#19 - Claudia and the Bad Joke

Timeline: 
Between Halloween and Christmas, 8th grade

Plot:
Claudia babysits for a new client, Rosie, who loves pranking people. She gets Claudia to swing on a broken swing, and Claudia falls and breaks her leg. She is in the hospital for over a week and then at home for a few more weeks, meaning she misses 3.5 weeks of school.

The baby-sitters work at getting back at Rosie, but they continuously get outpranked by her. Finally, Kristy takes her to a movie and gets her - she switches seats when Rosie is out getting popcorn, she puts a bloody thumb in the popcorn box and Rosie loses her mind. Rosie learns her lesson, then, and goes to Claudia's house to apologize.

During this whole debacle, Claudia is thinking she wants to quit the Baby-Sitters Club because baby-sitting is too dangerous. But then she decides she was actually just embarrassed and decides to stay in the club.

Takeaways:
Near the beginning of the book, Claudia talks about how Dawn has been sticking around after club meetings and staying for dinner at her house because she doesn't want to go home to an empty house now that Jeff has moved back to California. That's sad. I wish they had explored a Dawn-Claudia best friendship a little more. They make a lot more sense than Dawn and MaryAnne.

This book is actually pretty boring. Well, the Claudia chapters are super boring. Basically all she does is whine and contemplate whether or not she should quit the BSC. And her reason for quitting the BSC is so lame. Baby-sitting is too dangerous? Get a reality check, Claud.

If I were a parent, and I found out that my baby-sitter sent my child out to get popcorn and then got up and moved, I would fucking kill said baby-sitter. That is so not safe. Well, maybe in the 80's it was safer than it is now, but NOT COOL KRISTY.

Best characters:
Mimi wins this week. She has to deal with Claudia being home with a broken leg for 2+ weeks, and the woman has the patience of a saint. Plus she makes Claudia really good breakfasts.

Worst characters:
I mean, obviously Rosie was a little bitch who pranked Claudia and she wound up with a broken leg. But also, there was something so evil about the way she would be like "no more pranks. I promise." and then fucking buzz someone or feed them shaving cream. PRANKS ARE MEAN!