Friends Forever #2: Stacey vs. Claudia

I always liked Stacey when I was a kid, but after this book I’m trying to figure out why! Stacey is still dating Ethan, but she’s ticked because he is always busy. He has a part-time job and can’t spend as much time with her as he did before. He signs up for a Sunday class because none of the other sessions were open, which means she can’t see him then either. He makes plans to come down and see her the following weekend.

The next day, she sees the new guy at school. Mary Anne admits that he’s cute, and they talk about how noticing a guy doesn’t mean they don’t love their boyfriends any less. Claudia also notices him and thinks he is really cute. Stacey and Claudia meet him at lunch. His name is Jeremy and he seems nice (I guess). He sits with the BSC at lunch and they learn more about him.

Claudia announces that she has a crush on him and Stacey agrees to find out if he likes her too. Of course, after one conversation with him Stacey decides that she likes him too. She doesn’t tell Claudia though because she doesn’t want to hurt her feelings. Ethan calls to tell her that he has to cover for a guy at work and can’t make it down for the weekend. Stacey gets pissed at him, they fight and she hangs up on him.

Stacey decides that she is now single and free to date whoever she wants. She sets up a “date” at the mall with her, Claudia and Jeremy, but pretends that she’s sick so Claudia has him to herself. She calls her the next day and Claudia says they went to the movies and had fun. Stacey pouts because she was sure that he liked her. She mopes around the house for awhile and suddenly Jeremy shows up. He confesses that he had fun with Claudia, but he really wants to date Stacey.

Stacey also meets the new girl Rachel. She lived in Stoneybrook before and everyone hated her because she was a stuck up brat and a bully. She just moved back from London and has no friends because of how she treats people. So naturally they become good friends. Rachel basically tells her to go after Jeremy if she really likes him.

Stacey writes out a speech to give Claudia. She discovers that Claudia made a sculpture of Jeremy, but decides that she must like him more. Claudia naturally freaks out and accuses Stacey of stealing her boyfriend. They call each other some names and the fight blows up. The BSC members get involved, with Kristy telling them that she can’t believe they would let a guy come between them.

Jeremy and Stacey hang out once and she thinks it went great. She sees him talking with Claudia the next day and then he starts ignoring her. Jeremy finally confesses that Claudia told him about Ethan. He thinks Stacey is just using him and that she’ll get back together with him. She admits that they never officially broke up, but she like totally likes Jeremy. He just walks away.

They fight yet again because of what Claudia did. Claudia basically stops talking to her because she feels like she can’t trust her. Stacey tells Claudia that Jeremy won’t date her ever, no matter what she does. Claudia literally bursts into tears and Stacey just storms off because how dare her best friend try to ruin her relationship with a guy she just met!

Stacey goes to Jeremy and tells him that while Ethan doesn’t know it, their relationship is over. Jeremy admits that he wants to date her and they make plans to go out that weekend. The doorbell rings and Stacey is shocked to find Ethan waiting for her. He brings her flowers, apologizes for their fight and asks why she never returned any of his dozens of phone calls. Stacey pretty much dumps him and he cries. Ethan leaves to pick up the next train back to NYC and Jeremy shows up. Stacey stops to think that things are changing, but she is sure they are changing for the better.

*Stacey goes off about Claudia’s spelling and I agree with her to a point. I stop agreeing with her when she claims that other people think she is stupid because her best friend isn’t a good speller.

*Claudia does the best thing ever in this book! She tells Stacey that just because she’s from NYC she isn’t special and that millions of other people live there.

*Stacey tells her mom about the situation and her mom just tells her that it’s a rough decision. Is Maureen blind? Does she not realize that her 13 year old daughter should not be dating multiple guys at once or falling in love every other week? Why do I see Stacey as a teen mom?

*I was the Claudia in a very similar situation and it completely ruined our friendship. I liked a guy, my best friend knew it and she went after him for herself. We barely talked after that.

*Stacey admits multiple times that she and Ethan never broke up, but decides that he will probably figure it out on his own. Jeremy knows that she is still technically with him, but it apparently doesn’t bother him.

*Rachel tells her that they aren’t stuck up, but that they are different because they are “city girls.” That sounds completely stuck up to me.

*Why do either of them want Jeremy? He goes out with Claudia and has fun, but then decides that he just wants to be her friend. He comes across as really spoiled and immature, but Stacey keeps saying that he is sensitive and romantic.