pickWell, the whole series shifts with this book from third-person to first! Though I hadn‘t previously read all of the other #SVK books, from here on they‘re all new to me! It‘s a bit jarring (all the more so because this one has Jessica convincing Elizabeth to act stuck-up on account of their new Sweet Valley Cable TV show!). It‘s a weird book from Liz‘s point of view & one that is full of bickering and fights, though obviously it all ends well.
I'm having the time of my life listening to the podcast Double Love on my walks, where they are rereading and recapping the Sweet Valley High series. With much sarcasm and snark - it makes me so happy.
pickGreat-Aunt Helen returns here to gift each of the Wakefield children lessons of their choice. Steven chooses baseball camp. When Jessica learns about Julie Porter‘s piano lessons & the fancy dress recital, she tells her parents they both want that, not letting Elizabeth do horseback riding lessons instead. As usual, Great-Aunt Helen saves the day when she realizes how much Liz loathes the piano. I don‘t know where Jessica‘s musical talent goes!
pickIt‘s another #SweetValleyValentinesDay for the second grade class, and Ned‘s parents sent gifts from Hawaii— including a special orchid pin that inspires the first exclusive club of Sweet Valley. Because Liz‘s gets held up in the mail, only Jessica, Lila and Ellen are members of Orchid Club. In retaliation, Liz snubs them with creating the everyone-is-welcome Sunflower Club. And we finally catch a glimpse of none other than 1Bruce1 Patman here!
pickA lot of firsts here— the first Sweet Valley Christmas and the creation of the Snoopers Club— the twins, Lila, Ellen, Amy, Eva, Todd and Winston— as they take on this variation of Miracle on 34th Street. Is the new temporary janitor, Chris Kreeger actually the real Santa? How else could he know their names, what they want and have a big map? Sweet and fun, it‘s a jolly good mystery with the right amount of Christmas magic!
pickMrs. Becker is marrying the Sweet Valley librarian, Mr. Otis and the second grade class is all chipping in to give her a present (that Lois Waller found in a catalogue!). Elizabeth convinces her sister that they need to earn the $2 each to chip in— but Jessica doesn‘t help… plus she really wants glow-in-the-dark bracelets like Lila Fowler. This is just so classic in terms of their dynamic throughout the series! Plus, Todd Wilkins steps up here!
pan2✨ This was definitely not my favorite. It was very repetitive and dull. The only blood pumping moment was the last maybe 3 chapters. This plot was believable, but pretty extreme for the situation. Plus recovery was really very fast. #SeriesLove
pickThough the title changed from its teaser in book #2, the second grade class gets not one but two substitute teachers when Mrs. Becker falls ill. Shenanigans ensue, naturally, but lighthearted ones! Many later books will have plots that churn around the Sweet Valley rumor mill like this one does after they see Mr. Marshall get into a police car! All in all, great fun!
pickMy Sweet Valley reading project continues with this cute one where for an unspecified school break, the second-grade twins get to take home Tinkerbell, the class hamster. Elizabeth is delighted but squeamish Jessica wants nothing to do with the rodent! Cute & fun, a class hamster sounds better than my 2nd grade class that shared a teddy bear named Cuddles—are classes even allowed to share anything like this anymore? Or does this date the series?
pickThanks, @Kar2b for my first birthday card! As a gift to myself, I‘ve decided to dive into nostalgia and re-read the entire Sweet Valley series! The last time I decided to do this, I fell off at 31 in the SVK series, so hopefully this time I make it through more— especially since I‘ve been collecting the ones that I didn‘t have so I am in for some new reads too! This seventh birthday is fun—& the chocolate cake with marshmallow icing sounds yummy!
