Beacon Street Girls

The Beacon Street Girls is a young adult book series by Annie Bryant. The series was initially published by B*tween Productions and was licensed by Simon & Schuster.^[1] The series is designed for girls ages 9–14 and is geared toward issues that pre-teen and teenage girls might encounter.

Author

Annie Bryant is a pseudonym for a group of writers who have created the Beacon Street Girls, along with a staff-editorial team called the pretty ponies.^{[citation needed]}

Background

The series is designed for girls ages 9–14 and typically produced following consultations with specialists in issues for girls. It was produced as an alternative to the perceived preponderance of provocative and objectionable messages aimed at youth culture, particularly the so-called "tweens".^[2] Initially the series was self-published by B*tween Productions, but it was licensed to Simon & Schuster in 2007. The initial runs of the series were limited to 5,000 to 10,000 printings but sold out quickly. ^[3][4]

Reception

Community and critical reception to the series has been positive, with many educators praising that the series focuses on themes such as responsible weight loss. A study done on the influence of reading on weight loss showed that "girls who read Charlotte in Paris ... saw a dip in their BMI scores, but not as much as those who read Lake Rescue."^[5][6] The School Library Journal praised the series, writing that Katani's Jamaican Holiday was "a lively introduction to Jamaica's rich history, culture, and lifestyle."^[7]

Characters

• Maeve Kaplan-Taylor: Maeve is an outgoing and bubbly young teenager who wants to be a movie star. Her parents are separated, and she has a younger brother named Sam. Maeve is Irish and Jewish. She is constantly frustrated with schoolwork because she's dyslexic. She tries her best in school despite this, and uses a laptop in class as well as meeting with a math tutor once a week. She is notably "boy crazy." Her many crushes include Nick Montoya, Dillon Johnson, baseball player Robbie Flores, and Riley Lee. She loves to command attention and to be center stage, whether she is acting, singing, or dancing. She is consistently disorganized, often recruiting her friends' help in her large endeavors such as Project Thread, which was aimed to deliver handmade blankets to the local homeless shelter. In the book Letters From The Heart, she receives an award for Project Thread.
• Katani Summers: Also known as Kgirl, Katani loves fashion and is loyal to her friends. Her grandmother is the principal of Abigail Adams Jr. High. Katani has an older sister, Kelley, who is mildly autistic and doesn't act like she's fourteen, though she is. Katani is a very responsible girl. She sometimes seems cold at first glance but is very kind and caring. Charlotte describes her as "a marshmallow disguised as a cactus." Katani gives style advice to all of the Beacon Street Girls (BSG), even Avery, who resists it. She doesn't like singing, as she isn't very good at it. She has a tentative relationship with Reggie DeWitt, whom she went to the Valentine's Day Dance with. She is the most organized of the BSG and adores sewing and horseback riding.
• Isabel Martinez: Isabel is a Hispanic-American girl who moved to Boston so her mother could pursue treatment for multiple sclerosis. Her father was left behind when she moved from Michigan. Isabel is a fan of art and basketball. She used to dance but injured her knee when dancing ballet and is unable to continue. She is new to Abigail Adams Jr. High and soon became close friends with Maeve and Charlotte. She then joined the BSG, despite Katani and Avery's cold reactions to her at first. Isabel later becomes good friends with Kevin Connors in the tenth book, Just Kidding. She loves to draw birds and often submits cartoons to the school newspaper, the Sentinel. She is known as a sweet girl and loves birds, especially her pet parrot Franco. She's a very talented artist.
• Charlotte Ramsey: Charlotte loves school and wants to be a writer one day. She has traveled to many places, including Australia, Africa, and Paris, France. She stargazes and writes in her journal constantly. She hates being onstage or in the spotlight unless she is doing magic. She is very close to her elderly landlady, Miss Pierce. Charlotte lives with only her father, a travel writer, since her mother died of pneumonia when she was only four years old. Charlotte has a crush on Nick Montoya, who also enjoys travel and is one of her good friends. Charlotte wrote the Tower Rules and is secretary of the BSG.
• Avery Madden: Avery is an energetic and outspoken girl who is passionate about sports and animal rights. She's from Korea; her parents (who are now divorced) adopted her when she was a baby and brought her to America. She loves Marty but, sadly, she is not allowed to have any pets of her own because her mother is allergic to fur, and she isn't responsible enough for a pet. She doesn't like being labeled. Avery is tiny and slightly hyper, which is a part of her natural love for sports, especially soccer. She laughs at anything and everything. Avery has two older brothers: Tim and Scott. She is likable and loves the Red Sox, particularly Robbie Flores.
• Anna McMasters: One of the mean girls at school, she and her friend Joline are known for their cruelty and meanness. She is tall, blond, and wants to be a model. She has a sticker on her locker saying "It's an inside joke...and you're on the outside!" Anna is good at sports, often playing on the same teams as Avery. Anna is referred to as one of the "Queens of Mean" by the BSG.
• Joline Kaminsky: Anna's friend and henchwoman, Joline is one of the mean girls at school. She has a fondness for animals. Joline is very similar to Anna, but she doesn't play any sports. Joline is one of the "Queens of Mean".
• Kiki Underwood: Kiki is one of the mean girls at school. She is very loving to her parents, and her famous father has been shown to spoil her, as he offered to make a music video based on their talent show act. She is known by the BSG as the "Empress of Mean." She enjoys boating.
• Chelsea Briggs: Chelsea is a classmate of the Beacon Street Girls at Abigail Adams Junior High, who is overweight but ends up losing weight. Her most notable appearance is in Lake Rescue. Later in the series, she becomes good friends with Charlotte and Nick Montoya. She has a passion for photography.
• Nick Montoya: Nick is a very kind, popular boy who has a crush on Charlotte. He is friends with all of the Beacon Street Girls, especially Charlotte. His family owns a local bakery called Montoya's; the BSG visit there frequently. Many girls at Abigail Adams Junior High like him for his friendly personality and good looks. He helps to form a travel club with Charlotte and Chelsea. He and Charlotte kiss in the fourteenth book, Crush Alert.
• Betsy Fitzgerald: Betsy is in the same homeroom as the BSG. She is very intelligent and organized, and she always walks briskly, as if late for an appointment. Her dreams include getting into an Ivy League school, preferably Harvard, which her older brother attends. She constantly tries to build an impressive resume. Despite her stress over college, she is smart and friendly. She can head anything and was a historical adviser for the movie Pirates of the Cape.

Books

Special Adventure titles

References

External links

• The Beacon Street Girls Official Website