The Summer Before by Ann M. Martin has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is a prequel to the first book in the original “The Baby-Sitters Club” series.
The Summer Before by Ann M. Martin has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is a prequel to the first book in the original “The Baby-Sitters Club” series.
As the summer before seventh grade begins, Kristy and Mary Anne are sad because their friendship with Claudia seems to be changing. Claudia feels she is growing up faster than Mary Anne and Kristy, and she wants to explore other interests, such as fashions and boys. At her birthday party, Claudia meets Frankie, who becomes her first crush. Claudia’s older sister, Janine, likes Frankie as well, and Claudia’s friendship with Frankie creates tension between the sisters. Miles away, Stacey is helping her parents prepare for their upcoming move to Stoneybrook. She is looking forward to a fresh start after being ostracized by her friends in New York City, a situation that has been further complicated by her parents’ decision to keep her diabetes diagnosis a secret from those outside of the family.
All four girls enjoy baby-sitting, and Mary Anne is especially happy when her father, a strict widower, allows her to baby-sit on her own. When Watson, the boyfriend of Kristy’s mother, asks Kristy to baby-sit for his children, she refuses because she dislikes the possibility of the two families becoming one. Kristy is devastated when her father fails to attend her birthday party, so Mary Anne uses baby-sitting money to throw a special celebration to show Kristy how much she is loved. After Claudia’s friendship with Frankie ends, she realizes she has been neglecting her other relationships. Claudia, Mary Anne and Kristy have a heart-to-heart talk and decide that they have shared too much over the years to let their friendship go. Stacey and her parents settle into their new house, and she meets Claudia on the first day of school — the same day Kristy decides to start the baby-sitters club.
Mary Anne’s father says a blessing for his deceased wife before every meal.
None
Kristy’s father rarely has contact with her or her siblings, but her mother provides a stable home and responds with understanding to Kristy’s frustrations regarding Watson. Mary Anne’s father controls much of Mary Anne’s life, including selecting the clothes she wears and her hairstyle. He realizes he can be overprotective at times, but he explains to Mary Anne that he only does this because she is all he has. Mimi, Claudia’s grandmother, is sensitive to the changes Claudia is experiencing, and she helps Claudia mend her friendships and her relationships.
While allowing Stacey a great deal of independence in some areas, her parents carefully supervise all aspects of her life relating to her diabetes. Although they keep her diagnosis a secret out of a desire to protect her, she feels that not disclosing this information has pushed her friends further away.
None
None
Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books.
Alcohol: Stacey’s parents consume alcohol with a meal.
You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected].
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
