Dawn, Diary Three

Dawn, Diary Three
series	California Diaries
no. in series	11
Author	Ann M. Martin
Ghostwriter	Peter Lerangis
Tagline	Missing. Losing. Hurt.
Publication information
Published on	February 1999
Publisher	Scholastic
Navigation
← Previous	Ducky, Diary Two
Next →	Sunny, Diary Three

Dawn, Diary Three is the eleventh book in the California Diaries series and takes the form of a diary written by Vista Private School student Dawn Schafer.

Back Cover Summary

I'm so mad at Sunny.

And yet she's my friend. She's been one of my best friends for so long.

I miss her. I miss her a lot. I'm mad at her and I miss her.

Summary

Dawn and Sunny used to be best friends, but now it seems like nothing can get them to talk to each other and resolve their issues. Dawn misses her former friend, even if she can’t admit it.

When Ducky scores tickets to see their favorite band, Jax, he wants to take both Dawn and Sunny, but even a fun night out can’t bring them together. In fact, they are angrier and further apart than ever before.

The one thing they still share is their sadness over Sunny’s mom’s illness. No one else understands what they’re going through. But can they get through their anger long enough to rekindle their friendship?

Characters

Dawn's Family

• Dawn Schafer
• Jeff Schafer
• Elizabeth Grace Schafer-Olson
• Carol Olson
• Jack Schafer

Teenagers

• Ducky McCrae
• Amalia Vargas
• Maggie Blume
• Sunny Winslow

Adults

• Betsy Winslow
• Paul Winslow
• Mrs. Bruen
• Simone - home health care worker for Mrs. Winslow
• Unnamed home health care nurses
• Ted McCrae - Ducky's older brother (mentioned)

Locations

• Schafer House
• Palo City Hospital
• Winslow House
• Vista Private School

Pop Culture and Real Life References

• The Beatles
• Monopoly (game)
• Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (book, which Dawn reads to Mrs. Winslow in the hospital)
• Pollyanna, Gone with the Wind, When Harry Met Sally, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Music Man (movies)
• KFC, Wendy's, IHOP (restaurants)

Continuity and Inconsistencies

Continuity

• Dawn mentioned that Ducky's friend, Alex, is gone; he left in Ducky, Diary Two.
• Maggie is now gaining weight after trying to resolve her eating disorder from Maggie, Diary Two.

Inconsistencies

Trivia

• On the dedication page it says: "For Betsy Howie."
• Gracie is teething.
• Jeff slept in the kitchen to get away from Gracie crying.
• The Corner Bulletin is the new community newspaper.
• Vanish is starting to get popular and they're playing at Verona High School.
• Dawn has a celebrity crush on Pierre X, from the band Jax.
• Dawn and Amalia didn't get the concert tickets, but Ducky did and invited them.
• Ducky realized he was too drunk and tired to drive after the concert, so Dawn called Jack to pick them up.
• Dawn gets grounded after being irresponsible at the concert.
• Mary Anne might be visiting over spring break.
• Jeff's science fair project on the food chain got an honorable mention.
• Mrs. Winslow has lost most of her hair again.
• Carol is breastfeeding Gracie. Dawn feels a bit uncomfortable when she does so in front of Ducky.
• Dawn used to think of Carol as her wicked stepmother, but not anymore. Carol still gets on her nerves sometimes, but in a more "normal" way.
• Carol loves being referred to as Dawn and Jeff's parent rather than their stepmother.
• Mrs. Winslow can't stand for very long and sits in a special chair for showering.
• Mrs. Winslow is no longer doing chemotherapy and came home to die.
• Carol and Jack don't know about the party at Ms. Krueger's house from the first California Diaries book (and Dawn hopes they never find out).
• Maggie gives Dawn tips on how to get her parents to say yes to the concert.
• Sunny and Dawn made up from their fight.