Review: The Truth About Stacey - Ann M Martin

The Truth About Stacey by Ann M Martin

(The Baby-Sitter's Club #3)

Publisher: Scolastic

Published: June 1, 2011 (originally published in 1986 - I have the old 80s copy)

Pages: 167

Received: Bought (from used bookstore for 80s/90s challenge)

BUY IT NOW: Amazon

The truth about Stacey is that she has diabetes. Nobody knows...except her friends from the Baby-Sitters Club. But even they don't know the real truth about Stacey. Stacey's problem is her parents. They won't admist she has the disease, and they drag her to practically every doctor in America! Seeing so many doctors made Stacey lose one friend, and she won't let it happen again. Especially now - when the Baby-Sitters Club needs her more than ever!

I grew up reading the BSC - I loved them because I was a Baby Sitter myself and always wanted a group of friends just like the BSC girls. So it isn't just chance that I loved the characters either. Kristy is the leader (president) - she is a little bossy sometimes and she is a tomboy, but she always gets the job done in an organized and well thoughtout way. Claudia is the artsy one of the bunch with wicked style in clothes and her amazing abilities with crafts and paints. Mary Anne is the one that reminds me the most of myself - shy, quiet and bookish (though her homelife is completely different). And Stacey - the outgoing, super fun and flirty one. 

This time the adventures settle around two topics: Stacey and her diabetes and then a rival baby sitting club. First - Stacey hates that her parents keep dragging her all over the place to see so many different doctors, thinking they'll find a magical cure for her diabetes. She actually resents that they don't ask her how she feels about anything since it's her body and her life it's affecting. She doesn't want to miss school for silly appointments when they already know what is wrong with her and how to keep healthy (insulin injections and correct diet). Will Stacey's parents finally let her make some decisions regarding her health or is she doomed to play musical doctors the rest of her life?

And second - the Baby-Sitters Club has a new rival in town called the Baby-Sitters Agency - older teens who can stay out later. Will the BSC be able to keep their business running and keep their charges happy? Or will the parents of Stoneybrook forget all about the respsonible and capable preteens that their children already love?

I'm sure to reread a few more from this series as they hold a place in my heart. Hope you enjoy or can recommend to preteens that you know.