Thoughts before reading:
This was one of my top childhood favorites. As I've mentioned before, there were certain books I always reached for when I needed comfort, and those were the books I re-read the most. This falls into that category, as one I reached for when I had troubles or worries about school. I never had academic problems like Claudia (I was a bookish, nerdy, straight A's kid), but her problems in here with fitting in, feeling left out, alone, and being miserable at school, all spoke to me. This was also one of the very few BSC books I was still reading into junior high, for those reasons.
This book is also notable for another reason: it's the highest I ever read in the series as a kid, therefore marking the end of my childhood BSC reading. Going forward, every book will be completely new. Despite how much I used to love this, I just never read past it, even though I was still getting and reading older titles for awhile. When this came out, I was ten years old and still BSC obsessed, but less than a year later I'd moved on to new things and (mostly) left the BSC behind. (Until I rediscovered them in my 20s, anyway!)
Also one of my favorite covers! I think Claudia is captured really well, from her forlorn and annoyed expression to her outfit. I love the details on all the kids in the background too, and how they actually look like 12 year old's.
The basics:
The school year is barely underway, and Claudia's already falling behind. While her friends are excited about their classes, she just feels hopelessly discouraged. As always, the only bright spot is her art. During one of her art classes, she sees a flier announcing that Serena McKay, a famous artist, is going to be teaching a master class at Stoneybrook Community College. Only 15 people will be accepted, it lasts a few weeks, and ends with a student art show. Her teacher encourages her to try out. She doesn't expect to get in, but tries anyway, and is thrilled when she gets accepted... until she remembers she never asked her parents for permission. She decides to study hard for her upcoming math test to impress them, then ask, but she still only gets a 45%.
The Kishi family has a conference about Claudia's troubles in school. They agree to let her take the art class though, if in return she does anything she has to do to improve her grades. They also hire her a tutor, Rosa, who is recommended by Janine. (A huge improvement over hiring one of her BSC friends, at least...) Claudia ends up actually liking Rosa, and she begins to feel like she can make it. That hope quickly fades though, because despite all her extra work, she keeps falling more behind. After she gets a 58 on her next math test, the school calls a meeting with her parents, where it's recommended that she repeat 7th grade. Her parents agree, effective immediately.
Right off the bat, the 7th grade work is much easier for Claud, and she even remembers some of it. She feels lonely and disconnected from her 8th grade friends though, especially since at SMS every grade has a different lunch period. She even has nightmares that they've all forgotten about her.
Claudia quickly begins to feel better about things when she discovers how popular she is in 7th grade. The girls admire her and start mimicking her hairstyles and asking about her clothes. Lots of kids want to eat lunch with her, and the boys keep starting at her in awe. She's also doing well in her classes for the first time, even math and science.
After acing a test, Claudia's flying particularly high, but all her good feelings about 7th grade come crashing down in a hurry when she realizes the upcoming Halloween dance is for 8th graders only. (Never mind that the girls went to dances when they were all in 7th grade, early in the series...) She becomes depressed, feeling like she doesn't fit in anywhere, stops trying in school, and stops being friendly to the other 7th graders. She even avoids her BSC friends, and starts alienating them by acting snarky. Claudia also starts feeling good and sorry for herself, picturing herself as a teenage kindergartener while her friends are graduating from high school. She doesn't dress up for Halloween like usual, and she looks down on the other kids for being too excited.
On Halloween, Claudia, Mal, and Jessi take some BSC charges trick-or-treating while everyone else is at the dance. Claudia sulks the whole time, then declares it to be her worst Halloween ever. The next day, all her friends call to tell her how terrible the dance was without her, which puts her into an even worse mood. To make matters even worse, her beloved art classes have just ended. Claudia doesn't really feel like attending the student art show, but she forces herself to. She doesn't invite any friends or family though.
At the art show, people keep coming up and congratulating Claudia, but she isn't sure why. Assuming it's just good etiquette, she starts doing the same, which results in some funny looks from the other students. Then Serena approaches her, with a reporter in tow, and she finally realizes she won first prize. When Serena congratulates her, she bursts into tears on the spot and ends up telling her about everything that's been going on. Serena confides that she was also held back- twice. Yet that didn't stop her from attending art school or teaching.
By the time she leaves the gallery, Claudia feels way better. Serena has inspired her, and impressed on her the importance of having a support system in her life. Claudia realizes how dumb it was to shut out her friends when she needed them the most. She rushes home, puts together a costume, and rushes to the BSC Halloween party that she wasn't going to attend. She also donates her winning painting to the Children's Hospital.
The BSC has a pizza party after, and Kristy officially ends their probation.
Also during this time, Jackie Rodowsky is still in the hospital, and Kristy's been visiting him. (Isn't this a really long stay for a concussion?) She gets to know a bunch of the other kids in the hospital, and has the idea to cheer them up by pairing them with other kids as pen pals. The hospital buddies program is born. This also inspires the BSC Halloween party, which is for the kids in the hospital.
By the end of the book, Jackie is finally released.
Timeline:
It's October, again, and Halloween hasn't happened yet until the end, even though it did in the last book (not to mention most of the BSC was in Salem, out of town, and Claudia was still in 8th grade). I guess that book was all a bad dream?
Misc. thoughts:
*Ghostwritten by Ellen Miles.
*It's painfully late in the series for this plot line... Claudia's been in the 8th grade forever by now. This just draws more attention to it.
*Claudia finally says she likes Janine. Older sisters are so unappreciated...
*I wanted pastel crayons because of this book, so I could be more like Claudia. Eventually I did get some, but like all things artistic, I was terrible with them.
*I liked how the recap had Claudia picturing abstract paintings of everyone. It was something a little different.
*Claudia wants to do a self portrait that'll show who she is, rather than what she looks like. (She's studying abstract art this year.) She kind of did that same thing when she was young, with her butterfly portrait.
*Unlike the last book, this one mentions the BSC break-up, probation, and that the girls aren't completely comfortable together yet. Claudia and Mary Anne, in particular, are still awkward with each other.
*Kristy has a weak stomach for scars and blood.
*I learned to say "this is she" when someone calls and asks for you from this book.
*Conveniently for the plot, Claudia's new art class is on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week.
*Claudia has a fake nose ring, and she startles her friends with it. I used to want one of those too, haha.
*Claudia's recent art projects include: a still life of fruit done in oil paints, a sculpture of a cat, a watercolor of her mom's garden, and a necklace made of bottle caps and wooden beads.
*Since when do they only send 1 sitter to the Pikes, and does this continue for the rest of the series now? The trial where the triplets helped to babysit was a disaster, and they are no help in this book either. In fact, they still make more work for Abby, bickering and stirring up trouble.
*During this experience, Claudia learns that no matter how bad things seem at first, you can usually find some good in them. Also, things are often not as terrible as they first look (pg 95). Not a bad thing for any of us to remember.
*Reading this now, it seems certain to me that Claudia belongs back in 7th grade and never should have been promoted to 8th grade in the first place. The series should have made the bold choice to actually leave her in 7th, but I know she later graduates with everyone else. That's really the part of this whole thing that makes zero sense, to the degree that I think they're insulting the intelligence of their readers. If she's doing so well in 7th, putting her back in 8th is the worst thing for her. She was already behind, unable to keep up, and lacking the foundations to understand the 8th grade materials. If she returns to the grade after missing a bunch of the year, wouldn't that leave her WAY worse off than having stayed in 8th grade all along? That's almost like skipping a grade, something a struggling student would never do. How will she have the foundations from 8th grade to go on and do well in high school? How would she understand 8th grade math and science after missing so much of the year?
*The Kishis give out raisins and dried apricots for Halloween, ick.
*For Halloween this time, Stacey's a flapper, Jessi is a ballerina, Mal is Emily Dickinson, Abby's a soccer player, Mary Anne is Little Red Riding Hood, and Kristy is The Wolf. Claudia had planned to be a punk, but got too depressed to dress up.
*Claudia gets a 96 on her first math test back in 7th grade.
*The way Claudia stops trying in school and disconnects from everyone is the exact same way she acted when her parents tried to help her by putting her in private school (super special #11). Then she was also depressed, mopey, and shut down. These are also the two times her parents really stepped up to make a hard choice to help her with her education... and this shows they really didn't do her any favors by giving in before. She'd be so much better off long term if someone would stick to their guns. She's acting this way because she's immature and used to getting her way. Instead of giving in, put her in therapy to work through these feelings. It's nothing against her, I just really think she would have been better off if someone had taken a firm hand and done what she needed, instead of what she wanted.
*Alan Gray is the character from The Mask movie for Halloween. I remember when that was insanely popular.
*Once again, no BSC clients take their own kids trick-or-treating. These people aren't going to have any special memories with their little kids...
*At least in here Claudia says she knows she's acting childish but can't stop herself. I think everyone has had that feeling.
*Claudia puts together a scarecrow costume at the last minute for the BSC party.
*According to the notebook page I filled out in the back of my book, I got this one at K-Mart, and I wanted to write a BSC book about Dawn coming back. Definitely sounds about right, haha.
Books mentioned:
None
My rating:
4 stars. Really enjoyed this one still, especially for the nostalgia.
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