Goodbye Stacey, Goodbye (RS#13)

Original Publication Date: 1988

Ghostwriter? No

Synopsis:

Stacey's dad gets transferred back to New York, leaving the family about a month to move. In that time, the BSC holds a yard sale to help Stacey's family get rid of their extra stuff, and uses the money earned there to throw Stacey a goodbye party, complete with their babysitting charges. Stacey's last official duty as a BSC member is calling Mallory Pike to ask her to join the Club.


Established or continued in this book:


The Girls:

Claudia candy: again, nothing new

Stacey is of Scottish and French descent. Toss in some German, Irish, Norwegian, and Swedish and it's me.

When Stacey thinks her mom is pregnant, she's excited that she might finally be a big sister. My mom is is thirteen or so years older than my aunt.

Claudia's rag doll, Lennie, which Mary Anne hid from Logan in RS#10, makes an appearance. She has yarn hair.

Stacey and Claudia met when Stacey dropped her notebook in the hall at SMS and Claudia stepped on it. Both were wearing similar styles of outfit.

Stacey works to transfer to Algebra when she goes back to New York. I skipped ahead and took Algebra in 8th grade, too...I'm starting to seem like Stacey more...

The McGills sell, among other things, the pool table mentioned in the last book. The Perkins family buys it.

Dawn has spider plants. I'd buy a cutting of one at a yard sale.


Their Families:

Stacey and her parents move to 14 West 81 Street in New York. It's a real address, just across the street from Central Park, but it looks like a business area, not a residential one.


The Club:

The Pikes start playing Secret Agents.

This is the start of the BSC having parties with their charges.


SMS:

SMS staff: Mr. Zizmore (8th math)

Both Stacey and Mary Anne take French class.


PSA time:

Not only is tape-recording your neighbors an invasion of privacy, in some states it's illegal without consent.


Misc:

How can a corsage made of chrysanthemums be little?


The numbers:

BSC Fights: 2

SMS Staff: 11 (3 7th grade, 4 8th grade, 2 elective, 1 vice-principal, 1 secretary)

Students: twenty-eight 8th graders

Clients: 16

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 24 (bubble gum, butterscotch candy, a chocolate bar, cookies, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, peanut M&Ms, regular M&Ms, marshmallows, pretzels, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, Twinkies, Lifesavers)

Crushes: Claudia-2 (Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-4 (Toby, Pete Black, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas)

Baby-sitters on Board! (SS#1)

Original Publication Date: 1988

Ghostwriter? No

Synopsis:

The BSC goes on its first group vacation. Mr. Pike wins a trip on a cruise ship through his company and Mary Anne and Stacey are invited along as babysitters. Watson arranges for the Thomas-Brewer clan to come along, too, and they bring Dawn and Claudia. Naturally, there are adventures:

Kristy befriends an older widower and goads Dawn by being a slob.

Claudia gets another secret-admirer-who's-really-a-stalker.

Mary Anne becomes enamored with a budding con artist. Surprisingly, she does NOT pine for Logan.

Stacey befriends a young boy who's due for risky heart surgery; his parents are taking him on a trip "just in case" so they'll have some good memories.

Dawn takes things too seriously with Kristy and starts crushing on a cute guy.

We also hear from Mallory, who spends her time spying on people; Karen, who is entitled and bratty; the younger boys, who look for treasure and end up with a Dutch schematic of a copy machine rather than a map.

To thank to parents, the kids make them photo albums to remember the trip, which I agree is a good idea.


Established or continued in this book:


The Girls:

Claudia candy: Oh, sad...nothing new

Foul: Kristy says she's never been on a plane, which I was willing to go with. In RS#4, Mary Anne lets us know that Kristy went to Florida; her family could have driven. Then Kristy says she's never been out of the state.

Here we go. Dawn is "neat and spotless" while Kristy is famous for being messy. Not only will we later learn that Dawn doesn't even understand silverware drawer organizers, Kristy's being a slob doesn't fit at all with her super-organized personality. We also learn that Dawn has an heirloom bracelet that was her great aunt's.

Dawn and Claudia are about the same size.

Claudia brings a ton of luggage, as she will forevermore. She also acts as referee again, between Kristy and Dawn. She claims she can feel the cruise ship moving (not just during the storm), which is odd, because given the size, most people can't feel it. However, I do have a friend who got seasick on a Navy battleship during calm seas.

Mary Anne is disappointed that the casino is for adults only.

Stacey's family has a ping-pong table.

First narration by Mallory! I'll add her stuff here, since in two books she'll be a member. So far we know she wants to be a writer, she likes to create drama (spying on people and making up crazy stories, assuming people want to steal her diary), and her favorite band is the Insects.


Their Families:

Remember Kristy's cousin Robin, who has diabetes? She lives western Connecticut.

Jeff saves things from his flights in the air sick bag.

Vanessa Pike is still a slow-poke.

Neither of Kristy's grandfathers is alive.


The Club: nothing new

SMS: Summertime


PSA time:

Hooray, Stacey! Thank you for asking Marc if it was okay to push him in his wheelchair, not just assuming. Some people forget that it's far more polite to offer to help a handicapped person than just swoop in to "save" the day.

Wow, Dawn. Making fun of someone's name is a great way to start a date. And "Parker" isn't that bizarre of a name; it's the name of my husband's best friend's son.

Brontosaurus didn't exist; it's an Apatosaurus skeleton with a Camarosaurus skull. For those of you who are still sore about this, look up Eobrontosaurs. And the flying and swimming animals? Not dinosaurs. AND...since the names of those prehistoric animals are their proper Latin name, the "first" name should be capitalized but not the last, as in Tyrannosaurs rex or Dipolodocus carnegi.


Misc:

If they rerelease this book, they'll have to do some updating: Kristy's younger siblings and some of the Pikes are able to look into the cockpit and visit it. And they get a full meal. On my flight today I got about a 1/3 of a can of Coke, maybe 20 peanuts, and some weird cinnamon crackers. Fortunately, my dad took my husband and me to Dick's Drive In for hamburgers on the way home.


The numbers:

BSC Fights: 2

SMS Staff: 10 (3 7th grade, 3 8th grade, 2 elective, 1 vice-principal, 1 secretary)

Students: twenty-eight 8th graders

Clients: 16

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 24 (bubble gum, butterscotch candy, a chocolate bar, cookies, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, peanut M&Ms, regular M&Ms, marshmallows, pretzels, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, Twinkies, Lifesavers)

Crushes: Claudia-2 (Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-4 (Toby, Pete Black, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas)

Claudia and the New Girl (RS#12)

Original Publication Date: 1988

Ghostwriter? No

Synopsis:

There's a new girl at school, Ashley Wyeth. She's a very serious artist with little time for other activities. She and Claudia connect (I wouldn't say they bond) over art and start hanging at art museum, looking for inspiration for a sculpture contest, that sort of thing. The BSC is concerned when Ashley seems to take over Claudia's life, causing her miss meetings and taking away time with her other friends. They're also overly concerned that she's hanging out with a "weirdo" but that's another issue...

Claudia and Ashley get in a fight over priorities: Claudia wants to do art but also hang out with her other friends and babysit, Ashley thinks art is the only important part of her life. Claudia ends up back in the BSC's good graces, though Kristy seems a little insulted by the event, and she and Ashley are able to discuss art sometimes, but remain somewhat distant from each other.

Established or continued in this book:


The Girls:

Claudia candy: Doritos, bubblegum in her hollow book, cookies under her pillow, crackers in her Monopoly box, licorice under her mattress, marshmallows in her shoe box, pretzels in her pajama bag, Twinkies in her sock drawer

Kristy's uniform of jeans and a turtleneck is born in this book.

Claudia mentions that Ashley doesn't mind explaining things to her, which must be nice since Claudia often feels so slow.


Their Families:

Claudia makes a callback to the mountain resort that she and her family went to while Stacey and Mary Anne were in Sea City. I have a hard time thinking of New England or anywhere on the East Coast as having mountains. I'm used the Cascades and Olympics, so driving around the East Coast just seemed hilly at times.

More issues with Jeff wanting to move back to CA.


The Club:

Since Kristy depends on Charlie to get to meetings, she's often early or late, Claudia says. Hmm.


SMS:

Students: Mari Drabeck (8th), spelled "Mary" a few chapters later, Fiona McRae (8th), John Steiner (8th), Seth Turbin (8th), Ashley Wyeth (8th)

Staff: Ms. Baehr (art), Mrs. Hall (8th English), Ms. Downey (school secretary)

SMS won't let students put tape on the lockers, so, as Mary Anne told us in RS#10, students use gum. Claudia tells us it barely holds for a day. Now, all school lockers I've seen are metal. Magnets, anyone?

Ms. Baehr is kind of a horrible art teacher if she's not letting students express themselves. So what if Ashley is sculpting a fire hydrant?


PSA time:

You can undo most bathroom door locks from the outside with a small flat-head screwdriver. There's a slit the screwdriver will fit into. When you manipulate the screwdriver in that slot the "button" on the other side should pop open. I know because my younger brother locked himself in the bathroom when he was too little to unlock it, but some variety of repair man was in the house and showed us that trick.


Misc:

I have to agree with Ashley that sculpture doesn't have to be of living things. What about abstract art, for example? However, Ashley, inanimate doesn't necessarily mean better.

The notes the other members of the club leave Claudia are priceless.


The numbers:

BSC Fights: 2

SMS Staff: 10 (3 7th grade, 3 8th grade, 2 elective, 1 vice-principal, 1 secretary)

Students: twenty-eight 8th graders

Clients: 16

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 24 (bubble gum, butterscotch candy, a chocolate bar, cookies, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, peanut M&Ms, regular M&Ms, marshmallows, pretzels, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, Twinkies, Lifesavers)

Crushes: Claudia-1 (Trevor Sandbourne), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-4 (Toby, Pete Black, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas)

Kristy and the Snobs (RS#11)

Original Publication Date: 1988

Ghostwriter? No

Synopsis:

Kristy hasn't gotten to know her new neighbors at all, but from the brief interactions she's had with them, they're snobs. She babysits for some brattish ingrates, who Stacey helps turn around eventually. She also has some tension with a girl her age, who accuses Kristy of stealing the neighborhood's babysitting jobs. They pull pranks on each other and make rude comments to each other before finally realizing that they can be friends. Of course, the girl is Shannon and she becomes as associate member of the BSC, rather than full time as she has lots of activities.

This book is also incredibly sad. I still tear up when reading about Louie the Collie's decline and how they Thomases eventually have to have him put down. Ann M. Martin wrote that story arc really well.

Louie's death helps to cement Kristy and Shannon's friendship, though. Shannon gives Kristy's family one of her dog's puppies, which David Michael names Shannon.


Established or continued in this book:


The Girls:

Claudia candy: Gummi Bears in a pillowcase, M&Ms

Kristy hates cabbage, blood, squirrels, snobs, and, in callback to RS#1, people who chew with their mouths open.


Their Families:

David Michael is a slowpoke.

This is the book in which Jeff starts wanting to move back to California.

Apparently this is when Karen gets really bossy, insisting that the funeral for Louie be done in a certain way. This would have been a good time to nip that in the bud, huh?


The Club:

New clients: Papadakis family (Linny-8, Hannie-6, Sari-2, pets Myrtle the Turtle and Noodle the Poodle), Delany family (Amanda-8, Max-6, Priscilla the purebred cat). The Papadakis kids don't like the Delany kids and vice versa.

Kristy and Stacey ring the bell to go into Claudia's house for the meeting...huh. I could have sworn they just come in.

Associate member #2!

The Bizzer Sign is back, and the seven younger Pikes have chicken pox...which means Mallory had it when she was a year or younger? My younger brother had it when he was one, but that's because older brother was 11 and brought it home from school.

Kristy misses another meeting. She's missed the most so far of any member!


SMS:

School starts at 8:30 (precisely, Kristy is compelled to point out).

Stoneybrook's two private schools are Stoneybrook Academy and Stoneybrook Day School. With Kelsey, another public school, that's four schools serving Stoneybrook.


PSA time:

Well, Kristy, in a way writing "Xmas" is the same as writing as "Christmas" since XP is a symbol for Christ, those being the Greek letters Chi and Ro. So it's fine, especially if you superimpose the P over the X, as is done in said symbol.


Misc:

Myriah Perkins wants to name her new sister Laurie and Gabbie likes Beth. Given the character of Rosie Wilder we're introduced down the line, I can't help but wonder if this is a reference to Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose husband called her Beth.

When I first read this book as a kid and came across the parenthetical question "(What, no phone in the bathroom?)" I didn't realize it was a sarcastic statement. I thought Kristy's family had a phone in the bathroom. I also think BSC books taught me write too many things in parentheses.

Okay, I think I figured the insanity with Tiffany Kilbourne being a sitter and a sittee: she's seen WITH Shannon on a sitting job, not alone. I think she helps Shannon rather than sitting on her own.


The numbers:

BSC Fights: 2

SMS Staff: 7 (3 7th grade, 2 8th grade, 1 elective, 1 vice-principal)

Students: twenty-three 8th graders

Clients: 16

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 21 (bubble gum, butterscotch candy, a chocolate bar, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, peanut M&Ms, regular M$Ms, pretzels, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, Twinkies, Lifesavers)

Crushes: Claudia-1 (Trevor Sandbourne), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-4 (Toby, Pete Black, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas)