Sweet Valley High #3: Playing With Fire

Front Cover: Can Jessica play Bruce Patman's game and win?

Back Cover: Too hot to handle...

Watch out, Sweet Valley HihgF! Once again, Jessica Wakefield has gotten her way. Fresh from her greatest social triumph, Jessica proceeds to sink her hooks into rich, handsome Bruce Patman, he most eligible, sought-after guy at SVH.

 Or has Bruce gotten his hooks into Jessica? Elizabeth, Jessica's twin, notices a big change in her sister. Suddenly Jessica's following Bruce everywhere and dropping everything just to spend time with him.

 Elizabeth doesn't trust bruce one bit - he's arrogant, demanding, and way too fast. Jessica can usuallly hold her own with any guy, but this time, Elizabeth's afraid her sister may be going too far....

I know that we're supposed to be sympathetic of Jessica in this book, but really it just proves to me how much I hate her. She's so immature. She really needed to grow a backbone.

Then again, I usually complain that she just steps on everyone, so it was kinda nice to see her be stepped on. However, it was all at the expense of her still being a snob and still blowing off people she doesn't think are "cool enough".

I think there's something going on with Ned and Marianna. I know he and Alice don't get divorced, and they're always portrayed as the picture perfect parents and marriage, but I feel like at some point, Marianna causes trouble, and they hit a rough patch. I think what happens is that Marianna wants to have an affair with him, but he's all like, "Whoa there. I was just being nice to you. I love my wife and kids and yeah." and then he immediately rushes home to apologize to Alice for all the dinners he's missed, and she apologizes for having ever doubted him and they all live happily ever after.

The subplot in this book was Robin Wilson wanting to get into the sorority and basically being a hanger-on to Jessica, trying to be her friend, not realizing that Jessica was being a bitch like always and just using her.

Another subplot involved The Droids trying to make it big. I would've loved to have seen more of that. I know that these books centre on Elizabeth and Jessica and are widely told from their POVs, but I'd totes read a spin-off miniseries about The Droids and from their members' POVs. I see them (especially Dana and Emily) being like the California Diaries to Jessica and Elizabeth's Baby-Sitters Club. I would've liked to have read more about Dana getting hit on by that scuzzy manager. That whole subplot could've been really could from their POV and if it had been fleshed out more...

Hook: Can Liz outwit her scheming twin adn make Robin a Pi Beta?

I feel like the answer is yes. She'll help to makeover Robin, but in a subtle way, one that highlights her features and suits her personality. Not some flashy redesign. And then everyone will see that Robin is actually kinda pretty. Maybe Robin will go on a bit of a diet, or find a sport she likes, and she'll trim down a bit. She'll still be a bit "husky", but now in a sexy curvy way. Anyways, some of the more acceptable guys will start to dig her, she'll gain even more self-confidence, and I think in the end she'll be a Pi Beta, much to Jessica's chagrin. But then Jessica will somehow try to turn it around and take credit for everything haha hopefully Robin will see through Jess sooner than later.

Sweet Valley High #2: Secrets

Front Cover: What Jessica wants, Jessica gets - even if someone gets hurt!

Back Cover: Jessica would stop at nothing...

Beautiful and ruthless, Jessica Wakefield is determined to be chosen queen of the fall dance at Sweet Valley High. If she can win the contest, she's sure to win Bruce Patman, the most sought-after boy in school.

The only person standing in Jessica's way is Enid Rollins . When Jessica discovers the truth about Enid's past, she knows the crown is within her grasp. She doesn't care that Enid is her twin sister Elizabeth's best friend - or that revealing the secret may cost Enid both her reputation and the boy she loves.

Only Elizabeth can save Enid from Jessica's vicious gossip - but can she stop her scheming twin in time...

Again, I can't remember if I've read this one before, but I'm leaning more towards no. Enid's secret wasn't nearly as dark as I thought it would be. No one ended up dead! haha I'm guessing the first few novels aren't as dark as I remember the series turning. I'm PRETTY SURE it's in High that the characters eventually encounter suicides and drug addictions and sexual assaults. Might it might be that I have to wait for Sweet Valley High: Senior Year or even Sweet Valley University for that.

Again, omg, what a bitch Jessica is! She is definitely going out of her way to make people miserable. She did not have to do what she did to Enid! If Jessica had any sense or decency, she'd have been like, "I don't need to sabotage Enid; I'm fabulous all on my own!"

I knew Ronnie was going to dump Enid. I definitely remember George. I think he meets a tragic end eventually haha

I'm pretty pissed at Enid not believing Elizabeth. Like jfc, that's two books in a row where Elizabeth gets blamed for something Jessica did. I know this is a recurring theme and that I should be so shocked but ugh! haha

Also: when Elizabeth is pissed, she's so deliciously evil! I love how subtle she is in her manipulation and revenge. She is so sneaky and conniving, in a way that makes me respect her. I know a lot of people out there actually like Jessica better than Elizabeth, and think that Elizabeth is truly the bad one because she's such a hyppocrite (at least Jessica doesn't try to hide or pretend like she's better than she is), but I respect Elizabeth so much. I really admire her. She's my hero <3

The subplot in this book was super-minor: Ms Dalton was also the victim of vicious rumors and word spread that she was sleeping with Ken Matthews. Speaking of Ken Matthews, did we ever find out what happened to him? He disappears halfway through, presumably because of the scandal, but do we ever find out the truth about it??

Hook: Can Jessica play Bruce Patman's game and win?

I'm guessing no. This sounds like a Jessica-centric novel, so she'll probably come off as more sympathetic than she has been these past two books. But we'll see. I'm guessing she'll do some crazy schemes and play all sorts of games, but eventually realize that Bruce goes too far, and we'll see her draw a line in the sand and temporarily learn a lesson and see the error of her ways haha

Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love

Front Cover: Share the continuing story of the Wakefield twins and their friends - their laughter, heartaches, and dreams.

Back Cover: Will Jessica steal Todd from Elizabeth...

Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are identical twins at Sweet Valley High. They're both popular, smart, and gorgeous but that' where the similarity ends. Elizabeth is friendly, outgoing, and sincere - nothing like her twin. Snobbish and conniving, Jessica thinks the whole world revolves around her. Trouble is, most of the time it does. Jessica always gets what she wants - at school, with friends, and especially with boys.

This time, Jessica has set her sights on Todd Wilkins, the handsome star of the basketball team - the one boy Elizabeth really likes. Now it's a game of double love, with Todd as first prize. Elizabeth doesn't want to lose him, but what Jessica wants, Jessica usually gets... even if it ends up hurting her sister.

Meet the Wakefield twins, their guys, and the rest of the gang at Sweet Valley High...

I actually read Sweet Valley Twins and even Sweet Valley Kids more when I was growing up. I didn't start getting into Sweet Valley High until later, and my memories of it are spotty at best. Most of my head-canon comes from my memories of Twins. In Twins, Elizabeth is already pretty damn close to Todd, which is why it was weird for me to read this one and see that they don't even seem to know each other. I know that this series is the original, that Twins, then Kids, came later, but yeah. Weird.

I was PRETTY SURE I had read "Double Love" before, but I've read so many of these books over the years, and definitely not all of them, that it all blurs together. By the time I got to the end though, I was sure that I had read it before. I distinctly remember Jessica wearing green eyeliner and the swapping of the outfits and the tuxedo outfit.

Man, reading how perfect their family is in appearance is going to get old haha these guys were the original Mary Sues! I feel like it might not have been so bad in the 1980s when this was originally published, but now that we live in a world of fanfiction, we're over-saturated in bad bad Mary Sue descriptions haha

Maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, but I feel like these books definitely feel distinctly '80s, and I love it!

I love how trashy these are! So much drama! It's like a soap opera in book form. But not nearly as trashy or embarrassing as harlequinn romance novels haha

Jessica is a bitch. I hate her. I've always hated her. In Twins and Kids, she's just an immature disorganized brat, with a bit of a conceited snobby streak. In here, she's full-blown bitch. She does what she wants, gets what she wants, and doesn't care if anyone is standing in her way, even her own sister.

The two things she did in this book that I found particularly heinous was all the lying: the fact that she let everyone think it was Elizabeth who'd been in that bar and the fact that she straight-up told Elizabeth that Todd had assaulted her. The original incident of the mistaken identity is understandable; it all happened so quickly that I don't blame Jessica for freezing and not setting the record straight with the cop. But her actions afterwards really pissed me off.

I remember always being pissed off at Elizabeth for letting Jessica get away with all the bullshit she pulls. But I suppose that if Elizabeth were to get angry and vindictive, that would make her just as bad as Jessica, and we wouldn't root for her as much.

There's also a subplot about how their father might be having an affair, and how their brother might be dating a bad girl. I love the relationship between Elizabeth and Steven. Again, why do they put up with Jessica?? I knew that Ned wasn't having an affair, and I don't blame the girls for suspecting him of it, but when we got to the part where they were having a big family dinner, and their parents were both beaming about a "big surprise announcement", I really wanted to hit at least Elizabeth for still thinking that the announcement was a divorce. Even if you're happy to get a divorce, you're not gonna be BEAMING about it when announcing it to your kids!


Hook:

What is the dark mystery in Enid's past, and how does Jessica use it to her own advantage?

I love how the books try to foreshadow things and create a semblance of continuity. You can read them out of order, you can read them alone, but what I'm looking forward to is reading them in order. I can't remember what Enid's secret is. I think maybe it's something on the more serious side, like her younger brother drowned when she was supposed to be watching him, but that it's also something that wasn't her fault at all. I don't remember Ronnie, so I want to say that he gets pissed off when he finds out about her secret and dumps her permanently. Of course, Elizabeth will stay by her side and Jessica will be a total bitch about it. I hate hate hate Jessica! It's none of her business! And the fact that she tries to use it to her advantage? Ugh, what a bitch! haha