River Heights #15 Friends and Rivals and #16 The Jealousy Trap

In River Heights #15, Friends and Rivals, River Heights High School will soon have its own television news show.  Brittany has her heart set on being hostess, while Samantha tries out as a joke.  Sam's audition goes better than expected, and soon, Sam and Brittany are the two finalists for the job.

Terry D'Amato feels out of place around her friends who have boyfriends, so Terry makes up a fake boyfriend.  The problem is that Ellen and Karen want to meet him and plan a party.  What will Terry do?

On page 5, Samantha rides the bus.  As she thinks of clubs she can join, "the smelly bus" lumbers towards the school.

This is a good book.

In River Heights #16, The Jealousy Trap, Robin has found a new friend, Katie Foxx, who is a swimmer at a rival school.  Katie claims that she isn't swimming very well, and Robin coaches her instead of practicing for the upcoming meet. Lacey tries to tell Robin what Katie is doing, but Robin won't listen.

Overweight Phyllis Bouchard is asked on dates by both Hal Evans and Wayne Yeats.  Phyllis is flattered, but she doesn't realize that the two boys have made a bet.  The boy who isn't chosen by Phyllis owes the other one $50.

Since this is the last book in the series, the last page does not have a next-book blurb.  Each subplot is wrapped up by the end of the story.  I think if the series would have continued that we might have learned more about Phyllis.  At least her subplot is resolved in this book, although I would have liked to have read more about her.

This is a very good book.

The River Heights series is very good, particularly the second half.  The first few books, especially Nikki's stories, are rather stupid and are a bit like Merivale Mall,which is a very cheesy series.  The last part of the River Heights series imitates the Sweet Valley High series quite well.  Each of the later River Heights books centers around different characters, which makes the stories much more interesting.

Remember, these aren't Nancy Drew books even though Nancy Drew is mentioned on the covers.  Most Nancy Drew fans will not like this series.  This series is for those who enjoy teen romance books like Sweet Valley High.

River Heights #13 A Mind of Her Own and #14 Love and Games

In River Heights #13, A Mind of Her Own, DeeDee Smith's father wants her to attend his alma mater, Kingston University.  But DeeDee really wants to attend the journalism school at Westmoor University in River Heights.  Can she get her father to understand?

Brittany is being blackmailed by nerdy Martin Ives.  Martin resents the way Brittany treated him in the past, so he threatens to tell everyone what she did to Nikki and Tim unless she pretends to be his girlfriend.  Brittany has no choice but to play along.

Brittany's predicament is fun.  She doesn't tell Chip about Martin and tries to keep them apart from each other.  I also really enjoyed DeeDee's story.  Lacey continuing to keep her relationship with Tom from Rick is yet another fun subplot.

In the final scene, Lacey and Rick make remarks that reveal that Robin lied to both of them, probably so that Lacey and Tom's relationship would be revealed.  Oddly, neither picks up on it, and Robin is never confronted by Lacey.

This is a very good book.

In River Heights #14, Love and Games, Kyle Kirkwood's computer program will match dates for the upcoming dance.  Samantha is concerned that Kyle will be matched with a certain girl, so she devises a way to change the results.

Emily Van Patten learns that her father is dating the new drama teacher, Roxy Muldoon, so she writes a mean-spirited play about Ms. Muldoon that will be read in class.

Both of Samatha's and Emily's plots have unintended consequences.

This is another solid entry in the series.  I enjoy the later books in the series much more than the early ones.  The cast of characters is established, and something interesting is always happening.

River Heights Junior Class Trip and #12 Hard to Handle

In River Heights Super Sizzler, Junior Class Trip, the junior class goes to Washington, D.C., on a field trip.  Nikki wants to get back together with Tim, but she worries that Tim isn't interested. Meanwhile, Nikki keeps confusing another boy with Tim.  The lookalike, Tom Connors, is staying at their hotel and seems to be followed around by bodyguards.  Both Kim and Brittany fall for Tom and scheme to keep him away from the other.

The cover art is dreadful.  Yuck.

I greatly enjoyed this book.  After the terrible Girls of Canby Hall super editions, I was concerned that this book might be boring.  I was delighted to find that this story is quite interesting and does not contain any filler.  The story has some intrigue and danger, which is what one expects in a super edition.

In River Heights #12, Hard to Handle, Rick is finally out of the hospital, and he's returning to school.  Lacey fears that he has fallen for a girl he met in rehab, and unexpectedly, Lacey falls for Rick's brother, Tom.  Lacey isn't brave enough to tell Rick about Tom, so she keeps their relationship a secret.

Nikki and Tim are back together again and plan a skit for the upcoming talent contest.  Brittany is jealous as always and devises a way to ruin the skit.

I like this fun quote from page 40.

Brittany closed her chemistry book with a snap.  She was tired of staring at the periodic table and trying to figure out how she could possibly use it later in life as a nationally famous reporter.

Each book leads into the next book with a hint of future events during the closing chapter.  In this book, we learn that someone plans to blackmail Brittany.  How interesting!

I really enjoyed this book.

River Heights #10 Mixed Emotions and #11 Broken Hearts

In River Heights #10, Mixed Emotions, Michael Quinn has a crush on Robin Fisher, and he won't leave her alone!  Robin has no interest in Michael, but her boyfriend, Cal, is becoming jealous.  Nikki is worried because Niles' British girlfriend will be visiting soon.  Karen also has worries, since Ben's old girlfriend, Emily is returning to River Heights.  Will each couple break up?

Brittany decides to drastically cut her hair, which is long.  She's only taking two inches off, but she acts like she is cutting 12 inches off.  Talk about an overreaction!

Michael looks so stupid on the cover.  At first, I didn't like the depiction.  Later, I decided that the cover is perfect, because Michael does act that silly.

I enjoyed this book.

In River Heights #11, Broken Hearts, Niles' girlfriend has arrived, and Nikki is beginning to think she should be back with Tim.  I would agree, since Tim never wanted to break up!

Karen thinks Ben will pick up with Emily where he left off, so Karen decides to become the perfect girlfriend.  She types Ben's papers for him and even fixes him a homemade dinner. Unfortunately, Karen's plan backfires.

On page 44 we learn that Karen's mother thinks that Ben is "the best thing since pocket calculators."  That does sound like something we might have said in the 1980s.

I also enjoyed this book.

River Heights #8 The Trouble with Love and #9 Lies and Whispers

In River Heights #8, The Trouble with Love, Lacey blames herself for the accident that put her boyfriend, Rick, in the hospital.  Lacey spends all of her spare time at the hospital, much to the concern of her family and friends.

Karen is thrilled to be dating Ben, but she worries that he is still thinking about his old girlfriend. Meanwhile, Karen's friend, Ellen, seems preoccupied.

I found that Brittany's schemes didn't annoy me in this book.  I am still tired of Nikki pining after Tim. She's the one who broke up with him over absolutely nothing when he didn't want to break up!

I enjoyed wondering about Ellen's story, which will come out in the next book.

In River Heights #9, Lies and Whispers, Brittany cannot stand Chip Worthington, but if she could become his girlfriend, she would be in the top social circle.  Brittany must break up Chip's current relationship.

Ellen's father has been accused of embezzlement, and Ellen must deal with vicious rumors.  Even worse, money disappears from the junior class funds, and Ellen will be blamed if she cannot recover the money.

I enjoyed Ellen's subplot.  The back cover synopsis makes it sound like Nancy Drew helps solve the mystery of the missing money.  Nikki and Ellen speak to her, and she gives some advice.  Nancy has nothing to do with anything since she is leaving on a trip.

Nikki and her friends stake out the student council room by standing by the water fountain near the room.  They apparently do this for hours.  Wouldn't the suspect notice and stay away?  Nancy should have explained that they needed to hide in the closet inside the room instead of standing in plain site in the hallway.

I really enjoyed this book.

River Heights #6 Lessons in Love and #7 Cheating Hearts

In River Heights #6, Lessons in Love, Samantha Daley falls for the substitute French teacher, Monsieur LeBlanc.  Sam seriously thinks that she has a chance with him and plots to get her dream to come true.

Karen Jacobs also has problems.  Karen is attracted to Ben Newhouse, whose girlfriend broke up with him.  Ben seems to think of Karen as just a friend, and Karen has no idea how she can change that.

With this book, the series shifts away from focusing only on Nikki and her friends.  In my opinion, the series is better and less stupid from this point on.  The series really hits its stride.

Samatha's attitude about the French teacher is ridiculous.  On page 70, Kim tells Sam that "there are rules against things like that.  He could lose his job, for one thing."  In the next paragraph, Sam wonders why they are saying "such horrible things."  She concludes that they are jealous.

I greatly enjoyed this book.

In River Heights #7, Cheating Hearts, Karen Jacobs has learned about a cheating ring at River Heights High School.  Students have stolen tests and are selling them to other students.  Karen could break the story in the school paper, but Ben tells her that she could ruin lives with the information.  Meanwhile, Nikki falls for Niles Butler, who will only be in town for a few months.  But does Niles like her?

On page 3, Karen overhears Jerry warning a student about the upcoming test for which he has just provided a copy.  Jerry tells the student that "whatever you do, don't ace it.  That would look suspicious."

Indeed.  My cheating students never seem to realize that, which always alerts me.  For instance, a student consistently makes failing grades on tests.  Suddenly, the student scores a 95% and somehow can get the correct answers to all problems by showing no work at all.  Whenever that happens, I give the student his or her very own test the next time, and the grade is then amazingly consistent with the earlier test grades.

I enjoyed this book.

River Heights #3 Going Too Far, #4 Stolen Kisses, and #5 Between the Lines

In River Heights #3, Going Too Far, Brittany is dating a college student, Jack Reilly, but Jack hasn't invited Brittany to the country club dance. Even worse, Brittany fears that Jack will learn that her mom runs a flower shop in the mall.

Meanwhile, Nikki's friend, Robin, fears that she might be pregnant.  Unfortunately, Brittany sees Nikki and Robin looking at a pregnancy test in the drug store.  Brittany spreads a rumor that Nikki or one of her friends is pregnant.

Moon Lake is the local hangout for the River Heights young people when they want to be alone with their dates.  I like that bit of continuity with the original Nancy Drew series.

The early books in this series are much like Merivale Mall, where the stories are excessively cheesy and stupid.

I enjoyed this book.

In River Heights #4, Stolen Kisses, Brittany starts dating Dustin Tucker behind Jack's back. Meanwhile, Lacey tries to get her boss, Lenny, to give her a raise.  Lenny refuses, so Lacey comes up with a great promotional idea.  The hot group, the Dead Beats, is on tour, and Lacey is able to get them to come to River Heights.  They will appear at Lenny's store and will sign albums. After Lacey works out the deal, everything goes wrong, jeopardizing the appearance.

This book is another example of excessively stupid behavior on the part of a scheming character.  Even though the plot is stupid, I enjoyed the book.

In River Heights #5, Between the Lines, Jeremy needs money to impress Kim, who has expensive taste.  Jeremy bets big in a poker game and loses.  Jeremy is forced to get a job. Brittany also gets a job so that she can earn money to join the country club.  Unknown to each other, Brittany and Jeremy get jobs at the same obscure diner, hoping that no one will ever know.

Meanwhile, Tim and Nikki star in the school play. They can't seem to get along, and Nikki is convinced that Tim is falling for another girl, Lara Bennett.

I found the plot with Tim and Nikki to be quite boring.  I am sick of Tim and Nikki's stupid relationship.  Nikki sees problems where there are none, and her behavior will make them break up.  I want them to get it over with so that we can move on to a more interesting plot.

So far, Nancy Drew has only appeared in the first two books in the series.

The plot with Jeremy and Brittany is hilarious.  I really enjoyed that part of the story while I was bored with Nikki's story.

River Heights #1 Love Times Three and #2 Guilty Secrets

The River Heights series is a spin-off of the Nancy Drew Files series.  Nancy Drew Files #39, The Suspect Next Door, features Nikki Masters, Nancy's next-door neighbor who is accused of murder.  Thanks to Nancy Drew, Nikki is cleared of the charges so that she can star in her own series, River Heights.

Many Nancy Drew fans mistakenly believe that the River Heights books are Nancy Drew books.  The River Heights series was an attempt by Simon and Schuster to use the Nancy Drew name to promote a teen romance series.  The books are not Nancy Drew books.  Nancy Drew only appears in a few of them, and just barely at that.  The River Heights books are written in the style of Sweet Valley High and Merivale Mall, which are teen romance series.

Nikki is extremely wealthy, and her best friends are Lacey and Robin.  Brittany Tate's father works for Nikki's father.  Brittany resents Nikki for that reason and tries to mess up Nikki's life.

I like the teen romance books of the 1980s.  You will find my reviews of this series to be positive, but keep in mind that these books are teen romance books.  They are not Nancy Drew books.  Do not make the mistake of thinking that you will like this series if you like Nancy Drew.  You will only like this series if you like Sweet Valley High and books similar to those.

In River Heights #1, Love Times Three, Nikki Masters is having trouble fitting in at the start of the new school year.  Everyone is staring at her and gossiping about the murder case from over the summer break.  Nikki overcomes that hurdle and then falls for Tim Cooper.  Unfortunately, Brittany has decided that she wants him and schemes to keep Nikki away from him.

Nancy Drew is present in the beginning of the story and absent for the rest of it.  After all, Nancy was just being used by the publisher to make money.

On page 11, we learn that the south wing of River Heights High is "early twenty-first century in style."  Hmm.  This book was published in 1989.  What would "early twenty-first century" be in 1989?  Flying desks?

This genre is always very unrealistic with problems solved way too easily.  Everyone gossips about Nikki, but then Brittany declares in front of students that "stale news is out."  Suddenly, everyone forgets about everything, and Nikki's life is back to normal.  It just takes one comment from one person to cause the entire student body to quit gossiping simultaneously.

On page 80, Brittany threatens her sister with "I swear I'll erase every one of your floppy disks!"

I really enjoyed this book.

In River Heights #2, Guilty Secrets, Nikki gets a new car.  She's on top of the world until her boyfriend, Tim, refuses to get near her car.  He keeps avoiding her, and Nikki fears that their relationship is over.

Nikki and Brittany are on the homecoming committee along with Nancy Drew and several other alumni.  Brittany plans to sabotage the halftime skit in order to make Nikki look bad.  Will she succeed?

Of course it would be too logical for Tim to admit what his problem is or for Nikki to ask him directly.

The homecoming skit planning meeting is too long and is very boring.

Nancy Drew appears several times in brief scenes.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as the first one.