This one was ok. I think the babysitters acted super immature and selfishly by not giving Claudia time to focus on her art goals. Ashley reminded me of one of the kids' friends who will remain nameless... Haha! ( )

the best bsc, hands down ( )

00002377

In the continuing baby sitting saga, a new girl moves to town who enthralls Claudia. She dresses like a hippie, has six earrings, and is a wonderful artist. At first, Claudia thinks the reserved Ashley doesn't like her. They discover that they both like art, though, and meet up in art class, and slowly begin a friendship that takes over Claudia's life. Ashley praises her art work, and encourages Claudia to branch out in her artistic endeavors. Claudia has never before had a person with a strong background in art single her out as skilled, and she is flattered. She is also excited that she has someone who wants to go to art shows with her, who relates to her view of the world, and who can turn ordinary trips into visual feasts of artistic inspiration.

The only problem is that Ashley loves art too much. Art is all she thinks about, and she thinks that Claudia should devote herself, too, and stop indulging frivolous past times, like babysitting. Claudia doesn't agree, but she feels guilty and childish next to Ashley. When Ashley invites her on outings Claudia gladly accepts, and when Ashley manages to extend the time so that Claudia has to miss her club meetings, Claudia just calls Dawn and has her substitute in her place as vice president. After missing over a week's worth of meetings, the other babysitters have had enough. They demand to know if Claudia wants to leave the club, and leave mean notes hidden in her room. Claudia is mad, but confused too, because she is starting to feel like Ashley wants her to be someone other than herself. She likes embracing her art, but she doesn't want to hurt her friends. She eventually realizes that art is just one facet of herself, and she doesn't want to lose the other pieces, especially her friends. She sets about straightening out her relationship with Ashley, fixing her problems with her friends, and working on a project she chose (instead of Ashley) for the upcoming art show.

This is the first book in the series that dwells heavily on art, and I enjoyed seeing Claudia's skills explored, as opposed to her weaknesses. Ashley was an interesting character, but too one-sided. At the end, she expresses her first traces of emotion, and it would have been interesting to find out why she only cared about people if they were good artists. Claudia's friends disappointed me, too; they lost patience with Claudia so quickly, and were ready to end their friendship and kick her out of the club without even talking to her. On the other hand, they are middle school girls, so this immaturity is not totally out of character. Other than those two criticisms, I enjoyed the story. I know what to expect from these books before I read them and they don't disappoint. ( )

I love the BSC and I just miss it so much when I'm not reading the series. This was a good installment with a realistic conclusion. The books always have a lesson to share but the lovable group of girls and the babysitting adventures save them from being preachy. I'm glad the issue of having friends who don't understand your talent or passion but encourage you anyway was addressed - true friends love you for yourself, not for a common interest (that's a bonus). There's some good character development for Claudia here also who's much more responsible in this than in previous books. Great novel and a quick read. ( )