Mary Anne and the Memory Garden

The Baby-Sitters Club #93

by Ann M. Martin

After a fun winter break, Mary Anne is glad to be back at SMS. She's excited about her English project, and optimistic about the weeks ahead.

Nothing could have prepared Mary Anne for the awful news that Amelia Freeman, a friend and a partner on her English project has suddenly died.

Everyone at school is shocked and saddened. Gradually the other kids recover. But Mary Anne only feels worse. If only she could do something for Amelia. . .

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Juvenile, Contemporary, Novels

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Ann 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...

Reviews

[FIND ME ON STORYGRAPH · Rating 4 out of 5]

in the first TRULY GOOD book by ghostwriters Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner (for real, their books up to this point have gotten an average of 2 stars out of me), mary anne is excited about the group she’s been assigned to for her shakespeare project, which consists of some of her favorite acquaintances, including amelia freeman, who has been referenced as an 8th grader at sms before (as far as I can remember, only in Dawn Saves the Planet). her excitement is cut short when amelia is suddenly killed by a drunk driver. the book quickly turns into a case study about different types of reactions to grief. many kids in the school are very angry at the drunk driver, while others struggle to figure out how to behave around amelia’s brother and best friend. kristy seems to be taking it the hardest; at bsc meetings, she stares blankly at a wall and says nothing, which if you know anything about kristy is truly truly disturbing behavior. when some kids start an SADD chapter at sms, kristy gets better, since she is able to throw herself into a project. but mary anne still struggles with her sadness and even goes to see dr. reese, a therapist she has seen in the past (who we know about from Chain Letter), who explains to her that it’s normal to be sad about losing a friend. eventually mary anne decides to memorialize amelia by helping create a garden on the sms grounds. part of how she comes to this decision is the only reason for the exceedingly mundane subplot, in which dawn is upset that a local lot in palo city is crappy, so she and her friends and babysitting charges fix it up and turn it into a community garden. this subplot would be boring in any book, but it’s borderline offensive in this book, since these chapters have such a radical difference in tone from the others.

highlights, most of which are just sad moments that were handled well:
-the number one most important thing is that it's a mary anne book but I still liked it. mary anne actually has a reason to be sad, so I don't have my usual problem of her making other people's sadnesses about her.
-claud is making a rube goldberg invention. I love it, mostly because it makes me think about how in this day and age with all the arts inclusion in STEM stuff she would probably actually thrive in school
-for their shakespeare project, mary anne and amelia’s group intends to make an elizabethan newspaper complete with a gossip column, hints from heloise, etc. that are thematically appropriate for shakespeare’s time. so cute!
-amelia talks about having mary anne and the other kids in their shakespeare project group go with her family to dinner, but they can’t because the family has a small car and they wouldn’t fit in it. mary anne remembers this at one point and wonders whether she would’ve been in the car for the crash. it adds a level of intensity, since she knows she could’ve been in the car.
-dr. reese's theory about kristy’s inability to recover from amelia’s death and then her sudden bounce back after starting the SADD chapter is that kristy felt helpless and needed to do something to channel her anger, and organizing something made her feel productive and like she was solving a problem.
-when josh (amelia's brother) comes back to school, kids don't know how to talk to him so they avoid him. claud talks about how when mimi died she appreciated people talking about mimi and felt like they didn't care about her death if they avoided talking about her. abby says that in spite of the awkwardness, josh will appreciate people talking to him about amelia.
-one of sharon's best friends died when she was young. she tells about how she used to pick up the phone to call jane when something funny happened and then remember.
-mary anne is worried that she will behave inappropriately at the funeral (cry too loud, say the wrong thing to the family, etc) and the guidance counselor tells her it's normal to feel that way
-mary anne talks to josh when he's finally back at school to give him condolences and he totally breaks down
-I love this line: "even though I know that therapists can help you with your problems, a tiny part of me worries that I might be crazy." so many people feel this way, and they could all use therapy (because everyone could use therapy)
-at dr. reese's behest, mary anne makes an amelia journal of her memories. she puts in good and bad things about her, keeping her human
-damn, I'm crying. josh's speech at the dedication of the garden: "in closing I would like to thank someone who can't be here to accept your applause. someone who was always willing to listen when I needed to talk. someone who made sure I was included in her friends' games. someone who was never ashamed to tell me she loved me. I'd like to thank my sister. we love you, amelia. and we will always miss you."
-ann's note at the end includes a reference to her friend lisa novak peretz who was brutally murdered (because she and others made the lisa novak libraries in honor of her, like mary anne helps to make the garden in honor of amelia)

lowlights/nitpicks:
-a kid at school says that a drunk driver is as bad as someone who takes a gun and shoots someone. now, I really hate drunk driving and think it's awful and think that people who do it suck but this is just not true. death due to neglect versus death due to intent: both legally and morally different.
-the dawn plotline. it makes the book feel weirdly disjointed.

claud outfit:
-"Today she was wearing a black derby hat with a red-and-white polka dot ribbon, which matched her "ruby slippers" (high-top sneakers with red sequins). Black-and-white striped trousers with red suspenders, and a black long-sleeved T-shirt completed the outfit."

mary anne outfits:
-"I was wearing...a vest Claud had found at a vintage clothing store. She'd decorated it with funky pins and a burgundy silk rose corsage. I was wearing the vest, along with my denim skirt and a white blouse Dad had given me for Christmas."
-"I raced back to my room, threw on the first things I could find--a jean skirt, red cotton sweater and loafers--then made a beeline for the stairs."

snacks in claudia’s room:
-pretzels (n.s.)
-homemade cookies shaped like top hats with "happy new yeer!" written on them
-apple cider (n.s.)
-chocolate stars (n.s.)

[Ciara · Rating 1 out of 5]

my bias against mary anne strikes again. okay, so, mary anne's english class is doing a group project on william shakespeare. mary anne is assigned to a group with gordon brown (who was a good sport about having to partner with howie johnson on the egg baby project), barbara hirsch, & amelia freeman. barbara & amelia are best friends & mary anne likes both of them, though we have never heard of them before. they decide to write a newspaper about shakespeare's historical time period, with reviews of his plays, current events from the day, sales for wagons & other olde-thyme crap, etc. it's a cute idea & everyone is excited about it. amelia leaves their first brainstorming session a little early because she's checking out a new italian restaurant with her family. mary anne goes to bed feeling happy & excited about the project.

the next morning, she is running late. by the time she catches up with the babysitters club members to walk the school, they have all heard that there was an car accident outside town the night before. claudia has more details: it was a family of four, hit by a drunk driver. a 13-year-old died. everyone else is alive, though they have broken bones.

the principal calls a school-wide assembly to break the news that amelia is the 13-year-old that was killed. everyone cries. the principal has grief counselors standing by, & tells the students that they are allowed to miss class the following week to attend amelia's funeral. mary anne is stunned. kristy handles the news worst of all. she just can't stop crying. at lunch, she rails against drunk drivers & abby agrees (her father was also killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver). stacey worries about what to say to amelia's brother & to barbara when she sees them. abby is really grim & is like, "tell them you're sorry for their loss & you will miss amelia. don't just ignore them." claudia agrees & says that she appreciated it when people mentioned mimi to her, rather than pretending that mimi never died. mary anne is so concerned about kristy's weepy reaction to the news that she doesn't really think about anything else.

a few days later in english class, the teacher asks mary anne's group if they want to scale back their project to something more easily accomplished by three people. they decide to follow through with the newspaper idea to honor amelia & her suggestions.

kristy is STILL not handling her shit well. she's distracted at BSC meetings & can't stop crying. finally abby suggests that they start a stoneybrook chapter of students against driving drunk to honor amelia's memory. kristy throws herself into the project & is soon back to her usual non-stop idea machine self. but then mary anne starts to feel really sad, despairing, hopeless, & listless. she starts sleeping all the time & can't concentrate. after a week of this, she calls her old therapist, dr. reese. she admits to dr. reese that she is angry that amelia's life was snuffed out so young, because of someone else's selfish carelessness. she tells dr. reese about kristy's surprisingly emotional reaction to amelia's death & students against driving drunk. dr. reese points out that kristy's reaction was about a loss of control--it scared her that amelia could die in a car accident with no warning & there was nothing anyone could do. starting students against driving drunk was a way for kristy to regain a sense of control. as long as mary anne could divert her energy into taking care of kristy, she felt okay, but now that kristy is standing on her own two feet again, mary anne has nothing to feel but sadness over her friend's death. she is in mourning & she just needs to work through it. this makes mary anne feel a little better, but she thinks she will feel a lot better if she can find a way to honor amelia's memory.

she is inspired by letters from dawn about a project she has taken on in california. there was an abandoned lot in her neighborhood, full of trash & old wood & all kinds of crap. dawn thought it was an eyesore & a health hazard, especially after one of her sitting charges fell in the lot & punctured his hand on an old rusty nail. she gathers together some friends & sitting charges & they clean out the lot. then they hold a fundraiser in the neighborhood to buy gardening gear, & they turn the lot into a beautiful community garden. on the day they do their planting, the owner of the lot shows up. he points out that they may have cleaned & beautified the lot, but it's still his lot, & he could tear out all their plants or sell the lot or do whatever he wants. he makes dawn nervous, but he says he will let them have their garden. a few weeks later he stops by again while dawn is weeding with one of her sitting charges. dawn realizes he was checking up to make sure people are really taking care of the garden & it's not just a fleeting fancy. he tells dawn that he is giving the garden to the neighborhood.

mary anne decides that the students at stoneybrook middle school should plant a garden for amelia. she pitches the idea to barbara & amelia's brother, josh, & they like it. they ask the administrators, & after some wrangling, the school offers them the school courtyard. they'll plant flowers & install a bench with a plaque with amelia's name on it. mary anne knows she will always miss amelia, but she feels better having done something productive & beautiful to honor amelia's memory.

basically, this book was a huge snore. i guess it handled the "death of a classmate" storyline pretty decently, but it definitely had a treacly "very special episode" feel.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This one surprised me. Especially after the last few books have been okay or boring. It starts with some foreshadowing of what will be the last book in the series where Mary Anne and Sharon are talking about the fire hazard their house is. Mary Anne, Logan and Kristy are taking down the Christmas decorations. Three books taking place very close together I see. Then school starts up again and in Mary Anne's English class they are doing a project on Shakespeare. Mary Anne is paired with two girls Amelia and Barbara who are best friends and also friendly with Mary Anne and one boy Howie. They all like each other and get along great, ideas flow and after their first study session they part ways excited to get started. Sadly Amelia is killed by a drunk driver that night and sends everyone reeling including me. I cried several times throughout this book. It's heartbreaking to hear about the death of a child even a fictional one and this book does a good job showing grief and how if affects people differently. From Mary Anne's tears and eventual exhaustion to Kristy going numb until she decides to start a local chapter of SADD. Mary Anne eventually channels her grief into creating a memory garden in honour of Amelia. She's inspired by the b plot which is Dawn Sunny and the gang cleaning up an abandoned lot after one of their sitting charges falls on a rusty nail and needs a tetanus shot. They turn the lot onto into a beautiful garden despite some issues with the owner. But the main plot was quite well done and an excellent look at grief especially how it affects younger people.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sick again and craving a BSC comfort read, so I grabbed this one off my bookshelf. I've always loved this book, especially since the quality of these were definitely tapering off by this time yet this one is actually really good.

I recently lost my best friend, and reading about other people grieving was strangely comforting to me. For the short time it took me to read this, I could concentrate on someone else's sorrow over mine, and for that I am grateful.

[Rachu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve got to admit, this book went places I didn’t expect the BSC to go. There were elements of suspense in it that surprised me. It was preachy (in the way kids books can be about Serious topics) but that’s to be expected.

Also, always happy to see more Alan.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always disliked that out of all the background SMS characters, they killed off someone who was practically introduced in this book. (Amelia was mentioned in Dawn Saves the Planet , but don't ask me what her role was.) Don't get me wrong, I love Erica Blumberg, Emily Bernstein. Howie Johnson, Austin Bentley, and the Shillaber twins, but I feel like the death would be more impactful on the reader if it was someone that we vaguely "knew." Now that said, I totally wept like a baby while reading this book this time, so maybe Amelia was a good choice. Because there wasn't as much personal connection - it made sense for Mary Anne to be weepy, and it made an interesting story with Kristy showing her grief.

That's what I liked best about this book: all the ways the characters deal with grief, with loss. That nobody knew what to say to Amelia's brother when he came back to school. That Mary Anne had a few sessions with her therapist, and that talking to the grief counsellors at school was normal. This book was written in 1996, and it actually seems ahead of its time, talking about mental health and therapy in such a "it's okay, it's normal" way, and not in an after-school special kind of way.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the read when I I finally read it and I think they addressed grief from being a victim of drinking and driving well. I also think it was responsible to have extra support for students after the death, but this was my problem: evidence based research with children and youth say that holding an assembly to announce the death or plant something in honor of the departed soul is NOT recommended, and yet these two things were done in the book. It could lead to more collective grief or lead to cluster suicides among students. The goal should be to expect that students may attend the actual funeral and memorial services with school personnel keeping the absence in mind. Maybe more research could have been done prior to writing this book, though it could have very well been a ghostwriter. Anyways this was written in the late 90s so I have no way of knowing if research determined this and learned from that time that the approaches taken were NOT recommended after all. Maybe decades ago memorials were acceptable, but we have more information now and I think it’s important to get an appropriate social message out there to children and youth instead of gloryfing death

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book resonated with me when I was younger. I read this at the end of 5th grade, and when I was in 6th grade I had a very wonderful teacher pass away. I had had family members die before, but that was different for me. I had been much younger, and not able to fully comprehend the situation. When he died, however, it just...hit in a different way. One moment he had been alive, young and vibrant and fun, and then he was gone. He'd been in a bad car accident a couple of months prior and had told us all about it. He hadn't been hurt, and had felt lucky to walk away. Then, out of nowhere, a heart issue he hadn't known about did him in.

This book helped me cope a little better, by making me feel that grief was universal. I wasn't just feeling it, everyone else around me was too. When I re-read this book today at work, I admit I teared up. Some things are hard to read about, even in a kids book. It just felt real, and I think that they handled the topic well. It was very eloquently done for a BSC book.

[Lianna Kendig · Rating 3 out of 5]

(LL)
This book got half of the lessons correct. Mary Anne talking to Dr. Reese was great, as it showed that it’s okay to talk to someone if your mental state isn’t stable. However, they failed to properly address addiction and mental illness. This is a complex issue that was glossed over and the driver was viewed as a “drunken monster,” and that made the language problematic in a few ways. I’d hope if it were written today the language would reflect the sign of the times and be better about tackling mental health and all the parts that make it up...especially addiction and the proper way to discuss it.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Anne books usually don't do it for me at all, and this one was a little after school special-esque, but it worked really well for me. The set-up to the main plotline worked really well and it felt real and out of the blue for me, too--even though it was highly telegraphed which student it would be before the reveal. I wish the book had delved a little more into the other babysitters and how they handled grief, if only because Kristy's grief was so well-portrayed, but in such a large book that may have been too much of an overstep.

If not for the Dawn parts of the book (which were much weaker, and not just because I don't love Dawn) this one may have gotten a perfect 5 stars.

[Molly]

For some reason, this was my favorite BSC book as a kid and I read it over and over. It was interesting to return to it as an adult, especially after losing two close friends in the past year and a half. Although the drunk driving aspect often made this story read somewhat like an Afterschool Special, I appreciated that it covered the many presentations of grief: anger, depression, helplessness, etc. I'm glad I reread this.

[star_fire13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure this was my first time reading this, as I know I could never find it as a child, and I'm pretty sure I didn't read it when I found it at a yard sale years ago.

Despite that, I feel like I had read Dawn's subplot before. But perhaps it was just a detailed synopsis?? Either way, I'm glad I finally read this book. It wasn't as gut-punching as I thought it would be. It's no Claudia and the Sad Good-Bye, but it's not too cringe either.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way drunk driving was addressed and the way Amelia was honored were both A+. Drunk driving is a murder suicide that makes so angry because the victim doesn’t get to grow up while the victim’s family and friends are left to pick up the pieces. I also love Kristy’s ideas, but I think Mary Anne was kinda oblivious.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Anne is devastated when a new friend at school, Amelia Freeman, is killed in a car accident. The BSC members each grieve in different ways, but Mary Anne is still struggling. After hearing about Dawn's efforts to turn a vacant lot into a community garden, Mary Anne is inspired to create a garden in memory of Amelia.

[Cassandra Doon · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Laura Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Perfect Book

Since I usually like reading sad dog books like Millie, this book seemed like the same perspective, and I almost cried when reading this book. Books that are about Mary Anne are my favorite. I love that she cares so much about Amelia.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was sad AF. However, 5 stars for the character Mr. Seitz. We need more Seitz characters in all books.

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review on www.Audible.com must listen to this book

[Christina]

Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...

[Dakota Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hit home more this time because my cousin passed away in April. What a sweet way to remember a special friend. My cousin’s best friend planted one in her memorey too.

[Glory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Glory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story about memorializing a classmate who died.

[Cloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Anne's books are almost always good and this one is no exception! Incredible portrayals of grief and how it affects everyone differently.

[Laura Rayner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really age-appropriate book on grief

[Ds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uhm, finalmente un argomento che volevo si affrontasse già molto tempo prima. La morte di un compagno di classe (o di qualcuno di giovane). Non voglio essere morbosa. E' solo che ero molto curiosa di sapere come le ragazzine avrebbero reagito. Facendo qualcosa ovviamente! Eppure ci sono dei piccoli tocchi che ho apprezzato molto. Il fatto che Mary Anne riveli di essere stata da una psicoterapeuta, di andarci nuovamente (oltre che usufruire dell'aiuto fornito a scuola), le cose di cui si preoccupa, la soluzione che decidono di adottare alla fine del libro. Non c'è niente di straordinariamente innovativo, anche perché è stato pubblicato nel 95, però non mi è dispiaciuto leggere questa storia.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Rachel Brand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this at the age of nine and thinking about how different it was from the usual BSC books. They'd dealt with serious issues in the past, but this book just had a generally serious feel all throughout.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

At this point in my BSC reading career, I vaguely recall being disappointed at the random new things that would seem thrown into the books. Mary Anne was my favorite character, but she seemed way too sappy in this book.