unique and individual styles. Nicky clearly knew them apart in terms of appearance and personality! It'd be no different than someone calling me "Callie" or "Casey" or "Kelsey" or something that was not my name. I mean, it'd be whatever if it was someone who didn't know me very well, but from someone confessing that they liked me? No way! Not even at age 8! haha
• James and Matthew Hobart's reaction to the Valentine's Masquerade just reinforces my idea that Australian boys are best haha even though I know that there are plenty out there who are rude and crude!
• Stacey and Mallory's towel code makes sense in a time where texting doesn't exist. Even though a quick phone call wouldn't take that long, there's always the fact that you have to wait for someone to answer, and what if someone was busy or in the shower, and didn't answer in time? Then you'd have to leave a message, or call back later, etc etc. The towel code is quick and easy: Mallory can throw correct colour up whenever she knows what the plan is for the morning, and Stacey can just look out the window whenever and see it. She can do this while making breakfast, brushing her teeth, packing her bag... all sorts of things that would be difficult to do while on the phone (especially since it doesn't sound like cordless phones were all that prevalent just yet). Of course, nowadays the girls would just send each other a quick text.
• Who the fuck would ever hire Laine for a real job? Except for maybe a paper route?? She's only 13! Is this a '80s thing, or is this a BSC-thing? Because yeah, the girls are always getting real jobs, and it's super weird. Here, most places need you to be 16 before hiring, and your options even then are fairly limited. 
• Laine's book sounds like a Danielle Steel novel haha I remember in grade 7, one of the grade 8s on my bus reading those novels, and thinking 1) damn, she's so grown up and 2) that book sounds really boring and not my style haha
• Do we ever hear about Laine again?

Baby Sitters Little Sister #15: Karen's in Love

Tagline: Karen and Ricky sitting in tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Karen + Ricky = Love

At first, Karen and Ricky were enemies. But now they like each other. They are even going to get married.

Only now Karen and Ricky are in a big fight! First Karen puts gum in Ricky's desk. Then Ricky calls Karen Four-eyes.

Will Karen and Ricky make up... or break up?

Karen gets home from school one day, and is excited to see that she got mail. Opening it, she's dismayed to see that it's a birthday invitation to Pamela Harding's birthday party. Pamela is her enemy! Karen calls up Nancy and Hannie, and discovers that they too received invitations. They decide that since they're going to be forced by their parents to the party, they would just get her really yucky gifts that she won't like, or baby things. When they get to school, they find out that Pamela was forced by her parents to invite the entire class. Ricky decides that he'll give Pamela a snake (rubber or alive).

However, come the day of the party, Karen is disappointed to see that everyone got dressed up and got Pamela nice presents. Even worse, Ricky got Pamela something really cool: purple suspenders. Plus he's nice to her at the party. Karen feels bad because Pamela gives out really awesome goody-bags that even include an actual 1$ bill, while the bracelets she gave Pamela are worth only about that. Overall, the party is a failure.

The next day, Karen is still mad at Ricky, and decides to stop talking to him. Since she's ignoring him, Ricky decides to be partners with Pamela that day. This prompts Karen to write Ricky a mean note, which he then turns into a spitball to throw at Karen. This goes on for awhile. Ricky and Karen keep doing stuff to each other, and soon the whole class is taking sides (girls with Karen, boys with Ricky, with Pamela and her friends siding with Ricky). This upsets Karen because up until now, she and Ricky had been planning on getting pretend-married, and obviously now they won't.

So all in all, Karen's having a miserable week. She wants to stop fighting with Ricky, but can't figure out how. Soon, it's Valentine's Day. Karen's made Ricky a super-big elaborate Valentine's Day card. She can't wait to see if he gave her something, but unfortunately, she has to go through the entire day first. Her mom and Seth have a special red and pink Valentine's Day breakfast. Upon arriving at school, Karen's the first one in the classroom, and quickly delivers Ricky's special card before anyone else arrives. Then she's on pins and needles til the afternoon.

When she opens up all of her Valentines, she's sad to see that there isn't one from Ricky. She's just about to fall into a pit of despair, when she looks over and sees that Ricky's opening the card from her. He gets a funny expression on his face, but then reaches into his desk and pulls out a big card for Karen. It reinstates the fact that he wants to pretend-marry her, and that they're no longer mad and fighting. Karen decides that they should get married at school on Monday, and goes around to tell everyone. Her friends are all happy for her, except for Natalie Springer, who is sad about having received so few Valentines.

Karen spends the weekend at the big house, planning her wedding with Hannie. Upon discussing a few things with Ricky on the phone, Karen finally figures out something nice to do for Natalie: she asks Natalie to play the music for the wedding. Natalie's been taking violin lessons, and can only play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", but that's okay. Everyone agrees to get all dressed up and the wedding is a go.

Come Monday, Pamela and her friends tease Karen a bit, but for the most part everything goes well. Everyone shows up wearing their nice clothes, Natalie plays for the wedding and Audrey officiates. When it comes time to exchange rings, Ricky's embarrassed to admit that he doesn't have one. He does, but he forgot it at home. Karen says it's okay and bails him out with her plastic spider ring. Everyone chants for Ricky to kiss Karen, but they get all embarrassed. Bobby, Ricky's best friend, deflects from the situation and kisses Pamela on the cheek. Pamela freaks out, and with everyone's attention diverted, Ricky kisses Karen on the cheek and she deems it love.

When they get back inside, Ricky realizes that the ring was inside his desk the whole time. It's gold with a blue stone. He puts it on her finger, and Karen considers them to be officially married. She briefly contemplates changing her name, but decides that she's Karen Brewer forever.

Random Thoughts:

• This book takes place simultaneously with BSC #41. This book has 20 chapters. The first 10 take place before Kristy baby-sits in #41 (Karen references these events in that book), but then the last 10 chapters take place after.
• It was really irresponsible of Karen's mom to let Karen buy a birthday present for little more than a dollar. If Karen had thought things through, she would've gotten a more reasonably priced present, but something so out of style for Pamela, like a lame baby doll, or a toy truck (she could tell her mom that Pamela was a tomboy).
• Karen's dumb (but only 7 years old) to get mad at her friends. Obviously their parents would make them attend the party and bring decent presents.
• Pamela is obviously a rich bitch, but I'd be interested in seeing her from someone else's perspective. After all, Karen's rich too. In fact, aren't a lot of her classmates well-off? Stoneybrook Academy is a private school. But yeah, I can totally see Karen having a huge elaborate themed birthday party with hired entertainment, just like Pamela did.
• I don't remember why Ricky and Karen were enemies, and what changed between them. Is it bad that I'm kinda curious and wish I had some of the other Little Sister books?? >_< haha
• I totes don't remember Hannie getting pretend-married before Karen. In fact, I don't remember her being pretend-married at all, but that's probably because her pretend-husband goes to a different school. Her pretend-husband? Scott Hsu, who has been mentioned a couple of times in passing Kristy books, since he lives in the neighbourhood. I believe his brother is Timmy. I want to know more about these Hsu boys (are they Asian? I totes think they're Asian!)

BSC #41: Mary Anne vs Logan

Tagline:The Baby-sitters thought Mary Anne and Logan would be together forever...

Lately, Mary Anne's been feeling like she and Logan are spending too much time together. They fight over silly things. And Mary Anne never gets to do what she wants to - like read, and baby-sit, and be with her friends.

But when Mary Anne suggests that she and Logan see less of each other, Logan takes it all the wrong way.

Could this really be the end of Mary Anne and Logan?

Our story opens with Mary Anne getting read for a job at the Prezziosos. Just as she's about to head out the door, Logan calls her, wanting to go out with her. When MA tells him that she's got a sitting a job, he tells her to just get Dawn to cover. MA says no, which causes Logan to try to guilt-trip her into wanting to see him. MA puts her foot down, and heads off to her job. There, Logan calls several times, just to see if MA could leave early and/or somehow see him. Finally, Logan simply asks when MA is free. When she answers him, he makes plans for a date that night, not even asking for MA's input, and then hangs up the phone. This leaves MA feeling confused about her relationship with Logan, and wanting to have more of an identity.

That weekend, MA has a day off. It's Saturday, she has no homework, no plans, nothing that's demanding her attention. Dawn and Sharon are out of the house, and Richard is in his office doing work. MA sighs with relief, looking forward to a nice relaxing day with a book and her fireplace. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. It's Logan, and he wants to take MA out for a day in the snow. MA hesitates, but Logan tugs on her heartstrings, citing that it'd be romantic and that he has the whole day planned out. They start by going ice-skating. MA starts to enjoy herself, but after awhile, gets too cold and wants to stop. Luckily for her, Logan agrees, and without another word, he whisks her off to his next planned activity. He spots some kids building a snowman, and drags MA over to help them out. MA's not getting any warmer, and is starting to seriously feel miserable. Logan's too busy to notice, and once the snowman is done, shuttles MA onward, further into the park. MA speaks up about feeling cold, so Logan buys her a hot chocolate. It helps, but quickly MA gets cold again. Logan dismisses her feelings, saying that she can't possibly be cold because he isn't cold! He wants to take MA out on the ice again for more ice skating. Finally, enough is enough: MA insists on going home, and so Logan takes her back, all in a huff.

A week later, MA comes home early from a date with Logan. They were supposed to go out for dinner and a movie. They did go out for dinner, where Logan ordered for both himself and MA. He orders MA's usual, which was not what MA had wanted that night, and the waiter leaves without letting MA have any input. MA's annoyed, but not willing to put up a fuss. However, after dinner, Logan and MA can't agree on a movie. Logan wants to see Halloween Pt 3 and MA wants to the Music Man. They can't agree, so finally MA asks to be taken home. Anyways, upon returning, MA and Richard have a talk. Richard's concerned because MA seems tired and not herself, getting an unusually low grade on a test. He thinks she should limit the time she spends with Logan. MA agrees. MA calls up Logan and asks him to cool their relationship for a few weeks. She doesn't want to break up, but she needs some time and space to think.

Upon returning to school, MA's depressed to see that Logan is ignoring her. She wanted to see him less, not cut him out of her life altogether. She spends the week crying and being down, before finally confessing to her friends that she maybe sorta apparently broke up with Logan. At their Club meeting, Logan calls, asking for MA to baby-sit his siblings, since they were missing her. The catch: he needs her to baby-sit on Valentine's Day, because he'll be busy. MA bravely accepts.

In the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, Logan keeps his distance. MA starts going crazy, thinking about how he plans for the night. She starts imagining him going out with a new girl, a girl with an exotic name like Olivia, who is outgoing and essentially the exact opposite of MA. MA thinks about this so much, she starts to think Olivia is real, leading MA to actually mention her to the other girls. MA runs out of the meeting all embarrassed and confused.

That night, she heads to Logan's to baby-sit. There, Logan greets her in a tux, and she's even more hurt. Then Logan reveals that it was all just a ruse, and that he planned a romantic dinner for him and her together. MA reminds him that she wanted to cool things off between them, and Logan said that that was what he did: it's now time to heat things back up again. He gives her all these presents, and MA leaves feeling more confused.

Eventually MA realizes that while people can fight and not always agree, it's important that they try to learn from the fights and to be understanding. MA doesn't like that Logan planned a surprise for her (she hates surprises) and worse, she hates that he didn't talk to her at all about starting their relationship up again. In fact, he didn't talk to her at all about her feelings about anything over the course of the book. MA decides that enough is enough: she breaks up with Logan once and for all.

The subplot in this one is Jenny Prezzioso. Mrs Prezzioso is finally about to give birth, and Jenny is not pleased. She's used to being an only child, and resents how the baby will need so much attention. She acts super-bratty, but completely understandable throughout the entire book. The girls keep trying to convince Jenny that the baby will not be the end of the world, that her parents will still make time for her. Jenny's having none of it. Mr P asks for the girls to help him plan a surprise baby shower for Mrs P, and everything goes off without a hitch. Finally, Mrs P gives birth, and it's a baby girl named Andrea. When they bring her home, Jenny is so excited, that she forgets that she ever hated or dreaded her baby sister coming.

Oh, and there's a chapter of Kristy baby-sitting for her siblings, which of course includes Karen. Here, we learn that Karen is having a fight with her pretend-boyfriend Ricky. They were supposed to get pretend-married, but now she's not so sure...

Surprise: we'll find out in my next entry, because I happen to own Little Sister #15 Karen's in Love! haha

Random Thoughts:

• I have no idea why, but this was definitely one of my favourites as a child. I remember reading this one over and over and over again (like, not in a row, but just a lot). As an adult, I definitely still like it. I can relate to MA wanting time to herself. I would be super pissed if I was looking forward to a day off, and someone (whether it be my boyfriend or my friends) just showed up randomly on my doorstep being like, "HEY! I PLANNED A WHOLE AFTERNOON TOGETHER! LET'S GO!"
• I get that Jenny is young, and most likely misinterpreted her parents, and that her parents are super-stressed and excited for the new baby, but... I really feel bad for Jenny. Her parents should have totally handled her better. They get her a life-sized doll to show Jenny how to care for a baby, in order to help her understand her new sister and prepare her for it. But unless Jenny is exaggerating (and knowing what we know of Mrs P, probably not), they make her practice every single day. Poor Jenny is under the impression that she'll have to take care of this baby! They really needed to sit her down and talk to her some more and reassure her.
• If I lived with someone who did the exact same job as me (we worked retail together, or baby-sat, or whatever), depending on how much I needed the money, there's a pretty good chance I would ask to switch. As a general rule, I prefer not to work. However, MA is in no way obligated to do that, and I would most certainly be upset and incredulous at someone insisting that I do it.
• As someone who gets cold very easily, I sympathise with MA. I love ice skating, but eventually my toes get too cold as well
• I always love it when the books reference real movies and real books. I don't know if AMM meant for Logan to reference a real movie though. Halloween Pt 3 came out in October 1982. Logan mentions it had been out for "awhile", so it's somewhat maybe slightly plausible that it would still be playing in January... however this book came out in 1991, not 1982. Does that mean the story is taking place in 1982?? The first book in the series (back when the girls were in grade 7 and time was passing normally) didn't even come out until 1986. It's not like Music Man, which MA states is playing at the "oldies theatre".