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The Baby-Sitters Club #111
Stacey's Secret Friend
Despite her busy fall schedule, Stacey takes on the project of helping the fashion clueless newcomer Tess to become better educated about clothing and makeup, but the well-meaning baby-sitter is soon frustrated by Tess's resistance.
112 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
41 people are currently reading
548 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,122 books3,085 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 12, 2011
stacey is in the pep club with barbara hirsch, whom eagle-eyed readers may remember as being the best friend of the girl who was killed by a drunk driver in mary anne & the memory garden. stacey & barbara are putting the finishing touches on a papier mache jaguar they made for the upcoming football game (apparently a jaguar is SMS's mascot) when someone walks right into it & totally destroys it. the culprit is tess swinhart, a new girl. stacey observes that tess has "an unusual face, but not a bad one," with a slightly upturned nose & blue eyes which she unfortunately obscures with over-sized black-rimmed glasses. she is tall & solidly-built & is wearing an awful lot of bright pink. she also has a strange kind of accent that stacey can't really place. stacey thinks tess is odd & is likely to make herself a target for bullying because of her mannerisms & lack of fashion sense, but stacey vows to be nice to tess anyway.
she starts right away by inviting tess to join her & barbara the next afternoon while they rebuild the jaguar. tess accepts, saying that she feels obligated to pitch in because she's the one that wrecked it. stacey has to leave for a babysitters club meeting, so tess helps barabara clean up the papier mache supplies. in the process, she manages to spill papier mache all over alan gray. stacey wonders if this will come back to haunt tess.
the next morning, alan corners stacey to ask about tess & complain about the mess she made with the papier mache. in a stroke of dialogue that no middle schooler would ever actually utter, stacey lets tess's last name slip. alan, for some dumb reason, thinks it's fucking hilarious. he observes that tess wears pink all the time, which makes her look like a pig (huh?), & he decides her alter-ego is swineheart the destroyer. he starts spreading this around the school & pretty much everyone thinks it's funny, i guess because stoneybrook kids don't have a whole lot of experience being bullies. at lunchtime, stacey notices tess chatting with clarence king, kind of a macho bullying character. stacey hears him calls tess "babe," & stacey immediately picks up on how this is a reference to babe the movie pig--tess is once again being called a pig. stacey cringes, but is surprised that tess seems to not get the reference. tess gushes to stacey later about how it seems like clarence likes her, & stacey is all like, "clarence is a jerk. & doesn't it bother you that he called you babe?" tess concedes it was a little sexist, but not a huge deal.
the next day, stacey notices that someone wrote the name "petunia" on tess's locker--a reference to petunia pig. she cleans it off as best she can, but tess still seems oblivious to the fact that she's being picked on. she doesn't even understand the petunia reference.
stacey & tess decide to work on an english project together, & stacey also decides to take it upon herself to help give tess a new look, with the hope that it will reduce the amount of teasing she is facing. she invites tess over to work on the project, but then just spends an hour dropping hints about how tess should get contacts & maybe grow her hair out. she slathers make-up all over tess's face & tries to suggest that pink may not be tess's best color. tess doesn't seem to catch on to anything stacey is trying to accomplish. she says she likes her glasses & short hair because they are easy, & that pink is her favorite color. stacey thinks tess might be better able to make friends in stoneybrook if she joined a club. she invites tess to join pep club (like you can only join by invitation?). tess is reluctant, but agrees.
at the next pep club meeting, tess seems really bored & frustrated. everyone is arguing over whether or not they need a new mascot, & tess is like, "who cares? i thought we were going to work on the jaguar some more." the pep club decides to accept nominations & then have the student body vote at the upcoming football game. meanwhile, tess is not adopting any of stacey's make-over tips. & she is still being picked on. & she still doesn't seem to notice.
tess asks stacey about the babysitters club & stacey replies, "oh, we just added a new member, so we're full up. but we'll find a club for you!" tess is all offended. she hadn't wanted to join the club; she was just making conversation. she also mentions a few things about her old school--that it was near a river, that the kids there seemed a little bit more sophisticated. stacey just kind of nods & doesn't pay much attention because she's too busy wishing that tess wouldn't dress & behave like such a weirdo. but she also constantly congratulates on being nice to tess anyway.
claudia notices stacey's behavior & points out that she (claudia) dresses weird too. stacey's like, "yeah, but you look cool." claudia asks why stacey won't just let tess be tess, & stacey is like, "i need to save her from herself! everyone is making fun of her." claudia asks if stacey really thinks she is helping tess, & stacey insists that she is.
tess again tells stacey about how she thinks clarence likes her. stacey is all, "ew, gross, that guy is a jerk." tess asks if maybe stacey has a crush on clarence, which could explain why stacey is so resistant to tess going out with him. stacey is like, "ew, never!" & tess points out that she's noticed that stacey is kind of stand-off-ish with her. stacey is surprised that tess noticed, but states in no uncertain terms that she does not like clarence.
at the football game, stacey is upset because tess just sits by herself, reading a book, while everyone else is cheering on the team. she wonders why tess even bothered to come if she wasn't going to act peppy. at halftime, stacey & barbara take the field to hold votes for the new mascot. barbara reads the names of the suggested animals & stacey holds up their pictures. "pig" is one suggestion & stacey realizes too late that the picture she's holding up is a photograph of tess. everyone laughs & some kids start throwing hot dogs at tess. she loses her balance & falls off the bleachers, managing to break an ankle & sprain a wrist in the process. stacey wants to ride to the hospital with her in the ambulance to apologize & make sure stacey wasn't in on the prank, but tess turns away & says, "go away, stacey. you are NOT my friend."
when tess comes back to school, stacey notices that she is joking around & hanging out with barbara quite naturally, but she still wants nothing to do with stacey. stacey decides that her need to let tess know what a fantastic friend she is are more important than tess's clearly stated wishes & boundaries, so she swings by tess's house after school to try apologizing again. she's never been to tess's place before, & is surprised when an elegant woman who looks a lot like tess opens the door. it's tess's mother & she direct stacey up the stairs to tess's room. stacey is again surprised that tess's room is decorated in a lively & good-looking sleection of animal prints, with an amazing mobile hanging from the ceiling & prints of french paintings all around. stacey asks about the mobile, & tess finally has a chance to explain that her parents work for the foreign service & her last school was in paris. that's when stacey notices photographs of tess & her friends from her last school laying around. all the girls in the photos have short haircuts like tess's & are wearing big glasses & lots of pink. stacey notices some parisian fashion magazines on the desk, all featuring models dressed a lot like tess. stacey realizes that tess is actually even more sophisticated & cutting edge than she is, being from new york, & that stacey might have known this sooner if she'd ever had a conversation with tess, instead of just trying to make her over all the time. joke's on you, stacey!
stacey apologizes, but tess doesn't really want to hear it. it's not lost on her that stacey's "friendship" was really just pity & charity in disguise. tess says she prefers to be friends with people who accept her as she is. they agree to finish their english project together & then go their separate ways.
the B-plot is all about jackie rodowsky hiring nicky pike as a bodyguard. no one cares.
she starts right away by inviting tess to join her & barbara the next afternoon while they rebuild the jaguar. tess accepts, saying that she feels obligated to pitch in because she's the one that wrecked it. stacey has to leave for a babysitters club meeting, so tess helps barabara clean up the papier mache supplies. in the process, she manages to spill papier mache all over alan gray. stacey wonders if this will come back to haunt tess.
the next morning, alan corners stacey to ask about tess & complain about the mess she made with the papier mache. in a stroke of dialogue that no middle schooler would ever actually utter, stacey lets tess's last name slip. alan, for some dumb reason, thinks it's fucking hilarious. he observes that tess wears pink all the time, which makes her look like a pig (huh?), & he decides her alter-ego is swineheart the destroyer. he starts spreading this around the school & pretty much everyone thinks it's funny, i guess because stoneybrook kids don't have a whole lot of experience being bullies. at lunchtime, stacey notices tess chatting with clarence king, kind of a macho bullying character. stacey hears him calls tess "babe," & stacey immediately picks up on how this is a reference to babe the movie pig--tess is once again being called a pig. stacey cringes, but is surprised that tess seems to not get the reference. tess gushes to stacey later about how it seems like clarence likes her, & stacey is all like, "clarence is a jerk. & doesn't it bother you that he called you babe?" tess concedes it was a little sexist, but not a huge deal.
the next day, stacey notices that someone wrote the name "petunia" on tess's locker--a reference to petunia pig. she cleans it off as best she can, but tess still seems oblivious to the fact that she's being picked on. she doesn't even understand the petunia reference.
stacey & tess decide to work on an english project together, & stacey also decides to take it upon herself to help give tess a new look, with the hope that it will reduce the amount of teasing she is facing. she invites tess over to work on the project, but then just spends an hour dropping hints about how tess should get contacts & maybe grow her hair out. she slathers make-up all over tess's face & tries to suggest that pink may not be tess's best color. tess doesn't seem to catch on to anything stacey is trying to accomplish. she says she likes her glasses & short hair because they are easy, & that pink is her favorite color. stacey thinks tess might be better able to make friends in stoneybrook if she joined a club. she invites tess to join pep club (like you can only join by invitation?). tess is reluctant, but agrees.
at the next pep club meeting, tess seems really bored & frustrated. everyone is arguing over whether or not they need a new mascot, & tess is like, "who cares? i thought we were going to work on the jaguar some more." the pep club decides to accept nominations & then have the student body vote at the upcoming football game. meanwhile, tess is not adopting any of stacey's make-over tips. & she is still being picked on. & she still doesn't seem to notice.
tess asks stacey about the babysitters club & stacey replies, "oh, we just added a new member, so we're full up. but we'll find a club for you!" tess is all offended. she hadn't wanted to join the club; she was just making conversation. she also mentions a few things about her old school--that it was near a river, that the kids there seemed a little bit more sophisticated. stacey just kind of nods & doesn't pay much attention because she's too busy wishing that tess wouldn't dress & behave like such a weirdo. but she also constantly congratulates on being nice to tess anyway.
claudia notices stacey's behavior & points out that she (claudia) dresses weird too. stacey's like, "yeah, but you look cool." claudia asks why stacey won't just let tess be tess, & stacey is like, "i need to save her from herself! everyone is making fun of her." claudia asks if stacey really thinks she is helping tess, & stacey insists that she is.
tess again tells stacey about how she thinks clarence likes her. stacey is all, "ew, gross, that guy is a jerk." tess asks if maybe stacey has a crush on clarence, which could explain why stacey is so resistant to tess going out with him. stacey is like, "ew, never!" & tess points out that she's noticed that stacey is kind of stand-off-ish with her. stacey is surprised that tess noticed, but states in no uncertain terms that she does not like clarence.
at the football game, stacey is upset because tess just sits by herself, reading a book, while everyone else is cheering on the team. she wonders why tess even bothered to come if she wasn't going to act peppy. at halftime, stacey & barbara take the field to hold votes for the new mascot. barbara reads the names of the suggested animals & stacey holds up their pictures. "pig" is one suggestion & stacey realizes too late that the picture she's holding up is a photograph of tess. everyone laughs & some kids start throwing hot dogs at tess. she loses her balance & falls off the bleachers, managing to break an ankle & sprain a wrist in the process. stacey wants to ride to the hospital with her in the ambulance to apologize & make sure stacey wasn't in on the prank, but tess turns away & says, "go away, stacey. you are NOT my friend."
when tess comes back to school, stacey notices that she is joking around & hanging out with barbara quite naturally, but she still wants nothing to do with stacey. stacey decides that her need to let tess know what a fantastic friend she is are more important than tess's clearly stated wishes & boundaries, so she swings by tess's house after school to try apologizing again. she's never been to tess's place before, & is surprised when an elegant woman who looks a lot like tess opens the door. it's tess's mother & she direct stacey up the stairs to tess's room. stacey is again surprised that tess's room is decorated in a lively & good-looking sleection of animal prints, with an amazing mobile hanging from the ceiling & prints of french paintings all around. stacey asks about the mobile, & tess finally has a chance to explain that her parents work for the foreign service & her last school was in paris. that's when stacey notices photographs of tess & her friends from her last school laying around. all the girls in the photos have short haircuts like tess's & are wearing big glasses & lots of pink. stacey notices some parisian fashion magazines on the desk, all featuring models dressed a lot like tess. stacey realizes that tess is actually even more sophisticated & cutting edge than she is, being from new york, & that stacey might have known this sooner if she'd ever had a conversation with tess, instead of just trying to make her over all the time. joke's on you, stacey!
stacey apologizes, but tess doesn't really want to hear it. it's not lost on her that stacey's "friendship" was really just pity & charity in disguise. tess says she prefers to be friends with people who accept her as she is. they agree to finish their english project together & then go their separate ways.
the B-plot is all about jackie rodowsky hiring nicky pike as a bodyguard. no one cares.
June 18, 2018
in this book by ghostwriter Suzanne Weyn, a new girl starts at sms. stacey thinks tess could be popular if she would just join the pep squad and stop wearing such dorky all-pink outfits. the kids in the school start passing around comics about SWINE-HART THE DESTROYER, making fun of tess, and clarence king from Logan's Story pretends to flirt with her by calling her babe. she doesn’t realize kids are making fun of her. stacey tries to give her not-so-subtle tips and makeovers, which she thinks is coming from a place of being nice to her (charity) but is actually kind of awful (lack of tolerance/acceptance). even claudia suggests that stacey might be going too far, and claudia is a makeover lover. finally at one point, the school is supposed to vote on their new mascot. one of the options is a pig, and when stacey holds up the pig picture at the pep rally, it turns out some pranksters have pasted tess’s face on it. someone then throws a hot dog at tess and she falls off the bleachers and breaks her ankle and hurts her wrist. stacey feels awful even though she’s not directly to blame for the incident, but tess is mad at her anyway. stacey goes over to tess’s house to talk about it and tess says that she’s never been a friend to her, and stacey realizes she didn’t even know tess had moved to stoneybrook from paris. stacey sees that tess has photos of her friends (all girls with similar looks to tess’s) and that she has the latest fashion magazines from paris, and the models on the covers have similar looks to tess’s as well. so who’s wrong about fashion in the first place? ooooo bsc, you're so deep. anyway, stacey is apologetic to tess and finally lets her be herself. then the bsc pranks clarence king and alan gray and threatens to publish embarrassing photos of them in the school paper if they don’t leave tess alone. the subplot is that nicky pike is jackie rodowsky's bodyguard and takes it ridiculously seriously (wearing fake biceps and the like). the bsc aren’t sure what’s going on with them, but eventually they find out that some kids thought jackie stole one of their baseball jackets but actually they have the same jacket. then jackie talks it through with them and remedies it without using his fake-beefy bodyguard.
no real highlights to speak of. I liked this book when it came out when I was in middle school, but now I think it’s mostly just miserable, kind of like Abby's Twin.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-stacey narrates that tess is a big boned and large person. really? maybe you should have gotten a big boned, large person to pose for the cover painting, hodges soileau, instead of this skinny girl:
-stacey is super condescending. like when she's walking with tess and claud, tess smiles, and stacey says "what a smile! tess has the best smile...you should smile more. you look so attractive when you smile." and then tries to get claudia to agree with her. it’s so painful.
-stacey pressures tess into joining the pep club, but barbara (from Mary Anne and the Memory Garden) suggests that art club might be a better idea because that's more what tess is into. stacey says no because she feels like she would be passing her problem (the problem being making tess look cool to other kids) on to claudia. uggggghhhhhhhhh.
-I think most of tess’s outfits sound cute, so I don’t know what’s wrong with stacey. also, plastic frame glasses were already relatively mainstream popular by this point (which is fall 1997), partly because weezer was somewhat mainstream popular.
-I spent the whole book thinking that tess was just this cool weirdo who marches to her own drummer and wears these flamboyant outfits because she likes them even though they’re not conventionally accepted as cool. it really irritates me to discover that tess is a huge trend-follower, since she and all of her friends dress exactly the same as the lady on french vogue or whatever.
tess outfits:
-"She wore a short, pale pink cardigan buttoned up to the top. It covered a white blouse with a lace-trimmed Peter Pan collar, which peeked over the cardigan. Her pants were loose-fitting brown. And...she was wearing black boots."
-"She was wearing a hot pink sweat outfit with frilly lace around the collar and sleeves."
-"A bright pink, yellow, and red pantsuit."
-"She wore baggy pink overalls and a long-sleeved, satin shirt with a bright (and I mean bright) pattern of pink and green daisies all over it. She had also clipped a small (but bright) pink plastic barrette in her short hair, the kind little kids wear."
-"Her outfit wasn't too bad either -- nice jeans and a dusty-blue sweatshirt...I saw that she'd spiked her hair and even had on pale, icy pink lipstick."
-"Bright pink corduroy pants with a boxy, nubby, bright pink sweater. The pink plastic clip was back in her hair."
-"She was wearing a bright pink blouse with big puffed sleeves over a short black skirt."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-m&ms (n.s.)
-popcorn (n.s.)
no real highlights to speak of. I liked this book when it came out when I was in middle school, but now I think it’s mostly just miserable, kind of like Abby's Twin.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-stacey narrates that tess is a big boned and large person. really? maybe you should have gotten a big boned, large person to pose for the cover painting, hodges soileau, instead of this skinny girl:
-stacey is super condescending. like when she's walking with tess and claud, tess smiles, and stacey says "what a smile! tess has the best smile...you should smile more. you look so attractive when you smile." and then tries to get claudia to agree with her. it’s so painful.
-stacey pressures tess into joining the pep club, but barbara (from Mary Anne and the Memory Garden) suggests that art club might be a better idea because that's more what tess is into. stacey says no because she feels like she would be passing her problem (the problem being making tess look cool to other kids) on to claudia. uggggghhhhhhhhh.
-I think most of tess’s outfits sound cute, so I don’t know what’s wrong with stacey. also, plastic frame glasses were already relatively mainstream popular by this point (which is fall 1997), partly because weezer was somewhat mainstream popular.
-I spent the whole book thinking that tess was just this cool weirdo who marches to her own drummer and wears these flamboyant outfits because she likes them even though they’re not conventionally accepted as cool. it really irritates me to discover that tess is a huge trend-follower, since she and all of her friends dress exactly the same as the lady on french vogue or whatever.
tess outfits:
-"She wore a short, pale pink cardigan buttoned up to the top. It covered a white blouse with a lace-trimmed Peter Pan collar, which peeked over the cardigan. Her pants were loose-fitting brown. And...she was wearing black boots."
-"She was wearing a hot pink sweat outfit with frilly lace around the collar and sleeves."
-"A bright pink, yellow, and red pantsuit."
-"She wore baggy pink overalls and a long-sleeved, satin shirt with a bright (and I mean bright) pattern of pink and green daisies all over it. She had also clipped a small (but bright) pink plastic barrette in her short hair, the kind little kids wear."
-"Her outfit wasn't too bad either -- nice jeans and a dusty-blue sweatshirt...I saw that she'd spiked her hair and even had on pale, icy pink lipstick."
-"Bright pink corduroy pants with a boxy, nubby, bright pink sweater. The pink plastic clip was back in her hair."
-"She was wearing a bright pink blouse with big puffed sleeves over a short black skirt."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-m&ms (n.s.)
-popcorn (n.s.)
February 23, 2019
Tess was an interesting character and the anti-bullying lesson was well presented.
The rating is lower than normally because I didn't like that Alan Gray was out of character -- he's never been portrayed as particularly malicious before. I got really annoyed with Stacey's attitude, though I don't believe she deserved as much of the blame as she had gotten. There's no easy way to tell someone that the rest of the school is making fun of them behind the back, so I could see why she would hesitate to be honest with Tess about it, but the makeover scene was clumsily done. And why did Stacey have to be a secret friend to Tess? Because no one was getting picked on for being Tess's friend or getting along with her.
The rating is lower than normally because I didn't like that Alan Gray was out of character -- he's never been portrayed as particularly malicious before. I got really annoyed with Stacey's attitude, though I don't believe she deserved as much of the blame as she had gotten. There's no easy way to tell someone that the rest of the school is making fun of them behind the back, so I could see why she would hesitate to be honest with Tess about it, but the makeover scene was clumsily done. And why did Stacey have to be a secret friend to Tess? Because no one was getting picked on for being Tess's friend or getting along with her.
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November 15, 2023Stacey is a jerk and it was so gross how she tried to change Tess against her will. I felt bad for Tess because she did nothing wrong and never wanted (or needed) Stacey's advice in the first place. Some people are just weird and that's okay. Not everybody needs to conform to society's standards of beauty. Stacey needed to stay in her own lane. I loved when Tess told her off, because she was right. I'm glad she ended up befriending Barbara, which was a nice closure for the latter's character (Barbara's best friend Amelia was tragically killed in a previous book).
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July 29, 2020As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
January 17, 2021
(LL)
This was a little better than I was expecting based on the title and plot summary, but it wasn’t as good as it could have been. It’s another one of those books that tries to teach the reader a good lesson, but it really just makes the main character (Stacey for this one) look like a bad person. It’s unfortunate because this has been happening to almost all of Stacey’s books since she decided to leave the club (briefly) many books back.
This was a little better than I was expecting based on the title and plot summary, but it wasn’t as good as it could have been. It’s another one of those books that tries to teach the reader a good lesson, but it really just makes the main character (Stacey for this one) look like a bad person. It’s unfortunate because this has been happening to almost all of Stacey’s books since she decided to leave the club (briefly) many books back.
February 23, 2023
While working on a pep rally project with Barbara, Stacey is surprised when the new girl, Tess Swinhart, accidentally ruins the papier-mache jaguar. Tess offers to help them fix it, and as they hang out more, Stacey realizes that Tess is constantly being made fun off. Stacey makes it her mission to make Tess cool, but it quickly backfires...and Stacey needs to learn that she should accept people the way they are.
March 11, 2024
Stacey is kind of a jerk in this book (and I love her but that's often the case), and learns a valuable lesson about trying to change people. This one has a particularly weak subplot about Jackie Rodowsky being mysterious (except the reason is very obvious), and hardly any other babysitting, although there are a couple of scenes with the other babysitters--mostly at school. Not the worst BSC book I've ever read, but definitely on the weak side.
March 18, 2023
When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
May 12, 2023
Valuable lesson learned by Stacey here. Though honestly I thought she'd be kinder than this so even though the book tried to explain her good intentions, I'm a bit disappointed at how she acted. Good on Tess for calling her out.
October 20, 2017
Wow, Stacey. Really? Way to be a total jerk to a poor girl who has been living in France.
Ugh.
Also the B-Plot sucked.
Ugh.
Also the B-Plot sucked.
November 24, 2019
Review on www.audible.com please listen to this book.
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March 9, 2021Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/stacey...
April 8, 2023
Stacey is the worst in this book.
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February 1, 2026Despite her busy fall schedule, Stacey takes on the project of helping the fashion clueless newcomer Tess to become better educated about clothing and makeup, but the well-meaning baby-sitter is soon frustrated by Tess's resistance.
May 26, 2018
Stacey's Secret Friend
PLOT: Doesn't this title just say it all? Stacey's secret friend was about a girl named Tess Swinehart who bumps into Stacey and Barbara (who are on the pep squad) while they are creating a jaguar out of paper marche for a pep rally. Because of Tess's artistic skills, she offers to help fix the jaguar. But the Jaguar isn't the only one that gets a makeover. Because she wears all pink (a good color by the way) the kids at school start making pig references to her and start a comic book. Stacey gets this idea that if she could only "fix" Tessa: give her makeup tips, and style suggestions the other kids will accept her. But things go from bad to worse and Tess ends up injured because of a cruel prank. Meanwhile, Jackie and Nicky have been acting strangely and gluing themselves to each other's sides twenty-four seven. What's up with that?
MY THOUGHTS:
*So TESS is weird and doesn't look like she knows what she's doing and looks like she picks her clothes as if her closet has exploded but Claudia DOESN'T? REALLY? That can SERIOUSLY be debated!
*Stacey's kind of a jerk in this! It makes me angry how some people can be different like Tess (not as outgoing, not as social, brainy, book-wormish, introverted, not want to date, etc) and people look at them as if they're a "challenge" to be "changed" or "fixed". When in actuality they're comfortable in their own skin and are just fine with the way they are. It's not THEM that's the problem! Tess may be different but she's ok with herself.
*I kind of feel bad for Tess, because she's so clueless. She can't even see that she's being used as the butt of King's joke. Do you not just want to smack her upside the head. And then what kind of "friend" is Stacey to just let it happen and not speak up? (shaking my head). Just WRONG!
*And now I have a problem with Tess. I have a problem with people/characters who are "followers" even when it's not their thing. Tess clearly isn't into sports. So then why is she even *at* the football game? Even if it was in support of King, it comes off as VERY phony.
*Wow! They threw a HOT DOG at her? Yes there were those odd kids at my school that people talked about and laughed at but no one went as far to attack them AT SCHOOL. That's crazy! It's kind of funny but then again it's kind of sad at the same time.
RATING: 8. Don't you kind of see Tess pulling a "Carrie" at that homecoming? The plot of this book felt so familiar to me because in a lot of ways I'm like Tess. I'm an introvert and I have people in my life that I saw as friend's who don't really understand me and make suggestions of what "they" think I need to do to improve my life because they think I should be "enjoying my life" more. They think it's crazy that I choose not to date any-more and would rather stay in front of my computer than be out. The best scene in this book was when Tess went off on Stacey and her speech to her that she was no one's project. And still I think the only reason Stacey saw Tess through different eyes was that she lived in Paris. Had she not seen her room and her pictures she would have continued to treat her like she was something that needed to be fixed. And yes I said something. People like that ARENT friend's. Real friend's accept you who are and think your cool the way you are. I had to learn that. And I'm glad that the book ended like it did and Tess and Stacey didn't remain "friends". Probably rather they'll be associates. And I was glad to see "King" get his comeuppance. Although I did feel Tess let him off easy after the public humiliation and the pain he caused her. Which she probably should have sued him for
PLOT: Doesn't this title just say it all? Stacey's secret friend was about a girl named Tess Swinehart who bumps into Stacey and Barbara (who are on the pep squad) while they are creating a jaguar out of paper marche for a pep rally. Because of Tess's artistic skills, she offers to help fix the jaguar. But the Jaguar isn't the only one that gets a makeover. Because she wears all pink (a good color by the way) the kids at school start making pig references to her and start a comic book. Stacey gets this idea that if she could only "fix" Tessa: give her makeup tips, and style suggestions the other kids will accept her. But things go from bad to worse and Tess ends up injured because of a cruel prank. Meanwhile, Jackie and Nicky have been acting strangely and gluing themselves to each other's sides twenty-four seven. What's up with that?
MY THOUGHTS:
*So TESS is weird and doesn't look like she knows what she's doing and looks like she picks her clothes as if her closet has exploded but Claudia DOESN'T? REALLY? That can SERIOUSLY be debated!
*Stacey's kind of a jerk in this! It makes me angry how some people can be different like Tess (not as outgoing, not as social, brainy, book-wormish, introverted, not want to date, etc) and people look at them as if they're a "challenge" to be "changed" or "fixed". When in actuality they're comfortable in their own skin and are just fine with the way they are. It's not THEM that's the problem! Tess may be different but she's ok with herself.
*I kind of feel bad for Tess, because she's so clueless. She can't even see that she's being used as the butt of King's joke. Do you not just want to smack her upside the head. And then what kind of "friend" is Stacey to just let it happen and not speak up? (shaking my head). Just WRONG!
*And now I have a problem with Tess. I have a problem with people/characters who are "followers" even when it's not their thing. Tess clearly isn't into sports. So then why is she even *at* the football game? Even if it was in support of King, it comes off as VERY phony.
*Wow! They threw a HOT DOG at her? Yes there were those odd kids at my school that people talked about and laughed at but no one went as far to attack them AT SCHOOL. That's crazy! It's kind of funny but then again it's kind of sad at the same time.
RATING: 8. Don't you kind of see Tess pulling a "Carrie" at that homecoming? The plot of this book felt so familiar to me because in a lot of ways I'm like Tess. I'm an introvert and I have people in my life that I saw as friend's who don't really understand me and make suggestions of what "they" think I need to do to improve my life because they think I should be "enjoying my life" more. They think it's crazy that I choose not to date any-more and would rather stay in front of my computer than be out. The best scene in this book was when Tess went off on Stacey and her speech to her that she was no one's project. And still I think the only reason Stacey saw Tess through different eyes was that she lived in Paris. Had she not seen her room and her pictures she would have continued to treat her like she was something that needed to be fixed. And yes I said something. People like that ARENT friend's. Real friend's accept you who are and think your cool the way you are. I had to learn that. And I'm glad that the book ended like it did and Tess and Stacey didn't remain "friends". Probably rather they'll be associates. And I was glad to see "King" get his comeuppance. Although I did feel Tess let him off easy after the public humiliation and the pain he caused her. Which she probably should have sued him for
January 25, 2010
This was better than the previous book but, seriously, Stacey is so clueless! A new girl moves to their school and there are several hints that her last school was "different" but Tess always gets cut off before she can reveal anything useful. She has an obsession with wearing pink clothes and she has - shock, horror! - short hair and thick glasses (I guess these were only popular in the Noughties). Stacey and her get paired up on an English project and also help to rebuild the school mascot that Tess accidentally trod on. Stacey constantly drops hints about how Tess could alter her appearance and even gives her a make-over. Tess clearly is happy with how she looks but Stacey doesn't realise this. At some point, Tess does something silly to upset Alan Gray and he turns the whole school against her by calling her a pig (because she's a bit stocky and wears pink). It gets to the stage where the whole school makes a fool out of her at a football game and she falls over and hurts herself and tells Stacey to finally leave her alone. Stacey still doesn't realise why Tess is angry with her, even though the rest of the BSC keep on dropping hints. Guys, I would have just told her what she was doing wrong! Stacey goes round to Tess's house and discovers that she went to school in France and actually, she just has a lot of French style and habits, which makes her less weird. But Stacey isn't ready to apologise and Tess asks her to leave. Finally, Stacey ends up helping Tess when it's revealed that some guy has set her up on a fake date to make fun of her. The BSC step in and help her make a fool of him and Tess goes off with her real friends - who she made without Stacey's help! Stacey finally realises that she wasn't really just friends with Tess, she just wanted to "fix" her. However, she doesn't seem to totally apologise to her. The sub-plot is pretty stupid: some kids are after Jackie because they think he stole a jacket and Nicky is acting like a bodyguard to protect him. Then, one day, Nicky is out and the boys turn up and Jackie has to deal with them. Everything is fine. Pointless sub-plot! Overall, I think Stacey learnt and excellent lesson, and the bullying of Tess was very realistic. I liked how Tess didn't care what anyone thought of her and had her own personality. This book gets 8/10 from me.
October 26, 2024
What was the point of this book? As the books go higher up they seem to get worse. So in this one Stacey is awful. A new girl with a weird accent, short hair, thick glasses and an extreme love of pink. She stumbles into a jaguar Stacey and Barbara Hirsch are making destroying it. Stacey decides to make over the new girl named Tess even though Tess doesn't want it. Tess is also very clumsy and earns the nickname Swinehart the Destroyer because her last name is Swinhart. Clarence King takes an apparent interest in her but he's a mean old bully so we know that's not what he wants. Tess is oblivious to all this sort of like me head in the clouds. They call her pig because she wears pig and is to quote Stacey big boned and tall with an upturned nose. Then when the school is picking a new mascot one of the options is a pig and Stacey holds up a picture of Tess. Tess falls off the bleachers and breaks her ankle and is pissed at Stacey. As a Tess like person I agree with her. Go away Stacey us nerds are doing fine without you. Then she finds out Tess is from France and far more sophisticated than her New York ass ever was. The b plot involves Nicky Pike and Jackie Rodowsky and something about a bodyguard I honestly don't remember anything about it. This was pointless really.
May 1, 2013
Fantastic books for young girls getting into reading!! Great stories about friendship and life lessons. The characters deal with all sorts of situations and often find responsible solutions to problems.
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
December 3, 2013
Stacey being her absolute worst self. I don't think AMM (or the ghost-writer) likes her much. At least she's a clueless mean girl and not a deliberate mean girl, but that's about the best I can say for her.
February 5, 2011
Stacey's kind of a bitch.
July 3, 2012
I loved the BSC series when I was younger and even more glad that I held on to them all these years so my children would be able to enjoy them as well. I would recommend for tween girls.
November 1, 2013
In which Stacey befriends the oddly cool (to me anyway) Tess Swinhart in order to make her over into a Stacey Clone, but not as hot. Tess is too cool for that and hilariously resists.w
February 2, 2016
Even if it inludes a quite-serious accident, I thought it was quite funny. Specially how oblivious Stacey is about her own behavior.
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