A funny new middle grade series about three 12-year-old best friends who start a babysitting club in their small California town. Perfect for fans of series like Whatever After and the Dork Diaries. Once upon a time, a girl named Kristy Thomas had a great idea: to form The Baby-Sitters Club with her best friends. And now twelve-year-old Malia Twiggs has had a great idea too. Technically, she had Kristy’s idea . (And technically, little kids seem gross and annoying, but a paycheck is a paycheck). After a little convincing, Malia and her friends Dot and Bree start a babysitting club to earn funds for an epic birthday bash. But babysitting definitely isn’t what they thought it would be.   Three friends. No parents. Unlimited snacks. And, okay, occasionally watching other people’s children. What could possibly go wrong? "From the start of this debut novel, Cala flexes her prodigious comedic muscles, managing to render the three friends both as sympathetic heroines and as the victims of lives more humorous than they would like.... They may never get another babysitting gig, but you’re hooked on their story for life."-- New York Times Book Review "Thanks to witty banter, ample humor and excellent characterization, readers will enjoy following this group of young dreamers as they attempt to gain some independence in their preteen lives."-- Kirkus " A breezy, entertaining read, this book and the promised sequels seem likely to fill a role similar to the original—as reading material kids choose for themselves."-- The Horn Book Magazine "Fans of the Baby-Sitters Club books are a natural fit for this debut novel about three enterprising girls....Cala incorporates themes of sibling rivalry, jealousy, competition, friendship, manipulation, entrepreneurship, and first crushes into this realistic series starter."-- Booklist "In her middle grade debut, Cala artfully uses humorous banter to paint the dissimilar friends’ realistic relationships as well as their bumbling efforts to vocalize their feelings and advocate for themselves.... An appealing, humor-filled update to a classic series."-- Publishers Weekly "Even readers who have never had the pleasure of hanging out with the BC girls of yore will find Malia, Bree, and Dot all likable in their distinct ways, and they’ll appreciate the book’s mix of snark and heart."-- BCCB Caroline Cala is a writer and editor residing in Brooklyn. She has worked as a book editor and as a ghostwriter on a number of books by notable people. Her work has appeared in Vogue , ELLE, Refinery29, and others. Best Babysitters Ever is her middle grade debut. Visit her on Instagram @CarolineCala. Chapter One Malia Technically, the Baby-Sitters Club was someone else’s idea. But Malia was the one who stole it, and she thought it was okay to be proud of that.      The epiphany came during the worst week ever. Monday started off with an algebra test where she left half of the answers blank, followed by gym class, where she walked many, MANY semi-aerobic circles around the basketball court, upon which Connor Kelly—aka the only boy worth loving—was practicing free throws. Malia was wearing her new silver leggings and the ultra-curling mascara she’d borrowed from her best friend Bree Robinson even though it made Bree freak out because sharing mascara could apparently lead to eye infections. But Connor didn’t look at her once.      On Tuesday morning, Malia walked to school—yes, walked, on foot like some kind of pilgrim—because her evil big sister, Chelsea, cast her out of their regular carpool. One of Chelsea’s dumb friends had a science project that was taking up Malia’s usual spot in the back seat, and so she was left without transportation.      Like that wasn’t bad enough, on her way down the front walk, she dropped her phone, and the screen shattered into a billion little pieces. Malia could already hear her mom’s voice the moment she saw it. “Ma-li-a,” she’d say, drawing the name out like some kind of curse word. “You have to learn to be more responsible.” Every time she said Malia’s name, no matter the occasion, it sounded like it was laced with disappointment. After all, Malia wasn’t turning out anything like Malia Obama, the brilliant first daughter after whom she was named. Instead, she was destined to be Malia Twiggs, which anyone had to admit sounded kind of bootleg. This is what led her to rebrand herself as “Alia,” a campaign that had been met with moderate success. Malia was still constantly correcting people for including the M . But she had faith that eventually it would stick.      It was only October and so far, seventh grade was turning out to be all kinds of meh. Even Malia’s once-favorite pastime—killing time at the Playa del Mar Mall—had become insanely depressing. She and her friends wandered in endless loops, eating food-court chicken, and looking at all the things they had no money to buy. Her mom called it “window shopping” and said it was good for b