For young readers navigating the exciting yet sometimes confusing world of crushes, this graphic novel explores the emotional rollercoaster of first loves and friendships.
A parent might reach for this book when their child is experiencing their first, all-consuming crush and struggling to balance it with their existing friendships. This graphic novel follows Stacey, a member of the Baby-Sitters Club, as she visits old friends in New York and falls hard for a cute lifeguard. Caught up in the excitement, she begins to bend the truth about her age and neglect her friends, leading to hurt feelings and difficult choices. It gently explores themes of friendship loyalty, honesty, and the intensity of first crushes. Appropriate for ages 8 to 12, it normalizes these powerful new emotions and opens a safe conversation about navigating social changes.
The book deals directly with chronic illness through Stacey's Type 1 diabetes. It is portrayed in a secular, matter-of-fact way as a part of her daily life that requires management (monitoring food, taking insulin). The resolution of the main friendship conflict is hopeful and realistic, emphasizing apology and forgiveness.
Ideal Reader
This book is perfect for a 9 to 12-year-old who is navigating their first big crush. It’s for the child who seems completely swept away by this new person, perhaps to the point of neglecting their long-time friends or schoolwork. It also serves as excellent, casual representation for a child with Type 1 diabetes.
Parent Prep
This book can be read cold. No specific preparation is needed. However, it's a great opportunity to open a conversation about why people sometimes lie to impress others, and how to balance new romantic feelings with the responsibilities we have to our friends and family. A parent notices their child is talking nonstop about a new crush, and simultaneously seems to be avoiding their regular friend group. The parent might overhear their child telling a small fib to seem cooler or older to impress someone.
Age Experience
A younger reader (8-9) will likely focus on the fun of the graphic novel format, the drama of the friendship conflict, and the excitement of having a crush. An older reader (10-12) will connect more deeply with Stacey's internal conflict, the social pressure to appear older, and the complex feelings of prioritizing a crush over friends. They will better understand the emotional consequences of her dishonesty.
What Makes It Special
Unlike many middle-grade crush stories, this book integrates a main character's chronic illness (diabetes) seamlessly into the narrative, normalizing it. The graphic novel format, with Gale Galligan's expressive art, makes the emotional highs and lows of a first crush incredibly vivid and accessible. It handles the classic theme of choosing between friends and a crush with a gentle, non-judgmental tone.
Read plot summary
Stacey McGill travels from Stoneybrook to New York City to visit her old friend Laine. While there, she develops an intense crush on a teen lifeguard, Robert. In an effort to seem more mature, she lies about her age. As her crush deepens, she begins fabricating excuses to her friends back home, the Baby-Sitters Club, to get out of her responsibilities so she can spend more time with Robert. Her lies eventually catch up to her, causing rifts with both her old and new friends, forcing Stacey to confront her behavior and prioritize what truly matters.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
Stacey tells Robert she is thirteen when she is really twelve. Why do you think she did that? Have you ever felt pressured to act older or different to impress someone?
2
When Stacey was so focused on her crush, she started making excuses to her friends in Stoneybrook and ignoring her friend Laine in New York. How do you think that made her friends feel? What could she have done differently?
3
At the beach, Stacey's friends confront her about her lies. Was that a difficult conversation for them to have? Do you think it was a good way to handle the problem?
4
Stacey has to manage her diabetes throughout the story, like when she can't have a regular soda. How does the book show this as a normal part of her life, even when it's inconvenient?
