#32 Kristy and the Secret of Susan

Her-be-der-be-der.  Kristy knows everything and tries to fix the world.  Dude, there are so many things so wrong with this book besides the blatant use of the word “retard”.

Kristy’s babysitting EM and DM to start and we hear how EM can’t speak much.  Bonnie referenced this in her last post: at first she was doing so well and now she’s not?  Regressing?  I don’t know.  Nannie comes home and Kristy goes to the meeting (because we’re idiots, we don’t actually know she’s Kristy until page 4, and then the paragraph itself is confusing).  Charlie gives her a ride in his car with the little yellow sign he made that says, “babysitter on board”.  Yeah, if you don’t want to be seen in a pink car with a tail hanging out the trunk, I don’t think you’re going to drive a car with a dorky, homemade sign in the window.  I digress.

When she arrives Dawn and Claudia are spying out the window on their new neighbors.  They’re “Aussies” (real politically correct, Ann) and have a few kids.  Blar-dee-blar, here’s the BSC.  It’s amazing and Kristy’s the amazing founder.  18 pages it takes to explain it all. 18 very looooooooooong pages.

During the meeting, they get a call from Mrs. Felder.  She has a daughter who is autistic and is home for a month from her school.  Mrs. Felder needs someone a few days a week for a couple of hours to stay with Susan.  Kristy is the only one who is able to do it so she takes the job.  Common Sense Moment: What I don’t understand is why Charlie needs to pick Kristy up from school and drive her to her job if it’s in her old neighborhood.  She used to walk home from school every day.  She calls Mrs. Felder back and ecstatically says she’ll take the job.  Mrs. Felder is hesitant and says Kristy should meet Susan first.

The next chapter starts with what autism is and I realize that this book was written 22 years ago.  So the definition that she has is childhood schizophrenia, withdrawn and acting out.  She looks up schizophrenia and it is defined as withdrawing from reality.  Well, no wonder miss Kristy thinks that she can fix Susan.

She arrives to meet Susan.  Susan is low functioning on the autism spectrum.  Mrs. Felding sits down with Kristy and explains autism to her and the understanding is a little bit better.  She explains all the special things Susan can do: sing and play piano by ear, knows the days of the week that correspond to dates in history.  Kristy is impressed but is angry with Mrs. Felder because she sends her child away like an outcast.  Mommy Moment:  I have friends with special needs children and there is nothing worse than somebody telling them what they’re doing with their child is wrong.  They’ve already had to deal with the fact that mommyhood isn’t what they’ve dreamed and imagined it to be; somebody telling them the heartbreaking decisions they’ve had to make are wrong is horrific.  Anyway, Kristy decides that she’s going to show the Felders that Susan can live a normal life at home and doesn’t need to go away to a special school like an outcast.  Sigh.  Mrs. Felder sets up the time and tells Kristy not to worry that Susan will be upset; she doesn’t have an emotional connection to her mother so it doesn’t bother her when Mrs. Felder leaves.  Mommy Moment: Poor woman.  To have to say that to a sitter, much less a kid who is thinking, “We’ll see about that.”    Kristy isn’t my favorite at the best of times but I really hate her in this book.  The end of chapter she says she has to fight for Susan.  Fight for what?  Her right to stay in a place where she has no chance to learn or thrive.  Did you not hear anything her mother said to you?

Mal and Jessi sit for the Pikes.  They decide to visit the new Australian family, the Hobarts, and offer them some nice neighbors and fun play time.  Mal starts crushing on Ben, who is 11 like her.  The other kids play together until some rude neighbor kids come by and start making snide remarks.

At the next BSC meeting, Kristy starts talking about Susan and more about what she’s like.  Kristy is sure that if Susan rode the bus to school every day and met kids in her neighborhood that she’d open up and be like the rest of the kids.  Kristy decides she’ll bring Susan over to meet the Hobarts.  She’s sure that if Susan has friends by the end of the month her parents won’t send her away.  Yes, Kristy.  You, a humble thirteen-year-old girl, will cure the disorder that has mystified the medical field and educational field alike.

Kristy’s next sitting job falls on a day when Susan is being difficult and stubborn for her mother.  Her mom pretty much tells Kristy to leave Susan playing the piano unless Susan tires of playing.  As soon as Mrs. Felder’s gone, Kristy forces Susan to stop playing and drags her over to the Hobarts.  She tries to get Susan to participate with tag, but Susan sits under a tree flapping her hands and clicking her tongue.  The neighborhood bullies stop by to tease the Hobarts and end up teasing Susan (who doesn’t care).  James Hobart, who is about Susan’s age, comes to her defense.  Kristy is excited; Susan has a friend!  Then she shows off how smart Susan is by telling them to give her a date.  Susan correctly identifies the day of the week every time and all the kids look at her like she’s a monkey in the zoo.  Kristy, however, is super proud of Susan.

Stacey sits for the Thomas/Brewer kids and they play Let’s All Come In.  Kristy arrives home and is pissed that Mrs. Felder hasn’t changed her mind about sending Susan away to school because Susan has a friend.  Mommy Moment: Yes, my teenaged babysitter telling me my child has a friend is going to change my mind that is backed by 8 years of parenting experience.  Kristy, I want your drugs; they make reality disappear. 

Kristy sits for Susan again and decides to let her continue playing piano.  As she watches Susan, Kristy notices how relaxed and content Susan looks while she’s playing and singing.  (Then leave her be, Kristy!!!!).  Suddenly the neighborhood bully arrives with song requests and dates they want Susan to match with days of the week.  Kristy brags about how special Susan is and tells him the days of the week she sits for Susan.  By the end of the day, she thinks Susan has another friend!  James Hobart stops by and Kristy coaxes Susan out for a walk. James is lonely for a real friend.  Kristy senses something’s wrong, but she’s not sure what. 

Kristy’s next day at school includes an assembly, where she sees the group of special ed students.  They’re being made fun of by other idiot kids, but she’s obsessed by the idea that Susan could be in a special education classroom in a regular school with friends and other people.  Common Sense Moment: Granted, we know more now about Autism Spectrum Disorders now than we did then, but each kid is different.  If Kristy’s so great with kids, why can’t she figure this out instead of trying to force Susan into a specific mold??

Kristy sits for Susan again and Mrs. Felder looks happy to escape.  Susan hasn’t slept in three nights and has been up screaming and crying all night long.  Kristy is about to drag Susan out to see the Hobarts when the doorbell rings.  She starts talking reeeeally slooooowly to try to help Susan “pick up some vocabulary.”  Riiiight, because her parents haven’t tried that before.  Oh, look!  It’s another bully (Zach) from the other day with a list of dates for Susan!  He must want to be her friend!  Uh-oh, has to run.  Lots of homework!  Another doorbell ring.  Oh, look!  It’s some random girl with another list for dates for Susan!  She must want to be her friend.  Uh-oh, has to run.  Hears her mother calling!  Another doorbell ring.  Oh, look!  It’s another random girl with a record to play for Susan!  Let’s play it and see if Susan can play it on the piano!  She even plays the skips!  What a retard!  Wait, a minute, what?  It takes that long for Kristy to realize that all these people aren’t here to be friends with Susan, but to see her tricks.  The tricks you threw out in front of them, like she’s a performing monkey.  Turns out the kids who came to see them the other day is charging a dollar to the kids of the neighborhood to see Susan.  Kristy chases him off and drags Susan over to the Hobarts.

Claudia is sitting for the Hobarts.  James confronts bully Zach and they end up getting ready to skateboard when Kristy arrives.  She tries to foist Susan onto James, but he’s busy playing.  Kristy puts her under a tree and vents to Claudia.  Claudia’s words of wisdom?  Maybe Susan does not “fit in” with “regular kids”.  Have you noticed that nobody else seems to be super excited about your idea Kristy??

Aaaaaaaaaand we’re back at Felder’s, helping Mrs. Felder pack.  Kristy is depressed because she failed in her mission to keep Susan home “where she belongs.”  But she doesn’t mention this to Mrs. Felder.  Common Sense Moment: The one thing she does right – keeping her mouth shut!  Can you imagine how the Felders would feel if they found out how Kristy paraded their child around the neighborhood on your little crusade?  Mrs. Felder tells her about Susan, how she was so bright and advanced before the autism set in around 2.  Susan quits playing piano and is moving around restlessly, so Kristy takes her out for a walk.  She runs into James and Zach; Zach starts to make a snide comment about Susan but James stops him.  Then Susan wets her pants.  Kristy is ashamed for Susan, because Susan “didn’t know enough to be ashamed for herself.”  She also feels ashamed for herself, but she doesn’t know why.  Maybe because you took up a cause that wasn’t one?  Because you tried to make decisions about someone else’s child?  Because you can’t fix everything?  Because you, her sitter, forgot to take her to the bathroom before you left the house? I don’t know.

The day arrives for Susan to leave and Kristy stops by to say goodbye.  She meets Mr. Felder, a large effusive man with a beard and curly hair, and they begin to talk.  She feels so open with him that she tells him about her crusade to keep Susan home.  What do you know, they looked into that.  But Susan was too low functioning for the local special ed classes, so they had to look elsewhere, which meant sending her away.  They’re really excited about this new school, which specializes in music, the only way they’ve been able to reach and connect to Susan.  Mommy Moment:  Well, looky there, they did do their job as parents and are making the best choice for their child.  Mr. Felder continues on, saying they’re having another baby, a little girl they’re going to name Hope.  Kristy instantly calls her Hopie, saying that’s what she’ll call her when she sits for her.  Mommy Moment: HA!  If they knew all the things that went on when they were gone, you can bet you’ll never sit for them again!  You know, they’re never mentioned again in the series either….

Mrs. Felder comes in and asks Kristy if she thinks she’s showing.  Kristy says yes, even though a person has to gain or lose 100 pounds for her to notice.  They load Susan’s trunk and then Susan into the car.  James Hobart shows up to say goodbye; Susan doesn’t really respond.  As the car drives away, James says he wishes Susan could say goodbye and Kristy says maybe someday she will; who knows what she’ll learn at her new school.

Kristy heads to Claudia’s a little early and they talk about Susan.  Kristy says she realizes that Susan needs more help than she can get from her family and the teachers in Stoneybrook.  Wow, that one little conversation with Mr. Felder really changed her mind, huh?  The others arrive and they talk about how the Hobarts are starting to fit in with their peers.  Stacey arrives and looks terrible so she crashes on the bed (foreshadowing…book #42?).  Krsity announces the Felder’s big news, Mal announces she has a date with Ben Hobart and shrieking ensues.  Kristy decides someday she might become a teacher and work with kids like Susan.  God help us all.