Cheating on Anna

Sweet Valley Jr. High #8

by Francine Pascal, Jamie Suzanne

Despite the fact that he is going out with Anna, his best friend, Salvador has a big crush on Elizabeth, yet he knows that if he does anything stupid, he will lose in more ways than one.

Genres: Young Adult, Childrens, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit

149 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 1999

About the author

Francine 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.

Reviews

[Cristela T · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is super focused on Anna, after all her name is in the title. This book was not terrible. It was fun and cute,like most books in this series…the thing is…if Anna has one hater it’s me. If Anna has no haters, I’m dead. What an annoying character!! She makes an issue out of absolute anything, everything and even nothing at all. The only saving graces of this book were Jessica and Bethel. Salvador and Elizabeth were freaking annoying too, but obviously not as annoying as Anna.

[Dove Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been really enjoying Sweet Valley Junior High, but this one didn’t work for me.

It’s not the fault of the book, I just hate books about grief. I experienced significant loss as a child, and I do not – and did not – identify with this level of devastation. I also resent that every book I read delivered this level of devastation. It made me feel like I was doing grief wrong.

So, not the book’s fault that the topic and approach are my absolute hard limits for fiction.

Glad it’s over.

I’m sure the Very Special Episode does help some though.

And the bits that weren’t about the soul-crushing grief were entertaining. I’d have been happier if that had been given more focus, since what seemed like a complex relationship was boiled down to “I hate her. But wait. What if I don’t hate her?” and was tied up neatly with a bow over the space of two paragraphs.

A perfectly average book. But still far healthier than anything in the main Twins or High run. Ok. Next book.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have enjoyed this more if I cared about any of these new characters, but I don't so I didn't.

[Rachel Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a whole bunch of these books when I was nine, before moving on to the SVH, Senior Year and SVU. These were definitely the cutest, and on par with Senior Year for realism.

[Winna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too short for the drama between Sal-Anna-Liz

[Sheila Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember the cover just not the story.