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Sweet Valley Twins #66
The Great Boyfriend Switch
As Valentine's Day approaches, everyone at Sweet Valley Middle School is pairing up for the first dance of the year. Elizabeth Wakefield has been asked by smart and serious Todd Wilkins, and her twin sister, Jessica, is going with wild funny Aaron Dallas. The twins and all their friends are sure it's going to be the most romantic night ever.
But when they get the dance, everyone seems to go a little crazy. Jessica abandons Aaron to dance song after song with Bruce Patman. And devious Veronica Brooks goes after Todd, leaving Elizabeth with no one to dance with—except Aaron! Romance is in the air all right, but will these mixed-up couples ever get straightened out again?
But when they get the dance, everyone seems to go a little crazy. Jessica abandons Aaron to dance song after song with Bruce Patman. And devious Veronica Brooks goes after Todd, leaving Elizabeth with no one to dance with—except Aaron! Romance is in the air all right, but will these mixed-up couples ever get straightened out again?
137 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1993
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,151 books1,857 followersFrancine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 3, 2022
This is one of those Sweet Valley Twins I remember sooo vividly. I think I must have read it multiple times.
The SVT gang is having their first middle school dance and everyone has dates! A new girl in school, Veronica, is super jealous of Elizabeth and wants to take Todd to the dance, so she starts to plant seeds of distrust within a lot of the couples.
At the dance, Jess pulls a very Jess move and dances with Bruce Patman (a 7th grader!) instead of her date Aaron. Todd ends up dancing with Veronica, and Elizabeth and Aaron end up together.
After the dance and all the boyfriend switching, there's a lot of bitter fighting, Veronica being a terrible person, and the twins totally mad at each other.
The book ends with a Valentine's Day party at Ellen's house (which sounds amazing tbh, there are tons of heart-shaped pastries and balloons and lanterns,) and everyone has to figure out how to resolve the big boyfriend mess.
Also, Ken is hilarious in this one.
I really had fun re-reading it. It has a great cover with all the girls, which you don't see often in the series (the friends aren't super significant to the plot, which is disappointing.)
Choice Veronica bullying quotes: " You Unicorns are all talk. At my old school, I was one of the in crowd. We were really wild."
"And we knew how to be mean. At my old school, the girls from the in crowd didn't get mad, they got even."
The SVT gang is having their first middle school dance and everyone has dates! A new girl in school, Veronica, is super jealous of Elizabeth and wants to take Todd to the dance, so she starts to plant seeds of distrust within a lot of the couples.
At the dance, Jess pulls a very Jess move and dances with Bruce Patman (a 7th grader!) instead of her date Aaron. Todd ends up dancing with Veronica, and Elizabeth and Aaron end up together.
After the dance and all the boyfriend switching, there's a lot of bitter fighting, Veronica being a terrible person, and the twins totally mad at each other.
The book ends with a Valentine's Day party at Ellen's house (which sounds amazing tbh, there are tons of heart-shaped pastries and balloons and lanterns,) and everyone has to figure out how to resolve the big boyfriend mess.
Also, Ken is hilarious in this one.
I really had fun re-reading it. It has a great cover with all the girls, which you don't see often in the series (the friends aren't super significant to the plot, which is disappointing.)
Choice Veronica bullying quotes: " You Unicorns are all talk. At my old school, I was one of the in crowd. We were really wild."
"And we knew how to be mean. At my old school, the girls from the in crowd didn't get mad, they got even."
February 10, 2017
I think the most interesting thing about this Valentine's book is that Amy hangs out with both Liz AND Jess, and the Unicorns are nice to Amy throughout, trying to make her over, to hilarious results. Here's what you need to know:
Amy <3 Ken.
Liz <3 Todd.
Jess <3 Aaron.
Two Unicorns <3 two different Peters.
Janet (still) <3 Denny Jacobsen.
Veronica Brooks <3 Todd.
Wait... what?! Who the hell is Veronica Brooks? According to this book, she is SVMS's version of the devil. Snobbier than Lila and (almost) as devious as Jessica, she strives to be the best at everything. Which is a problem, as you know, because Liz is *already* the best at everything. So then she decides to make her mission taking Liz down a couple of pegs. I think we can all agree we've wanted to do that at some point, am I right? So, because of Veronica's machinations, at everybody's first school dance with a date, Veronica whisks Todd away from Liz, Jess leaves Aaron in the dust for Bruce, and so Liz and Aaron end up dancing alone together in the hallway outside the gym. And Aaron kisses her. And Caroline Pearce sees it. Yep. Hence "The Great Boyfriend Switch," because now people assume Liz and Aaron are dating, Jess and Bruce are dating, and that Todd and Veronica are dating.
Veronica is the only happy one in this situation, because Todd clearly misses Liz, Jess gets sick of Bruce (because he doesn't get sick of Bruce), and Liz can't stand anymore soccer talk from Aaron. When both twins realize how unhappy the other one is, they scheme to put all the original couples back together (and hopefully pawn Veronica off on Bruce). Naturally this scheme involves a twin switch. There is a comical three page scene in which Jess & Liz wait for each other to get dressed so they can each see what the other one will be wearing, but neither of them know that they are both plotting the same thing. At this point they are getting ready for ANOTHER boy/girl dance, which seems like the perfect time for everyone to make up.
I don't have to tell you that all's well that ends well. Jess apologizes to Todd as "Liz," and Liz apologizes to Aaron as "Jess." And, sure enough, when Jess abandons Bruce to play Liz, Veronica shimmies on up and takes her place. There's also a whole plot with Veronica stealing a locket Todd gave Liz before the first dance, and when Jessica confronts her about it Veronica rips the locket off and vows revenge (this time on Jessica). I'm guessing that's why Jess becomes a "thief" in the next book. It's one of the few SVT books I don't have yet.
Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sure relieved that Jess and Aaron can go back to talking about soccer and cheerleading, Todd and Liz can go back to talking about books and more books, and Veronica and Bruce can go back to talking about themselves (although they never really stopped).
On an unrelated note, Ken is a nincompoop (even Amy says so).
Quotes:
Liz: This is what I imagine a dormitory's like on Saturday night.
(How the hell does she know what a dorm is at 12-years-old? I certainly didn't.)
"Jessica felt as if she was riding on an emotional seesaw. Her spirits soared when she realized how much the other Unicorns admired and envied her. But they plummeted when she realized that the only way she could keep up her image was by having Bruce as her boyfriend."
(Personality disorder confirmed.)
"'It's my own fault,' [Jess] thought miserably. 'If I hadn't gone running after Bruce, they never would have gotten together.'
... and on down the same page:
'Elizabeth really stabbed me in the back,' Jessica thought bitterly. 'She's always known I liked Aaron. And she stole him anyway- the first chance she got!'"
(See my commentary above.)
Amy <3 Ken.
Liz <3 Todd.
Jess <3 Aaron.
Two Unicorns <3 two different Peters.
Janet (still) <3 Denny Jacobsen.
Veronica Brooks <3 Todd.
Wait... what?! Who the hell is Veronica Brooks? According to this book, she is SVMS's version of the devil. Snobbier than Lila and (almost) as devious as Jessica, she strives to be the best at everything. Which is a problem, as you know, because Liz is *already* the best at everything. So then she decides to make her mission taking Liz down a couple of pegs. I think we can all agree we've wanted to do that at some point, am I right? So, because of Veronica's machinations, at everybody's first school dance with a date, Veronica whisks Todd away from Liz, Jess leaves Aaron in the dust for Bruce, and so Liz and Aaron end up dancing alone together in the hallway outside the gym. And Aaron kisses her. And Caroline Pearce sees it. Yep. Hence "The Great Boyfriend Switch," because now people assume Liz and Aaron are dating, Jess and Bruce are dating, and that Todd and Veronica are dating.
Veronica is the only happy one in this situation, because Todd clearly misses Liz, Jess gets sick of Bruce (because he doesn't get sick of Bruce), and Liz can't stand anymore soccer talk from Aaron. When both twins realize how unhappy the other one is, they scheme to put all the original couples back together (and hopefully pawn Veronica off on Bruce). Naturally this scheme involves a twin switch. There is a comical three page scene in which Jess & Liz wait for each other to get dressed so they can each see what the other one will be wearing, but neither of them know that they are both plotting the same thing. At this point they are getting ready for ANOTHER boy/girl dance, which seems like the perfect time for everyone to make up.
I don't have to tell you that all's well that ends well. Jess apologizes to Todd as "Liz," and Liz apologizes to Aaron as "Jess." And, sure enough, when Jess abandons Bruce to play Liz, Veronica shimmies on up and takes her place. There's also a whole plot with Veronica stealing a locket Todd gave Liz before the first dance, and when Jessica confronts her about it Veronica rips the locket off and vows revenge (this time on Jessica). I'm guessing that's why Jess becomes a "thief" in the next book. It's one of the few SVT books I don't have yet.
Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sure relieved that Jess and Aaron can go back to talking about soccer and cheerleading, Todd and Liz can go back to talking about books and more books, and Veronica and Bruce can go back to talking about themselves (although they never really stopped).
On an unrelated note, Ken is a nincompoop (even Amy says so).
Quotes:
Liz: This is what I imagine a dormitory's like on Saturday night.
(How the hell does she know what a dorm is at 12-years-old? I certainly didn't.)
"Jessica felt as if she was riding on an emotional seesaw. Her spirits soared when she realized how much the other Unicorns admired and envied her. But they plummeted when she realized that the only way she could keep up her image was by having Bruce as her boyfriend."
(Personality disorder confirmed.)
"'It's my own fault,' [Jess] thought miserably. 'If I hadn't gone running after Bruce, they never would have gotten together.'
... and on down the same page:
'Elizabeth really stabbed me in the back,' Jessica thought bitterly. 'She's always known I liked Aaron. And she stole him anyway- the first chance she got!'"
(See my commentary above.)
May 1, 2012
Ahh. Memories. Sweet Valley were my favourite books to read when I was young. My favourites were the thicker ones, I think they were called "Super Edition"s and "Super Thriller"s.
I saw this at a used book store the other day and decided to revisit the memories. They really are fun, cute books. They usually have silly plotlines. This one is about a Valentine's dance where Jessica ditches her date and ends up with another, while Elizabeth gets ditched by her date and ends up kissing Jessica's original date. And twin-related wackiness ensues.
I miss these books and my childhood. One of my biggest book related regrets is getting rid of my Sweet Valley books, especially the ones I really loved. Why would I have done that? I guess I was getting too old for them and felt rebellious. Little did I know that I would regret it.
Yes, I'm a nerd. But these books made reading so much fun for me.
I saw this at a used book store the other day and decided to revisit the memories. They really are fun, cute books. They usually have silly plotlines. This one is about a Valentine's dance where Jessica ditches her date and ends up with another, while Elizabeth gets ditched by her date and ends up kissing Jessica's original date. And twin-related wackiness ensues.
I miss these books and my childhood. One of my biggest book related regrets is getting rid of my Sweet Valley books, especially the ones I really loved. Why would I have done that? I guess I was getting too old for them and felt rebellious. Little did I know that I would regret it.
Yes, I'm a nerd. But these books made reading so much fun for me.
January 27, 2018
I haven't read this in years, but it was fun to take a trip down memory lane for the Throwback Readathon on Litsy! I'm hoping to get through a stack of these SVT books this weekend.
So, in this book, Aaron already talks too much about soccer (he's notoriously bad about this in the SVH series!), Todd has terrible taste in women just like in SVH and wouldn't know a devious woman if they came up and bit him in the butt! I thought he was supposed to be perceptive? 🤔 Jessica is enamored with Bruce Patman, at least for awhile until his ego gets to be too much. And Elizabeth is the goody goody we all know and (occasionally) love - SO I'd have to say this series stays pretty consistent with the SVH series. 3.5 ⭐️
So, in this book, Aaron already talks too much about soccer (he's notoriously bad about this in the SVH series!), Todd has terrible taste in women just like in SVH and wouldn't know a devious woman if they came up and bit him in the butt! I thought he was supposed to be perceptive? 🤔 Jessica is enamored with Bruce Patman, at least for awhile until his ego gets to be too much. And Elizabeth is the goody goody we all know and (occasionally) love - SO I'd have to say this series stays pretty consistent with the SVH series. 3.5 ⭐️
August 6, 2025
Oh, the drama! This one was a favorite in my family.
It was hilarious to reread this as an adult and fully understand the ridiculousness of 12-year-olds being obsessed with boys, kissing, and "romance."
Also, this series was full of twin-switching, and no one ever seems able to tell them apart - how great could their friends and "sort-of boyfriends" be if they can't tell them apart after a simple change of clothes?
It was hilarious to reread this as an adult and fully understand the ridiculousness of 12-year-olds being obsessed with boys, kissing, and "romance."
Also, this series was full of twin-switching, and no one ever seems able to tell them apart - how great could their friends and "sort-of boyfriends" be if they can't tell them apart after a simple change of clothes?
May 24, 2011
Sorry to everyone who gets emails with all of my book updates. I'm having Sweet Valley nostalgia and therefore adding the ones I remember. Goodreads makes it too easy, haha. I think this one was my absolute favorite and I'd forgotten all about it!
September 5, 2019
I hope i like it
March 12, 2023
I truly love this one, and the fact that almost the entire plot takes place at a dance is the most Sweet Valley thing ever.
April 1, 2012
This book is very nice and interesting!The character I like best is Jessica!I liked this book because it talks about how the twins feel about each other!They say that they are like best friends which is clear from the sacrifice that both girls did towards each other!I would like to thank Amy for introducing me to this series!
August 7, 2012
I was intrigued by the title because it was the one that came before 'Jessica the Thief' and I figured I would have to read it to get some of what was talked about in that title. I do not regret it, this was an awesome little book. :D
December 28, 2015
It has been a while since I had read these books. While this book was a little predictable, I still really enjoyed it!
September 7, 2013
it wasnt that bad , i was 12 when i read it !
May 10, 2015
23/25
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June 22, 2013
Funny when they were doing the switch.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews