Thoughts before reading:
A BSC book about an actual realistic teenage issue?! Gasp! They really were out of ideas!
The basics:
Claudia's been struggling to juggle school, the BSC, her relationship with Josh, and her 7th grade friends. As a result, Josh has been feeling left out. Trying to remedy this, they plan a triple date with Mary Anne, Logan, Stacey, and Ethan. Ethan's never been to Stoneybrook before, so Stacey's nervous about it. Josh is also really nervous, especially about meeting Ethan, who's 15 to his 12. (I don't blame him... that's a decent age difference when you're 12, and they're dating two best friends who are the same age. Talk about pressure...) Despite all this, the date goes pretty well.
Mrs. Kishi has also been invited to attend a library convention in Chicago, and Mr. Kishi's going along so they can visit some of their old friends while there. They ask Claudia and Janine if they'd feel okay about staying home alone from Thursday to Sunday. Both girls agree. Janine has broken up with Jerry recently, and been feeling lonely lately. She's trying really hard to bond with Claudia now, even making them a list of activities to do together while their parents are gone.
Josh tells Claudia he was too nervous to have much fun on the date, and that he feels like he only exists in part of her life. She explains how torn she feels between the different aspects of her life. Talking this over gives her the idea to have a big party to bring all her friends together for once. Now all she has to do is convince Janine. Claud asks her if it's ok to invite her BSC and 7th grade friends over on Saturday night. Janine agrees that there's no harm in a simple gathering. After all, their parents never said they couldn't have friends over... Claudia's excited about her party, figuring there will be about 10-12 guests, and gets busy planning some icebreaker games.
Once Saturday night rolls around, however, Claudia's shocked to see tons of kids she didn't invite... word has gotten out. Her and Janine are worried about having enough food, but everyone does seem to be mingling together and having fun. (Mal does accidently break a vase though.) The party isn't much fun for Claudia though... thanks to all the extra people, she spends the whole time running around making food, organizing, and keeping an eye on everything. She has no time to actually spend with her guests, or to relax. Things get much worse when Peaches, Russ, and Lynn show up unexpectedly in the midst of all this. Peaches is furious, sending everyone home, then lecturing and grounding both girls.
Once Peaches and Russ leave, Claudia and Janine start cleaning up the trashed house. Janine immediately turns on Claudia and blames her for everything, even though she was into the party idea from the beginning.
The next day, Stacey stops by with a new vase the BSC pulled together to buy. Soon after their parents return, and the sisters confess everything.
Claudia gives Josh a candy bouquet and some certificates for "Claudia time" to make up for ignoring him at the party. They hang out after school, and when they run into Kristy and Mary Anne, Claudia realizes that all her friends already fit together pretty well.
Side plot: Bill and Melody Korman are fighting a lot (aka actually acting like normal siblings/kids!).
Timeline:
No dates or seasons mentioned, but it's probably fall.
Misc. thoughts:
*Ghostwritten by Vicki Berger Erwin.
*Mallory's still being teased, and Claudia notices she has dark circles under her eyes.
*Janine and Jerry's break up was her idea, and after Super Special #15, I'm very glad to hear this.
*In this book Janine is back to knowing about Claudia's junk food stash, as she usually does.
*Janine calls channel surfing "channel swimming", haha.
*Spaghetti is one of Claudia's favorite foods.
*I felt really bad for Janine in here. She was trying so hard to spend time with Claudia and relate to her, and Claudia was so clearly not interested.
*Carolyn Keene is Claudia's favorite author? I'm not surprised, of course, but I wonder if she knows there's actually no such person.
*Stacey's one of the kids at the party who tries to balance a pizza box on their head? I don't think she'd put something like that near her hair...
*Considering how Peaches acted in #78, I'm surprised she didn't just join the party when she came over, instead of busting the girls...
*We never find out Claudia and Janine's punishment.
Books mentioned:
*Ramona Quimby, Age 8, by Beverly Cleary
My rating:
2.5 stars. Not bad, just really boring.
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