#42 - Jessi and the Dance School Phantom

Timeline: 
Nothing is really mentioned, so we can assume it's right after the 2nd Valentine's Day of their 8th grade/6th grade year.

Plot:
Jessi gets the lead role of Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty at her ballet school. Everyone in the class is super jealous of her, but someone takes it a little too far. This psycho hose beast, or "Dance School Phantom" leaves threatening notes, steals Jessi's expensive ballet attire, returns it but destroys it first, and leaves her a thorny rose. It's downright terrifying.

With the help of the BSC, Jessi narrows down her list of suspects to three. Finally, she figures out it is this bitch, Hilary, who hates dancing but her mom makes her do it and she is basically in trouble at home for losing the starring role to Jessi. Hilary apologizes, begs her not to tell anyone and Jessi agrees but holds it over her head to make her behave.

While all of this is happening, the BSC is planning a pet show for the neighborhood kids. All the kids start fighting about whose pet will win, and Jessi comes up with the idea to give all the kids a prize for their pet. Everyone is happy.

Jessi dances her dance, and she kills it.

The end.


Takeaways:
Okay you guys...I legit broke down in tears at the end of the book when Jessi is amazing in her role. Her sister and the BSC bring roses to the stage. It is making me teary eyed now.

I cannot believe how these girls never ask adults for help. You know what I would have down after the first terrifying note? Showed my parents. Who would have made me show my teacher. The end.

I really don't have much else to say about this book. It was mostly about Jessi trying to catch this phantom. She catches her by asking her to make a sign for her, and Hilary pulls out the same marker (calligraphy) as what was used on the notes. It was kind of stupid. Like why didn't Hilary just be all "yeah so? a lot of people have these pens?" Plus, how lucky is it she happened to grab the same marker. I don't know. The whole thing seemed dumb and anticlimactic.

Best character: 

Probably Jessi, because we really didn't spend time with any other characters in this book. And she did make me cry with her beautiful dancing at the end. 

Worst character:

I mean, obviously Hilary, the dance school phantom. But Becca also bothered me during this book, constantly bitching that all she had to enter in the pet show was their hamster. Be thankful you have a pet at all, Becca!