I’m not talking about the kind of spoilers where one finds out the ending of a tv show/movie/book before they watch or read it. When it comes to the BSC, I don’t really believe in spoilers anymore–no new book has come out for such a long time that in the fandom I believe it’s assumed that all involved know all the plots, and won’t cry the way some people do when they see a still from the “Sex and the City” movie posted on a gossip blog. No, I’m talking about once you’ve pretty much made your way through the series and start to go back and read books from earlier on, and get all bummed out because you know that the future will be bad for a certain character.

For instance, Mimi and Louie. It is impossible to read a book where either of these characters or alive without thinking about how they will soon be dead. It’s also impossible to read a book where Stacey’s parents are still married without thinking of their divorce, or to read about Dawn merrily living in Stoneybrook when everyone knows it will not be long before her character is totally assassinated and she slinks back to California.

For me, the worst of all of these spoilers occurred when The Fire At Mary Anne’s House was published. Throughout the series, Mary Anne and Dawn’s house was sort of the “event headquarters” for the BSC. Claud’s room was where they held their meetings, but the barn and backyard was where all the carnivals/talent shows/camps/every other annoying baby-sitting subplot happened. I understand the artistic merit (for lack of a better term) for having the house burn down in the last non-”Friends Forever” book. Not only does it provide a catalyst for Mary Anne to dump Logan (yay!) and also start to grow up and assert herself more, and shows us more some really interesting Spier family drama, it is symbolic. When Mary Anne’s house burned down, their default location for Kristy’s Great Ideas also burned down. Priorities had to shift. The girls had to accept that like Stacey discovered in the “Bad Girl” arc but then forgot once Kristy allowed her to rejoin, there has to be life beyond BSC.

The only person who seemed really upset about the house was Jeff. Jeff was, after all, not yet eleven and therefore still a child. All of the adults seemed excited about a new start. Perhaps Sharon and Richard were secretly glad that they would no longer feel obligated to host day camps on their property.

So yes, I respect this artistic decision and feel that it does provide a good foundation for the Friends Forever series. Yet it still kind of bums me out whenever I read about the barn or Mary Anne and Dawn’s farmhouse, just because I have foreknowledge that the characters do not and I know that the world as they know it will drastically change.