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.