Stacey vs. the BSC is the 83rd book in The Baby-Sitters Club series.
Back Cover Summary[]
The Baby-sitters Club. They're the best friends Stacey's ever had. But lately, they seem kind of immature to her. Especially compared with her boyfriend Robert and his friends. In fact, except for Claudia, Stacey's feeling a little embarrassed by the BSC these days.
But the club isn't exactly happy with Stacey, either. As she spends more and more time with Robert, Stacey's neglecting the BSC. She even fouls up on a sitting job — and breaks a promise to Charlotte Johanssen.
Does Stacey still belong in the BSC?
Summary[]
Things with Stacey and the Babysitters Club haven't exactly been fantastic lately. She's been spending so much time with Robert that she's coming late to meetings and (as we saw in the last book) getting substitutes for her sitting jobs. She's also noticing things about the other Babysitters Club members and their behavior that she doesn't exactly like. They're starting to seem awfully silly and immature, especially when compared to Robert's friends.
One night, Stacey gets Mary Anne to substitute for her at the Pikes' so she can go out for pizza with Robert and his crew. Who should show up there, hiding behind a juke box and spying, but with Dawn, Stacey is totally embarrassed...and a little scared. She has no idea how the Babysitters Club is going to react when Dawn tells them that it was no emergency that kept her from her sitting job.
At the next Babysitters Club meeting, things are a little tense. Kristy is especially unhappy with Stacey, but Claudia smooths things over with snacks. Stacey keeps noticing all the silly, immature little things the Babysitters Club does, though. She doesn't want to be a snob, but but she's getting more and more annoyed with her supposed best friends. She runs into Kristy, Mary Anne, and Dawn when she's out at Burger Town with Robert and his friends, and she can't stop wishing they would just act their age.
The other Babysitters Club members aren't the only ones who are screwing up, though. Stacey herself is letting Robert and her new friends get in the way of her Babysitters Club duties more and more. During a sitting job with Jamie Newton, Stacey ignores Jamie to talk on the phone to Robert, until Jamie throws up all over everything and Stacey finally understands why he was so whiny all evening. She feels bad about it, but the Newtons are pretty nice about the whole thing. Mrs. Newton does call the Babysitters Club and ask them to limit phone calls to emergencies, leading to another Kristy lecture.
Things kind of come to a head not long after that. Stacey and Robert had been planning a party at his house for their friends, and the only Babysitters Club member that Stacey had invited was Claudia. Just before the party, though, Robert calls Stacey and tells her that they can't have it at his house. They decide to have it at the McGills' instead, leading to a dilemma for Stacey. It wasn't that big of a deal that the Babysitters Club wasn't invited when it was at Robert's; after all, it was more his party then and he doesn't really know the club members all that well. Now that it's at Stacey's, she almost feels as if she has to invite her Babysitters Club friends. She doesn't (other than Claudia), and Dawn and Mary Anne show up in the middle of it. Stacey invites them in, but they know they're not really welcome and leave.
Things blow up at the next club meeting. Not only do the other sitters feel stupid for not being invited to Stacey's party, which the whole school knew about, but Stacey also forgot to show up to the Babysitters Club talent show. Charlotte, who was planning on playing the piano, was so upset that Stacey broke her promise to be there that she ran off stage without performing. There's lots of yelling, and Kristy fires Stacey as she quits the Babysitters Club.
Subplot[]
The Babysitters Club hosts a talent show at the Pike's house.
Characters[]
Stacey's Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Jordan, Adam, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Lucy and Jamie Newton
- Hannie, Linny, and Sari Papadakis
- Buddy Barrett
- David Michael Thomas
- Emily Michelle Brewer
- Maria Kilbourne
- Bill and Melody Korman (mentioned)
Teenagers
- Robert Brewster
- Wayne McConville - member of the basketball team
- Alex Zacharias
- Sheila MacGregor
- Andi Gentile
- Alan Gray
- Laine Cummings (mentioned)
- Carlos Mendez (high school student mentioned)
Adults
- Dr. Johanssen
- Mr. Johanssen (mentioned)
- Dee Pike
- Ginger Wilder
- Mrs. Newton
- Mrs. Zacharias - Alex's mom
Locations[]
- Kishi House
- Johanssen House
- Pizza Express
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Pike House
- Thomas/Brewer House
- McGill House
- Burger Town
- Elm Street Church
- Newton House
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Goodyear Blimp
- Jason Priestly
- Gone with the Wind, Good-Bye Mr. Chips, Lassie Come Home, The Secret Garden, The Wizard of Oz, Aladdin (movies)
- Little Bo Peep
- Barney
- Mozart
- Nanook of the North
- Knights of the Round Table
- Fiddler on the Roof
- In the Night Kitchen
- Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, Yogi Bear, and Mickey Mouse (cartoons)
- A Whole New World
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Stacey's dislike of seeing people get sick is consistent.
- Stacey recalls the events of Stacey's Lie.
- Mrs. McGill is a nervous driver which is first brought up in Snowbound.
- Stacey recalls the events of Mary Anne's Makeover.
Inconsistencies
- In the last chapter Stacey says it's a Monday when she's helping decorate Alex's new bedroom, then she takes off for Charlotte's recital and says, "I turned to see an old mahogany grandfather clock. Its hands pointed to five-thirty. Five-thirty on a Friday evening."
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
Stacey vs. the BSC brings about a big change for the Baby-sitters Club. Stacey is the first BSC member ever to be fired by Kristy. When I was thinking about the series and what was happening to each of the characters, it seemed logical to me that one of the BSC members might lose interest in the club. And Stacey seemed the most likely person.
Changes in friendships can be difficult. People come and go in our lives all the time. I don't even know where a lot of the kids I went to elementary school with are now, but I've made lots of friends as an adult. Luckily for me, though, I have had one close friend for almost all my life. Beth MeKeever Perkins and I have been friends since we were in preschool—just like Kristy and Mary Anne. That means that Beth and I have been friends for nearly forty years. Of course we had our share of fights, but we always managed to work things out. Some friendships are made to last, so who knows what will happen to Stacey and Claudia.
Trivia[]
- Charlotte plays the piano in this book and she picked up the guitar in Keep Out, Claudia!.
- Stacey carries the dues envelope with her.
- Sometimes Mary Anne sits with Logan and his friends at lunch.
- Stacey calls Bart Kristy's boyfriend.
- Stacey is late to BSC meetings.
- Stacey carries the treasury to and from the meetings.
- It's said that Dawn doesn't eat red meat and sugar, meaning she will still eat pork and chicken.
- When Stacey feels sad about being an only child she thinks about Mallory.
- Stacey thinks Mozart had bad hair.
- Stacey has a pimple she's been covering up.
- Dawn followed Stacey to Pizza Express to see if she was with Robert.
- The last time someone spied on Stacey she was seven years old and hid behind a bush.
- Alex loves New York, and often stays with an aunt who lives in Stacey's old neighborhood. Andi had had a career as a baby model, and her parents put away a college fund out of her earnings.
- Stacey starts to outgrow the BSC.
- Maureen gets an exercise machine.
- Mary Anne sits with Logan at lunch sometimes.
- Logan goes to a BSC meeting in chapter 11.
- Stacey thinks Mallory is meek.
- Stacey quits the BSC and Kristy fires her in the last chapter.