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Sweet Valley High #119
Jessica's Older Guy
If Zach Marsden finds out Jessica's really a high school girl visiting her big brother at SVU, he'll dump her. And Jessica's secret is going to be hard to keep—especially when her boyfriend, Ken Matthews, shows up for a surprise visit. Elizabeth has been offered a chance at SVU, and everyone tells her what a great opportunity it is. Isn't anyone going to miss her?
197 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1995
16 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,848 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 4, 2019
This book is unintentionally hilarious! Great stuff!
March 7, 2012
Welcome to "These Chicks Wouldn't Last One Second in College," or "Jessica's Older Guy," SVH #119.
No one does naivety quite like Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. This book is part of the College miniseries, and you can read my review of the first book, #117, here on Goodreads. Our library didn't have book 2, College Weekend, but all I can tell you is that, in my experience, book 2 of any series is generally quite useless. This one was no exception, because a bit of it was recapped in this book anyway... all that was missed was a huge college party that Jessica threw, and that she fell in love with "hunky Zach Marsden." Sounds like a celebrity name to me.
So this title is misleading for two reasons. 1. Jessica ALWAYS dates older guys (it's fucking creepy - she's 16!!) and 2. He's not really an older guy. But more on that in a minute.
So this book is basically identical to "A Kiss Before Dying" which I also recapped not that long ago. Just take out a little less drama and add more cheating and a pinch of honesty from Jessica and you've got the whole plot to this one. Jessica is cozy in her sick college fantasy world with Zach Marsden. She's cozy because being with him involves lying, manipulating and scheming, her only discernable talents. She must do all of these things in order to avoid being seen by Magda, the president of the Theta sorority that Jess is trying to break into two years early. Not to mention that Zach thinks she is a college student and that Liz is her... wait for it... little sister. These chicks are fucking IDENTICAL, and Zach "Super Awesome College Guy" Marsden believes that they are merely sisters. Honestly, Zach makes Jessica looks like Albert Einstein. Which, come to think of it, is probably why she likes him so much. She's still peeved from #117 when Ken thought she really did cheat on her SATs.
So while Jess is off hootin' and hollerin' and being a naive idiot (which, you cannot deny, she does spectacularly well), Liz has received an internship at SVU's newspaper The Chronicle from Felicia Newkirk or somesuch somebody, and she has decided to stay at SVU. Which might have actually been a smart idea, because it probably would have saved her from the stalker that is William White (which I will review shortly). So she gets into the Chronicle the first day and literally expects to poop a golden egg and hand it to her boss and be set for the rest of her life. (Yeah. She really believes this. Wakefields don't earn respect. They're just respected. Duh!!!) ... Turns out that her boss is a louse sexist instead. Elizabeth becomes "Dollface" and runs around refilling his coffee and answering phones and making copies. You know, actual work. I can see her anger at her boss, but being pissed off about the work just makes you hate Liz even more. Which isn't that hard to do in the first place. But before she gets fed up and leaves the internship in a huff and ruins her future (except not really because she does write for the Chronicle in SVU), she goes out with some hip intellectuals discussing capitalism versus Marxism one night. Liz loves capitalism (it's made her who she is, after all, and her sister even more so) and says that to her capitalism represents freedom. She gets reamed for this, natch. I have to share this ironic gem from page 70: What was it like growing up in East Berlin?, Elizabeth wondered. What was it like growing up in an oppressive regime that you couldn't escape? How did one heal from a past like that?
Hilarious, right?? Well, I'll tell you in a letter, Liz:
Dear Liz,
Growing up in an oppressive regime is much like growing up with Jessica Wakefield. She beats you into submission (and you let her), she tells you what to do (and you do it without protest), she's only nice to you to get what she wants, and she wouldn't hesitate to send you to a concentration camp or erect a new Berlin Wall if it could further her own gain. So how does one heal from a past like that? Well, quite simply, you never do. I mean, you've been chased by at least six or seven psychos, been kidnapped (both you and your sister), been almost raped and the like, and yet you seem to be on the same level of functioning as everyone else. You just compartmentalize and brush things off, no biggie. After all, you're a Wakefield. You shit rainbows. Who needs Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? You just nibble Todd's shoulder and presto! It's like nothing ever happened.
So, anyway, back to Jessica. She is on the verge of being found out (again) because she has to go to a Theta party with Magda even though she'd already planned to go with Zach. By this time she has also decided to stay at SVU with Liz. Probably because they are completely codependent and she'd fail miserably at life if her doormat sister didn't sit underneath her and help her up every time. But it's mostly because she met Zach. So she devises a plan to make Liz (and make Liz she does) pose as her so that she can be herself with Zach while Liz is being her with Magda. Confused? Welcome to the head of a sociopath. Liz seems really adamant against this plan, but Jessica tells her, as she always does, that Liz "owes" her one and makes her go. Liz agrees, but she doesn't realize that Jess has told Magda horrible stuff about her (which is really stuff about her own self that she would never admit to).
In the meantime everyone back in Sweet Valley has hatched a "reverse psychology" plan to get the twins to come back and ditch college, since they know that guilt will not work on Jessica (Ha!). They all act overly enthusiastic and then tell the twins they are taking over their respective positions on certain activities. It's like this whole elaborate three step process that is super fake and obvious. Everyone is supposed to wait until the twins come back to Billie and Steven's apartment, but Todd and Ken decide that there is NO WAY their girlfriends could possibly be cheating, and so they are going to go greet them at the sorority house. Since Liz is posing as Jess a lot of confusion ensues, but in the meantime Ken finds out about Jess and Zach. This is right before Jess realizes, oh my god, maybe I actually love my boyfriend? Like, can that be possible? And then finds out from Magda that Zach is truly a junior in high school just like her. Shock!! Of course Jess is steamed but has no regard for the fact that she did the same thing to Zach. He admits he's stupid for believing Liz was Jess's younger sister (ya think??). They get over it, laugh it out, say "teehee, see you around" and part ways. Jess goes running after Ken later on after Liz tells her that she absolutely will NOT lie to Todd, and therefore Jessica has to - GASP - tell the truth. This news basically sends Jessica to the hospital for immediate surgery following a heart attack. I mean, the truth? Honestly, it's so BORING. And surely not helpful at all. Ken, of course, takes Jess back, but I suppose it's ONLY because she told the truth, which she will not do in the next miniseries when it comes to Christian Gorman and she and Ken break up for good. The next book is Return of the Evil Twin, the last book in which Ken and Jessica are happy except not really because they have to fight in order for Margo and Nora to work their magic. I think. I don't really remember.
Anyway, the "reverse psychology" plan works, but not really, because the twins figure out almost right away what their friends are up to. It's interesting to note that earlier in the book when the twins are at an SVU football game Tom Watts is mentioned. I never knew he was older than Liz, which he would have to be to already be in college. Can't the twins stick with guys their own age?? They've seen what happens when the guy is older - he's a kidnapper, killer, stalker, psycho, liar or all of the above...
So I hope you have all read Return of the Evil Twin, which I was OBSESSED with when I was younger. By far one of the best of the series for being so utterly batshit. Until next time...
No one does naivety quite like Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. This book is part of the College miniseries, and you can read my review of the first book, #117, here on Goodreads. Our library didn't have book 2, College Weekend, but all I can tell you is that, in my experience, book 2 of any series is generally quite useless. This one was no exception, because a bit of it was recapped in this book anyway... all that was missed was a huge college party that Jessica threw, and that she fell in love with "hunky Zach Marsden." Sounds like a celebrity name to me.
So this title is misleading for two reasons. 1. Jessica ALWAYS dates older guys (it's fucking creepy - she's 16!!) and 2. He's not really an older guy. But more on that in a minute.
So this book is basically identical to "A Kiss Before Dying" which I also recapped not that long ago. Just take out a little less drama and add more cheating and a pinch of honesty from Jessica and you've got the whole plot to this one. Jessica is cozy in her sick college fantasy world with Zach Marsden. She's cozy because being with him involves lying, manipulating and scheming, her only discernable talents. She must do all of these things in order to avoid being seen by Magda, the president of the Theta sorority that Jess is trying to break into two years early. Not to mention that Zach thinks she is a college student and that Liz is her... wait for it... little sister. These chicks are fucking IDENTICAL, and Zach "Super Awesome College Guy" Marsden believes that they are merely sisters. Honestly, Zach makes Jessica looks like Albert Einstein. Which, come to think of it, is probably why she likes him so much. She's still peeved from #117 when Ken thought she really did cheat on her SATs.
So while Jess is off hootin' and hollerin' and being a naive idiot (which, you cannot deny, she does spectacularly well), Liz has received an internship at SVU's newspaper The Chronicle from Felicia Newkirk or somesuch somebody, and she has decided to stay at SVU. Which might have actually been a smart idea, because it probably would have saved her from the stalker that is William White (which I will review shortly). So she gets into the Chronicle the first day and literally expects to poop a golden egg and hand it to her boss and be set for the rest of her life. (Yeah. She really believes this. Wakefields don't earn respect. They're just respected. Duh!!!) ... Turns out that her boss is a louse sexist instead. Elizabeth becomes "Dollface" and runs around refilling his coffee and answering phones and making copies. You know, actual work. I can see her anger at her boss, but being pissed off about the work just makes you hate Liz even more. Which isn't that hard to do in the first place. But before she gets fed up and leaves the internship in a huff and ruins her future (except not really because she does write for the Chronicle in SVU), she goes out with some hip intellectuals discussing capitalism versus Marxism one night. Liz loves capitalism (it's made her who she is, after all, and her sister even more so) and says that to her capitalism represents freedom. She gets reamed for this, natch. I have to share this ironic gem from page 70: What was it like growing up in East Berlin?, Elizabeth wondered. What was it like growing up in an oppressive regime that you couldn't escape? How did one heal from a past like that?
Hilarious, right?? Well, I'll tell you in a letter, Liz:
Dear Liz,
Growing up in an oppressive regime is much like growing up with Jessica Wakefield. She beats you into submission (and you let her), she tells you what to do (and you do it without protest), she's only nice to you to get what she wants, and she wouldn't hesitate to send you to a concentration camp or erect a new Berlin Wall if it could further her own gain. So how does one heal from a past like that? Well, quite simply, you never do. I mean, you've been chased by at least six or seven psychos, been kidnapped (both you and your sister), been almost raped and the like, and yet you seem to be on the same level of functioning as everyone else. You just compartmentalize and brush things off, no biggie. After all, you're a Wakefield. You shit rainbows. Who needs Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? You just nibble Todd's shoulder and presto! It's like nothing ever happened.
So, anyway, back to Jessica. She is on the verge of being found out (again) because she has to go to a Theta party with Magda even though she'd already planned to go with Zach. By this time she has also decided to stay at SVU with Liz. Probably because they are completely codependent and she'd fail miserably at life if her doormat sister didn't sit underneath her and help her up every time. But it's mostly because she met Zach. So she devises a plan to make Liz (and make Liz she does) pose as her so that she can be herself with Zach while Liz is being her with Magda. Confused? Welcome to the head of a sociopath. Liz seems really adamant against this plan, but Jessica tells her, as she always does, that Liz "owes" her one and makes her go. Liz agrees, but she doesn't realize that Jess has told Magda horrible stuff about her (which is really stuff about her own self that she would never admit to).
In the meantime everyone back in Sweet Valley has hatched a "reverse psychology" plan to get the twins to come back and ditch college, since they know that guilt will not work on Jessica (Ha!). They all act overly enthusiastic and then tell the twins they are taking over their respective positions on certain activities. It's like this whole elaborate three step process that is super fake and obvious. Everyone is supposed to wait until the twins come back to Billie and Steven's apartment, but Todd and Ken decide that there is NO WAY their girlfriends could possibly be cheating, and so they are going to go greet them at the sorority house. Since Liz is posing as Jess a lot of confusion ensues, but in the meantime Ken finds out about Jess and Zach. This is right before Jess realizes, oh my god, maybe I actually love my boyfriend? Like, can that be possible? And then finds out from Magda that Zach is truly a junior in high school just like her. Shock!! Of course Jess is steamed but has no regard for the fact that she did the same thing to Zach. He admits he's stupid for believing Liz was Jess's younger sister (ya think??). They get over it, laugh it out, say "teehee, see you around" and part ways. Jess goes running after Ken later on after Liz tells her that she absolutely will NOT lie to Todd, and therefore Jessica has to - GASP - tell the truth. This news basically sends Jessica to the hospital for immediate surgery following a heart attack. I mean, the truth? Honestly, it's so BORING. And surely not helpful at all. Ken, of course, takes Jess back, but I suppose it's ONLY because she told the truth, which she will not do in the next miniseries when it comes to Christian Gorman and she and Ken break up for good. The next book is Return of the Evil Twin, the last book in which Ken and Jessica are happy except not really because they have to fight in order for Margo and Nora to work their magic. I think. I don't really remember.
Anyway, the "reverse psychology" plan works, but not really, because the twins figure out almost right away what their friends are up to. It's interesting to note that earlier in the book when the twins are at an SVU football game Tom Watts is mentioned. I never knew he was older than Liz, which he would have to be to already be in college. Can't the twins stick with guys their own age?? They've seen what happens when the guy is older - he's a kidnapper, killer, stalker, psycho, liar or all of the above...
So I hope you have all read Return of the Evil Twin, which I was OBSESSED with when I was younger. By far one of the best of the series for being so utterly batshit. Until next time...
November 16, 2021
Jess and Liz have decided to stay at SVU to the shock of their friends- Liz because she's been offered an internship at the newspaper, and Jess because she's fallen for freshman Zach. Lizs internship turns out to NOT be what she expected, ie:she is NOT Lois Lane! And Jess discovers that Zach is in fact, like her, a junior in high school masquerading as a college boy😂
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2020
I had way too much fun re-reading this story arc.
Also, is this the only book where Liz meets a new guy but DOESN’T cheat on Todd with him? I was completely shocked by this! Jessica, on the other hand, doesn’t deserve Ken at all.
Also, is this the only book where Liz meets a new guy but DOESN’T cheat on Todd with him? I was completely shocked by this! Jessica, on the other hand, doesn’t deserve Ken at all.
April 22, 2023
Liz might have been ready academically for SVU but not by social standards. And anyway as if Ned and Alice would let them! I always knew the
April 5, 2012
Honestly is it not possible for a couple of books in the series to move forward to the next book without either (or both) of the twins falling for an older guy? This title is indeed a misnomer. The twins periodically fall for the following: boring boyfriends whom they repeatedly cheat on and get back with after admitting to some earth shattering truth, kidnapper, killer, stalker, psycho, liar or maybe all of the above.
This book is not an exception since Mr. College Guy Zack turns out to be living the same lie as Jess has been: pretending to be in college while actually being stuck in high school. Of course it's Jessica who has the audacity to flare up and leave him for Ken, her actual boyfriend, after the latter finds out that she has been cheating on him. Oh, and throw in the whole reverse psychology thing that the SVH friends cooked up in order to make the twins depart from college and back rainbows and unicorns to their boring lives. Elizabeth's taste of real work is too boring for me to mention.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: Jessica's Older Guy (Sweet Valley High, #119)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
This book is not an exception since Mr. College Guy Zack turns out to be living the same lie as Jess has been: pretending to be in college while actually being stuck in high school. Of course it's Jessica who has the audacity to flare up and leave him for Ken, her actual boyfriend, after the latter finds out that she has been cheating on him. Oh, and throw in the whole reverse psychology thing that the SVH friends cooked up in order to make the twins depart from college and back rainbows and unicorns to their boring lives. Elizabeth's taste of real work is too boring for me to mention.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: Jessica's Older Guy (Sweet Valley High, #119)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
May 15, 2013
Where do I begin?
This is just like all those romantic novels turned down a notch for the teenagers, I guess. I kept reading it, hoping to see some serious retribution for what Jessica did - EVERYTHING she did. But the resolution was bland. She still gets to be in the sorority and her boyfriend forgives her. Wow.
Todd is a bit over-dramatic, in my opinion. Although it was nice to see a guy devoted to his girlfriend, it was a bit too much. Granted, he was also depressed about being out for the season but I don't know.
I liked the parts with Elizabeth - her naivety in thinking she'll get treated well in an internship; her outburst before she quit and the discussion about Marxist and capitalist society. But she spoils her sister too much. She should've learned her lesson when they threw that party, but nooooo....
This is just like all those romantic novels turned down a notch for the teenagers, I guess. I kept reading it, hoping to see some serious retribution for what Jessica did - EVERYTHING she did. But the resolution was bland. She still gets to be in the sorority and her boyfriend forgives her. Wow.
Todd is a bit over-dramatic, in my opinion. Although it was nice to see a guy devoted to his girlfriend, it was a bit too much. Granted, he was also depressed about being out for the season but I don't know.
I liked the parts with Elizabeth - her naivety in thinking she'll get treated well in an internship; her outburst before she quit and the discussion about Marxist and capitalist society. But she spoils her sister too much. She should've learned her lesson when they threw that party, but nooooo....
June 21, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews