To those who read Sweet Valley High, who is worse? Jessica or Elizabeth?
Posted by Vicki_Vickster2222@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 462 comments
Between the two Wakefield twins from Sweet Valley High, Jessica is meant to be the bad twin while Elizabeth is meant to be the good twin.
And indeed, Jessica is indeed the bad twin, because she was a typical mean girl in early books, but in later books (due to ghostwriters who write characters in certain ways), she turned out to be a sociopath too. She literally bullied a girl into attempting (something that I can't say).
However, I began to realize that maturing is realizing that Elizabeth wasn't completely innocent either, not only because there were times when she enabled Jessica's behavior, but also since she went from a hardworking, reserved, studious, caring, kind, compassionate to a nagging, meddling, sanctimonious condescending hypocrite. (Which is also a situation from certain ghostwriters). She gets upset at Jessica when she cheats on her boyfriends, but Elizabeth has also been cheating on her boyfriends throughout the series, especially Todd.
Not to mention that Elizabeth has done other certain things that were just as cruel as anything Jessica has ever done, yet it's somehow okay when it's Elizabeth doing it.
Who do you think is worse?
NewtLevel@reddit
I reread like the first 30 or so of these a couple of years ago and Jessica is a straight-up sociopath. Like she legitimately has a personality disorder. Elizabeth is kind of a stick in the mud but she's mostly the way she is because she's spent her entire life enabling and dealing with the fallout from her horrible twin sister.
IslandofStars@reddit
I’ve not thought of these in 25 years, but by golly I sure some how remembered Jessica was the crazy one when I read the title of this post ☝️
greensandgrains@reddit
I said out loud, “oh Jessica was psychotic!” And idek why, I just know it’s true.
iam317537@reddit
ME TOO
Imaginary-Media-4856@reddit
Same.
Capable-Fold-7347@reddit
Does anyone remember Sweet Valley University? I looooooooved those. Jessica marrying a townie and then divorcing him after he gets in a gunfight with Steven…Jessica running away with a professor who ultimately commits a murder suicide with his crazed ex to save Jessica…Lila and Bruce living together in a slum…Tod breaking up with Elizabeth because she wouldn’t sleep with him (!!!)…Sweet Valley High having a SIX MONTH high school reunion…
Numerous-Release-773@reddit
Oh my God. Yes! I read a few of them. I remember the one that you mentioned where Jessica is banging her sleazy professor and he neglects to tell her that he has a clinically insane, homicidal wife. Real catch, that guy.
I remember some rich psychopath that was obsessed with Elizabeth. William maybe? Somehow all the psychopaths were always obsessed with Elizabeth. Most boring woman alive, but she was like catnip to psychopaths.
Oh and I remember when Elizabeth was stress eating a lot and she went up a couple of pants sizes and it was some type of national crisis. Like suddenly she was a size 10 or something like that. I'm like oh my dear God noooooo! Not the size 10! That lasted like one book and then thankfully by the next book she was back to a size 6. I know it kept me up at night worrying about it.
Capable-Fold-7347@reddit
Seriously, how many times did Elizabeth get stalked/kidnapped?!
Berserkshires-@reddit
I don’t want to victim blame but at some point Elizabeth needed to assess what she was doing wrong to be kidnapped every other book. Maybe take a new route to the library. She’s the Princess Peach of Sweet Valley.
And how big was Sweet Valley that it supported a whole university?!
Berserkshires-@reddit
Sweet Valley University will always be the og SVU for me.
William White the kinda vampire secret society leader obsessed with Elizabeth (of course)
Accomplished-Art7609@reddit
Oh God, William White. He just kept coming back. And that ridiculous roommate Elizabeth had who was in love with him and hated her? Celine? Who was like the world's worst New Orleans belle stereotype?
Berserkshires-@reddit
My memory of her was she just kept swooning and waving scarves around. As all 18 year olds in the 90s did of course.
sweetnsassy924@reddit
The reunion where Olivia came back from the dead!
JessBx05@reddit
They were wild 🤣 So much drama!!
PrestigiousMaize2368@reddit
I read the Sweet Valley Twins and love them. It was their middle school years. Jessica and Lila were in the unicorn club and they always had to wear purple. Unless that was a fever dream??
dorothydreamer@reddit
This was what I started with too. Not a fever dream.
Liz was editor-in-chief of The Sixers, their school newspaper. Her bestfriend was Amy Sutton. Liz and Jess always wore the same outfits until Jess tricked her coz the Unicorns made her wear purple as an initiation rite to the Unicorns??
Also Jessica had a crush on Todd but it turns out he liked Liz.
txjennah@reddit
I was obsessed with these books. I never got into SVH.
geekdeevah@reddit
Yes! I read these as a kid but never moved on to SVH, I was much more interested in the Christopher Pike/RL Stine horror books at that time.
Bubbly-Stretch8975@reddit
Same. I never got into Sweet Valley High, just Sweet Valley Twins. Think I was a bit “young” for the high school books. I was also more of a babysitters club and fear street girl.
LittlehouseonTHELAND@reddit
Correct! Those were the ones I read too. I found the Sweet Valley High obnoxious, lol. I was never able to get into it.
Lilithbeast@reddit
Ditto! I kind of liked these books, but when I discovered Babysitters Club, all bets were off. When I outgrew them I think I gave them to the girl I used to babysit for and she was ecstatic. My only babysitting charge 🥹
LittlehouseonTHELAND@reddit
Oh gosh, I adored the Babysitters Club books! They were my favorite too. Yeah, I bet she was thrilled when you gave them to her! That’s so awesome.
Ill-Dragonfruit5658@reddit
THE UNICORN CLUB!!! Not a fever dream!
freenow4evr@reddit
I would wear purple and pretend I was a Unicorn. Minus the bullying - I just wanted friends.
throwaway04182023@reddit
Accurate. I read the recaps at sweetvalley.online
They usually refer to the Unicorns as a pack of harpies which yes. Just bullies. The series was followed by a series on The Unicorn Club and the first half dozen are great. They get sentenced to community service for being jerks and end up caring about people and doing community service. It was great for 6 books and then… back to harpies.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
Jessica is an actual sociopath. Elizabeth is more just condescending and a busy body.
They’re both obnoxious, but Jessica might actually get someone killed one day in pursuit of like, a minor award.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
Also, if you have not, consider checking out the podcast Double Love. A couple of very funny Irish women recap the entire series. It’s amazing.
firesticks@reddit
Oh man, I really needed this boost of nostalgia today.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
These books fucked me up. I should not have been reading them.
gentron1224@reddit
God ‘the perfect size six’ still fucks me up
oldswirlo@reddit
Ugh this never left my consciousness, it stings to see it here. So many years wondering why I’d never be a perfect size 6 and then when I got into a size 6 my dysmorphia was so strong, I never saw it as perfect.
I read every single one of these 😭
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
No lies detected. I am in my mid-forties, and still assign meaning to “size six”, despite the fact that “size six” is nothing like it was 30-40 years ago, AND is not a consistent, real size now, AND there is no actual value to be found in our clothing sizes.
But when I lost a bunch of weight during a very bad life period, I shit you not - buying a six, and then a four, were my bright spots. False bright spots. But I truly thought about these books when I tried on, and fit into, a “size six”.
JustHCBMThings@reddit
It’s just vanity sizing and has no basis in reality. I was a 2 in high school and then Express (where I bought all of my clothes) decided to change that size to a 0 (which didn’t exist before) and eventually a 00. I was the same size the entire time. My mom was the same size as me when she was younger and I tried on some of her clothes from the 70s which fit me perfectly and were labeled a 6.
soneg@reddit
It wasn't until this thread that I just realized why I always thought size 6 was the ultimate perfect size to be.
opelaceles@reddit
same same same
Even though when I read them, I didn't know what a size 6 even meant
quite-indubitably@reddit
Same
Sofagirrl79@reddit
Yep back in the day a size 6 was a 2/4 by todays sizing, I was a size 10 or 12 in the 90s and that would be like a size 8/10 today
whenveganscheat@reddit
Sup?
Bubbly-Stretch8975@reddit
I’m so confused. So our sizes now make us think we’re smaller?
HistoryGirl23@reddit
So interesting! I was a size 6 in high school, am very much not at all now, and wouldn't have thought the sizing changed within the decade.
Looking at the pattern charts however it seems to be the case, crazy.
ElegantGoose@reddit
I have a very vivid memory of getting a super cute skirt in 8th grade... but I was a size 8 and felt so BIG.
gentron1224@reddit
I remember crying in dressing rooms having to reluctantly try on the size 10 😭 I hate this for so many of us
Vivid-Individual5968@reddit
I’m in my 50s and I still struggle with not being a size six EVER.
NoLead2102@reddit
In Australia a size six is the equivalent of a US size zero. And the books we got didn't get adapted for an Aussie audience. Pre-internet I didn't know our size charts were different to the US.
So I legit grew up thinking the twins had "perfect size zero figures". Messed me up pretty good.
8nikki@reddit
I just commented the exact same thing in different words haha. So many of us are so scarred.
librarygirl00@reddit
When they rereleased the books in the late 2000’s they were a “perfect size 4.”
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
The perfect size six. The perfect tan. The way the biggest bullies were our protagonists AND consistently got away with - nay, were rewarded for - reprehensible behavior.
Is this the beginning of our class action lawsuit against the Francine Pascal estate?
_buffy_summers@reddit
It would never hold up in court. She hates them more than we do.
freenow4evr@reddit
What has she said?
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
It would if we got Ned Wakefield, Attorney at Law, to represent us!
_buffy_summers@reddit
With as messed up as Sweet Valley was, he probably was actually a mob boss.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
He was so good-looking. Just ask his daughters.
Numerous-Release-773@reddit
Don't forget handsome, dark haired older brother Steven, so handsome that his own sisters are constantly commenting on it. All very cool and normal, just admiring your own brother's hotness.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
“Liz couldn’t help but notice how Peepaw Wakefield’s muscles rippled beneath his pleated trousers, worn casually just beneath his armpits. And Meemaw Wakefield, blonde and slender, could practically pass for the twins’ daughter!”
Sithstress_@reddit
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Numerous-Release-773@reddit
Stoppppppp, why is this so accurate? LMAOO
Waterproof_soap@reddit
I would join in!
Aggressive_Power_471@reddit
god when I finally reached a perfect size 6 with a 34 C cup, a Puerto Rican butt and abs, only to hear guys say they would never date a woman over 120 lbs (I was 150 as a perfect size 6), I cried and gave up. The "number" will always matter more than the body image.
bumbeebutts@reddit
THIS
laurandisorder@reddit
In EVERY SINGLE BOOK too. Chapter 2 of I remember correctly.
EatsPeanutButter@reddit
I was an anorexic size 2 when I was younger and I was secretly so proud to be smaller than the Wakefield twins. 🙄
8nikki@reddit
STILL! I'm actually a smaller size now and my evil brain STILL fucks with me and tells me that their 'perfect size six' is still way thinner because of today's vanity sizing, etc., and I'll never be as thin as Jess and Liz 😅
maybesoma@reddit
Me too. I'm 48 years old ffs.
notoriousrdc@reddit
As much as "the perfect size six" fucked me up personally, the one that really makes my skin crawl in retrospect is how often the twins' appearance is described as "all-American good looks."
Sofagirrl79@reddit
I always thought that was weird,my mom is half Mexican and I took more after her Mexican side of the family appearance wise but most of my ancestry is British isles according to DNA results
My Mexican side of the family came here over 100 years ago and that side of the family while still holding to some traditions was just as American as the Wakefields but I guess since they were blond and blue eyed that makes them "all American" lol
EdwardianAdventure@reddit
Nah, I bet your family's been here longer!
The Sagas editions are all over the place, but if I recall, some of the earliest ones are on Alice's side in a frontier setting.
Sofagirrl79@reddit
I was just saying the Mexican side immigrated from Juarez in the 1920s,the others I can trace to the 1840s but that's where the ancestry trail ends lol
EdwardianAdventure@reddit
That makes it official - You are totally more American than the Wakefields! 😊
(I too was a BIPOC girl at a PWI, so I feel ya on the dodgy bits of these books. The 'Double Love' podcast totally doesn't miss what these books were doing - so it's been refreshing to listen these two sharp Irish ladies taking a well-deserved jab at them)
Sofagirrl79@reddit
Yay 😊
Special_Wishbone_812@reddit
Later editions changed it to size four! wtf!
kbrick1@reddit
Don’t want those readers getting any crazy body positivity ides in their heads
Sofagirrl79@reddit
And a size 6 in the 80s and 90s would be a 2 or 4 today, I was fine with my size 10 back in the day lol
blue_suavitel@reddit
It lives rent free in my head.
JustHCBMThings@reddit
I was really short growing up and I prayed to end up 5’6 like Jessica and Elizabeth. God answered that prayer.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
I too am 5’6”. So blessed are we to be the literal perfect height. Just gotta bleach my hair, hit the tanning bed, get some Ozempic, resurrect my mom and make her look like my sister, and then it’s OVER for you people!
NSAinATL@reddit
I see you these blondes and raise you a V.C. Andrews.
FrequentMembership76@reddit
Yes what the actual!! Why was I reading flowers in the attic as a teen?!?
Delilah_Moon@reddit
Christopher Pike has entered the chat.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
L.J. Smith would like a word.
Feeling-Visit1472@reddit
Neither LJS or Pike are even remotely in the realm of Andrews. Although yes, both did portray teens living oddly adult lives.
mmmliz@reddit
Anne Rice is waiting for y’all in the back parkour.
twoburgers@reddit
Now I'm giggling over your typo thinking about Anme Rice doing parkour.
mmmliz@reddit
I knowwwww, I was on my phone and it was too much effort to edit, so I left it for the lols. Glad someone enjoyed it.
Feeling-Visit1472@reddit
Oh she can absolutely go hang with Andrews!
Sithstress_@reddit
I read The Witching Hour when I was 11.
HistoryGirl23@reddit
Loved her books
IndustryStrong4701@reddit
I adored the LJ Smith books. I was so pissed when their storyline was changed so much, for the TV shows.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
SAME! Those books were amazing. I entered my crystals phase HARD. Never really left it.
kbrick1@reddit
Ok but no joke, LJ Smith was the shit when I was in middle school/high school. I ate that shit UP
itsafoodbaby@reddit
I read flowers in the attic and the rest of her smutty smut between the ages of 10-12. Where were my parents??
Jedi_Mind_Chick@reddit
Similarly, saw the movie at a very young age. Where were my parents? I had visuals!
ItsADarkRide@reddit
As a teen? I read at age 11, as did all of my friends.
Ardilla914@reddit
I was in 6th grade. Not sure why that book was available to borrow in the class library.
Waterproof_soap@reddit
My Sweet Audrina did real damage
Imaginary-Media-4856@reddit
I think all of them live rent free in my head.
maybesoma@reddit
I read that shit in grade 6!
stormer1_1@reddit
I went through Some Shit as a teen and reading Andrews actually made me feel better about my life lol. Like it was bad, but it wasn't "stashed away in an attic for so long I decide to screw my brother" bad.
delidweller@reddit
I was traumatized when I realized I would never have violet eyes, chameleon hair, or a peaches and cream complexion.
Issie_Bear@reddit
Lol i loved to read when I was younger. One summer we got them and my mom told me that she had just finished flowers in the attic and didn’t think I should read those. I said mom, wait until u get to the last book, the prequel.
de-milo@reddit
they were sooooo not meant for teens. horrible characters all around, nevermind the awful social and cultural descriptions
emacextrabrut80@reddit
Don’t forget the Fiat Spider they drove to school 😭
patient_brilliance@reddit
Do you have a matching lavalier necklace to "complete the look"?
Looks always being completed in Sweet Valley.
supernaturjill@reddit
They once described a yellow off the shoulder sweater (that perfectly highlighted Elizabeth’s perfect ocean blue eyes) with an armful of bangles and it was my clothing awakening. That, and every one of Claudia’s outfits in the BBC.
JustHCBMThings@reddit
Mean Janine? Is that you? It’s BSC not BBC.
Significant-Style-73@reddit
Claudia Kishi is a fashion icon
patient_brilliance@reddit
Hard agree!
LucyBrooke100@reddit
Who else still doesn’t know what the fuck a lavalier is and doesn’t care enough to look it up
EatsPeanutButter@reddit
I know because I BEGGED my parents for one when I was like 13 and got one for my birthday. It’s… nothing exciting lol. I found out. 😂
catsdelicacy@reddit
Right? I have blue eyes and this has brought up an ancient memory of peering into a mirror trying to decide if they were also the same color as the Pacific Ocean!
snailslimeandbeespit@reddit
Don't forget the matching gold lavalier necklaces.
Curious-Basket-7934@reddit
I like the eye description?
nitenmyveins@reddit
Well, both girls were spectacular...so 😉
humble-meercat@reddit
I had no idea that’s where my obsession with being a size 6 came from…
Tiny-Reading5982@reddit
I had the eye and hair color but I was never meant to be a size 6 lol
vinylchickadee@reddit
Why are those sentences still rattling around in my brain somewhere? And how?? Reading that was like seeing a photo of myself as a kid in a moment I had no memory of, until I saw the picture.
BostonBlackCat@reddit
Genuinely my favorite podcast of all time. I hadn't read the books in decades but it ALL came back to me listening to it.
My husband, a a middle aged man, had zero familiarity with SVH, and even he was dying laughing during the "evil third twin" episodes.
Electronic_World_894@reddit
Omg the evil third twin. Was it Margot or something like that?
The-Good-Bad-Place@reddit
Yes. Margot! She wasn’t a triplet but somehow managed to look just like then, and moved across the country to kill one of the twins and assume their identity!
Electronic_World_894@reddit
Yes! She felt she was owed their life!
Feeling-Visit1472@reddit
And then one of the twins’ college friends also had a SWF-style stalker. It was wild.
JustHCBMThings@reddit
When Jessica married a paraplegic named Mike?
Feeling-Visit1472@reddit
I forgot about that one 😆
Imaginary-Media-4856@reddit
This is all rushing back into my memory and I think I’m going to need some time to process it.
throwaway04182023@reddit
It’s so good. Jessica was already the evil twin so they had to raise the stakes with Margot to someone who kills children on a whim. That’s what it takes to be worse than Jessica! And Margot had her own evil twin. Two sets of evil twins! My father thought I was making this up when I was 10 and read them. If he was alive he’d still be laughing.
mssheevaa@reddit
I remember one of the books having another twin. I think she was the twin of Margot. My brain says Nora? She ended up killing Margot when she was pretending to be Jessica and had to "force herself" to be Elizabeth instead. Lol. Just nuts. I think it was a Christmas book or something.
throwaway04182023@reddit
They fought over who got to be Jessica because no one wants to be Elizabeth. Still slays me.
JustHCBMThings@reddit
Margo then Margo had another evil twin named Nora.
Electronic_World_894@reddit
Ohhhh Nora sounds familiar!
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
SHE LET HER LITTLE FOSTER SISTER DIE IN A TOASTER FIRE.
sweetnsassy924@reddit
To this day I think this is why I’m terrified of my toaster catching fire.
NotActuallyJen@reddit
Oh my God. Is this why all the women in my family are afraid of our toasters? We literally keep them unplugged when not in use 🤣
sweetnsassy924@reddit
I do this too and this book is why!
NotActuallyJen@reddit
I'm seriously wondering if this book is the cause of all of us doing it. I'll be discussing with my family as soon as possible lol
Electronic_World_894@reddit
I randomly think of that story and shudder that someone even thought it up!
sweetnsassy924@reddit
Right? I want to know why someone came up with that and how? It’s crazy af!
novae11@reddit
Ooo I loved the mystery specials!
LyraNgalia@reddit
EVIL FOURTH TWIN SUPREMACY
curlinrondo@reddit
I was going to suggest Double Love! Its my favorite. I always thought Jessica was worse but they opened my eyes to Elizabeth's insanity.
Miserable-Dot-5026@reddit
Remember the boyfriends name? Darwin
Feeling-Visit1472@reddit
Todd.
Longjumping-Ebb-1584@reddit
Was Todd from Oregon? My god if that’s true it’s crazy i remember that
Significant-Style-73@reddit
I think Jeffrey was from Oregon.
Todd moved to Vermont and back in the same school year lol
freenow4evr@reddit
Todd?
curlinrondo@reddit
Todd? Or Jeffrey?
placidyank@reddit
I’m excited to listen to this, I need a break from true crime podcasts. And another plus for the Irish accent, which I personally think is the best in the world 😊
CloseButNoChicory@reddit
This Irishwoman is making time today to listen to it! Needed that burst of patriotism to console me for never growing up to be "trim, tanned Alice Wakefield".
MommaOfManyCats@reddit
There are some funny blogs and sites that recap the books too! 1Bruce1 on Live Journal, YA Revisited on Blogspot, and Dairi Cheer are my favorites.
Sofagirrl79@reddit
1Bruce1 license plate is forever in my brain lol,such a smaller detail that I'm surprised people reference it lol
I was gonna get a vanity plate for my car I bought about 5 years ago in California and for shits and giggles I looked up that custom plate and somebody actually had it and probably still does
Sofagirrl79@reddit
Thanks for award hon 😊
sweetnsassy924@reddit
I read the entire 1bruce1 recap blog when recovering from major surgery. The memories.
Longjumping-Bell-762@reddit
This was an immediate follow on my podcast app!
humble-meercat@reddit
I’m so excited to listen to this!
Auntie_Nat@reddit
I freaking love that podcast 🤣
PomegranateMission97@reddit
Thank you for sharing this!
myarrow@reddit
instantly goes to Dear Sister episode. thx for the tip!
MusicG619@reddit
Is that the car accident/amnesia one? I still remember her holding the picture on the cover lol
yarnmagpie@reddit
I was gifted over 100 of the books as a kid (but I wasn't allowed to read them, so I had to do it in secret LOL). I am definitely checking this podcast out!
_running_fool_@reddit
Omg! Subscribe!
rythmicjea@reddit
Is it on Spotify??
frederichenrylt@reddit
https://open.spotify.com/show/1nQ7gfMCYhh37YYCvs1N8i?si=wQfBEpMHT36AuDp3PPfpLg
rythmicjea@reddit
GOAT
Carajoy79@reddit
Yes! Came here to say this - such a fun podcast!
MommaOfManyCats@reddit
She did! Poor Sam at the Jungle Prom. Jessica spiked Sam and Liz's drinks, which led to Sam dying.
frolicndetour@reddit
With like a couple of slugs of alcohol divided between two people. For a while I thought you could get super drunk on that little alcohol, like I also thought doing one line of cocaine would make your heart explode (RIP Regina Morrow).
JustHCBMThings@reddit
Never tried cocaine thanks to SVH,
one-small-plant@reddit
Omg I now know the source of why I've always thought that doing cocaine once kills you!!
frolicndetour@reddit
YUP. I have literally never tried it because of that. More effective than a PSA 😆
CatPawSoup@reddit
I never read SVH, but I would love a thread of the unhinged shit Jessica did.
basylica@reddit
Did you ever read the sweet valley sagas? The Jessicas of the other twin sets featured in the books make jessica look like a saint by comparison.
Especially the flapper twins. I forget their names but good gravy.
HNIT110508@reddit
No, but I've read the Sweet Valley Confidential books. I'll have to give these saga ones a go!
AutomaticPlace7994@reddit
Oh wow yeah the saga, i def remember Jessamyn and Elisabeth, the set where one of them dies falling off a horse and I think that's somehow the fault of the bad twin in that situation.
basylica@reddit
Jessamyn runs off to be bareback rider in circus, and elizabeth stays behind as dutiful daughter but learns to ride. Tracks her down and ends up breaking her neck showing her she can ride like her again.
But Amanda and Samantha… far worse!
Feeling-Visit1472@reddit
Lila’s family saga book was the best one but still absolutely heartbreaking.
basylica@reddit
I never did get my hands on that one!
MindfulMocktail@reddit
She did get someone killed! In the Evil Twin sequence of books. She spiked Elizabeth's punch, then Elizabeth, not knowing she was drunk, drove Jessica's boyfriend home and he died in a crash. The Evil Twin books were WILD.
ChiquitaFeisty@reddit
No the jungle prom was slightly earlier - Margo hadn’t reached the twins yet so she wasn’t the one who spiked it. I think that was Jessica herself. The twins aren’t talking for all of the initial evil twin books because of the aftermath of Sam’s death.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
THAT’S RIGHT! I forgot about that! I have gotten that far in the podcast yet, but it’s coming soon!
Moomin-Maiden@reddit
I think I remember one book where Jessica asked a friend to sit in on a cave splenuking class and test for her. Just a single class for one day for the topic. Jessica only wanted to go because her Crush Of The Week was doing it, but she didn't want to do the 'boring' prep stuff/safety class.
The friend did it, but her results got her into the 3rd level (bottom) group, while the Crush made it into the top tier one.
Jessica went OFF on her friend for 'not trying hard enough' and ending up in the bottom.
Jessica wants to swap with Liz who made into the top tier too. Jessica ends up breaking her ankle trying to show off for Crush's attention and has to be carried out.
In that example she only got herself hurt, but you're right that others can end up collateral damage too.
Also this was.... squints .. good grief, 30+ years ago for me, and I only read about 10 SVH books all up, so I could be remembering very wrong 😅
jpetersell@reddit
Agree. Jessica is a sociopath. Full stop.
sweetnsassy924@reddit
She technically got her boyfriend killed in that prom book when she spiked Liz’s drink.
ravynwave@reddit
I couldn’t actually read this series at all, even tho every other girl was crazy into it precisely they both came off terrible.
Capable-Fold-7347@reddit
Pretty sure she does get someone killed eventually…doesn’t she spike the punch at prom and then her boyfriend drives drunk and dies?
nvmls@reddit
Let us all thank God that Jessica did not have social media.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
Omg the beauty influencing…
nvmls@reddit
It would have been so much worse. Remember how the first fact you learn about them is that they are a "perfect size six"? In the newer reprints they are a size 2.
Tommy_Riordan@reddit
I am angry that I know this now.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
That’s enough internet for me for the evening.
_buffy_summers@reddit
The freakout video where she's got black hair.
Ill-Complaint-6634@reddit
Lol I’ve got to reread these
Majestic_Demand_@reddit
I always like Elizabeth. Smart and studious, kinda quiet to Jessica being so outgoing.
NSAinATL@reddit
I literally couldn't read those books, lol, they made me SO MAD. Just seeing that cover made me scrunch my nose and think "Those girls are the WORST!"
Babysitters Club and LM Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables) all the way!
...and Nancy Drew.
Majestic-Marzipan621@reddit
I collected every single Babysitter's Club book. I would get so excited when I'd go to the bookstore in the mall and there'd be a new one to buy. Probably still have them all in my parents'basement.
brainvheart143@reddit
Right?! Bc going to the shelf and seeing a new one was the only way we would know it was out. That was the BEST
Majestic-Marzipan621@reddit
If I'm remembering correctly I think they were $2.95 a piece? That number is imprinted in my brain lol.
Except if you were buying a white special edition!
brainvheart143@reddit
The special editions were the best!
Duckeee47@reddit
I had a large number of the BSC books when I was younger and then my mom decided to donate them to a small town school library. I’ve spent the last 15 years collecting the books again. It’s been fun to pursue donation stores and secondhand book shops trying to find the full series. I still have a ways to go but I easily have 80-100 of the books now.
My 10 year old niece loves them and borrows them often.
LemonCitron47@reddit
I've been trying to buy them too! It's so much fun and exciting when you find them. I've also been trying to find Fear Street & Christopher Pike.
Duckeee47@reddit
I would love to find the Sweet Valley books because I didn’t actually read the High series. I liked the Sweet Valley Twins, when the girls were middle school age
btmoose@reddit
I’ve been a Nancy Drew stan since I started reading. I also grew up playing the Nancy Drew computer games and still love to down a glass of wine and roleplay as a drunk teen detective asking super invasive questions and stealing anything she finds interesting.
imhereforthevotes@reddit
BABYSITTERS BROS UNITE!!!
Just kidding, I am guessing you're not a bro, but I loved those books. And I'm a bro.
thisisallme@reddit
Nah, you’re a bro, they’re a bro, I’m a bro. We’re all bros, no matter our gender
segacs2@reddit
It's like Dude. Dude is gender neutral and nobody will ever convince me otherwise.
Waterproof_soap@reddit
I literally say this all the time. I cite GoodBurger.
sweetnsassy924@reddit
Same here!
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
I read the babysitters club books too. I was more interested in them than my sister was even though they were hers.
My sister had a few of the sweet valley books and the theme song of the brief TV series about them is an occasional intrusive nostalgic thought lol.
frolicndetour@reddit
I still read the AOGG series every couple of years.
mother-of-squid@reddit
Did you listen to the BSCC podcast, now Strange Bedfellows? Just a couple of of babysitting bros reading and discussing the books.
imhereforthevotes@reddit
no! I shall do this!
Colonel_Green@reddit
I am a proud Nancy Drew bro.
imhereforthevotes@reddit
She was definitely cannier than the Hardy Bros.
NSAinATL@reddit
Bro, dude, gurl, boi, all y'all, them blonde twin books gave me anxiety with all their foolishness lolllll
brainvheart143@reddit
I love this for you. I feel like it should be required reading for bros.
username__0000@reddit
I was more fear street fan.
But I LOVED the newish tv series of the babysitters club. It was fun. I never grew out of teen dramas. lol
NSAinATL@reddit
...did you watch the Saved by the Bell reboot? Nowhere near as epic as BH90210 but still good!
brainvheart143@reddit
Wait WHAT? How did I not know this was a thing
Imaginary-Media-4856@reddit
I absolutely loved Babysitters Club! I think I found them more relatable as a nerdy brunette.
stephsco@reddit
Same, those were my jam, plus Christopher Pike and the Secret Circle books (same author as Vampire Diaries).
ravenscroft12@reddit
I loved all the LJ Smith trilogies!
notoriousrdc@reddit
Nancy Drew was my jam, but I also liked SVH. But I especially liked the 80's Nancy Drew "Files" series, that was more edgy (lots of murders!) than the OG series and had some of the melodramatic vibe the SVH books had, too.
BrilliantTop5012@reddit
I read like 1 or 2 of them every day during the summer. Until I read all of them they had at the library.
BrilliantTop5012@reddit
These were THE BEST.
Mediocre-Cry5117@reddit
Dirty Nancy Drew. Due to lazy parenting, I got ahold of those in third grade.
Numerous-Release-773@reddit
Oh yes, The Nancy Drew Files! You just unlocked a memory for me. I had a handful of those books. I can still picture the covers. I think one I had took place in a hospital and the other among fashion designers.
The Sweet Valley Super Thrillers had the same kind of vibe.
NSAinATL@reddit
I remember when those came out, lol. As an adult I recognize the brand move but as a kid I was like...why are they making this old timey teenager lady wear hot pink...
BrilliantTop5012@reddit
Nancy Drew Files? I LOVED that series!
sweetnsassy924@reddit
Nancy Drew was awesome! The OG books and Nancy Drew Files which were a bit sexier.
oldswirlo@reddit
It was Anne of Green Gables that finally opened my mind and imagination to the joys of being different.
NSAinATL@reddit
Aw! Carrots!
Prestigious-Cold4942@reddit
I deeply disliked Jessica when I read the books as a kid. I wonder if I reread them I'd have a different opinion though I have no intentions to do so. I was much more of an Anne of Green Gables girl anyway.
Prestigious_Yak_3887@reddit
Side note here: there is an amazing full cast audiobook of Anne of Green Gables with Catherine O’Hara as marilla cuthbert on Audible. It’s so well done. Just listened to the whole thing on a long plane ride.
throwaway04182023@reddit
It’s been mentioned elsewhere but try the Double Love podcast. Two Irish adult women re-reading this garbage and dishing all about it. My favorite parts are usually them questioning if it’s the terrible books or all Americans that are actually insane. Sometimes I find myself yelling at the podcast that graham crackers are digestive biscuits but usually it’s the terrible books. Bizarre to have sororities in a high school. The episodes are long but great for road trips.
Anxious-Cat-2806@reddit
God, I’m 53 and my mom gave me my grandmother’s lavalier 15 years ago and whenever I wear it I think of Sweet Valley High.
dizzy_dizzy_dinosaur@reddit
Did nobody else read the flash forward adult boom that came out like fifteen years ago? No? Just me? Okay, never mind.
JustHCBMThings@reddit
Yes I read it all and I will consume anything sweet valley
MrsRoboto222@reddit
Is this the one where Steven Wakefield came out as gay and Elizabeth ends up with Bruce Patman?
sweetnsassy924@reddit
Yes! Steven dated Aaron Dallas.
dizzy_dizzy_dinosaur@reddit
Yes! Because Jessica and Todd had a torrid affair
MrsRoboto222@reddit
Just looked up the title: Sweet Valley Confidential! I was super excited for this and it had its fun moments (the gay Steven arc) but ultimately I found it underwhelming. What did you think of it?
MommaOfManyCats@reddit
There were also 6 ebooks that followed the story, which Francine published later as The Sweet Life. I found a copy at Dollar Tree. It ends with Bruce getting accused of sequel harassment, Liz not sure what to do because he, you know, tried to assault her in high school, and he then leaves her for Annie who was his lawyer.
Lumpy-Detective-1978@reddit
Oh no not sequel harassment! 😂
Imaginary-Media-4856@reddit
Based.
NewWayHom@reddit
Amazing autocorrect.
dizzy_dizzy_dinosaur@reddit
It was so bad! My friends and I drank through it together for fun and that saved it.
HNIT110508@reddit
Yep, I read all of 'em. I actually really liked Bruce and Elizabeth as a couple. I didn't ever really like her with Todd.
Kimothy80@reddit
I checked it out from the library but I got major try-hard vibes. Trying too hard to be modern, too much change in certain characters (Winston!) and Jessica breaking the ultimate sister rule and going after Todd?! C’mon! 🤦♀️
MinaBinaXina@reddit
If you read Jessica’s diary, she pretended to be Elizabeth and Todd had no clue about the switch until he kissed her. THE DRAMZ!!!
Kimothy80@reddit
Oh yeah, I remember that one!
throwaway04182023@reddit
The first 3 books I read in the series were A Night to Remember, The Arrest (#96) because that’s where the series was, and Double Love (#1) to stay at the beginning. Jessica tries to steal Todd in 2/3 of those books. I genuinely thought that’s what the series was.
UnholyAlloy@reddit
Omg “A Night to Remember” had me in shambles 😭
schmoopieblues@reddit
It was so good!
JessBx05@reddit
Me, it was wildly amusing where they put them in adulthood 🤣
einzeln@reddit
the WHAT
awesomeCC@reddit
I could not get into SV Confidential. It felt like just yet another series remake where the now grown up characters are STILL hooking up with each other years later showing little to no character growth.
MommaOfManyCats@reddit
At one point, she planned on putting them all in a gated community or apartment complex like Melrose Place, which would have been so much worse.
dizzy_dizzy_dinosaur@reddit
It’s the perfect terrible follow up. So shallow and weirdly redeeming bad people because they’re wealthy.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Did anybody read the sweet valley saga? It's about the twins ancestors, who are just Jessica (or Jessamyn, or Jessaphine) and Elizabeth in hoop skirts doing the same silly stuff
Kimothy80@reddit
Okay, Lila’s sweet valley saga is THE BEST ONE in my opinion. Bruce’s is great too and I wish we’d gotten Todd’s story or Enid!
JustHCBMThings@reddit
Fuck that wet blanket Enid, especially when she changed her name to Alexandra in college.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
I liked Lila idk what anybody said.
laurandisorder@reddit
Lila was my girl
Feeling-Visit1472@reddit
I just said the same thing!!
SuggestionBoxX@reddit
Lila's family story was so sad. I brought all of the Saga's again last year. I had the Wakefield ones growing up but for some reason never had Lila's or Bruce's. Lila's family story hurt, although them sticking to the same formula as the Wakefield one was unnecessary.
ML5815@reddit
Her evil stepmother! Lila’s saga was definitely the best one!
Kimothy80@reddit
I’m actually talking about the one with her ancestors but that one sounds great too! 😊
Fawn_Lebowitz@reddit
Why do I remember that Jessamyn joined the circus when she ran away from home?
AnyPalpitation5632@reddit
And her sister was in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, and thad ? ( obviously Todd's great grandad or something) was her boyfriend there but he died. Yet she had to soldier on and became the spinster aunt of another Wakefield kin who was on the hindenburg. 😂
Capable-Fold-7347@reddit
I never understood why she couldn’t just pretend they’d been married and everything got lost in the earthquake.
AnyPalpitation5632@reddit
They had it all wrong, but its okay; because elsewhere the wild twin is bareback riding for the circumstances! And i think she was having a fling with a different wakefield!
_buffy_summers@reddit
Heh. "Bareback riding."
squishings@reddit
You’re mixing up Jessamyn and Elisabeth with Sarah (who also had a twin-James,but he died) and one of the other set of identical twins, Amanda and Samantha. Their stories are all intertwined though 🤣
Sarah was on the Wakefield twins’ father’s side of the family and was the daughter of Theodore who was the first love of Alice, Jessamyn and Elisabeth’s mother who came from Sweden. After Elisabeth died Jessamyn ran a hotel in San Francisco so she was there during the earthquake but it was Sarah was the one who ran away to San Francisco to elope.
It was Sarah’s son, conceived in the rubble of earthquake destruction, that grew up to marry the woman who died on the Hindenburg. Sarah’s brand new husband had died in the quake so she raised Edward on her own pretending to be his aunt.
As a teen Edward was involved with the twin daughters of Jessamyn, Amanda and Samantha before meeting his eventual wife. Later, Samantha died in childbirth and Amanda raised her.
Significant-Style-73@reddit
I'm dying at "conceived in the rubble of earthquake destruction" ! LOL
MommaOfManyCats@reddit
And the one sister wanted the guy who liked her sister, so she set him up to get arrested as a bootlegger lol
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Because she damn near got herself killed! For no reason!
_buffy_summers@reddit
That's where I learned how to read someone else's mail. I've never used it, but I know how to do it, now.
ItsADarkRide@reddit
Even as an eight-year-old, when I occasionally read Sweet Valley High, I did so ironically because they were so over-the-top ridiculous, but the first Saga book, which came out when I was 11 or so... I legitimately enjoyed that one and wasn't reading it to make fun of it. Maybe I should have been, but for some reason I did actually like it. I never read any of the other Saga books, though.
I collect girls' series books, though, so I have an enormous Sweet Valley collection that I acquired as an adult, although I owned very few as a kid. I collect all the spin-off series for various different ages, too. I still haven't read most of the ones I own, though. I got an absolute ton of SVH books for free when the local library was getting rid of them (my spouse works there, and I'm also a librarian but work elsewhere). Getting a whole shitload at oncecis different than getting one or two at Value Village every once in a while, and I definitely have not had the time to read that much Sweet Valley!
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
A girls book collection sounds so interesting. How many do you have so far?
CatPawSoup@reddit
Yes! I never read the SVH series, but I loved history and got those at the book fair. I was obsessed!
Tullamore1108@reddit
Yes! One of my favorite books in middle school and the first book that ever made me ugly cry. When Jessamyn runs away to join the circus and Elisabeth tracks her down like a year later. And after Jessamyn left, she’d been learning to ride bareback too. When she finds Jessamyn she wants to surprise her with her skills but she misjudges the backflip and breaks her neck in the fall. And Jessamyn has a front row seat to the whole thing. 😭😭😭
de-milo@reddit
oh my god i’ve never heard of these spinoffs and now i absolutely have to read them they sound insane
rialucia@reddit
I forgot about that part! 😫
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Oh my goodness I remembered it wrong. I thought Jessamyn hurt herself and barely survived!
Ginger630@reddit
I loved those books!!!!
its_me_biz@reddit
Girl I loved those books!! I was just thinking the other day that I wish I hadn't given them away. They were fully bonkers and I need to reread them.
Prudent_Honeydew_@reddit
Same, I need to track them down. I loved the college ones too, both my sister and I quote the most random shit like, "Elizabeth smoothly cut across three lanes of traffic." I'm sorry what?
its_me_biz@reddit
Cackling. Danny Lavery (once Slate's Dear Prudence) wrote a whole essay about Elizabeth looking around concernedly for Todd that I think about weekly.
MrsRoboto222@reddit
I ordered a used copy on Amazon during the pandemic and it was as deliciously unhinged as I remembered.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Mine got rain damaged 😢 I might reorder. My niece has some of them, we can share the set
rainerella@reddit
Popping in as a third voice to this conversation to say, me too! I loved them, absolutely nuts!
J_P_0316@reddit
I was obsessed with the Fowlers of Sweet Valley- Lila’s family history. Felt like some top-notch lit back then.
vjbanana@reddit
Me too - how good was Marjorie, the girl in the French resistance!!! I sobbed when Jacques got caught and shot!!!!
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
I need to get it, I didn't read it back then. And I loved Lila. The same way I loved Posh Spice.
JessBx05@reddit
I was guttered when I found out, in my 20s and wanted to reread these, that my Mum had given them away. Noooo!! I would love to reread (in my 40s now 🤣).
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Well hopefully somebody received them who loved them just as much. I'm hoping to buy them, my niece likes them.
EatsPeanutButter@reddit
I was obsessed with them! Jessamyn became my favorite girl’s name for years. I’m pretty sure she ran away with the circus?
MindfulMocktail@reddit
Yessssss! I loved those! So dramatic, running away to the circus and dying tragically and whatnot!
rialucia@reddit
My copies were tattered because I read them so much
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Yes! I like ebooks but there's something nice about a book being visibly loved.
BrilliantTop5012@reddit
How did I miss this?!!
musical_shares@reddit
I’m a parent to 2 sets of twins, and I often think about the Saga books and all those sets of twins in their family line.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
One of my friends is a 6th generation twin. She has two sets of twins as well. Who knows if they keep the streak going, they're young teens now.
blue_suavitel@reddit
Yes!
firesticks@reddit
I was obsessed with these. I think they were my historical fiction gateway drug.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Same!
Putyourmoneyonme80@reddit
I read those books SO many times!! I worked the books out! They were my favorite!
puggylumpkins@reddit
I loved them! I think I may still have them somewhere….maybe time to dig them out for a reread.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
And of course we will need your reviews!
ShirazGypsy@reddit
Oh god, core memory unlocked here. I had forgotten those books
AutomaticPlace7994@reddit
Okay I think I actually do remember the Big Plot- Jessica spikes the punch at prom, Elizabeth gets drunk without realizing it and drives drunk with the (disputed? Fought over? Idr) boyfriend in the car, and he dies when they get in an accident. I don't remember exactly what happens from there, but I know there was a couple books worth of Jessica completely ignoring Elizabeth and making it out to everyone like Elizabeth is a horrible boyfriend murdering monster, just absolutely ruining her socially.
Lmao tl;dr Jessica is a total fucking psycho and the way worse of the two
throwaway04182023@reddit
You somehow forgot Margot, the greatest character in this series and all of the books. But pretty much.
lovelyladylox@reddit
The single white female?
Liath-Luachra@reddit
There were also thriller editions with bonkers storylines - like the one with their mother’s former classmate who runs a spa and tries to steal her face (and life)
Prudent_Honeydew_@reddit
So much vehicular drama, remember Todd's motorcycle? "Black, the color of death." Then there was an accident or something and Elizabeth got amnesia and was like leading Bruce on...maybe?
And the deaf girl who snorted coke and immediately died.
AutomaticPlace7994@reddit
Yes REGINA the deaf girl who survived getting fucking kidnapped or held hostage or whatever (the makeup compact tossed into the grass, "money is heaven/monday at seven") only to get nerfed after one round of nose candy.
sweetnsassy924@reddit
Regina is the reason why I’ll never do coke. Not that I ever planned to, but you know what I mean.
MinaBinaXina@reddit
And that’s literally why I’ve never done coke. 😂
Prudent_Honeydew_@reddit
Boom. Mission accomplished.
But same lol
MinaBinaXina@reddit
I wasn’t gonna end up dead like Regina, ok?!
FormalDinner7@reddit
Jessica was a straight up sociopath. Liz was meddlesome and sanctimonious. Lila was the best by far.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
TEAM LILA
CookieBarfspringer@reddit
This attitude prevailed at the 1BRUCE1 livejournal community, iirc. You can still read their recaps and they’re fun.
I still remember the Magna Edition recap because from that point on I always envisioned Francine Pascal as Yzma.
Ill-Dragonfruit5658@reddit
Loolololl. Can’t stop laughing at this description. Guess I gotta go find that recap
CookieBarfspringer@reddit
Link
Ill-Dragonfruit5658@reddit
Thank you!!
LilaFowler123@reddit
💯
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
Name checks out
ResurgentClusterfuck@reddit
Enid. She was the only one who wasn't awful to everyone else
dharma_is_dharma@reddit
I believe they had her as a murderer… something like that???
MommaOfManyCats@reddit
Except her backstory was wacko. She was drinking and messing with drugs, which led to her landing in Sweet Valley to start over...at the ripe age of 15.
half-agony-half-hope@reddit
I had the board game growing up and always wanted to be Enid.
RamboJane@reddit
I was always Lila. We made my brother be Enid. 😆
Blackbird136@reddit
Plus she had the hottie Winston Egbert.
throwaway04182023@reddit
Lila is Mother.
alloy1028@reddit
I was at a game night a few weeks ago and someone brought a copy of the Sweet Valley High board game they found in a dusty attic somewhere. None of the 20-somethings were familiar with the series, but I knew it would be hilarious and insisted we play it. By the end of the night, multiple people had downloaded the books to their Kindle and Audible accounts to get the backstory on all of the juicy drama those twins were stirring up!
sweetnsassy924@reddit
That is awesome!
SidheCreature@reddit
Elizabeth was an annoying. Something was legitimately wrong with Jessica though. I don’t remember the story lines much but I remember having a visceral dislike for Jessica. She was mean! And she had a mean girl club! Wasn’t Elizabeth like… not a part of the club too for some reason?
And this is why I kept to the baby sitters club and goosebumps and fear street.
throwaway04182023@reddit
Elizabeth is sometimes in the mean girls clubs depending on the book. In Sweet Valley Twins she generally isn’t a Unicorn but I’m sure someone could point to a couple of books where she is. In the Unicorn Club she is for a little bit. In SVH it depends on the ghostwriter. Usually she’s in the sorority but not really into it. Most books forget there’s a sorority because wtf.
sweetnsassy924@reddit
She wasn’t a member in the Twins series, but was in the Unicorn series, which was when they were in 7th grade
HNIT110508@reddit
I always found Jessica to be more detestable.
danfang0@reddit
I never forgave Jessica for the events leading up to the original evil twin saga - Jessica spiked Elizabeth's drink at prom which leads to Elizabeth crashing her car with Jessica's boyfriend (?) inside of it, Elizabeth gets charged with manslaughter and Jessica never admits what she did. Of course this is SVH, Elizabeth emerges unscathed in the end and will Margo trying to kill one of them Jessica and Elizabeth recognize the importance of their twin sister bond blah blah blah. I think it was hard for me to accept as a reader because up until then the SVH book had been pretty low stakes, the idea that Jessica's self-absorption went from stealing boyfriends to setting up her sister for prison was hard for me as a 7 year old to digest (yes I was too young to be reading SVH).
Jedi_Mind_Chick@reddit
I got a quick memory of the theme song from the tv show.
Far-Watercress6658@reddit
Did she cheat on Todd? I don’t remember that. I do remember Jessica being a horrible bully, but apparently it was ok because the recipient lost weight from the experience.
likesblackcoffeebest@reddit
I hated Elizabeth the most because her first name is my middle name and it is a very ugly name. (lol yes really)
victor4700@reddit
You could be a sweet valley girl, going with a sweet valley guy, living in A sweet valley world, getting into sweet valley high
Our school is so cool
Sweet valley high
yurkelhark@reddit
Jessica was way way worse.
Winter-0f-Discontent@reddit
I just want to shout out how good this cover is! The fonts, and the gorgeous artwork … so perfect.
jennyrules@reddit
Pshhhh I hated Elizabeth. And her meek friend, Amy.
HistoryGirl23@reddit
I never read these but I'm tempted to now.
ElegantGoose@reddit
Since my first name actually is Elizabeth, I was primed to identify with her.
Also the way the twins were specifically described as being 5'6" tall and 110lbs—an underweight BMI of 17.8—added to my body issues just as much as that shitty "can't pinch an inch" ad series from Special K.
Accomplished-Art7609@reddit
God, one book had Amy Sutton saying she hated herself if she let herself get over 115 lbs? Or the college series, where Elizabeth stress ate, and then got so hideously fat that she was a size 8? Or (gasp) even a size 10?
throwaway04182023@reddit
She was compared to a hot dog. I still haven’t recovered. Still not as bad as SVH #4 Power Play. I can only describe that book as Jessica bullies a girl based on her weight which gives that girl an eating disorder. She eats lettuce for lunch or sometimes nothing at all and runs laps until she’s skinny and can be included. The message is very “well Jessica had to bully her to be her best self.” Soooooo gross.
Accomplished-Art7609@reddit
It was like lettuce, tomato, and a single hardboiled egg? Poor Robin Wilson. Power Play was the first SV book I ever read in 1994, and the fact that I still remember this 30+ years later is a testament to how fucked up the series really was.
Plane_Chance863@reddit
I didn't read the book series - I think my sister did? But we did have the board game, and I played that.
vjbanana@reddit
I was totally obsessed with Sweet Valley, wanted desperately to have their lives and live in California in a Spanish style ranch and go to the Beach Disco 😅
BeautifulChaosEnergy@reddit
I remember reading some of the books, but I don’t really remember much of any of it
But I was also reading an insane amount of other books in general
DeterminedErmine@reddit
My Audhd ass based my personality on whatever books I was reading at the time, and the SVH years were rough
Sithstress_@reddit
Man, I read my first Sweet Valley High book when I was 9. Then I also discovered Sweet Valley Twins so I read them both at the same time. Took it all the way to SVU, but not got through a few of those before I was done. Then, probably 8 years ago or so my sister gave me the first book of the new iteration, it was actually pretty hilarious with all the time I had skipped in between and all the changes in relationships and attitudes. Lila was auditioning for a Real Housewives of Sweet Valley series, which I thought was fitting 🤣.
ROGUE_butterfly2024@reddit
Jessica
jpetersell@reddit
Ok. Reading comments. The true villain is the author of the series.
tamesage@reddit
I would stare at the cover and marvel at their beauty.
Topwingwoman2@reddit
I didn't read the book's reincarnations. From SVH, Jessica was the bad one. I LOVED Elizabeth and Todd, but also enjoyed Jessica's relationship with Ken Matthews. Was Aaron Dallas from Sweet Valley Twins (I read those, too), or did that continue in high school? After the 100th book with the weird twin swap, murder mystery, trying to take over the twins' lives, I didn't read past it.
I read a few SVU books, but I was shook by how the characters changed and Todd/Jessica ended up together. Not my scene. I hold the originals as favorites. Tried to reread one a few weeks ago, and it was terrible. Definitely for middle school.
QubyDube@reddit
Woah, this takes me back! I’ll have to reread, but I think I remember not really liking either! 😂
Imaginary-Media-4856@reddit
I didn’t want to be friends with Jessica but I really wanted to wear purple and be in the unicorn club.
LaGorda54@reddit
Spent years side-eyeing every Jessica I encountered irl for no reason, only to realize it was just Jessica Wakefield running a long-term smear campaign in my brain… and honestly? My track record hasn’t exactly disproven her.
Imaginary-Media-4856@reddit
Omg. This explains so much. Also my prejudging of Elizabeths.
probnotaloser@reddit
Truths have been spoken. The books were a warning lmao
z_iiiiii@reddit
I’m supposed to remember? I know I read them all, but I remember nothing else about them. Oof :(
NaturalSpecialist5@reddit
They both sucked! There, I said it!
Buttercreamdeath@reddit
The first 5 or so books I thought Jessica was the coolest girl of all time.
Definitely realized that Jessica was crazy and the whole town was absolutely bonkers too, but I didn't live in California. Maybe they were all off their rockers. I mean, I've been to Huntington Beach and Malibu. The people are definitely in a whole different world.
JessBx05@reddit
Their lives were certainly far more dramatic than anything I grew up experiencing 🤣 Perhaps we lived vicariously through them?!
depictionofmood@reddit
Oh lord! They both represented the worst parts of the 80s. The decade was flush with Jessicas and Elizabeths unfortunately.
JessBx05@reddit
Haha, as a 1981 Jessica, yes! 🤣
throwaway04182023@reddit
Jessica is a sociopath but she’s fun. She was always my favorite. Elizabeth as dull as dirt and just generally a judgmental, hypocritical busybody. I’d still rather be friends with Jessica.
JessBx05@reddit
Hehe, as a Jessica myself (name, not the psycho bit 🤣) I always thought she was the fun one.
Chance-Succotash-191@reddit
I used to sneak these in the elementary school library.
jenfullmoon@reddit
Oh yeah, I did that during library sleepovers!
Prudent_Honeydew_@reddit
"I am woman, hear me roar, as I lay down on Enid's floor!"
sureasyoureborn@reddit
Did any of y’all ever read the sweet valley high series when other identical twin sociopaths came to take over their lives? It was the craziest thing I read in my adolescents and I had access to vc Andrews books.
sureasyoureborn@reddit
Ps I looked it up and it was the 100th book called evil twin.
throwaway04182023@reddit
And the Return of the Evil Twin.
IGotMyPopcorn@reddit
And how do you know who the not so pretty friend is? Well, they’re named Enid. What else?
VIDEODREW2@reddit
Why so they lowkey look 40?
Next-Honeydew4130@reddit
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t allowed to read those books.
einzeln@reddit
I would check these out of the library by the dozen! I would read 1-2 a day during the summer
einzeln@reddit
The ones about the haunted house were terrifying
einzeln@reddit
JESSICA. Hands down.
Winter_Ad_7424@reddit
I just found the whole TV series at savers for 2 or 3 dollars. As a darkhearted girl, I hated people like that irl but loved the series/books.
ShowMeYourHappyTrail@reddit
I don't remember but I loved that my name was in media as it rarely is. Lolol!
AnonPlz123@reddit
The only answer is Jessica.
lawn-gnome1717@reddit
These are coming back as graphic novels and I love it for my daughter!!
Impressive-Cod-7103@reddit
I’ve always had an aversion to the name Jessica, even though I’ve know some perfectly lovely Jessicas over the years. I wonder if these books are why.
Independent-Pack5144@reddit
I was a Sweet Dreams gal
napalmnacey@reddit
I don’t know, I couldn’t really stand either of them.
iOScrashdummy@reddit
I stumbled onto this site years ago, I think I lost an entire weekend to this nostalgia. Very fun reads, enjoy! Red Lemonade - Sweet Valley High revisited
Ok-Yam-4663@reddit
Jessica was the wild one
stephsco@reddit
I didn't know what hate reading was when I was 11, but I definitely hate read Sweet Valley High. I did not like these books, but the library had a ton of them and I'd read through so much else by then. This is why so many of us went in early to Stephen King and Flowers in the Attic.
Writefrommyheart@reddit
Jessica by far.That girl was a manipulative psychopath, sociopaths at least feel some form of remorse and guilt, Jessica was a habitual line-stepper who was never truly sorry for any of her sins because she did the same bad behavior over and over and over again.
Narrow_Grapefruit_23@reddit
Jessica. Jessica stays selfish forever.
hungryforstink@reddit
man, jessica sounds like a total drag.
Doun2Others10@reddit
Jessica.
But I read them all. And twins. And kids. And university.
TheRainMonster@reddit
Wasn't there a book where a third girl appeared who looked like them, and this girl was murderously evil? I remember the book opening with her seeing the twins in the news for some reason, deciding to go to their town and take over one of their lives, and then instructing her young foster sister to pry a piece of toast out of a toaster with a metal knife before leaving her alone in the house.
penguinwife@reddit
But they’re both perfect size 6s!
MaddyKet@reddit
Jessica comes across as a narcissistic sociopath even in the Sweet Valley Twins series, which is meant for younger people than HS series.
dragon_morgan@reddit
there was also Sweet Valley Kids which I read when I was like 7 and all I remember was they have to choose birthday presents for each other and one picks a toy racecar and the other picks a fancy hair ribbon or something and they end up swapping back because they picked gifts THEY wanted and not what they thought their sister wanted
augustrem@reddit
i just remember the one where they had an Italian exchange student stay with them and they thought she was stuck up and judgy but then she confronted them and was like “I hate some thing but there are lots of American things I love. Now what have you learned to like about Italy?”
lol I don’t know if I am remember that right
Flashy-Share8186@reddit
oh wow, I never picked up on the fact that it says “created by“ Francine Pascal and not written.
And Jessica is clearly the worse of two horrible people.
Vivid-Individual5968@reddit
Both of them. Screw them and their suntanned, perfect size six bodies, and matching lavaliere necklaces. 😂
Edlo9596@reddit
Jessica was a stereotypical mean girl, but she was more entertaining. They could both be shitty though. Remember their secret diaries, which were basically how Jessica had a thing with both of Elizabeth’s boyfriends? And I think Elizabeth had a thing with Sam, Jessica’s boyfriend who died?
Embarrassed-Pepper-5@reddit
I loved this series, but it gave me a very unrealistic idea of what high school would be like. I was fat and unpopular
Edlo9596@reddit
Same 😂😂😂 My high school life was nowhere near as fun as the twins and their friends 😂
Miserable-Dot-5026@reddit
Has anyone read the Practically Popular Crowd books? I used to read those and the descriptions of Alexis and the others I don't remember the names
MommaOfManyCats@reddit
Well, if you read the entire series, it's 100% Jessica. Liz and Todd get back together in college, only for Liz to find out they've been sleeping together behind her back. She then runs off to England. In the newer books, Sweet Valley Confidential and then Sweet Life), they haven't even talked in years because of it. Jessica then leaves Todd to date a younger guy, and Liz goes for Bruce, you know, the guy who tried to date rape her
And that's not even considering everything Jessica did over the high school books! She cheated on multiple boys, bullied Annie to the point that she tried to kill herself, got her sister drunk which lead to the death of her boyfriend, blamed her sister for the death, and stole her boyfriend.
DeltaEchoFoxthot@reddit
You know...we were programmed to dislike Jessica. She was clearly bad.
But after rereading Power Play and the way Liz was basically setting up Robin, I think Liz was worse.
Jessica didn't hide that she was bat shit. You knew what to expect.
Liz had that facade of being the good nice girl when she wasn't shit either.
Deep-Interest9947@reddit
I refuse to believe anyone over 40 wrote this post. People are complicated. We used to understand that.
throwaway04182023@reddit
You can just say you didn’t read the books.
Deep-Interest9947@reddit
I absolutely read them. Ans I would have been bored AF to read books about perfectly moral people.
throwaway04182023@reddit
They weren’t people. We’re talking about characters from children’s book who remarkably shifted in each book as different ghostwriters continued their soap opera.
Deep-Interest9947@reddit
Call them whatever you want. I’m still uninterested in the lives of perfectly moral people. It’s never made for good books, tv or film.
But enjoy the hallmark channel, I guess.
Numerous-Release-773@reddit
Did you reply to the right post? We're talking about Sweet Valley High, not Dostoevsky.
I've never in my life seen anybody take these books seriously, so this is a new one.
Deep-Interest9947@reddit
Books about perfect people are boring. For kids too. It’s not a hot take.
Numerous-Release-773@reddit
No kidding, the books were enormously popular but it's been a running joke for years among readers that Jessica was a sociopath and Liz was a condescending, sanctimonious bitch.
I've never seen anybody get offended over mocking Sweet Valley High, and I'm just amazed by that. That's part of the fun! Of course the books were terrible! That's why we read them, and that's why we still talk about them.
cashews_clay15@reddit
Jessica! I hated her when I was 8.
missgiddy@reddit
I was more of a BSC fan but I thought Elizabeth was annoying
Bubbly_Wealth8165@reddit
I always wanted to be the perfect size 6 they were described to be!
Tommy_Riordan@reddit
When I watched Glass Onion I immediately headcanoned Birdie as a grownup Jessica Wakefield.
Spicercakes@reddit
About 20 years ago I was at an indoor flea market and somebody was selling the entire series, every single book, AND all of the special editions for $12!!! I spent a weekend reading every single one. I wish I had kept them but I ended up donating them all to a thrift store. I am a fool.
MindfulMocktail@reddit
Jessica killed someone by spiking Elizabeth's punch so she unknowingly drove drunk! I'd say she's worse, but I was always an Elizabeth myself. Unless of course Elizabeth also killed someone in an incident I'm forgetting or never read...
DangerousLoner@reddit
Jessica. How is this even a question?
Coquis619@reddit
They’re both see u next Tuesdays
Spiritual_Cold5715@reddit
I loved these books so much! Jessica was evil!
Taurus83@reddit
Read the books and watched the TV show.
Calm-Memory5965@reddit
I read the Babysitters Club
Kimothy80@reddit
Same!!!!!!!!
blue_suavitel@reddit
Did anyone read the book where I think Elizabeth works at a newspaper and discovers some coke ring operating out of it? I feel like I read that one so many times. That and “All Night Long.”
_buffy_summers@reddit
Okay, they both suck. But anyway... Lila Fowler for President.
Strange_Airships@reddit
They’re both insufferable. Enid was a gem who got shafted for no other reason than to cheaply evoke feelings.
SquirrelEnthusiast@reddit
Yes
TwixorTweet@reddit
I was surrounded by girls like both Elizabeth and Jessica. I was more like an Enid, but romanticized the Wakefield twins thinking to be fully accepted by people I needed to be more like them.
I wish I could go back to my younger self, hug the hell out of her and tell her Enids are the true badasses.
singing_in_the_brain@reddit
This!
Mammoth_Ad_4806@reddit
I was obsessed with this series and Sweet Valley Twins when I was in middle school and junior high. Every summer, I went to the library 6 days per week from open to close, and read a different book every single day.
JediBeagle1@reddit
I kinda hated them both. I was a very plain, only child who was jealous that they were beautiful popular twins. For some reason I still read a ton of the books.
PuzzledKumquat@reddit
I religiously read the books, but I hated both of the twins. I was way more interested in the other characters. But as far as worse, definitely Jessica. She was cold-blooded and evil. She had zero qualms about ruining someone's (usually her own twin) life to get what she wanted.
Spirited-Bee5939@reddit
The best and most interesting ones are light on Wakefields 😆
Historical-Composer2@reddit
Jessica.
crippledchef23@reddit
I wanted to slap the shit out of Jessica.
Feisty_Crops@reddit
Fucking Jessica
FittedSheets88@reddit
Holy cow, I worked in a big box book retail store for about 3 years, and I never knew this was an older series. We had these as graphic novel, and there were maybe 3 or 4 by the time I left.
brainvheart143@reddit
The parents.
dance-9880@reddit
My sister read those books more than I did. I did read one that talked about the girls rooting for sporting teams. As an Australian, it was unintentionally hilarious.
effitalll@reddit
I don’t remember, I stopped reading after a few because it was just so stupid and dramatic. I started reading architecture books and biographies not too long after coming to this realization, so that’s just my weird kid opinion.
SnooGoats7476@reddit
I never got into the books when they were older but I loved the Sweet Valley Kids books.
They made me wish I had a twin. Kind of glad I never read the other ones lol.
lesliev2001@reddit
I read all of them. I have no recollection of any storylines or the twins personalities. Y’all really remember this shit? 👀
ResurgentClusterfuck@reddit
Both of them are stuck up rich girls but Jessica is psycho
Striking-Win-3239@reddit
These were my favorite books as a child. I read every single one and I’m so sad I don’t have them anymore. And definitely Jessica, she was total garbage.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Jessica! Elizabeth is just trying to keep her alive, and it's made her sanctimonious.
she-dont-use-jellyyy@reddit
This isn't TikTok. You're allowed to say "suicide" here.
FeistyNobody07@reddit
I was always convinced it was Jessica, but I haven't read any of those books in like 35 years and probably only saw Elizabeth as better because she was more bookish.
AsparagusOverall8454@reddit
They were both awful.
NimbexWaitress@reddit
Jessica, what a bitch
rythmicjea@reddit
I don't remember reading High but I think I read most of Twins. And Jessica was my favorite. She was very dramatic though lol.
LAffaire-est-Ketchup@reddit
Elizabeth is such a sanctimonious bitch
MrsRoboto222@reddit
Elizabeth is a goody-goody and a narc. Jessica forever!
Impossible_Diet6992@reddit
These titles mean something totally different as we grew up. Lol