Farewell, Dawn is the 88th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Dawn's been missing California more than ever. Especially now that her friend in California needs her. Dawn must face the facts: while she loves Connecticut, her heart is telling her to return to California permanently.
But it sure isn't easy. It is tough to hear her friends talk about replacing her in the BSC. Even worse, Dawn can't figure out how to break the news to Mary Anne. How can she tell her best friend and stepsister that she wants to leave—forever?
Main Plot[]
Dawn's missing California again. She misses her friends, her family, her school, the great weather, the We Love Kids Club, Disneyland, Palo City, everything in California. Plus, Sunny's mother, Elizabeth has just been diagnosed with lung cancer due to smoking, and Dawn really wants to be there for her best friend and the Winslow family in order to calm down Sunny from being in mood swings for her mother. So, she makes a big decision: she's going to move back to Palo City for good, not six months, and it's not a joke, it's forever (she'll come back to Stoneybrook for the holidays, breaks, summer, and a few weekends, though). She breaks the news first to her stepmother Carol during a phone call from California. Carol promises to tell Jack. Sharon walks in just in time to hear the end of the conversation, so Dawn has to tell her. Sharon is understandably upset that Dawn wants to leave Stoneybrook for good.
Richard gets home from work in the middle of their conversation, so he's let in on the plan at that point, too. The one family member that Dawn doesn't tell is Mary Anne. Dawn knows that her stepsister will be upset, and needs to figure out how to break the news to her as gently as possible. Luckily, Mary Anne has been so busy with babysitting and spending time with Logan that she doesn't notice how oddly everyone is acting at home.
Dawn is alone one afternoon, and she starts on a list of things she needs to do to get ready for the move. That's when she realizes that she needs to let the Baby-Sitters Club know as soon as possible, so they can find a replacement. Dawn calls Kristy and tells her what's going on, and asks her not to tell anyone, since she still hasn't found a way to let Mary Anne know what's happening. Kristy agrees. Dawn finally decides to break the news the next day. She and Mary Anne are planning to make a pizza together for dinner, and Dawn writes a whole speech that she'll give when she tells Mary Anne that she's going back to California.
Too bad Dawn never gets a chance to use it; before she can steer the conversation in the right direction, Logan calls Mary Anne to see how she's taking the news that Dawn is moving. Apparently, Kristy told Claudia, who told Stacey, who told Robert, who told Logan. Mary Anne is furious that she was the last to find out, and she says some pretty awful things to Dawn. The girls don't exactly stop speaking, but things are definitely different between them. Mary Anne starts acting like she doesn't care anything about Dawn, and she does her best to avoid her stepsister while the club is working on their latest event (a surprise Christmas in summer for James Hobart, who's laid up with a broken leg from playing American football).
Dawn really wants to fix things with Mary Anne before she leaves, so she plans a fancy dinner for the two of them one evening when their parents are out. They manage to have some decent conversation, but when Dawn tries to bring up the subject of her move and her friendship with Mary Anne, Mary Anne clams up. Things don't get any better by the time Dawn's farewell party rolls around. She's sure that Mary Anne has some big surprise cooked up for her, but that doesn't seem to be true. In fact, Mary Anne doesn't seem to have had much to do with planning the party at all. It isn't until the day before Dawn leaves that things finally go back to normal, with all of the members (including Shannon) and Dawn's family say goodbye to Dawn in the airport. At least Dawn can leave, knowing that Mary Anne doesn't hate her.
Subplot[]
Mallory and Ben hang out and babysit for some of her siblings and Ben's younger brothers. The kids play American football; James Hobart breaks his leg in two places. The BSC throws a Christmas in summer party with some of their charges to cheer him up. This is Dawn's last project as a full-time BSC member, and James writes to Dawn after she moves back to Palo City to thank her.
Characters[]
Dawn's Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Norman and Sara Hill
- Haley and Matt Braddock
- Jordan, Adam, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Johnny, James, and Mathew Hobart
- Jamie and Lucy Newton
- Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold
- Suzi, Buddy Barrett, Lindsay, and Taylor DeWitt
- Becca Ramsey
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Archie Rodowsky
- Jenny Prezzioso
Pre-Teens
Teenagers
Adults
- Dr. Johanssen (mentioned)
- Mr. and Mrs. Hobart
- Dee Pike (mentioned)
- Mrs. Newton (mentioned)
- Madeleine Prezzioso (mentioned)
- Natalie DeWitt (mentioned)
- Mr. and Mrs. Hill
- Mrs. Bruen
- Mail carrier
Locations[]
- Spier/Schafer House
- Hill House
- Kishi House
- Pembroke's Party Store
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Christmas in July concept
- Game Boy system
- Tetris game
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity[]
- Carol and Dawn both brought up Whitney Cater and them meeting from Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever.
- The local beach is brought up again which is first mentioned in Baby-sitters' Island Adventure.
- Past events include: Little Miss Stoneybrook Pageant from Little Miss Stoneybrook ...and Dawn, the baby parade from Kristy and the Baby Parade, the video from Jessi and the Bad Baby-sitter.
Inconsistencies[]
- On page 23 Dawn narrates that Mallory has brown eyes, but all the Pike kids were said to have blue eyes in Hello, Mallory.
- In chapter 4, Mallory is sitting for Nicky, Margo and Claire while the others all had plans. However, Vanessa is later mentioned to be watched as well.
- Jessi mailed Dawn a letter before Dawn left and she said "Surprise," in the letter. But before Dawn leaves, Jessi tells her about the letter that's waiting for her in Palo City.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader:
Throughout the Baby-sitters Club series, Dawn has gone back and forth (literally and emotionally) between her West Coast family and her East Coast family. She's been pulled in opposite directions for a long time and has important ties to each coast. She's even moved back to California briefly, and then returned to Stoneybrook.
Finally my editors and I decided that Dawn needed to make a choice and stick to it. And we felt that Dawn would choose California. This was a difficult decision, but once it had been made, we realized that it created an opportunity for new things to happen in the Baby-sitters Club. We decided to replace Dawn with a brand-new member of the BSC, who would be as important to the series as any of the other characters. That's how Abby was created. Furthermore, we decided to give Dawn her very own series, set on the West Coast. That's how California Diaries began. All in all, we felt that the decision to take Dawn out of Stoneybrook turned out to be a happy one, with many exciting things in store for the characters and the series.
Trivia[]
- This is the last book published with the original cover style. Starting with book #89, all new books were published in a new style with character photos on the left side of the cover. The new books also include the Dear Reader letter at the end.
- Dawn permanently moves back to California thus kick starting the California Diaries which debuts two years later.
- The smell of bacon is disgusting to Dawn.
- Jack Schafer is going to re-tile the bathroom.
- The Hobarts get pet iguanas.
- Kristy was the first friend Dawn told about moving back to California.
- Logan and Robert are friends.
- Mary Anne purposely breaks a coffee mug when she hears Dawn is moving.
- Vista Private School starts one week earlier then Stoneybrook Middle School.
- Kristy and Mary Anne make plans to go the the pool together.
- Charlie drives the kids to the party store.
- Shannon narrates chapter 11.
- The last chapter is made up of handwritten letters, even one from James Hobart.