The one where Claudia's bad grades in school finally catch up to her...and so starts a dark time in the 'Brook...
So once again, we are in October of 8th grade, one that is falling in the post-Dawn Abby era. Claudia is struggling with math (and science, and English...etc). She is trying to figure out her protractor ("it had such a friendly rainbow shape, but it wasn't friendly at all"). To be fair to Claud, even though I did fairly well in math, I don't think I could tell you how to use a protractor now. Fortunately, Stacey calls to gossip about the Halloween dance (no, not that one), so Claudia can forget about her homework woes. Stacey asks Claudia about her costume for the dance, and they gossip merrily along for several minutes. However, all good things must come to an end, and Claudia attempts to figure out her homework again. In the meantime, she tells us (or thinks to herself, whatever) that she has been tested for a learning disability, but the results were normal, in fact, she actually had a pretty high IQ (just not the 196 of Janine the Genius). I think her problems in school would have been more believable if she had dyslexia or something.
The next day in class, her math teacher, Mr. Schubert (what happened to Mr. Zorzi?), gives a quiz on the material, and Claudia feels completely confused. The students have to pass their quizzes to the next student on the right to be graded (what?!? I remember doing this once or twice on a vocab test in 6th grade, but a math quiz? Just seems more like something the teacher would want to grade to be able to accurately judge the progress of the his/her students. I'm not buying this, AMM). Anyway, Claudia gets, like, a 45 or something, and Mr. Schubert suggests that she gets a tutor. The Kishis find a friend of Janine's, a girl named Rosa, to help Claudia with her schoolwork, and Claudia starts to understand math with Rosa's help.
Meanwhile, in art class, Claudia sees a flyer announcing that Serena McKay, one of the most renowned artists in the country, is teaching a "master class for accomplished amateur artists" at Stoneybrook Community College. Wow, it seems the 'Brook is a mecca for the cultural elite, think about it: Hollywood directors, best-selling authors, and now a famous artist. The class is only open for 15 students, and you have to submit a portfolio to be considered. Claudia submits her work, and gets accepted to the class, which will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm (gotta love how these special classes/lessons to which these girls get accepted never interfere with the BSC meetings...). Claudia shows up for her first class, and she discovers that she is the youngest person accepted, that everyone else is either in college or an adult. However, the more the teacher and other students praise her work, the more confident Claudia feels that she deserves to be there, and she looks forward to the art show at the end of the class.
It turns out that art class is the only bright spot for Claudia, though. Even though she understands the material when she is working with Rosa, she still feels helplessly lost whenever she is at school. When she gets a 58 on her next math test, the principal (good old Mr. Kingbridge) calls Claudia and her parents in for a meeting. At the meeting, Mr. Kingbridge informs the Kishis that they believe that Claudia is struggling too much with her 8th grade curriculum, and have decided that she needs to repeat the 7th grade. Effective Monday. What the...? Is that even legal? I mean, would a school force a kid back to a previous grade in the middle of the school year? I've never heard of that happening, it seems more likely that they would just let her flunk out and repeat the same year (in this case, 8th grade) over the next school year. Would they really make her repeat a grade she has already passed? Isn't that what remedial classes are for? This just seems really asinine, AMM, not buying it at all. Anyway, somehow the Kishis don't threaten to sue the Board of Education and instead accept this as the only option available. Understandably, Claudia has a meltdown at the BSC meeting that afternoon. To give the girls credit, they assure Claud that this changes nothing and they will stand by her regardless (of course, they don't want to risk losing their club headquarters, either. Yes, that's me being snarky and mean...).
On Sunday night Claudia has a nightmare that she goes to school and is invisible to Stacey, the teachers, and all of the students, because she is no longer in 8th grade. She feels really lonely on Monday, and has no one to sit with at lunch (remember, SMS does a separate lunch period for each grade). Ok, I get missing your friends, but I don't buy her not knowing a single person in 7th grade. She grew up in Stoneybrook, and has been in the same school system the entire time, so I'm pretty sure she would know several people both in 7th grade and 9th grade, at least well enough to join for lunch. Plus she has an older sister, so I'm betting that she should know several people in Janine's year, too (I speak from the experience of being in the same school system from kindergarten to 12th grade, plus having a brother who is two years older, this just makes no sense that Claudia would not know a single soul in 7th grade). But this is Stoneybrook, enough said. The next day, Claudia has her first 7th grade math test, and finds that she actually remembers most of this from last year. When she gets her test back, she sees a 96 on top of it. Plus, she realizes that several of the 7th grade girls are wearing their hair in the exact same style that Claudia did the day before. When lunchtime hits, Claudia sits down at the same table, but immediately several girls come over and sit with her. Apparently, instead of there being a stigma attached to the older girl who was forced to repeat a grade, Claudia is seen as the cool, stylish, more mature teenager with whom everyone wants to hang out. Umm....Mallory got bullied for her dad losing his job, but Claudia is a celebrity for flunking? Weird...
After her ego boost at lunch, Claudia is actually starting to enjoy 7th grade and feels better about the situation. However, she spots one of flyers in the hall about the upcoming 8th grade Halloween Hop, and all of a sudden, she has a moment of panic. She rushes to Mr. Kingbridge's office and asks if she can still attend the dance, but he tells her that 7th graders aren't allowed, and it would set a bad precedent for others if he let her go. Ok, when the Claudia was in 7th grade for the first time, she attended the Halloween Hop, so I'm not sure what has changed over the summer. Plus, Mallory and Jessi regularly attend every other dance, the Winter Wonderland dance, the Valentine's dance, so not sure why the Halloween dance is all of a sudden restricted to 8th graders. I guess we just needed the drama for Claud for this one book. So, Claudia is back to hating 7th grade, and when she goes to the afternoon Halloween festivities for the 6th and 7th graders, that involves games and bobbing for apples, she refuses to wear a costume and refers to the other kids there as immature brats (and she makes this comment to Jessi and Mal, so that would have been a fun reaction to see). Plus, since she is not going to the dance that night, she joins Jessi and Mallory in taking several of the neighborhood kids trick or treating, and again, she refuses to wear a costume. In fact, she gets so depressed over this, she even chooses not to tell her family or friends about the art show that weekend.
Anyone else feeling some "Arrested Development" sad, Snoopy walks here?
Claudia drags herself to the art show, where she finds out her piece won first place. Serena McKay pulls Claudia aside to find out what's wrong, and after Claudia confesses her troubles, Serena confesses her own secret - she, too, was held back two years in high school, but managed to work hard and found her strength in her art. Claudia feels better, and invites her family and friends to come to the art exhibit the next night. Plus, she joins her friends at a Halloween party at the children's wing of the Stoneybrook Hospital, where Jackie Rodowsky had been laid up with a concussion. The BSC had organized a Hospital Buddies program, where the neighborhood kids could send letters and cards to kids in the hospital. Which I'm pretty sure is never mentioned again. I guess we needed a feel-good subplot to balance out Claudia's story.
Halloween Costumes:
Kristy - Big Bad Wolf
Mary Anne - Little Red Riding Hood (last time Halloween rolled around in 8th grade, she was a cat.)
Stacey - 1920s flapper
Claudia #1 (original 8th grade dance outfit) - punk look, with her uncle's black leather jacket, torn fishnets, big black Doc Martens, a spandex miniskirt, and fake nose ring
Claudia #2, Hospital Buddies Halloween: scarecrow
Abby - soccer player
Mallory - Emily Dickinson (that just seems weird for a 6th grader...)
Jessi - Sugar Plum Fairy
Cokie Mason - a Barbie
Fashion overload in this one!!!
What Claudia Wore: "You know, my tie-dyed leggings, black overall shorts, red high-tops..."
Claudia, art class edition: "I chose a black sweatshirt with the neck cut out of it, black jeans (doesn't black just say "artist" to you?), and as a light-hearted touch, my purple high-tops with the orange laces." Umm...I kind of want some purple Converse with orange laces now.
Claudia, principal office edition: I wore a black wool jumper over my favorite red turtleneck." Seems like a Mallory or Mary Anne outfit.
Claudia, first day of 7th grade: "I'd settled on my moss-green Gap jeans, paired with a rust colored cardigan I'd found at the vintage clothing store. Also, my new Mary Janes, and a moss green scrunchie so I could tie my hair up in a Pebbles Flintstone ponytail on top of my head." Check the cover image for the top half of this outfit.
Claudia, art show edition: "I wore a long black jumper with red embroidery around the neckline, over a white turtleneck, added a pair of dangly earrings with red glass beads, and twisted my hair in a casual knot. For once, I didn't care how I looked." Way to lampoon Mallory's wardrobe choices, Claud.
What Rosa Wore: "That first day, she was wearing overalls, Doc Martens, and a funky black newsboy cap, turned sideways."
What Stacey Wore: "Stacey arrived next (looking sophisticated-yet-casual in a khaki skirt with a white blouse)."
Stacey, dream sequence edition: "Stacey was wearing a short plaid kilt, white baby tee, black tights, and black chunky-heeled shoes." Very Cher Horowitz.
What Amy Wore: "Today I wore a fitted green t-shirt with a picture of a ruler on it and the words "I rule" (because sometime people just need to be reminded, y'all) under a swingy navy blue cardigan. I also wore comfy, faded blue jeans, and I finished the outfit with my red canvas Toms." Would Claudia and Stacey find my outfit "dibbly fresh"?
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