Front Cover: There are some troubles even the best baby-sitter can't fix.
Back Cover: Getting to know new kids and their families is one of the best parts of baby-sitting. So when Claudia goes to sit for the Nicholls kids, she's excited. Only something's not quite right at the Nicholls house. Joey and Nate are sweet, but they don't seem very happy. In fact, they seem... scared. Of their own father. Claudia thinks he's hurting them. But saying or doing the wrong thing will only make matters worse. And what if she's mistaken?
One thing is certain: Claudia needs to find out what's really going on. And if she's right, she needs to get help - fast.Okay, so I was planning on reading these books in order. At least, as much as I could. But when I found this in the used bookstore the other day, I couldn't help but start reading it on the bus ride home. I totally devoured it.
I only read it once before (I borrowed it from a friend who had THE ENTIRE FREAKING SERIES OMG), but I remember really liking it. I still look back fondly on it. I tend to really like the SERIOUS ISSUES books in the series.
So in this one, Claudia gets new charges who she thinks are being abused. It's all circumstantial, but it's pretty much all the signs people generally look out for. Claudia waits for ever before telling someone about it, but when she does, everything pretty much escalates and just happens.
I'm glad Claudia told her mom. I like seeing Claudia interact with her family more. She always acts like they're made of ice or something. It was nice seeing her realize how lovely her mother is. I always felt like Claudia's perceptions of her family were horribly skewed.
This book really makes me miss the California Diaries series. I feel like they would've handled this issue much better. Essentially this book takes place in the span of a month. In one month, they meet a new family, realize there's something wrong, convinces Mrs Nicholls to take the boys and run, and then they're out of there. Diaries would've probably introduced the family in an earlier book, and then the issue would've been the focus of one book, with the main conflict happening over the course of a month, and then they'd probably do some follow-up stuffs in a later book.I'm pretty sure the Nicholls never ever ever get mentioned again.
What I especially hate is how unrealistic it is. In reality, it would've probably taken another month (at least!) of prompting for Mrs Nicholls to admit that there's a problem, let alone for her to actually do something about it. And of course, there's no mention of all the times escaping tries to fail. I also would've loved to have seen Mr Nicholls harrass Claudia and her family more about it.
The subplot in this one is that St Patrick's Day is coming up, and the charges of course want to be in the parade. This sounds like the dumbest thing ever, but of course the BSC is full of saints, so they help the kids come up with an "Irish dancing" act and costumes and walk diligently beside them as the parade goes down main street. Baby-sitting is neither cool nor uncool; it's a way to make money and nothing to be ashamed of. Walking in a parade while your charges do a dumb, unrehearsed, poor planned, slapped-together act in front of everyone? Embarrassing haha
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