Mary Anne

Books narrated: 31

#4 Mary Anne Saves the Day (no ghostwriter)
#10 Logan Likes Mary Anne! (no ghostwriter)
#17 Mary Anne’s Bad Luck Mystery (no ghostwriter) my favorite Mary Anne book
#25 Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger (no ghostwriter)
#30 Mary Anne and the Great Romance  (no ghostwriter)
#34 Mary Anne and Too Many Boys (ghostwriter: Mary Lou Kennedy)
#41 Mary Anne vs. Logan (no ghostwriter)
#46 Mary Anne Misses Logan (no ghostwriter)
#52 Mary Anne +2 Many Babies (no ghostwriter)
#60 Mary Anne’s Makeover (gw: Peter Lerangis)
#66 Maid Mary Anne (gw: Nola Thacker)
#73 Mary Anne and Miss Priss (gw: Jahnna Beecham/Malcolm Hillgartner)
#79 Mary Anne Breaks the Rules (gw: Peter Lerangis)
#86 Mary Anne and Camp BSC (gw: Nola Thacker)
#93 Mary Anne and the Memory Garden (gw: Jahnna Beecham/Malcolm Hillgartner)
#102 Mary Anne and the Little Princess (gw: Peter Lerangis)
#109 Mary Anne to the Rescue (gw: Peter Lerangis)
#114 The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier (gw: Suzanne Weyn)
#121 Mary Anne and the Playground Fight (gw: Diane Molleson)
#125 Mary Anne in the Middle (gw: Suzanne Weyn)
#131 The Fire at Mary Anne’s House (gw: Ellen Miles)

M#5 Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic (gw: Ellen Miles) my favorite Mary Anne mystery
M#13 Mary Anne and the Library Mystery (gw: Ellen Miles)
M#20 Mary Anne and the Zoo Mystery (gw: Jahnna Beecham/Malcolm Hillgartner)
M#24 Mary Anne and the Silent Witness (gw: Ellen Miles)
M#31 Mary Anne and the Music Box Mystery (gw: Ellen Miles)
M#34 Mary Anne and the Haunted Bookstore (gw: Vicki Berger Erwin)

Mary Anne’s Book (gw: Jeanne Betancourt)

FF#3 Mary Anne’s Big Breakup (gw: Suzanne Weyn)
FF#8 Mary Anne’s Revenge (gw: Nola Thacker) my favorite Mary Anne FF
FF#11 Welcome Home, Mary Anne (gw: Ellen Miles)

Portrayed by Megan Lahey in the TV show and Rachel Leigh Cook in the movie. The TV episode "Mary Anne and the Brunettes" is centered around her.

Mary Anne’s Crushes-2 (tied for sixth with Kristy)
Alex, Logan Bruno (she dates Logan from #10 Logan Likes Mary Anne! to FF#3 Mary Anne’s Big Breakup with a break spanning #41 Mary Anne vs. Logan to #46 Mary Anne Misses Logan)

Mary Anne loves New York.

Mary Anne takes French class at SMS.

Mary Anne bites her nails.

In #31 Dawn’s Wicked Stepsister, Dawn and Mary Anne trade clothes back and forth. But by SS#10 Here Come the Bridesmaids! they wear clothes of completely different sizes. Until a growth spurt mentioned in #19 Claudia and the Bad Joke, Mary Anne is the second shortest student in her grade.

Mary Anne still dresses up her stuffed animals, according to Claudia’s narration in #2 Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls. However, in The Summer Before Mary Anne is only interested in making some clothes for a set of dolls that belonged to her mother, so Claudia might have mistaken.

Mary Anne learned to knit from Mimi. She later teaches Claudia to knit.

Mary Anne and Logan say “I love you” to each other in Snowbound! Seems pretty serious for a middle school relationship, but I didn't date until high school. (I was allowed to as far as I know; I was just never asked out until I was almost 17. Made up for lost time by meeting a guy the first day of college and marrying him before starting senior year of college.)

Mary Anne wears reading glasses. Mary Anne got contact lenses to replace her reading glasses in #5 Dawn and the Impossible Three (her dad gets contacts in the same book). Now, I'm nearsighted enough that it's easier for me to read books without corrective lenses, so I could be wrong, but it seems like that would be more of hassle than glasses if she only needs them for reading.

Mrs. Thomas has been like a mother to Mary Anne. They never seemed that overly close, though, especially when compared with Mary Anne’s relationship with Mimi. Maybe Mrs. Thomas was always the one Mary Anne felt she could ask about girl things or whatever but it's never shown.

Mary Anne wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Mary Anne think Robin Williams is the funniest actor.

Mary Anne loves getting the mail. So do I!

Mary Anne occasionally attends church, presumably with Richard and maybe Sharon and Dawn, at a Presbyterian church. In #4 Mary Anne Saves the Day she and Richard say grace before eating, but #86 Mary Anne and Camp BSC shows that they no longer do so, which indicates they may have become less religious over time.

Mary Anne has brown eyes and brown hair. According to The Summer Before, Mary Anne had bangs to go along with her braids. 

She and Kristy have a similar face shape.

Depending on the book, Mary Anne either has no desire to ever pierce her ears (most common), resents not being allowed to, or as in the case of The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier, has pierced ears.

After her father’s remarriage, Mary Anne was overwhelmed with a lot of things and saw a therapist several times. She never mentions it until the chain letter book in which she reveals a secret to Claudia. Claudia keeps Mary Anne’s secret very well, respecting her privacy as a good friend should. By Claudia and the Perfect Boy it seems Mary Anne is comfortable with telling the other BSC members. I really like that Mary Anne didn't have one big thing that set this off, because that seems more believable and, I think, gives a good message that sometimes you might feel off for no good reason and if you can't shake it, it's okay to get help despite not having a "good reason" for feeling down.

The Prezziosos, Pikes, Braddocks, and McGills apparently live close enough to Mary Anne to wake up from the fire and come over in the middle of the night to offer help and comfort. The Prezziosos, by the way, are really nice people. They lend Sharon their cell phone for a day to call insurance agents, family, and so on and they bring the family food and clothes while they’re outside in shock watching their house burn. In Stacey and the Missing Ring, the Prezziosos defend the BSC’s reputation when a new client accuses Stacey of stealing a diamond ring. For all the flack the BSC gives them, the Prezziosos, while a bit odd, are very sweet and loyal.

By the time of the Friends Forever series, Mary Anne and Dawn have grown apart. Mary Anne doesn’t think of Dawn as a best friend anymore.

Mary Anne’s Family

Mary Anne is an only child who lives her father, Richard. Her mother is deceased. Mary Anne also has a kitten named Tigger, adopted from a shelter in #10 Logan Likes Mary Anne! Her father rekindles a relationship with a high school sweetheart, who just happens to be Dawn Schafer’s mother Sharon, and they marry in #30 Mary Anne and the Great Romance. Mary Anne and her father move to the Schafer’s house in #31 Dawn’s Wicked Stepsister. Their house burns down in #131 The Fire at Mary Anne’s House and they renovate the barn, moving back to the property in FF#11 Welcome Home, Mary Anne.

It seems that Mary Anne’s mother was already ill when Mary Anne was born, or shortly became ill shortly after. Mary Anne was formula-fed, which I would assume had something to do with her mother’s health (but in the formula-centric BSC land, who knows). She was only 25 when she died. Mary Anne was six months old.

Mary Anne's mother was named Abigail in the older versions of the Mary Anne Saves the Day, but the newer ones are updated to have her named Alma. She also went to high school in Maryland...but Mary Anne's grandparents live in Iowa and clearly have for some time. The new cover version also says she grew up in MD.

Mary Anne’s mom played for her college basketball team.

Mary Anne’s mom is mentioned in the present tense in both Logan’s Story and Stacey’s Choice. In both instances it could mean Sharon, but Mary Anne doesn’t call Sharon her mom so it really reads like Alma is back from the dead.

Mary Anne’s mom was an excellent baker. Her maiden name was Baker, coincidentally.

Mary Anne's dad tries so hard to raise her well. Too bad he goes overboard, but you can tell he really has her best interests in mind. One understandable example: Mary Anne's room hasn't changed since she was three. I bet that has a lot to do with her dad putting up the stuff her mom had gotten for Mary Anne and not wanting to take them down.

Richard still uses the same watch he did as a child.

According #68 Dawn’s Big Move, Richard can imitate Goofy. He also rings the doorbell to his own house to get in. Twice. Hasn't Sharon given him a key yet? He doesn't seem the type to lose his key. In fact, I bet he’d be like my dad and keep a spare to both the house and his car in his wallet.

Mary Anne’s father won’t let her talk on the phone on school nights, from how Kristy describes it.

Richard likes jazz.

Richard knows how to braid, which indicates to me how hard he worked to raise Mary Anne alone. My first real understanding that boys and girls are different came when I asked my dad to braid my hair and he didn't know how.

Mary Anne’s dad marries Dawn’s mom after going on about thirty dates (thirty since reuniting after high school). Mary Anne’s dad dated other people before reconnecting with Sharon.

The Schafer-Spier house didn't have an adequate number of smoke detectors until Richard insisted.

Mary Anne's paternal grandfather was a mailman.