Thoughts before reading:
I've never read this one before, and I don't know much of anything about it going in either. It sounds fairly similar to Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls though. Hopefully it has a better twist...also hoping it will be better than the first mystery. I know when I was a kid I liked the mystery books, but not enough that any of them really stood out as favorites.
This cover brings to mind a Fear Street book more than a BSC one. They were definitely trying to appeal to the fans who liked things spookier with this.
The basics:
David Michael tells Dawn that the neighborhood kids are having a "best babysitter" contest, and submitting the winner to the newspaper. She immediately starts trying to up her babysitting game and be the perfect sitter. It's not long before the whole BSC knows and starts discussing the contest. They all really want to win, because then they would know much much the kids really like them. Stacey wisely reminds everyone that they need to work together and not get competitive, because then they forget about teamwork and only care about winning, which never leads anywhere good.
Dawn's sitting for the Hobart boys and witnesses Zach and his friend Mel still teasing them, and she tries to intervene to help. Not long after, she's on another sitting job for Jenny P, and somebody calls but doesn't say anything. Someone then rings the doorbell, but no one is outside when she goes to check. There's just a white envelope on the porch, and inside is a note made of letters cut from magazines. It says "You better watch out, you netter not shout. I'm going to get you. -Mr. X". She's understandably freaked out, but decides not to tell anyone because it might risk her winning the contest.
The other BSC members start getting harassed by Mr. X too, but no one says anything about it to each other, also because of the contest. Mr. X also leaves dead flowers for Jessi, threatens the Pikes' hamster Frodo, smears baked beans on the porch of Charlotte's house while Claudia's sitting, and leaves a dead mouse on the Pike porch. After all these incidents, the girls finally admit about Mr. X to each other, and it turns out he's bothered everyone but Kristy. Dawn wonders if she could be behind it.
Jamie Newton mentions that Mel Tucker, Zach's friend, has been doing "secret babysitting checks" for the contest. Dawn realizes what this must really mean, and the girls decide to set a trap and catch him in the act. They have Dawn spread the word that she's going to be home alone all night babysitting for her cousin, then the whole BSC hides in her house. It doesn't take long before the girls begin to hear noises coming from the secret passage, and they catch Mel out there trying to scare them. Once caught, he bursts into tears, and they actually end up comforting him.
The girls (generously) realize he's just a troubled boy who needs help, and decide to go easy on him. When asked, he explains his motive for creating Mr. X: they got him in trouble by telling Mrs. Hobart that he was teasing her kids. Even after all this, Mel doesn't get what the big deal about the bullying was. Kristy tries to explain to him that you can't tease people for being different. The BSC tells the Tuckers about what has been going on, and they explain Mel has been having a hard time lately, but they will be taking him to a child psychiatrist.
The big babysitting contest ends very predictably: in a seven way tie.
Timeline:
No indications in here.
My thoughts:
Well, this was a definite let down, and didn't do any better as a mystery than the first book. We've never really heard anything about Mel before this book, so this had a really unsatisfying pay off. They would have been better off having Zach be the culprit instead, since we've dealt with him several times. Also, like all the books with a mystery element, Mel was mentioned early in the story, right alongside his motive. Since Mel was harassing the girls while they were babysitting, this was essentially non-stop babysitting chapters, which also made it boring. The contest storyline was even worse, since it was completely pointless in the end. What are the odds that there would be a seven way tie? Why can't these books ever just go the harder, more realistic route and let somebody actually stand out and win something like this?
The only redeeming factor this book had for me was the ending. I liked how the girls handled Mel. Even though he had genuinely terrified them, they had a lot of empathy and dealt with him maturely. His parents were also really understanding of the seriousness of what was going on, instead of being in denial. Or even worse in these books, sometimes the parents don't even get involved much when something serious happens (Claudia and the Bad Joke, I'm looking at you here...). Not only that, but his parents are actually seeking help for their son, instead of giving him a mild, BSC-verse punishment. There was also a gentle discussion about therapy in here, including its benefits. Kristy told Mel about the "feelings doctor", and how he will be able to help Mel understand why he feels angry or sad, and how to feel better. A truly troubled child who needs serious help has never been addressed before, even though I would argue we have seen a few such kids already. I know kids will just do crazy things sometimes, but I would have really liked to see some other things taken this seriously. Betsy Sobak could use some actual help, and so could Kerry Hunter (see #19 and #25). I'm also tired of how all the kids get away with bullying, so it was nice to know Mel got in trouble for it, even though it wasn't a scene in the book.
I think emotionally troubled kids, bullies or bullied, or kids who deal with depression, anger issues, or difficult life situations could all benefit from this storyline and find some comfort in here. Another very well handled subject, and one I definitely wasn't expecting, even though it was pretty brief. I just wish they had found a more compelling story to use to say these things.
Misc:
*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles
*Mallory and Ben went to the library together, which was big BSC news.
*I did briefly suspect Kristy too, not going to lie, but it doesn't really make any sense that she would do anything to risk her club. Even she isn't that competitive.
*Oh and the reason only Kristy never got harassed? Because she lived too far away, and she mostly sits in her neighborhood. He could have still called her though?
*This is yet another book where Stacey was the most mature one...I know I say that all the time, but that's because it keeps being true.
*A lot of Mel's notes were honestly disturbing, so I think I would have found this scary as a kid. I'm very glad he's getting professional help...I wonder if we will hear anything about him again, and whether or not he's doing better.
Books mentioned:
My rating:
2.5 stars, really boring. I did add half a star though, for this addressing a truly troubled child for the first time.
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