When Dawn meets Travis, she knows he's the perfect boy for her. Travis is good-looking, he eats health food, he's from California, and he likes Dawn!
But Mary Anne and the rest of the Baby-sitters aren't sure about Travis. First of all, he's much older than Dawn. And they don't like the way Travis is always telling her what to do.
Does Travis like Dawn as much as he says he does? The Baby-sitters don't know—but they're not going to let Dawn get hurt by an older boy!
Summary[]
Dawn fell in love with a 16-year old boy who bosses her around. He wants her to do stuff that her parents don't approve of such as getting a third ear piercing.
Subplot[]
James Hobart writes a play and Zach Wolfson teases him, because James was making the play with the Perkin girls. Zach teaches him not to play with girls and be with the guys. He also tells him that if he wants to be an American he has to change.
Mary Anne is not a very good liar which has come up before.
Inconsistencies
Mary Anne says she read about the play from Jessi and Kristy, but it should have been Jessi and Dawn.
Dawn has a grilled cheese in front of her and Travis has a burger on the cover. In the book, Travis has a grilled cheese, too.
Dawn says that Ben Hobart is in her class and doesn't need a baby sitter on page 43. He's actually 11 and in Mal and Jessi's class. But it’s possible that Ben and Dawn took an elective together. Elective classes in middle school usually have students from all grades.
Dawn says that she had to beg her mom to let her pierce her ears on page 59. She got hers done the same day that Mallory and Jessi did, and all she did was call her mom at home. But the phone conversation wasn’t in the book, so it’s possible that Dawn had to persuade her mom.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
Dawn is noted for being an individual. But in Dawn and the Older Boy, she does everything Travis tells her to do because she wants him to like her. I’ve received lots of letters from kids who are confused about friendships or relationships. They feel they have to do things they don’t want to do, or that don’t appeal to them, in order to impress another person. This is no way to start a relationship! If someone is interested in you, then he or she is interested in you — not in somebody you’re pretending to be. Remember, if you pretend to be somebody you're not, you’ll be unhappy, and the other person won’t know who you are. The best kind of relationship is one that’s honest, in which the people involved are open with each other and truly know each other.
Trivia[]
This is the only appearance of Travis within the series.
Dawn doesn't look good in orange.
Stacey's not feeling well which foreshadows her going to the hospital in Stacey's Emergency.
Dawn has been to Malibu.
Dawn says that it has happened where the person answering the phone takes the job for themselves before.
Sharon is really direct when she gets down to business.
The Brewer/Thomas kids like to play going camping.
The last chapter is full of letters between Dawn and Lewis.
In chapter 10, Dawn’s teacher lets the class out ten minutes early and Dawn runs to the high-school to see what Travis is up to. It’s very unlikely that a teacher would’ve been allowed to dismiss class; even if the lesson finished early, the students would’ve had to stay in the classroom until the school day was over.
Kristy owns and uses a fluffy pink quilt on her bed.
