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xtinamorse's review
Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/the-mystery-at-claudias-house
megdurazo's review
4.0
claudia is mostly wonderful but she’s actually kind of a tattle tale in this one and if i were janine, i would also not forgive her quickly. janine’s just trying to get her groove on with some hot nerdy guy who drives a RED CAR and takes her to pizza express! as with most bsc mysteries, there was very little intrigue here, but i always love a kishi family story so four stars it is.
ssshira's review
2.0
this is my first time reading this book!
in another non-mystery mystery (like the last one, [b:Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic|646485|Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #5)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387705563s/646485.jpg|545670]) by ghostwriter ellen miles, claudia's sister janine starts acting strangely. she is wearing makeup, missing dinner, and lying about going to the library. for some reason claudia doesn't get that she has a boyfriend and feels the need to spy on her and solicit derek masters (tv star/bsc charge from [b:Jessi and the Superbrat|48948|Jessi and the Superbrat (The Baby-Sitters Club, #27)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428314828s/48948.jpg|1937035], in town while his show isn't filming) to help her be a detective, since he appeared on a show about detectives and is now somehow an expert on detectives. don't ask. in a derek-related subplot, he finds out he will have to kiss a girl on his tv show, leading the boys of stoneybrook to tease him. to get them off his case, he says that he's a kissing expert, and then the boys wants him to demonstrate that. eventually he comes clean and all is well (if not a little boring).
highlights:
-janine is really cute at first. she keeps trying to wear makeup and cute outfits but has no idea how and ends up looking like miss geist or something.
-claudia narrates that she thinks becca probably has a crush on lamont (from derek's show) because he's black and she doesn't have a lot of black friends in stoneybrook so she relates to him. I like this, but they don't really address it in most books. it's the [b:"Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?": A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity|16280|"Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity|Beverly Daniel Tatum|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404866456s/16280.jpg|137887] phenomenon (though I have never read that book): barely anybody in stoneybrook can relate to becca's experience as a black girl in a town full of racist white people, and of course she is stoked on seeing black kids on tv!
-claud says "gag me" about math. really? what year is it? is valspeak really still cool in 1992? this sounds like a lowlight but really it made me chuckle.
-claudia keeps offering to help out with housework because she wants to be the good kid. interesting weird psychological phenomenon here, similar to that of separate vocations.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-kristy says she "used to" baby-sit the masterses. no she didn't. jessi and claud were the only ones who sat for them in [b:Jessi and the Superbrat|48948|Jessi and the Superbrat (The Baby-Sitters Club, #27)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428314828s/48948.jpg|1937035], and there haven't been any other books that had the masterses in stoneybrook (the only other book they appeared in was [b:California Girls!|84028|California Girls! (The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, #5)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387732906s/84028.jpg|2844175])
-janine said she would be home late and miss dinner. when she arrives at 8:30 everyone freaks out. EIGHT-THIRTY. that is NOT late, dude. she is fifteen. I think a fifteen year old can stay out until eight-thirty when she already said she was going to miss dinner.
-claudia convinces herself janine could be in trouble so she snitches on janine. janine is mad about the snitching. yeah that's fair but claud also has a right be mad because janine had no right to use claudia's room and phone and stuff without asking her.
-jerry (janine's boyfriend) said he liked janine in spite of the way she looks. uh, that's not really a good thing, janine. I think you mean that he liked you regardless of your looks, not in spite of your looks. that means he thinks you're ugly.
claudia outfits:
-"I was...checking that day's outfit (lace leggings, purple tie-dyed T-shirt dress, and purple high-tops) in the mirror."
-"I knew I wanted to wear this pair of black-and-white-checked stretch pants I just bought...Next I started to look around for my red belt, since it would look perfect with the black and white...Next I needed a blouse...I checked the closet again and found a black shirt with white polka dots...I pulled on my red ankle boots, put my hair into a ponytail on the side of my head (fastened with a black-and-white barrette), stuck on my favorite red heart-shaped earrings, and I was ready to go."
janine outfit:
"I pulled a green-and-blue patterned sweater out of my bottom drawer, and a white oxford shirt out of the closet, then found a short black wool skirt I hardly ever wear...I tossed her a pair of short black boots, and she put them on."
snack in claudia's room:
-yodels (n.s.)
in another non-mystery mystery (like the last one, [b:Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic|646485|Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, #5)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387705563s/646485.jpg|545670]) by ghostwriter ellen miles, claudia's sister janine starts acting strangely. she is wearing makeup, missing dinner, and lying about going to the library. for some reason claudia doesn't get that she has a boyfriend and feels the need to spy on her and solicit derek masters (tv star/bsc charge from [b:Jessi and the Superbrat|48948|Jessi and the Superbrat (The Baby-Sitters Club, #27)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428314828s/48948.jpg|1937035], in town while his show isn't filming) to help her be a detective, since he appeared on a show about detectives and is now somehow an expert on detectives. don't ask. in a derek-related subplot, he finds out he will have to kiss a girl on his tv show, leading the boys of stoneybrook to tease him. to get them off his case, he says that he's a kissing expert, and then the boys wants him to demonstrate that. eventually he comes clean and all is well (if not a little boring).
highlights:
-janine is really cute at first. she keeps trying to wear makeup and cute outfits but has no idea how and ends up looking like miss geist or something.
-claudia narrates that she thinks becca probably has a crush on lamont (from derek's show) because he's black and she doesn't have a lot of black friends in stoneybrook so she relates to him. I like this, but they don't really address it in most books. it's the [b:"Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?": A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity|16280|"Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity|Beverly Daniel Tatum|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404866456s/16280.jpg|137887] phenomenon (though I have never read that book): barely anybody in stoneybrook can relate to becca's experience as a black girl in a town full of racist white people, and of course she is stoked on seeing black kids on tv!
-claud says "gag me" about math. really? what year is it? is valspeak really still cool in 1992? this sounds like a lowlight but really it made me chuckle.
-claudia keeps offering to help out with housework because she wants to be the good kid. interesting weird psychological phenomenon here, similar to that of separate vocations.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-kristy says she "used to" baby-sit the masterses. no she didn't. jessi and claud were the only ones who sat for them in [b:Jessi and the Superbrat|48948|Jessi and the Superbrat (The Baby-Sitters Club, #27)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428314828s/48948.jpg|1937035], and there haven't been any other books that had the masterses in stoneybrook (the only other book they appeared in was [b:California Girls!|84028|California Girls! (The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, #5)|Ann M. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387732906s/84028.jpg|2844175])
-janine said she would be home late and miss dinner. when she arrives at 8:30 everyone freaks out. EIGHT-THIRTY. that is NOT late, dude. she is fifteen. I think a fifteen year old can stay out until eight-thirty when she already said she was going to miss dinner.
-claudia convinces herself janine could be in trouble so she snitches on janine. janine is mad about the snitching. yeah that's fair but claud also has a right be mad because janine had no right to use claudia's room and phone and stuff without asking her.
-jerry (janine's boyfriend) said he liked janine in spite of the way she looks. uh, that's not really a good thing, janine. I think you mean that he liked you regardless of your looks, not in spite of your looks. that means he thinks you're ugly.
claudia outfits:
-"I was...checking that day's outfit (lace leggings, purple tie-dyed T-shirt dress, and purple high-tops) in the mirror."
-"I knew I wanted to wear this pair of black-and-white-checked stretch pants I just bought...Next I started to look around for my red belt, since it would look perfect with the black and white...Next I needed a blouse...I checked the closet again and found a black shirt with white polka dots...I pulled on my red ankle boots, put my hair into a ponytail on the side of my head (fastened with a black-and-white barrette), stuck on my favorite red heart-shaped earrings, and I was ready to go."
janine outfit:
"I pulled a green-and-blue patterned sweater out of my bottom drawer, and a white oxford shirt out of the closet, then found a short black wool skirt I hardly ever wear...I tossed her a pair of short black boots, and she put them on."
snack in claudia's room:
-yodels (n.s.)
liannakiwi's review
3.0
(LL)
I mean...this was so obvious it’s unreal. I know I’m not the target audience and should be able to figure it out, but come on. I’m sure for the younger reader this would be a fun book though.
I mean...this was so obvious it’s unreal. I know I’m not the target audience and should be able to figure it out, but come on. I’m sure for the younger reader this would be a fun book though.
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