Part of The Baby-Sitters Club, book 51
First published 1992
Stacey McGill buzzes with excitement as her New York friend Laine Cummings arrives in Stoneybrook for a week-long visit. Stacey plans everything perfectly. Laine will visit SMS middle school, join Baby-sitters Club meetings, and maybe attend the Valentine Dance. But from the moment Laine steps off the train, nothing goes right. She rolls her eyes at Stacey's sleepover plans and calls her friends immature. Baby-sitting seems ridiculous to her now. Laine talks constantly about high school parties and her fifteen-year-old boyfriend back in the city. Stacey feels torn between two worlds. She loves her Stoneybrook life and her club friends, but she desperately wants to keep her oldest friendship alive. Laine acts like she's outgrown everything Stacey cares about. Each day of the visit makes the gap between them wider. Stacey must decide whether to change herself to match Laine's new attitude or accept that some friendships don't survive growing up.
Genres: family-life, friendship, contemporary, adolescence, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: New York, Stoneybrook
Period: 20th-century
160 pages · Paperback · Apple