“Why was I always choosing between my parents?”…..BSC # 58: Stacey’s Choice

Memory Reaction

So, either Stacey was really annoying in this book, or I was a bratty pre-teen. Or maybe a little of both. Cause my memory of this one is how Stacey was super-over-dramatic and annoying. Her mom gets pneumonia and Stacey acts like if she leaves her mom alone to go to school, or to see her dad, her mom will be totally helpless. Not to sound insensitive, but her mother is an adult. She doesn't need you that much.

I also remember a major typo in the book where they mention Mary Anne’s mom showing up to take care of Mrs. McGill. It stuck in my head cause, you know, Mary Anne’s mom is dead. It is in chapter two of every book, so the ghostwriter has no excuse for that one.

Revisited Reaction

I think I am going to go with Stacey is over-dramatic and annoying. Cause..yeah, she just is. Her mother passes out at a job interview and ends up in the hospital. They diagnose her with pneumonia (which is serious, but not a HUGE deal) and send her home. Stacey decides that since her mom always takes care of her when she is sick, she should do the same for her mom. Which is admirable, but remember how Stacey always says she wants her parents to leave her alone when she is sick? Maybe she should be a little understanding. Maybe I am biased because I like to be left alone when I’m sick, but it still seems a little over the top.

Stacey eventually decides she can’t miss weeks of school to stay with her mom, and she decides to line up “mom sitters.” She gets all the parents of BSC clients to come over to watch over her mom. Which, really? I think her mom can handle being alone for a couple hours. If an emergency happened she could call a neighbor. She is supposedly friends with Mal’s mom, who lives right near there. But, whatever.

Meanwhile, Stacey’s dad gets promoted to Vice President of his company, and they have a dinner in his honor. Her dad brings Stacey as his guest, but since Mrs. McGill is sick, Stacey is worried about going to NYC for so long. She finally decides to go for the night, but come back in the morning (instead of staying all weekend). Her dad gets a visiting nurse to show up, and Stacey lines up “mom sitters,” but Stacey still insists on calling home every five minutes and leaving the dinner (in honor of her dad) early so she can get up at 5 am for an early train.

When she gets home, they realize there were multiple people lined up to take care of Maureen (is that her mom’s name?) Then she and her dad argue, then reconcile, and Stacey angsts about being the child of divorced parents. Then her mom recovers and gets a job at a department store where she can get employee discounts. So everything is good.

Meanwhile, the BSCers who are not being melodramatic are dealing with a new sitting issue. The neighborhood kids decide to spend all their time ordering things from catalogues. Random stuff like “moon dust,” a “bust developer,” lotion for crows feet, a slicer and dicer, etc. After awhile the kids realize it is crap and since they have no money left, they write songs/skits/etc to try and sell it. No one buys anything, but most of the parents give them money for the show. So everyone is happy.

High/Lowlights

• Stacey is surprised her mom only went on two job interviews in one day. How much time does she think an interview takes?

• Are the kids in BSC-land really going to buy stuff like bust developers and baby-bottle liners? And are their parents really letting them?

• I totally remember this scene: Krsity says how she once ordered an album called “Sixties Rock and Roll by the Original Artists.” And it was all covers by a band called the Original Artists. I think of that every time I see commercials for collections of old music.

• Jessi talks about how she once unwittingly signed up for a “cassette club” – where she got a lot of tapes for a low price, then needed to keep sending money. How does a kid join one of those things without their parents’ involvement?

• In this book, they talk about a new restaurant called “The Rosebud Café” – which is where Logan works later on. But they keep referring to it as “Ye Olde Ice-Cream Parlour.”

• In the mail order thing, the Barrets get a personalized book for Marnie. They send her name and stats and get a book about a girl named Marnie. It actually sounds cool – like a longer mad-lib or something.

• Vanessa Pike orders a bust developer, and Claire keeps asking her what it is for. No one will tell her, not even Mr. Pike. It is actually kind of funny. And Kristy makes jokes about wanting to use it as well.

• Ouch, this is cold. Stacey’s dad tells her she is the only one he has to bring to the dinner, and she is all, “maybe that’s cause you’re a workaholic.”

• So, Patsy Kuhn, who is 5, is deemed too little to order any stuff with her siblings. Meanwhile, Claire Pike and Suzi Barrett both get to do it. They are both five too, right?

• Stacey’s dad is promoted to Vice President…do we know what he does? Because I can’t believe he is the only Vice President in his company? The one I work for has dozens.

• Okay, this is freaky. The part that talks about “Mary Anne’s mom” says “Dawn’s mom.” Now, I know that mistake was in the book. I got this one from the library, and it has a new cover, so I guess they fixed the type in a reprint. Is it wrong that I am upset to see it fixed. It feels like a cover up or something.

• Stacey’s outfit for the big dinner: “a hot pink (fake) silk jacket which fell to [her] knees, new black leggings, pink-and-black socks, and a black body suit. [She] planned to wear the outfit with black flats, and to dress it up with some jewelry and maybe a couple of barrettes.” I actually think that sounds cute, but it is not exactly formal-ware.

• Stacey shops at “Zingy’s” which is the store they mention a lot. But this time, it is in downtown Stoneybrook, not the mall.

• One of these companies the kids buy stuff from sells “moon dust,” and it claims there are only twenty in the world. Isn’t that just blatant false advertising? Also, would anyone over ten fall for it? It doesn’t seem like a smart business plan.

• Wow, when Stacey goes to New York, she packs her outfit for the dinner, but plans to wear the same outfit (as the day before) on the train home. I am shocked that Stacey of all people would do that.

• Stacey’s dad introduces her to the president of his company, and she is all amazed at first…I guess thinking that it was the president of the U.S.?

• I can’t believe Stacey’s dad lets her decide when they leave. The dinner isn’t even over, and Stacey is all, “we must leave so I can get up at the crack of dawn.” That should be when he tells her he hired a visiting nurse for her mom.

• This is kind of random, but when I was reading the book, I started thinking about that homeless woman, Judy, that Stacey talks about in some of the NY books. Then she actually mentions her to her dad (who just sort of shrugs).

• The kids make up rap songs to sell their crap, so they all get together to rehearse. And poor Mallory is sitting for one family, then has to watch like a dozen of them at once.

• Mrs. Barrett gives the kids a quarter for their show. That seems…cheap. When I was little, my friend and I had a lemonade stand and when we sold stuff for a quarter, people gave us twice that. (Which is why, I now always stop when I see kids selling lemonade). But anyway, she wouldn’t have to give them any, if she hadn’t let her kids waste their own money.

• Apparently the kids made up a skit about the bust developer. I really want to know what this was like.

• Ha, Claud actually does buy wrinkle remover from the kids.

• So, Stacey’s mom missed her job interview at Bellar’s cause she was sick. So, when she calls the company about it, they just reschedule. Cause I am sure a company would just wait to make a hiring decision.