It's time for Dawn's third outing as the lead narrator. And I do feel like I've been a bit too harsh on the first two. Neither were particularly bad books, but neither exactly wowed me either. Especially the second book that may or may not have confirmed a ghost... at Dawn's house. The first book was fine, but, again, her brief negligence causing an almost-kidnapping soured the book for me. But, as the saying goes, the third time's the charm. And the books have at least started building a plot with Dawn in recent books when it comes to her brother Jeff's acting out and wanting to live in California with his dad. So this hopefully means this book is meatier than the last Dawn book. Should I prepare for imminent disappointment? Let's see with Little Miss Stoneybrook ...and Dawn.
This cover is fine. It sets up the plot well enough with the girls in the pageant being front and center with Dawn in the background. Dawn being behind the curtain for a book where she's the focus does feel a bit silly, again feeling like she's the most background character of the BSC, but it makes sense why it's done. I mean the ...And Dawn is there for a reason.
After the regular preamble, the book starts with the club inducting Mallory and Jessi as junior baby-sitters, essentially able to just take afternoon jobs on account of their age. They get a call from the Johanssen family as Charlotte wants Claudia to baby-sit, given her being Stacey's best friend and all. Dawn notes that she once saved two kids from a burning building, which honestly I think I forgot that tidbit, but yeah. Back at home, Jeff's still being a pain, and is getting in trouble at school and beating up other kids. But, he rationally says that it's likely homesickness from not being in California and asks his mother if he can go there, at least for six months. She hems and haws over it, but says she'll try to get something worked out. This bothers Dawn because she thinks that Jeff is trying to intentionally break up the family even more than it already is, which, I mean she's not fully wrong. And him dangling the "I have to go or else I'll have to go to jail for my violent streak" stuff over his mom's head certainly is points in Dawn's favor on this matter.
The next meeting is held and Dawn notices in the paper there's an ad for the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant. A beauty pageant for kids 5-8. The girls note that they feel it's sexist to put little girls in contest based on looks, which I'll admit is based thinking for 1988. Even Jessi and Mallory aren't too fond of it. Dawn notes that when she was a baby, her mom entered a photo of her for a cutest baby contest and she won, but claims that it was mainly done because she was dared to or something. They talk about Claudia babysitting Charlotte and all of them note their own situations be it Mary Anne saving Jenny Prezzioso or the whole phantom caller thing. As they talk, they get a call from Mrs. Pike. Claire and Margo both want to join the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant and think that Dawn would be the perfect person to help them out. Dawn accepts, which bothers Jessi, angers Kristy and mostly traumatizes Mallory for having to deal with a possible pageant queen sister. Oh, and Karen's entering too. Because what would a pageant be without an agent of chaos? Which also means it's Kristy's job to help her out. So it'll be like Kristy and Dawn will be in direct competition.
Back at home, it's official. Jeff will be able to move back to California in a few weeks. Dawn's upset about it. Not just because she hates the idea of the family splintering more than it already is, but she too misses California, but wouldn't want to abandon her mother. But Jeff is super excited that he can finally leave Stoneybrook. Dawn visits the Pikes and soon realizes she may be in over her head. Claire and Margo really don't know what they're even supposed to do at the pageant, from what to wear to what talent they'll show off. They think of reciting The House That Jake Built, and the ruder version of the Popeye theme and... peeling a banana with their feet, what the hell? Oh and add Mary Anne to the list of pageant coaches as she's now coaching Myriah Perkins. Oh and so is Charlotte Johanssen, which means Claudia's involved too. Oh we're getting another "girls at each other's throats" books aren't we? Mallory and Jessi babysit the pikes which is mostly chaos with the boys annoying Claire and Margo and the girls also just giving the pair of babysitters a headache. So it's all going very, very well.
At the next club meeting, it's all aboard the awkwardness train as Dawn reveals what Margo and Claire are doing for the pageant, but none of the other girls are going to reveal what their girls are doing, so Dawn just let herself become an easy mark. And as if to cut the awkwardness in the worst possible way, Dawn reveals to the girls that Jeff is leaving and it's completely devastating her and her mother. Dawn continues to train the girls, which goes a little better but still very chaotic. Also Claudia and Charlotte spy on them because of course. That night, it's the move. They take Jeff to the airport and he leaves for California. Also really jazzed about it, like no real "I'm gonna miss this place" to him at all. He's ready to leave which, I mean I get the devastation from Dawna and Mrs. Schafer, but I dunno. Let the little shit leave and maybe he'll realize he doesn't have it so good in California? No spoilers if that's what the outcome is. Just... I'm guessing we're keeping that pin on the board for all of this for right now.
The day of the pageant finally arrives. The girls are all nervous, and noticing that the other girls involved are more made up and professional, might have realized they're all in over their heads. One of the girls, Sabrina Bouvier, tries to help the girls calm down, but the BSC think she may be a pageant-head and is full of crap and not that pretty or talented which, good lord these kids suck a lot, huh. It goes a bit chaotic, namely with Charlotte running off crying. But ultimately Myriah ends up runner-up, while Sabrina wins, which angers the girls because by the grace of good god they are petty hens. The young girls mostly take the losses well, though Karen is seen crying which makes me think she'll accuse the judges of being under Morbidda Destiny's spell or something. Everybody makes their leave, feeling that the pageant wasn't based on actual personality but superficiality. I mean, yeah, no shit. Welcome to the industry, kids. Dawn gets a call from Jeff who is enjoying his life in California, and has zero regrets whatsoever. She then gets a call from Claire Pike who learned of another pageant for a department store, so the cycle continues, I guess.
Welp, I'm sorry I have to say it, but Dawn's three for three. Still haven't found the book of hers that I can really say is amazing. But this is a better book for her than The Ghost at Dawn's House. But it isn't without issue. The pageant plot is fun, namely as Dawn and the girls have to go through the work of getting the girls ready for the pageant, while ultimately getting a bit wrapped up into it, and then losing because they were outclassed, and kind of being rotten about it, blaming their losses on superficiality and not down to earth-ness which, I mean, that's what a beauty pageant is. They aren't looking for humanity and character, there is always going to be a focus on superficiality. The girls know that well enough with them calling it sexist in the beginning.
But there's just as much hypocrisy with the girls, namely in how awful they are with Sabrina. Which even if they're right and Sabrina is someone who is superficial and not true, they're still really horrible by saying she's not pretty and untalented. It's one thing for them to call out the sexism, which even seeing the word sexist in a kids book from the 80s is really cool and I like that we have the girls focus on that, but it feels invalidating when they just end up being just as sexist and a touch classist at that. They judge Sabrina on her looks. They call her not that pretty. They are just as sexist as the judges they cast blame upon. It's hypocrisy in its purest form. It also feels out of character in a way. The books to this point have written these girls to be so good natured that it feels weird to have them be this awful towards anyone, specially a child which they have rarely ever been meanspirited towards. Even if you want to chalk it up to frustrations over how the pageant went, it still feels like something they would never do. They would never go after a child for how they look. Like, they've had kids they don't like sitting for, like Jenny Preziosso, but even then they never mocked her looks. And they go after Sabrina for what? Giving advice and winning a pageant? Also yeah, it definitely took me out of the book if I'm honest. And nah, this one isn't just me chalking it up to 13 year old girls being 13 year old girls. That might be up there in their worst moments, which given we're coming off their worst look with Hello, Mallory, I can't say makes me happy about where this series has been going with the girls.
This book is mostly filler in the grand scheme, but the Jeff side-plot is the most important part to it. And it's here where I think this is a better Dawn book because we're grappling with how she's feeling about her brother being so happy to depart from their lives. How nonchalant he is and even how he really doesn't seem to considerate about Dawn or his mother's feelings. I'm not fully spoiled on the series, so I'm assuming this isn't the last of Jeff in the series, but I think I like how Ann M. Martin handled this concept. I do think it makes sense that Jeff is like this. This is what he wants, and he's still a kid who doesn't really understand how badly this affects everyone but himself. But I also like that the book focuses on Dawn's feelings on this, namely that she too would want to go back to California and want to go back to living with her dad, but can't fathom ever leaving her mother alone in Stoneybrook with nobody. I've stated that I feel that Dawn in many ways mirrors Kristy, but with enough opposites to differentiate the two. Dawn's more girly, Kristy's tomboyish, both are children of divorce and while it appears, at least as far as we know to this point, that Kristy's family life is more stable, it's not the same with Dawn. And showing different forms of the divorced family is something that I appreciate and I feel was done well with this book.
Aside from that, there really isn't much to say with this one. It feels like a filler book for the majority, but the pageant plot is at least fun and I could see the target audience enjoying it more than I did. But that also comes from someone who abhors child pageants so I can't say I was going into this book with the most enthusiasm in the world. It flows quick, has fun moments, and does at least have one important element to it that keeps it from being completely skippable. I know this is apparently one of Ann M. Martin's favorites, but this is a case of "agree to disagree" with me. We're still looking for that elusive Dawn book that I really like, and while this almost had that with the Jeff subplot, she does feel lost in the shuffle again. I think the idea of having the other girls all get involved doesn't help in making this feel like a book about Dawn. And it doesn't help that this is her last main book for eight books. So yeah. Gonna be a while until we can finally get an answer to the question of "Dawn has a good book, right?" Little Miss Stoneybrook ...and Dawn gets a B-.
Next up, it's the newest member of the BSC getting her first lead role. Hopefully Jessi can get us out of this slump.
Little Red Riding Hood
Miss America
The Wheels on the Bus
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Popeye the Sailor Man
Tomorrow
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
The Owl and the Pussycat
The House That Jack Built
The Good Ship Lollipop
Silent Night
Mr. Popper's Penguins
The Wizard of Oz
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Violet Beauregarde
Monopoly
Transformers
Walkman
Mars Bars
Moon River
Cheshire Cat
Cabbage Patch Dolls
Santa Claus
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