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Sweet Valley High #127
Dance of Death
Book Two in a chilling three-part miniseries!
Passion might lead to true love . . . or pure terror.
Jessica Wakefield and Jonathan Cain have shared the kiss of a lifetime. Jessica should be wildly happy, but Jonathan keeps pushing her away. What is he hiding behind his dark and dangerous eyes? Jessica's sure she'll discover all of Jonathan's secrets at the party in his mansion. Will it be the most wonderful night of her life--or the most tragic?
Elizabeth Wakefield is being torn in two! Her summer fling, Joey Mason, has moved to California, and her wants her back. Elizabeth can't deny her attraction to Joey, but she's still in love with longtime boyfriend Todd Wilkins. How can she choose between them?
Passion might lead to true love . . . or pure terror.
Jessica Wakefield and Jonathan Cain have shared the kiss of a lifetime. Jessica should be wildly happy, but Jonathan keeps pushing her away. What is he hiding behind his dark and dangerous eyes? Jessica's sure she'll discover all of Jonathan's secrets at the party in his mansion. Will it be the most wonderful night of her life--or the most tragic?
Elizabeth Wakefield is being torn in two! Her summer fling, Joey Mason, has moved to California, and her wants her back. Elizabeth can't deny her attraction to Joey, but she's still in love with longtime boyfriend Todd Wilkins. How can she choose between them?
199 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 4, 2025
The second instalment in the Sweet Valley High follwos on neatly fromn the first, gradually building the mystery and suspense. Is heartthrob Jonathan really a vampire? It's certainly starting to feel like it, and the body count continues to rise. It's a lot of fun seeing the SVH twins go up against something like this. The books so far haven’t had quite as much stuff going on as the werewolf trilogy, but they’re still an entertaining mix of mystery, horror and yearning teenage romance.
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April 10, 2018those vampires though.
October 21, 2023
Oh, the melodrama! It practically oozes out of every corner of this ridiculous book.
When last we left our characters, Jessica had sneaked out and is currently being kissed senseless by Jonathan in his creepy, abandoned mansion; Enid heading their way (unbeknownst to either of them); and Liz in the arms of her camp boyfriend Joey, just as Todd arrives at her house to help her search for Jessica.
Everything breaks as expected. Todd storms off before Liz can explain the presence of her camp boyfriend. He mopes for a couple of days and then decides that the solution to his problem is to emulate the mysterious Jonathan, so he dyes his hair black, starts wearing all-black, and hangs out with Bruce Patman and Ken Matthews, who are also into the gothic trend. There's no mention of either dying their hair or wearing eyeliner, but who knows at this point. Todd welcomes the gothic groupies and hopes Liz is seeing what she's lost.
Liz is torn up about losing Todd, and isn't really feeling Joey anymore, but she clings to him because he's stable (which plays out even worse than it sounds). She realizes by the end of the book that both Todd and Enid have a right to be furious with her, as she has seemingly replaced them, and boy does she miss them now! She is still hanging out with Maria, who is trying to tell her some home truths, but Liz just isn't hearing any of it.
Enid, meanwhile, has become the Queen of the SVH gothic crowd. She spies on Jonathan and Jessica with mounting fury and jealousy, but sees her chance when Jessica is suddenly pushed out of Jonathan's house that fateful evening. Enid invites herself in and Jonathan basically jumps her bones right there in the doorway, so she's halfway to heaven even before he starts suckling at her neck. She is even more pathetically in love than ever with Jonathan, and she keeps meeting him alone at his house and crowing her triumph of besting Jessica in grabbing the It Boy's affections. There is something almost sexual about the way the scenes between Enid and Jonathan are written, but the only vibe I was getting was of a psychic vampire (the kind who supposedly suck the life force out of their victims). Enid is paler and more tired than ever, but SHE BEAT JESSICA WAKEFIELD, SUCK IT HATERS!
Jessica is, of course, shocked and appalled that Jonathan has picked that drip Enid Rollins over her, when he so obviously loves her as deeply as she loves him! (Enid isn't the only one wallowing in the melodrama.) She tries to ignore him to spite him, but she can't help herself, and she is confronted with a rude image of a mussed Enid and Jonathan at his door. She throws hot soup all over Jonathan and storms off, which is just about as Jessica as she could get in that moment. It was kinda glorious, even if she stormed off in tears because he'd ~betrayed~ her.
Jessica experiences some real sorrow, however, when she finds her poor kitten dead in a corner of the yard one evening. It, like the Tragically Dead (Other) High Schoolers, had been drained of blood. This was a hard scene to read, because Jessica's upset is all too real. Why did the vampire have to take her kitten? That's just cruel.
So Bruce & co have spread the word that there will be a big party at Jonathan's. The town has imposed a 10 pm curfew after the deaths of the outside HS teenagers (who are otherwise barely mentioned), so everyone's ready to collectively let loose and wreak havoc. Jonathan only very reluctantly agrees to the party, and lets the SVH dudes come in and set it up (with balloons and streamers, how creepy!). Everyone in town shows up in gothic formalwear and are partying hard. The lights go out - which is of course the perfect excuse for some hardcore making out to be happening - but Liz gets worried because she can't find Jessica, and drags Todd down to the basement to reset the circuit breaker. They finally succeed, only to notice dead silence up above, so they rush back to the party to find everyone standing around, quite obviously shocked. Liz thinks her twin sense is telling her that Jessica is in danger, but when they get to the middle of the circle, they discover Amy's cousin Katrina dead instead, also drained of blood.
Jessica is in trouble, only she doesn't know it: she's upstairs making out with a newly life-force-resurgent Jonathan (just in case you hadn't twigged onto the fact that he's supposed to be the vampire yet).
This book (aside from the needless death of the cat) is ridiculous on so many different levels. Bruce, Todd, and Ken going goth?! Enid out-Jessicaing Jessica to get her man (and then realizing that she never really had him when she sees Jonathan and Jessica together at the party)?! Everybody swooning over Jonathan in some form or fashion (love/hate/jealousy) while three actual teenagers lay dead among them?! Only Lila seems unaffected by it all, but she's busy quoting French poetry on the phone to her long-distance boyfriend to care.
In and amidst all the chaos, I have to say that it was nice to see AJ Morgan again. He fell off the planet after dumping Jessica back in the mid-#50s books, so kudos to the ghostie for giving him a cameo appearance here, even if it was only in his underwear. I give this book a star for that alone.
I'm looking forward to the next!
When last we left our characters, Jessica had sneaked out and is currently being kissed senseless by Jonathan in his creepy, abandoned mansion; Enid heading their way (unbeknownst to either of them); and Liz in the arms of her camp boyfriend Joey, just as Todd arrives at her house to help her search for Jessica.
Everything breaks as expected. Todd storms off before Liz can explain the presence of her camp boyfriend. He mopes for a couple of days and then decides that the solution to his problem is to emulate the mysterious Jonathan, so he dyes his hair black, starts wearing all-black, and hangs out with Bruce Patman and Ken Matthews, who are also into the gothic trend. There's no mention of either dying their hair or wearing eyeliner, but who knows at this point. Todd welcomes the gothic groupies and hopes Liz is seeing what she's lost.
Liz is torn up about losing Todd, and isn't really feeling Joey anymore, but she clings to him because he's stable (which plays out even worse than it sounds). She realizes by the end of the book that both Todd and Enid have a right to be furious with her, as she has seemingly replaced them, and boy does she miss them now! She is still hanging out with Maria, who is trying to tell her some home truths, but Liz just isn't hearing any of it.
Enid, meanwhile, has become the Queen of the SVH gothic crowd. She spies on Jonathan and Jessica with mounting fury and jealousy, but sees her chance when Jessica is suddenly pushed out of Jonathan's house that fateful evening. Enid invites herself in and Jonathan basically jumps her bones right there in the doorway, so she's halfway to heaven even before he starts suckling at her neck. She is even more pathetically in love than ever with Jonathan, and she keeps meeting him alone at his house and crowing her triumph of besting Jessica in grabbing the It Boy's affections. There is something almost sexual about the way the scenes between Enid and Jonathan are written, but the only vibe I was getting was of a psychic vampire (the kind who supposedly suck the life force out of their victims). Enid is paler and more tired than ever, but SHE BEAT JESSICA WAKEFIELD, SUCK IT HATERS!
Jessica is, of course, shocked and appalled that Jonathan has picked that drip Enid Rollins over her, when he so obviously loves her as deeply as she loves him! (Enid isn't the only one wallowing in the melodrama.) She tries to ignore him to spite him, but she can't help herself, and she is confronted with a rude image of a mussed Enid and Jonathan at his door. She throws hot soup all over Jonathan and storms off, which is just about as Jessica as she could get in that moment. It was kinda glorious, even if she stormed off in tears because he'd ~betrayed~ her.
Jessica experiences some real sorrow, however, when she finds her poor kitten dead in a corner of the yard one evening. It, like the Tragically Dead (Other) High Schoolers, had been drained of blood. This was a hard scene to read, because Jessica's upset is all too real. Why did the vampire have to take her kitten? That's just cruel.
So Bruce & co have spread the word that there will be a big party at Jonathan's. The town has imposed a 10 pm curfew after the deaths of the outside HS teenagers (who are otherwise barely mentioned), so everyone's ready to collectively let loose and wreak havoc. Jonathan only very reluctantly agrees to the party, and lets the SVH dudes come in and set it up (with balloons and streamers, how creepy!). Everyone in town shows up in gothic formalwear and are partying hard. The lights go out - which is of course the perfect excuse for some hardcore making out to be happening - but Liz gets worried because she can't find Jessica, and drags Todd down to the basement to reset the circuit breaker. They finally succeed, only to notice dead silence up above, so they rush back to the party to find everyone standing around, quite obviously shocked. Liz thinks her twin sense is telling her that Jessica is in danger, but when they get to the middle of the circle, they discover Amy's cousin Katrina dead instead, also drained of blood.
Jessica is in trouble, only she doesn't know it: she's upstairs making out with a newly life-force-resurgent Jonathan (just in case you hadn't twigged onto the fact that he's supposed to be the vampire yet).
This book (aside from the needless death of the cat) is ridiculous on so many different levels. Bruce, Todd, and Ken going goth?! Enid out-Jessicaing Jessica to get her man (and then realizing that she never really had him when she sees Jonathan and Jessica together at the party)?! Everybody swooning over Jonathan in some form or fashion (love/hate/jealousy) while three actual teenagers lay dead among them?! Only Lila seems unaffected by it all, but she's busy quoting French poetry on the phone to her long-distance boyfriend to care.
In and amidst all the chaos, I have to say that it was nice to see AJ Morgan again. He fell off the planet after dumping Jessica back in the mid-#50s books, so kudos to the ghostie for giving him a cameo appearance here, even if it was only in his underwear. I give this book a star for that alone.
I'm looking forward to the next!
December 13, 2017
“Goth Craze Holds Sweet Valley in a Cult-like Grip”
By Kelley Stanley of the Sweet Valley Gazette
The world has gone dark, folks. We may not see the return of bright pastels come springtime here in Sweet Valley. Why, you ask? Our beloved town has seen the transformation of its teens from the kids next door to the goths next door. Many of the students interviewed from Sweet Valley High for this piece confirmed that this dark trend began with the arrival of one Jonathan Cain into the beating heart of Sweet Valley mere weeks ago. “Jonathan and I are... close,” said Enid Rollins, a junior at SVH. “I did not change my looks for him. He just knows about life in a way that the rest of us don’t. We’d be foolish not to follow in his footsteps.” During the interview Enid wore a black miniskirt, a long-sleeved black sweater, and black combat boots. The roots of her hair suggested that black was not its natural color. Jessica Wakefield, also a junior at SVH, has many things to say on the subject of Jonathan Cain. However, she appeared insulted when this reporter informed her that Enid was interviewed first. “Listen, you know my sister and I are on the pulse of everything Sweet Valley, right?” Jessica asked. “I can fill you in on everything you need to know. Anyway, that drip Enid is an unreliable source. You’ll notice I didn’t dye my hair for Jonathan,” Jessica said, patting her Golden California-streaked blonde hair and narrowing her blue-green eyes that more than resemble the Pacific Ocean. “That is because I’m an original. And I was the original girl to fall in love with Jonathan. I promise you that we are in love; it’s just that Jonathan prefers to play hard to get. But there’s no mistaking the look in his eyes when he’s around me.”
This reporter worked doggedly night and day to find someone who wasn’t enraptured with Jonathan and who could therefore provide an unbiased opinion. There was only one person in the town not knee-deep in blackness and despair, and that was Elizabeth Wakefield, identical twin to Jessica and also a junior at SVH. When approached about Jonathan, Elizabeth’s eyes went wide as she said: “He is bad news. Don’t believe what everyone else has told you. Enid was my best friend but now can’t get enough of him. Worse, I am deeply concerned about Jessica’s safety. I have this awful sense of foreboding about the whole situation.” Elizabeth then paused for a moment. “By the way,” she asked, “I’m having a personal dilemma. I cheated-but-not-really on my boyfriend this summer with a guy named Joey, and he has suddenly shown up in town. My long-time boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, gave into the goth craze after spotting Joey and I together. I just don’t know who I should choose. I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this situation.”
This reporter was very caught off-guard by Elizabeth veering off-topic. She would not resume conversation regarding Jonathan. She burst into tears when asked about the recent string of murders in the community. It is the understanding of everyone that generally this community is perfect and beyond reproach. Bad things NEVER happen here.
Apparently Jonathan will be hosting a party at his mansion on Friday. The dress code is black-black tie. This reporter will attend and will make every effort to interview Jonathan and come to some conclusion about why everyone seems to be possessed by everything about him.
Until next time...
Kelley Stanley
Quotes:
Jessica: I like a challenge. And I like predators.
“Despite her best intentions, she had found herself irresistibly drawn to Joey Mason, the drama counselor, and they’d had a secret fling.”
That’s right, Liz. I, too, always have the best intentions in mind when I go to cheat on my boyfriend.
Enid’s thoughts: I wish I’d never met either Wakefield. They’re both totally self-centered.
A conclusion it only took her 127 books to arrive at.
“Elizabeth never liked it when her World was rocked.”
Gotta love that good ole status quo.
“She was thrilled that Katrina was there. She loved to have an audience when she had a story to tell- and the more the merrier.”
Guess who?
“She’d never felt so desperate for anyone before.”
Guess who?
“[Todd] had been her first boyfriend, and she had always thought he would be her last.”
Good grief, Liz! You’re 16!!
By Kelley Stanley of the Sweet Valley Gazette
The world has gone dark, folks. We may not see the return of bright pastels come springtime here in Sweet Valley. Why, you ask? Our beloved town has seen the transformation of its teens from the kids next door to the goths next door. Many of the students interviewed from Sweet Valley High for this piece confirmed that this dark trend began with the arrival of one Jonathan Cain into the beating heart of Sweet Valley mere weeks ago. “Jonathan and I are... close,” said Enid Rollins, a junior at SVH. “I did not change my looks for him. He just knows about life in a way that the rest of us don’t. We’d be foolish not to follow in his footsteps.” During the interview Enid wore a black miniskirt, a long-sleeved black sweater, and black combat boots. The roots of her hair suggested that black was not its natural color. Jessica Wakefield, also a junior at SVH, has many things to say on the subject of Jonathan Cain. However, she appeared insulted when this reporter informed her that Enid was interviewed first. “Listen, you know my sister and I are on the pulse of everything Sweet Valley, right?” Jessica asked. “I can fill you in on everything you need to know. Anyway, that drip Enid is an unreliable source. You’ll notice I didn’t dye my hair for Jonathan,” Jessica said, patting her Golden California-streaked blonde hair and narrowing her blue-green eyes that more than resemble the Pacific Ocean. “That is because I’m an original. And I was the original girl to fall in love with Jonathan. I promise you that we are in love; it’s just that Jonathan prefers to play hard to get. But there’s no mistaking the look in his eyes when he’s around me.”
This reporter worked doggedly night and day to find someone who wasn’t enraptured with Jonathan and who could therefore provide an unbiased opinion. There was only one person in the town not knee-deep in blackness and despair, and that was Elizabeth Wakefield, identical twin to Jessica and also a junior at SVH. When approached about Jonathan, Elizabeth’s eyes went wide as she said: “He is bad news. Don’t believe what everyone else has told you. Enid was my best friend but now can’t get enough of him. Worse, I am deeply concerned about Jessica’s safety. I have this awful sense of foreboding about the whole situation.” Elizabeth then paused for a moment. “By the way,” she asked, “I’m having a personal dilemma. I cheated-but-not-really on my boyfriend this summer with a guy named Joey, and he has suddenly shown up in town. My long-time boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, gave into the goth craze after spotting Joey and I together. I just don’t know who I should choose. I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this situation.”
This reporter was very caught off-guard by Elizabeth veering off-topic. She would not resume conversation regarding Jonathan. She burst into tears when asked about the recent string of murders in the community. It is the understanding of everyone that generally this community is perfect and beyond reproach. Bad things NEVER happen here.
Apparently Jonathan will be hosting a party at his mansion on Friday. The dress code is black-black tie. This reporter will attend and will make every effort to interview Jonathan and come to some conclusion about why everyone seems to be possessed by everything about him.
Until next time...
Kelley Stanley
Quotes:
Jessica: I like a challenge. And I like predators.
“Despite her best intentions, she had found herself irresistibly drawn to Joey Mason, the drama counselor, and they’d had a secret fling.”
That’s right, Liz. I, too, always have the best intentions in mind when I go to cheat on my boyfriend.
Enid’s thoughts: I wish I’d never met either Wakefield. They’re both totally self-centered.
A conclusion it only took her 127 books to arrive at.
“Elizabeth never liked it when her World was rocked.”
Gotta love that good ole status quo.
“She was thrilled that Katrina was there. She loved to have an audience when she had a story to tell- and the more the merrier.”
Guess who?
“She’d never felt so desperate for anyone before.”
Guess who?
“[Todd] had been her first boyfriend, and she had always thought he would be her last.”
Good grief, Liz! You’re 16!!
July 18, 2020
Book 2 in the vampire miniseries is mostly a snooze. Not much happens, except the usual things...let's see:
1. Jessica is madly in love with Jonathan Cain, who is also in love with her but wants to stay away from her to "protect her" (since he's a vampire, natch).
2. Enid laments about her lot in life of not being as perfect and beautiful and desirable as the Wakefield twins. Woe is me. She actually undergoes a personality transplant and is quite mean to Elizabeth. She has changed her look into an edgy goth chick and relentlessly pursues Jonathan, who has hot makeout sessions with her when he is trying to forget about Jessica.
3. Liz and Todd are broken up and Liz is now dating Joey Mason. Naturally, since Liz can never actually be happy with anything she has, she starts getting annoyed with Joey and is already missing Todd. I dunno why this is supposed to be news, since Liz cheats on Todd every 10 books or so.
4. The closing scene in this book is at a dance at Jonathan's house. The SVH boys have a sort of hero worship thing going on with Jonathan -- they are even dressing like him and trying to walk like him. Todd even dyed his hair black! Anyhoo, these boys made a point of throwing a party at Jonathan's house, even though he was against it. The lights go out and Liz frantically tries to get them turned back on. Todd comes to the rescue, and just as the lights come back on, somebody lets out a scream. Liz runs back into the room and is horrified to see a girl's dead body on the floor. Naturally, she thinks it's Jessica, but no, it is just Amy Sutton's unfortunate cousin Katrina who is visiting Amy for a few weeks.
I hope the next book is a little better. This one was mostly filler.
Oh, trigger warning for anyone who can't deal with pet deaths. Jessica's new kitten Jasmine is found outside dead, killed in the same way the teenagers were recently killed.
I honestly can't remember how this story ends so I'm excited to see where the train wreck leads us!
1. Jessica is madly in love with Jonathan Cain, who is also in love with her but wants to stay away from her to "protect her" (since he's a vampire, natch).
2. Enid laments about her lot in life of not being as perfect and beautiful and desirable as the Wakefield twins. Woe is me. She actually undergoes a personality transplant and is quite mean to Elizabeth. She has changed her look into an edgy goth chick and relentlessly pursues Jonathan, who has hot makeout sessions with her when he is trying to forget about Jessica.
3. Liz and Todd are broken up and Liz is now dating Joey Mason. Naturally, since Liz can never actually be happy with anything she has, she starts getting annoyed with Joey and is already missing Todd. I dunno why this is supposed to be news, since Liz cheats on Todd every 10 books or so.
4. The closing scene in this book is at a dance at Jonathan's house. The SVH boys have a sort of hero worship thing going on with Jonathan -- they are even dressing like him and trying to walk like him. Todd even dyed his hair black! Anyhoo, these boys made a point of throwing a party at Jonathan's house, even though he was against it. The lights go out and Liz frantically tries to get them turned back on. Todd comes to the rescue, and just as the lights come back on, somebody lets out a scream. Liz runs back into the room and is horrified to see a girl's dead body on the floor. Naturally, she thinks it's Jessica, but no, it is just Amy Sutton's unfortunate cousin Katrina who is visiting Amy for a few weeks.
I hope the next book is a little better. This one was mostly filler.
Oh, trigger warning for anyone who can't deal with pet deaths. Jessica's new kitten Jasmine is found outside dead, killed in the same way the teenagers were recently killed.
I honestly can't remember how this story ends so I'm excited to see where the train wreck leads us!
October 22, 2022
Oh geez, this book is dumb as hell. I cannot stress to you how much you should be hearing alllllllllll the twang I can muster in that hell, btw.
I've never encountered such casual time jumps that have so little meaning that you wonder why they bothered at all since absolutely NOTHING changed in the meantime. It doesn't help that at least in my copy (which I'm pretty sure is from when it first came out as I was getting them delivered at that point) there are more than a few places where I'm pretty sure the ghosty forgot their own timeline. Like when curfew is announced, it's the first day back at school after the second murder. School holiday on Monday so that makes it Tuesday. The boys will later bitch, on Tuesday, about how boring curfew has made everything. Did that dye eat all your brains and Winston is just humoring you? No, that can't be, because Bruce wouldn't need to dye his hair and I'm pretty sure Todd's the only dude to break out the Just for Men.
I could forgive the time skips if they were meant to give us reason to believe that for whatever reason all the Jonathan/Enid or Jonathan/Jessica stuff was happening off page but nooooooope. I said it for the last book and I do still get that the point is that SV is enthralled by this dude but c'mon, gimme something to work with. You can't convince me it's true wuv on Jono's part if we never see him actually interacting with Jessica. It's not like this ghosty doesn't know how to give them flirty scenes, even. The Jessica we've seen interact with Jonathan is sunshine personified (I find sunshine to be quite cruel at times so I say this comparison works) so I get him being drawn to that, to her love for life, but I need something to latch onto because no matter how many times the book tells me that Jessica's never felt this way before, she never chases a boy like this, blah blah blah, we have oh, 120+ books that say otherwise. The SVH version of chapter 2-ing makes mention of her ability to fall in love nearly as quickly as she falls out of love to the point that it's noteworthy when she's not on the prowl.
Enid. Honey. Sugar. You are better than this. Not the makeover, you do you and Liz can shove it though I never got the impression Enid would need to use a ton of pale foundation because I always pictured her as kinda pale, but Jono is frequently said to have just the whitest skin ever and his cover art is as tanned as the twins soooooooooo... Enid. Self respect. You used to have it. Liz absolutely deserves your ire for a lot of things, but oof.
But I'm also willing to cut her more of a break since we're repeatedly told just how lame/pathetic she's being.
Ghosty. Darling. Baby. You can't pretend Jessica's heartache over Jonathan necking (I had to at least once, I'm not sorry) with Enid is this big world shattering thing where she's never felt so bad when your previous book specifically mentions that two arcs ago her boyfriend died in the lamest of all gang fights. Christian's death means less than Jonathan choosing Enid over... y'know what, no. That absolutely tracks. But this means we're also ignoring the superior Sam's death and that I cannot forgive!
Also, can someone please give Liz a reason to live and get her a pitchfork mob so she can take Jonathan out for the kitty murder, please?
Liz's flipflopping on Todd/Joey is somehow worse this time. Is it because I have no memory of the Camp arc so I'm left wondering if back in the day some Liz/Joey 'shippers had their hearts absolutely broken by this book? Maybe. I'm just so tired of SVH acting like Liz never cheats on Todd, when she definitely does after a certain point in the series. (I had it clocked at what point the series decided she could cheat and it'd be fine and whether it was more on Todd or Jeffrey at that point but I'm too lazy to look it up right now.) You have no moral high ground here, ma'am, and I think we're supposed to see this as semi-realistic, her wanting what she doesn't have/the grass is always greener/etc but really it's just coming across as they're both being incredible douche bags, dump them both and go figure out how to save Enid and Jessica from Jono before I have to read one more version of "the hip gothic style" in regard to black jeans and t-shirts for the boys. The girls have turned up the fashion style to entertaining levels but the boys, Winston excluded, can't be bothered. Whyyyyyyyyyy.
Also, I would give so much money to see Dana Larson just appear and wonder wtf. Not that she's goth, but I feel like her reaction would be entertaining.
In other random thoughts, I appreciate the ghosty remembering that a) Jessica can cook and b) she cooks for those she loves. I doubly appreciate the fact that there's nary a crack about food poisoning from Alice, though in reality I suspect this has everything to do with this being a stereotypical female thing (bringing soup to the sick!) and less remembering Jessica's history. But I'm going to believe, dammit.
At the end, Liz lies to Joey because she doesn't want the drama of bringing him to a high school party where Todd and his friends will be there. She's busted immediately because that's why Caroline exists and Joey storms off and later Liz is sure she's blown it with him and she'll never hear from him again... but still expects Todd, who saw her passionately kissing Joey after she BEGGED Todd to come over and help her look for Jessica, to talk to her. Ma'am. MA'AM. I know Todd's got all this history but damn, that's all the more reason he might not want to hear your side of things now, or possibly ever.
I do wonder at the thought of having the book begin and end the same way: Liz panicked at the thought that the newest dead body is Jessica, only of course it isn't. I need a one-off about the kids you only hear mentioned once in awhile pointing out that Liz is every bit the drama queen Jessica is at times and how it's messed up that she managed to make Katrina's death about the twins anyway.
Finally: I get wanting to throw a rager to blow off steam but maybe don't pick the house that is literally falling apart. Enid damn near falls through one of the steps getting into the house and has to take pains to avoid it on subsequent trips so yeah, I don't buy for a minute that the SVH guys managed to make this death trap party central without something going wrong. I guess it's the kind of falling apart mansion that only falls apart on command.
Giving this three stars because AJ deserves a star all to himself for his cameo (and Liz barging into the boy's locker room) so this is really a 2.5 being rounded up. I also loved Lila and Amy cackling as Jessica's swooning over Jonathan after Enid's been running around town with proof that she hooked up with Jonathan.
Justice for Jasmine!
I've never encountered such casual time jumps that have so little meaning that you wonder why they bothered at all since absolutely NOTHING changed in the meantime. It doesn't help that at least in my copy (which I'm pretty sure is from when it first came out as I was getting them delivered at that point) there are more than a few places where I'm pretty sure the ghosty forgot their own timeline. Like when curfew is announced, it's the first day back at school after the second murder. School holiday on Monday so that makes it Tuesday. The boys will later bitch, on Tuesday, about how boring curfew has made everything. Did that dye eat all your brains and Winston is just humoring you? No, that can't be, because Bruce wouldn't need to dye his hair and I'm pretty sure Todd's the only dude to break out the Just for Men.
I could forgive the time skips if they were meant to give us reason to believe that for whatever reason all the Jonathan/Enid or Jonathan/Jessica stuff was happening off page but nooooooope. I said it for the last book and I do still get that the point is that SV is enthralled by this dude but c'mon, gimme something to work with. You can't convince me it's true wuv on Jono's part if we never see him actually interacting with Jessica. It's not like this ghosty doesn't know how to give them flirty scenes, even. The Jessica we've seen interact with Jonathan is sunshine personified (I find sunshine to be quite cruel at times so I say this comparison works) so I get him being drawn to that, to her love for life, but I need something to latch onto because no matter how many times the book tells me that Jessica's never felt this way before, she never chases a boy like this, blah blah blah, we have oh, 120+ books that say otherwise. The SVH version of chapter 2-ing makes mention of her ability to fall in love nearly as quickly as she falls out of love to the point that it's noteworthy when she's not on the prowl.
Enid. Honey. Sugar. You are better than this. Not the makeover, you do you and Liz can shove it though I never got the impression Enid would need to use a ton of pale foundation because I always pictured her as kinda pale, but Jono is frequently said to have just the whitest skin ever and his cover art is as tanned as the twins soooooooooo... Enid. Self respect. You used to have it. Liz absolutely deserves your ire for a lot of things, but oof.
But I'm also willing to cut her more of a break since we're repeatedly told just how lame/pathetic she's being.
Ghosty. Darling. Baby. You can't pretend Jessica's heartache over Jonathan necking (I had to at least once, I'm not sorry) with Enid is this big world shattering thing where she's never felt so bad when your previous book specifically mentions that two arcs ago her boyfriend died in the lamest of all gang fights. Christian's death means less than Jonathan choosing Enid over... y'know what, no. That absolutely tracks. But this means we're also ignoring the superior Sam's death and that I cannot forgive!
Also, can someone please give Liz a reason to live and get her a pitchfork mob so she can take Jonathan out for the kitty murder, please?
Liz's flipflopping on Todd/Joey is somehow worse this time. Is it because I have no memory of the Camp arc so I'm left wondering if back in the day some Liz/Joey 'shippers had their hearts absolutely broken by this book? Maybe. I'm just so tired of SVH acting like Liz never cheats on Todd, when she definitely does after a certain point in the series. (I had it clocked at what point the series decided she could cheat and it'd be fine and whether it was more on Todd or Jeffrey at that point but I'm too lazy to look it up right now.) You have no moral high ground here, ma'am, and I think we're supposed to see this as semi-realistic, her wanting what she doesn't have/the grass is always greener/etc but really it's just coming across as they're both being incredible douche bags, dump them both and go figure out how to save Enid and Jessica from Jono before I have to read one more version of "the hip gothic style" in regard to black jeans and t-shirts for the boys. The girls have turned up the fashion style to entertaining levels but the boys, Winston excluded, can't be bothered. Whyyyyyyyyyy.
Also, I would give so much money to see Dana Larson just appear and wonder wtf. Not that she's goth, but I feel like her reaction would be entertaining.
In other random thoughts, I appreciate the ghosty remembering that a) Jessica can cook and b) she cooks for those she loves. I doubly appreciate the fact that there's nary a crack about food poisoning from Alice, though in reality I suspect this has everything to do with this being a stereotypical female thing (bringing soup to the sick!) and less remembering Jessica's history. But I'm going to believe, dammit.
At the end, Liz lies to Joey because she doesn't want the drama of bringing him to a high school party where Todd and his friends will be there. She's busted immediately because that's why Caroline exists and Joey storms off and later Liz is sure she's blown it with him and she'll never hear from him again... but still expects Todd, who saw her passionately kissing Joey after she BEGGED Todd to come over and help her look for Jessica, to talk to her. Ma'am. MA'AM. I know Todd's got all this history but damn, that's all the more reason he might not want to hear your side of things now, or possibly ever.
I do wonder at the thought of having the book begin and end the same way: Liz panicked at the thought that the newest dead body is Jessica, only of course it isn't. I need a one-off about the kids you only hear mentioned once in awhile pointing out that Liz is every bit the drama queen Jessica is at times and how it's messed up that she managed to make Katrina's death about the twins anyway.
Finally: I get wanting to throw a rager to blow off steam but maybe don't pick the house that is literally falling apart. Enid damn near falls through one of the steps getting into the house and has to take pains to avoid it on subsequent trips so yeah, I don't buy for a minute that the SVH guys managed to make this death trap party central without something going wrong. I guess it's the kind of falling apart mansion that only falls apart on command.
Giving this three stars because AJ deserves a star all to himself for his cameo (and Liz barging into the boy's locker room) so this is really a 2.5 being rounded up. I also loved Lila and Amy cackling as Jessica's swooning over Jonathan after Enid's been running around town with proof that she hooked up with Jonathan.
Justice for Jasmine!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2009
Ah, the Sweet Valley vampires...
August 1, 2021
This is great
I love how Liz decides in the previous mini series that Joey is the guy for her but then as soon as she might lose Todd is like “oh no I love Todd not butthead Joey” (insert eye roll emoji). Like I don’t know how anyone’s surprised that she’ll later cheat on Todd with Devon (spoilers, but, iykyk). Liz, at this point, has cheated on Todd with: Nicholas, Todd’s best friend Ken, Jeffrey, a bunch of randoms in the summer and winter editions, London Werewolf Guy AKA Luke, Todd’s best friend Ken round two (but also while her TWIN SIS WAS DATING THE DUDE), and Joey. And she’s meant to be the good, faithful twin!? Like, even Jess has a better record of not cheating.
Poor Jasmine dies, and Katrina may also be dead but the body at the beginning, of course, belongs to random blonde girl, not Jessica like Liz originally thought.
This is one of my favourite mini series. It’s like they just went off the deep end and totally embraced it and it’s so good
I love how Liz decides in the previous mini series that Joey is the guy for her but then as soon as she might lose Todd is like “oh no I love Todd not butthead Joey” (insert eye roll emoji). Like I don’t know how anyone’s surprised that she’ll later cheat on Todd with Devon (spoilers, but, iykyk). Liz, at this point, has cheated on Todd with: Nicholas, Todd’s best friend Ken, Jeffrey, a bunch of randoms in the summer and winter editions, London Werewolf Guy AKA Luke, Todd’s best friend Ken round two (but also while her TWIN SIS WAS DATING THE DUDE), and Joey. And she’s meant to be the good, faithful twin!? Like, even Jess has a better record of not cheating.
Poor Jasmine dies, and Katrina may also be dead but the body at the beginning, of course, belongs to random blonde girl, not Jessica like Liz originally thought.
This is one of my favourite mini series. It’s like they just went off the deep end and totally embraced it and it’s so good
June 25, 2023
forgot how much of this series relies on emotional whiplash; all of the major female characters have complete breakdowns over dudes, one of which is maybe a vampire? Tortured SVH vampire Jonathan walked so tortured Forks High vampire Edward Cullen could run.
was gagged over how the majority of the school became goth. ah, the power of peer pressure.
was gagged over how the majority of the school became goth. ah, the power of peer pressure.
December 17, 2024
For the record I have always ALWAYS enjoyed the Sweet Valley series …. But this book was garbage. It broke one of my two rules when it comes to stories (pet death). And I am fine with melodramatic characters/stories. I have been reading some of the Point Horror series and have had a lot of fun with them. This one? Nope. Characters did things because the author wanted them to.
March 8, 2019
Liz is still being super annoying - because Todd's ditched her, guess what?? She wants him back and because Joey's in town and wants her, guess what?? She doesn't want him anymore!! Quote from Liz "am i really that fickle?" Yes dear, you are.
January 25, 2023
Sequel to the previous book. Going to read the whole trilogy. I will say all the characters are at odds for all their own faults. The new popular kid has everyone under his creepy spell.
May 10, 2026
I love the whole 90s goth scene. What a time to be alive.
August 18, 2026
absolutely amazing, love love love!
The suspense of the next book is absolutely horrible, but that is the ONLY thing that’s bad about this book!
The suspense of the next book is absolutely horrible, but that is the ONLY thing that’s bad about this book!
July 21, 2024
The descriptions of Todd, Bruce, Ken, and Winston in their new "gothic" clothes in the cafeteria made me literally cackle out loud with glee and delight. Sweet Valley is so fucking stupid and I love it SO MUCH.
Want to Read
October 19, 2015i dont know
August 15, 2023
This is the middle book in a 3 book story arc, so it definitely was a lot of filler and setting up for book 3. Also warning, the cat dies :(
June 21, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
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