Mary Anne in the Middle is the 125th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Poor Mary Anne! Being a good listener has really put her in a bind. Mallory has shared her worries, hopes, and even her final decision about boarding school with Mary Anne, rather than Jessi. Now Jessi's furious with Mal, and Mal's angry that Jessi doesn't understand. Mary Anne is caught right in the middle. Can she help smooth things out...or is this the end of Mallory and Jessi's best friendship?
Main Plot[]
Mallory is seriously considering going away to school in Massachusetts, and she's started confiding in Mary Anne about her thoughts and feelings. She hasn't even been talking to Jessi about it, since Jessi (of course) doesn't want her to go.
Then, while Mallory and Mary Anne are on a sitting job at the Pikes, Mal gets a letter from Riverbend: she's been accepted, and they want to give her a full scholarship. Mary Anne encourages her to tell Jessi that she was accepted, which Mallory does.
Jessi doesn't take it well; she thinks Mal is crazy for wanting to go away, and that she'll just be running away from her problems. The next day at school, Jessi has also decided that Mary Anne is her new personal therapist, which puts Mary Anne in a tough position. It's especially difficult because Jessi is still under the impression that Mal isn't sure whether she'll be going or not, and she's already told Mary Anne that she is.
Jessi and Mal aren't getting along at all, so Jessi has no problem calling Mal out in the middle of a BSC meeting, asking her for her decision about Riverbend. Mallory finally admits that she's going....and Jessi totally picks up on the fact that Mary Anne already knew. Both Mallory and Jessi leave the meeting early.
The club tries to force them to talk to each other by scheduling them for a job together at the Barrett-DeWitt house, but it doesn't work. They also drag Mallory along to a slumber party that Jessi's having in honor of some of her visiting Dance NY friends (she was invited before they started fighting), but Mal and Jessi end up fighting again, and Mal leaves early. Of course, both of them have to vent to Mary Anne later. Finally, she gets sick of it and gets both of them to come to her house. Jessi admits that she's been so ridiculous because she doesn't want Mal to leave, and Mal admits that she hasn't been talking to Jessi about Riverbend because it's going to be hard for her to leave her best friend behind. They hug, and all is well.
Subplot[]
The Stoneybrook Manor Christmas decorations are ugly and broken, so the BSC and their charges make more. They also hold a holiday celebration for the residents.
Characters[]
Mary Anne's Family
BSC Members
- Kristy Thomas
- Stacey McGill
- Claudia Kishi
- Mallory Pike
- Jessi Ramsey
- Abby Stevenson
- Logan Bruno (mentioned)
- Shannon Kilbourne (mentioned)
Kids
- Jordan, Adam, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Mathew, James, and Johnny Hobart
- Becca and Squirt Ramsey
- Buddy, Suzi, and Marnie Barrett & Ryan, Taylor, Lindsey, and Madeleine DeWitt
- Shea, Jackie, and Archie Rodowsky (mentioned)
- Sara and Norman Hill (mentioned)
- Charlotte Johanssen (mentioned)
- Karen & Andrew Brewer
- David Michael Thomas
- Tiffany & Maria Kilbourne (mentioned)
Pre-Teens
- Tanisha - Jessi's friend from Dance NY
- Maritza Cruz
- Renee Johnson - fellow sixth grade (mentioned)
- Ben Hobart
Adults
- Uncle Joe
- Mrs. Fellows - activities director at the Manor
- Elsie Goldberg (mentioned)
- Natalie DeWitt
- John Ramsey
- Janice Ramsey
- Cecelia Parker
- Mrs. Hobart
- John Pike
- Mr. and Mrs. Rodowsky (mentioned)
- Mr. Connor & Mr. Schwartz - resident at the manor
- Henrietta Hayes
- Ms. Munro - manager at the book center in the Washington Mall
Locations[]
- Stoneybrook Manor
- Pike House
- Spier/Schafer House
- Riverbend Hall Boarding School (mentioned)
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Hobart House
- Ramsey House
- Bellair's (mentioned)
- Cost-Club (mentioned)
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- The Broadway Musical Cats
- Ladybug Magazine
- Ranger Rick Magazine
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Boo-Boo dies sometime before the events of this book, during the events of Karen's Movie Star and Pumpkin is mentioned.
- Mallory's problems at school are mentioned in the book which started in Kristy in Charge.
- In chapter 7, both Stacey's move and her being temporarily gone, Dawn moving back to California, and Mallory leaving the BSC because she has mono has all been brought up.
- On page 88 the events of Jessi and the Bad Baby-sitter are recapped briefly.
Inconsistencies
- The kids make holiday decorations for Stoneybrook Manor, however, Ms. Colman's class already made new holiday decorations in Karen's Angel.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
Being stuck in the middle is never much fun, especially when two best friends are fighting. If you do find yourself stuck in the middle, as Mary Anne was when Jessi and Mal were fighting, try to remain as impartial as possible and try not to take sides. If you do take sides, you’re bound to alienate one friend, and two against one never looks fair. When Mary Anne got stuck in the middle, she did take sides at first. Then she found a better approach. She listened to both of her fighting friends and encouraged them to talk to each other. Remember — the fight is really your friends’ problem, not yours, and ultimately it’s up to them to work things out.
Trivia[]
- Claire subscribes to Ladybug and Nicky gets Ranger Rick, both of which are real magazines, both of which are still in print in 2021.
- Mallory gets a full writing scholarship to Riverbend Hall Boarding School.
- Margo thinks that Mallory has a chubby face.
- Mary Anne thinks that Stacey is growing up a little faster then the rest of the BSC.
- Jessi hosts a party at her house.
- Mallory says that sometimes she feels like one of the kids at home, spaz girl at school, and has no real job in the BSC.
- Mary Anne was the first to know that Mallory got into Riverbend.
- Abby teaches the Hobart boys about Hanukkah.
- Jessi and Mallory leave in the middle of a BSC meeting.
- Mary Anne has a phone conversation with Dawn in this book.
- Mallory celebrated Kwanzaa with the Ramseys before.
- Maritza and Tanisha thought that Mallory leaving for Riverbend was cool.
- Something about Erica Blumberg bugs Abby.