#28 Welcome Back, Stacey!

Stoneybrook over

New York City? Stacey is

Full of surprises.

Summary

Stacey's mom and dad have been having a ton of marital issues lately, and they've decided to divorce. Stacey is surprised and angry at this news, although I'm not sure why, considering all the foreshadowing that's been done over the last few books. :) Once Stacey calms down enough to actually discuss the situation with her parents, they tell her that her dad will be staying in New York, and her mom will be moving somewhere quieter. What town happens to be at the top of Maureen's list? Stoneybrook, of course, and it'll be up to Stacey to decide where she lives, and who she wants to live with.

The decision proves to be a tough one. Stacey thinks that all her problems would be solved if she simply didn't have to make a choice in the first place. She goes all Parent Trap on her mom and dad, trying to get them together over romantic meals and carriage rides, to no avail. Both of her parents find new places to live, and Stacey finally realizes that she's going to join the ranks of divorced kids, like it or not. To help her choose where to live, Stacey uses the good old pros and cons list method. When she sees it all laid out on paper, the decision is clear: it's back to Stoneybrook for the Mc Gill women.

Thoughts and Things

• The plot of this book and Dawn on the Coast are awfully similar, minus the whole divorce aspect. Dawn identifies her self as a CA girl, and Stacey identifies herself as a New Yorker. Both feel connected to their native turfs, and both feel they belong in those places. Both make pros and cons lists, and both end up choosing Stoneybrook over their hometowns in the end. I can't believe they were recycling plots this early in the series...
• I was actually pretty bored with this book; I don't remember being bored by it in the past.
• The outfit that Claudia is wearing on the cover actually matches the one described in the book. Kudos, Hodges!
• Speaking of outfits, Mallory wears a sequined sweatshirt to a club meeting! Her sparkly clothing dreams came true. I don't know about the pink leggings that she's wearing with it, though. Pink clothes and red hair aren't exactly the cutest combination.
• I love the idea of living in an old house in New England. If I ever did get to do that, you better believe that I'm going to be looking for hidden diaries and secret passages and stuff!