Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club #28: Welcome Back, Stacey!

All the way back in book #13 Ann M. Martin made the daring decision to have Stacey McGill move out of Stoneybrook and return to New York. The result did lead to Mallory getting a bigger role and Jessi debuting for the series. But there's always been this feeling of a void being left since her departure. And even with subsequent appearances that followed, it just never felt right to not have Stacey back. But now the long national nightmare is over, and Stacey's finally back in Stoneybrook. That's good news. But why exactly? Let's find out as we say Welcome Back, Stacey!

Both covers are solid. Both do feel like it's a big deal that Stacey is back in Stoneybrook. The reprint's is cute with the big hug and all, but does feel a bit "just there" by comparison to the original. Also no Mallory or Jessi feels odd. I get it, this is about the core five reuniting, it just feels weirdly regressive to me. The original in my eyes works better. I think having the station wagon in the background sells this one for me. With Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye having her in the car and this one having her out of the car, does finally feel like a case of all is right with the BSC world. Also Claudia's outfit is just great. Purest of pure 80s vibes. Good stuff.

Stacey babysits for the Walker kids (who we met back in Stacey's Mistake) to start the book before the initial preamble which is more just about herself and moving back to New York from Stoneybrook, while also mentioning the club. And things in New York have not been going great. Stacey's previous appearances have been beating around the bush about it, but now we get full confirmation that Mr. and Mrs. McGill are at each other's throats. After sitting, Stacey returns home to hear the two arguing over bills, as Mrs. McGill is so bored that she's just buying a whole bunch of jewelry, in case it didn't occur to the reader 28 books in that these people are loaded as hell. She calls Mr. McGill a workaholic, to which he notes that she's spending so much that he really has no choice in the matter. Mrs. McGill mentions wanting to move back to Stoneybrook, but Mr. McGill is against it. So yeah, you probably thought this was going to just be a cutesy book about Stacey returning to Stoneybrook right? PSYCHE! This is actually a book about divorce. Yay? 

Stacey rushes over to her friend Laine Cummings' apartment to talk about the situation. Laine says that maybe it's just a rough patch and things will definitely get better. She also suggests calling Claudia, which brings us the preamble about the rest of the club and what they do. Stacey calls in during the club meeting, so while Dawn, who has dealt with a more recent divorce, says it's not a good sign, the other girls talk to Stacey to quickly update on things from recent books. Kristy's Krushers, Tigger, Logan, that sort of stuff. This book is longer than the last few and I'm start to see why with a lot of this early padding. The call does go well, and Stacey thinks that maybe Laine is right. That this will all blow over. Just a spat mixed with the trauma of angry parents. Surely this will all be okay. Of course, when she gets home, her parents drop the nuke on her. They're getting divorced. This isn't a spur of the moment thing either, this has been developing since returning to New York. And despite counseling and trying to make it work, it's reached a point that divorce is the best call. Stacey, as you'd expect, doesn't take that well and heads to her bedroom and slams the door.

The next day, she sees just how bad things have gotten when she sees her dad has been given the full Andy Capp treatment, asleep on the couch. She goes to school, with the thoughts of what her future looks like. Which parent will she live with, and who will that parent marry? Will they be as bad as say, Tripp, the guy who's still dating Dawn's mother? After school, the McGills talk about them separating. That they'll be moving out of the apartment, and that Stacey can choose who to live with and there will be joint custody. Mrs. McGill even noting that she plans to move back to Stoneybrook. Stacey is overwhelmed by even more of this information and asks for some time, at least until she knows where Mr. McGill is going. She talks with Laine and Claudia, each wanting her to either stay or leave, so that doesn't help. She talks with Dawn who says that the separation is the worst part, as is the waiting until everything is settled. But instead of that, she thinks she can try to get them back together because what do marriage counselors know, anyway? Thankfully we're not strung along on sitcom-esque antics, those plans get shut down immediately.

Stacey and her mother head to Stoneybrook and go house hunting with Claudia. They find a nice spot, but don't make their decisions just yet. But Stacey stays in town long enough for a slumber party with the BSC. Back at New York, the McGill parents both hound Stacey into making her choice, to which it just makes things worse. Ultimately though, Stacey chooses going with her mother to Stoneybrook because, I mean, the title of the book and all. The day of packing comes and after getting some supplies, Stacey runs into Judy, the homeless woman from the last New York book, who mostly rants about plastics and Campbell's soup. Everyone packs, with Mr. and Mrs. McGill arguing over who gets what. Stacey also tells the Walker kid that she'll be leaving soon. The next day is moving day with Laine giving the McGills a going away New York breakfast, and the Walkers giving Stacey some gifts. And then it's the ride back to Stoneybrook. 

As Stacey returns to Stoneybrook and her new home, she's greeted by the club and many of the kids she's sat for. They head upstairs and realize the movers put her mom's bed in Stacey's new room. Stacey and Claudia talk with Stacey not being truly sure she made the right call to come back to Stoneybrook, but Claudia says that she gets it, and understands how it would be hard to leave one parent, but the divorce wasn't Stacey's call, so it's more on her parents for doing this. Some time passes, Stacey gets situated again in Stoneybrook, baby-sits for Charlotte and is back in the club. While she'll never truly shake the feeling she made the wrong call, she's happy at least. So not a mega happy ending, just a happy enough ending, I guess?

So, we had a book about a new family member, then a filler book, then a book about death, then a filler book, and now a book about divorce, with what looks like a filler book next. I see you Ann M. Martin, I see how the twenties are functioning. This book is really good. I just really wish the title wasn't what it was, because it cuts into the drama of the story. Because the title and the cover art both make it clear that Stacey's call will be to return to Stoneybrook. Something more along the lines of "Stacey's Decision" would have helped. But I also get why it's called Welcome Back, Stacey! Because it's good for selling books. Especially for the fans who have felt shortchanged with Stacey's exit from the series 15 books prior. Because it does make for a book where we're built on this big dilemma of which parent she'll choose and where she'll end up and I don't feel the drama that the book was hoping to intend because we have the answer right there on the book's title.

But that issue aside, this book is about divorce. And Ann M. Martin does a solid job in setting up how serious the situation is, and how it affects Stacey in particular. How it makes her angry, sad, afraid, frustrated, wanting to find a way for it to not happen to no avail. And the McGills feel like a couple who are finally tired with one another. The book never goes to verbally or physically abusive, because that would be a bit too much, but we do get a lot of the the two sniping at one another, Mr. McGill on the couch, a real vibe that if they didn't got for an amicable split, things would just escalate. It does, mind you, feel like a plot device needed to justify Stacey moving back to Stoneybrook, but it still does the job, and makes sure to make it clear to the reader that Stacey will never truly get over this, but can still try to live her life normally and try her best to make all of this work. And that's why Stacey is a great character, and why honestly, despite what good intentions Ann M. Martin had for moving her back to New York, that clearly that wasn't the right call as she's still got a lot to add to this series.

For a book with baby-sitting, there's slim to none. A couple times that Stacey watches the Walker kids and a rushed bit with Stacey and Charlotte but that's really it. There's very little with the club in this book, which makes sense. But what stuff we do get with them is always focused around the book's plot, so it's definitely a case where Martin never really makes this book feel too full of fluff. Every part does matter. Which is good because I don't think they could have a chapter with, like, Mary Anne baby-sitting the Perkinsese and having them play pretend divorce or something like that. So if you're here for the baby-sitting, you'll be let down. But me who prefers character development and worldbuilding, I could gladly live without it for a book. 

So overall, this is a really strong book and a solid way to bring back Stacey. The title doesn't help its cause, it does feel a tad bloated as a book, but it still uses the page count it has to keep the focus on the topic of divorce. It's a solid recommend. But more importantly, all is right in Stoneybrook once more. Stacey is back and the club is finally at seven members. Is this a good sign, or will the series actually suffer from character bloat in the process? Only time will tell, I guess. Welcome Back, Stacey! gets an A. 

Next time, Mallory's found a mysterious diary. Will that diary finally lead us to our first good Mallory book?

American Museum of Natural History

I ❤ New York

Bloomingdale's

Tiffany's

Rosemary's Baby

Ring-Dings

Ding-Dongs

Ho-Hos

Nancy Drew

Marguerite Henry

I Love Lucy

Star Trek

The New York Times

The Snowy Day

The Owl and the Pussycat

Angus and the Ducks

Oreos

Campbell's Soup

Millions of Cats

Outside Over There

Lifesavers

Twinkies