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Nostalgic Reads – Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls

By Denise @ Life With No Plot on July 27, 2019 • ( 0 )

Nostalgic Reads

Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls Title: Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls

Author: Ann M. Martin

Series: The Baby-Sitters Club #2

Blurb: Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne and Stacey have had some strange adventures since they started the Baby-sitters Club. But nothing’s been as spooky as what’s going on right now. The baby-sitters have been getting mysterious phone calls when they’re out on their jobs. When a phone rings and they pick up, there’s no one on the other end of the line.

Claudia’s sure it’s the Phantom Caller, a jewel thief who’s been operating in the area. Claudia has always liked reading mysteries, but she doesn’t like it when they happen to her. So she and the baby-sitters decide to take action – with some very mixed results!

Review: These books are such time capsules! So many things could be averted if only they had cell phones!

The whole mystery in this story is the Phantom Caller, who breaks into houses after calling to see if anyone is home and then hanging up. Oh, landline telephones. Who has those anymore? Not many folks, that’s for sure. The girls are sure that the thief is getting closer and closer to Stoneybrook, especially after there are several hang up calls at the houses where they are baby-sitting. Of course, the thief is caught in another town, and the person (or people) calling Claudia and her friends turns out to be boys at school who want to ask her and Kristy out to the Halloween dance.

This book, told from Claudia’s point of view obviously, really helps you see that while Claudia acts confident, she has a lot of insecurities. She is not good in school, unlike her genius sister and as such, gets down on herself sometimes. It was nice to see that she was working towards making progress, both in school and with her sister, at least by the end of the book. Another thing that this book captures is how it is a little spooky when you are home alone at night, especially when you are the age of these girls – not little kids, but not grown up either. Wanting to be mature and take care of things, but also being really glad when the parents get home. I remember that feeling, and Ann M. Martin definitely captures it perfectly.

I am finding that I don’t remember The Baby-Sitters Club books as vividly as I do the Sweet Valley High ones. Maybe I stopped reading them earlier, since they were aimed towards a slightly younger demographic? Who knows. I am enjoying re-reading them so far though.