BSC Analysis: Stacey McGill: She Can Do Math!

This is the fourth installment in a series of Baby-Sitters Club character analyses/essays. Turns out, the gals aren’t as rad as we thought they were back in the 90’s.

Stacey is blonde. She is from New York City. She is a fashionista. But holy cow, is she good at math! Naturally, Kristy makes her the treasurer of the Baby-Sitters Club. Isn’t it wonderful how everyone fits perfectly into their little pigeonholes in Stoneybrook?

But of course, into each life, some BSC drama must fall. In Book three, The Truth About Stacey, we find out that her secret is not in fact that she is a cannibal nor is she a bank robber in hiding. Nope, she’s got the diabeeedas, as our good friend Wilfred Brimley would say. Thankfully, Stacey has it mostly under control with insulin, a careful diet, and some doctors’ visits.

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Source: Bustle

However, diabetes is the reason Stacey came to Stoneybrook in the first place, as it caused her some major issues back in the ol’ judgey-wudgey big city. So she and her parents packed their bags and moved to sleepy Connecticut where she made some friends, joined a business/cult, and did a lot of math while helping fashion-challenged friends pick out clothes. But because this is Stoneybrook we are talking about, no one can just stay put. Nope, Stacey’s parents pick up and move Stacey back to NYC because of her dad’s job. Then, of course, a year later, they get divorced and Stacey and her mom move right on back! Here, I would like to digress to note the cover art continuity, with both books #13 and #28 showing Stacey’s family vehicle as sweet mustard yellow station wagon. That thing must’ve sucked to park in NYC.

Beyond her moving around and her math talent, Stacey is one of the more exciting baby-sitters. She’s obsessed with boys. Like, obsessed. We’ve even got a book called Boy Crazy Stacey as evidence (hey! Is that the same hunky medic from Mary Anne Saves the Day?!), and then there is, of course, the ever-present weirdly stalkerish crush she has on Kristy’s brother Sam. They get a little bit closer in Baby-Sitters at Shadow Lake, but there’s never any real romance. This is The Baby-Sitters Club, after all.

Stacey, like any good 13-year-old can also be a bit dramatic. She’s got this whole backstory about her ex-bff from NYC, and it seems to crop up a bit too often for someone who claims to be firmly planted in Stoneybrook. Then of course we’ve got your standard Stacey gets in a fight with everyone book, wants to leave the club, Kristy’s siren song proves too strong, she comes back, blah blah.

Oh, and did we mention her real name is Anastasia? Maybe an analysis of why in the world her parents would name her that would be worthwhile. But next week, instead, I think we’ll go with an analysis of Dawn Schafer.

What are your thoughts on Stacey?

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YouTube Channel: arglefumph

 

Featured image via Movie Pilot

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