Thoughts before reading:
I definitely read this one at some point, but I don't remember much about it. I think this is the start of the story arc that leads to Stacey leaving the BSC for awhile, although as I recall her actual departure is still a few Stacey books away. I always loved that arc though, as it was delightfully drama filled, and I supported Stacey wanting to try new things, grow, and change. Even as a kid it was weird to me how much these girls liked to babysit.
Not the best cover...Charlotte looks like she's levitating.
The basics:
Stacey is walking to school with Claudia one morning when she gets pelted by a snowball, causing her to fall on her butt. She's annoyed, until she realizes the thrower was R. J. Blaser, the star of the SMS basketball team. It doesn't hurt that he's cute and one of the most popular guys in school either. Lately she's been attending the games because the team is undefeated, and as a result everyone at SMS has been "swept up by basketball fever". R. J. strolls over to talk to her, and ends up asking her out to see Mall Warriors on Friday night. She says yes, stunned by her good fortune. (…And Stacey goes crazy over a guy again! This girl is killing me.)
During homeroom, one of the popular girls slips Stacey a note telling her that RJ likes her, and the snowball was no accident, because he never misses. Word of her date gets around quickly, and all the cheerleaders start being really friendly towards her all of a sudden. Stacey's on cloud 9, and by Friday she's beyond excited. RJ even sits with the BSC during lunch that day. (I bet that was interesting, but sadly, we don't get any details.)
It doesn't take long once the actual date begins for Stacey to realize her and RJ have nothing in common though. They don't have anything to talk about, or any similar tastes. After an awkward time at the movie, they head to Pizza Express, and the whole popular group is already there, clearly having a blast. Stacey and RJ join them, and her mood swiftly improves as all the kids easily include her. Some of the girls act surprised to hear Stacey's kissed guys before, because "her crowd" seems so young, and they think of babysitting as a "stage you go through". Stacey grabs a pizza slice at the same time as one of the guys, Robert, and the pieces are stuck together. She gets a good look at him for the first time and notices how cute he is, and that he's also looking at her. By the end of the night, even though the date was a bust, she's enjoying being a part of the popular crowd and getting attention.
Stacey attends the next basketball game with Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Jessi. She's a bit embarrassed by them, but checks herself on the snobby feeling before letting it really start. The SMS team ends up winning by 1 point. Stacey goes down to the floor to congratulate them, and ends up hugging Robert. While she's mingling on the court, Kristy literally blows a whistle from the bleachers to quiet the gym, then yells down to ask Stacey if she's still coming to their BSC sleepover that night. Stacey does want to go, so she swallows her embarrassment and heads out with them. The sleepover ends up being one of their best ever, reminding Stacey how great her friends are.
Some of the cheerleaders wait for Stacey outside her homeroom on Monday to tell her that Robert likes her. The girls also tell her there's a spot open on the cheer team, in case she wants to try out. She's unsure at first, but ends up deciding to practice in secret, just in case she turns out to be too clumsy to do it. She ends up working really hard, and letting Jessi in on it so she can teach her a dance routine.
Robert ends up calling and inviting Stacey to a movie that Friday night (the call makes her late for a BSC meeting). He mentions that Mall Warriors 2 is the last movie he'd want to see, which thrills her, because she hated the first one. After this good start, the date also ends up going amazingly well. Robert really listens to her, is understanding, and they have a lot in common. He also tells her about how all the basketball players get special treatment from teachers at school, and he doesn't think it's right. The pair end up going out several more times, including a double date with Mary Anne and Logan, where everyone has a blast.
Stacey rocks her tryout, then gets really nervous waiting to hear the results. She overhears the cheerleaders talking about how great her routine was, but laughing about how she hangs out with the BSC and 6th graders all the time. A girl named Kathleen Lopez ends up making the squad instead of Stacey, and one of the cheerleaders who had been friendly to Stacey tells her it's because she was too good. The other girls felt threatened by her. When Robert hears about this, he's furious, and quits the basketball team as a protest of the unfair tryouts and all the special treatment he no longer wants to be a part of.
This news causes a big stir at SMS. An article bashing Robert's "negativity" comes out in the school paper. The administration ends up re-evaluating the sports program, setting new guidelines, and adding a minimum GPA requirement to play. Robert and Stacey are both invited (back) onto the teams, and both say no. Stacey realizes she was trying a hobby she didn't really like for all the wrong reasons (attention, popularity). Her and Robert also print a comeback editorial with their reasons in the school paper.
The side plot in here is about Shannon's sister Tiffany, who's been a huge handful lately. It turns out she just feels left out, because both of her sisters are talented and win awards. Mary Anne encourages her to find a hobby of her own. This leads to her discovering her true passion: gardening.
Timeline:
It's early December.
Misc. thoughts:
*Ghostwritten by Peter Lerangis
*Mal is still recovering from her mono, and isn't in the club.
*At least on her disastrous date with RJ, Stacey says when she doesn't like something he likes, instead of changing herself.
*In the scene at Pizza Express where the popular girls comment that Stacey's crowd seems young and way too into babysitting, nothing they said struck me as being exactly wrong. Plus at this point, the BSC girls only hang out together, so other kids at school have never had a chance to get to know them as individuals. They do tend to shut others out, so even if someone wanted to become friends, they all probably seem really unapproachable.
*I can understand a lot of Stacey's motivations in here, as they struck me as very realistic for junior high. I remember how good that feeling of getting attention from popular kids is at that age. These cliques are also just like I remember.
*It is funny though, that in the early BSC books Stacey and Claudia were part of the popular crowd already. Did they lose that status when they joined the BSC? It's never mentioned or addressed either way.
*The SMS basketball team is the Chargers.
*If a friend blew a whistle and then yelled to me like Kristy does to Stacey, I would have been furious!
*The popular group calls people a "911" because "it's like calling 911 because you're about to die from excitement." Wow, haha. I remember when things like that sounded so cool to me.
*Stacey says she's always agreed with the philosophy that it's better for girls to join their own teams than cheer for boys, but she wants to join the cheerleaders now anyway to get closer to Robert and be popular. None of this is necessarily bad; most kids this age long to be popular, and it's good to try new things and make new friends. As long as she didn't keep doing it even though she wound up hating it, I don't see a problem with it. The only issue I had with this was one of the girls telling her that she's pretty enough to be a cheerleader. But we all knew that was a big part of cheerleading and popularity growing up, didn't we? I guess at least they admit it.
*Sometimes Stacey and her mom get calls for a Rupert Peebles.
Books mentioned:
None
My rating:
4 stars. This was really an enjoyable read, accurate/realistic, and something different. I liked the discussions about cliques, popularity, and athletic favoritism. The school focused plot was a pleasant difference from other books lately. I also thought Stacey was a star in here, handling trying out new friends and activities while trying to stay true to the BSC.
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