Claudia Makes Up Her Mind is the 113th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Claudia loves seventh grade now. She has great new friends, solid grades, and even a steady boyfriend, Mark. Suddenly, she's offered the chance to return to the eighth grade. It's an easy choice, right? Her friends in the BSC think so. But her seventh grade friends don't. Claudia's worried about handling the work, too. And what about Mark?
This is turning out to be one of the hardest decisions Claudia has ever made.
Main Plot[]
Claudia has to decide between staying in seventh grade or going back to eighth grade. Meanwhile, Stoneybrook Middle School hosted a color war. The color war is a competition among the grades in sports, spelling bees, bake sales, games, etc. The winning class receives a check from the Stoneybrook Chamber of Commerce to be donated to charity.
Subplot[]
The BSC charges form their own color war. Participants include the Papadakis Family, Kuhn Family, Pike Family, Barrett/DeWitt Family, Arnold Twins, Charlotte Johanssen, Jamie Newton, and the Rodowsky Family. Events included a baseball game, leaf raking contest, and a hoola hoop contest.
Characters[]
Claudia's Family
Extended Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Hannie, Linny, and Sari Papadakis
- Laurel, Jake, and Patsy Kuhn
- Jordan, Adam, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Buddy, Suzi, Marnie, Lindsey, Ryan, Madeleine, and Taylor
- Arnold Twins
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Jamie Newton
- Jackie, Archie, and Shea Rodowsky
Pre-Teens
- Brandon Klein, Bonnie Lasher, Michael King, Nadine Luongo Frank O'Malley, Tom Blanton, Ron Tibbets, Jennifer Byle (7th grade students)
- Mark Jaffe
- Jeannie Kim
- Joanna Fried
- Josh Rocker
- Shira Epstein
- Nicole - sixth grader that participates in the color war
Teenagers
- Alan Gray
- Emily Bernstein (mentioned)
Adults
- Mrs. Pilley - Claudia's homeroom teacher
- Ms. Chiavetta - Claudia's English teacher (mentioned)
- Mrs. Amer
- Mrs. Papadakis
- Howard Kingbridge
- Dr. Johanssen
- Rachel Stevenson
Locations[]
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Kishi Houe
- Papadakis House
- Brenner Field
- Bellair's (mentioned)
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Cocoa Puffs
- Guinness World Records
- The Mets
- Christopher Colombus
- Joan Miro
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Claudia brings up her double date with Kristy from the previous book.
Inconsistencies
- The Kishi's have a makeshift nursery in little room that used to be a playroom for Janine and Claudia. This room has never been mentioned before and makes no farther appearance in the series.
- Mary Anne misspells Papadakis in her notebook entry in chapter nine.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
I’ve received lots of letters from readers who are having friendship problems, especially problems involving having two very different groups of friends. Kids want to know how they can stay friends with classmates who are different from each other or who do not know each other well. Claudia thinks she’s going to face this very problem in Claudia Makes Up Her Mind, but she finds that she doesn’t have to choose one group of friends over the other. By making friends in the seventh grade, she has simply widened her circle of friends.
Many people have different kinds of friends — friends from school, family friends, friends from a sports team — and it’s not necessary for all of your friends to be friends with each other. What’s important is that you enjoy spending time with them. When I was in eighth grade, I had my neighborhood friends (including my best friend Beth) with whom I would hang out after school and during the summer. I also had my school friends, kids I mostly saw in my classes or in the afternoons during after-school activities, such as art club. Some of my friends didn’t even know each other, but they were my friends and they were all important to me in different ways.
Trivia[]
- This book briefly mentions sixth-grade SMS student Sara Erickson, who was the winner of the 1996 BSC Summer Sweeps contest, in which part of the prize was a part in a future BSC book. Sara was announced as the winner in the May/June 1997 BSC Fan Club newsletter.
- This is Stoneybrook Middle School's 35 Color War.
- Brandon Klein tried to get everyone in homeroom to blow their nose a 8:06.
- Most students see the guidance counselor once a year according to Claudia.
- Claudia think that the school could move her back to the sixth grade.
- Mrs. Amer notes her cognitive skills, creative thinking, and maturity are above the seventh graders which makes her think Claudia should go back to the eighth grade.
- Ron Tibbets is the Alan Gray of the seventh grade.
- Claudia acknowledges that Alan has a crush on Kristy.
- Jackie gets hit in the butt with a baseball.
- Stacey starts thinking of Christmas shopping in November.
- It's been ten days since Claudia has seen Russ, Peaches, and Lynn.
- Mark and Claudia break up and agree to be friends.
- There's a sixth grader that plays in a garage band at SMS.