Upon seeing this cover, all I could think was, "Stacey's mom has got it going on." And now that song is stuck in my head (and yours too, probably. You're welcome). And check out Maureen rocking that pencil skirt, very nice (my two cents, this would have looked better with some killer black heels, but hey, sometimes comfort trumps style...)
So this one opens with Stacey and her mom having a little family book club, and this week's selection is "Pride and Prejudice" (oh, and Colin Firth will forever be Mr. Darcy, sorry Matthew Macfayden). First of all, props to Stacey's mom (hee hee), ok, Mrs. McGill, for making Stacey read Jane Austen in 8th grade, I don't think I really picked those up and fell in love with everything Austen until late high school or early college. Stacey does indicate that she is really enjoying the novel (if she didn't, she would forever become my least favorite BSCer). Anyway, Stacey and Mrs. McGill get into this deep discussion about women marrying for money (in the novel and in real life) and then segue into a heart to heart about her parents' divorce, which is somewhat nice to see (plus, you know AMM loves to throw an after-school special-type of PSA every now and then). Stacey does ask if her mom will ever start dating (umm...a little personal, Stace. Your parents got divorced early in your 8th grade year, this takes place just before Thanksgiving, so your mom has been divorced for either a couple of months now...or since this is the revolving, never-ending school year, about 10 years, in which case, that is a valid question, Stace). Her dad does have a girlfriend, Samantha, and Stacey thinks her mom should be ready, too. You can't hurry love, Stacey, you'll just have to wait (so says Diana Ross, anyway).
Anyway, Stacey hurries to the BSC meeting, where a brand new client calls at 5:27 (which pisses Kristy off, that girl has a complex). The client's name is John Brooke (Little Women shout out!!!), who is a single father and needs a sitter for his son and daughter (unfortunately, their names aren't Daisy and Demi, rather Jodi and Ewan. Shucks...). Stacey gets the job, and then the girls get to gossiping. Claudia is now back in 8th grade, and Mallory is complaining about being bullied in school (again). Apparently, SMS recently did a week long program where students got to teach the classes (remember when Saved by the Bell did that?), and Mallory got selected to teach 8th grade English. Umm...why would you have a 6th grader teaching an 8th grade class? That's just asking for trouble. Ever since then, kids have continually teased Mal in the hallways, calling her "Spaz" and stuff. Basically, Mallory hates everything about school and has been looking into transferring to a private school, like Stoneybrook Day, Shannon's school, but that is too expensive. Plus, Mallory announces that she and her parents will be visiting a boarding school this coming weekend (Hogwarts, maybe? I mean, she is 11 years old. Mallory would totally be Hufflepuff). The BSC is shocked, but supportive.
Anyway, Stacey shows up for her sitting job for the Brooke kids, and is surprised to find John Brooke will actually be home the entire time. It turns out that he is a writer of detective novels (Momma Brooke left to go be a newscaster in the ATL), and he needs a sitter so that he can stay in his study and write. Stacey rolls with it, and really enjoys spending time with Jodi and Ewan. After her job is over, Mrs. McGill stops by to pick up Stacey (has this ever happened? I never remember reading about parents coming to pick up the girls from the sitting jobs before, usually they either ride their bikes home or the clients drive them home). Upon seeing Maureen at the door, John Brooke is all, "Stacey's mom has got it going on" and gets his game on. Maureen lingers, flirting back, and eventually agrees to go on a date with John (he's taking her to see a play that he wrote - pretentious much, John?)
Stacey is extremely excited about this date, however Jodi and Ewan are rather upset, they think that their dad and Mrs. McGill will get married and they will have a wicked stepmother. The next time Stacey babysits for the Brookes, John mentions to Stacey that he thinks Maureen is "luminous" (ok, not sure why someone would tell his girlfriend's 13 year old daughter that, but hey, it's a great compliment, at least). However, Jodi and Ewan go from being angelic charges to little hellions, Jodi especially. She breaks into his study and steals his computer mouse, then throws it into a tree. Jodi also gets on his computer and deletes an entire chapter of his book. And John gets crazy angry - not understandable levels of anger, we're talking crazy-scary-this-guy-may-be-the-BTK-killer-next-door type angry. Stacey feels a little scared by his outburst, but once he calms down, she dismisses it as normal levels of anger. Maureen, however, doesn't ignore her woman's intuition. She notices that John consistently shows up either inconveniently early (like 11:30 am for Thanksgiving dinner) or really late. She is concerned about how he treats his kids, his thoughtlessness (doesn't offer to help with Thanksgiving dinner), and the worldviews he expresses in his books. Basically, she thinks he is a self-centered douchebag. Stacey tries to convince her mom that John is her "Mr. Darcy," but mamma knows best, sweetie, Maureen knows he is more of a Wickham. Even Stacey's boyfriend, Ethan, tells her to get over herself and support her mom. Finally, Stacey accepts the breakup, and tells Jodi and Ewan (who were upset because they thought the breakup was their fault) that she considers them her "honorary brother and sister" (umm...awkward much? Think John will want the daughter of the woman who dumped him still showing up to hang out with his kids?). And we never hear about the Brooke family again. Convenient, AMM.
Fashion in the house!!!
What Claudia wore: "Claudia pushed her hair back to reveal a pair of long, shiny earrings dotted with small clay beads. Then she drew out a long beaded necklace, which had fallen beneath the bib of her tie-dyed overalls."
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