This is my third post in my Old School Sunday series on the Baby-sitters Club books. Visit the first post in the series here for a full description of this exercise. Today I'm reviewing book three, The Truth About Stacey.
by Ann M. Martin
1986; 2010 | 176 pages | Middle Grade
My memory of The Truth About Stacey, the third book in the Baby-sitters Club series turned out to be incorrect. I thought, before reading any of the books this time around, that Stacey's diabetes was a secret throughout the first two books, and only revealed in this one. As it turns out, though, the secret was revealed at the end of Kristy's Great Idea, and this book is actually about Stacey finally making up with her best friend in New York, who didn't know of her condition, and trying to take ownership of her disease, rather than letting her parents make all of her decisions. This book also focuses heavily on the competition between the Baby-sitters Club and a new business in Stoneybrook, The Babysitters Agency.
Now that I've read three books in the series right in a row, one thing I have noticed is that each character's voice doesn't vary that much from the others'. The qualities that distinguish Stacey from Claudia and Claudia from Kristy are explicitly stated by each character, usually right at the start of the book, but there aren't a lot of details that show these differences. Each first-person narrative sounds similar in tone and style, so that it almost sounds like the books have one narrator who just switches between points of view.
What I did like, though, was the fact that this book presented a realistic challenge for a group of twelve-year-old babysitters. How should a group of young babysitters respond when older kids with more freedom steal away their business? I thought the girls' approaches to the situation did match their personalities and the goals of the club, and also showed, ultimately, that being honest and responsible is the best way to draw in business, not being catty and fighting with the competition. I did wonder if the girls in the competing babysitting business were too cartoonish. Certainly, it seemed unlikely that all of them would ignore the kids, watch TV, invite their boyfriends over, and smoke inside the house, but the endangerment of Jamie Newton, one of the club's beloved charges, did raise important ethical questions about when it's okay to tell on someone, and how to properly take care of a child during a babysitting job.
Not too many dated references in this one. Just a few things, once again, that gave me pause.
Now that I've read three books in the series right in a row, one thing I have noticed is that each character's voice doesn't vary that much from the others'. The qualities that distinguish Stacey from Claudia and Claudia from Kristy are explicitly stated by each character, usually right at the start of the book, but there aren't a lot of details that show these differences. Each first-person narrative sounds similar in tone and style, so that it almost sounds like the books have one narrator who just switches between points of view.
What I did like, though, was the fact that this book presented a realistic challenge for a group of twelve-year-old babysitters. How should a group of young babysitters respond when older kids with more freedom steal away their business? I thought the girls' approaches to the situation did match their personalities and the goals of the club, and also showed, ultimately, that being honest and responsible is the best way to draw in business, not being catty and fighting with the competition. I did wonder if the girls in the competing babysitting business were too cartoonish. Certainly, it seemed unlikely that all of them would ignore the kids, watch TV, invite their boyfriends over, and smoke inside the house, but the endangerment of Jamie Newton, one of the club's beloved charges, did raise important ethical questions about when it's okay to tell on someone, and how to properly take care of a child during a babysitting job.
Not too many dated references in this one. Just a few things, once again, that gave me pause.
- On page 8, there is a description of Mary Anne:
Mary Anne, her hair in braids as usual (her father makes her wear it that way), had put on her wire-rimmed glasses to read the flyer. When she was finished, she sighed, leaned back against the wall, and kicked off her penny loafers.
I remembered the braids and the loafers, especially because Mary Anne gets a makeover later on in the series, and the before and after contrast is brought up in every book after that, but did she really wear glasses? I have no memory of that at all. Mallory wore glasses and longed for contacts, but if that's true of Mary Anne throughout the earlier part of the series, I definitely forgot all about it!
- On page 110, Jamie watches Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Since Mr. Rogers has been dead for a number of years, I wonder if it's still on regularly, or if Jamie would be more likely to watch Sid the Science Kid or SuperWhy.
- On page 141, after lots of explanation about Stacey's diabetes throughout the book, it is suddenly revealed that Stacey has an insulin pump.
I kept my insulin pump out of sight.
I was glad for the updated medical information. Most diabetic kids that I know these days do have a pump, and don't give themselves injections, as Stacey did in the original series. I just wished that the early part of the book, where she talks about giving herself insulin, had covered exactly how the insulin is administered. It's a minor thing, but it made me backtrack all the way to the beginning, because I'd been imagining injections the whole time and wondering why it hadn't been updated.
All in all, this book was a lot more interesting than I remembered. I'd forgotten all about the competing babysitting business, and the birth of Jamie Newton's little sister, Lucy, and though I never liked Stacey's constant obsession with her sophisticated New York lifestyle, she was pretty likeable in this book, and the resolution of her friendship with Laine was quite satisfying to read.
Next week, I will review Mary Anne Saves the Day.
All in all, this book was a lot more interesting than I remembered. I'd forgotten all about the competing babysitting business, and the birth of Jamie Newton's little sister, Lucy, and though I never liked Stacey's constant obsession with her sophisticated New York lifestyle, she was pretty likeable in this book, and the resolution of her friendship with Laine was quite satisfying to read.
Next week, I will review Mary Anne Saves the Day.
I borrowed The Truth About Stacey from my local public library.
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteHello again, Katie! =)
It's funny that you should have just noticed that each character's voice isn't really distinctive. I actually agree with you, but this was also the novel in which I got a sense of Stacey that I hadn't been able to pick up in the first two books. Kristy narrates BSC#1 and doesn't know Stacey very well, and even the closer pal Claudia, who narrates BSC#2, has just met her. And when Stacey picked up the narrative reins, I saw why that made sense: she's a very private person.
I also noticed that Stacey notices things about the other characters that they probably don't notice about each other, having grown used to each other as neighbours all their lives. Everyone else is content to call Kristy "bossy," but Stacey is the one who picks up on how funny Kristy can be--and look--when she's in full Club President mode.
PS--I don't remember Mary Anne wearing glasses, either--and I read an original edition!
Wow, my mind is blown- I remembered this book as the Big Reveal about Stacey's diabetes, too! So we knew beforehand what "the truth" was?? Crazy.
ReplyDeleteGood observation about the girls' voices not being distinct from book to book! I never thought about that, but it's totally true...