Stacey and the Bad Girls (RS#87)

Original Publication Date: 1995

Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis

Synopsis:

With school out for the summer and no BSC, Stacey has a lot of free time. She mostly spends it hanging out with her friends until her mom suggests Stacey get a job. She's soon employed at a mall childcare center. Stacey still has time for her friends though. They often meet her at the mall, sometimes using her employee discount. But then they return the (expensive) items for full price...And when the group goes to a rock concert, Stacey's new friends sneak in alcohol. It's supposed to be an alcohol-free venue, so they all get kicked out.

We also get a subplot with Dawn's young second cousin visiting for a few weeks and having a tough time adjusting to not seeing her parents. Also, Dawn gets a call from her California best friend Sunny that Sunny's mother has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Dawn's cousin ends up sneaking away to where Stacey works, trying to find a way back to her parents. Seeing Mary Anne and Dawn gets Stacey thinking about what makes a good friend. She calls Claudia, who talks to the rest of the BSC, and within a few days Stacey's back in (on a probationary basis).


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: Chunkies, Oreos, Ring-Dings, Twinkies, chips, pretzels

Kristy's "not necessarily school-brilliant." I thought she got decent grades?

Dawn's still hinting about missing the west coast.


Their Families:

We know Claudia's parents are strict about books (although I like the theory that they're really not, but use the temptation of forbidden fruit to get Claudia to read Nancy Drews). Specifically, the approved list is limited to computer manuals, school books, and great literature.


The Club (and clients):

At the beginning of the book, Shannon's still the alternate officer, with Dawn as treasurer.


SMS:

8th grade students: Heather Epstein, Jacqui Grant, Mia Pappas.


PSA Time: nothing stood out.


Misc:

When Stacey sees the small bottles/flasks of alcohol her new friends have, she thinks for just a moment that it's cough syrup. My younger brother used to think that in Back to the Future Part II, Biff was taking a drink from a bottle of vanilla extract.

Pigs can't sweat. That's why they wallow in mud; it cools them down. Acts as sunscreen, too.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 7

Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)

Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1

Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2

Summers after 8th grade: 8

BSC Fights: 10

SMS Staff and Faculty: 48

Students (other than the BSC): 175; 111 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.

Clients: 33 families

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 112

Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1