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Sweet Valley High #118
College Weekend
Jessica Wakefield is having a blast visiting Sweet Valley University. And after just one day, she's found the perfect college guy. Zack Marsden is 20 years old, tall, dark, and handsome. They make an awesome campus couple. But Zack believes that Jessica is a college junior! And she's going to make sure he never finds out the truth.
Elizabeth Wakefield is in love...with college! She spends every spare moment working on her crash-course journalism class. Jessica thinks she's crazy. But then the professor gives Elizabeth the opportunity to be a real live reporter. With an offer like that, will Elizabeth ever go back to high school?
Elizabeth Wakefield is in love...with college! She spends every spare moment working on her crash-course journalism class. Jessica thinks she's crazy. But then the professor gives Elizabeth the opportunity to be a real live reporter. With an offer like that, will Elizabeth ever go back to high school?
198 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
18 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,850 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 28, 2019
Well, I wasn’t missing anything waiting all these years to finish this trilogy. What a snooze.
The first 100 pages of the book is just a party Jess throws in Steven and Billie’s apartment, much to the chagrin of Liz. Of course they don’t get it picked up in time before Steven and Billie get back, and Steven is, rightfully, very pissed off. Liz and Jess’s plots diverge after that. We will start with Liz.
Liz meets Ian and, to the shock of all readers, does not cheat on Todd with him. In fact, she tells Ian she has a boyfriend. I just about had a heart attack when I read that part. She does want to be friends with Ian though, and he takes her to one of his journalism classes. Naturally, this gives Liz an orgasm. In fact, his class is run by the popular journalist Felicia Newkirk. Liz can’t wait to meet her. Until she turns out to be the devil wears reading glasses. She skewers Liz based on her appearance, essentially calling her a dumb blonde. Liz cannot take any criticism at all ever, so she tries pathetically to defend herself. Felicia then announces they will be having an essay contest. She asks Liz if she will be participating. Because Liz has to prove to everyone she is perfect and untouchable, she says yes. But at first she struggles to think of a topic for the essay. Then Billie suggests that she should write about what she knows. Obviously Liz knows nothing (even less than Jon Snow) but, because of the one college party she and Jessica threw, she thinks she is now an expert on underage drinking. She stays up until 5:30 am writing the paper. She runs around the next day on 45 minutes of sleep. She even uses the word “damn,” so you know things are serious. When it comes time for the class Liz is beyond harried and nervous. She knows she cannot handle being humiliated again on such little sleep. But, to the shock of literally everyone in the universe, Felicia announces Liz is the winner and apologizes for gravely misjudging her. Barf. Bye Felicia. Liz wins an internship, her piece edited and published by Felicia, and an ego swelled so big she doesn’t want to return to high school. The twins have been driving Billie and Steven slowly crazy, and they can’t wait for them to go home. They have a problem on their hands when Liz returns home from her victory and states that she will be staying at SVU.
Jessica’s plot involves what it always does: a guy. This is Zach Marsden, the guy who Jess will find out is lying about his age in the next book. But in this one she is piling on the lies herself as she says how she went to Princeton (ahahahahahahaha) and grew up on the East Coast. She is also simultaneously trying to rush the Theta sorority... two years early. She balances her time between the Thetas, Zach, and lying to everyone. Then she finds out that Magda, the head of the sorority, also has a thing for Zach. Oops. Then she has to balance everything AND avoid Magda seeing her with Zach. She eventually tells Billie about her dilemma and Billie suggests she come clean to everyone. You might have noticed that’s not exactly Jessica’s style. She’s also still dating Ken at this time, so she’s cheating on him (big surprise). We end with Zach and Jess at a diner that the Thetas, including Magda, show up at, leaving Jess with no way out.
Quotes:
Liz’s brain: My love for Todd is so strong, I couldn’t possibly be interested in anyone else.
It’s so strong she’s having these feelings for a guy yet again.
“[Jessica] looked over the menu. Guava juice? Soba noodles? Somehow she had the feeling they didn’t serve milkshakes and fries- her snacks of choice at her favorite restaurant hangout, The Dairi Burger.”
But Jess, you could be a perfect size two instead of a perfect size six if you ate soba noodles and drank guava juice.
Jessica’s mind: I may be somewhat preoccupied with boys, but I’m certainly not shallow or dumb.
Somewhat preoccupied? Jess, that’s like saying the Mona Lisa is somewhat famous.
The first 100 pages of the book is just a party Jess throws in Steven and Billie’s apartment, much to the chagrin of Liz. Of course they don’t get it picked up in time before Steven and Billie get back, and Steven is, rightfully, very pissed off. Liz and Jess’s plots diverge after that. We will start with Liz.
Liz meets Ian and, to the shock of all readers, does not cheat on Todd with him. In fact, she tells Ian she has a boyfriend. I just about had a heart attack when I read that part. She does want to be friends with Ian though, and he takes her to one of his journalism classes. Naturally, this gives Liz an orgasm. In fact, his class is run by the popular journalist Felicia Newkirk. Liz can’t wait to meet her. Until she turns out to be the devil wears reading glasses. She skewers Liz based on her appearance, essentially calling her a dumb blonde. Liz cannot take any criticism at all ever, so she tries pathetically to defend herself. Felicia then announces they will be having an essay contest. She asks Liz if she will be participating. Because Liz has to prove to everyone she is perfect and untouchable, she says yes. But at first she struggles to think of a topic for the essay. Then Billie suggests that she should write about what she knows. Obviously Liz knows nothing (even less than Jon Snow) but, because of the one college party she and Jessica threw, she thinks she is now an expert on underage drinking. She stays up until 5:30 am writing the paper. She runs around the next day on 45 minutes of sleep. She even uses the word “damn,” so you know things are serious. When it comes time for the class Liz is beyond harried and nervous. She knows she cannot handle being humiliated again on such little sleep. But, to the shock of literally everyone in the universe, Felicia announces Liz is the winner and apologizes for gravely misjudging her. Barf. Bye Felicia. Liz wins an internship, her piece edited and published by Felicia, and an ego swelled so big she doesn’t want to return to high school. The twins have been driving Billie and Steven slowly crazy, and they can’t wait for them to go home. They have a problem on their hands when Liz returns home from her victory and states that she will be staying at SVU.
Jessica’s plot involves what it always does: a guy. This is Zach Marsden, the guy who Jess will find out is lying about his age in the next book. But in this one she is piling on the lies herself as she says how she went to Princeton (ahahahahahahaha) and grew up on the East Coast. She is also simultaneously trying to rush the Theta sorority... two years early. She balances her time between the Thetas, Zach, and lying to everyone. Then she finds out that Magda, the head of the sorority, also has a thing for Zach. Oops. Then she has to balance everything AND avoid Magda seeing her with Zach. She eventually tells Billie about her dilemma and Billie suggests she come clean to everyone. You might have noticed that’s not exactly Jessica’s style. She’s also still dating Ken at this time, so she’s cheating on him (big surprise). We end with Zach and Jess at a diner that the Thetas, including Magda, show up at, leaving Jess with no way out.
Quotes:
Liz’s brain: My love for Todd is so strong, I couldn’t possibly be interested in anyone else.
It’s so strong she’s having these feelings for a guy yet again.
“[Jessica] looked over the menu. Guava juice? Soba noodles? Somehow she had the feeling they didn’t serve milkshakes and fries- her snacks of choice at her favorite restaurant hangout, The Dairi Burger.”
But Jess, you could be a perfect size two instead of a perfect size six if you ate soba noodles and drank guava juice.
Jessica’s mind: I may be somewhat preoccupied with boys, but I’m certainly not shallow or dumb.
Somewhat preoccupied? Jess, that’s like saying the Mona Lisa is somewhat famous.
May 27, 2019
Ful n flippant read
Don't read Sweet Valleys for literary value or good writing. Read it for the reasons I do - a peek into sunny Californian school or college life and Elizabeth and Jessica's delightful antics :)
Don't read Sweet Valleys for literary value or good writing. Read it for the reasons I do - a peek into sunny Californian school or college life and Elizabeth and Jessica's delightful antics :)
June 15, 2020
This mini-trilogy never pops into my head when I think about which SVH books I loved, but I’m having way too much fun reading it now. It’s definitely way better than I remember it being.
Also, I forgot how much I love Billie!
Also, I forgot how much I love Billie!
August 22, 2019
I enjoyed this one - on the whole it was daft as a brush! Jess is cheating on Ken and Liz has decided not to go back to Sweet Valley High and stay on at Uni instead!!
April 24, 2021
Book #1 Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon April 2021.
I have decided I wanted some nostalgia from my teen years and Sweet Valley High had to be where to start. Full review to come.
I have decided I wanted some nostalgia from my teen years and Sweet Valley High had to be where to start. Full review to come.
February 18, 2021
I was obsessed with the series when I started reading the books at age 12 (although, even then, Jessica irked me). Now, as an adult, I am reading the books I missed (I think I stopped reading them at book 25?) on Kindle Unlimited, mainly because I’m a voracious reader, and the books are free. I can say only that the character of Jessica Wakefield is nauseatingly vapid, vacuous, and completely irredeemable. I don’t believe I’ve ever before read of a character more in love with herself, more selfish, or more thoughtless than this immature twit. I realize this character is not an actual person, but the mere thought of this spoiled little monster and how everyone seems to bow down before her makes my blood boil. She has no boundaries, and seemingly, no supervision, so she is never held accountable for any of her atrocious acts. What I’ve mainly found is that the books in the later stages of the series are predominantly devoted to Jessica and her evil acts. She doesn’t even think twice about risking her own twin sister’s safety or reputation as long as she herself comes out on top. Narcissist bordering on sociopathic tendencies ... Such a shame. Definitely not role model material in a series that seemed to be created mainly for YA, coming of age readers.
November 16, 2021
After the SAT dramas in the previous book, the twins are off to spend a week with Steven at SVU. Jess immediately throws a huge party at Stevens flat - which gets the cops involved- and falls for a college boy, while pretending to be a college transfer herself. Liz gets overly involved in the academic side of college life, and realises that she's not QUITE as brilliant and well read as she's always assumed she is....
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January 29, 2025I found 6 SVH books at my local Tescos in the charity books section so I got them for the nostalgia. Sweet Valley books were a big deal to me as a kid, especially the special editions and “super chillers”.
November 11, 2025
Love the sexist portrayal of the sorority. /s
April 5, 2012
Jessica and Elizabeth visit their brother Steven at Sweet Valley University (SVU)and predictably enough Jessica zeroes in on the seemingly perfect college guy: Zack Marsden. True to form she doesn't admit that she's still in high school. But ah, one lies spawns another, albeit not from the same individual.
And of course Elizabeth being the genius twin, she then gets offered the opportunity to be a real live reporter by her professor in her crash-course journalism class. Ridiculous to even think that such situations would actually occur in real life.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: College Weekend (Sweet Valley High #118)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
And of course Elizabeth being the genius twin, she then gets offered the opportunity to be a real live reporter by her professor in her crash-course journalism class. Ridiculous to even think that such situations would actually occur in real life.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: College Weekend (Sweet Valley High #118)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
Read
May 5, 2010F PAS svh
June 21, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews