Friends Forever #10: Stacey's Problem

Tagline: Hang on, Stacey!

Cover: It's Stacey. And she has her fingers over her face, so you know she's stressed.

Plot!: Stacey is concerned because her mom has been down in the dumps...and to make things worse, her dad is getting married! Stacey is concerned about how its making her mom feel, so she does the same old thing of trying to make everyone happy and making no one happy. In the end, she is happy for her father and her mom decides to open a clothing store, which Claudia is super enthused about.

Points of Interest:

• Stacey's mom loves anchovies. She wants to put them on the pizza that's she's sharing with Stacey and Claudia, but Stacey is afraid that the anchovy juice will contaminate the rest of the pizza and the anchovies will swim all over the rest of the pizza.
• Stacey's mom also reminisces about a time before Stacey was born, when she and Ed happily ate clams at Sheepshead Bay.
• Maureen also wants to play Scrabble, and it's like she's never met Claudia before. Maybe Claudia has successfully hidden her word problems from adults? I don't know.
• Stacey points out that she and Claudia are only recently close again, after getting into a big thing over a boy - a boy who turned out not to be worth any of it, basically.
• Stacey complains that when you're as gorgeous as she is, with blond hair and blue eyes, people have a hard time believing you're also a math genius. Although I don't think that you necessarily have to be a math genius to play Monopoly...it requires a cutting edge, I think, and the ability to see moves ahead.
  
• They end up playing Sorry instead. But Maureen has been distracted by all this Ed talk, so she has a hard time concentrating, and that gives Stacey a chance to talk about the divorce and that she didn't see anything wrong with their marriage but that there were really big loud arguments at the end.
• Once the pizza has been cooked, Stacey enthuses that it is delicious, and it's something she can eat, which makes sense in a broader context, but seems strange at her house. Like Maureen usually goes around cooking up nothing but liquid sugar and inserting that into everything she makes.
• Stacey meets Ethan at Grand Central so they can catch up on things and so her dad can see them and be disapproving.
  
• She notes that she sees more of her workaholic dad no that he has weekend custody than she did before the divorce.
• Chapter 3: Ed and his girlfriend, Samantha, announce that they are getting married, nicely setting up Stacey's Problem.
  
• The wedding is going to be in about a year, because Samantha wants the time to have plan a big ceremony. Naturally, the BSC will be bridesmaids. No, I'm kidding, but can't you just see it?
  
• They eat at a restaurant on top of the world Trade Center. Mentions like that take me right of the book.
• Stacey's dad tries to push the responsibility of telling her mom about his remarriage onto Stacey. Samantha tells him to man up, but Stacey still breaks the news first.
• By the end of Chapter 4, Stacey's told her mom about the marriage, her mother has talked to both Ed and Samantha, and Stacey and Maureen have cried and said that they're proud of each other. which feels like the end of the book. It could totally have been a short story or something like that.
• Oh, never mind. Apparently it's also Mallory's homecoming, or something. That's one thing I've wanted more of - Mallory subplots.
• Stacey volunteers to stay home with her Mom, but even as she valiantly gives up going to what is sure to be the party of the year, she's resentful about it. And that means we're going to get another book about Stacey putting everyone else's emotions ahead of her and how stretched out she feels.
• Stacey got Mal a bunch of accessories, and one of them is a hemp choker. Hot.
  
• Mallory says that it's great that they've stayed in touch through e-mail. And that might be the most jarring thing about the book to me.
  
• Mallory is disappointed that Jessi is so busy that they can't spend every moment together, setting up the subplot that mirrors the main plot - life goes on.
• Byron has stepped up in Mallory's absence to become the new big sibling. And Mallory seems threatened by this.
• Claudia and Stacey talk about Claudia dating Alan Gray. Claudia thinks that she's starting to see the real Alan, but Stacey is not convinced. Stay tuned for Friends Forever #12 for more details on that.
  
• Maureen tries to help Claudia by saying that Anne Bancroft married Mel Brooks. Because nothing convinces teens like old movie star references!
• Stacey and Claudia think that Maureen is unhappy because Ed is remarrying, so they get some tapes from a dating agency to try to get some dates for her. Do plans like that ever actually succeed?
• Mal is still stressing out because her siblings have all moved on since she's been at school.
  
• Ugh. Stacey and Claudia (she called a dating agency and told them she needed some tapes for research for a college class) invite all BSC members over to have a party and see the tapes. They have an incredibly long discussion on baldness that just doesn't make sense for a bunch of 13 year olds.
  
• Mallory gets all hot for a guy grandfather-aged (and he's also on disability).
  
• BUT! It turned out that Maureen got a date all by herself! He's a buyer for a department store or something. But oh no! The date is for Saturday - and Stacey's in Manhattan that day! Oh no!
• Chapter 10: Stacey's in Manhattan, but she's thinking about her mom. And her mom hasn't even gone on her date yet. She can't concentrate on anything.It's very much like Stacey's Choice (the time her mom is sick but her dad gets a promotion and she goes but is thinking about Stoneybrook the entire time).
  
• Samantha and Stacey start to bond, but Stacey feels guilty because of her mom.
• Oh my LORD. The next day at breakfast, Stacey sees LAINE. And it's all uncomfortable. Stacey calls her "part of my past."
• Stacey finally talks to her mom and it turns out the date didn't go very smoothly, and they aren't going to see each other again. Maureen tells Stacey not to rush home on her account, and OF COURSE Stacey rushes home on her account.
  
• Samantha volunteers to drive Stacey home, and they talk on the drive to Connecticut.
  
• It turns out Samantha is also a workaholic, and she's a fashion photographer. Stacey is suitably impressed. Also, I can't believe this hasn't come up before.
• Mallory feels distant, and not the good kind of distant. Not that there is any good kind of distant.
  
• Mallory's the president of the Riverbend Internet Club. Dork!
• Maureen has made a big decision - she has decided to go back to Spencer. No, not an old boyfriend; her maiden name. And from a feminist note, it's not called a maiden name in the book - it's referred to her 'original name' and her name before she got married.
  
• She's also decided to quit her job and open a clothing store in Stoneybrook. Stacey is thrilled.
  
• The BSC helps her come up with names for the new store. Kristy - Serious Clothing. Claudia - Funky Petunia. Mary Anne - Amazing Grace.
  
• And in the end, to demonstrate how much she's changed (?) Stacey volunteers to eat some anchovies. O...kay.
  

Final thought: Good luck, Samantha. I think you'll need it.

#65: Stacey's Big Crush

Tagline: He's smart. He's handsome. He's 22!

Cover: Stacey is giving us her best "oh, my prince" pose. Wes is smartly oblivious, but way overdressed for a school dance. Jessi is giving her best "girl, please" look, which might be Jessi's most awesome moment ever. Meanwhile, what's happening in the background? Are those streamers, or lights, or what? Where are the balloons falling from? Why does the banner have apostrophes on it? Who is on this decorating committee?

Plot!: Stacey has a crush on Wes, her new student teacher. She gets pretty obsessed with him and is confident she's in love with him (and he's in love with her), but nothing happens because she's THIRTEEN. Dawn and Mary Anne take care of Elvira, a goat, and chaos ensues.

Points of Interest:

• "I knew Mr. Zizmore was giving an oral problem." So that's what the kids are calling it...in 1993.
  
• Stacey calls herself a Divorced Kid and a Latchkey Kid. She's knee deep in a pity party and hasn't even STARTED talking about her diabetes.
  
• Mr. Z tells Stacey that she's his star student. Even though this isn't the big crush, it does have a bit of that about it. Stacey is totally going to have an older man thing as she gets older. Do you think that's because of the divorce?
  
• Stoneybrook Community College has a master's program? A teaching master's program? That...seems strange.
  
• Stacey think that Wesley Ellenburg sounds like the biggest nerd ever. Didn't she learn anything from the time that Kelly dated Marvin Nerdly?
  
• Claudia is Stacey's "one-and-only-best" friend, since she and Laine had a big fight.
  
• Apparently, Stacey and Sam are still "technically" going out, even though they've drifted apart. So is this book after the Shadow Lake? What's the chronology here?
  
• When Mrs. Stone stops by to ask Dawn and Mary Anne to look after her goat, Stacey is not aware that Elvira is not actually a goat, and starts freaking out about things like leaving the two month old alone and feeding her garbage and stuff. Wah-wah....
• Stacey gets really excited about Dawn and Mary Anne taking care of a goat, because she's so sophisticated.
  
• Mr. Ellenberg is compared to Tom Cruise. Okay.
  
• Stacey's dad went to school at Wesleyan. Just in case that comes up in a trivia quiz later.
  
• Okay, so he's completing is B.A., apparently in education, although he just has to do three weeks of student teaching, which does not seem like a lot. So why did Mr. Z it was a master's program?
  
• What's going through Stacey's mind? "Wes. Wild Wes. How the Wes Was Won." Whoa, calm down. Later, she calls him "drop-dead incredibly hunkified gorgeous." Kristy claims there's no such word as 'hunkified.' My spell check agrees.
  
• There's a rumour that Sabrina Bouvier (the middle school student) went out with Mr. Jordan, presumably a student. I HIGHLY doubt that. Maybe she babysat for him or something and someone saw him giving her a ride home.
  
• Stacey spends a lot of time preparing her outfit for math class. Claudia has to tell her that it's not a date. Ugh. Stacey is all kinds of pathetic in this book.
  
• Charlotte has a crusth on Bruce Cominsky, someone we've never heard of before and doubt we ever will again. He sounds...manly. There's also some random girl named Diane Dumschat in her class. That's an unfortunate name.
  
• We also get a lesson that the "whoop" in "big whoop" is like "whoopee," but sarcastic. Thanks, Lerangis.
  
• Wes asks Stacey to stay after school and help him arrange his paperwork, if you know what I mean. And that's where I start disbelieving this book. I'm sure that Wes would be hyper-aware of inapropriate student/teacher relationships and I highly doubt Stacey is being subtle about it - she wanted to wear a ball gown to class!
• Oh my lord. After staying after class to help him with his papers, Stacey announces that she and Wes have a relationship. She is going to be a total bunny boiler when she's older.
  
• Ugh. Elvira unleashes a whole bunch of 'kid' puns.
  
• Oh my lord part two. Stacey starts imagining that she and Wes are goatherds in the Alps. This book is cracked out!
• Wes has Stacey figure out the average grades of everyone in the class. He hides the names, but still. That seems unseemly.
  
• OH MY LORD. Wes drives Stacey to a BSC meeting (in his car!) and on the way there he sings along to a love ballad. INAPPROPRIATE.
  
• So of course, Stacey writes a poem:
  I see two stars in summer's night
  Blinding, hovering, lost in light
  Each so dull in heaven's net
  So each remains as yet unmet
  But Fortune moves in strangest ways
  It lengthens nights, it shortens days
  May this night end and day begin
  And bring two lovers back again.
• Sam calls to invite Stacey to the Spring Fling dance, and even though at the beginning of the book they are technically going out, she tells him she's going with someone else.
  
• HAHAHA Stacey gives Wes the poem. She changes 'lovers' to 'young people' but still. Wes bolts from the room.
  
• The BSC learns the hard way that taking care of a goat is hard work. Gah. Wouldn't they have thought that before? That's how they approach EVERYTHING. "oh, pet sitting will be so much fun! Oh no, it's hard work!" "oh, looking after infants will be so much fun! Oh no, it's hard work!"
• So a week after giving him THE POEM, Stacey corners Wes at the end of math class. He asks if she has a question about the assignment (no), so he asks if she has another poem for him. I laughed out loud.
  
• OH MY LORD INFINITY. She tells Wes that she's in love with him. I am laughing and cringing and it's so awful and I love it.
  
• Sam is going to the Spring Fling with Amanda Martin. Why is this book filled with people we've never heard of before?
  
• Okay, after the whole declaration of love thing, Wes still does things like tell Stacey he's going to miss her....class, and confide in her about a good recommendation. This guy is crazy!
• If the dance is called the Spring Fling, why doesn't the banner say SMS Spring Fling?
• It's never explained why Wes is wearing a tux.
  
• Wes to Stacey: "You're THIRTEEN!" Classic.
  

Final thought: I only skimmed through the Elvira stuff, so I don't know about that, but there's barely any Mallory in this book. Poor Mallory!

#43: Stacey's Emergency

Tagline: Stacey just can't win.

Cover: For once, Stacey's hair looks kind of permed, at least near the bottom. The top is kind of flat, but her bangs are happening. I hope Becca is standing on top of of a stool or something, otherwise the perspective is all out of whack.

Plot!: Stacey starts to feel sick because of her diabetes, but she doesn't tell anyone. She goes off her diet and really isn't very well, and then when she's in New York visiting her dad she ends up in the hospital. She confesses how sick she's been and talks to her parents about how they've been putting her in the middle. While she's in the hospital, Charlotte becomes convinced that she's sick, too, but she gets better when Stacey comes home.

Points of Interest:

• The first chapter includes a lot of information on diabetes, just to get us prepped for the rest of the book.
  
• Stacey is still trying to sort out a lot of the divorced kid stuff in this book, like how to talk to her parents and how to deal with the fact that she chose to live in Stoneybrook rather than in New York.
  
• Uh-oh! Stacey steals a Ring-Ding from Claudia's room and puts it in her purse. But what about her diabetes? Won't somebody think of her diabetes?!
  
• The scene of Stacey drinking water on the train by cupping her hands together has stayed with me since the first time I read this book. It's a strange image to remember, but there are random scenes that stick in people's minds.
  
• I know it's partly because it was reaching a critical point, but after spending like, one night with Stacey, her father takes her to the hospital. How was she hiding this so well from her mother? And knowing how nervous her mom is about Stacey's diabetes, it's a wonder her mom doesn't go through her room and stuff.
  
• So Stacey goes to the hospital on Saturday morning, and her mom hears about this on Saturday night? Why did they wait so long to call her? Even if there's post-divorce stuff, that's still a long time, especially because by the time Mr. McGill calls her, she doesn't have enough time to get the last train to New York.
  
• Stacey's mom brings her a stuffed pig. I forgot about Stacey's thing for pigs.
  
• Laine comes to visit and brings Stacey a wind-up spider with red glasses, and blue plastic tulips. Very sophisticated.
  
• While she's worrying about Stacey, Charlotte thinks she has a pinched nerve, an ulcer, diabetes, and anemia. Later she thinks she has Lyme disease, arthritis, kidney disease, and strep throat.
  
• On Friday Stacey wakes up and feels bad, so she rings for a nurse. Last year I was in the hospital, and not in a private room like Stacey. My bed was added into a two bed room, right between them. And my buzzer was actually the buzzer for another bed. So whenever I rang it, a nurse would pop her head in, check the first bed (mine was on the other side of a curtain), and then leave. It took me awhile to figure out what was happening.
  
• Stacey and her mom have a weird talk about her Dad, and his workaholic ways and how he avoids problems. But then Stacey doesn't want to talk anymore, so they find a Woody Allen movie and watch that. Because Woody Allen movies ALWAYS make situations less awkward.
  
• Other sophisticated New York gifts from Laine: A camouflage print hat that says "Daddy's Little Hunting Buddy," a pair of light-up sunglasses, glow in the dark jewelry, a palm tree pen, and a mirror that laughs at you.
  
• Alan Gray set off a cherry bomb in the bathroom? That seems...really serious.
  
• Cokie got a nose job? That also seems unlikely.
  
• After she comes home (after two weeks in the hospital), Stacey finally tells her mother that she's tired of being put in the middle. And her mom seems to listen. Hurrah!

Final Thought: I really like the colour of blue of Stacey's shirt on the cover. When I first read this, I would have thought that was the coolest shirt ever.

#99: Stacey's Broken Heart

Tagline: Will Stacey and Robert be together forever?

Cover: Why do these covers always ask such stupid questions? Anyway, the cover. Is it just me, or does Robert look like he's saying something like "Stacey, I know we're young, but I promise I'll take care of you and the baby." My interest is definitely more in the guys in the background, silently arranging some kind of train-based rendezvous.

Plot!: It's summer time in Stoneybrook, and Stacey is heading to New York for a week-long baby-sitting job with the Walkers, the arty couple from the building she used to live in. The problem is that she's nervous about being away from Robert, her boyfriend. But while she's there she meets Ethan, who's older and a city guy, and Robert starts seeing other people, and they break up. Meanwhile, Kristy is on vacation with her family, and Abby's in charge of the BSC. She decides to have a Mexican festival, and it's kind of a disaster, because Abby sucks as president and they all miss Kristy's tyrant ways.

Points of Interest:

• Stacey says that the popular kids' values "are the pits." Take that, popular girls.
  
• But that doesn't keep Robert from smiling at Andi Gentile! But Robert! Think about their values.
  
• Another girl, Sheila MacGregor, wore a tight purple unitard to play tennis in. Huh?
  
• The Walkers are a big deal on the New York arts scene, apparently: she's an illustrator, and he does oil paintings, and they're having a show at a major gallery. But when they need someone to watch their kids, they call a 13-year old girl who lives in Connecticut. What about every other time they need a sitter?
  
• Stacey and Robert spend time together playing a video game, Marvel in the Mist. Cool?
• Stacey talks about how much she loves a tan, even though she knows it's, like, bad for you. I can totally see Stacey's Skin Cancer being a later BSC book.
  
• Stacey says that Mary Anne's haircut is adorable. That's definitely not what they said when she got it cut! Mary Anne's Makeover is probably my most favourite BSC book.
  
• Heh. Stacey says Mal has "inner beauty." Poor Mallory!
  
• Okay, the time line is a little weird on this one. I think that this is right around the same time as Dawn Schafer, Undercover Babysitter, but in this one she's not in Stoneybrook anymore. And Stacey leaves town, but in the other book she's here. It's been awhile since I read Dawn and Too Many Sitters, so I'm a bit confused on the timeline.
• Stacey wonders if she's heartless because she's not upset about leaving her boyfriend for a week. No, really.
  
• In this book, when Abby's in charge, she says it's okay to be a few minutes late - not 15, but up to a few minutes. This jumped out at me because it also came up in Jessi's Baby-sitter, when Jessi's ten minutes late and said that she would have called if she was 30 minutes late, but not for ten minutes. Who decides these things? It's all about a slope, isn't it?
• How long is Kristy going to be away for? Abby's making sweeping changes, like cutting dues.
  
• Instead of calling Stacey at home, Emily Bernstein calls Stacey at a BSC meeting to say she saw Robert with another girl. Are the McGill's not listed in the phone book? I guess TECHNICALLY they haven't been in Stoneybrook a year, so they might not be listed.
  
• Stacey wears sunglasses to spy on Robert at the mall. And Claudia is like, "take those glasses off, you look ridiculous." CLAUDIA.
• Robert and Pete Black go see a romantic movie together. Maybe he's into Pete Black.
  
• Abby goes overboard on this Mexican festival, spending the BSC's money and then her own, and insisting that the members pay her back. And then makes posters (with Caludia Butterfly in charge of spelling) without knowing where the festival will be held, and then tells the kids it's a race to finish the posters. She's really not cut out for this.
  
• The New York part doesn't really get going until Chapter 9. Until then, it's just baby-sitting and paranoia.
  
• Stacey and her dad have this long, awkward converation about her relationship with Robert while they're in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not only is it awkward to be talking about this stuff with your dad (especially since you still have anger at him over the divorce), but can you imagine what it must be like for the other people there?
  
• Ethan, Stacey's soon-to-be beau, has deep blue eyes, long black hair, high cheekbones, a straight nose, and a wide mouth. Hot?
  
• Claudia saw Robert kissing Andi - on the lips! Cue Saved by the Bell audience-style "ooooo-oooo"
• For all of her sports experiences, Abby isn't really a team player, is she?
  
• Stacey and Robert break up. He didn't want to do it earlier, because he wasn't sure about what was going with Andi and he didn't want to upset her. Real nice, Robert.
  
• Stacey decides that she's sadder but wiser, and that she'll live. Yay.
  

Final Thought: Stacey's little headshot on the cover is really unfortunate. She's all jaw and teeth. Not that the cover picture does her any pictures, either.

#3: The Truth About Stacey

Tagline: Stacey's different...and it's harder on her than anyone knows


Cover: This book, like most of the earlier ones, has been released with two completely different covers. The first one (at left), has Stacey breaking the fourth wall to laugh with us about Charlotte Johanssen and her crazy love of chocolate. Stacey, who is rocking the sunglasses even though it's November, is looking a little rounder than I've ever thought of her, probably because of the continued reminders of her watching her weight and the way the later illustrations show her. The layered green turtleneck/pink-orange open shirt is not doing her any favours, either. It's not very big city. She does, though, look ALMOST age-appropriate, something that cannot be said for the re-vamped cover (at right). She better not get closer to that window, or else she'd cut the glass with her cheekbones. Also, with her raincoat/patterned sweater/baggy cream pants combo, she looks more like a proto-soccer mom than a 12 (at the time? Her birthday's in April, as we find out in Mystery #1 where her birthstone is a diamond, so maybe she's already 13, but I don't think it's mentioned) year old baby-sitter. And her expression is so much more dramatic than the situation calls for.

Charlotte: Look Stacey, chocolate!
Stacey: {Goes into a thousand-yard stare of impending flashback}

Her eyes are dead. She looks like she belongs on a Lurlene McDaniel cover...about a college girl with a failing liver or something.

Also, what's she doing with her leg? It's strange. Charlotte is wearing high-waisted pants, but that's not even worth mentioning about this cover.

Plot!: Stacey has been hiding the truth...the truth about Stacey. She has diabetes. Except...don't we already know this about Stacey? I'm pretty sure it comes out in the first book, when Kristy goes after her about being on a diet. So the truth is...she's a bedwetter? She had a fight with her former New York BFF? She doesn't like her parents running her life? That's what they're doing, taking her to New York so she can be examined by some hotshot semi-quack doctor while her parents plan their next medical jaunt.

While this is all happening, the BSC is under attack from new upstart The Baby-Sitters Agency, fronted by Liz Lewis and Michelle Patterson, older sitters who can stay out until 11:00 or even midnight! But ZOMG, guys...they don't even like babysitting; they're just in it for the money. And they hire babysitters who let Jamie Newton play in the street without his mittens or his hat and who burn a cigarette hole into his couch cushion! So the BSC tries various ways to compete with the BSA, and in the end they have an old-fashioned showdown, which they win (of course).

And on the baby-sitting front, Charlotte Johanssen is shy and has no friends. So Stacey convinces her parents to move her ahead a grade, naturally. And things all work out in the end.

Continuity Fairy: I don't think we ever hear about Stacey's cousins Jonathan, Kirsten, and Cheryl ever again.

Points of Interest: In almost every BSC appearance, Laine and Stacey have some kind of fight (except maybe New York, New York, where Laine basically acts like an activities director). My favourite might be Stacey's Ex-Best Friend, but I'm getting ahead of myself. In this one, we find out that Laine and Stacey haven't really been friends since Stacey peed all over her. What was the attitude towards diabetes like in 1986? Because Stacey's parents sort of treat it like she has AIDS or something, with all of the secrecy and shame that they have towards it. But I'm kind of with Laine here: not only did Stacey pee on her, her best friend was keeping this big secret. So, there.



All of the BSC/BSA interactions are pretty hilarious, because the BSC (who have been in business now for like, six weeks) take it all SO. SERIOUSLY.


"Then," said Kristy, "you must know the kids pretty well by now. A good baby-sitter knows a lot about the children she takes care of. Do you know what Jamie Newton's favorite kind of sandwich is?"


Liz paused. "I only baby-sat for him once," she said.


"It's peanut butter and honey, toasted," said Mary Anne, finding her voice.


"What's Charlotte Johanssen's favorite TV program?" asked Kristy


Liz and Michelle glanced at each other. "Mister Rogers," Michelle said triumphantly.


"Michelle, Charlotte Johanssen is almost eight years old. Her favorite program is The Cosby Show."


"Have you ever sat for the Marshalls?" asked Claudia.


"I have," said Liz. "Two girls: Nina, three, and Eleanor, one." I really thought she was going to add, "So there.")


"Right," said Claudia. And do you know what it means when Eleanor rubs her ears?"


"That she has an earache?"


"No, it means she's getting hungry."

"Do you remember what Nina is allergic to?" asked Mary Anne.


"For heaven's sake, what is this - Twenty Questions?"


Exactly.

Final Thoughts: Stay tuned for my look at The Truth About Stacey: The Graphic Novel!