Review: BSC Graphix #3 Mary Anne Saves the Day

Okay, I have a confession to make. I have a bit of a soft spot for Mary Anne Spier. Sure, she was a bit sappy, and poorly drawn in places (what was it with her taking a basket to school instead of a backpack,) but of all the characters in the series, she was probably the loneliest. Shy, quiet Mary Anne lived alone with her father, a lawyer who seemed to have little understanding about raising girls and does not communicate much with his daughter, though she is expected to cook dinner every night. (On a sidenote, what is it about male lawyers and their limited ability to be able to communicate with females? Okay, maybe I'm stereotyping here, but from what I've witnessed in real life ...) Anyway, Mary Anne is subject to a whole lot of ridiculous rules, which, oddly, seem to include her being forced to wear her hair in two long braids. I guess Richard Spier is concerned about the sexualization of children and you know, doesn't want his daughter wandering around in a boob tube or something, but really, why does he want Mary Anne to style her hair like Wednesday Adams? Perhaps I'm getting a little off-topic here.

Kristy's Great Idea saw Kristy grow and accept her mother's engagement to Watson Brewer. The Truth About Stacey saw Stacey learn to cope with her illness. Now it's time for Mary Anne to grow up and learn a lesson on her own. Which is, after the BSC have a massive fight, shy Mary Anne finds herself completely alone. She soon makes friends with a new girl at her school, becomes a hero after her sitting charge becomes seriously ill and has to be taken to hospital and then manages not only to reform the BSC but introduces a new member--her new friend Dawn. And then, because she's proven herself to be so mature, her father relaxes the rules about her braiding her hair. The end and a pizza toast. The story is quite lovely, but nothing groundbreaking here.

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