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The Baby-Sitters Club #40
Claudia and the Middle School Mystery
Claudia is surprised when her math teacher accuses her of cheating on a test and enlists the rest of the Baby-sitters Club to help her clear her name.
135 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
100 people are currently reading
837 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,121 books3,091 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
February 15, 2021
¿Será que logro llegar al audiolibro 65 este año :P?
June 15, 2019
Taj, age 4: It was super good. I really liked it. So, I love it and I really want to read another Babysitter’s Club.
Harper, age 7: I liked that Claudia kept on trying to tell Mr. Zorzi that she didn’t cheat.
Harper, age 7: I liked that Claudia kept on trying to tell Mr. Zorzi that she didn’t cheat.
September 19, 2010
this book opens with janine the genius helping claudia study for her upcoming remedial math test. claudia has to figure out how much chocolate is in each of eight cookies if gertrude is using 2/3 cup of chocolate altogether. i tried to figure it out myself & remembered why i failed every math test i ever took. the answer is 1/12, which becomes obvious once you know the answer. anyway, claudia is doing pretty well & janine is proud of her. she tells claudia that she knows the material forwards & backwards.
claudia wants to do well on this test because her parents require her to keep her grades up if she wants to remain in the babysitters club.
claudia goes in to take the test the next day, & at first, she blanks. then she remembers janine's test-taking advice, & she starts scanning the test for a problem she can answer. she finds one, & the studying she did comes flooding back. she works her way through the test & feels really confident when it's over. she can hardly wait to get her test results back.
mr. zorzi, the teacher, makes the students review some new material in the next class before he hands back the tests. claudia can barely concentrate. but finally she gets her test back & finds that she got an A-! all her studying really paid off. she is walking on air...until mr. zorzi requests that she & shawn riverson stay after class. he requests that they both show their papers. they both received the exact same grade...& got the exact same questions wrong...in the exact same way. claudia is an idiot who does not see where this is going. she tells mr. zorzi that she thinks she knows how she messed up one question: she divided when she should have multiplied. shawna is much quicker on the uptake, & tells mr. zorzi in no uncertain terms that she did not cheat. claudia is dumbfounded. it never crossed her mind that mr. zorzi might suspect cheating. rather than defending herself after shawn's statement, she just stands there, looking like a guilty, guilty cheater. shawna is a really good student who has trouble with math, which is why she's in the remedial math class. but even so, she's one of the better students in the class. claudia figures no teacher would accept her word over shawna's when it comes to academics. so, even though she knows she didn't cheat, she just stands there silently. mr. zorzi says he'll have to tell the principal, who will be calling claudia's parents.
at dinner that night, mr. & mrs. kishi approach claudia about the call they got from the principal. claudia explains what happened. her parents gently tell her that they would like to believe that she diesn't cheat on the test. claudia feels even more defeated by the note of doubt in their voices. but janine sticks up for her & says she KNOWS claudia didn't cheat. mr. & mrs. kishi apologize...but no one knows how to deal with the situation. janine offers to tutor claudia in math for the rest of the year so she can maintain a passing grade even with an F in this test.
this all just seems weird to me. i never cheated on anything when i was in school, but had i been accused, & had my parents believed in me, you better believe they'd be going down to the school & having some words with administrators. but claudia tells her parents to stay out of it, that she wants to handle it herself...even though she doesn't know how. & they agree. it seems like a failing grade on an important test & a black mark as a cheater should really out-weigh the desires of a 13-year-old right now...but then we wouldn't have a book, would we?
claudia tells the BSC what happened. mary anne tells claudia that the rest of the club will stick with her even if she did cheat on the test. everyone is like, "mary anne, WTF?" & mary anne bursts into tears. another reason i dislike mary anne. she basically tells claudia that she doesn't believe she didn't cheat, & when she gets called on not supporting her friend, SHE cries. fuck you & your manipulative waterworks, mary anne.
anyway, the rest of the girls realize that if claudia didn't cheat, shawna must have. dawn suggests breaking into shawna's locked to look for an incriminating note. mary anne opposes this idea, but she is overruled.
in school the next day, claudia slips into a bathroom stall while shawna & her friends are in the bathroom, & she overhears them bragging about how shawna got away with cheating. in order to explain the situation to the myriad BSC readers who can't begin to fathom why anyone would ever cheat off of claudia kishi, shawna explains that she heard that janine was helping claudia study, & she knows janine is a genius, & that claudia would probably do well on the test as a result. this is a remarkably thin explanation, but it's the best we've got, so let's just go with it.
that afternoon, dawn, claudia, & stacey break into shawna's locker. they do indeed find an incriminating note, & at first, they are joyful. but as they leave, claudia realizes she can't show anyone the note without explaining how she got it, & then she'd get into trouble for breaking into shawna's locker. so she puts the note book. mary anne the pious is pleased.
the next day in math class, claudia decides to try to trick shawna into confessing by using loaded words around her. she's all, "shawna, can i steal your worksheet for a minute? i misplaced mine & i don't want to cheat mr. zorzi out of another copy," etc etc. shawna doesn't fall for it. then she thinks she can prove shawna cheated by proving that she can see shawna's paper. she looks over at shawna's desk & becomes absorbed in the juicy note shawna is writing to a friend. mr. zorzi catches claudia, which...way to look even more guilty, claudia.
meanwhile, at the pike house, the triplets have broken a basement window. they are grounded until they admit which triplet is responsible, but they refuse to turn on each other. the babysitters try several tricks to get them to confess, to no avail. finally mallory suggests that they re-enact the crime so they can see who was responsible. it turns out that all of them made a small mistake that resulted in the broken window. so they're all responsible, & none are responsible. they are not only ungrounded & have their allowances reinstated, but mr. & mrs. pike decide to take them out to a movie & ice cream to celebrate. which seems to counteract the intentions of the punishment...but since when have the pikes been the greatest parents in the world?
the triplet situation gives claudia an idea. she thinks they should re-enact the test-taking, & then mr. zorzi will see shawna cheat. someone has to explain to claudia that shawna probably would not cheat again under carefully controlled re-enactment conditions. duh. claudia really is an idiot in this book.
but it gives janine an idea. she goes to see the stoneybrook middle school principal & explains her faith in claudia & her knowledge of the test material. the principal & mr. zorzi agree to allow claudia to re-take the test. she does, & she scores even better than she did the first time. at the end of class, shawna is called up to the teacher's desk & mr. zorzi tells her that she'll have to re-take the test the next morning. claudia doesn't think this is fair, because it gives shawna advance warning & time to study (which claudia didn't get). but it doesn't matter because shawna panics & confesses to cheating. she has to take an F for the test & is suspended for two days. problem solved.
i enjoyed this book, because claudia books are always pretty entertaining, but there are a lot of headdesk moments here. the school thought claudia had cheated, & she was given an F for the test...but why wasn't she suspended? why didn't her parents step in & insist on some kind of resolution? why didn't the school make both claudia & shawna re-take the test right away? why did they believe shawn over claudia? why didn't claudia stick up for herself? why are the babysitters friends with mary anne? & so forth. this is a pretty unrealistic "mystery" in a lot of ways.
claudia wants to do well on this test because her parents require her to keep her grades up if she wants to remain in the babysitters club.
claudia goes in to take the test the next day, & at first, she blanks. then she remembers janine's test-taking advice, & she starts scanning the test for a problem she can answer. she finds one, & the studying she did comes flooding back. she works her way through the test & feels really confident when it's over. she can hardly wait to get her test results back.
mr. zorzi, the teacher, makes the students review some new material in the next class before he hands back the tests. claudia can barely concentrate. but finally she gets her test back & finds that she got an A-! all her studying really paid off. she is walking on air...until mr. zorzi requests that she & shawn riverson stay after class. he requests that they both show their papers. they both received the exact same grade...& got the exact same questions wrong...in the exact same way. claudia is an idiot who does not see where this is going. she tells mr. zorzi that she thinks she knows how she messed up one question: she divided when she should have multiplied. shawna is much quicker on the uptake, & tells mr. zorzi in no uncertain terms that she did not cheat. claudia is dumbfounded. it never crossed her mind that mr. zorzi might suspect cheating. rather than defending herself after shawn's statement, she just stands there, looking like a guilty, guilty cheater. shawna is a really good student who has trouble with math, which is why she's in the remedial math class. but even so, she's one of the better students in the class. claudia figures no teacher would accept her word over shawna's when it comes to academics. so, even though she knows she didn't cheat, she just stands there silently. mr. zorzi says he'll have to tell the principal, who will be calling claudia's parents.
at dinner that night, mr. & mrs. kishi approach claudia about the call they got from the principal. claudia explains what happened. her parents gently tell her that they would like to believe that she diesn't cheat on the test. claudia feels even more defeated by the note of doubt in their voices. but janine sticks up for her & says she KNOWS claudia didn't cheat. mr. & mrs. kishi apologize...but no one knows how to deal with the situation. janine offers to tutor claudia in math for the rest of the year so she can maintain a passing grade even with an F in this test.
this all just seems weird to me. i never cheated on anything when i was in school, but had i been accused, & had my parents believed in me, you better believe they'd be going down to the school & having some words with administrators. but claudia tells her parents to stay out of it, that she wants to handle it herself...even though she doesn't know how. & they agree. it seems like a failing grade on an important test & a black mark as a cheater should really out-weigh the desires of a 13-year-old right now...but then we wouldn't have a book, would we?
claudia tells the BSC what happened. mary anne tells claudia that the rest of the club will stick with her even if she did cheat on the test. everyone is like, "mary anne, WTF?" & mary anne bursts into tears. another reason i dislike mary anne. she basically tells claudia that she doesn't believe she didn't cheat, & when she gets called on not supporting her friend, SHE cries. fuck you & your manipulative waterworks, mary anne.
anyway, the rest of the girls realize that if claudia didn't cheat, shawna must have. dawn suggests breaking into shawna's locked to look for an incriminating note. mary anne opposes this idea, but she is overruled.
in school the next day, claudia slips into a bathroom stall while shawna & her friends are in the bathroom, & she overhears them bragging about how shawna got away with cheating. in order to explain the situation to the myriad BSC readers who can't begin to fathom why anyone would ever cheat off of claudia kishi, shawna explains that she heard that janine was helping claudia study, & she knows janine is a genius, & that claudia would probably do well on the test as a result. this is a remarkably thin explanation, but it's the best we've got, so let's just go with it.
that afternoon, dawn, claudia, & stacey break into shawna's locker. they do indeed find an incriminating note, & at first, they are joyful. but as they leave, claudia realizes she can't show anyone the note without explaining how she got it, & then she'd get into trouble for breaking into shawna's locker. so she puts the note book. mary anne the pious is pleased.
the next day in math class, claudia decides to try to trick shawna into confessing by using loaded words around her. she's all, "shawna, can i steal your worksheet for a minute? i misplaced mine & i don't want to cheat mr. zorzi out of another copy," etc etc. shawna doesn't fall for it. then she thinks she can prove shawna cheated by proving that she can see shawna's paper. she looks over at shawna's desk & becomes absorbed in the juicy note shawna is writing to a friend. mr. zorzi catches claudia, which...way to look even more guilty, claudia.
meanwhile, at the pike house, the triplets have broken a basement window. they are grounded until they admit which triplet is responsible, but they refuse to turn on each other. the babysitters try several tricks to get them to confess, to no avail. finally mallory suggests that they re-enact the crime so they can see who was responsible. it turns out that all of them made a small mistake that resulted in the broken window. so they're all responsible, & none are responsible. they are not only ungrounded & have their allowances reinstated, but mr. & mrs. pike decide to take them out to a movie & ice cream to celebrate. which seems to counteract the intentions of the punishment...but since when have the pikes been the greatest parents in the world?
the triplet situation gives claudia an idea. she thinks they should re-enact the test-taking, & then mr. zorzi will see shawna cheat. someone has to explain to claudia that shawna probably would not cheat again under carefully controlled re-enactment conditions. duh. claudia really is an idiot in this book.
but it gives janine an idea. she goes to see the stoneybrook middle school principal & explains her faith in claudia & her knowledge of the test material. the principal & mr. zorzi agree to allow claudia to re-take the test. she does, & she scores even better than she did the first time. at the end of class, shawna is called up to the teacher's desk & mr. zorzi tells her that she'll have to re-take the test the next morning. claudia doesn't think this is fair, because it gives shawna advance warning & time to study (which claudia didn't get). but it doesn't matter because shawna panics & confesses to cheating. she has to take an F for the test & is suspended for two days. problem solved.
i enjoyed this book, because claudia books are always pretty entertaining, but there are a lot of headdesk moments here. the school thought claudia had cheated, & she was given an F for the test...but why wasn't she suspended? why didn't her parents step in & insist on some kind of resolution? why didn't the school make both claudia & shawna re-take the test right away? why did they believe shawn over claudia? why didn't claudia stick up for herself? why are the babysitters friends with mary anne? & so forth. this is a pretty unrealistic "mystery" in a lot of ways.
July 7, 2020
While I actually started reading around age 3 (thank you, my Granny's Dick and Jane books!), this series is what I remember most about loving to read during my childhood. My sister and I drank these books up like they were oxygen. I truly think we owned just about every single one from every one of the series. We even got the privilege of meeting Ann M. Martin at a book signing, but of course little starstruck me froze and could not speak a word to my biggest hero at that time. Once in awhile if I come across these at a yard sale, I will pick them up for a couple hour trip down memory lane, and I declare nearly nothing centers and relaxes me more!
July 7, 2021
Justice for Claudia!!!!!
https://www.frowl.org/worstbestseller...
https://www.frowl.org/worstbestseller...
March 30, 2016
in this installment, ghostwritten by ellen miles, claudia finally gets an A- on a math exam (though it's a 94% which sounds more like an A than an A- to me, but whatever...) only to have her substitute math teacher point out that the girl who was sitting next to her in class had the exact same grade and made the exact same mistakes she did. the girl in question is shawna, sms's darling/straight-a student/pep squad member/all around good girl, so the teacher naturally thinks claudia is the one who cheated. a mostly eventless book follows, complete with inane plans about how to prove shawna is a liar and a pointless and idiotic subplot involving the pike triplets breaking a window while playing baseball.
highlights:
-claudia's fashion inspiration is ms. frizzle which is just so perfect.
-in general, good claudia outfits and a lot of snacks in her room.
-uhh...janine saves the day (by telling the teacher and principal that claudia was well-prepared for the test, which leads to them giving claudia a makeup test in which she proves that she didn't cheat) and adds another interesting layer to her relationship with her sister.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-while everyone else is being sympathetic towards what claudia is going through, mary anne tells her that if she did cheat, the members of the bsc would still support her. WHAT A JERK, ASSUMING THAT CLAUDIA CHEATED. I hate mary anne.
-regarding shawna's friend susan, claudia says about the pep squad meeting, "she was worried that it would go past four o'clock and she'd miss the chance to go shopping with her mom." kristy replies, "is that all she ever does -- shop and get perms?" they're so judgy considering that totally describes stacey!
-the pike story is so idiotic. to go into a little more detail...the triplets are playing baseball and a window gets broken. the pike parents say that one of them has to come forward and say it's his fault so he can get punished. they take a, "all for one, and one for all," approach and refuse to snitch on one another (loyalty is a GOOD trait, stupid pike parents). finally when it's revealed that it was an accident and they all had a hand in it, none of them got punished. this implies that the pike parents thought that ONE pike did it ON PURPOSE. they were playing baseball. it was OBVIOUSLY an accident. ugh.
two claudia outfits:
-"Since I had the big test, I thought I'd start with my lucky earrings -- the ones that look like Princess Di's. They're huge (pretend) emeralds, surrounded by thousands on tiny (phony) diamonds. Then I thought I’d work downward from there, wearing my new green-and-blue-tie-dyed T-shirt dress (the casualness of the dress would be an interesting contrast to those fancy earrings) over green leggings."
-"I put on a blue skirt with brightly colored tropical fish printed all over it. Then I put on a green blouse. I figured that could represent seaweed or something. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, over to one side, and I pinned it with a sand-dollaer barrette I made last summer...I ran to my closet and pulled out a pair of shoes. They're the plastic kind called 'jellies' that I had decorated with stickers of seahorses and shells."
snacks in claudia's room (the biggest list in a while):
-milk duds (n.s.)
-m&ms (n.s.)
-fritos (n.s.)
-whole wheat crackers (n.s.)
-oreos in her hollowed-out book
-cheetos in her sock drawer
-fig newtons (n.s.)
-mallomars (n.s.)
highlights:
-claudia's fashion inspiration is ms. frizzle which is just so perfect.
-in general, good claudia outfits and a lot of snacks in her room.
-uhh...janine saves the day (by telling the teacher and principal that claudia was well-prepared for the test, which leads to them giving claudia a makeup test in which she proves that she didn't cheat) and adds another interesting layer to her relationship with her sister.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-while everyone else is being sympathetic towards what claudia is going through, mary anne tells her that if she did cheat, the members of the bsc would still support her. WHAT A JERK, ASSUMING THAT CLAUDIA CHEATED. I hate mary anne.
-regarding shawna's friend susan, claudia says about the pep squad meeting, "she was worried that it would go past four o'clock and she'd miss the chance to go shopping with her mom." kristy replies, "is that all she ever does -- shop and get perms?" they're so judgy considering that totally describes stacey!
-the pike story is so idiotic. to go into a little more detail...the triplets are playing baseball and a window gets broken. the pike parents say that one of them has to come forward and say it's his fault so he can get punished. they take a, "all for one, and one for all," approach and refuse to snitch on one another (loyalty is a GOOD trait, stupid pike parents). finally when it's revealed that it was an accident and they all had a hand in it, none of them got punished. this implies that the pike parents thought that ONE pike did it ON PURPOSE. they were playing baseball. it was OBVIOUSLY an accident. ugh.
two claudia outfits:
-"Since I had the big test, I thought I'd start with my lucky earrings -- the ones that look like Princess Di's. They're huge (pretend) emeralds, surrounded by thousands on tiny (phony) diamonds. Then I thought I’d work downward from there, wearing my new green-and-blue-tie-dyed T-shirt dress (the casualness of the dress would be an interesting contrast to those fancy earrings) over green leggings."
-"I put on a blue skirt with brightly colored tropical fish printed all over it. Then I put on a green blouse. I figured that could represent seaweed or something. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, over to one side, and I pinned it with a sand-dollaer barrette I made last summer...I ran to my closet and pulled out a pair of shoes. They're the plastic kind called 'jellies' that I had decorated with stickers of seahorses and shells."
snacks in claudia's room (the biggest list in a while):
-milk duds (n.s.)
-m&ms (n.s.)
-fritos (n.s.)
-whole wheat crackers (n.s.)
-oreos in her hollowed-out book
-cheetos in her sock drawer
-fig newtons (n.s.)
-mallomars (n.s.)
June 11, 2023
Poor Claudia. And boo on the teacher Mr Zorzi. Fair would've been to have both Claudia and Shawna take the test again (or a similar test), but seated apart from each other.
The B-plot kinda fell a bit flat for me. I like that the triplets covered for each other and went all Three Musketeers, but I don't see how Mallory's solution could've worked.
The B-plot kinda fell a bit flat for me. I like that the triplets covered for each other and went all Three Musketeers, but I don't see how Mallory's solution could've worked.
June 4, 2022
4 stars. Poor Claudia gets accused of cheating on a math test. She didn’t, of course. Janine helped her study. This was fun if not a bit stressful because I wanted to cuss that teacher out for automatically thinking the worst of Claudia. It was cute how the BSC came together to help prove that she was innocent. It was another great example of how strong their friendship is which I love. Fun read.
November 3, 2009
"But teacher, I know I can't spell to save my life, but I didn't cheat, I just studied really hard!" And why ANYONE would cheat off of Claudia is beyond me.
April 6, 2020
Yayyyy! I LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!! Claudia is also my favorite character so I am glad I read one from her point of view! Yay🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
June 8, 2024
Claudia and the Middle School Mystery (UPDATED)
Claudia and Janine are working out a problem about how many (cups) of chocolate chips the fictional Gertrude put in the recipe. Claudia answers correctly and Janine gives her words of encouragement. There’s a big math test coming up that will make up three fourths of Claudia’s grade. Janine asks if Claudia likes Mr. Zorzi. She says he’s ok. He knows it takes her a minute. Janine then starts to drone on and on about improper fractions. Claudia starts to day dream about an art project. Janine snaps her fingers at Claudia and she tries to focus, but her mind wonders to her clothes and what she’ll wear to school tomorrow. Claudia gets the answer correct again. When their done, Janine gives her some test taking tips, wishes her luck, and then leaves.
Claudia finishes her homework and then calls Stacey. She tells her how nervous she is. Stacey tells her she’s got this. Then they talk about movies, clothes, and the BSC. She says it’ll all be over with by the next meeting. When the test is passed on Claudia looks at the first question and blanks out. Then she thinks about what Janine said. Take a deep breath and you don’t have to do the test in order. If the first question looks too hard find one you know how to do and come back to it. Then it all comes back to the first one and it all comes back to her. She makes sure she didn’t make any dumb mistakes. After its over she knows she’ll make a B or an A. When she gets home, she works on her collage a little and then gets ready for the meeting. She gives her friends the good news. Maryanne suggests she wait before she celebrates but it doesn’t matter to Claudia what grade she got. Just that she knows she passed.
Mr. Zorzi drags it out and then finally passes out the tests. Claudia gets a 94 (an A). Then he goes over the test’s questions. After class, he tells Shawna and Claudia to stay after. Claudia thinks he wants to congratulate her but he’s not smiling. He tells them to put their tests side by side. Claudia sees they got the exact same grade. He points at problem five. Claudia gives him what she should have done but he tells her to look at Shawna’s paper. They each got the same three problems wrong in the same way. He says one of them must have copied from the other. Shawna speaks up and says he’s not her regular teacher so he doesn’t know her that well. If he did, he’d know she’d never cheat. He dismisses her. Claudia knows what must have happened. Shawna must have copied her paper.
Usually, Shawna makes good grades and she’s popular. Of course, he’d think *she* cheated. She tries to reason with him, but Mr. Zorzi says he’s seen her record and he knows how tired she must be of working so hard, but he’s going to have to talk to the principal. Then he’ll have to talk to her regular math teacher. He says that her parents will also have to be called. Claudia spends the day in a fog and feeling numb. She avoids her friends and spends lunch in the girl’s room.
Stacey sits at the Pikes on the same afternoon. Mrs. Pike is taking three of the Pikes kids to the mall. The triplets go outside to play baseball. Claire wants to play hopscotch. Claire’s a perfectionist. She wants the lines just so and a certain stone. Then they start the game. Claire immediately takes a fall and skins her knee pretty badly. She’s skinned the other knee too and her arm. Stacey cleans her off with Claire directing her the whole time. Then she hears a crash. Stacey goes outside and sees that one of the basement windows is smashed. Stacey asks whose responsible but the triplets refuse to tell on each other. They say from here on out they’ll be the Three Musketeers. Stacey tells Mrs. Pike. She questions them and they stay true to their word. She says she’d let this go but this is the fourth one. She says they’ll all be punished and the money to fix the window will come out of their allowance. They just go to their rooms.
Claudia decides to stay in her room but then her mother calls her down to dinner and tells her they’re having tacos. At dinner, Claudia’s parents ask her what happened. She says she didn’t do it. Her dad says they’d like to believe her. Janine says Claudia isn’t a cheater. She knew the material cold. Then her mom hugs her and says she doesn’t know how she could have thought. She says the principal didn’t sound sure either. Her dad says they should go to the school. Claudia says no. Her mom says if they don’t do something she’ll get an F. Claudia tells her she’ll work it out. Even if she has to get A’s on all the other tests. Janine later offers to help her the rest of the year. Claudia tells her it’s not fair. She got an A and Janine congratulates her. She says Shawna ruined the whole thing. Janine says she should have stuck up for herself. Claudia says she tried to but he doesn’t know her that well. She says she knows Shawna cheated but she just doesn’t know why. Janine tells her to think back and try to remember if she saw Shawna looking at her paper, but she can’t. Janine asks why Shawna would have cheated. Claudia says she doesn’t know. It doesn’t make sense. Shawna’s always such a good student.
Claudia calls Stacey and tells her about it. She’s nice about it but it doesn’t help. Claudia thinks the worse thing is she isn’t 100 percent sure her parents believe in her. At the BSC meeting, they vent about Mr. Zorzi. Kristy asks Claudia to tell them about it. So, she does. Maryanne says if she did look at Shawna’s paper, they’d still be there for her and she should confess. Kristy jumps on her case and Maryanne bursts into tears. Claudia comforts her and says she knows she was being supportive but she’d rather she believe in her. Kristy lets Claudia get a job with the Perkins who asked especially for her. Claudia confesses that if she fails the class, she might have to quit the club. Dawn says Shawna is in her homeroom and she’s been acting strange lately (passing notes a lot). They talk about how to prove Shawna cheated. Dawn says she happens to know Shawna’s locker combination. She says they wouldn’t be stealing just looking for evidence. Claudia says it might work. Kristy says they can think on but maybe they need to go in another direction.
Jessi sits for the triplets with Mal. They’re still grounded. They don’[t have to stay in there room, but they can’t leave the hosue. It’s one of those days when the Pikes are picking out strange things to eat. Someone calls Adam to see if he can play baseball. Mal reminds him he can’t go out or use the phone. He calls her a nerd which gets under Mal’s skin. Mal takes the others outside. The triplets start talking in Pig Latin. Jessi surprises them by speaking Pig Latin. The triplets say they get tired of it themselves but they have to have a secret language. Jessi says it’s too common and teaches them OP talk. They catch on quick and stop teasing each other. They plan to use it to annoy their parents. Jessi then tries to find out who broke the window but they clam up.
The next day at school Claudia sees Shawna and Susan and she follows them. Then they go in the girl’s room. Claudia goes into one of the stalls. She then hears them talking about how lucky Sawna is to get away with cheating on the test. Shawna says she doesn’t even have to feel bad because what’s one more bad grade for Claudia Kishi. Claudia starts to open the door and then she stops. The spirit of Nancy Drew tells her to find out some more. Shawna goes on to talk about how much pressure she’s under with all her activies and homework. She says she thought it was too good to be true when she heard from Maryanne Claudia would be studying with Janine. Who would ever suspect *her8 of copying off Claudia’s paper? They leave and Claudia tells her friends what she heard. Stacey says at least now she has proof, but Claudia says it would just be Shawna’s word against hers.
Dawn says they can always do her idea. Maranne and Stacey are against it. Claudia kind of agrees with Stacey. Kristy says they should do it. They can’t lose Claudia. She says desperate times call for desperate measures. So, they all agree to do it. Maryanne says she still doesn’t agree but if they have to do it be careful, After school, they’ll be gone to a meeting of the pep squad. The teachers will be around but Dawn says they don’t know whose locker is whose. Dawn says all they’ll have to do is stand in front of *her* locker and they’ll think it’s hers. Maryanne says what if Shawna forgets something and comes back. Stacey says she’ll stand guard. Shawna’s locker is a MESS but Claudia finds the incriminating note she’s looking for. She realizes tho that she can’t tell how she got it and puts the note back. (Thinking on this she could have just left it on Mr. Zorzi’s desk anonymously. She didn’t have to tell him she broke into the locker and took it. Or she could have dropped it on the floor by his desk).
Her friends can’t believe she put it back. Maryanne says it was the right thing to do and she’s proud of her. Claudia says maybe but she has another test coming up. Stacey says she’ll help her study. Kristy says asks Mr. Zorzi can she sit in another seat so Shawna won’t do it again. Then Kristy says maybe they can trick Shawna into incriminating herself like they did Cookie. Claudia first tries to incorporate incriminating words towards Shawn like “Cheat” and “Copy” and “Lie”. Then she writes “IF YOU CAN READ THIS YOU’RE A CHEATER AND YOU MIGHT AS WELL ADMIT IT”.Neither work. Claudia thinks if Shawna can read her paper, she can read hers and gets called out for looking at some notes Shawna’s writing to her friends by her teacher Mr. Dorsey.
Claudia watches the triplets with Mallory. Mallory tells them her idea to get them off punishment. She suggests they do a reenactment. They learn that it was all there faults and no ones at the same time. Meaning they all contributed to it. Their let off punishment. Claudia asks Jananie would a reenactment work for her and Janine says all Shawna would have to do is not cheat. Claudia decides she’ll take on a I don’t give a what attitude. She keeps it up the next day. She chooses a sea theme for her outfit. She pays attention in class and answers a few questions in class. But Claudia may have convinced everyone else but she still feels bad inside. At the end of the day, she sees Janine. Janine has come to talk to the principal. She had a good relationship with him when she was there.
The principal invites her in and tells her that Janine said she studied hard and she asks her how she felt the day of the test. Claudia says she felt like all her studying had paid off. She says she believes everyone should have a chance to prove themselves and she’ll talk it over with the math teacher. (Mr. Dorsey). In class the next day, Mr. Dorsey says he’ll give Claudia a similar test. No one is seated by her. She only misses two questions. He apologizes to her. She then calls Shawna to his desk and tells her she has to retake the test too. She says she can’t take it because she doesn’t know the material. Then she gives him a sob story about stretching herself to thin and he makes her apologize to Claudia. She gets suspended for two days and an F. At the next meeting, the BSC surprise Claudia with chips, coke, and cookies and it turns into a kind of party. Claudia gives the college she’s working on to Janine to show her appreciation.
y Thoughts:
This was the exact same plot of another book I read called “The Test”. The series was 18 Pine Street and it centered on African American characters but it was the same ol song. The kid that isn’t white gets accused of cheating. It shouldn’t have taken Janine having to go to the Principal for Mr. Zorzi to suggest that they both take the test over RIGHT AWAY. This shouldn’t have even truthfully involved the principal UNTIL it was found out which one of them had cheated. Again, SMS proves itself to be prejudice (and a little bit racist). I wonder if this was Stacey, or Kristy, or Maryanne, or Dawn would the outcome have been the same, and Mr. Zorzi had jumped to the conclusion *they* cheated. Even though we’re probably just meant to look at it from the stand-point-that Claudia was the less smart student. Which doesn’t make it any better. I really loved Claudia’s “Sea” outfit but it being described as “wild”? I’ve seen worse that she’s worn in the series. I have to applaud Claudia though. Not just for passing the test and proving herself but for what she did by putting the note back. That showed character! But Dawn should have known all along that wouldn’t work. The only way it had a chance was if it were left on Mr. Zorzi’s desk anonymously.
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2016
Claudia studies hard for a math test, only to be accused of copying off Shawna Riverson's paper. Instead of letting her parents talk things out with the school, and do something reasonable like suggest she take the test again, Claudia and the BSC decide to solve this mystery themselves. What follows is a cat and mouse game of high stakes as Claudia eavesdrops in the girls bathroom, and breaks into Shawna's locker. And then proves her innocence by. . . taking the test again. I owned this book as a kid (I read it when I was nine or ten) and while I liked it there were things about it that bothered me.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
The thing that I really remember about this book is that Janine doesn't "talk smart" like she usually does in her books. There are some books when her vocabulary is ridiculous, and some books where it's more toned down, but for some reason, I really noticed how normal Janine sounded in this book.
Claudia dressing as Ms Frizzle. It's something I never had the nerve to do in middle or high school, but now that I work in a library I often dress based around a theme. ("Genetically modified mermaid hiding in a cave" is my favorite one so far, but I also like "Demented princess locked in a tower".) Also, Claudia wears her lucky earrings, which are made of fake emeralds and diamonds. They sounded amazing to me as a kid, and amazing to me as an adult.
As a kid I did not understand why the triplets were being punished for not tattling on each other, especially when it turned out that no one person was at fault. This seemed unspeakably unfair to me, and as an adult it still sounds like something the ACLU would get up in arms about. I thought the Pikes were so casual with their parenting, but this book proves me wrong.
Mary Anne was something else that bothered me about this book. She seemed much too cautious and sensitive. Mary Anne is a passive aggressive, manipulative person a lot of the time (especially when she cries just to get attention, or to take the focus of difficult situations of herself) but she seemed prissy and judgemental in this book as well. The first thing she does when she hears Claudia's story is to say "Well, if you did it, you should confess." And then she cries when the other baby sitters are angry at her for not believing that her close friend of thirteen years would cheat. And then she acts so self-righteous about not gossiping because "it's mean," although she seemed pretty mean when she told Claudia she should confess to cheating. Are you kidding me, Mary Anne?
Dawn coming up with the idea to break into Shawna's locker. I thought this was somewhat sinister, especially since it wouldn't be the first thing I thought about doing. Also I never understood why 1) it was considered a good idea to go into someone's locker without permission to get evidence they were cheating. I mean, obviously you can't use the evidence, and 2) why, after have gone to the risk of breaking into Shawna's locker and finding an incriminating note, wouldn't you tell the principal you found the note on the ground outside Shawna's locker? Dawn could have "found" the note on the ground, and assumed it was hers since her locker is next to Shawna's, and read it, then realized what it was and turned it into the principal. This made a lot of sense to me as a kid, although as an adult I can see problems with this scenario too.
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
This book confused me to no end as an adult. I don't understand why Mr Zorzi passed out the tests to the entire class, went over the tests with both Claudia and Shawna listening (and presumably not calling on either of them to explain their answers) and then accuses both girls of cheating. What makes me nuts is that the first thing Mr Zorzi does is point out a problem both girls got wrong, and Claudia immediately sees what she did wrong. She corrects herself as she looks at the test (although since he went over the test earlier she could have been repeating something she heard, or overheard) and Mr Zorzi doesn't say, "Wow, she seems to know what she's talking about. She's speaking up with a possible solution, but the other girl is just nodding along. Maybe Claudia didn't cheat." Instead he brushes over this, and tells the girls that one of them must have cheated. And then, since Shawna speaks up first he believes her over Claudia, and dismisses her, instead of asking BOTH girls more questions. If both girls say they didn't cheat, why not send both of them to the principal, possibly with the recommendation that both girls take the test again, in separate rooms? Why would you tell Claudia that she must have been the one to cheat because she always has such bad grades, and then act like the whole thing is over? If Janine hadn't pushed for Claudia to retake the test would Claudia just be known as "the girl who cheats"? I guess you could give Mr Zorzi a break by saying that he was a long-term substitute, and not equipped to deal with something as serious as cheating.
I like to think that if it really looked like Claudia would take a zero for her big test that her parents would have stepped in, and talked to the school. They want to do it as soon as they hear about it, but for some reason Claudia doesn't want them to because "if they got involved, things might become even worse." Worse how? I don't understand this. And for some equally baffling reason, instead of saying to Claudia, "No, we're the parents, we're going to straighten this out whether you want us to or not," her parents just say, "ok." I hope that their plan was to give her a few days to try to fix things herself, and then take over the situation if she couldn't do anything. I can't imagine that the high-expectation Kishis would take an accusation of cheating lying down.
Shawna's plan to copy Claudia because she knows Claudia gets bad grades, and because she knows Janine, Claudia's smart sister is helping her study shows way too much planning to make it a minor problem. As a kid I was horrified that Shawna was suspended for cheating, but knowing what I know now about cheating policies at universities and colleges, and taking into account the fact that she planned the whole thing, and set Claudia up to take the fall, I wonder if Shawna got off easy. Maybe she should have been expelled.
I sympathized with Claudia, when she was exhausted at the end of her day of pretending she didn't care about being accused of cheating. I am exhausted at the end of most days because I have to work so hard to pretend I care about our patrons and their petty problems.
I was impressed with Mr Zorzi's apology. I think a lot of adults have trouble apologizing to kids, especially teens, especially teens that they are supposed to be in charge of. The fact that he admitted he learned a lesson from the experience really hit the point home that he was truly sorry. And instead of being angry and holding it against him Claudia accepts his apology. If only people were always so gracious to each other.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
The thing that I really remember about this book is that Janine doesn't "talk smart" like she usually does in her books. There are some books when her vocabulary is ridiculous, and some books where it's more toned down, but for some reason, I really noticed how normal Janine sounded in this book.
Claudia dressing as Ms Frizzle. It's something I never had the nerve to do in middle or high school, but now that I work in a library I often dress based around a theme. ("Genetically modified mermaid hiding in a cave" is my favorite one so far, but I also like "Demented princess locked in a tower".) Also, Claudia wears her lucky earrings, which are made of fake emeralds and diamonds. They sounded amazing to me as a kid, and amazing to me as an adult.
As a kid I did not understand why the triplets were being punished for not tattling on each other, especially when it turned out that no one person was at fault. This seemed unspeakably unfair to me, and as an adult it still sounds like something the ACLU would get up in arms about. I thought the Pikes were so casual with their parenting, but this book proves me wrong.
Mary Anne was something else that bothered me about this book. She seemed much too cautious and sensitive. Mary Anne is a passive aggressive, manipulative person a lot of the time (especially when she cries just to get attention, or to take the focus of difficult situations of herself) but she seemed prissy and judgemental in this book as well. The first thing she does when she hears Claudia's story is to say "Well, if you did it, you should confess." And then she cries when the other baby sitters are angry at her for not believing that her close friend of thirteen years would cheat. And then she acts so self-righteous about not gossiping because "it's mean," although she seemed pretty mean when she told Claudia she should confess to cheating. Are you kidding me, Mary Anne?
Dawn coming up with the idea to break into Shawna's locker. I thought this was somewhat sinister, especially since it wouldn't be the first thing I thought about doing. Also I never understood why 1) it was considered a good idea to go into someone's locker without permission to get evidence they were cheating. I mean, obviously you can't use the evidence, and 2) why, after have gone to the risk of breaking into Shawna's locker and finding an incriminating note, wouldn't you tell the principal you found the note on the ground outside Shawna's locker? Dawn could have "found" the note on the ground, and assumed it was hers since her locker is next to Shawna's, and read it, then realized what it was and turned it into the principal. This made a lot of sense to me as a kid, although as an adult I can see problems with this scenario too.
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
This book confused me to no end as an adult. I don't understand why Mr Zorzi passed out the tests to the entire class, went over the tests with both Claudia and Shawna listening (and presumably not calling on either of them to explain their answers) and then accuses both girls of cheating. What makes me nuts is that the first thing Mr Zorzi does is point out a problem both girls got wrong, and Claudia immediately sees what she did wrong. She corrects herself as she looks at the test (although since he went over the test earlier she could have been repeating something she heard, or overheard) and Mr Zorzi doesn't say, "Wow, she seems to know what she's talking about. She's speaking up with a possible solution, but the other girl is just nodding along. Maybe Claudia didn't cheat." Instead he brushes over this, and tells the girls that one of them must have cheated. And then, since Shawna speaks up first he believes her over Claudia, and dismisses her, instead of asking BOTH girls more questions. If both girls say they didn't cheat, why not send both of them to the principal, possibly with the recommendation that both girls take the test again, in separate rooms? Why would you tell Claudia that she must have been the one to cheat because she always has such bad grades, and then act like the whole thing is over? If Janine hadn't pushed for Claudia to retake the test would Claudia just be known as "the girl who cheats"? I guess you could give Mr Zorzi a break by saying that he was a long-term substitute, and not equipped to deal with something as serious as cheating.
I like to think that if it really looked like Claudia would take a zero for her big test that her parents would have stepped in, and talked to the school. They want to do it as soon as they hear about it, but for some reason Claudia doesn't want them to because "if they got involved, things might become even worse." Worse how? I don't understand this. And for some equally baffling reason, instead of saying to Claudia, "No, we're the parents, we're going to straighten this out whether you want us to or not," her parents just say, "ok." I hope that their plan was to give her a few days to try to fix things herself, and then take over the situation if she couldn't do anything. I can't imagine that the high-expectation Kishis would take an accusation of cheating lying down.
Shawna's plan to copy Claudia because she knows Claudia gets bad grades, and because she knows Janine, Claudia's smart sister is helping her study shows way too much planning to make it a minor problem. As a kid I was horrified that Shawna was suspended for cheating, but knowing what I know now about cheating policies at universities and colleges, and taking into account the fact that she planned the whole thing, and set Claudia up to take the fall, I wonder if Shawna got off easy. Maybe she should have been expelled.
I sympathized with Claudia, when she was exhausted at the end of her day of pretending she didn't care about being accused of cheating. I am exhausted at the end of most days because I have to work so hard to pretend I care about our patrons and their petty problems.
I was impressed with Mr Zorzi's apology. I think a lot of adults have trouble apologizing to kids, especially teens, especially teens that they are supposed to be in charge of. The fact that he admitted he learned a lesson from the experience really hit the point home that he was truly sorry. And instead of being angry and holding it against him Claudia accepts his apology. If only people were always so gracious to each other.
August 28, 2022
Cute story - Claudia studies really hard for a math test and gets an A but is suspected of cheating because another girl also has the same exact answers. Pretty silly how she is the one they assume cheated because she usually gets bad grades and that it takes her sister going to the principal and telling them she really does know this material. Then they decide to give them the test again - after poor Claudia is subjected to days of stress (duh). Of course Claudia gets another A and the other girl panics and admits to cheating. The majority of the book is all the girls rallying around Claudia and trying to prove this other girl cheated - entertaining. There is also a good amount of babysitting stories in there as well - especially with the Pikes - which is also entertaining.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2019
As always mentioned in some BSC Books, Claudia Kishi, the narrator of the said book, doesn't like school. In The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and the Middle School Mystery, her substitute math teacher is having a math test the next day, so the vice president of The Baby-Sitters Club is doing a hard time reviewing for tomorrow with the help of her genius big sister, Janine instead of hiding and eating junk food, doing art projects or reading Nancy Drew books.
The next day, Claudia is taking a math test until she passes it to her math teacher, and when he checks the papers, she has the same A- score with Shawna Riverson. He thought that Claudia was absolutely cheating with her but she was innocent, but he was planning to tell the issue to the principal. If she cheated, then she's going to quit the club and having a bad grade.
With the help of the BSC members, they are going to solve the situation regarding to Shawna.
(Spoilers)
The principal and the math teacher decided to let Claudia Kishi take the math exams again as an evidence to show that she didn't cheat. As she gives her paper to her math teacher (who is also a coach for the boys' basketball team), he said:
"Taking a test is like playing a game. You can either win the game, or you can lose it. If you lose, it just means you need more practice."
Claudia won the game against Shawna. She accused the test without cheating and passed. For Shawna, she is very guilty on herself because she copied Claudia's Paper. She even got a penalty. Claudia felt she felt like Nancy Drew.
That afternoon, the BSC Members and the Kishi family surprised Claudia for a job well done on the mystery, and for the math test. She was very proud of herself and thanked everyone.
---
I was very inspired on this story because of Claudia's math test evidence in Stoneybrook Middle School. She didn't said about Shawna, whom I believe she was sitting very near to her. Claudia wanted to excel her studies like her big sister did. Even if you didn't cheat on the following exam or quiz, make sure you can review harder, and always remember that practice makes perfect and you'll succeed at any time. Recently I passed 23/25 on a 21st Century Literature quiz and I'm really proud of myself just like Claudia at the end. I didn't cheat either, but I'll do my best for my studies.
I'll rate this book 4/5 stars.
The next day, Claudia is taking a math test until she passes it to her math teacher, and when he checks the papers, she has the same A- score with Shawna Riverson. He thought that Claudia was absolutely cheating with her but she was innocent, but he was planning to tell the issue to the principal. If she cheated, then she's going to quit the club and having a bad grade.
With the help of the BSC members, they are going to solve the situation regarding to Shawna.
(Spoilers)
The principal and the math teacher decided to let Claudia Kishi take the math exams again as an evidence to show that she didn't cheat. As she gives her paper to her math teacher (who is also a coach for the boys' basketball team), he said:
"Taking a test is like playing a game. You can either win the game, or you can lose it. If you lose, it just means you need more practice."
Claudia won the game against Shawna. She accused the test without cheating and passed. For Shawna, she is very guilty on herself because she copied Claudia's Paper. She even got a penalty. Claudia felt she felt like Nancy Drew.
That afternoon, the BSC Members and the Kishi family surprised Claudia for a job well done on the mystery, and for the math test. She was very proud of herself and thanked everyone.
---
I was very inspired on this story because of Claudia's math test evidence in Stoneybrook Middle School. She didn't said about Shawna, whom I believe she was sitting very near to her. Claudia wanted to excel her studies like her big sister did. Even if you didn't cheat on the following exam or quiz, make sure you can review harder, and always remember that practice makes perfect and you'll succeed at any time. Recently I passed 23/25 on a 21st Century Literature quiz and I'm really proud of myself just like Claudia at the end. I didn't cheat either, but I'll do my best for my studies.
I'll rate this book 4/5 stars.
April 24, 2013
This title doesn't make any sense. Claudia is accused of cheating on a math test, but she knows immediately who the culprit is. There is no mystery. It should be called "Claudia & The Cheater" or "Did Claudia Cheat?" or something. Alright, time for Claudia's big math test. She has a minor freak out at first, but then realizes she knows this stuff and flies thru it. After school, she pulls out snacks for the BSC meeting: M&M's & Fritos for the normals and whole-wheat crackers for the healthnuts. No drink for either? They're not going to be able to answer the phone with a mouth full of dry crackers. The next day, she gets her math test back and ZOMG, gets a 94! That's an A-. Honestly, I would have suspected her of cheating too. The teacher calls up Claudia and another girl, Shawna Riverson, after class and has them compare their tests. They are exactly the same, both getting the wrong answers in the same way. Seriously, Shawna, have you never cheated before? You gotta change up some of the answers! (Not that I ever cheated, nope not me, never.)
Alright, time for Claudia's big math test. She has a minor freak out at first, but then realizes she knows this stuff and flies thru it. After school, she pulls out snacks for the BSC meeting: M&M's & Fritos for the normals and whole-wheat crackers for the healthnuts. No drink for either? They're not going to be able to answer the phone with a mouth full of dry crackers. The next day, she gets her math test back and ZOMG, gets a 94! That's an A-. Honestly, I would have suspected her of cheating too. The teacher calls up Claudia and another girl, Shawna Riverson, after class and has them compare their tests. They are exactly the same, both getting the wrong answers in the same way. Seriously, Shawna, have you never cheated before? You gotta change up some of the answers! (Not that I ever cheated, nope not me, never.)Read my full, super long review here! Plus with pics of Claudia's Ms Frizzle outfit!
Alright, time for Claudia's big math test. She has a minor freak out at first, but then realizes she knows this stuff and flies thru it. After school, she pulls out snacks for the BSC meeting: M&M's & Fritos for the normals and whole-wheat crackers for the healthnuts. No drink for either? They're not going to be able to answer the phone with a mouth full of dry crackers. The next day, she gets her math test back and ZOMG, gets a 94! That's an A-. Honestly, I would have suspected her of cheating too. The teacher calls up Claudia and another girl, Shawna Riverson, after class and has them compare their tests. They are exactly the same, both getting the wrong answers in the same way. Seriously, Shawna, have you never cheated before? You gotta change up some of the answers! (Not that I ever cheated, nope not me, never.)Read my full, super long review here! Plus with pics of Claudia's Ms Frizzle outfit!
April 21, 2023
Ok I definitely hope Janine Kishi grows up to be some sort of advocate or activist for people who have experienced assault/ abuse. She is just a really solid character, I really love her. There's a lot of great stuff in this book about solidarity, and a lot of ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE stuff by adults in terms of punitive, retributive mentalities, negative reinforcement, and heavy- handed police state actions. First of all, the principal says that "innocent until proven guilty is the basis of our criminal justice system." But then he and the teacher proceeed to make Claudia retake the test... to prove her innocence. Realistic, maybe, in terms of how our criminal "justice" system actually works, but a terrible message to give to kids. What they really should have done would have been to speak to both Claudia and Shawna initially, but give them both the benefit of the doubt, then separate them for the NEXT test (without telling them beforehand), and see what happens. Also, the Pikes punishing all 3 triplets to try to get them to rat each other out? How very Soviet. They should have just said, "fine, then all 3 of you pay for this percentage of the cost of a new window." The kids can either continue share the cost of their mistakes, or choose not to bear the costs of things they didn't do, but it's their choice, and the parents aren't punishing them for not turning each other in. Overall, there was A LOT going on in this book. And it definitely gave me some real stress as Claudia was consistently not believed by the adults.
September 6, 2016
I have a vague recollection of the sub-plot about the Pike triplets breaking the basement window and refusing to tell their parents which one broke it, but I didn't remember anything else about this story so I'm thinking the sub-plot must have been referenced in a later book. Either way, I'm marking this as a new read for 2013.
I enjoyed seeing Claudia as someone who needs to work hard to get good grades, rather than someone who is genuinely stupid. Sometimes her struggles with school make her caricatured, but here she gets an A- on a maths test when she really applies herself, and I appreciated seeing this side of her. It was also nice seeing her relationship with her older sister, and the fact that Janine helps Claudia with her problems, even if they don't have a lot in common.
The whole story felt very real, and it reminded me of why I enjoy these books so much. The girls do silly things like spying on Shawna (who they think cheated off Claudia's test) and breaking into her locker to find evidence--before realising that neither of those things are going to help Claud. But they're acting like 13-year-old girls who read too much Nancy Drew, and that's what makes it so endearing.
I think this is a book that will be very relatable to any kid who has had to try really hard to pass a certain class at school, or who has been falsely accused of something by a teacher. I know I've been in both of those positions, so this book definitely struck a chord with me.
I enjoyed seeing Claudia as someone who needs to work hard to get good grades, rather than someone who is genuinely stupid. Sometimes her struggles with school make her caricatured, but here she gets an A- on a maths test when she really applies herself, and I appreciated seeing this side of her. It was also nice seeing her relationship with her older sister, and the fact that Janine helps Claudia with her problems, even if they don't have a lot in common.
The whole story felt very real, and it reminded me of why I enjoy these books so much. The girls do silly things like spying on Shawna (who they think cheated off Claudia's test) and breaking into her locker to find evidence--before realising that neither of those things are going to help Claud. But they're acting like 13-year-old girls who read too much Nancy Drew, and that's what makes it so endearing.
I think this is a book that will be very relatable to any kid who has had to try really hard to pass a certain class at school, or who has been falsely accused of something by a teacher. I know I've been in both of those positions, so this book definitely struck a chord with me.
April 23, 2013
Always hated mysteries, but I was glad to see that this one wasn't really a traditional mystery. As in, no one thinks there's a ghost or a burglar somewhere stupid. However, the mysteries involved--who broke the window at the Pikes' house, and how Claudia got blamed for cheating when she didn't cheat--are extremely contrived. Of course there's some silly explanation for why none of the accused triplets are actually fully responsible for the broken window. And of course the girl who got the same grade and the same problems wrong as Claudia somehow planned ahead of time to cheat off Claudia and left a string of evidence. What really kinda sucked about this book is that even though plenty of people knew that Claudia's older sister--Janine the genius--helped her study for the math test, no one seemed to take this into account when considering whether she might have cheated--her parents disbelieved her, her teachers disbelieved her, and even her friends disbelieved her, yet some jerk girl in her class had enough faith in her sister's tutoring abilities to conspire to cheat off her. Okay.
July 12, 2014
Claudia studies really hard and does well on a math test, but instead of being rewarded for her efforts, she's accused of cheating. What does all this have to do with another girl in her class who got the same problems wrong? And why don't any of Claudia's friends believe that she didn't cheat on the test?
Claudia's not known for her intellectual abilities, so it's not surprising that people would be shocked if she had a sudden good grade. However, everyone in her family and friend group knew she was buckling down and getting math tutoring from her older sister, Janine the genius. So it seems weird that they didn't believe her. What's especially suspicious is that a girl in Claudia's class who decided to cheat off HER had the foresight to know Claudia's grade would be good because of Janine. Seems like everybody ignored all the evidence on purpose just to make a controversy possible for the story.
Claudia's not known for her intellectual abilities, so it's not surprising that people would be shocked if she had a sudden good grade. However, everyone in her family and friend group knew she was buckling down and getting math tutoring from her older sister, Janine the genius. So it seems weird that they didn't believe her. What's especially suspicious is that a girl in Claudia's class who decided to cheat off HER had the foresight to know Claudia's grade would be good because of Janine. Seems like everybody ignored all the evidence on purpose just to make a controversy possible for the story.
July 10, 2019
I love when Claudia and Janine get along, and I wish it happened more often in these books.
November 9, 2021
Someone should write a Janine spinoff series
September 22, 2023
I know this is a picky thing to care about, but I really don't like the title of this one.
There is no "mystery" here at all. We know Claudia didn't cheat on her test, and we know the girl next to her, Shawna, did cheat off of Claudia. I suppose the "mystery" at first could be why a good student would cheat off a mediocre one, but we learn that answer really quickly (she'd been to busy with other work and activities to study and had heard Claudia talking about getting tutored by her genius older sister). It should have been called "Claudia and the Cheater" or something. I will die on this hill.
But anyway! I actually really liked this one, because I appreciate the message of it a lot. Just because Claudia -- or any kid -- isn't a great student doesn't mean she's unintelligent and can't learn. She studied hard for the math test with her sister's help, and she got a good grade, but when her teacher noticed that Claudia and Shawna had the same wrong answers, he assumed immediately it was Claudia who had cheated because she wasn't as good a student as Shawna. I'm sure a lot of teachers get in these mental ruts about certain students and that can be really toxic for a kid who is struggling and probably has negative thoughts about themselves and their abilities because of it. So I liked that this shows that you can't judge a kid's aptitude by how they do on tests or how quickly or slowly they pick things up.
I also liked how the BSC girls all banded together to come up with ways they could prove Claudia's innocence. Some of their ideas were a little silly, but then, they're (permanent) middle-schoolers. I liked that Claudia realized a couple of the ideas weren't appropriate and changed her mind, and I also liked that her sister stepped in to help when she realized she could use her high regard with the teachers in Claudia's favor.
So yeah, a good message and good resourcefulness in this one. Just with a very bad and exaggerated title.
There is no "mystery" here at all. We know Claudia didn't cheat on her test, and we know the girl next to her, Shawna, did cheat off of Claudia. I suppose the "mystery" at first could be why a good student would cheat off a mediocre one, but we learn that answer really quickly (she'd been to busy with other work and activities to study and had heard Claudia talking about getting tutored by her genius older sister). It should have been called "Claudia and the Cheater" or something. I will die on this hill.
But anyway! I actually really liked this one, because I appreciate the message of it a lot. Just because Claudia -- or any kid -- isn't a great student doesn't mean she's unintelligent and can't learn. She studied hard for the math test with her sister's help, and she got a good grade, but when her teacher noticed that Claudia and Shawna had the same wrong answers, he assumed immediately it was Claudia who had cheated because she wasn't as good a student as Shawna. I'm sure a lot of teachers get in these mental ruts about certain students and that can be really toxic for a kid who is struggling and probably has negative thoughts about themselves and their abilities because of it. So I liked that this shows that you can't judge a kid's aptitude by how they do on tests or how quickly or slowly they pick things up.
I also liked how the BSC girls all banded together to come up with ways they could prove Claudia's innocence. Some of their ideas were a little silly, but then, they're (permanent) middle-schoolers. I liked that Claudia realized a couple of the ideas weren't appropriate and changed her mind, and I also liked that her sister stepped in to help when she realized she could use her high regard with the teachers in Claudia's favor.
So yeah, a good message and good resourcefulness in this one. Just with a very bad and exaggerated title.
January 4, 2020
Uh oh! Claudia is being accused of cheating on a math test! The only thing is....she didn’t. She earned that A fair and square. She studied with her sister for weeks so she could learn the material. A girl named Shawna missed the exact same questions and if Claudia didn’t cheat..that means that Shawna is the culprit. But Shawna is usually smart, she usually makes good grades. Why would she cheat? And why is she blaming Claudia for cheating if Claudia isn’t the one who did it? Claudias teacher doesn’t believe claud when she says she wasn’t the cheater. This isn’t fair, how can she prove she is the one in the right?
November 12, 2020
(LL)
This book does a great job tackling: cheating, the benefits of studying, and standing up for yourself.
One issue I had was Claudia just so conveniently overheard Shawna and her friends still talking about the test days later right when she walked into the bathroom? No one would be casually mentioning cheating on a test in a bathroom where anyone could walk in and hear them.
I know people say the teacher’s reaction was unrealistically, however, if he made them retake the test there wouldn’t be a story because the book would be like 20 pages long, so in this case it’s fine that it’s not all that realistic.
This book does a great job tackling: cheating, the benefits of studying, and standing up for yourself.
One issue I had was Claudia just so conveniently overheard Shawna and her friends still talking about the test days later right when she walked into the bathroom? No one would be casually mentioning cheating on a test in a bathroom where anyone could walk in and hear them.
I know people say the teacher’s reaction was unrealistically, however, if he made them retake the test there wouldn’t be a story because the book would be like 20 pages long, so in this case it’s fine that it’s not all that realistic.
March 10, 2025
I can completely relate to Claudia, she might even be my favorite BBSC character. I was always rubbish at school, bottom level of the class, they even gave me tutoring to help me catch up to the others in maths. I was so bad my Dad used to get frustrated with me and my teachers thought I wasn't trying and always used to tell me to ask for help. The trouble was I didn't always know that I needed help because I thought I understood the material when I really didn't. Like Claudia I needed soneone extremely patient to help me, at least she had her sister, I didn't have anyone. Another thing we have in common is that we both love art and don't care about dressing to impress others.
Read
July 29, 2020As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
December 21, 2025
This one was both infuriating and good at the same time, because the way Claudia's teacher assumes she cheated just because the other girl happened to speak up first is insane. I'm surprised no one suggested earlier, but regardless. Janine really makes this story, and I love how we've seen her become a more well-rounded character than just a know-it-all sister.
March 5, 2023
When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
November 1, 2023
I feel sorry for Claudia in this book. Janine helped her study for an upcoming math test, and she does really well, but the teacher called her and another student over and said they cheated and Claudia is put on the spot. Her parents weren’t supportive but Janine was and even told the principal to give her a re test to prove she knew the material
December 10, 2024
Martin Mission #73
BSC #40
Fortieth BSC title sees very little child minding and a real sense of injustice with dopey teacher not investigating a cheating scandal but accusing someone with zero evidence.
Any parent worth anything would be down there demanding answers, and the idiot teacher should have been fired.
All was resolved of course but it does not excuse the ridiculous behaviour.
BSC #40
Fortieth BSC title sees very little child minding and a real sense of injustice with dopey teacher not investigating a cheating scandal but accusing someone with zero evidence.
Any parent worth anything would be down there demanding answers, and the idiot teacher should have been fired.
All was resolved of course but it does not excuse the ridiculous behaviour.
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