The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier is the 114th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Mary Anne is in big trouble. She's bought loads of Christmas presents — and has no way of paying for them all. Baby-sitting money won't be enough to pay for this mistake.
There's only one thing Mary Anne can do. She can take a second job. A job that no one can know about. Not Logan. Not Dawn. Not even Mary Anne's father.
Mary Anne's Christmas will be ruined...unless her secret life pays off.
Main Plot[]
Mary Anne uses Richard’s credit card to buy her holiday gifts. She spends too much money (and she didn’t know about interest when she first used the card) so she gets an embarrassing job at the mall to try to earn extra money.
Subplot[]
The BSC hosts a fundraiser for the Toys for Kids program at the hospital so kids can get presents. They host a fair and got donations for toys as prizes and canned food to help make refreshments. The money they made went to the Toys for Kids program. Participants include Charlotte Johanssen, Ramsey Family, and Rodowsky Family. Members of the BSC including Logan Bruno and the Kilbourne Family helped out with booths. The money the BSC earned not only went to the hospital program but also to getting toys for those at the homeless shelter.
Characters[]
Mary Anne's Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Jackie, Shea, and Archie Rodowsky
- Becca and Squirt Ramsey
- Tiffany and Maria (mentioned)
Teenagers
- Angela
- Sunny Winslow (mentioned)
- Amalia Vargas (mentioned)
- Ducky McCrae (mentioned)
- Maggie Blume (mentioned)
- Anna Stevenson (mentioned)
- Janine Kishi (mentioned)
Adults
- Dr. Johanssen (mentioned)
- Mrs. Rodowsky (mentioned)
- Natalie DeWitt (mentioned)
- Dawn Cerasi - interviewer and supervisor for the Winter Wonderland at the mall
- Marv Howard - man who plays as Santa at the mall
- Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey (mentioned)
- Cecelia Parker (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Washington Mall
- Kishi House
- Schafer/Spier house
- Cabbages and Kings
- Johanssen House
- Pizza Express (mentioned)
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- A Christmas Carol
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Our Town (movie)
- It's a Wonderful Life
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
Inconsistencies
- In chapter 1, Mary Anne says that she never used her dad's credit card before but in Logan Likes Mary Anne!, her dad gave her his Bellair's charge card to buy an outfit for the dance.
- Mary Anne says that the house she lives in was built in 1774 when in other books it was established that it was built in 1795.
- In Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall, Stacey says Stuff 'N Nonsense is a candy store. In this book, it's a jewelry store where Mary Anne buys Dawn's Christmas presents.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
In The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier, Mary Anne takes on the most embarrassing job of her life in order to earn money for holiday gifts for her friends and family. When I was younger, like Mary Anne I often needed to earn money to buy gifts for my family and friends. One memorable summer, when I was about nine, I suddenly realized that my parents’ anniversary was just two weeks away and I didn’t have enough money to buy them a present. So I talked my friend Beth into holding a backyard carnival with me. The money that I earned at the carnival was spent on a gift for my parents. But what a lot of work: Beth and I had to plan an entire carnival, borrow money from our parents to buy the materials we needed, and plan, announce, and run the carnival. All of this netted me seven dollars, but I was thrilled. I went to Woolworth’s and bought them a set of orange juice glasses. Not as lavish as the gifts Mary Anne bought for her friends, but at least I didn’t have to dress up as an elf!
Trivia[]
- This is the only mention of the Stoneybrook Women's Shelter.
- Stoneybrook Middle School has student IDs.
- Mary Anne loves wrapping presents.
- There's a nutrition center in Stoneybrook.
- Mary Anne knows her social security number.
- A big plot hole would be when the mall ran her social security number they'd learn that she's 13.
- Charlotte has a fashion maker program for her computer.
- Dawn does not hug Mary Anne when she first sees her.
- Jeff got taller.
- Sharon does not like that the eighth graders at Vista Private School are in the same building as the high schoolers.
- Meanwhile Dawn loves being with the high schoolers.
- Jeff starts taking surfing lessons.
- Logan is described as a careful shopper.
- In chapter 12, Mary Anne makes a mistake with her schedule and in the record book. Mary Anne narrates that she’s made mistakes with the record book before, but she always caught the error before it was too late.
- Hunter Bruno recognizes Mary Anne in her elf costume but Logan and Dawn do not.
- Jessi and Abby fix toys together.
- Sharon knows that her parents sent her to California to get away from Richard.
- The Barrett/DeWitts are mentioned but never seen.
- Angela spends Christmas with Mary Anne's family.
- Richard and Mary Anne are in charge of the kitchen since Dawn moved back to California, but Richard still tries to be fair to Sharon.