What do you think?
The Baby-Sitters Club Friends Forever #7
Claudia Gets Her Guy
Claudia is disappointed when Jeremy becomes interested in her best friend, Stacey, but when they are no longer an item, Claudia finds her plans for winning Jeremy back turn in an unexpected direction
127 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,150 books3,161 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 14, 2018
Once again, I find myself utterly confused by Jeremy. Seriously, what is this guy's deal? He dumps Stacey for Claudia, but then proceeds to ignore her until another guy shows interest, then gets mad at her for responding to that guy. His character just makes no sense, and I can't believe Stacey and Claudia actually stopped being friends for almost an entire school year over this guy.
I have such a soft spot for Alan Gray, though, so I always enjoyed this book. Plus, tomorrow is Valentines Day so it was perfect timing to read this one!
I have such a soft spot for Alan Gray, though, so I always enjoyed this book. Plus, tomorrow is Valentines Day so it was perfect timing to read this one!
December 29, 2020
in this Peter Lerangis-style book by ghostwriter Ellen Miles, stacey and jeremy have broken up, and stacey has given claud her blessing to try to date jeremy. but when jeremy doesn’t instantly ask claudia out, she takes matters into her own hands by writing him a note asking him to the upcoming school dance. she is scared she may spell his name wrong, so she writes “to a good friend” instead of addressing it to jeremy. and then she slips it in his locker. as you could have guessed from this plotline, she puts it in the wrong locker. in fact, she puts it in the locker of class clown extraordinaire alan gray. she suspects alan will make fun of her for it, but he actually thinks the note was for him and is flattered. he starts trying to woo claudia, who is still vaguely trying to date jeremy. feeling guilty, claudia goes to the dance with alan gray (much to kristy’s chagrin, who is a hypocrite because she’s been to dances with alan in the past). and they have a great time; alan actually gets her in a way no other boy has (see highlights). and then she dances with jeremy, and it doesn’t feel romantic at all, so they decide to just be friends, leaving potential for alan to actually become claudia’s boyfriend. meanwhile, claud and erica volunteer for a program where they help immigrants adjust to living in the united states, like teaching them how to use money and such. the family claud mentors is japanese, so they introduce her to japanese culture in a way she's mostly been divorced from, especially since mimi died.
highlights:
-I like that though stacey and claudia have cleared the air, they are still not totally back to normal as friends. they’re friendly, but they behave a little coolly around one another. this is actually believable and not how these books usually work.
-alan makes a lunch date for claudia where he puts a tablecloth and fancy dishes and candle on couple classroom desks. he has "champagne" (sprite) and a whopper and fries, plus devil dogs, hohos, and twinkies. seriously, I want to date alan gray. so cute!
-a 7th grader, stephanie, has a crush on alan and tries to get claud to stay away from him. this is a fun little touch; we always get the perspective of bsc members who hate alan, so it’s nice to know why he continues to be a relatively popular kid at sms.
-cary, who is probably alan’s best friend at this point, tells claud that alan really likes her and basically gives her the “if you hurt him, I hurt you” speech. it’s very sweet.
-when alan compliments claud's outfit for the dance, she asks if he thinks it's too much. he responds, "sure it's too much. that's what's great about it." I've never known any boy to get claudia’s essence like this. I ship them so hard!
lowlights/nitpicks:
-jeremy continues to be the worst: the monday after he breaks up with stacey, he walks right by claudia without saying a word to her. later he passive aggressively says something about thinking she’d rather talk to alan than him. meaning he is mad that claudia didn't make a move on him. but she tried to and he avoided her, because he is the worst. I seriously hate jeremy so much.
-claudia takes the japanese family she is mentoring to the met and one of the kids asks if you can swim in the pool. claud says it's not that kind of pool because it's not very deep. but the kincaids bathe in it in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler!
-claud mentions that she usually goes after boys who are unavailable. but what about josh, her most recent boyfriend (whom she dates from main series #113-128)? he is SUPER available.
outfits:
claudia:
-"I pulled on my favorite old cargo pants and a thermal shirt I'd tie-dyed in all the colors of the sunset and went downstairs."
-"[I wore]...that blouse [I] made from Mimi's silk kimono...[with] a swirly, short black rayon skirt...The black chopsticks in my hair complemented the kimono blouse perfectly."
-"I traded in the boots for a pair of platform sneakers, switched my sweater color to yellow, and added [black leggings and] some star-shaped earrings I'd made out of Sculpey."
-"I was wearing a short [black] retro dress I'd found in a thrift shop. It had white trim and white heart-shaped buttons. I think it was from the sixties. I also wore clunky black shoes with a stacked heel and a square toe. I had a wristful of hot-pink bangles, and I'd pulled my hair back with a couple of pink barettes."
maiko (one of the yashimoto kids):
-"Her black hair was fixed in pigtails with pink ribbons, and she wore a pink dress with smocking across the front."
alan:
-"He had on a nice new pair of cargo pants, a cool pair of suede Converse All-Stars, and a big-but-not-baggy red shirt."
jackie rodowsky disaster:
-falls out of bed and hurts his funny bone
snacks in claudia’s room:
-snickers bars in her sock drawer
-gummi bears behind the books on her bookshelf
-m&ms under her mattress
-combos (n.s.)
-mini snickers (n.s. - possibly the same ones already mentioned, but they weren’t previously described as mini)
-raisinets (n.s.)
-popcorn under her bed
-peanut m&ms under her bed
-pretzels under her bed
highlights:
-I like that though stacey and claudia have cleared the air, they are still not totally back to normal as friends. they’re friendly, but they behave a little coolly around one another. this is actually believable and not how these books usually work.
-alan makes a lunch date for claudia where he puts a tablecloth and fancy dishes and candle on couple classroom desks. he has "champagne" (sprite) and a whopper and fries, plus devil dogs, hohos, and twinkies. seriously, I want to date alan gray. so cute!
-a 7th grader, stephanie, has a crush on alan and tries to get claud to stay away from him. this is a fun little touch; we always get the perspective of bsc members who hate alan, so it’s nice to know why he continues to be a relatively popular kid at sms.
-cary, who is probably alan’s best friend at this point, tells claud that alan really likes her and basically gives her the “if you hurt him, I hurt you” speech. it’s very sweet.
-when alan compliments claud's outfit for the dance, she asks if he thinks it's too much. he responds, "sure it's too much. that's what's great about it." I've never known any boy to get claudia’s essence like this. I ship them so hard!
lowlights/nitpicks:
-jeremy continues to be the worst: the monday after he breaks up with stacey, he walks right by claudia without saying a word to her. later he passive aggressively says something about thinking she’d rather talk to alan than him. meaning he is mad that claudia didn't make a move on him. but she tried to and he avoided her, because he is the worst. I seriously hate jeremy so much.
-claudia takes the japanese family she is mentoring to the met and one of the kids asks if you can swim in the pool. claud says it's not that kind of pool because it's not very deep. but the kincaids bathe in it in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler!
-claud mentions that she usually goes after boys who are unavailable. but what about josh, her most recent boyfriend (whom she dates from main series #113-128)? he is SUPER available.
outfits:
claudia:
-"I pulled on my favorite old cargo pants and a thermal shirt I'd tie-dyed in all the colors of the sunset and went downstairs."
-"[I wore]...that blouse [I] made from Mimi's silk kimono...[with] a swirly, short black rayon skirt...The black chopsticks in my hair complemented the kimono blouse perfectly."
-"I traded in the boots for a pair of platform sneakers, switched my sweater color to yellow, and added [black leggings and] some star-shaped earrings I'd made out of Sculpey."
-"I was wearing a short [black] retro dress I'd found in a thrift shop. It had white trim and white heart-shaped buttons. I think it was from the sixties. I also wore clunky black shoes with a stacked heel and a square toe. I had a wristful of hot-pink bangles, and I'd pulled my hair back with a couple of pink barettes."
maiko (one of the yashimoto kids):
-"Her black hair was fixed in pigtails with pink ribbons, and she wore a pink dress with smocking across the front."
alan:
-"He had on a nice new pair of cargo pants, a cool pair of suede Converse All-Stars, and a big-but-not-baggy red shirt."
jackie rodowsky disaster:
-falls out of bed and hurts his funny bone
snacks in claudia’s room:
-snickers bars in her sock drawer
-gummi bears behind the books on her bookshelf
-m&ms under her mattress
-combos (n.s.)
-mini snickers (n.s. - possibly the same ones already mentioned, but they weren’t previously described as mini)
-raisinets (n.s.)
-popcorn under her bed
-peanut m&ms under her bed
-pretzels under her bed
February 23, 2008
didn't like these books much.
February 24, 2021
I must say this spin off has taken many unexpected twists. Claudia and Stacey hating each other for months, Mary Anne dumping Logan, Kristy finding a hint of romance in her life and now this. The book picks up at basically the same time the last one ended. Claudia is at the Rodowskys and has no clue what went on at the dance. The next day Mary Anne calls her to inform her Stacey and Jeremy are no longer an item. Claudia is excited to get to school as she is certain he broke it off so he could date her. But Jeremy is the worst and simply ignores her. See ladies this is why you never ditch a really good friend for a guy, or a girl for that matter. She decides to write him a note to ask him to the Valentine's dance. Then she puts it in the wrong locker. Cary Reitlin breaks into it only to discover the letter is gone. The locker belongs to Alsn Gray the guy who tortured the girls not long ago. I think he was responsible for the so called phantom phone calls if I'm not mistaken. But instead of being the jerk they expect him to be he tells Claudia that he's always had a crush on her and would love to take her to the dance. Claudia despite pining for douchebag Jeremy goes along with it. And he's so sweet to her. Arranging a picnic in an empty classroom making her homemade jewelry. She tries to put the brakes on but finds she doesn't want to hurt him. She almost gets into a love triangle when another girl Stephanie gets all pissed cause she wanted Alan herself. Ah teenagers aren't they great? I don't think I was that bad as a teenager. Claudia and Stacey finally make up and Claudia sort of realizes what a douche Jeremy is and how Alan isn't so bad. While that part was entertaining my favourite parts were when Claudia worked with the Yashimotos a family recently immigrated from Japan. I was sweet to see Claudia interact with them and hear her reminisce about Mimi. Overall this is yet another twist in the tales of the BSC in their last year at SMS I am loving watching the girls and even their fellow students evolve and mature and as the next story is a Mary Anne book I'm really interested in seeing what she'll do.
April 22, 2019
Out of all the BSC characters I love Claudia.
I root for her. She is awesome. She knows what to do. I can relate to her.
She hates school,so do I.
She is misunderstood,so am I.
She only wants to try,but can’t no matter how hard she does. Same goes for me.
And Claudia you go girl! Yes! You deserve a new guy! If it’s anyone that deserves to date in the whole BSC,to me it’s Claudia. Someone needs to give her a big fat hug.
I want to read this.
This is my only favorite book of the series,the other would be the fourth book. Stacey’s drama was so stupid..
Jeremy,I wanted to Thank U,Next him. I find that how Stacey and Claudia lost their friendship over one guys wasn’t worth it.
Enough said. I want this book!!!!
If anyone grew throughout this series,and realized they needed to change my heart goes to Claudia. I loved her too much. Her story in this series was much more realistic then all the others. Don’t even get me started on Stacey or Mary Anne. All the books in here are centered on the original characters: Kristy,Mary Anne,Claudia and Stacey. However,I wanted to throw Stacey out.
Ahh,it’s been a great day.
I root for her. She is awesome. She knows what to do. I can relate to her.
She hates school,so do I.
She is misunderstood,so am I.
She only wants to try,but can’t no matter how hard she does. Same goes for me.
And Claudia you go girl! Yes! You deserve a new guy! If it’s anyone that deserves to date in the whole BSC,to me it’s Claudia. Someone needs to give her a big fat hug.
I want to read this.
This is my only favorite book of the series,the other would be the fourth book. Stacey’s drama was so stupid..
Jeremy,I wanted to Thank U,Next him. I find that how Stacey and Claudia lost their friendship over one guys wasn’t worth it.
Enough said. I want this book!!!!
If anyone grew throughout this series,and realized they needed to change my heart goes to Claudia. I loved her too much. Her story in this series was much more realistic then all the others. Don’t even get me started on Stacey or Mary Anne. All the books in here are centered on the original characters: Kristy,Mary Anne,Claudia and Stacey. However,I wanted to throw Stacey out.
Ahh,it’s been a great day.
January 22, 2025
Great book, but Jeremy is such a jerk. He didn't ask Claudia to the dance but then gets upset when she's going to the dance with Allen. Cary was right to get on to Claudia. She should have come clean and told Alan that while the note wasn't for him, she did like him.
Also what was with all of Stacey's exes being at the party?
Good book. I'm glad her and Stacy could work it out.
Also what was with all of Stacey's exes being at the party?
Good book. I'm glad her and Stacy could work it out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2017
Claudia and Alan Gray!!? I never knew I wanted this until I had it! Oh bless you, Friends Forever! You are giving me the BSC as I always dreamed that it would be: less baby-sitting, more drama, more insanity of the good variety!
December 1, 2025
My only vague memory of reading this series as a child was knowing that one of the BSC goes on a date with Alan Gray. And it was finally that time. Huzzah! It was honestly handled pretty well, and we got so many Claudia outfit descriptions. And a Stacey and Claudia friendship rekindling. finally!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2022
This was a fun quick read! Honestly, I love how Alan is trying so hard to get Claudia to like him, it’s just so nice. Jeremey is just being…. Jeremy. He’s always gotten on my nerves.
June 8, 2023
Aww Alan Gray. Jeremy totally showed his immaturity here. Glad Claudia got to see a different side of Alan and of Cary.
February 7, 2024
Ugh I love Alan Gray. (Cary Retlin, too!)
August 8, 2026
It just fell flat. But then again I am a grown woman now so reading about middle school boys doing the bare minimum for their girlfriends no longer interests me.
March 29, 2009
jared is doing his taxes, so i am free to write descriptions for more ridiculous BSC "friends forever" books written for an audience approximately twenty years younger than myself. in this book, claudia learns that stacey & jeremy have split up, & claudia wonders if maybe they broke up because jeremy secretly has his heart set on her! a valentine's day dance is coming up, so claudia decides to take matters into her own hands & arduously writes jeremy a note, expressing her feelings & inviting him to the dance. pretty gutsy. i'd like to see the 13-year-old girl with the confidence to do something like that. she puts a ludicrous amount of effort into the note, writing it out on her computer first & running it through spellecheck & grammarcheck & then copying it out letter by letter on to nice stationery. she decides not to write his name because she doesn't know how to spell it. i don't know. i have always been good at spelling, so maybe i just can't relate to claudia's educational problems, but when i was a teenager (or even older) & i had a crush on someone, saying & spelling their name over & over was just something i did to amuse myself & bask in the crush. if i wasn't sure how to spell someone's name, i snooped around until i found out. it's not even like jeremy spells his name in some weird, unusual way. but of course, the note had to not have a name on it for events to unfold as they did. plot device!
after putting all this effort into getting the note just right, & after almost being late for school because of agonizing over the best "what to wear to school when i am leaving a note asking my crush to a dance" outfit, claudia fucks up the entire game by leaving the note in the wrong locker. sorry, i call shananigans. i was a 13-year-old girl once & if you manage to pluck up the courage at that age to write your crush a note, you are going to take every precaution to make sure the note does not fall into the wrong hands. no way are you just going to guess which locker belongs to your crush. if he is really your crush, there will be no doubt in your mind which locker is his anyway, trust me.
after claudia realizes her mistake, she & kristy draft <3 cary retlin <3 to jimmy open the locker & retrieve the note, but it's gone! oh no! & then they discover that the locker belongs to alan gray, gross-out kind of the eigth grade! claudia is certain that alan will find the note, guess it was for jeremy, & do something awful, like broadcast it over the morning announcements. exactly! this is why middle school girls don't take chances stuffing notes into random lockers.
instead, alan finds the note & thinks it's for HIM, because there's no name on it. he is very touched & accepts caludia's invitation to the dance. ruh roh! what will everyone say when claudia is on a date with alan gray? who the fuck knows? but alan is acting really nice & charming, bringing her burger king for lunch & complimenting her outfits. suddenly claudia's heart begins to race when she sees alan, & she isn't so interested in jeremy anymore. jeremy, however, is pissed. he's good friends with alan & thinks it was treacherous of claudia to go out with alan when she had to have known that jeremy was interested in her, & even broke up with stacey to go out with her. except...jeremy had MANY chances to ask claudia out & he never did. she wrote the note before he got around to it. so, i mean, it's his loss for dragging his feet & dating the wrong girl in the first place. he's a selfish jerk for acting like claudia should have KNOWN that jeremy was into her & waited around for him to ask her out. shut up, jeremy.
the sub-plot is all about claudia volunteering at the community center to help teach a new immigrant family english. see, this is what i mean when i complain about the idea that, "oh, claudia is so smart, she just doesn't apply herself." well, she's applying herself to teaching a family english, which can't be a walk in the park. that kind of volunteer activity surely takes more time, energy, & skills that doing your math homework. i don't get why her parents let her do all this extra-curricular crap when she can't even hack pass middle school. whatever.
after putting all this effort into getting the note just right, & after almost being late for school because of agonizing over the best "what to wear to school when i am leaving a note asking my crush to a dance" outfit, claudia fucks up the entire game by leaving the note in the wrong locker. sorry, i call shananigans. i was a 13-year-old girl once & if you manage to pluck up the courage at that age to write your crush a note, you are going to take every precaution to make sure the note does not fall into the wrong hands. no way are you just going to guess which locker belongs to your crush. if he is really your crush, there will be no doubt in your mind which locker is his anyway, trust me.
after claudia realizes her mistake, she & kristy draft <3 cary retlin <3 to jimmy open the locker & retrieve the note, but it's gone! oh no! & then they discover that the locker belongs to alan gray, gross-out kind of the eigth grade! claudia is certain that alan will find the note, guess it was for jeremy, & do something awful, like broadcast it over the morning announcements. exactly! this is why middle school girls don't take chances stuffing notes into random lockers.
instead, alan finds the note & thinks it's for HIM, because there's no name on it. he is very touched & accepts caludia's invitation to the dance. ruh roh! what will everyone say when claudia is on a date with alan gray? who the fuck knows? but alan is acting really nice & charming, bringing her burger king for lunch & complimenting her outfits. suddenly claudia's heart begins to race when she sees alan, & she isn't so interested in jeremy anymore. jeremy, however, is pissed. he's good friends with alan & thinks it was treacherous of claudia to go out with alan when she had to have known that jeremy was interested in her, & even broke up with stacey to go out with her. except...jeremy had MANY chances to ask claudia out & he never did. she wrote the note before he got around to it. so, i mean, it's his loss for dragging his feet & dating the wrong girl in the first place. he's a selfish jerk for acting like claudia should have KNOWN that jeremy was into her & waited around for him to ask her out. shut up, jeremy.
the sub-plot is all about claudia volunteering at the community center to help teach a new immigrant family english. see, this is what i mean when i complain about the idea that, "oh, claudia is so smart, she just doesn't apply herself." well, she's applying herself to teaching a family english, which can't be a walk in the park. that kind of volunteer activity surely takes more time, energy, & skills that doing your math homework. i don't get why her parents let her do all this extra-curricular crap when she can't even hack pass middle school. whatever.
November 2, 2013
Book the Seventh: In which Caludia gets her guy, except it's not J-Man. So J-Man and Stace call it quits. CK is thrilled because she wants the J. So instead of just talking to him, she writes him a note inviting him to a dance, to slip into his locker. Typical middle school behavior! OMG! Being CK, she can't spell Jeremy, of course. So she doesn't put a name on it. Sigh. She could've put "J-Man" on there. Anywho, she puts it in the wrong locker and the adorkable Alan Gray gets it and thinks its for him. He accepts her invitation to the dance, even though it wasn't for him. AG starts acting super sweet. CK is all kinds of freaked out, because what will people think if she goes out with ALAN GRAY?!?! She still goes to the dance with him and has a great time. I love Alan Gray.
January 30, 2012
I thought this book was actually quite sweet. It was nice to see Claudia find a guy who treated her right. It was also a relief to get some resolution over the Jeremy/Stacey/Claudia triangle.
I also enjoyed the subplot of Claudia teaching English to newly arrived Japanese immigrants and all of the tidbits about Japanese culture. There was nothing new to me but it was a nice touch.
This book certainly isn't going to go down as one of the great works of literature but it was an enjoyable little read for fans.
I also enjoyed the subplot of Claudia teaching English to newly arrived Japanese immigrants and all of the tidbits about Japanese culture. There was nothing new to me but it was a nice touch.
This book certainly isn't going to go down as one of the great works of literature but it was an enjoyable little read for fans.
September 8, 2010
Oh, Alan Gray. How my heart loves thee.
And oh, Claudia, who spells her name Caludia and spells madly maldy. Where would we be without you?
I am wondering, though, who would pair a Japanese family, who is struggling with English, with American Claudia who can't even pass third grade English. Speaking is one thing, but surely spelling would come into it at some point?
Ah, well. You go, Claudia Kishi. You get your guy. You tap dat ass.
And oh, Claudia, who spells her name Caludia and spells madly maldy. Where would we be without you?
I am wondering, though, who would pair a Japanese family, who is struggling with English, with American Claudia who can't even pass third grade English. Speaking is one thing, but surely spelling would come into it at some point?
Ah, well. You go, Claudia Kishi. You get your guy. You tap dat ass.
December 23, 2023
Apart from Mary Anne's house and all of her things literally burning to the ground, I think Alan Gray love-bombing Claudia is the most jarring thing about this BSC series.
(And yes I know, Mary Anne's house technically burned down in the OG series but it was such a departure from form that I'm counting it as part of Friends Forever).
(And yes I know, Mary Anne's house technically burned down in the OG series but it was such a departure from form that I'm counting it as part of Friends Forever).
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews