Claudia and the Terrible Truth is the 117th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
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.
Main Plot[]
The Babysitters Club gets a new client; the Nicholls Family. When Claudia first sits for them, she notices some strange things going on with the kids. Joey and Nate make sure everything they touch goes back into its place. They are too worried to go to a friend's house without Mr. Nicholls' permission. But Mr. Nicholls seems fine enough.
However, as Claudia continues to sit for them, she notices that Mr. Nicholls is unusually strict. He yells at the kids, calling them dumb. He punishes them by cleaning the house after they touch his briefcase to make room to play. He doesn't allow Joey and Nate to have stuffed animals.
Later, Claudia thinks she hears Mr. Nicholls slap his kids in the face. The BSC then discuss what to do. They aren't sure if Mr. Nicholls is abusing his children, but Claudia's positive he abuses them, even though she never saw him in action.
They decide to tell an adult, and Claudia tells her mother. Her mother asks Mrs. Nicholls about Mr. Nicholls at the library, but Mrs. Nicholls clams up. Claudia and her mother are both sure Mrs. Nicholls is lying, because of her body language.
Erica Blumberg sits for Joey and Nate only to find one of them with a black eye and bruises. Erica calls Claudia, and Claudia calls her mother. Later, her mother pulls up with her car to the Nicholls house, and everybody piles in the car, expect Mr. Nicholls. In the end, Mrs. Nicholls, Joey, and Nate Nicholls leave to live at their relatives house, to get things sorted out.
Subplot[]
Characters[]
Claudia's Family
Extended Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Joey and Nate Nicholls
- Stephen Stanton-Cha
- Adam, Byron, Jordan, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo and Claire Pike
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Becca Ramsey
- Karen Brewer, Andrew Brewer and David Michael Thomas
- Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold
- Shea, Jackie and Archie Rodowsky
- Jay McNally (mentioned)
- Lou McNally (mentioned)
Teenagers
Adults
- Mr. and Mrs. Nicholls
- Maggie O'Meara - Coordinator of the St. Patrick's Parade
- Nikki Stanton-Cha (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Kishi House
- Nicholls House
- Pike Family House
- Brenner Field
- Mr. Kishi's office
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Pumas
- Nancy Drew, The Runaway Bunny (books)
- Star Wars & C3PO
- Encyclopedia Brown
- Johnny Tremain
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Sean and Corrie Addison have officially moved away which happened in the previous book.
- Claudia recalls Lou's background from Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever and Abby and the Best Kid Ever.
- Kristy's dislike toward bagpipes is brought up again.
Inconsistencies
- Claudia takes a regular sitting job, in previous books Kristy had something negative to say (such as in Stacey McGill, Super Sitter), yet here she says nothing.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
In Claudia and the Terrible Truth, Claudia learns a disturbing secret about a new family in Stoneybrook. When she thinks that Joey and Nate are being abused, she isn’t sure what to do. What if she’s wrong? Finally, though, Claudia decides she must talk to an adult. This is a good rule to follow for any serious baby-sitting problem. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Don’t worry about bringing up an issue that turns out not to be a problem. Trust your instincts. Chances are, if you think something is wrong, it probably is. And the best thing to do is to talk to any adult you can trust. Claudia chose her mother. You might choose a parent, a teacher, a clergyperson, or your doctor.
For more information concerning child abuse, you or an adult can call:
Trivia[]
- This is the second and final appearance of the Nicholls Family.
- This is the first time Mr. Kishi's office is shown.
- He has a couch and Claudia says that he sometimes takes a nap.
- Russ and Peaches haven't had a vacation since Lynn was born.
- Claudia is a whiz at cleaning windows.
- Claudia feels closer to her mom as she cries in her arms.
- Claudia rearranged her junk food stash.
- Janine has evening classes.
- Rioko Kishi has a friend in the Department of Children and Youth Services named Mona.
- One of the floats at the parade was full of pageant winners and sponsored by local beauty shops.
- The kids in the parade ended up wearing name tags telling everyone what they were supposed to be.
- Erica Blumberg baby-sits.
- Even though it's never been shown, Claudia has been to her dad's office.
- There's a Chinese restaurant across the street from John's office.
- Erica comes to a BSC meeting.
- Claudia and Erica becoming friends could be foreshadowing to their friendship in the Friends Forever series.