4 out of 5 stars
I was 24 years old when my parents split up. They told my sister and I on a Thursday at the beginning of October in 2004. Around 9pm. (A new ER was about to come on and we were mad they were making us miss it to "talk" lol.) When they were done talking, we left and just drove around. We ended up at the Barnes & Noble in the next town that didn't close til 11. (Books are comforting, right?) We were shocked, flabbergasted even. But not really. The signs were all there, just like for Stacey, once we looked for them.
I think this is the reason I connected and liked this book so much. As a child, I was just like "Yay! Stacey is coming back! Woo she's wearing a crazy outfit! (More on that later)". But as an adult, I can really see how well-written and thoughtful this book was. Stacey is scared when she hears her parents fighting all the time...her dad is a workaholic, Type A personality that is hardly ever home and her mom is a bored stay-at-home mom that overspends to compensate. (Although I would call $1500 at Tiffany a little excessive too eek.) They've fallen out of love with each other, it happens. A lot nowadays. But for the kid, no matter what age, it's devastating.
So Stacey does what any self-respecting teen would do in this situation: she locks herself in her room, cranks the music up, and refuses to speak to her parents. :) Of course, she comes out for meals because she's Diabetic (capital D because it's her defining characteristic) but she solves that by hiding behind the newspaper.
Let's talk for a minute about What Stacey is Wearing the day after her parents have The Talk. This has got to be the WORST outfit in BSC history. Seriously. I would expect this kind of clownery from Claudia, but not Miss Sophisticated, I Heart NYC, Stacey Anastasia McGill. She should have her Bloomingdale's card revoked. And she thinks this is one of [her] better outfits-short red pants with purple suspenders over a bright yellow and black sweat shirt. On my feet I put my purple push-down socks and a pair of red hightop sneakers. I added jewelry-a big necklace with wooden bananas and oranges strung on it, and dangly earrings shaped like sunglasses. Then I rolled up a red scarf and tied it in my hair like a headband. My outfit was pretty colorful. [Understatement of the century!] I think I was trying to make up for the gray day.
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Stacey turns to her friends for comfort, and while they can't really help her much, they are there for her. Even stuck-up Laine tries her hardest, going so far as to let Stacey use her phone to call the BSCers and her "other BFF" Claudia. Dawn and Kristy give the best advice obviously, having gone thru this themselves. And eventually Stacey seems to come to terms with it, although I'm sure not completely.
Her big issue now is: who is she going to live with? Her dad has decided to stay in the city, moving to a new apartment, and her mom is considering moving back to Stoneybrook. What to do, what to do? Well, unless you are completely obtuse, you've noticed the cover up there with the BSC members rushing to meet Stacey (who seems to have raided her mom's closet). Hey wait...where's the big "Welcome Back" banner?? They always have a banner! Mary Anne got her period? We need a banner! lol...
So she obviously picks her mom, because let's face it: she wasn't that popular at her NYC school after the whole peeing the bed, fainting in the cafeteria faze. She's tres-chic in little ol' Stoneybrook plus she's got her mom who she's much closer to and way more friends and you can't forget all those dang kids needing substitute parents! Welcome Back, Stacey!! We missed you and your poofy, permed hair!
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