Ann M. Martin (1) (1955–)

After the library has a movie marathon featuring slapstick comedies that many children and teens attend, everyone gets obsessed with practical jokes, from prank phone calls to jump scares to palm buzzers. But things go too far when a notorious prankster is Claudia's latest babysitting charge and Claudia ends up in the hospital with an injury from a joke gone terribly, terribly wrong. The whole situation has Claudia re-thinking if she should even be a babysitter anymore ... Can the Baby-Sitters Club survive if Claudia drops out?

Claudia's mind starting to fill with worry after worry is a perfect picture of what can happen after a traumatic event, such as a bodily injury of this magnitude. Luckily, Claudia has a strong support system in her family, friends, classmates, and even baby-sitting charges so she always has someone to lean on (both physically and metaphorically). It's great to see how everyone comes through for her, from bringing flowers to the hospital to greeting her in person when she arrives back at home to calling her from their classroom to all share their 'get well soon' wishes.

This book was a quick and entertaining read, just like the previous ones in the series. There are definitely some times when the age of the original books comes through (e.g., landline phones), but overall it stands up fine for the modern day as well with timeless tales of growing up and dealing with life's mishaps. There is yet another new adaptor/illustrator for this volume, and I quite liked her style. It is in line with previous titles so it's not a huge shift, but there's a subtle difference that I can't quite describe but certainly appreciate.… (mais)