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This article is about the original book. You might be looking for the episode please see Dawn and the Wicked Stepsister (episode).

Dawn's Wicked Stepsister is the 31st book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.

Back Cover Summary[]

Now that Dawn and Mary Anne are friends and sisters, Dawn wants them to do everything together — share a room, talk all night long, wear each other's clothes.

But living with Mary Anne isn't exactly what Dawn expected. Mary Anne brags about having a date to the school dance, her kitten throws up on the rug, and she hogs Dawn's baby-sitting jobs!

Dawn's always wanted a sister. Instead, she got Mary Anne, the wicked stepsister of Stoneybrook!

Summary[]

Dawn's Mom and Mary Anne's Dad have just gotten married and Mary Anne catches the flowers thrown by Sharon, Dawn's mom. Dawn is extremely envious of Mary Anne for catching the flowers instead of Dawn, thinking that she should have because it was her mother's wedding. In fact, Dawn says that she would have gladly killed to have her hands on the flowers even though she and Mary Anne are only 13. But soon Dawn calls Mary Anne sis and things are fine, for a while.....

Later, Dawn and Mary Anne struggle to be best friends when they have trouble getting along. When Mary Anne's dad Richard makes breakfast he serves Sharon bacon knowing Sharon can't stand bacon; but she says she likes whatever he makes her for breakfast. Then again, at dinner the same problem goes on when Sharon makes tofu and Mary Anne and Richard do not eat tofu.

Richard also declares spring cleaning while he is very organized and Sharon is a scatterbrain, so Mary Anne picks up after Sharon, which only irritates Dawn even more. To drive Richard crazy as revenge, Dawn messes up his sock drawer, however this scheme fails, because Richard thinks it was his fault for the mishap.

Dawn and Mary Anne are furious with one another after the events continue in the Schafer-Spier household: Sharon is disturbed about Tigger, Mary Anne's cat, throwing up on the oriental rug (which surprises Dawn as Sharon never cared about the rugs before). Therefore Mary Anne starts spending most of her time at Kristy's house during the family fight but does not bother Dawn.

Finally, Dawn pretends to be old Jared Mullray (the ghost that haunts the secret passage) to scare Mary Anne into switching rooms. Her plan works and they are finally friends again.

Dawn decides to tell everyone in her family how she feels about the family and thinks everyone should stop trying to impress everyone and to be honest with each other. Sharon suggests that Mary Anne and Richard make food they like on Sunday and that she and Dawn make food they like on Sunday. That way they both have foods they like. Everyone agrees. Richard in turn suggests they make a chore chart. Everyone agrees to that as well.

Subplot[]

Meanwhile, the "Pike plague" is going on at the Pikes when the whole family gets sick or injured, including Mr. and Mrs. Pike. Claire (5) and Margo (7) get bronchitis, Nicky (8) re-breaks his finger plus two others, Vanessa (9) sprains her ankle, Adam, Bryon and Jordan (triplets-10) get pneumonia, Mallory (11) has the chicken pox (for the second time), Mrs. Pike injures her knee while playing tennis, and Mr. Pike burns his hand while cooking dinner.

Characters[]

Dawn's Family

BSC Members

Kids

Teenagers

Adults

Locations[]

  • Chez Maurice
  • Spier House
  • Spier/Schafer house
  • Kishi House
  • Pike House

Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]

  • Salvation Army
  • The Three Piggy Opera
  • Dustbuster
  • Popsicle
  • Kleenex
  • Buddy Holly
  • Elvis Presley
  • The Odd Couple: Felix Unger & Oscar Madison

Continuity and Inconsistencies[]

Continuity

Inconsistencies

  • On a Friday club meeting, Claudia says she has a test tomorrow.
  • Dawn says Mary Anne surprised her with a "now we're sisters" present at the wedding when actually it was Dawn who got one for Mary Anne.
  • As junior officers, Mallory and Jessi can’t babysit at night unless they’re sitting for their own siblings. When Mal gets chicken pox, Mary Anne takes over her job with the Perkins. She gets home around nine thirty p.m. It’s odd that Mallory originally had that job because it’s not likely that she would’ve been allowed to babysit until nine thirty at night.
  • Kristy takes Bart to the dance but in Kristy's Mystery Admirer, they say it's the first dance she's taken him to at SMS, as he comments on how much bigger it is than SDS.
  • On page 44, it says "Kristy turned to dawn and me" but Dawn is the narrator of the chapter.
  • In chapter 13, when Charlie picks Mary Anne up, Dawn says hi to Sam. But Sam isn’t in the car.

Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]

Dear Reader,

In Dawn’s Wicked Stepsister, Dawn acquires a sister when she’s thirteen years old. My sister, Jane, came along when I was two, so we grew up together. While we never shared a room like Dawn and Mary Anne tried to do, we had plenty of fights. For instance, long car trips frequently ended up with the backseat divided into two, and shrieks of “She crossed over the line!” or “She’s bothering me!” or “She touched my stuff!” When we were very young, I thought Jane was a big pest. I was always concerned that she would snoop around my room, which led me to booby-trap my bookshelves. Of course, she never set off the trap. I guess all sisters have fights sometimes, but like Dawn and Mary Anne, Jane and I eventually wound up as best friends.

Trivia[]

  • An episode of the Netflix series adapted the book for Season 2 called Dawn and the Wicked Stepsister.
  • Mary Anne caught Sharon's bouquet.
  • Sharon didn't wear a wedding dress, just a new dress.
  • Dawn has never been to a sleepover without adults around.
  • Sharon changed her last name.
  • Mary Anne cried while everything was moved out of the house.
  • Mrs. Kishi drops off a casserole so they didn't have to cook.
  • Dawn tells the reader about the BSC in this chapter rather then the usual 1, 2, or 3.
  • This is the first time a BSC member left a meeting early and sick, in this case it was Mallory.
    • Mallory caught the chicken pox from Jamie and Lucy Newton.
  • Kristy likes to see Mary Anne come out of her shell.
  • Jobs that were scheduled but unseen includes:
    • Stacey baby-sits for Jamie and Lucy (later Claudia for them)
    • Mary Anne sits for the Perkins (Although Mary Anne tells Dawn what happened at her job).
    • Stacey with the Marshall girls
  • Myriah Perkins wrote a letter (with help from Mary Anne) to Cam Geary and the president (who would have been George H.W. Bush).
  • Richard has many routines and organizational methods.
  • Dawn likes to go to dances alone but here she says that won't go because she wasn't invited.
  • This is the first mention of Carol Olson in the series.
  • Stacey would play hospital when she was younger.
  • Sam prank calls the BSC.
  • Kristy invites Mary Anne over to dinner during a BSC meeting.
  • Dawn doesn't like to admit when she's wrong.
  • Sharon and Richard are part of the PTO.
  • Charlie helps take care of the Pike family when he helps makes dinner.
  • Claudia tries standing on her head to "get smarter."
  • In chapter 13, when Charlie picks Mary Anne up, Dawn says hi to Sam. But Sam isn’t in the car.
  • Dawn says Kristy has never missed a club meeting, but she missed one in Kristy and the Snobs when Louie was really sick. This mistake is also mentioned in other books.
  • This is the second time Mary Anne implied that Dawn was fat, the first time was in Mary Anne Saves the Day.
  • Mallory has chicken pox scars in "unmentionable places".

Gallery[]

Baby-Sitters Club Books
The Summer Before | #1 Kristy's Great Idea | #2 Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls | #3 The Truth About Stacey | #4 Mary Anne Saves the Day | #5 Dawn and the Impossible Three | #6 Kristy's Big Day | #7 Claudia and Mean Janine | #8 Boy-Crazy Stacey | #9 The Ghost at Dawn's House | #10 Logan Likes Mary Anne! | #11 Kristy and the Snobs | #12 Claudia and the New Girl | #13 Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye | #14 Hello, Mallory | #15 Little Miss Stoneybrook... and Dawn | #16 Jessi's Secret Language | #17 Mary Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery | #18 Stacey's Mistake | #19 Claudia and the Bad Joke | #20 Kristy and the Walking Disaster | #21 Mallory and the Trouble with Twins | #22 Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter | #23 Dawn on the Coast | #24 Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise | #25 Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger | #26 Claudia and the Sad Good-bye | #27 Jessi and the Superbrat | #28 Welcome Back, Stacey! | #29 Mallory and the Mystery Diary | #30 Mary Anne and the Great Romance | #31 Dawn's Wicked Stepsister | #32 Kristy and the Secret of Susan | #33 Claudia and the Great Search | #34 Mary Anne and Too Many Boys | #35 Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook | #36 Jessi's Baby-Sitter | #37 Dawn and the Older Boy | #38 Kristy's Mystery Admirer | #39 Poor Mallory! | #40 Claudia and the Middle School Mystery | #41 Mary Anne vs. Logan | #42 Jessi and the Dance School Phantom | #43 Stacey's Emergency | #44 Dawn and the Big Sleepover | #45 Kristy and the Baby Parade | #46 Mary Anne Misses Logan | #47 Mallory on Strike | #48 Jessi's Wish | #49 Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street | #50 Dawn's Big Date | #51 Stacey's Ex-Best Friend | #52 Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies | #53 Kristy for President | #54 Mallory and the Dream Horse | #55 Jessi's Gold Medal | #56 Keep Out, Claudia! | #57 Dawn Saves the Planet | #58 Stacey's Choice | #59 Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym) | #60 Mary Anne's Makeover | #61 Jessi and the Awful Secret | #62 Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever | #63 Claudia's Freind Friend | #64 Dawn's Family Feud | #65 Stacey's Big Crush | #66 Maid Mary Anne | #67 Dawn's Big Move | #68 Jessi and the Bad Baby-sitter | #69 Get Well Soon, Mallory! | #70 Stacey and the Cheerleaders | #71 Claudia and the Perfect Boy | #72 Dawn and the We Love Kids Club | #73 Mary Anne and Miss Priss | #74 Kristy and the Copycat | #75 Jessi's Horrible Prank | #76 Stacey's Lie | #77 Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever | #78 Claudia and Crazy Peaches | #79 Mary Anne Breaks the Rules | #80 Mallory Pike, No. 1 Fan | #81 Kristy and Mr. Mom | #82 Jessi and the Troublemaker | #83 Stacey vs. the BSC | #84 Dawn and the School Spirit War | #85 Claudia Kishi, Live From WSTO! | #86 Mary Anne and Camp BSC | #87 Stacey and the Bad Girls | #88 Farewell, Dawn | #89 Kristy and the Dirty Diapers | #90 Welcome to the BSC, Abby! | #91 Claudia and the First Thanksgiving | #92 Mallory's Christmas Wish | #93 Mary Anne and the Memory Garden | #94 Stacey McGill, Super Sitter | #95 Kristy + Bart = ? | #96 Abby's Lucky Thirteen | #97 Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby | #98 Dawn and Too Many Sitters | #99 Stacey's Broken Heart | #100 Kristy's Worst Idea | #101 Claudia Kishi, Middle School Dropout | #102 Mary Anne and the Little Princess | #103 Happy Holidays, Jessi | #104 Abby's Twin | #105 Stacey the Math Whiz | #106 Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade | #107 Mind Your Own Business, Kristy! | #108 Don't Give Up, Mallory! | #109 Mary Anne to the Rescue | #110 Abby the Bad Sport | #111 Stacey's Secret Friend | #112 Kristy and the Sister War | #113 Claudia Makes Up Her Mind | #114 The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier | #115 Jessi's Big Break | #116 Abby and the Best Kid Ever | #117 Claudia and the Terrible Truth | #118 Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer | #119 Stacey's Ex-Boyfriend | #120 Mary Anne and the Playground Fight | #121 Abby in Wonderland | #122 Kristy in Charge | #123 Claudia's Big Party | #124 Stacey McGill... Matchmaker? | #125 Mary Anne in the Middle | #126 The All-New Mallory Pike | #127 Abby's Un-Valentine | #128 Claudia and the Little Liar | #129 Kristy at Bat | #130 Stacey's Movie | #131 The Fire at Mary Anne's House
Super Specials
#1 Baby-sitters on Board! | #2 Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation | #3 Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation | #4 Baby-sitters' Island Adventure | #5 California Girls! | #6 New York, New York! | #7 Snowbound | #8 Baby-sitters at Shadow Lake | #9 Starring the Baby-sitters Club #10 Sea City, Here We Come! | #11 The Baby-sitters Remember | #12 Here Come the Bridesmaids! | #13 Aloha, Baby-sitters! | #14 BSC in the USA | #15 Baby-sitters' European Vacation
Portrait Collection
Stacey's Book | Claudia's Book | Dawn's Book | Mary Anne's Book | Kristy's Book | Abby's Book
Other
The Baby-Sitters Club Notebook (1987) | The Baby-Sitters Club Postcard Book (1991) | Trivia & Puzzle Fun Book (1992) | Ann M. Martin: The Story of the author of the Baby-sitters Club (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Guide to Babysitting (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Chain Letter (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Secret Santa (1994) | Audio Books on Cassette Tape (1994-5) | BSC Movie Novelization (1995) | The Complete Guide to the Baby-Sitters Club (1996) | Autograph Book (1998) | BSC Graphic Novels (2006-present) | We Are the Baby-Sitters Club: Essays and Artwork from Grown-Up Readers (2021) | Welcome to Stoneybrook: A Guided Journal (2021) | The Official Coloring Book (2023)
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