#2 Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls

The second book in this series can really only be described as a real life thriller. I was happy, then mad, then scared, then frustrated, then happy. I went through a rainbow of emotions. So let's just dive into it.

Plot
The basics of this book are this: It's around Halloween time, and the girls are gearing up for the Halloween Hop, which is a dance for Stoneybrook Middle School that will take place from 4p-6p on a Friday afternoon. This reminded me of dances at Glenwood Middle School, and how, when slow dancing with my first boyfriend I told him that he couldn't dance very well and he got mad and stormed off the dance floor (gym floor). I broke up with him the next day.

Anyway -Claudia is obsessed with this quiet poet, Trevor Sandbourne. Meanwhile, Kristy is still getting super annoyed daily with Alan Gray, Stacey is still uber-obsessed with Kristy's brother Sam and MaryAnne doesn't seem to have any feelings whatsoever for the opposite sex. The girls are sitting around one day talking about boys and MaryAnne sees in the paper that a thief has been breaking into homes in the towns surrounding Stoneybrook. He (I assume it's a he, and so did they) would call the house and not respond if someone answers. I guess he would just kinda scope out the house after that, and then he would rob them while they were gone. The girls drop fucking everything right that second and have an emergency meeting of the BSC, where they come up with a battle plan in case something Phantom Phone Caller-y happens when they are babysitting. Claudia's neighbor ends up getting robbed a few weeks later, and everyone loses their fucking minds. Mary Anne even has to quit babysitting for awhile because her dad freaks out.

Kristy and Claudia start getting the phone calls when they are babysitting, and then one night everything comes crashing down when they are both babysitting at the Newtons (those bitch cousins were in town today, and this time Claudia was not letting Mrs. Newton get away with only hiring one babysitter). The culprit however, is not a Phantom Phone Caller/thief - it is ALAN GRAY, who wants to ask Kristy to the Halloween Hop. Kristy accepts, and then the next day Trevor calls Claudia and admits he was also stalking her and asks her to the dance. Stacey goes to the dance with another boy, Pete Black, and MaryAnne stays home and plays dolls. The Phantom Phone Caller gets caught, but he says he never robbed any houses in Stoneybrook so that thief is still at large. The end.

Takeaways

• Claudia sucks at school, so every single night one of her family members has to sit with her to make sure she does her homework. Claudia is 13. She seriously can't be trusted to do her homework by herself? Also, at one point Mimi is going multiplication flash cards with her, and they are, like, really elementary problems like 8X7. Don't kids learn their multiplication tables in like second grade? WTF, Claudia?
• When the girls are sitting around talking about boys, they are sitting on a blanket in Kristy's front yard. Then MaryAnne reads about the thief and Kristy calls an emergency meeting of the club. So they all get up together and move to Claudia's bedroom. Why couldn't they just hold the meeting right there? 
• Kristy baby-sits for Karen and Andrew, and that dang cat Boo-Boo gets out and ends up in Morbidda Destiny's yard again. Morbidda knocks on the door later, bitching that the cat had killed a mouse and left the remains on her porch. She actually hands Kristy a bag with the mouse's remains. Are you kidding me? I know that MD isn't actually a witch, but she is definitely a bitch. 
• When it comes out that Alan and Trevor are the culprits, both Kristy and Claudia agree to go to the dance with them anyway. Kristy spends a great majority of this book bitching about Alan, and then agrees to go to a dance with him? Hmmm. 
• MaryAnne babysits for David Michael one night, and she gets so scared that she sets up booby traps at each other the doors, Home Alone style. I LOVED this as a kid, and as an adult I admit I have set up some booby traps myself when I get scared at home alone. 
• Janine and Claudia have a bonding moment at the end of the book, where Janine admits to Claud that she hides junk food in her bedroom too. I love this. I wish Claudia and Janine had gotten along better in this series; they were both geniuses in their own special ways. 

Best character
I'm going to go with MaryAnne this time. She is badass as hell, setting up all her booby traps in the Thomas house. Also, she don't give a fuck that all her friends are going to the dance and getting all hot and bothered for seventh grade boys. She does what she wants.

Worst character
Stacey really annoyed me twice in this book. First, she calls Claudia whining that she doesn't know a lot of people yet. Um...you moved to town like two months ago and you are already in a club, have three best friends, have a date to the Halloween Hop and you have a crush on a high schooler. STOP WHINING STACEY. Second, she gets all butt hurt when Kristy is talking about Sam going on a date with some other high school freshman chick. Like, sitting there pouting butt hurt. Then Kristy like backtracks her words and is all apologetic. GIVE ME A BREAK, STACEY. He's not your boyfriend.