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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

Pre-Teens

Teenagers

Adults

Locations[]

Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]

  • Christmas in July concept
  • Game Boy system
  • Tetris game

Continuity and Inconsistencies[]

Continuity[]

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.

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.

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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