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A review by finesilkflower
Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever by Nola Thacker, Ann M. Martin
2.0
Dawn gets a long-term baby-sitting job for Whitney, a twelve-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome, who doesn’t realize her "new friend" is being paid to be with her. Predictably, this blows up in Dawn’s face. Whitney kidnaps Dawn’s baby-sitting charges and cares for them herself, proving she can be responsible, sort of.
The treatment of Down’s syndrome has the typical BSC early-90s combination of earnest, well-meaning educatorlyness and vaguely uncomfortable descriptive language. Dawn keeps describing her as "expressionless."
Meanwhile, Dawn’s father introduces one woman after another to his kids, until Dawn explodes in a fire of self-righteous judgmentalness--or, rather, begs him to take Carol back. Which he does. Because he has no personality.
I remember getting this book all shiny and new toward the end of my childhood interest in BSC. (Long before my adult interest in BSC.) Pretty much the only thing I remember about reading it the first time is that Whitney’s room is decorated in peach and lime green. The fact would have had zero impact on me reading it as an adult.
Continuity Error: Dawn’s father’s date refers to him as "Richard," confusingly (although Carol later correctly identifies him as "Jack.")
Timing: Summer in California.
Revised Timeline: Summer between freshman and sophomore years of college.
The treatment of Down’s syndrome has the typical BSC early-90s combination of earnest, well-meaning educatorlyness and vaguely uncomfortable descriptive language. Dawn keeps describing her as "expressionless."
Meanwhile, Dawn’s father introduces one woman after another to his kids, until Dawn explodes in a fire of self-righteous judgmentalness--or, rather, begs him to take Carol back. Which he does. Because he has no personality.
I remember getting this book all shiny and new toward the end of my childhood interest in BSC. (Long before my adult interest in BSC.) Pretty much the only thing I remember about reading it the first time is that Whitney’s room is decorated in peach and lime green. The fact would have had zero impact on me reading it as an adult.
Continuity Error: Dawn’s father’s date refers to him as "Richard," confusingly (although Carol later correctly identifies him as "Jack.")
Timing: Summer in California.
Revised Timeline: Summer between freshman and sophomore years of college.