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Sweet Valley High #84
The Stolen Diary
Urged by her ex-beau, Todd, to date other people, Elizabeth Wakefield accepts a date with handsome Kris Lynch, a cartoonist for The Oracle, but when she tells Kris she wants to return to Todd, her trouble begins.
48 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1992
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,149 books1,853 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 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 31, 2024
"The first rule for getting a boy interested in you is to make sure he remembers you’re alive."
I’ve never seen anyone go through as much drama as these twins do.
RTC
I’ve never seen anyone go through as much drama as these twins do.
RTC
August 21, 2017
This one was especially interesting due to Liz & Todd's dating hiatus. It's the only tune I recall casually dating anyone.
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April 20, 2024Stolen Diary
Liz looks for Todd at lunch and can’t find him. She’s starting to feel like an old settled married couple but Enid tells her it’s better than being single and stressed. She misses Hugh and regrets that she called it off with him because of the distance between SV and Big Mesa. She wants him back but heard he’s seeing someone else. Liz tells her they just have to get him back by thinking like Jessica. When she and Jessica are trying home, she tries to find out on the sly what Jessica would do to get with a guy at another school, by saying she’s writing an article for the Oracle. Liz and Todd are doing homework later and when he takes her home she casually asks where he was at lunch. He snaps at her and basically tells her she doesn’t control him -he doesn’t have to spend every lunch period with her=. He says he was helping “a friend” with math.
Liztells him if he’s feeling so smothered then maybe they should take a breather. He agrees and brings up Justin Silver. Liz and Todd both think the same thing that maybe she’s sorry now that she hasn’t gone out with him. Of course, he throws in the line about still being friends. As Liz thinks it over later and writes in her diary, she realizes it’s not the worse thing. She and Todd have become to settled and they’re both just sixteen. Jessica comes into the room venting about how the Fiat keeps breaking down and Liz ends up telling her about Todd. Jessica of course thinks it’s a good thing and says she’s going to make sure Liz is so busy she won’t even give Todd a thought. Liz hope so but doubts it. Jessica wants to know whose idea it was and Liz lies and says it was mutual. Jessica wants to also know if Todd is seeing someone else. Liz says they talked about it but neither of them is seeing anyone else right now.
Jessica is venting again about the car on the way to school. Liz warns her about being discreet. She doesn’t want Lila or Caroline to know about (what she’s calling) the “trial separation”. At school, after Enid gets over her shock that Liz and Tood have separated -and Liz notices Todd’s not in the lunchroom- decide to do a Jessica thing and go to Big Mesa to -as Jessica suggested= “make sure he still knows she’s alive”. Jessica true to her word *Does* keep her word but Caroline and Lila already know that Todd and Liz broke up and the reason was because of Peggy Abot-the girl in the last book that was following Todd around at Cara’s party and on the beach-. It seems she’s had a crush on him for a minute. Jessica tho jumps to Liz’s define and says it was Liz’s decession and says if she wants to Liz can get another guy like that (snaps fingers). But all along Jessica realizes she should have known that it was more than what Liz said.
After being put off by Liz after school and at dinner (because Liz says she has a lot of work to do) Jessica finally gets the chance to tell Liz what she heard. But Liz just dismisses it by saying “Todd has a lot of friends. Peggy is probably one of them.” So, instead Jessica invites Liz to a movie on Thursday. She knows Liz is using work as an excuse to keep distracted and she won’t allow it. Big Mesa must not be too big a town because Enid and Elizabeth instantly track him down going to the Moon Dance (Café?). After they all have a soda together, Enid is wrapped up in the memories of how they use to talk forever. Liz says now all they have to do is think of an excuse for Enid to call him again-like she lost her earring and she wants him to ask around about it next time he’s there-. On the way back, Liz sees Todd and Peggy together in his car laughing and drives around for a little while upset. Later that night, she discovers when talking to Jessica her journal is missing, but remembers she left in his jacket pocket when she was in the library. Jessica thinks she’s crazy for carrying her jounrla around. What if it gets lost and a stranger reads about her life?
Jessica and Liz have a good time at the movie, but the twins have to do some quick talking to get out of their parents questioning them about it the next morning. Liz tells them Todd couldn’t go because he had other plans. Liz finds out that Enid didn’t call Hugh and spent the night stalling. She makes her promise to call him that afternoon. Jessica comes home and finds her mother there. She tries to distract her by trying to convince her to get her a new Jeep Wranger, but eventually Alice gets to what Jessica knows is coming (what’s going on with Liz and Todd). Enid rehearses her lines-a thousand times- but when she gets up the nerve to call she’s relieved when the machine picks up. So, she leaves a message about losing her earring. Enid gets a call back from Hugh.
Jessica declares the next day a “no work day” and takes Liz to the Valley Mall for a girls day. Jessica is convinced that they’ll get the jeep, but for now she’ll settle for a new outfit. She tells Liz that Sam has a friend that wants to take her to the upcoming dance, but before she can even get it out Liz tells her no. She’s still hoping Todd will ask her deep down. She also confesses Alice got the truth out of her-but Liz says she’s not mad about it.- Liz and a boy she’s noticed at the Dairi Burger exchange looks in school while Enid is telling her Hugh “found her earring”-the one she never lost-. Liz lends her the car to go meet him. She remembers the boys name -Chris Lynch- who draws cartoons for the Oracle-just as he runs her over. Chris asks Liz to the dance, but she says she’s not sure what her plans are that night. But she changes her mind when Todd tells her he’s going to the dance with Pggy. The Fiat breaks down on Enid so she doesn’t meet up with Hugh and Jessica continues to bitch about how getting the car fixed isn’t enough.
Liz finds out Enid never called Hugh when they go to have the Fiat looked at. Enid isn’t gonna tell him, but Liz tells her he needs to know what happened or else he’ll think she stood him up. When Enid does call he makes light of it and makes plans to meet with her Thursday at a gazebo. But when Enid gets there Hugh doesn’t show and she thinks he intentionally did it to get back at her. Meanwhile at school, Lila and Caroline and the others talk about what an odd pairing Liz and Chris make and then Jessica finds out he’s had a crush on Liz for a long time. At first she thinks maybe she should tell Liz this because the last thing she needs is another something serious but decides going to the dance with him might be good for her.
Chris picks up Liz in a pink Cadillac and has pink, long, stemed roses, and candy. The pink Cadillac is the talk of the dance but even though Liz enjoys dancing with Chris, she can’t stop trying to keep up with what Todd and Peggy are doing the whole eveeing-so she’s distracted-. She does give Chris a second date -figuring anyone who takes you to a dance in a pink Cadillac deserves at least that-. Jessica -of all people- tells her tho she shouldn’t lead him on if she knows her feelings are still with Todd.
Liz -motivated by Jessica- is about to tell Kris (sorry been spelling it wrong) at school she can’t see him anymore, but changes her mind when she goes to ask Todd to have lunch with her “as a friend” but he says he’s eating with Peggy and her friends. She however is distracted at lunch while Enid is telling her Hugh’s been calling and she’s been ignoring his calls. When she does tho decide to pop in on him at work, he’s got his arms wrapped around a red-head. She tells Liz she was wearing his class ring-the same one she wore-. Liz goes on a second date with Kris to the movies. He confesses to her that he doesn’t -has never- dated. Liz decides to get more into the date by bombarding him with questions which he shys a little from, but they have a good time. She ends up telling him about her dream to be a writer. After this they go to the Dairi Burger. Peggy and Todd are there but they sit in the back. Kris tells her there’s something else other than paint and draw that he does and that’s think of her. At home, Jess continues to bug her dad about the car-it’s REALLY getting old-. Liz goes up to her room to write in her diary-something she does a lot in this book. I just haven’t recapped the entries-. She keeps noticing how shee keeps misplacing it.
Lila tells Jessica everyone -including Kris- are starting to think that he and Liz are a couple. Jessica tries to tell Liz this on the way to school but she just dismisses it. It’s not until she’s talking to End and Maria comes over and invites Enid to her party and Liz wants to know if she’s invited and Maria says her “boyfriend” already said they’d be there that she sees what Jessica and Enid means. She says she’ll talk to Kris the next day. She needs time to plan what she’ll say. She plans to talk to him at the party, but the party is crowded, loud, and Kris keeps trying to get close to her. So, she pulls him into Mr. Santelli’s office. But in there is.. You guessed it? Todd and Peggy. Liz runs off but Kris comes after her and kisses her and she responds out of vengeance. They start to kiss on the stairs and alarm bells go off in her head. She pushes him away and they get out of there. He suggests they go to Miller’s Point, but Liz says she wants to go home.
He takes this to mean her parents aren’t home. She tries to call it off with him and he gets PISSED and starts screaming and accusing her of leading him on. She makes him pull over and she gets out. He still doesn’t get it and thins she’s teasing him. HE keeps insisting she must like him. So, they struggle and her bag drops all over the street. She scoops everything up and he gets angry and drives off in fury. Jessica leaves the party worried about Liz and finds Liz frantic looing for her diary. Jessica says she probably left it in the Oracle office. She ends up telling Jessica about what happened with Kris and cries wishing she had her journal.
The next day she goes to check and see if her journal is in her locker, but Kris greets her with a white rose. He apologizes to her and she apologizes to him. The diary is in her locker with her sneakers. Enid says it was decent that Kris apologizes and she talks about missing Hugh and how she’s no longer running into Hugh everywhere. Todd asks if they can talk after school. Caroline tells Jessica that she heard she and Kris left the party to go to Miller’s Point. She heard it from Chris Lynch’s best friend’s girlfriend. Jessica quickly defends her twin, Caroline says she believes her and Jessica tells her to make sure she straightens this out. (UH Since when has Caroline taken Cara’s place). But as soon as she gets in the house, Lila has heard the rumor and jumped on it. Todd admits to Liz that he made a mistake and tells her he knew immediately Peggy was wrong for him but he got scared because of Cara and Steven. But know he knows he’s with her because he’s the only girl he wants to be with. They call off their “trial separation” and they agree to go out to show everyone they’re back together.
So, Peggy comes up to Todd after this and tells him about the rumors she heard and that she heard them from Kris himself. Todd goes to confront Kris but when he starts telling him intimate stuff about him and Liz he feels betrayed and storms off. Enid also bumps into Kris and he starts to telling her about Hugh and saying he should have given him the chance to explain. When Todd doesn’t show up for their date, Liz calls him but he tells her maybe she should go out with Kris and hangs up on her. Liz calls Enid abut she hangs up on her too. Jessica comes back to find Liz asleep on her bed with her diary open. She reads the last bit and vows to find out what happened.
Jessica finds out from Tood and Enid that somehow Kris knew personal things about them and while they admit it’s hard to believe Liz would just tell them that stuff how else would he know. Jessica confronts Kris and he also knows things about her but she’s not emotional over it. She just tells him she’s going to get to the bottom of it. Ned tells Jessica at dinner to eliminate the impossible to get to the solution -badly worded by me-. After seeing Liz writing in her jounrla and hearing her say how helpful it is to just write down everything that comes to mind it hits her. Kris must have read her diary. It was missing right after Maria’s party. Jessica confronts Kris with what she knows and he says Liz left the diary in his car and it was never his intention -yet he still didn’t stop it- to start the rumors. End, he and Todd apologize to Liz.
My Thoughts
And I thought Liz was the smart one. Why would you bring your diary to school? Wasn’t there another book in the SV series where she brings it to school and it gets misplaced in the Oracle office under a bunch of papers? Shouldn’t she have learned from that incident? Even though Kris was a JERK and NO I would NOT have accepted his apology because even if he didn’t start the rumors he let everyone believe them. Not only that he read the diary and threw it in the people’s faces she wrote about by spilling their personal stuff back at them. Still, despite this I couldn’t fully feel sorry for Liz because I just felt like she should have known better. Even Jessica knew you don’t t carry your diary around with you. That’s like bragging you have a house full of expensive things and posting pictures on FB and then announcing your going out of town. I think I’m starting to read so many different versions of these books they’re starting to blur. I could barely remember Hugh or he and End breaking up or even why. It was just dumb to me because in this book Enid doesn’t have any problems whatsoever going to see Hugh. She goes to Big Mesa on like four or five occasions (maybe more). So, if that’s the case then “the distance” must not be that big of an issue. It just makes me roll my eyes when characters carry on like this in books where they can’t stand the distance between them and you find out it’s like a hour drive or something.
Then teen series books always seem to have these things about teen or pre-teen couples (there will be one that’s serious). And the message is always you have to date a lot of people before you know if you’ve found the right person (don’t tie yourself down at a young age). But I don’t know if I agree that you have to date a lot of people to know if you have the right person -while you have the right person already-. I think that’s just an excuse -like with Todd- to date other people. Sometimes yes you won’t know and you’ll be too blind to see it.So I guess I’m of two minds on this. Sometimes you really do know but other times it’s just BS. In the end, people normally see that they should have stayed where they already were and go right back. I don’t know tho that I would have taken Todd back. Todd is just.. Well I think Liz can do better.
Rating: 6 And sadly I think Liz is STILL gonna carry her diary around with her.
Liz looks for Todd at lunch and can’t find him. She’s starting to feel like an old settled married couple but Enid tells her it’s better than being single and stressed. She misses Hugh and regrets that she called it off with him because of the distance between SV and Big Mesa. She wants him back but heard he’s seeing someone else. Liz tells her they just have to get him back by thinking like Jessica. When she and Jessica are trying home, she tries to find out on the sly what Jessica would do to get with a guy at another school, by saying she’s writing an article for the Oracle. Liz and Todd are doing homework later and when he takes her home she casually asks where he was at lunch. He snaps at her and basically tells her she doesn’t control him -he doesn’t have to spend every lunch period with her=. He says he was helping “a friend” with math.
Liztells him if he’s feeling so smothered then maybe they should take a breather. He agrees and brings up Justin Silver. Liz and Todd both think the same thing that maybe she’s sorry now that she hasn’t gone out with him. Of course, he throws in the line about still being friends. As Liz thinks it over later and writes in her diary, she realizes it’s not the worse thing. She and Todd have become to settled and they’re both just sixteen. Jessica comes into the room venting about how the Fiat keeps breaking down and Liz ends up telling her about Todd. Jessica of course thinks it’s a good thing and says she’s going to make sure Liz is so busy she won’t even give Todd a thought. Liz hope so but doubts it. Jessica wants to know whose idea it was and Liz lies and says it was mutual. Jessica wants to also know if Todd is seeing someone else. Liz says they talked about it but neither of them is seeing anyone else right now.
Jessica is venting again about the car on the way to school. Liz warns her about being discreet. She doesn’t want Lila or Caroline to know about (what she’s calling) the “trial separation”. At school, after Enid gets over her shock that Liz and Tood have separated -and Liz notices Todd’s not in the lunchroom- decide to do a Jessica thing and go to Big Mesa to -as Jessica suggested= “make sure he still knows she’s alive”. Jessica true to her word *Does* keep her word but Caroline and Lila already know that Todd and Liz broke up and the reason was because of Peggy Abot-the girl in the last book that was following Todd around at Cara’s party and on the beach-. It seems she’s had a crush on him for a minute. Jessica tho jumps to Liz’s define and says it was Liz’s decession and says if she wants to Liz can get another guy like that (snaps fingers). But all along Jessica realizes she should have known that it was more than what Liz said.
After being put off by Liz after school and at dinner (because Liz says she has a lot of work to do) Jessica finally gets the chance to tell Liz what she heard. But Liz just dismisses it by saying “Todd has a lot of friends. Peggy is probably one of them.” So, instead Jessica invites Liz to a movie on Thursday. She knows Liz is using work as an excuse to keep distracted and she won’t allow it. Big Mesa must not be too big a town because Enid and Elizabeth instantly track him down going to the Moon Dance (Café?). After they all have a soda together, Enid is wrapped up in the memories of how they use to talk forever. Liz says now all they have to do is think of an excuse for Enid to call him again-like she lost her earring and she wants him to ask around about it next time he’s there-. On the way back, Liz sees Todd and Peggy together in his car laughing and drives around for a little while upset. Later that night, she discovers when talking to Jessica her journal is missing, but remembers she left in his jacket pocket when she was in the library. Jessica thinks she’s crazy for carrying her jounrla around. What if it gets lost and a stranger reads about her life?
Jessica and Liz have a good time at the movie, but the twins have to do some quick talking to get out of their parents questioning them about it the next morning. Liz tells them Todd couldn’t go because he had other plans. Liz finds out that Enid didn’t call Hugh and spent the night stalling. She makes her promise to call him that afternoon. Jessica comes home and finds her mother there. She tries to distract her by trying to convince her to get her a new Jeep Wranger, but eventually Alice gets to what Jessica knows is coming (what’s going on with Liz and Todd). Enid rehearses her lines-a thousand times- but when she gets up the nerve to call she’s relieved when the machine picks up. So, she leaves a message about losing her earring. Enid gets a call back from Hugh.
Jessica declares the next day a “no work day” and takes Liz to the Valley Mall for a girls day. Jessica is convinced that they’ll get the jeep, but for now she’ll settle for a new outfit. She tells Liz that Sam has a friend that wants to take her to the upcoming dance, but before she can even get it out Liz tells her no. She’s still hoping Todd will ask her deep down. She also confesses Alice got the truth out of her-but Liz says she’s not mad about it.- Liz and a boy she’s noticed at the Dairi Burger exchange looks in school while Enid is telling her Hugh “found her earring”-the one she never lost-. Liz lends her the car to go meet him. She remembers the boys name -Chris Lynch- who draws cartoons for the Oracle-just as he runs her over. Chris asks Liz to the dance, but she says she’s not sure what her plans are that night. But she changes her mind when Todd tells her he’s going to the dance with Pggy. The Fiat breaks down on Enid so she doesn’t meet up with Hugh and Jessica continues to bitch about how getting the car fixed isn’t enough.
Liz finds out Enid never called Hugh when they go to have the Fiat looked at. Enid isn’t gonna tell him, but Liz tells her he needs to know what happened or else he’ll think she stood him up. When Enid does call he makes light of it and makes plans to meet with her Thursday at a gazebo. But when Enid gets there Hugh doesn’t show and she thinks he intentionally did it to get back at her. Meanwhile at school, Lila and Caroline and the others talk about what an odd pairing Liz and Chris make and then Jessica finds out he’s had a crush on Liz for a long time. At first she thinks maybe she should tell Liz this because the last thing she needs is another something serious but decides going to the dance with him might be good for her.
Chris picks up Liz in a pink Cadillac and has pink, long, stemed roses, and candy. The pink Cadillac is the talk of the dance but even though Liz enjoys dancing with Chris, she can’t stop trying to keep up with what Todd and Peggy are doing the whole eveeing-so she’s distracted-. She does give Chris a second date -figuring anyone who takes you to a dance in a pink Cadillac deserves at least that-. Jessica -of all people- tells her tho she shouldn’t lead him on if she knows her feelings are still with Todd.
Liz -motivated by Jessica- is about to tell Kris (sorry been spelling it wrong) at school she can’t see him anymore, but changes her mind when she goes to ask Todd to have lunch with her “as a friend” but he says he’s eating with Peggy and her friends. She however is distracted at lunch while Enid is telling her Hugh’s been calling and she’s been ignoring his calls. When she does tho decide to pop in on him at work, he’s got his arms wrapped around a red-head. She tells Liz she was wearing his class ring-the same one she wore-. Liz goes on a second date with Kris to the movies. He confesses to her that he doesn’t -has never- dated. Liz decides to get more into the date by bombarding him with questions which he shys a little from, but they have a good time. She ends up telling him about her dream to be a writer. After this they go to the Dairi Burger. Peggy and Todd are there but they sit in the back. Kris tells her there’s something else other than paint and draw that he does and that’s think of her. At home, Jess continues to bug her dad about the car-it’s REALLY getting old-. Liz goes up to her room to write in her diary-something she does a lot in this book. I just haven’t recapped the entries-. She keeps noticing how shee keeps misplacing it.
Lila tells Jessica everyone -including Kris- are starting to think that he and Liz are a couple. Jessica tries to tell Liz this on the way to school but she just dismisses it. It’s not until she’s talking to End and Maria comes over and invites Enid to her party and Liz wants to know if she’s invited and Maria says her “boyfriend” already said they’d be there that she sees what Jessica and Enid means. She says she’ll talk to Kris the next day. She needs time to plan what she’ll say. She plans to talk to him at the party, but the party is crowded, loud, and Kris keeps trying to get close to her. So, she pulls him into Mr. Santelli’s office. But in there is.. You guessed it? Todd and Peggy. Liz runs off but Kris comes after her and kisses her and she responds out of vengeance. They start to kiss on the stairs and alarm bells go off in her head. She pushes him away and they get out of there. He suggests they go to Miller’s Point, but Liz says she wants to go home.
He takes this to mean her parents aren’t home. She tries to call it off with him and he gets PISSED and starts screaming and accusing her of leading him on. She makes him pull over and she gets out. He still doesn’t get it and thins she’s teasing him. HE keeps insisting she must like him. So, they struggle and her bag drops all over the street. She scoops everything up and he gets angry and drives off in fury. Jessica leaves the party worried about Liz and finds Liz frantic looing for her diary. Jessica says she probably left it in the Oracle office. She ends up telling Jessica about what happened with Kris and cries wishing she had her journal.
The next day she goes to check and see if her journal is in her locker, but Kris greets her with a white rose. He apologizes to her and she apologizes to him. The diary is in her locker with her sneakers. Enid says it was decent that Kris apologizes and she talks about missing Hugh and how she’s no longer running into Hugh everywhere. Todd asks if they can talk after school. Caroline tells Jessica that she heard she and Kris left the party to go to Miller’s Point. She heard it from Chris Lynch’s best friend’s girlfriend. Jessica quickly defends her twin, Caroline says she believes her and Jessica tells her to make sure she straightens this out. (UH Since when has Caroline taken Cara’s place). But as soon as she gets in the house, Lila has heard the rumor and jumped on it. Todd admits to Liz that he made a mistake and tells her he knew immediately Peggy was wrong for him but he got scared because of Cara and Steven. But know he knows he’s with her because he’s the only girl he wants to be with. They call off their “trial separation” and they agree to go out to show everyone they’re back together.
So, Peggy comes up to Todd after this and tells him about the rumors she heard and that she heard them from Kris himself. Todd goes to confront Kris but when he starts telling him intimate stuff about him and Liz he feels betrayed and storms off. Enid also bumps into Kris and he starts to telling her about Hugh and saying he should have given him the chance to explain. When Todd doesn’t show up for their date, Liz calls him but he tells her maybe she should go out with Kris and hangs up on her. Liz calls Enid abut she hangs up on her too. Jessica comes back to find Liz asleep on her bed with her diary open. She reads the last bit and vows to find out what happened.
Jessica finds out from Tood and Enid that somehow Kris knew personal things about them and while they admit it’s hard to believe Liz would just tell them that stuff how else would he know. Jessica confronts Kris and he also knows things about her but she’s not emotional over it. She just tells him she’s going to get to the bottom of it. Ned tells Jessica at dinner to eliminate the impossible to get to the solution -badly worded by me-. After seeing Liz writing in her jounrla and hearing her say how helpful it is to just write down everything that comes to mind it hits her. Kris must have read her diary. It was missing right after Maria’s party. Jessica confronts Kris with what she knows and he says Liz left the diary in his car and it was never his intention -yet he still didn’t stop it- to start the rumors. End, he and Todd apologize to Liz.
My Thoughts
And I thought Liz was the smart one. Why would you bring your diary to school? Wasn’t there another book in the SV series where she brings it to school and it gets misplaced in the Oracle office under a bunch of papers? Shouldn’t she have learned from that incident? Even though Kris was a JERK and NO I would NOT have accepted his apology because even if he didn’t start the rumors he let everyone believe them. Not only that he read the diary and threw it in the people’s faces she wrote about by spilling their personal stuff back at them. Still, despite this I couldn’t fully feel sorry for Liz because I just felt like she should have known better. Even Jessica knew you don’t t carry your diary around with you. That’s like bragging you have a house full of expensive things and posting pictures on FB and then announcing your going out of town. I think I’m starting to read so many different versions of these books they’re starting to blur. I could barely remember Hugh or he and End breaking up or even why. It was just dumb to me because in this book Enid doesn’t have any problems whatsoever going to see Hugh. She goes to Big Mesa on like four or five occasions (maybe more). So, if that’s the case then “the distance” must not be that big of an issue. It just makes me roll my eyes when characters carry on like this in books where they can’t stand the distance between them and you find out it’s like a hour drive or something.
Then teen series books always seem to have these things about teen or pre-teen couples (there will be one that’s serious). And the message is always you have to date a lot of people before you know if you’ve found the right person (don’t tie yourself down at a young age). But I don’t know if I agree that you have to date a lot of people to know if you have the right person -while you have the right person already-. I think that’s just an excuse -like with Todd- to date other people. Sometimes yes you won’t know and you’ll be too blind to see it.So I guess I’m of two minds on this. Sometimes you really do know but other times it’s just BS. In the end, people normally see that they should have stayed where they already were and go right back. I don’t know tho that I would have taken Todd back. Todd is just.. Well I think Liz can do better.
Rating: 6 And sadly I think Liz is STILL gonna carry her diary around with her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2018
Ah, nostalgia.
As a kid I read a lot of books simply because they were the only thing around TO read; this was one. But I'm unexpectedly grateful for it: decades before Heartless Bitches International brought the phenomenon of the "nice guy" to the internet's attention, Pascal (or her ghostwriter) gave me a perfect literary blueprint in Kris Lynch. Kris has built up Elizabeth in his head to the point of some gilded goddess, convinced she's the key to his happiness even though they've barely hung out, rageful at how Todd is "undeserving" of her. When Elizabeth takes Todd back, Kris tries to sabotage her entire life and all other relationships. Kris's heel-turn from worship to emotional abuse is uncanny, and accurate -- the only fantastical note is his eventual, and genuine, contrition by the end. I'm glad Kris the fictional character has more self-awareness than expected, but I'm also kind of glad this random SVH book gave me a laundry list of warning signs to watch out for.
As a kid I read a lot of books simply because they were the only thing around TO read; this was one. But I'm unexpectedly grateful for it: decades before Heartless Bitches International brought the phenomenon of the "nice guy" to the internet's attention, Pascal (or her ghostwriter) gave me a perfect literary blueprint in Kris Lynch. Kris has built up Elizabeth in his head to the point of some gilded goddess, convinced she's the key to his happiness even though they've barely hung out, rageful at how Todd is "undeserving" of her. When Elizabeth takes Todd back, Kris tries to sabotage her entire life and all other relationships. Kris's heel-turn from worship to emotional abuse is uncanny, and accurate -- the only fantastical note is his eventual, and genuine, contrition by the end. I'm glad Kris the fictional character has more self-awareness than expected, but I'm also kind of glad this random SVH book gave me a laundry list of warning signs to watch out for.
January 13, 2021
In this book, Todd and Elizabeth have broken up for a temporary separation- Todd immediately starts dating a sophomore named Peggy who laughs like a jackass and Liz deides to acept an invite to a dance from artsy and intense senior Kris Lynch. Kris seems like a good guy, but goes full ass incel when Elizabeth finally rejects him, and the Wakefield twins are. not. having. that. shit. First book in god knows how long where Jessica is shown to be an actual human who at least understands loyalty when it comes to her sister- this is not typical of Jess- she usually doesn't care less about others, even her sister, until they're either in a coma or missing. In this book, though, when rumors start circulating about Elizabeth, she goes into full good-sister mode and takes care of some BUSINESS to save her twin's reputation. So 2.5 stars rounded up--one of the better books this far into the series for sure.
February 5, 2018
This is my second Sweet Valley High book, and I am a little disappointed with this one. I suppose the girls are definitely older now and getting more mature, but, I did not like the way they have grown up.
Okay, so, the summary is simple : Todd wants out of his relationship with Elizabeth and she gets heart-broken. With Jessica's encouragement, she starts looking around for new love, and finds Kris who likes her a bit more than she had bargained for. Things start to frighten her when edited rumours float around about her, which forces even her best friend Enid to dislike her.
So, what I did not like was this : when did everything get to be about boys?! I don't know how common this is among the people who live in this setting, but, I do not like that much.
PS : As a writer, I feel that emphasizing other things would have still made a better impact on the reader.
Okay, so, the summary is simple : Todd wants out of his relationship with Elizabeth and she gets heart-broken. With Jessica's encouragement, she starts looking around for new love, and finds Kris who likes her a bit more than she had bargained for. Things start to frighten her when edited rumours float around about her, which forces even her best friend Enid to dislike her.
So, what I did not like was this : when did everything get to be about boys?! I don't know how common this is among the people who live in this setting, but, I do not like that much.
PS : As a writer, I feel that emphasizing other things would have still made a better impact on the reader.
July 2, 2017
Even though the title is very misleading, and actually ruins the plot, I still love this one. (The diary isn't even stolen until there's only three chapters left, and since you know who stole it you know who is spreading the rumors!)
This should have just been called "Liz and Todd Break Up for the Thousandth Time". Why oh why did I think this dysfunctional couple was so perfect as a kid?! On the bright side, though, Jess is AWESOME in this book. She's so fiercely protective of Liz here, and is the only one in school who believes in her. I wish Jess was always this way!
This should have just been called "Liz and Todd Break Up for the Thousandth Time". Why oh why did I think this dysfunctional couple was so perfect as a kid?! On the bright side, though, Jess is AWESOME in this book. She's so fiercely protective of Liz here, and is the only one in school who believes in her. I wish Jess was always this way!
October 3, 2021
Having your diary stolen, read by an angry, revengeful person and having the most personal secrets blabbed to other people has got to be the scariest thing. This book was a little slow at first and picked up way too quick in the end. But it was still a fun read.
December 15, 2021
Liz and Todd have broken up and someone is spreading stories around, stories that only Liz could really know. Jess jumps in all guns blazing to defend her sister, and when it's revealed that Lizs diary has been stolen, the truth comes out!
December 31, 2020
Fun read
June 30, 2021
Jessica is a boss bitch
I love how Jess always goes to town for her sister/friends. Kris is a jerk, and sos Todd. Wish there was more Sam.
I love how Jess always goes to town for her sister/friends. Kris is a jerk, and sos Todd. Wish there was more Sam.
November 5, 2022
i used this as my purse book to read while i was waiting for things instead of going on my phone. wholesome and comforting.
January 24, 2026
My boy Jeffrey would never have believed Kris or dated a hussy like Peggy 😤
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February 28, 2008English 425 Submitter’s name ___Whitney Price____
Book Bank Book Bank subject: _Romance Novel
Reference information:
Title Sweet Valley High: The Stolen Diary
Author Francine Pascal
Publisher Bantam Books Year 1992
# of pages 154 Genre Fiction
Reading level 12 and up Interest level 13-16 year old girls
Potential hot lava:
General response/reaction:
My first response, was that this was diffenetly a girl’s type of book. It was about romance and rumors, which is more interesting to teenage girls. I thought it was good, but it was geared towards the younger crowd. It was a quick, easy read, but kept the reader’s attention. It was a mystery put into romance, which I thought was fun. The main characters were relatable and acted their age. I would recommoned this to teenage girls. I found zero potential hot lava and I feel that teenage girls would find Jessica and Elizabeth, along with their friends, enjoyable.
Subjects, Themes, and Big Ideas:
I think a big theme in this book, was honesty. Elizabeth had awful rumors sprea about her that were not true and they were spread by someone she thought she could trust. He lied about Elizabeth and in return, her best friend and her boyfriend got mad at her. Friendship is also another subject in the book. The two main characters are identical twins but have completely different sets of friends. Their friends help them throughout the book and they are always there for each other, no matter what. Then obviously romance is the big subject. Elizabeth and her boyfriend have a trial separation but in the end they realize they are really ment to be together.
Characters:
Elizabeth and Jessica are the main characters. They are identical but completely different. Jessica is boy crazy, flirty and very outgoing. Elizabeth is cousious, always on time, and laid back. Ednid is Elizabeth’s best friend who is trying to get her ex-boyfriend back. Todd is Elizabeth’s boyfriend who wants to have a trial separation. Kris Lynch is the guy Elizaeth uses to make Todd jealous but it back fires. Peggy is the girl Todd starts to see while on a break from Elizabeth.
Plot summary:
Elizabeth and her boyfriend Todd decide to take a break. They both start to see other people but realize they only have eyes for each other. They decide to get back together but a nasty rumor about Elizabeth starts. She finds out Kris Lynch started it and her sister Jessica makes him apologize in the school newspaper.
Strengths (including reviews and awards):
Drawbacks or other cautions:
I honestly did not see any drawbacks or cautions. I thought it was a very relatable book too young teenage girls.
Teaching ideas:
• Since Elizabeth’s journal was stolen, you could have your students write journal entries then trade them and try to figure out who’s is who.
• The students could write a paper on how they would change the ending if they did not like it or if they did like it, explain why they did like the ending.
• They could write a response journal on how it is wrong to play with people’s feelings
• The students could have a discussion on the problems of spreading rumors and gossip and the results of them
• Elizabeth works on the school newspaper in the story, so in groups, the class could create their own newspaper based on the story
Book Bank Book Bank subject: _Romance Novel
Reference information:
Title Sweet Valley High: The Stolen Diary
Author Francine Pascal
Publisher Bantam Books Year 1992
# of pages 154 Genre Fiction
Reading level 12 and up Interest level 13-16 year old girls
Potential hot lava:
General response/reaction:
My first response, was that this was diffenetly a girl’s type of book. It was about romance and rumors, which is more interesting to teenage girls. I thought it was good, but it was geared towards the younger crowd. It was a quick, easy read, but kept the reader’s attention. It was a mystery put into romance, which I thought was fun. The main characters were relatable and acted their age. I would recommoned this to teenage girls. I found zero potential hot lava and I feel that teenage girls would find Jessica and Elizabeth, along with their friends, enjoyable.
Subjects, Themes, and Big Ideas:
I think a big theme in this book, was honesty. Elizabeth had awful rumors sprea about her that were not true and they were spread by someone she thought she could trust. He lied about Elizabeth and in return, her best friend and her boyfriend got mad at her. Friendship is also another subject in the book. The two main characters are identical twins but have completely different sets of friends. Their friends help them throughout the book and they are always there for each other, no matter what. Then obviously romance is the big subject. Elizabeth and her boyfriend have a trial separation but in the end they realize they are really ment to be together.
Characters:
Elizabeth and Jessica are the main characters. They are identical but completely different. Jessica is boy crazy, flirty and very outgoing. Elizabeth is cousious, always on time, and laid back. Ednid is Elizabeth’s best friend who is trying to get her ex-boyfriend back. Todd is Elizabeth’s boyfriend who wants to have a trial separation. Kris Lynch is the guy Elizaeth uses to make Todd jealous but it back fires. Peggy is the girl Todd starts to see while on a break from Elizabeth.
Plot summary:
Elizabeth and her boyfriend Todd decide to take a break. They both start to see other people but realize they only have eyes for each other. They decide to get back together but a nasty rumor about Elizabeth starts. She finds out Kris Lynch started it and her sister Jessica makes him apologize in the school newspaper.
Strengths (including reviews and awards):
Drawbacks or other cautions:
I honestly did not see any drawbacks or cautions. I thought it was a very relatable book too young teenage girls.
Teaching ideas:
• Since Elizabeth’s journal was stolen, you could have your students write journal entries then trade them and try to figure out who’s is who.
• The students could write a paper on how they would change the ending if they did not like it or if they did like it, explain why they did like the ending.
• They could write a response journal on how it is wrong to play with people’s feelings
• The students could have a discussion on the problems of spreading rumors and gossip and the results of them
• Elizabeth works on the school newspaper in the story, so in groups, the class could create their own newspaper based on the story
April 4, 2016
Despite the fact that I knew that it would very likely only be a one book break up, I was so hoping it would be more permanent. I don’t like Todd and he and Liz are pretty boring. It was interesting to see Liz out and about and actually being a bit more fun than usual. Kris was clearly a douchebag, so that was a shame – it would have been nicer if she could have been matched with someone that would challenge Todd for his dominance in Liz’s life, but a girl can dream.
I liked how Jess came to the rescue, and it was a shame that the “mystery” of how Kris knew was a bit obvious in the title of the book.
I liked how Jess came to the rescue, and it was a shame that the “mystery” of how Kris knew was a bit obvious in the title of the book.
October 24, 2012
Penguin readers level2
Time 10/25 90 min
7word summery : relationship, boy, girl,teenager, diary, believe, friends
Question discussion!
1)what will you do if your boyfriend or girlfriend asked you that she or he wants to see another people ?
If you are with this person for a long time, I think that maybe this person aren't interested in me anymore.
2)if you have a diary and you drop it in the school and everybody read that, how do you feel?
If its something important or some secrets that nobody knows, I.....uhm I really don't know.l
May 28, 2014
1. Penguin level 2
2. 5/26 30minutes 5/28 65minutes
3. teeager, boyfriend, twin, diary, dance, party, car
4.a Kris is in love with Elizabeth.
b I encountered this expression the first time.
5.There are many characters in this story. It is complicated. So I couldn't understand it easily. But I like this series. At first, Elizabeth loved Todd. However, after she knew that Kris loves her, her feeling changed. It was so interesting.
2. 5/26 30minutes 5/28 65minutes
3. teeager, boyfriend, twin, diary, dance, party, car
4.a Kris is in love with Elizabeth.
b I encountered this expression the first time.
5.There are many characters in this story. It is complicated. So I couldn't understand it easily. But I like this series. At first, Elizabeth loved Todd. However, after she knew that Kris loves her, her feeling changed. It was so interesting.
October 2, 2013
1.Penguin Leaders
Level 2
2.10 minutes (September 30)
80 minutes (October 2)
3.diary,boy,girl,friends,sister,party,lie
4.What do you do when you hear bad rumors of your friend?
-I don't believe them and try to help my friend.
5.There are many characters in this story, so it is complicated. I couldn't understand it easily. However, the story is interesting for me so I enjoyed reading.
Level 2
2.10 minutes (September 30)
80 minutes (October 2)
3.diary,boy,girl,friends,sister,party,lie
4.What do you do when you hear bad rumors of your friend?
-I don't believe them and try to help my friend.
5.There are many characters in this story, so it is complicated. I couldn't understand it easily. However, the story is interesting for me so I enjoyed reading.
July 20, 2016
1, penguin level2
2, 100minutes
3, high school, love, boyfriend, fight, sister, twins, party,
4, This book is the best book I have ever read.
This book is about love during high school days. There is a twins that is very friendly and one of them broke up with her boyfriend and another tries to fix up them.
5,First it was easy to understand the story and could be interested in this story.
2, 100minutes
3, high school, love, boyfriend, fight, sister, twins, party,
4, This book is the best book I have ever read.
This book is about love during high school days. There is a twins that is very friendly and one of them broke up with her boyfriend and another tries to fix up them.
5,First it was easy to understand the story and could be interested in this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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May 3, 2018To be honest, I dont really know why I read this book.. ;)
Anyway, it was a very cute (mostly girly) quick read about the most important teenagers' issue nowadays- relationships!
A reader should read all the kinds of books; and this one was for sure a funny and -for once more- cute read.
Anyway, it was a very cute (mostly girly) quick read about the most important teenagers' issue nowadays- relationships!
A reader should read all the kinds of books; and this one was for sure a funny and -for once more- cute read.
October 24, 2010
I guess the reason I love short titles is because of Francine Pascal, I never realized that before....
June 21, 2013
I remember the cover but just not the story
December 24, 2013
Classic Sweet Valley!
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April 26, 2015So, Jess went out of her way to do something nice for someone. Maybe it's time to turn in for the night - I feel as though I'm losing touch with reality.
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