Thoughts before reading:
This book is a rarity: one I read as a kid and didn't particularly like. I was around 8-9 when I first read this, so all the dating stuff bored me. Also, since I loved Dawn, I hated her acting different, especially for a boy. I remember also being concerned that dating seemed hard and stressful, and you might have to act different around boys. At one point I had my own copy of this, but it was one of the ones I traded in for new books.
They really set the plot of this up awhile ago. It was way back in Dawn and the Older Boy, #37, that Dawn and Lewis were mentioned. That was also the other book where Dawn changed herself for a boy, and apparently, didn't learn anything.
The basics:
Mary Anne mentions to Dawn that Lewis, Logan's cousin, is coming for a visit soon. (Remember, he and Dawn have been writing to each other for awhile, but have never met.) Dawn promptly begins worrying that he won't like her, based on the fact that no boy has ever liked her before.
It's also New Years time, and the Schafer-Spier family is having a party to celebrate. Dawn and Mary Anne are also inviting the whole BSC over for a sleepover on New Year's Eve. At the sleepover, everyone is talking about boys/crushes, and Dawn starts to feel left out. She feels even worse when everyone but Mal and Jessi call a boy at midnight. Since she's the only older girl without someone to call, she's mortified and feels like she's behind. All of this gets her worrying about Lewis even more. She silently makes a resolution to get a boyfriend and become attractive to boys.
Meanwhile, the BSC has just acquired a new client, the Hill family. They have a nine year old daughter named Sarah, and a seven year old son, Norman. Dawn gets the first job sitting for them. Norman turns out to be very overweight, and the whole time Dawn's there he's sneaking junk food. Sarah constantly nags him about his eating habits, orders him around, and even teases him alongside her friend, Elizabeth. Through them, Dawn learns that the kids at school call him Enormous Hill, information sadly gained when the girls build a snowman and start calling it by that name in front of Norman. He tells Dawn that he's used to being teased all the time, but he likes to eat and doesn't want to change. His parents are apparently always on his case about his weight too, and are sending him to fat camp over the summer unless he loses twenty pounds before then. Dawn feels bad for him, and is upset over the whole situation.
All her worrying about Lewis's visit finally leads to Dawn deciding to make herself over to see if boys will like her more, Lewis being her test case. She's embarrassed to admit her plan to anyone though, because it will shatter her image as an individualist (rightly so...). Mary Anne sees her looking through a fashion magazine however, and is all over the idea of giving Dawn a makeover. Dawn ends up loving her hair and makeup all done up, and sends Lewis a picture. It's not long before Dawn decides she also needs a "cooler" attitude to go with her new, edgier look: less people pleasing, more not caring about anything. She even mouths off in class, which makes the popular kids take notice of her. This encourages her to keep up "Project New Dawn". However, she soon ends up mad at all her BSC friends because she thinks they don't want her to change, when in reality they are just (rightly) concerned.
When Lewis's visit finally arrives, Dawn dresses up in one of her new, edgy outfits and goes with Mary Anne and Logan to meet him at the airport. She's too nervous to talk much though, so she ends up thinking Lewis hates her right off the bat. Now she's even more worked up about the big double date that Mary Anne has planned. Dawn prepares for it by getting even more made up, and reading a bunch of dating tips in magazines. Needless to say, the date is an absolute disaster. Lewis seems nice, but things with him and Dawn are awkward, and Mary Anne makes it way worse by constantly butting in and coaching her. The girls end up fighting when they get home, because Mary Anne has the nerve to be mad that Dawn didn't listen to her enough, and Dawn's angry that she kept interfering.
Kristy cleverly gets Mary Anne and Dawn to talk again after the fight by calling them repeatedly about Norman's problems, then making them both get on the line to discuss the situation. Dawn realizes her problem is like Norman's: if everyone left her alone, she could handle things better. She decides to see Lewis again, alone.
Unfortunately the solo date with Lewis doesn't go well either, until Dawn realizes it's too much work trying to be someone she's not. She apologizes to Lewis for the way she's been acting, and he's relieved, telling her that he really liked her before, in the letters. She rushes home to undo her "look", and return to the real Dawn. Then they hang out for real, talking in the barn, then trying out some health food, which Lewis actually ends up liking.
Inspired by her success, Dawn decides to talk to Mary Anne about how badly she made her feel, and for once Mary Anne apologizes. Everyone has one last double date that goes well, and even ends with a first kiss for Dawn and Lewis. They decide to keep writing to each other, and Dawn finally learns that the real her is special, and she should have confidence in that.
Encouraged by the BSC, Norman starts standing up to his sister, which actually makes her begin to treat him better. He also tells his parents how badly they are making him feel about himself, and they agree to ease up. Norman decides to try and lose weight himself before the summer, by pretending he's Stacey and junk food will make him sick.
Timeline:
The very end of December, then most of January. This one actually follows the timeline continuity of Snowbound, the last book, which is a rarity. It's even mentioned that Jeff is still visiting.
My thoughts:
Well get comfortable, because I really have some opinions on this one!
First of all, I was expecting to be really annoyed by Dawn, but mostly I just felt bad for her in here. Yes, it still really bothers me that she has done this multiple times and not learned from it, but at least she finally does. Who hasn't felt like Dawn in this book? We've all changed parts of ourselves for someone, especially as teenage girls. I've done it and learned the hard way, seen others do it, and had a best friend in high school who did it constantly. At Dawn's age, everyone is still trying to figure out who they are, and trying on different identities. I wish I'd paid more attention to the great messages about being true to yourself that this book has to offer, instead of dismissing it as a story where a girl changes herself for a boy. If I had, it might have stuck with me when I got older and faced similar situations. When I first started reading this, it was really hurting my feminist heart, but when I realized where the story was going, I also realized this is something positive for young girls to read about, and hopefully learn from.
I totally forgot about the Normal Hill storyline until I started re-reading this. Even though I didn't like this book much as a kid, I loved his storyline because I had an unhealthy fixation on weight as a kid. This was because I thought I was fat (I wasn't). This time around, I didn't love the way the "fat" storyline was handled. Being overweight doesn't equal being miserable and sneaking junk food all the time, just like being thin doesn't automatically make you happier. Once again, it comes down to being true to yourself. Problems aside though, it was a good storyline, and my favorite babysitting one so far. It tied perfectly into Dawn's struggle, for starters. He learned the same lessons, even standing up to his family to do it. I think overall it could be helpful for young readers, even if the actual messages about being overweight were outdated. It's my hope we will see Normal again in later books, happier and healthier, no matter what he weighs. I would have liked to see the point made that it's health and happiness that matter, not the number on the scale.
The worst part of this book for me, which will not surprise anyone following this blog, was...Mary Anne! She was at her most annoying in here, butting in way too much, being really critical, and acting like some dating expert. She actually scolds Dawn for not talking to Lewis when they first meet. Really rich coming from her, someone supposed to be shy and sensitive. She was the same way when she first met Logan! Also, once again in here, she's the polar opposite of sensitive and caring. Her constant coaching makes Dawn way more nervous. She also kept saying "Logan already likes me the way I am" to Dawn, until I was wishing Dawn would slap her. Did she do all this makeover stuff to herself when she first met Logan? No. Then on the actual date, Mary Anne was coaching Dawn and correcting her, right in front of Lewis! How could that be anything but an awkward disaster? When they get home from the date, she has the nerve to tell Dawn, "the least you can do is thank me, I tried as hard as I could to make this date a success. It's not my fault you did everything wrong. I did the best I could." (pg 114) Are you fucking kidding me?? Doesn't she think Dawn feels bad enough? She took all Mary Anne's bad advice anyway, and MA has seen firsthand how hard she's tried. I was fuming by this point.
Misc:
*Ghostwritten by Suzanne Weyn
*Dawn's mom still has a New Year's banner from 1979, haha.
*Jessi says she's been sent to bed before midnight every previous New Year's? Seems overly strict to me. Didn't she ever go to a friend's house or a family party before this year?
*The triplets and Jeff hiding in the secret passage during the sleepover to spy on the girls, then teasing them about the boys they like, was hilarious. I love the cute scenes like these between the characters.
*Kristy's New Year's Eve call to Bart? "Happy New Year, Bart-Man!" Followed by her immediately hanging up. LOL, sounds about right!
*Everyone's resolutions, shared during the sleepover. I always love when characters make these:
Kristy: Make the Krushers a winning team
Mary Anne: Be less shy (because it's hard on Logan and she wants him to be happy-gag me!)
Claudia: Do better in school
Mallory: Stop worrying about how she looks in braces (yawn)
Jessi: Do a ballotte, an advances ballet jump
Stacey: Stop wishing she can eat foods she can't have
Dawn: She says she wants to do something more interesting with her hair, but she really wants to get a boyfriend and become more attractive to boys (and I still want to know why she loses her confidence and easy-going nature when boys are involved!)
*If the Hills honestly wanted to help Norman, why were they keeping any junk food in the house that he could get into? Surely the whole family could model healthy eating for him. He's only 7! Plus he's so young he'd have a hard time getting any junk food elsewhere by himself.
*The scene where Dawn mouths off in class was hilarious! The teacher asks her for the two common types of igneous rock, and she answers heavy metal and pop, haha!
*Dawn sassing Kristy in here was also amazing.
*Dawn says she's never chewed gum before, which I found hard to believe. Not even as a little kid?
*Another reason to like Stacey: she's great with Norman, comforting him while also challenging him, and she's the one to encourage him to talk to his parents about his feelings.
*Error on page 118, there's a quotation mark after narration.
*Apparently Mary Anne is really good at bowling?
*I really liked how Richard and Sharon bit their tongues about Dawn's new look and behavior, letting her figure things out for herself.
Books mentioned:
*The Marvel Encyclopedia of Super Heroes
My rating:
4 stars, I actually really liked this book this time around. It has a lot going on.
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