Sweet Valley High #14: Deceptions

Front Cover: Has Elizabeth found a new love?

Back Cover: A tangled web...

Elizabeth Wakefield is stunned when Nicholas Morrow asks her for a date. A newcomer to Sweet Valley, Nicholas is fabulously wealthy and extremely handsome. Even though Elizabeth would never cheat on Todd Wilkins, her steady boyfriend, Nicholas is so attractive and sincere that she agrees to go out with him just once.

To make matters worse, Jessica, Elizabeth's scheming twin, announces that Nicholas Morrow is the boy for her. Suddenly Nicholas is the only thing on Jessica's mind. Elizabeth is terrified to think what will happen if Todd or her twin finds out bout her date with Nicholas. But who can keep a secret from Jessica Wakefield?

Omg, this book bothered me so much. First off: Nicholas Morrow. No means no, dude! Like, it was actually kinda creepy how insistent he was on Elizabeth going out with him, and how much in love with her he was. HE LITERALLY JUST MET HER. If they had been older, Nicholas would've been seen as a crazy creep. This would not have gone over well if they were in college or at work. But because it was all like, "You're too young to be tied down to one guy: give me a chance!", it was suddenly played off as acceptable. It's no worse than trying to force someone to be your friend in high school. It just doesn't work like that.

Elizabeth totes should have sat down with her family and told them what was going on. That way, when Jessica goes off on how Nicholas was "hers", Elizabeth could be all like, "LOOK, TAKE HIM, I DON'T WANT HIM." and their parents would have to back her up on it. If they didn't, and were all like, "You really are too young to be tied down to just Todd, give Nicholas a chance." then they'd have to deal with Hurricane Jessica and set her straight. Either way, it would have solved a lot of Elizabeth's problems.

Also solving Elizabeth's problems would have been just being honest with Todd. God these people are stupid!

The subplot in this one was that Jessica was 1) failing math and 2) wanted to learn more about computers to impress Nicholas. It just so happened that the school was updated so that all the grades would be filed electronically, so Jessica sweet-talked computer-nerd Randy Mason into helping her out. Of course, they get caught and poor Randy feels guilty and wants to come clean. Elizabeth manages to get the two out of deeper trouble with their principal. I was happy about that, because Randy didn't deserve to get suspended and have this go on his permanent record, especially since this is the field he wanted to go into as an adult. But I still think Elizabeth should have told their parents what had happened. Ned and Alice need to get on Jessica and put a stop to her shenanigans. I think they let her get away with so much because Elizabeth covers up half the time, so they don't really know to the extent that Jess gets herself into trouble. They just shake their heads bemusedly like, "Oh that Jess. Well, teens will be teens!"

Hook: Is this really the end for Tricia Martin?

Yes, yes it is. We'll get a whole book of her dying, and Steven wanting to be forever devoted to her, and Jessica being like, "Well good riddance! Time to date better!" Eventually Steven will realize that Tricia would want him to keep living his life, but it'll be HIS life, and so he'll tell Jess off and get better.

But not really, because I know in the future there are all these books about him dating girls who remind him of Tricia and trying to replace her and what not. But in the meantime he'll be okay haha

Baby-Sitters Club #117: Claudia and the Terrible Truth

Front Cover: There are some troubles even the best baby-sitter can't fix.

Back Cover: Getting to know new kids and their families is one of the best parts of baby-sitting. So when Claudia goes to sit for the Nicholls kids, she's excited. Only something's not quite right at the Nicholls house. Joey and Nate are sweet, but they don't seem very happy. In fact, they seem... scared. Of their own father. Claudia thinks he's hurting them. But saying or doing the wrong thing will only make matters worse. And what if she's mistaken?

One thing is certain: Claudia needs to find out what's really going on. And if she's right, she needs to get help - fast. 

Okay, so I was planning on reading these books in order. At least, as much as I could. But when I found this in the used bookstore the other day, I couldn't help but start reading it on the bus ride home. I totally devoured it.

I only read it once before (I borrowed it from a friend who had THE ENTIRE FREAKING SERIES OMG), but I remember really liking it. I still look back fondly on it. I tend to really like the SERIOUS ISSUES books in the series.

So in this one, Claudia gets new charges who she thinks are being abused. It's all circumstantial, but it's pretty much all the signs people generally look out for. Claudia waits for ever before telling someone about it, but when she does, everything pretty much escalates and just happens.

I'm glad Claudia told her mom. I like seeing Claudia interact with her family more. She always acts like they're made of ice or something. It was nice seeing her realize how lovely her mother is. I always felt like Claudia's perceptions of her family were horribly skewed.

This book really makes me miss the California Diaries series. I feel like they would've handled this issue much better. Essentially this book takes place in the span of a month. In one month, they meet a new family, realize there's something wrong, convinces Mrs Nicholls to take the boys and run, and then they're out of there. Diaries would've probably introduced the family in an earlier book, and then the issue would've been the focus of one book, with the main conflict happening over the course of a month, and then they'd probably do some follow-up stuffs in a later book.I'm pretty sure the Nicholls never ever ever get mentioned again.

What I especially hate is how unrealistic it is. In reality, it would've probably taken another month (at least!) of prompting for Mrs Nicholls to admit that there's a problem, let alone for her to actually do something about it. And of course, there's no mention of all the times escaping tries to fail. I also would've loved to have seen Mr Nicholls harrass Claudia and her family more about it.

The subplot in this one is that St Patrick's Day is coming up, and the charges of course want to be in the parade. This sounds like the dumbest thing ever, but of course the BSC is full of saints, so they help the kids come up with an "Irish dancing" act and costumes and walk diligently beside them as the parade goes down main street. Baby-sitting is neither cool nor uncool; it's a way to make money and nothing to be ashamed of. Walking in a parade while your charges do a dumb, unrehearsed, poor planned, slapped-together act in front of everyone? Embarrassing haha

Sweet Valley High #13: Kidnapped!

Front Cover: Elizabeth's nightmare is about to begin...

Back Cover: A living nightmare...

Elizabeth Wakefield never imagined that her evening of volunteer work at Sweet Valley's hospital would turn into the most horrifying night of her life. but when a strong hand clamps a chloroformed rag over her mouth and she is pulled from her car, Elizabeth's hellish ordeal begins.

When she regains consciousness, Elizabeth finds herself tied to a chair in an isolated shack. She has been kidnapped - by Carl, a lonely and disturbed orderly from the hospital. Elizabeth doesn't know what Carl wants from her, but it's clear he's on the brink of insanity. Somehow Elizabeth must escape - before it's too late!

I actually read this a few days ago, but didn't have a chance to blog about it until now, so my feelings are kinda blasé now.

I'm really confused about Carl. In some ways, he's portrayed as an innocent mentally disabled person, who doesn't know how to act/treat people. Elizabeth is nice to him, so he thinks that must mean she loves him, so obviously he wants to love her, and when people are in love they run away to be together forever, so he can take care of her and live happily ever after. That's the kind of thing that would get him caught in a heartbeat. Elizabeth would've only been kidnapped for a few hours. She might not have been kidnapped at all: Carl might have just gone around telling everyone about his "new girlfriend Elizabeth", and people would've figured out what was going on and put a stop to it right away. But then they have him chloroforming her, and he's careful to keep going to work so as not to arise suspicions, and he knows not to buy stuff from the hospital itself. This sounds much more like a mentally capable creepy adult man, who wants Elizabeth for his own nefarious means. You can't really have it both ways, and I'm kinda pissed that they tried.

I want to know how long Elizabeth's been volunteering for. I know the last book took place over the span of like, a week. So is this next week? Has Carl only been watching Elizabeth for two weeks? Cuz if so, I can see why she hadn't said something. But has she been volunteering for a month? Cuz a month of Carl being creepy is definitely cause for concern.

Again, I hate Jessica. She had no real reason to lie to Todd about where Elizabeth was. All she had to say was, "I don't know! I'm not my sister's keeper! Maybe she got held up at the hospital or at Max's. Why don't you try calling those places?" Then afterwards, Todd would have a serious case about why they should be concerned about Elizabeth's whereabouts and Jessica could either be mature or immature.

Hook: Will Elizabeth leave Todd for Nicholas?

I'm guessing no, but she'll probably go on a few casual dates with Nicholas, trying to play it off all innocent like, "We're just friends; I'm allowed to hang out with guys, aren't I?" all the while knowing full-well that she hasn't made things clear to Nicholas. She'll probably feel guilty about it, but when confronted, she'll get all defensive, like she's done absolutely nothing wrong. It's a fine line, and theoretically it'd be possible for her to go out with Nicholas without her violating her relationship with Todd, but I'm guessing she'll cross the line and yeah. But everything will work out cuz she's a Wakefield haha

What I can't figure out is why Nicholas is so gaga over Elizabeth. Like, wtf, that escalated quickly. My guess is that he's smitten with their looks, but realizes that Jessica is too immature and vapid and irresponsible: so let's try the mature twin that Jessica's been singing the praises about!

Sweet Valley High #12: When Love Dies

Front Cover: What terrible secret is Tricia keeping from Steven?

Back Cover: The end of romance...

The Wakefield twins' older brother, Steven, is heartbroken. His girlfriend, Tricia Martin, no longer seems interested in him. She breaks their dates and doesn't return his calls. Steven can't understand why Tricia's feelings have changed so suddenly.

Jessica is thrilled that Steven isn't dating Tricia anymore. She sees it as the perfect opportunity to pair him with her best friend, Cara Walker. Elizabeth , Jessica's twin, thinks that scheming, gossipy Cara is all wrong for Steven. She's determined to find out the reason for Tricia's stranger behaviour - and horrified when she discovers the awful truth.

 Omg I hate Jessica so much!

So yeah, Tricia is dying of cancer, and she wants to spare Steven the pain of seeing her deteriorate. So she acts all distant and eventually they just break up. Steven is of course heartbroken, which is a foreign concept to Jess, so she tries hooking him up with Cara right away. Even if Steven was over Tricia, I hate Cara. She's so whiny and immature. She's actually worse than Jessica. Of course, Elizabeth figures out what's going on, and everything is fine in the end. Except that Tricia is still dying.

I hope we get to see her die in a book or two. I know she couldn't have possibly died in this book. She's near the end, but definitely has a few days, even weeks, left, especially if she's still going to school part-time. So unless she suddenly dies of cardiac arrest or something, she shouldn't have died yet.

The subplot in this one is that a TV host is in the hospital for a broken leg, so Jessica convinces Elizabeth that they should become candy stripers, so that Jessica has a chance to get close to him. Of course, it's Elizabeth who is assigned to his ward, and he loves her, because Elizabeth is all calm and mature and treats him like a human being, instead of a celebrity. Jessica eventually cons her way into his room, and is so starstruck that she acts like an idiot, is a total klutz, and just generally makes his life miserable. Of course in the end, everything comes up roses and Jessica gets to be interviewed and on TV.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth gets kidnapped by a creepy orderly. They rarely fully set-up plots in advance, so this was nice to see. Carl works at the hospital and is just generally weird and creepy. St Elizabeth, friends to all things, tries to be friendly, but even she admits to being creeped out by him. The last few pages has her getting kidnapped from the parking lot by Carl.

Hook: Will Elizabeth be saved?

Of course she will! It's funny, because at this point, the books were being released once a month, but according to my copy, readers would have to wait AN ENTIRE EXTRA MONTH to find out! I can't help but wonder how it would've been to be a preteen in the 1980s, eating this shit up like candy, anticipating the next novel. I'm sure I would've known that yes, Elizabeth would be fine in the end, but I wonder if I'd still be anxious just see exactly how and what unfolded. As it is, I'm pretty excited to read the next novel now haha

Sweet Valley High #11: Too Good to Be True

Front Cover: Is Suzanne as perfect as she seems?

Back Cover: A devil in disguise...

The Wakefield twins are wild with excitement. Glamorous, sophisticated Suzanne Devlin is coming to Sweet Valley from New York City. For two weeks, Elizabeth will show her around town while Jessica has the time of her life in New York.

At first, Suzanne seems to be the most perfect girl in the world. She's beautiful and friendly and not the least bit stuck-up. All the boys of Sweet Valley are absolutely crazy about her her. But when Suzanne accuses Mr. Collins of trying to seduce her, Elizabeth knows there's more to Suzanne than meets the eye.

Elizabeth really is too naive and trusting. I really wish she'd get mean and stop being stepped on.

Suzanne comes across as just some spoiled little brat who just wants attention. I mean, if her parents are as bad/neglectful as they came across when Jessica came over, I kinda get it. But still. She has no right to try and destroy Mr Collins's life and career like that.

I'm really pissed at Elizabeth for not taking his side right away. Also, didn't anyone interview Teddy? Teddy at least would have been a decent character witness, saying that Suzanne was mean and neglectful and not at all nice. I know they wouldn't be able to hang a judgment on that, but at least it would've raised awareness. People would have been all like, "Wait, that doesn't sound like the girl we met... what's going on?"

It's stuff like that that really makes me wary to be a teacher. I mean, luckily I'm a female, so it's unlikely a guy will rip his shirt and say I tried to attack him and take advantage of him, but yeah. It was just way too easy for Suzanne to cast doubt and cause havoc on Mr Collins's life. It makes me wonder if she's done this to boys her age too. I bet you if her boarding school is co-ed, she's probably tried a similar stunt to get guys kicked out.

I feel kinda bad that Jessica had such a terrible time in New York, but it doesn't excuse her behaviour. She knows that Pete is Suzanne's boyfriend, yet she still throws herself at him and tries to seduce him! I can understand flirting with him and what not, but she just keeps pushing and pushing, even though he says he's with Suzanne and that he loves her. It kinda shows how sad and pathetic Jessica's life is. She's so used to being flippant with guys and never getting into a serious long-term relationship, that she just expects guys to feel the same way. I bet you because she's always casually dated, meaning the guys were always technically allowed to date other girls, she just assumes that all guys want to date around.

Still. It really pisses me off that she can't understand and respect other people's relationships. Her meddling with Steven and his relationship with Tricia really gets to me! She blatantly lies and tries to manipulate him into breaking up with her!

Hook: What terrible secret is Tricia keeping from Steven?

I think she has cancer or some other terminal disease, and has been told that she only has 3 months or so to live. She probably wants to spare Steven the pain of watching her deteriorate and die, so she's hoping he'll lose interest in her and move on.

What I hate is Jessica always telling Steven that he can do better. Tricia has done nothing wrong. So what if she comes from a sketchy family?

Anyways, I feel like I've already read the next one, but I guess we'll see haha

Sweet Valley High #10: Wrong Kind of Girl

Front Cover: Watch it, Annie Whitman! Jessica's out to get you!

Back Cover: Jessica's at it again!

Jessica Wakefield has sworn never to allow Annie Whitman onto the Sweet Valley High cheering squad. Annie may have the teauty, talent and spirit to be a cheerleader, but she also has the worst reputation in school. She goes out with a different boy every night, and all the kids call her "Easy Annie" behind her back. Jessica's pulling every devilish trick to keep Annie from ruining the cheerleaders' image.

Only Elizabeth, Jessica's twin, knows what Annie's really like. But can she change her sister's mind before Jessica shatters Annie's dreams?

I definitely have never read this one before. It was pretty good, but nothing great. I feel like the only reason why Jessica has it out for Annie is because Annie is so similar to Jessica. Subconciously, Jessica probably feels threatened by Annie. Story of my life right now haha

Apparently Annie had no idea what people were saying behind her back, which I find hard to believe. There's gotta be jerks who call her "Easy Annie" to her face. I mean, there would be in a normal high school.

It kind of makes me sad that Annie's been going out with all these popular guys, mostly jerks who just want to get laid, when all she wants is a meaningful relationship. She's just going about life the wrong way.

Jessica gets off way too easily. She essentially bullies Annie (because yes, exclusion is now a form of bullying) and causes her to commit suicide. All Jessica has to do is sob and say that Annie is now on the cheerleading squad for everything to be put right again. Maybe I'm just petty, but if I were Annie, I would not be letting Jessica go so easily. Like jfc, what if Annie had actually died? This isn't the first time Jessica has potentially ruined someone's life, and we're only 10 books in! Yes, it always works out in the end, but just once I'd like to see it come crashing down around her and for shit to get real and her have to face some real consequences.

There was no real subplot in this one. Elizabeth works to help Annie get her grades up and comes to her own conclusions about Annie and her life. Omg Johnny, Annie's mother's boyfriend, was the creepiest guy ever. I would've loved to have seen more of him and Annie's homelife. You totes know that he creeps into her room at night and touches her.

Hook: Both twins get more than they bargained for...

So this was brought up briefly in this one that their father's friend from New York is planning on sending his daughter to Sweet Valley for two weeks, in exchange for one of the twins. I've already been spoiled that the twin that gets to go is Jessica, and that the daughter, Suzanne Devlin is not the picture perfect daughter she leads everyone to believe, so yeah.