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Sweet Valley Twins #87
The Mother-Daughter Switch
Playing Mom...
After a big fight with their mother, identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield come up with a brilliant way to show her that being a kid is no piece of cake: they decide that she should give it a try. To their shock and delight, their mother agrees! The twins will get to be their own mothers, while Mrs. Wakefield will be a kid.
But the twins soon discover that parenthood is exhausting—who would have guessed Mrs. Wakefield would be such a messy, mischievous kid? Jessica and Elizabeth decide to trade places again—but their mother says no! Are the twins stuck being their mother's mother forever?
After a big fight with their mother, identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield come up with a brilliant way to show her that being a kid is no piece of cake: they decide that she should give it a try. To their shock and delight, their mother agrees! The twins will get to be their own mothers, while Mrs. Wakefield will be a kid.
But the twins soon discover that parenthood is exhausting—who would have guessed Mrs. Wakefield would be such a messy, mischievous kid? Jessica and Elizabeth decide to trade places again—but their mother says no! Are the twins stuck being their mother's mother forever?
135 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,879 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 20, 2013
An excerpt from Alice Wakefield's diary, circa 1995:
Dear Journal,
Those darn twins! I've just about had it with them. You know who I mean: my daughters, Elizabeth and Jessica. I can't forget to tell you that they have matching-blue green eyes, gold-spun hair, and a dimple in their left cheeks. Where do they get all of this from? Me!! But they're so awful, I can't stand it. We were supposed to have this Mother's Day Picnic in our split-level Spanish-styled house (that I designed, of course), but the girls forgot half the supplies for the guests. We had no charcoal, no napkins, no hamburgers, pickles, ketchup... we only had tomatoes. And bologna. And one pack of lemonade, which we tried to stretch to fit every guest. I have been so busy designing Mrs. Wolsky's sunporch that I had no time to shop. And, big surprise, my daughters claimed that THEY were too busy too. Yeah, right! Jessica just has to collect pledges for a Rollerblade-a-Thon and Liz just has to do a media-studies assignment. No paper, no test. She simply has to watch three shows and write up a report. A monkey could do that in his sleep. I really lectured the twins and let them have it. They don't know me at all and what I've sacrificed for them. I could have married Hank Patman, for god's sakes! Then I wouldn't be stuck with THOSE two.
I knew Jessica didn't like my lecture. So she came up with a way to prove me wrong (except, of course, that she won't). She said that I should trade places with the twins! They get to be the adults, and I get to be a kid for a whole weekend. God, what suckers. It's a way to get rid of all the annoying things they do without, you know, actually having to kill them. Too messy. They get to deal with Mrs. Wolsky's sunporch, handling Steven, and making dinner, while I get to deal with Jessica's rollerblade pledges and event and do Liz's media-studies assignment. Piece of cake, as Jessica always says!
Dear Journal,
Okay, so no one wanted to take pledges from a middle-aged woman. I have never had that many doors slammed in my face! But, after raising Jessica, I knew just the thing to do. I went by each mailbox and wrote down the number! I'll just put in the money later, and now I can relax and not worry about collecting annoying pledges. Sleeping in late today was the best. Ned thinks I'm a little weird for doing it, though. Oh well.
Now to tackle Liz's assignment. I guess I thought I understood the VCR better than I really do. I tried to record a talk show the other day but apparently I had been recording a different channel the whole time! Steven promised to help me work it, but I think he's been giving me bogus advice, because none of this makes sense. He's been walking around with a video camera attached to his skull. Normally, as the mom, I would tell him to knock it off. But I am delighted that I don't have to worry about anything now! He thinks he's the next Steven Starholtz. Whoever that is.
Oh, but I just had a genius idea! I can use the Days of Turmoil tape under Jessica's bed to do Elizabeth's assignment. I've seen it several times with her before. I don't even need to watch anything. I should have thought of this much sooner.
Dear Journal,
While typing Liz's assignment, the girls asked me to switch back. Please! When this is going so well? All I have to worry about is the rollerblading, which I know will be a snap. Kids have it SO easy these days. Besides, no way would I forfeit to those two psychos.
Dear Journal,
I... hurt... all... over. Practicing rollerblading with Steven didn't work at all. Now I have to do the Rollerblade-a-Thon in only a few hours! Steven said I would need months of help before I could learn how to properly rollerblade. I want to kill him and the twins. Those monsters refused to let me switch back, after they were so eager to the other day! What rats.
Dear Journal,
Oh my twins are so freaking sweet! What sweet babies I have. After I basically killed myself rollerblading through that stupid marathon, I arrived at the finish line to find only Amy Sutton waiting for me. She needed to work with Liz on her project for media studies. So I took her back to my home and - you'll never believe it - the twins surprised me with a new Mother's Day picnic! This time they had taken care of everything. I guess they saw the collage I made for them on top of the refrigerator. Well, I admitted to them that being a kid IS harder than being an adult. They said the same thing to me. Then they confessed that they used all of our sunporch furniture to decorate Mrs. Wolsky's sunporch. And Steven videotaped the whole thing. Well, I wasn't actually going to put my future in the hands of my 12-year-old daughters, so I went ahead and ordered furniture for today anyway. I figured if they didn't come through that I would sneak it over before Mrs. Wolsky got home. Now it's in OUR sunporch, since we're the ones that need new furniture. The twins are so sneaky and underhanded sometimes.
But I know exactly who they get it from now.
Love, Alice Wakefield
Alternate Title : "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"
Tagline: "Jessica and Elizabeth trade places--with their mother!" (Unfortunately they don't trade bodies, like in Freaky Friday.)
The Big Deal: The Mother's Day Picnic
Lingering Questions: Why is Alice Wakefield so hateful and bitter? Perfect family my ass.
Cover: Good or Bad?: I don't like these later ones! I know I've made that clear, but they obviously lost the girl(s) that were modeling for them. Alice looks better than the twins do, and she looks pretty much like they do at 16. Never mind that she's supposed to look like she's in her late 40s or early 30s.
Quotes from the Book: "Steven Starholtz's movies were terrific: the dangerous lion stalking the parks of Los Angeles, the cute cuddly cave creature who befriended a little girl."
Mmmm.... methinks this is Steven Spielberg, Jurassic Park, and ET. Good try, though, ghosties.
"[Jessica] wasn't about to let this attack pass without defending herself."
Naturally.
"'Your father and I have to do our work, whether we like it or not,' Mrs. Wakefield continued. 'And sometimes it seems that the toughest part of our work is being parents to a couple of irresponsible kids!' she folded her arms and glanced crossly from one twin to the other. 'You two are incredibly lucky to be young.'"
Ouch! You tell 'em, Alice!
"You'll just have to wait... An idea was struggling to get out of Jessica's mind."
Careful, Jess.
"Once again, her mother's comment sounded annoyingly familiar, but she decided to ignore it."
Jessica is the stupidest human alive.
"The people whose names appeared on the paper would be very surprised to learn that they were sponsoring her. Especially since most of them had never even heard of Mrs. Wakefield! 'But they'll never find out!' Mrs. Wakefield said aloud as she bounded into the house."
Sounds familiar.
"Steven laughed. 'With that list of jobs you put together for me? Not a chance. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Or hadn't you heard?'"
Sometimes I love Steven Wakefield.
"She couldn't let Elizabeth down. She couldn't let the twins win."
It sounds like the latter emotion is more overriding for Alice.
"'Hilarious,' Mrs. Wakefield echoed, wondering if you could smash a video camera with a Rollerblade."
Yes. Yes you can.
Moral of the Story: Alice Wakefield is one bitter bitch. Also, psychopath traits are inherited.
Final Rating: 3 stars. It entertained me well enough.
Dear Journal,
Those darn twins! I've just about had it with them. You know who I mean: my daughters, Elizabeth and Jessica. I can't forget to tell you that they have matching-blue green eyes, gold-spun hair, and a dimple in their left cheeks. Where do they get all of this from? Me!! But they're so awful, I can't stand it. We were supposed to have this Mother's Day Picnic in our split-level Spanish-styled house (that I designed, of course), but the girls forgot half the supplies for the guests. We had no charcoal, no napkins, no hamburgers, pickles, ketchup... we only had tomatoes. And bologna. And one pack of lemonade, which we tried to stretch to fit every guest. I have been so busy designing Mrs. Wolsky's sunporch that I had no time to shop. And, big surprise, my daughters claimed that THEY were too busy too. Yeah, right! Jessica just has to collect pledges for a Rollerblade-a-Thon and Liz just has to do a media-studies assignment. No paper, no test. She simply has to watch three shows and write up a report. A monkey could do that in his sleep. I really lectured the twins and let them have it. They don't know me at all and what I've sacrificed for them. I could have married Hank Patman, for god's sakes! Then I wouldn't be stuck with THOSE two.
I knew Jessica didn't like my lecture. So she came up with a way to prove me wrong (except, of course, that she won't). She said that I should trade places with the twins! They get to be the adults, and I get to be a kid for a whole weekend. God, what suckers. It's a way to get rid of all the annoying things they do without, you know, actually having to kill them. Too messy. They get to deal with Mrs. Wolsky's sunporch, handling Steven, and making dinner, while I get to deal with Jessica's rollerblade pledges and event and do Liz's media-studies assignment. Piece of cake, as Jessica always says!
Dear Journal,
Okay, so no one wanted to take pledges from a middle-aged woman. I have never had that many doors slammed in my face! But, after raising Jessica, I knew just the thing to do. I went by each mailbox and wrote down the number! I'll just put in the money later, and now I can relax and not worry about collecting annoying pledges. Sleeping in late today was the best. Ned thinks I'm a little weird for doing it, though. Oh well.
Now to tackle Liz's assignment. I guess I thought I understood the VCR better than I really do. I tried to record a talk show the other day but apparently I had been recording a different channel the whole time! Steven promised to help me work it, but I think he's been giving me bogus advice, because none of this makes sense. He's been walking around with a video camera attached to his skull. Normally, as the mom, I would tell him to knock it off. But I am delighted that I don't have to worry about anything now! He thinks he's the next Steven Starholtz. Whoever that is.
Oh, but I just had a genius idea! I can use the Days of Turmoil tape under Jessica's bed to do Elizabeth's assignment. I've seen it several times with her before. I don't even need to watch anything. I should have thought of this much sooner.
Dear Journal,
While typing Liz's assignment, the girls asked me to switch back. Please! When this is going so well? All I have to worry about is the rollerblading, which I know will be a snap. Kids have it SO easy these days. Besides, no way would I forfeit to those two psychos.
Dear Journal,
I... hurt... all... over. Practicing rollerblading with Steven didn't work at all. Now I have to do the Rollerblade-a-Thon in only a few hours! Steven said I would need months of help before I could learn how to properly rollerblade. I want to kill him and the twins. Those monsters refused to let me switch back, after they were so eager to the other day! What rats.
Dear Journal,
Oh my twins are so freaking sweet! What sweet babies I have. After I basically killed myself rollerblading through that stupid marathon, I arrived at the finish line to find only Amy Sutton waiting for me. She needed to work with Liz on her project for media studies. So I took her back to my home and - you'll never believe it - the twins surprised me with a new Mother's Day picnic! This time they had taken care of everything. I guess they saw the collage I made for them on top of the refrigerator. Well, I admitted to them that being a kid IS harder than being an adult. They said the same thing to me. Then they confessed that they used all of our sunporch furniture to decorate Mrs. Wolsky's sunporch. And Steven videotaped the whole thing. Well, I wasn't actually going to put my future in the hands of my 12-year-old daughters, so I went ahead and ordered furniture for today anyway. I figured if they didn't come through that I would sneak it over before Mrs. Wolsky got home. Now it's in OUR sunporch, since we're the ones that need new furniture. The twins are so sneaky and underhanded sometimes.
But I know exactly who they get it from now.
Love, Alice Wakefield
Alternate Title : "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"
Tagline: "Jessica and Elizabeth trade places--with their mother!" (Unfortunately they don't trade bodies, like in Freaky Friday.)
The Big Deal: The Mother's Day Picnic
Lingering Questions: Why is Alice Wakefield so hateful and bitter? Perfect family my ass.
Cover: Good or Bad?: I don't like these later ones! I know I've made that clear, but they obviously lost the girl(s) that were modeling for them. Alice looks better than the twins do, and she looks pretty much like they do at 16. Never mind that she's supposed to look like she's in her late 40s or early 30s.
Quotes from the Book: "Steven Starholtz's movies were terrific: the dangerous lion stalking the parks of Los Angeles, the cute cuddly cave creature who befriended a little girl."
Mmmm.... methinks this is Steven Spielberg, Jurassic Park, and ET. Good try, though, ghosties.
"[Jessica] wasn't about to let this attack pass without defending herself."
Naturally.
"'Your father and I have to do our work, whether we like it or not,' Mrs. Wakefield continued. 'And sometimes it seems that the toughest part of our work is being parents to a couple of irresponsible kids!' she folded her arms and glanced crossly from one twin to the other. 'You two are incredibly lucky to be young.'"
Ouch! You tell 'em, Alice!
"You'll just have to wait... An idea was struggling to get out of Jessica's mind."
Careful, Jess.
"Once again, her mother's comment sounded annoyingly familiar, but she decided to ignore it."
Jessica is the stupidest human alive.
"The people whose names appeared on the paper would be very surprised to learn that they were sponsoring her. Especially since most of them had never even heard of Mrs. Wakefield! 'But they'll never find out!' Mrs. Wakefield said aloud as she bounded into the house."
Sounds familiar.
"Steven laughed. 'With that list of jobs you put together for me? Not a chance. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Or hadn't you heard?'"
Sometimes I love Steven Wakefield.
"She couldn't let Elizabeth down. She couldn't let the twins win."
It sounds like the latter emotion is more overriding for Alice.
"'Hilarious,' Mrs. Wakefield echoed, wondering if you could smash a video camera with a Rollerblade."
Yes. Yes you can.
Moral of the Story: Alice Wakefield is one bitter bitch. Also, psychopath traits are inherited.
Final Rating: 3 stars. It entertained me well enough.
February 11, 2018
I'm sick again, so time to re-read some childhood books!
I loved this one way more than I should have. I didn't remember it very well at first, but it sure did make me smile.
Also, I loved the part about programming the VCR. Man, I feel old now.
I loved this one way more than I should have. I didn't remember it very well at first, but it sure did make me smile.
Also, I loved the part about programming the VCR. Man, I feel old now.
April 24, 2025
Good book!
October 9, 2016
In which Jessica acts silly,and Alice rocks.
January 17, 2016
Jessica and Elizabeth are supposed to get things ready for a party for a mother-daughter day and they fail miserably, doing everything else but working on the party. They complain that their lives as kids are really hard so they end up switching places with their mother. Their mother acts just as careless as they do. She also tries to participate in a planned roller-blade thing to raise money for a good cause.
It's not long before all three realize that whatever their position in life, it's not easy.
The problem with this book is that it doesn't really show the differences in what the adults and the kids have to do. Yes, Elizabeth and Jessica have to do some cleaning and make (a totally futile) attempt to cook food. Yet they don't have to work to earn money for the household. They don't have to be responsible for paying the bills. There are a lot of problems adults have to deal with that their kids don't have to and the book leaves these out.
Still, at least it makes an attempt to show that both sides do have a lot to deal with. It might be different things like homework vs. cooking dinner, but for what it does accomplish it's fairly good.
It's not long before all three realize that whatever their position in life, it's not easy.
The problem with this book is that it doesn't really show the differences in what the adults and the kids have to do. Yes, Elizabeth and Jessica have to do some cleaning and make (a totally futile) attempt to cook food. Yet they don't have to work to earn money for the household. They don't have to be responsible for paying the bills. There are a lot of problems adults have to deal with that their kids don't have to and the book leaves these out.
Still, at least it makes an attempt to show that both sides do have a lot to deal with. It might be different things like homework vs. cooking dinner, but for what it does accomplish it's fairly good.
Read
June 10, 2009quite random
Read
October 27, 2010This is the first SVT book I read I was 9 and had just started reading SVK.
November 16, 2011
the worst book in the series so far. hate it
May 5, 2021
Loved these books as a child
August 13, 2016
My sister and I tried to this idea once to show our parents how unfair it was to be kids sometimes. They didn't bite. They knew they had it made.
March 31, 2015
It was alright
April 29, 2009
Like Freaky Friday but without the magic. Oy. Lame... but still fun.
June 22, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews