Sweet Valley High Last Wish, Earthquake, and Aftershock

For the final photo cover of the series, used on Last Wish, the television twins mimic the cover art for the very first book in the series, Double Love, which was painted by James Mathewuse.  Jessica is once again in denim, and Liz is off to the side.

In the antepenultimate volume of the Sweet Valley High series, Last Wish, Liz and Jess prepare to celebrate their seventeenth birthday.  Elizabeth plans a surprise party for Jessica at the Beach Disco.  Meanwhile, Jessica plans a surprise party for Elizabeth on the beach.  When the invitations go out, all of the twins' friends figure out that both girls are planning parties.  The twins' friends get together and figure out how to salvage the situation.

On page 40, Liz states that maybe she and Todd shouldn't have gotten back together after all of their fights.  I heartily agree.

This is a surprisingly good book.  The plot is utterly ridiculous, but that's why this is a good book.  Somehow each twin thinks that her twin is uninterested in having a party and thinks that the surprise party that she is planning will be the only one.  While unbelievable, this is exactly what the early Sweet Valley High books are like, with a total lack of realism.  This book captures all that perfectly for one last time, so it is a good story, at least until near the end when the earthquake strikes.

In the penultimate volume of the Sweet Valley High series, Earthquake, a devastating earthquake strikes Sweet Valley during the twins' seventeenth birthday party.  The Wakefields' home is destroyed, and their neighbor's house catches on fire.  As the fire spreads, Liz tries to rescue Enid, and Ken tries to rescue Olivia.  Devon shows himself to be a despicable coward who only cares about himself.  He refuses to help Liz rescue Enid.

Meanwhile, Jessica tries to help a boy rescue his younger sister, who has fallen into a deep crevasse.  The rescue fails, and the girl dies.  Jessica is devastated.

After the Wakefields' house collapses, Lila and Todd are trapped in the bathroom together.  On page 132, Lila is "totally, passionately sick of Todd Wilkins."  On page 196, Lila reflects, "Dying with Todd was worse than dying alone."  On page 218, Lila thinks she and Todd are about to die, so she makes a confession.  "I have to tell you something.  I never really liked you."  Lila is such a goddess.  She doesn't hold back.

Both this book and the next book make a point of mentioning as many past events as possible from the entire run of the Sweet Valley High series.

I did not like this book much.  It is too depressing.

In the final volume of the Sweet Valley High series, Aftershock, Liz has lost her memory of the events immediately following the earthquake.  Liz and Enid think that Devon is a hero, and he doesn't mind letting them think that.  What a loser.

By the end of the story, Liz regains her memory, and Devon rides off into the sunset, never to be seen again.  Not that this matters, since the series is over.  Todd and Liz don't get back together.  I don't care, since I was done with Todd and Liz's relationship several dozen books ago.  Even worse, the horrid Liz, Todd, and Devon love triangle lasted for nine books, which was eight books too many.

I did not enjoy this book.

After finishing this book, I fully intended to read the entire Sweet Valley University series.  But first, I tried again to read Sweet Valley High Senior Year.  Nope, Senior Year is still repulsive.

I then read the first Sweet Valley University book, or at least I partially read it until I had to begin skimming.  What a depressing story.  I now understand that the dreadful Nancy Drew On Campus series was modeled after Sweet Valley University.  Nancy Drew On Campus was published two years after the first Sweet Valley University book, and the premise is very similar.  I couldn't read Nancy Drew On Campus, so I can't read Sweet Valley University.

So rather suddenly, my Sweet Valley High reading experience ended.

A Sweet Valley High series summary will follow.