Mystery #5: Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic
Disclaimer: this book is a Mystery but it really shouldn’t be; it belongs in the regular series lineup. I do think it’s a valuable story - a lot of people struggling with not knowing where they came from, or dealing with memories or lack thereof when it comes to family they’ve lost. But when I see that a title is a Mystery, I want police involved! Crazy Dawn theories about ghosts and murderers! Emergency meetings of the Baby-sitters Club! Ya know. Anyway, sorry Mary Anne, here’s your recap:
Mary Anne has been having a reoccurring dream of crying out for her mama while with some old people she doesn’t recognize and a cat that isn’t Tigger. Meanwhile, Stoneybrook has “heritage fever” as a lot of the elementary students are researching their family history for a school project that will culminate in a Heritage Day celebration.
“I was thinking about my own particular family history, and about how little of it I knew. I was suddenly realizing that, in a very basic way, I had no idea who I was.” - Mary Anne, page 27
In her quest to learn more about her family’s history (her dad doesn’t talk about it much since it’s too painful since M.A.’s mom died when she was a baby) Mary Anne heads up to the attic and unearths a box of stuff Richard has tucked away. Inside are photos (some she’s seen and some she hasn’t) and letters to her dad. It turns out the letters are from her maternal grandparents, who live in Iowa, and not only that - the letters are how Mary Anne finds out that when she was just a baby, her father sent her to live with her maternal grandparents and that there was some animosity when he eventually tried to get her back. She realizes that her dreams about the older couple were really dormant memories of living with her grandparents. Still, if that’s the case… then why aren’t they in her life now? And why did her father give her away?
Mary Anne spends the days after learning this information in a haze, barely participating in life and not telling anyone what’s going on. Then she happens to overhear a phone conversation between her father and her grandmother, Verna. (I tell ya, the timing in the book is really something - the dreams, Heritage Day, and this phone call after many years all happening at the same time. Coincidence?) Mary Anne’s grandfather has passed away and Verna wants Mary Anne to go to Iowa - she wants to spend time with her only remaining blood relative. Mary Anne is scared that her grandmother might have some legal claim to her from long ago, and she finally confides everything to Dawn.
She FINALLY confronts her father, who tells her that after her mother died he was devastated and knew he couldn’t be the father for her that he wanted to be, so he sent her to be cared for by her grandparents. When he was back on his feet, he wanted her back and he fought for her. Now, though, he says there is no animosity between him and Mary Anne’s maternal grandparents, and that Verna just wants Mary Anne to visit - no to go back to Iowa forever. Mary Anne is finally somewhat comforted. FACING PROBLEMS HEAD-ON WORKS! (But I am fully transparent about my membership in the Delay and Denial Club.)
Kristy talks to her mom, who is able to share some memories about how much Richard has always loved Mary Anne, and Richard gives Mary Anne a letter from her mom (intended for her sixteenth birthday). Mary Anne finally feels like she knows her mom and she’s ready to visit her grandmother Verna in Iowa - which she does, for a chunk of the summer. She even goes on a date with a dude named Bob who likes cows a little too much - but Logan has nothing to worry about. Mary Anne returns still dedicated to her “Stoneybrook sweetie” and Richard invites Verna to Stoneybrook for Christmas. And with that, this un-mystery comes to a close.
As a side note: Jackie Rodowsky is everything to me.
