156 pages. 15 chapters.
That’s about 10 pages per chapter.

Claudia has a couple of problems:
her math homework.
Relationship with Janine
Secret crush

Kristy has a problem:
Alan Gray

Mary Anne reads the newspaper article about the Phantom Caller.

And The Halloween Hop dance is coming! Most likely in the last chapter!


Chapter 5: one scene: phantom calls
Chapter 6: two scenes: janine. phantom calls
Chapter 7: one scene: phantom calls
Chapter 8: one scene: scary movie
Chapter 9: one scene: scared Mary Anne
Chapter 10: Alan Gray. Trevor. Mary Anne. False alarm.
Chapter 11: Mimi and Claudia. Phantom gets closer. Trevor. emergency meeting
Chapter 12: double babysitting and a shadow outside
Chapter 13: reveal!
Chapter 14: Kristy reaction, Claudia reaction. And Trevor
Chapter 15: Summary. Dance, Claudia Math class, Phatom Caller ending, Baby-Sitters celebrate!


This book was alright.
The better chapters were the longer chapters dedicated to sitting jobs and irrational fears.

Chapter 10 & 11 was a bunch of plot elements smooshed together. Probably because the page count was being hoarded by the tension chapters.

Kristy liking a boy after he treated her horribly for years was a sour spot. I think most of us know now that the old saying that boys hurt the girls they love is a terrible thing to normalize.

The first book was more personal.
This book was more about scarying the girls.

Clauida doesn’t learn to work on her HW.
Claudia made a first step in her relationship with Janine.
Boy problems resolved.
The Dance is glossed over like it didn’t really matter.


The spooky parts were really well written, so I think that earned an extra star.

I think my disappointment cames from the emphasis on the external conflict and causality rather than the internal or the interpersonal conflcits.

This book is so cute, all I wanted was something to bring me good vibes before keeping up with my books that are actually pretty dense right now and this was an awesome choice. I'm really into more children's books so I'll probably read a lot more of this.

I distinctly remember reading this book, as well as others in the series during my early teens. This title stands out in my mind.
lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

This is the #metoo book with 80s values on display.

Claudia was my favorite member of the BSC. I identified with her the most as a girl because we both loved art, junk food, and were not very good spellers. 

This was a fun and nostalgic listen for October.  It is set around Halloween and any of the scenes where the girls were baby sitting and the house was making noises were creepy-comedic. 

The end though, I didn't like (and I had forgotten) that the caller was a boy from school who liked Kristy. It was a bad lesson for to reward his bad behavior. On some level you have to excuse the ending because it was written in 1986. It would never be written that way today because now we know better, or at least we should.  

I did love how the girls made a plan for what to do if the actual burglar were to attack while they were baby-sitting, and I did love how smart Claudia was at the end when calling the police. 

4 out of 5 Creepy House Noises.
lighthearted fast-paced
lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

still going on with reliving childhood favorites, it’s been fun seeing how my feelings have changed since i was a kid.

my god this is the most boring BSC book ever possibly. considering Claudia is the star she barely even appears and NOT A SINGLE OUTFIT IS DESCRIBED. what a waste. also Alan Gray is a budding serial killer based on the things he does to Kristy.