Dawn's Portrait

[supprazz]

I liked this book when I bought it, but not all the way through. I liked the chapters with Sunny and the one with Sandra, especially about the tye dyeing, morse code, the pretend cooking show and all that stuff. I thought it was sooo funny how she glued her blocks together in kindergarten too! She looks nice on the cover as well.

[anzuhana]

^ I think that Dawn looks nice on the cover as well.

^Is that the one where Dawn lets it slip that Sandra would have to repeat a grade? I seriously cringe every time I read that. How awful that must have been for Sandra and how embarrassing for Dawn!

I cringe every time as well when Dawn slips to Sandra about repeating second grade. If I was Dawn, I would have been so embarrassed.

[zoar3]

Whenever I read this, I'm reminded that while Abby at times makes fun of people for a laugh, which imo is so very wrong, at least she never purposely hurt a young kid the way Dawn did. So, maybe Dawn not Abby is my least favorite of the sitters.

I did enjoy the early years with Sunny. Loved the department store scene. Snark, OMG, Dawn ate Grilled Cheese--not healthy Dawn.

I also cringed when reading how Jack shoved Dawn (I don't think shoved was quite the word just the idea) back onto the couch when she wanted to escape hearing him and Sharon announce their divorce. The wording, implied message, left me with a Nicholls-like feeling.

[supprazz]

I don't think Dawn intended to harm Sandra, it was an accident.

[zoar3]

I didn't remember what happened so I checked and it's on page 131. Dawn is helping Sandra with her homework in the livingroom when the phone rings. Dawn sits down at a desk (in the livingroom)? and answers it. The caller is a friend of Sandra's mom who starts giving Dawn a message when she (the caller) hears her call waiting and puts Dawn on hold. During this time, I realize Dawn was probably speaking on a corded phone so she sort of had to stay at or around the desk area. She shouldn't have ignored Sandra though which is what she did. (I'm assuming Sandra was in the same room. But even if she wasn't, Dawn could have called out to her). Anyway, while waiting for Janice (that was the caller's name) to come back, Dawn begins to look at the papers on the desk in front of her. There was nothing accidental about that! What was unintentional is that Dawn happened to come across a letter (opened and laying there) from SES. I can understand she may have been curious. However the moment, she picked up the letter, realized it was about Sandra as opposed to some announcement about a PTA meeting or whatever, and read it through anyway, she completely breeched her clients privacy and trust. That was not okay at all. I wasn't at all surprised when Dawn blurted out the news to Sandra during her next job. That was bound to happen. I felt horrible for Sandra. Worse because apparently her mom was not angry in the least with Dawn! :/ Of course, Dawn keeps all of this a secret (still) and lucky for her the Lazars conveniently never call the BSC again nor do any of the clients (including the Johanssens who recommended the BSC in the first place) or club members find out what transpired. To me that Dawn not owning up made it all worse. She should have told the Lazars immediately or at least talked it over with her mom later that night before calling them. Anything except pretend "it would go away." Poor Sandra.

[supprazz]

Maybe Dawn was naturally a snoop. Though I don't agree with it and Kristy made it clear at a club meeting before this job when they all went over rules, it was invasive of Dawn to say it to Sandra. Even if she assumed Sandra already knew, she showed poor judgment and a lack of boundaries and respect for her client. Unless the charges revealed to Dawn what is going on, she should have never said anything, although it all could have been avoidable too had Dawn kept her hands to herself, though also if I were having people over, I would put my mail away. I also found it surprising that they didn't tell the Johanssens since they recommended the BSC and continued to call them throughout the series.

[zoar3]

It really was invasive and cruel, too. It's this book that reminds me why Dawn should be my least (of least) favorite sitters and probably when it comes down to it, is. You're totally right about the Johanssens. I find it hard to believe that they never casually asked how the BSC was working out or commented "isn't the BSC great?" To which Mrs. Lazar would chose her reply. It seems to me if Mrs. Gardella was up in arms and threatening to tell the neighborhood about Stacey "the thief," that Mrs. Lazar in this case should have, if nothing else, said something to Dawn.

[booboobrewer]

Sept 11, 2011 2:40:25 GMT -5 supprazz said:

Maybe Dawn was naturally a snoop.

She admits that she loves sneaking around in Baby-sitters' Haunted House when she and Kristy are looking in the Coopers' room (as if we didn't already know this after reading Stacey vs. the BSC )

[zoar3]

^That's true, BooBoo, good point. Also she enjoyed not necessarily snooping but definitely sneaking around to rig the passage noises in #31.

[supprazz]

Not to mention "spying" on Stacey in clothes that bring her more attention, and creeping on creepers in Dawn and the Older Boy, following him around town like that!

[oldhickory]

wasn't dawn also one of the girls to come over unannounced and uninvited to stacey's party? yeah, she's a snoop.

[anzuhana]

^ I'm pretty sure she did with Mary Anne.

[zoar3]

^Dawn and Mary Anne went over uninvited to Stacey's party. Claudia, who was invited, was there and had not said anything to either D or MA. Not that that was C's responsibility, just stating what happened. As Oldhickory said in another thread, if only the girls would honestly talk to one another. Stacey could have easily told the BSC that originally this was Robert's party (though it was also hers) and that he had made the guest list. When the location changed, she should have at least casually mentioned this. S could have gone to say, she didn't think any of the other members really knew the other guests but if they wanted to drop by (particularly since the party sounded like the whole school knew about it except the BSC which is another eye-rolling story) they could. Simple and honest. It would have been interesting had the party been held at Robert's house and maybe his parents (yeah right, but it could happen) limited the number of guests he could invite yet somehow Claudia managed to attend. IDK, when it comes down to it, I'm really not a huge Stacey fan. I understand where she was coming from but she was going about it in a cruel way. As for Dawn, I haven't read this in a longtime, how did she and MA finally learn of the party again?

[greer]

It was, it seems, the place for SMS eighth graders to be that weekend and word got around.

[supprazz]

Yeah, that's why I mentioned Dawn. I thought it was silly of her and Mary Anne to show up and sympathized with Stacey.