The Baby-Sitters Club Fan Edition: Baby-Sitter Summer
The Baby-Sitters Club series began with author Ann M. Martin’s first volume in 1986 and has spawned dozens of sequels and spinoffs, plus television and film adaptations. This “fan edition” was collectively written by Martin and six other authors, including Becky Albertalli, whose other works include the young adult titles Imogen, Obviously, a Stonewall Honor Book, and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (the basis for the film Love, Simon), among other queer-inclusive books. If you suspect that there might be queer inclusion in Baby-Sitter Summer, you’d be right. All of the founding members of the Baby-Sitters Club are here, plus several others from the original series. Mary Anne and Stacey are spending the summer in their (fictional) hometown of Stoneybrook, Connecticut, while Kristy, Claudia, Dawn, Jessi, and Mallory are traveling far and wide. Alternating chapters tell each girl’s story, focusing, like the earlier titles, on relatable social and personal challenges. This edition feels particularly thoughtful around issues of identity. Claudia, who is Japanese American, connects with her heritage through her art, her grandmother, and a visit to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. Irish American Mallory visits cousins in Ireland. Jessi, who is Black, goes along to her mother’s college reunion at an HBCU (Historically Black College/University). She and her mother talk at one point about the value of having a place where most of the other people look like you, in contrast to Stoneybrook, where Jessi is “the only Black kid in the whole sixth grade”. And yes, one character, Kristy (who is White), comes out as queer, through a crush on new character Rowan. It is perhaps not surprising that Kristy, long a softball-playing tomboy in the series, evolves in this direction, although the book tries to balance that stereotype by specifying that Rowan doesn’t like sports. The story handles Kristy’s dawning realization that she “might like Rowan as more than a friend” with a light and positive touch, and avoids immediate labels, which feels right for Kristy’s stage of awareness. “Did I like girls? How would I explain my sort-of-ex-boyfriend Bart?” she reflects at one point. “I mean, there were other options, of course. I could like boys and girls. But how did I know if any of the options applied to me?” All she knows is that she likes Rowan, and that she gets a funny feeling inside when Rowan smiles at her. At the risk of a minor spoiler, I’ll note that they share a brief kiss at one point (as Stacey does with a boy she meets), which feels perfectly age appropriate, regardless of what some online comments about this title may say. Although Kristy does some internal searching about whether she likes girls, there is no sense that she is worried about homophobia or negative reactions from family or friends. Indeed, when her friends do find out about Rowan, they are completely unfazed and happy for her. That seems in keeping with the upbeat vibe of the series. The Baby-Sitters Club series has been a touchstone for several generations of young people, and it makes sense that this latest volume continues to show the friends’ identities and experiences reflecting those of their readers, making this a recommended title.
Ann M. Martin, Becky Albertalli, Coe Booth, Emma Straub, Jahnna N. Malcolm, Peter Lerangis, Sarah Kuhn