Sweet Valley High #70 Ms. Quarterback, Enid's Story, and #71 Starring Jessica!

In Sweet Valley High #70, Ms. Quarterback, Ken Matthews regains his vision and plans to try out for his old position as quarterback on the football team.  Unexpectedly, new student Claire Middleton also tries out for the position.  Both Ken and Claire become the finalists for quarterback.

Meanwhile, Ken's girlfriend, Terri Adams, sees Claire's presence on the team as a threat to her relationship with Ken, so she tries to sabotage Claire's dream of becoming quarterback.

I enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High Super Star, Enid's Story, Enid becomes interested in Jeffrey French, Liz's old boyfriend.  Liz acts jealous and seems to be sabotaging Enid's potential of getting close to Jeffrey.  Enid turns to someone who used to run with Enid's former friends who did drugs.  Enid soon finds herself at risk of returning to her old lifestyle and losing everything that she has now.

I loved seeing Jeffrey back in a story.  I wanted him to end up with Enid so that we could have more Jeffrey.  Alas, that does not happen, probably because it would have complicated Liz's life.  We certainly can't have that.

I greatly enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High #71, Starring Jessica!, talk-show host Eric Parker comes to Sweet Valley to film a special edition of one of his shows.  Both Lila and Jessica hope to win the starring role in Eric's show.  Lila resorts to dirty tricks to prevent Jessica from having a chance at her dream.

I loved the last part of the story where Elizabeth saves the day for Jessica.  

This is a very good book.

Sweet Valley High #67 The Parent Plot, #68 The Love Bet, and #69 Friend Against Friend

In Sweet Valley High #67, The Parent Plot, Elizabeth wants to get her parents back together, but Jessica wants them to date other people.  Both girls scheme, aware that the other is trying to attain the opposite result.  Meanwhile, Mr. Wakefield continues his campaign for mayor, but Liz and Maria learn some unsettling information that will have a big impact on the election.

The summary for #65 would have worked better on this book.  The summary for #65 mentions the election and how some people do not approve of the men backing Ned Wakefield's campaign.  There is no controversy about the campaign backers until this book.

I enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High #68, The Love Bet, Dana Larson and Aaron Dallas both declare that they are no longer interested in dating.  For some unknown reason, Liz and Todd decide that they will scheme to get Dana and Aaron to fall in love.  They make up stories to tell each one about how the other one feels.  They write love notes and meddle endlessly.  Dana and Aaron seem to be falling for each other, but will it last?

Ugh.  Liz and Todd, get a life.

Liz and Todd go on double dates with Dana and Aaron during this book, and it seems that Aaron is really good friends with Todd.  This is strange, since I recall that Aaron was best friends with Jeffrey French, Liz's former boyfriend.  I guess Aaron is actually best friends with Liz's current boyfriend, whoever that might be.

Liz and Todd's manipulation of Aaron and Dana is childish and annoying.  I did not enjoy the story until near the end.

In Sweet Valley High #69, Friend Against Friend, Charlie Cashman has started picking on Andy Jenkins solely because he is black.  Neil Freemount is Andy's best friend, but Neil's family socializes with Charlie's family.  Charlie pressures Neil to help him make Andy pay, and Neil briefly goes along with him, feeling quite guilty.  Will Andy and Neil's friendship ever be the same?

The purpose of this book is to teach about racism.  All of the Sweet Valley High students, aside from Charlie Cashman and his close friends, are utterly shocked about Charlie's actions.  It seems that none of them would ever think a racist thought, and none of them have ever considered that anyone in Sweet Valley could be racist.

I couldn't help thinking about Jessica and her mean friends.  During this entire series, Jessica has judged everyone who isn't just like her.  She has been exceedingly mean to anyone who is overweight, unattractive, or poor.  I have to think that Jessica and her friends might also look down on someone who is not white, but of course, the series would never dare suggest anything like that.

I enjoyed this book.

15% Off Special at Jennifer's Series Books

To try to move some books, I am offering 15% off any order containing two or more books.  The offer runs from today through January 2, 2018.  If you see this blog post after January 2, 2018, the offer will no longer be active and will not be honored.

The sales offer is for a 15% discount when two or more items are purchased in the same transaction.  The items must be placed in the shopping cart first, then the offer will be activated.  After the items are in the shopping cart, then checkout can be completed.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy

No coupon code is necessary on either site.

I will be listing some books for sale in the coming days.  I have to use up 41 remaining December free listings on eBay.  I will hopefully also get some additional books listed on Etsy.

Sweet Valley High #65 Trouble at Home, Bruce's Story, and #66 Who's to Blame?

In Sweet Valley High #65, Trouble at Home, both Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield have worked long hours recently.  They no longer take time to talk, and they have arguments constantly.

Jessica sees a commercial for a teen party line, so she calls the 900 number.  She makes no note of the charges, and she immediately falls for a boy named Charlie who has a sexy voice.  Jessica calls the party line each night so that she can talk to Charlie.

Maria Santelli's father is running for mayor, and he is forced to drop out of the race after he is accused of accepting a bribe.  Mr. Wakefield runs for mayor in Mr. Santelli's place.

This book ends with all of the plots lines unresolved, since the story arc continues for two more books.

I enjoyed this story.

In Sweet Valley High Super Star, Bruce's Story, Grandfather Patman comes to stay with the Patmans for six weeks.  Grandfather sets up a contest between Bruce and Roger.  The two boys are given $2,000 each, and they are forced to give their grandfather all of their checks, credit cards, and other money.  After two weeks, whichever boy has more money will inherit all of Grandfather Patman's estate.

On page 13, Bruce reflects that "there was nothing better in the whole world than being Bruce Patman."  Nobody would accuse Bruce of being modest.

Apparently many people do not like this book because they do not like Bruce.  He's arrogant as usual, but he's not awful like he is in other books.  I found him interesting and amusing.  I enjoyed his viewpoint and the story.

In Sweet Valley High #66, Who's to Blame?, the Wakefield family is in turmoil after Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield separate.  Mr. Wakefield continues to run for mayor as Mrs. Wakefield throws herself into a design project.  Jessica blames Elizabeth for their parents' separation, and all of the Wakefield children argue constantly.  In short, nobody is happy.

Just like the story in which Jessica runs away, the title and cover art are totally misleading.  Liz doesn't decide to run away until near the end of the story, and she just goes over to Enid's house.  Liz spends the night with Enid, then she returns home.  That's hardly running away.

On page 41, when Jessica sees that Steven is home from college yet again, she asks, "Aren't you getting kind of worried that they might kick you out of school if you don't spend more time there?"  Jessica has a point.  Not only does Steven spend weekends in Sweet Valley, but he is frequently at home during the week and often comes home for several weeks at a time while college is in session.

I enjoyed this book.

Sweet Valley High #62 Who's Who?, #63 The New Elizabeth, and #64 The Ghost of Tricia Martin

In Sweet Valley High #62, Who's Who?, Jessica has become bored with all of the boys at Sweet Valley High.  She signs up for a dating service using two fake names.  She creates two different personalities that are wildly different in hopes of finding boys that are different.  Jessica gets a match for both of her alter egos.  She begins dating both boys.

One night Jessica finds that she has a date with both boys, so she has Elizabeth stand in for her.  The girls eat at the same restaurant with their dates and switch with each other several times throughout the evening.

It's odd and rather nice for Liz and Jess to be shopping together at the mall in the beginning of this story.  They usually do not go shopping together.

I overall enjoyed this book, but I found it rather stupid.

In Sweet Valley High #63, The New Elizabeth, Liz is tired of everyone thinking that she is predictable.  She signs up for surfing lessons and takes them in secret.  She plans to enter a surfing competition.  Everything is going great, except that Liz's instructor seems to be falling in love with her.  Meanwhile, Todd is getting annoyed that Liz is spending so much time on a secret project.

The surfing lessons bored me.  I'm not interested in lots of detail about how to surf.

I did not like this book very much.

In Sweet Valley High #64, The Ghost of Tricia Martin, Steven meets a girl who looks just like Tricia.  Andrea even seems to have the same interests as Tricia!  Steven feels like Tricia has returned to him, and he immediately begins dating Andrea without letting Cara know.  Steven's infatuation with Andrea may cause him to lose Cara forever.

Steven looks like an idiot on the cover.  He never looks directly straight ahead.  He always looks down or off to the side with a dumb look on his face.

I never do enjoy the books about Cara and Steven having problems.

Sweet Valley High #60 That Fatal Night, Lila's Story, and #61 Boy Trouble

In Sweet Valley High #60, That Fatal Night, Terri Adams really likes Ken Matthews.  But Ken sees Terri as just a friend.  One night Ken is run off the road by a drunk driver, and he loses his eyesight.  Terri and Ken grow close, but their relationship is based on how much Terri is helping Ken.  Can they ever have a normal relationship?

The title of the book is odd.  "Fatal" is used to describe accidents that result in death.  Nobody dies in this book.

I enjoyed this story.

In Sweet Valley High Super Star, Lila's Story, Lila's father has a new girlfriend, Joan.  Lila cannot stand Joan, and she fears that her father will decide to marry her.  Lila also dislikes Joan's daughter, Jacqueline, who is always sweet and ingratiating.

When Lila learns that her father does intend to marry Joan, she does everything she can to stop the wedding.  Mr. Fowler becomes angry with Lila, and Lila fears that she will have to adjust to living with these two woman she despises.

I found this book interesting because it is told entirely from Lila's point of view.  We have no insight into what any of the other characters think.  Lila is certain that Joan and Jacqueline are after her father's money, but the reader cannot be certain, since Lila has a skewed viewpoint.  I was curious about what would happen as I read the story.

I also enjoyed getting to know Lila better with almost no text about the twins.  It was refreshing.

This is a very good book.

In Sweet Valley High #61, Boy Trouble, Patty Gilbert is excited when her boyfriend, Jim Hollis, comes home from college for the weekend.  She soon learns that her sister, Jane, is also coming home, and Patty must spend time with her instead.  Jim is furious, and Patty breaks up with him.  Even worse, Patty argues with her sister.  Patty feels like she has lost both her sister and her boyfriend.

This book partially annoyed me.  It was apparent that Patty wasn't letting Jim explain anything, and if she had, then they would have gotten back together before the end of the story.  I find situations like that to be so annoying.

I overall enjoyed this book.

Sweet Valley High #57 Teacher Crush, #58 Brokenhearted, and #59 In Love Again

In Sweet Valley High #57, Teacher Crush, Olivia Davidson has fallen for Stuart Bachman, the artist who is instructing Sweet Valley High's new workshop art class.  Olivia misinterprets Stuart's praise for her art as evidence that he is in love with her. She calls him at home and shows up unexpectedly at his apartment.  Liz and Enid are worried about Olivia, since they know that the relationship will not work.

I felt embarrassed for Olivia during the entire story.  Stuart does lead her on, even winking at her.  I never had a teacher wink at me!  Apparently Stuart is completely unaware of Olivia's feelings, but at the same time, he does act like he likes her.

This entire story makes me cringe.  I did not enjoy it.

In Sweet Valley High #58, Brokenhearted, Todd Wilkins moves back to Sweet Valley.  Liz is torn between her current boyfriend, Jeffrey, and her feelings for Todd.  She spends a lot of time moping and worrying.  How splendid.

Why does Jeffrey look like a very tall middle school student in the cover art?

I did not enjoy this book.  I knew that Liz would choose Todd, and I did not enjoy reading about it.  Jeffrey is so sweet to Liz near the end of the story.  He even helps Liz and Todd get back together!  Jeffrey is so nice.  I am Team Jeffrey all the way, and this makes me sad.

In Sweet Valley High #58, In Love Again, Todd and Elizabeth are back together.  Todd's family is now wealthy, and Todd goes to a private school.  Todd and Liz have trouble finding time to spend together, since they go to different schools.  Can Liz and Todd's relationship survive all the changes?

Of course it can!  By the end of the story, Todd has decided to return to Sweet Valley High.  Now we can have Todd and Liz together all the time.  Splendid!  I'd be happy about it if their relationship didn't bore me so much.

I do like the cover art.  Liz's pose cracks me up.  She's taken possession of Todd.

I overall enjoyed this book, although I would rather have Todd go back to Vermont.

Sweet Valley High #55 Perfect Shot, #56 Lost at Sea, and Deadly Summer

In Sweet Valley High #55, Perfect Shot, Shelley Novak is an excellent basketball player, but she is self-conscious about her height.  Shelley thinks she looks like a freak, and she won't allow anyone to take her picture.

Shelley becomes friendly with Jim Roberts, and he takes a few pictures of her.  Shelley makes him promise never to show the pictures to anyone.  The newspaper runs a photography contest, and Jim is pressured to enter it.  He submits a picture he took of Shelley.  Will she ever forgive him?

I enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High #56, Lost at Sea, Jessica goes on an extra credit field trip to an island.  During the return trip to Sweet Valley, the ship gets caught in a storm and begins to sink.  The students are forced into lifeboats.  Jessica is paired with Winston, and their lifeboat capsizes.  The two teens vanish, and the others fear that they have drowned.

Meanwhile, Jessica and Winston end up on a deserted island, where they must find food and build a shelter.  Will they ever be rescued?

This is a good book.

In Sweet Valley High Super Thriller, Deadly Summer, Liz and Jessica continue their never-ending summer working as interns at the newspaper.  After a summer of intrigue and murder, the danger continues as a psychotic patient, Donald Redman, escapes from a nearby mental hospital.  Redman threatens to blow up the school stadium.  Can he be stopped?

I don't particularly care for the super thriller editions.  This one didn't do much for me.

Sweet Valley High #52 White Lies, #53 Second Chance, and #54 Two-Boy Weekend

In Sweet Valley High #52, White Lies, John Pfeifer is worried about his friend, Jennifer Mitchell.  Jennifer has become involved with Rick Andover, who is a high school dropout who often gets into trouble.  Jennifer will not listen to anybody.

When Rick gets arrested, Jennifer believes that her father turned him in.  She is unaware that John was responsible.  At first, John doesn't plan to tell Jennifer the truth until he learns that she won't speak to her father, who has just become seriously ill.  If John tells Jennifer the truth, he will lose her forever.

This is a good book.

In Sweet Valley High #53, Second Chance, Kristen Thompson plans to become a professional tennis player.  She spends all of her free time practicing and competing.  Bruce Patman invites Kristen on a date, and soon, Kristen has fallen for him.  She must decide how to avoid endangering her tennis career while participating in normal teenage activities.

I enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High #54, Two-Boy Weekend, Jessica throws a fit when A.J. has to go away over the weekend to a family gathering.  Jessica spends the day at the beach and meets Christopher, a handsome surfer.  She throws herself into a brief whirlwind romance with him, telling Christopher that the romance is over on Sunday when A.J. returns.

Christopher proceeds to stalk Jessica, calling her every night and following her around town.  Jessica becomes frightened as she tries to figure out how to get rid of Christopher without hurting A.J.

This story would have made for an excellent thriller edition, better than the stories that were used for the thriller editions.  What a wasted opportunity.

This is a very good book.

Sweet Valley High #50 Out of Reach, No Place to Hide, and #51 Against the Odds

In Sweet Valley High #50, Out of Reach, Jade Wu wants to try out for the school musical.  Her father has traditional Chinese beliefs and forbids Jade from participating.  Jade auditions and wins the starring role.  She struggles to keep her role a secret until her mother can change her father's mind.

Meanwhile, Jade becomes friendly with David Prentiss.  Jade confides in him how embarrassed she is that her grandparents run a laundry.  When everyone finds out Jade's secret, she is certain that David betrayed her.

Mr. Wakefield is having a mid-life crisis where he wants to be young again.  This subplot is so stupid.



David doesn't get what the big deal is about Jade's grandparents running a laundry.  I wouldn't have understood back then, either.  I never knew most of the main racial stereotypes when I was young, and I never knew about the stereotype about Chinese running laundries until I read the original text Nancy Drew books in the 1990s.  If I had been David, I would have also given Jade a blank stare.

This is a good book.

In Sweet Valley High Super Thriller, No Place to Hide, Liz and Jess continue to work as interns at the newspaper.  The twins invite Nicholas Morrow on a company picnic, and he goes for a hike with Liz.  While hiking, they meet Barbara, a mysterious young woman who lives in an isolated house with a relative.  Liz and Nicholas soon learn that Barbara is in some kind of danger, and they are determined to help her.

I enjoyed this story better than the previous thriller edition, which I did not like.  This story is still not that great.

In Sweet Valley High #51, Against the Odds, Ronnie Edwards has started betting on school sports events, and he has made a lot of money.  Ronnie makes the mistake of not keeping up with payments to his bookie, and Ronnie finds himself in serious trouble.  He wants Jeffrey to fix the results of the soccer championship in order to get himself out of trouble.  A college scout will be watching the soccer game.  Will Jeffrey risk his future in order to help Ronnie?

I enjoyed this book.

Sweet Valley High #47 Troublemaker, #48 Slam Book Fever, and #49 Playing for Keeps

In Sweet Valley High #47, Troublemaker, Julie Porter has fallen for Bruce Patman.  Julie's friend, Josh Bowen, is pledging Bruce's fraternity, and he knows how arrogant and mean Bruce Patman really is.  Josh is certain that Bruce is using Julie, but she will not listen.

Bruce's fraternity hazes the pledges in Sweet Valley High between classes and at lunch.  Apparently, Sweet Valley High has no adult supervision, so students can bully each other all the time.

Bruce is quite cruel in this story.

This is a very good book.

In Sweet Valley High #48, Slam Book Fever, Amy Sutton introduces slam books to Sweet Valley High.  Students create lists for different topics, then they anonymously write in the names of other classmates.  Liz and Jeffrey are soon in danger of breaking up, because their names have been paired with others in the slam books.

On page 73, Liz is upset about the possibility of losing Jeffrey.  She tells herself that "she certainly wasn't going to sit at home and mope!"  Please don't.  I had quite enough of Liz moping when she lost Todd.

I enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High #49, Playing for Keeps, Jessica has fallen hard for A.J. Morgan.  A.J. is Jessica's first serious boyfriend, and she is scared that she will lose him.  Jessica thinks that A.J. only likes her because he thinks she is like Liz, so Jessica tries to act like a shy girl who is heavily involved in all sorts of serious activities.

Jessica has competition for A.J.'s heart when Pamela, a student from Whitehead Academy, schemes to take A.J. away from her.  Maybe there's something wrong with me, but each time I read the name Whitehead Academy, I thought of pimples.  I'd hate to go to a school named after pimples.

I enjoyed seeing Lila, Cara, and Amy all united in trying to help Jessica.  In particular, I liked seeing Lila help her.  So often, Jessica and Lila fight, so this was a welcome change.

This is a very good book.

Sweet Valley High #45 Family Secrets, On the Run, and #46 Decisions

In Sweet Valley High #45, Family Secrets, cousin Kelly comes to visit the Wakefields.  Kelly is unhappy that her mother plans to remarry, and Kelly's mother hopes that Kelly can adjust to the idea while she stays with the Wakefields.

Kelly idolizes her father, who is abusive, but that fact has been hidden from Kelly.  Liz and Jess wish that they could tell Kelly the truth, but they have been forbidden from telling her.

I found it interesting that Kelly falls in a love with a boy who has the same manipulative personality as her father.

I enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High Super Thriller, On the Run, Liz and Jess continue to work as interns during the summer at the newspaper.  Liz becomes friendly with Eric Hankman, who just arrived in Sweet Valley.  Jessica's friend, Darcy, thinks she recognizes Eric, and she soon believes that Eric is a murderer.  Jessica fears for Liz's safety.

I did not like this book.  It bored me.

In Sweet Valley High #46, Decisions, Robin Wilson's rich aunt will pay for her college tuition, but Robin is required to go to her aunt's alma mater.  Robin's boyfriend, George, takes for granted that Robin would rather stay in Sweet Valley instead of doing what her aunt wants.  Robin feels like neither George nor her aunt cares about what she thinks.

Jessica is hired by Alex Kane to watch over his younger sister.  Alex is a serious music student who practices for hours each day.  He needs Jessica to watch his sister so that he can practice.

I wanted to slap Jessica during this story.  Jessica falls in love with Alex and does everything she can to distract him from his music.  She can't understand why Alex is so involved in his music and won't pay attention to her.  Think, Jessica.  Why were you hired?

I enjoyed this book.

Sweet Valley High #42 Caught in the Middle, #43 Hard Choices, and #44 Pretenses

In Sweet Valley High #42, Caught in the Middle, Sandra Bacon and Manuel Lopez have fallen in love.  Unfortunately, Sandra's parents are prejudiced against Latinos.  They believe that all Latinos are untrustworthy.  Sandra tries to bring up the subject, but her parents won't budge.

When Manuel is accused of a crime, Sandra must decide whether to tell the truth—that she was with him and that he is innocent—or lose Manuel forever.

This story is still relevant today.  The statements that Sandra's parents make in this book are exactly the same as ones I hear people making nowadays.

On page 40, Liz and Sandra go into the student lounge so that they can be alone to talk privately.  I have been wondering about the student lounge ever since early in the series.  Why is it that no students are ever in the student lounge except for the ones who need to talk privately?  Additionally, isn't having a student lounge just asking for trouble?  Why would a high school have a private place where students can gather without faculty supervision?  Yikes.

On page 69, Jessica and Cara work on Lila's birthday banner in the student lounge.  The banner is for a surprise party.  How do they know Lila won't walk in?  I guess because nobody is ever in the lounge except for the students who are in the book's current scene.

I enjoyed this book.

In Sweet Valley High #43 Hard Choices, Enid's grandmother comes to live with Enid and her mother.  Enid expects to have a wonderful relationship with her beloved grandmother, but she finds that Mrs. Langevin has changed.  Mrs. Langevin acts helpless and sullen, needing someone to watch after her constantly.  Enid soon finds that she has no life, and that all she can do is take care of her grandmother.  Will Enid's life ever be the same?

I have not enjoyed reading about Enid's problems in the past, but in this book, I am totally Team Enid.  I really felt for her and was quite absorbed by the story as I wondered how the conflict with Enid's grandmother would be resolved.

This is a very good book.

In Sweet Valley High #44, Pretenses, Cara Walker feels like her relationship with Steven Wakefield has gone stale.  Jessica encourages Cara to add mystery to the relationship.  In short, she should make Steven jealous.  What kind of idiot would follow Jessica's dumb advice?

I cannot stand these boring Cara and Steven books where the two of them come up with some stupid reason for not trusting each other.  We've already read a variant of this story before.  So here we go again.

Cara sees Steven reading a letter, and she wonders why Steven acts weird about it.  The letter is from a secret admirer, and so why wouldn't Steven act weird about it?  What's bizarre is that Cara wonders why Steven acts weird about the letter.  The reason this is bizarre is because Cara is the one who wrote the letter, so she knows what is in the letter.  This plot is so dumb!

I did not enjoy this book.

Sweet Valley High #40 On the Edge, #41 Outcast, and Double Jeopardy

In Sweet Valley High #40, On the Edge, Amy Sutton and Bruce Patman work on a school project together.  They spend lots of time together, and Bruce has fallen under Amy's spell.  Everyone in school knows except for Bruce's girlfriend, Regina Morrow.  When Regina finally learns about the relationship, she is devastated and becomes friendly with a boy who runs with a crowd that does drugs.

I took the Sweet Valley High series very seriously when I was a teen.  I adored the books and the characters, especially Regina Morrow.  One day, probably in 1988, I was in a bookstore looking at the books that were available, and I chanced to read the summary on the back of #41, which is the next title after this one.  I was devastated to learn that Regina Morrow dies of a rare reaction to cocaine in #40.

Regina was so important to me that I quit reading the Sweet Valley High books.  So long as I never read any books from #40 or higher, then I could pretend that nothing ever happens to Regina.  It was in 1988 that I read my first Christopher Pike book, Last Act, and his books took the place of Sweet Valley High.

I am now so far removed from my idealistic teenage views that Regina's death does not bother me like it did back then.  I wish some other character had died instead, but I can accept that Regina did.

I enjoyed this book despite the horrible ending.

In Sweet Valley High #41, Outcast, everyone at Sweet Valley High blames Molly Hecht for Regina's death since Regina died at Molly's party.  Molly has become an outcast.  She tries to apologize to Liz Wakefield and to her friend Justin Belson, but both of them snub her.  Molly finally turns to Buzz, the drug dealer who supplied the drugs that killed Regina.  Buzz acts like he cares about Molly, and she has no one else.

Jessica is rather giving in this book.  She comes up with the idea to create a scholarship fund in Regina's name.

The Pi Beta Alpha sorority is compared to other school clubs.  I started thinking about this.  Why does the sorority not have a faculty sponsor?  Furthermore, why does a high school have a sorority?  Sweet Valley High is a strange place.

Sweet Valley apparently has only one drug dealer, and his name is Buzz.  If they can only get Buzz arrested, then Sweet Valley will once again be the perfect place with no drugs.

It is quite realistic how the school turns on Molly.  On page 127, Mr. Collins tells Liz to consider Molly's pain and how she is feeling.  Finally, Liz comes around and decides to quit blaming Molly.  After all, Regina was the one who used the cocaine.

This is a good book.

In Sweet Valley High Super Thriller, Double Jeopardy, Elizabeth and Jessica get summer internships at the newspaper.  Jessica immediately attaches herself to a young reporter and comes up with crazy mysteries to try to gain his interest.  Pretty soon, he doesn't trust Jessica after he learns that she made up the stories.

Late one night, Jessica enters the parking garage.  She spots a man carrying a bundle.  When an arm falls out of the bundle, Jessica is terrified.  She gets into the Fiat and leaves as fast as she can.  Later, a young woman's body is found.  Steven's friend, Adam, is accused of the murder.  The victim was his girlfriend.  Jessica knows he is innocent and sets out to find the culprit.

I enjoyed this book.

Sweet Valley High #37 Rumors, #38 Leaving Home, and #39 Secret Admirer

In Sweet Valley High #37, Rumors, Susan Stewart was raised by her aunt.  She has plenty of money and has always been told that her mother is someone wealthy.  Susan will not be told her mother's identity until she turns 18.

Meanwhile, Susan has been invited to the exclusive Bridgewater Ball.  Lila Fowler is jealous and spreads a vicious rumor that Susan's mother is criminally insane.  Susan's aunt won't tell her anything, so Susan believes that the rumor is true.  Susan is confused and lonely, feeling that she has lost everything.

Jessica believes that Mrs. Wakefield is pregnant.  She and Liz drop hints, but their parents won't reveal anything.  Jessica begins spying on her mother.

As usual, the subplot is hilarious.

On page 50, we learn that Jessica borrows her mother's clothes in addition to Liz's.  Really?  We know the twins are identical, but their mother must be the same perfect size 6 and the same height.  Wow.

From page 140:

"Liz!  Emergency!"

"What?  What is it?"  Elizabeth looked up from the book she was reading.  Jessica's emergencies usually involved running out of Diet Coke or finding a split end.

This is a very good book.

In Sweet Valley High #38 Leaving Home, Liz has her heart set on going to boarding school in Switzerland.  She applies and will be interviewed for a scholarship.  Jessica and Steven are horrified and decide to do whatever they can to ruin Liz's chances of getting admitted to the exclusive school.

Winston Egbert purchases a lottery ticket for the upcoming lottery.  On a trip to the convenience store, Winston's jacket gets taken accidentally by a man, and Winston is left with the man's jacket.  Winston's lottery ticket was in his jacket, and he now has the man's lottery ticket.  The lottery ticket wins the prize of $25,000, but only Winston knows that the money isn't really his.

The main plot is annoying.  Jessica and Steven are very mean to Liz and ruin Liz's dream.  If this story had been set in any universe other than Sweet Valley, there's no way that Liz would have forgiven them.

The $25,000 lottery prize seems a bit low.  With inflation, the prize is now worth just $55,000.  That's still a lot of money for a high school student to win, but it's low by modern lottery standards.

I like the lottery subplot much better than the main plot.  The main plot is just weird.

This is a good book.

In Sweet Valley High #39, Secret Admirer, Lynne Henry creates a personal ad feature for the school newspaper.  Penny Ayala has never had a boyfriend, and at Liz's urging, she takes out an ad in the column.  Penny goes with a bizarre comedic ad, thinking that it will give her a chance with a boy who thinks the same way she does.

Unknown to Penny, her ad is answered by a group of boys who are playing a prank on her.  Liz finds out, and she worries that Penny will get hurt.

Liz is rather mean in this book.  She decides to get revenge on the boy who is responsible to thinking up the prank.  Her behavior is quite out of character and more like what we would expect from Jessica.

I enjoyed this book.

Sweet Valley High #35 Out of Control, Spring Fever, and #36 Last Chance

In Sweet Valley High #35, Out of Control, Aaron Dallas is going through difficult times.  His parents are having problems, and Aaron is full of rage.  Aaron picks fights and gets into trouble.  Liz tells Jeffrey that Aaron needs help, but Jeffrey sticks behind his best friend.  Will Aaron's problems drive Liz and Jeffrey apart?

Jessica decides to go into business.  She begins selling Tofu-Glo, an all-natural cosmetics line.  As is typical, Jessica's business scheme does not work out well.

Heather Sanford is Aaron's girlfriend, and Liz instinctively dislikes her.  This is unusual for Liz, and Liz even makes fun of her.  Later in the story, Liz learns that she misjudged Heather.  It's a rather interesting change for Liz to behave in a Jessica-like fashion.

This is a good book.

In Sweet Valley High Super Edition, Spring Fever, Liz and Jess spend spring break at their great aunt and uncle's house in a small town in Kansas.  Aunt Shirley and Uncle Herman are afraid for the girls to go anywhere alone, and they warn the girls to have nothing to do with the carnival workers.  So of course, Jessica immediately falls in love with one of the carnies.  Jessica sneaks around, Liz covers for her, and all of the girls in town seem to hate the Wakefield twins.

On page 41, going to church is mentioned.  Is church something they only do in Kansas?  It's not been mentioned as an activity in Sweet Valley, California.

It takes around 50 pages before the book becomes at all interesting, and even then, the story isn't that great.

Aunt Shirley and Uncle Herman act like they are around one-hundred and thirty-seven years old.  They are the absolute worst fuddy-duddies.  They are ignorant of everything and don't let the girls have any kind of fun.  Who wants to read a book like this?

I do not like this book.  It's boring and stupid.

In Sweet Valley High #36, Last Chance, Johanna Porter has decided to return to Sweet Valley High.  She dropped out months before, but after reading her deceased mother's diary, she decides to fulfill her mother's wish that she finish high school.  Johanna has a rough time in school, but the one bright spot is Peter DeHaven.

Peter seems to like Johanna, but he is currently dating Amy Sutton.  Peter assures Johanna that he will soon break up with Amy, but nothing happens.  Johanna becomes more insecure and thinks about dropping out of school again.

The Jessica subplot features Jessica maliciously trying to break up Steven and Cara's relationship for no good reason.  Jessica can be so infuriating.

I find it really funny that Peter does not end up with either Amy or Johanna.  He is so inept and self-centered that Johanna flat-out refuses him.  Way to go, girl!

This is a very good book.

Sweet Valley High Winter Carnival, #33 Starting Over, and #34 Forbidden Love

In Sweet Valley High Super Edition, Winter Carnival, the junior and senior classes of Sweet Valley High are looking forward to spending an upcoming weekend at a ski resort.

Liz is feeling jealous of Jessica, because Jessica won a trivia contest.  Also, Jessica has been inconsiderate, and pretty soon, Liz wishes she had never had a sister.  Even worse, Jeffrey is angry with Liz because Liz will miss the first night of the carnival because she plans to go to a rewards ceremony with Todd.

I enjoyed this book when I was a teen, but it doesn't hold up well.  Liz's behavior is quite stupid.  She doesn't tell Jeffrey about the rewards ceremony, making Jeffrey angry.  She then doesn't understand why Jeffrey is angry.  Even worse and most baffling, Liz takes Jessica's dumb advice about how she needs to make Jeffrey jealous.  Ugh!

This book is just mediocre.

In Sweet Valley High #33, Starting Over, Dana Larson's cousin, Sally, arrives in Sweet Valley to live with her family.  Dana is eager for Sally to fit in, and she is a bit ashamed that Sally was raised in foster homes.  Dana wants Sally to forget about all of that, and she pretty much forces Sally to take on all of her interests.  Dana just knows that Sally will be so happy to live with the Larsons.

Dana is rather annoying in this story.  I really enjoyed reading about Sally and her adjustment problems.

The Jessica subplot is the best.  Jessica acquires a new dog and keeps it inside the house hidden from her parents in an attempt to prove that she can take care of a dog.  I especially like when the dog eats through the washing machine hose, and Jessica has to conceal this slight problem from her parents.

This is a very good book.

In Sweet Valley High #34, Forbidden Love, Maria Santelli and Michael Harris have fallen in love.  The problem is that their parents hate each other because of a bad business deal.  Everything seems perfect when Michael proposes to Maria, but then Michael becomes overly possessive.  Maria begins to have second thoughts.

This is a good book.

Sweet Valley High #30 Jealous Lies, #31 Taking Sides, and #32 The New Jessica

In Sweet Valley High #30, Jealous Lies, Sandra Bacon's best friend, Jean West, has been nominated for membership in Pi Beta Alpha.  Sandra doesn't want Jean in Pi Beta Alpha, because the sorority is all she has that Jean doesn't.

Meanwhile, Steven decides to quit college and take a job on a ship.  The Wakefield family is horrified, but Steven will not listen.  They use reverse psychology, acting like they are happy to see him leave in hope that he will change his mind.

This is a very good book.

In Sweet Valley High #31, Taking Sides, Jeffrey French is a new student at Sweet Valley High.  Enid has a crush on him, while Lila decides that Jeffrey is the boy for her.  Liz helps Enid get to know Jeffrey, while Jessica schemes to keep Jeffrey interested in Lila.

Liz soon realizes that Jeffrey likes her, but she reacts by trying harder to get Jeffrey to like Enid.  Liz makes a mess of the situation, risking her friendship with Enid as well as a possible future with Jeffrey.

Liz and Jessica's annoying younger cousin Jenny stays with the family.  Jenny attaches herself to Jessica and to Jessica's current love interest.  Jessica can't spend any time alone with him, and he even seems to like Jenny a lot.

My favorite scene in the book is towards the end when Liz is crying by herself on the beach.  Jessica comes to her and comforts her, helping Liz to see that she does like Jeffrey.  It's wonderful to see Jessica comforting her sister instead of scheming against her.


The early part of the story is rather annoying.  Liz's behavior is stupid, but the story does become quite enjoyable once it becomes apparent that Liz has fallen for Jeffrey and doesn't even know it.

This is a very good book.

In Sweet Valley High #32, The New Jessica, Jessica is tired of people mistaking her for Liz.  She dyes her hair black and adopts a sophisticated and vaguely foreign persona.  Liz is crushed, feeling like she has lost her twin sister and that Jessica has rejected her.  Can Liz get her sister back?

I enjoyed this book.