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Sweet Valley Twins #29
Jessica and the Brat Attack
More than she can handle...
Jessica Wakefield can't wait for the school fair—until she gets stuck in charge of the water-balloon booth. Who wants to be drenched by every kid at Sweet Valley Middle School? So when her twin sister, Elizabeth, is offered a baby-sitting job that day, Jessica sees the perfect opportunity to steal the job away and stick her sister with the water-balloon booth.
But Jessica's plan backfires. The kids she baby-sits turn out to be real monsters. The minute their parents leave, they begin tearing up the house—and her! Jessica needs help fast. But will Elizabeth feel too betrayed and too wet to come to her sister's aid?
Jessica Wakefield can't wait for the school fair—until she gets stuck in charge of the water-balloon booth. Who wants to be drenched by every kid at Sweet Valley Middle School? So when her twin sister, Elizabeth, is offered a baby-sitting job that day, Jessica sees the perfect opportunity to steal the job away and stick her sister with the water-balloon booth.
But Jessica's plan backfires. The kids she baby-sits turn out to be real monsters. The minute their parents leave, they begin tearing up the house—and her! Jessica needs help fast. But will Elizabeth feel too betrayed and too wet to come to her sister's aid?
103 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1989
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,153 books1,867 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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June 12, 2024Jessica and the Brat Attack
All the sixth graders are excited about the upcoming fair. Jessica hopes she’ll get a good booth but Julie tells her not to get her hopes up. They’ll be picking out booth assignments out of a hat. Liz says she’ll be working on posters for the fair and Jessica thinks this is boring. (Lead in to how the twins are different blah, blah, blah). Lila hopes they’ll raise a lot of money so they can go on a good school trip (like Paris). Jessica agrees. The drawing will be after school. Jessica has her heart set on the Wheel of Fortune. Amy is upset because she has to babysit for Mrs. Samson so she can’t be over a booth. Liz offers to take over for her. She’s not over a booth. The job is from 10 to 5. It’ll be two but she has four kids. Amy says they’re monsters. Amy says she can back out but Liz says she’ll still do it.
Caroline gets the Wheel of Fortune. Lila gets the Bottle Toss. Ellen gets the softball throw. Jessica gets the Water Balloon Throw. Lila tells her maybe everyone will miss her. Julie tells her it won’t be so bad. Lila says maybe the Unicorns can design a waterproof outfit. Jessica says she’s going to think of a way out of it. (Even tho Mr. Bowman told them the assignments were final). The next day everyone teases her about the water balloon toss and she gets upset. She sees Liz after school, Liz tells her if Mrs. Samson calls tell her she’ll call her that night. She’s staying after school to work with Olivia on the posters.
Mrs. Standson calls and Jessica takes down the message. She says it’s ten dollars and hours. This will equal out to seventy dollars. Jessica thinks about the money and what she can do with it. Then she thinks about how it can get her out of the fair. Jessica calls her back and tells her Liz can’t sit but she can. She asks does she has any experience. Her kids are three and five. She gives Jessica the time and address for Saturday. Later, Liz asks Jess if Mrs. Standson called. Jess says she did her a favor and took the job so she wouldn’t miss the fair. Liz knows better. Liz tells her she really could have used the money and Jess apologizes. Liz tells her she hopes she knows what she’s getting into. (She doesn’t know the first thing about watching little kids).
Lila tells Jessica she wants to make her an outfit out of a purple trashbag. Jessica tells her she can save it. She has a prior commitment. Lila wants to know what but Jessica says she should talk it over with Julie. So, they (Lila and Ellen) follow her just to see how it goes down. Jessica gives Julie she has to sit and apologizes. Julie asks her how she’s supposed to find a replacement on such short notice. Lila and Ellen say maybe Jessica has an idea for a replacement. Jessica says maybe Liz can do it but don’t tell her she suggested her. So, Julie asks her. Liz has no choice but to agree realizing that once again Jessica has manipulated her. Liz confronts Jessica later and Jessica again makes itlook like she did Liz a favor. Liz tells her the job she stole, btw the kids she heard are monsters and she hopes they are. She tells Jess don’t even think about asking her for help. She’ll be busy.
Three days later, Liz is still mad. She tells Jess the Samsons are going to a party and she won’t be able to call them. Jessica thinks she’ll be able to sit on her butt and do nothing. Jessica first meets Dennis. Her mother tells him she’s been having stomach problems. Then she shows her the medicine. Then she meets Susan whose been bitten. She then shows Jessica where the microwave and lunch is. Jessica if they need a nap. She says no chance of that there pretty energetic. Then she tells her who to call in an emergency. She shows Jessica the living room and tells Jessica the room is OFF LIMITS. Jessica doesn’t think this will be a problem. They look like good kids. Susan has a pink spot on her arm that she thinks is a bee sting, The first thing she does it show it to Jessica but Jessica tells her it’s only a mosquito bite,
Lila calls on her new cell phone. The kids wander into the next room. Susan tries to get down some games and it goes crashing to the ground. Jessica tells her it’s a cakewalk. Lila gives her the number in case she needs to call. Jessica doesn’t think she’ll need it and tells to tell Liz she’s having fun. Susan and Dennie start chanting their bored, Jessica starts to read her magazine and tells the kids to find something to read and they can pretend they’re playing library. Susan starts to complain she’s bledding and Jess sees she’s picked her bite. Dennis tells Jessica to think up a game for them to play. The other babysitter does. Jessica says to just tell her a game they like to play. Susan is still whining about the bite. Jessica says they should all sit down and think of something to do. Dennis turns his checkers over. Jessica then tells them to Listen Up!
Caroline is having a blast with the Wheel of Fortune booth. Lila tries to trade with her but Caroline isn’t hearing it. Julie comes by to check on them and tells them they can take a break. Lila doesn’t need to be told twice and wants to see how Liz is holding up. Surprisingly, Liz is having a good time too. Lila, Liz, Amy, and Winston wonder how Jess is holding up. Meanwhile, Jessica suggests card houses. Dennie wants to do this. Susan doesn’t. Susan wants to play in her mother’s jewelry. Dennis doesn’t. Jessica suggests going outside. Dennis wants to. Susan is scared of the bee. Dennie wants to go in the living room. Jessica then suggests watching tv but they can’t agree on what to watch, She tells them if they don’t decide she’s going to turn it off. Dennis starts to cry and now Susan has a big scratch. Dennis says his stomach is hurting so she takes him to the kitchen to give him the medicine. He spits it back out at her. Jessica tells him he’s in trouble. But then she hears paper being ripped and Susan says she’s making a collage.
When Jessica sees her she’s destroyed her fashion magazine. Liz’s both is the most popular of all. Bruce comes over to her booth. Liz tells him if he wins he’ll get a ticket and he can trade that in for a prize. Bruce is able to hit her in the chest. She’s about to get mad, but realizes the water felt good. Jessica calls Liz and vents to her about the kids. She’s in the closet. Liz says her timing is bad. Liz tells her she’ll just have to figure it out and hangs up. When Jessica gets back Susan is on top of her brother and there’s an empty carton of ice cream. Jessica marches them into the family room and tells them they are going to play a game. Dennis is holding his stomach but he follows them. Susan says she wants to play in the living room and she bets she can find the key.
Jesica makes it to the bathroom just as Dennis pukes in the toilet. After this Gretchen calls. She’s about to ask for a ride home. But then she sees Dennis has knocked a vase over trying to tackle his sister whose trying to find the key. Jessica says either she go to her room or play a civilized room with them. She puts her arms around Susan but Susan gets out of her grasp. She knocks something over and there’s the key. The kids start to wrestle over the key. (The key was on the bookshelf). Then the doorbell rings. Jessica warns the kids that if they go near the living room they’ll get it. The other kid (Peter) comes home because he got in a fight with his friend. Jessica tells him he should go back over to Joey’s but he says his mom (Joey’s) says she’d prefer he not come back. So, she lets him in but them sees the door to the family room open.
Jessica calls Liz. Again she tells her she’s on her own. Liz feels guilty for a minute but then thinks how hard could it be. Now all the kids are in the forbidden room. Dennis is jumping up and down on the couch with his tennis shoes on. Susan is playing a game of make-believe with the good china and Peter is putting a tape into his father’s expensive tape deck. Jessica tries to get them to stop but they aren’t listening to a thing she says. Peter tells Susan he was going to do tattoos with Joey before he left and then asks if she wants to give Dennis tattoos. So, they start to decorate every inch of Denni’s body. In the middle of this Gretchen comes home.
Jessica has a brainstorm. She tells the kids to go outside and play in the sprinkler. She tries to make Peter to go back to his friends but his friend says he’s not welcome. They play for a while and then it’s time for a lunch. But there’s only enough for three. Jessica puts it on the microwave on high. Of course, all the kids complain about what they want to eat and drink. Jessica leaves the food in too long and burns it. She finds some bologna and mustard and decides she’ll have to make due with that. Jessica calls Liz again and vents some more. Liz tells her to be strict. Jessica says she’s tried. Liz tells her she has to get them to respect her. liz tells her she has an idea. She tells her to tell her what she has on. Liz tells her she’ll be there as fast as she can.
Liz shows up dressed like Jessica. She tells them to get the kids to come outside and when she’s sick of them tell them she’s going back in the house. Liz tells her Lila got stuck running the water balloon booth. So she does. The kids rush to meet her but liz is standing there. She tells them she’s going to the tree house and she wants to be alone. Jessica now gets the plan. She’s waiting by the tree house. Jessica tells them she can beat them to the basement. She says if she does will they admit she has magical powers? Liz is in the basement. For twenty minutes the twins play tag with the kids. Then Liz slips away. Susan asks if Jessica’s magic is good or bad. She says If they’ll be good, it’ll be good. Then they promise. She makes them use “their magic” to “Transform” the living room.
They do and they now look at her with fear and respect. They get the living room back to looking like it did. She also gets them to clean the rest of the house. When the Samsons come home they think it’s amazing that she watched all four kids. They all want her to come back. Susan says she deserves a tip and she earns 80.00 (ten more than she was supposed to be given originally). Later, Jessica tells her parents and Steven (who teases her) that the kids said she was the best babysitter she ever had. Liz comes home and asks how the rest of the day went after she left. Liz snaps on Jessica later for cutting her out of the story and tells her don’t ask her for her help next time. Later she apologizes and gives Liz half of the money. Amy asks later if Jessica will sit for the kids again and she says maybe sometimes but it’s too many of them. Amy says they’ll also have another mini-fair Monday because she missed out on the fair. Amy sounds mysterious. Liz just says it's just some of the sixth graders getting together. When Jessica gets there, they lead her behind a booth and they all throw water balloons at her (Lila, Ken, Winston, and Liz) all take turns. Jessica says they’ve had their fun and then they all go to to the beach. Later, Mrs. Samson calls and Jessica says she’ll let Liz do it. Liz says she’ll let Jessica do it because she did such a good job. They both agree that Amy will have to go back to being their babysitter.
My Thoughts
This book reminded e of a really bad experience I had. So, a friend of mine and I got a job at a place called Camp Birmingham. It wasn’t a camp like you’d think of pitching tents and roasting marshmallows. It was more like a day camp for kids divided into groups by age. There would be things like arts and crafts and physical activities and trips. Stuff like that. So not long after we were hired we found out they couldn’t pay us. She immediately left. For some stupid reason, I let my parent convince me to just volunteer. I remember one day there were two PAID counselors and both of them for some reason had to leave. (And when I think of this now I wonder). The group was five-year-olds and when I tell you them kids would NOT do a thing I said. The only way I got them under control is by drawing (which at the time I was very good at). To this day, (and after that) I have not watched a kid since. Those kids were HORRIBLE! Much like these kids and I decided right then and there watching kis was NOT in my future. I think that after this there was a relative that had a niece and a nephew and she wanted me to watch them and I told her “NOPE! I don’t watch kids” I think another relative of mine got mad at this. She might have got mad too, but I didn’t care. I think Jessica learned a real good lesson. Sometimes it’s not worth it even for the money. Some people just do not have that gift. If you do GREAT! If you don’t it’s best to just own it. I wonder if Jessica sits again after this book.
Rating: 6 I could COMPLETELY relate to this one!
All the sixth graders are excited about the upcoming fair. Jessica hopes she’ll get a good booth but Julie tells her not to get her hopes up. They’ll be picking out booth assignments out of a hat. Liz says she’ll be working on posters for the fair and Jessica thinks this is boring. (Lead in to how the twins are different blah, blah, blah). Lila hopes they’ll raise a lot of money so they can go on a good school trip (like Paris). Jessica agrees. The drawing will be after school. Jessica has her heart set on the Wheel of Fortune. Amy is upset because she has to babysit for Mrs. Samson so she can’t be over a booth. Liz offers to take over for her. She’s not over a booth. The job is from 10 to 5. It’ll be two but she has four kids. Amy says they’re monsters. Amy says she can back out but Liz says she’ll still do it.
Caroline gets the Wheel of Fortune. Lila gets the Bottle Toss. Ellen gets the softball throw. Jessica gets the Water Balloon Throw. Lila tells her maybe everyone will miss her. Julie tells her it won’t be so bad. Lila says maybe the Unicorns can design a waterproof outfit. Jessica says she’s going to think of a way out of it. (Even tho Mr. Bowman told them the assignments were final). The next day everyone teases her about the water balloon toss and she gets upset. She sees Liz after school, Liz tells her if Mrs. Samson calls tell her she’ll call her that night. She’s staying after school to work with Olivia on the posters.
Mrs. Standson calls and Jessica takes down the message. She says it’s ten dollars and hours. This will equal out to seventy dollars. Jessica thinks about the money and what she can do with it. Then she thinks about how it can get her out of the fair. Jessica calls her back and tells her Liz can’t sit but she can. She asks does she has any experience. Her kids are three and five. She gives Jessica the time and address for Saturday. Later, Liz asks Jess if Mrs. Standson called. Jess says she did her a favor and took the job so she wouldn’t miss the fair. Liz knows better. Liz tells her she really could have used the money and Jess apologizes. Liz tells her she hopes she knows what she’s getting into. (She doesn’t know the first thing about watching little kids).
Lila tells Jessica she wants to make her an outfit out of a purple trashbag. Jessica tells her she can save it. She has a prior commitment. Lila wants to know what but Jessica says she should talk it over with Julie. So, they (Lila and Ellen) follow her just to see how it goes down. Jessica gives Julie she has to sit and apologizes. Julie asks her how she’s supposed to find a replacement on such short notice. Lila and Ellen say maybe Jessica has an idea for a replacement. Jessica says maybe Liz can do it but don’t tell her she suggested her. So, Julie asks her. Liz has no choice but to agree realizing that once again Jessica has manipulated her. Liz confronts Jessica later and Jessica again makes itlook like she did Liz a favor. Liz tells her the job she stole, btw the kids she heard are monsters and she hopes they are. She tells Jess don’t even think about asking her for help. She’ll be busy.
Three days later, Liz is still mad. She tells Jess the Samsons are going to a party and she won’t be able to call them. Jessica thinks she’ll be able to sit on her butt and do nothing. Jessica first meets Dennis. Her mother tells him she’s been having stomach problems. Then she shows her the medicine. Then she meets Susan whose been bitten. She then shows Jessica where the microwave and lunch is. Jessica if they need a nap. She says no chance of that there pretty energetic. Then she tells her who to call in an emergency. She shows Jessica the living room and tells Jessica the room is OFF LIMITS. Jessica doesn’t think this will be a problem. They look like good kids. Susan has a pink spot on her arm that she thinks is a bee sting, The first thing she does it show it to Jessica but Jessica tells her it’s only a mosquito bite,
Lila calls on her new cell phone. The kids wander into the next room. Susan tries to get down some games and it goes crashing to the ground. Jessica tells her it’s a cakewalk. Lila gives her the number in case she needs to call. Jessica doesn’t think she’ll need it and tells to tell Liz she’s having fun. Susan and Dennie start chanting their bored, Jessica starts to read her magazine and tells the kids to find something to read and they can pretend they’re playing library. Susan starts to complain she’s bledding and Jess sees she’s picked her bite. Dennis tells Jessica to think up a game for them to play. The other babysitter does. Jessica says to just tell her a game they like to play. Susan is still whining about the bite. Jessica says they should all sit down and think of something to do. Dennis turns his checkers over. Jessica then tells them to Listen Up!
Caroline is having a blast with the Wheel of Fortune booth. Lila tries to trade with her but Caroline isn’t hearing it. Julie comes by to check on them and tells them they can take a break. Lila doesn’t need to be told twice and wants to see how Liz is holding up. Surprisingly, Liz is having a good time too. Lila, Liz, Amy, and Winston wonder how Jess is holding up. Meanwhile, Jessica suggests card houses. Dennie wants to do this. Susan doesn’t. Susan wants to play in her mother’s jewelry. Dennis doesn’t. Jessica suggests going outside. Dennis wants to. Susan is scared of the bee. Dennie wants to go in the living room. Jessica then suggests watching tv but they can’t agree on what to watch, She tells them if they don’t decide she’s going to turn it off. Dennis starts to cry and now Susan has a big scratch. Dennis says his stomach is hurting so she takes him to the kitchen to give him the medicine. He spits it back out at her. Jessica tells him he’s in trouble. But then she hears paper being ripped and Susan says she’s making a collage.
When Jessica sees her she’s destroyed her fashion magazine. Liz’s both is the most popular of all. Bruce comes over to her booth. Liz tells him if he wins he’ll get a ticket and he can trade that in for a prize. Bruce is able to hit her in the chest. She’s about to get mad, but realizes the water felt good. Jessica calls Liz and vents to her about the kids. She’s in the closet. Liz says her timing is bad. Liz tells her she’ll just have to figure it out and hangs up. When Jessica gets back Susan is on top of her brother and there’s an empty carton of ice cream. Jessica marches them into the family room and tells them they are going to play a game. Dennis is holding his stomach but he follows them. Susan says she wants to play in the living room and she bets she can find the key.
Jesica makes it to the bathroom just as Dennis pukes in the toilet. After this Gretchen calls. She’s about to ask for a ride home. But then she sees Dennis has knocked a vase over trying to tackle his sister whose trying to find the key. Jessica says either she go to her room or play a civilized room with them. She puts her arms around Susan but Susan gets out of her grasp. She knocks something over and there’s the key. The kids start to wrestle over the key. (The key was on the bookshelf). Then the doorbell rings. Jessica warns the kids that if they go near the living room they’ll get it. The other kid (Peter) comes home because he got in a fight with his friend. Jessica tells him he should go back over to Joey’s but he says his mom (Joey’s) says she’d prefer he not come back. So, she lets him in but them sees the door to the family room open.
Jessica calls Liz. Again she tells her she’s on her own. Liz feels guilty for a minute but then thinks how hard could it be. Now all the kids are in the forbidden room. Dennis is jumping up and down on the couch with his tennis shoes on. Susan is playing a game of make-believe with the good china and Peter is putting a tape into his father’s expensive tape deck. Jessica tries to get them to stop but they aren’t listening to a thing she says. Peter tells Susan he was going to do tattoos with Joey before he left and then asks if she wants to give Dennis tattoos. So, they start to decorate every inch of Denni’s body. In the middle of this Gretchen comes home.
Jessica has a brainstorm. She tells the kids to go outside and play in the sprinkler. She tries to make Peter to go back to his friends but his friend says he’s not welcome. They play for a while and then it’s time for a lunch. But there’s only enough for three. Jessica puts it on the microwave on high. Of course, all the kids complain about what they want to eat and drink. Jessica leaves the food in too long and burns it. She finds some bologna and mustard and decides she’ll have to make due with that. Jessica calls Liz again and vents some more. Liz tells her to be strict. Jessica says she’s tried. Liz tells her she has to get them to respect her. liz tells her she has an idea. She tells her to tell her what she has on. Liz tells her she’ll be there as fast as she can.
Liz shows up dressed like Jessica. She tells them to get the kids to come outside and when she’s sick of them tell them she’s going back in the house. Liz tells her Lila got stuck running the water balloon booth. So she does. The kids rush to meet her but liz is standing there. She tells them she’s going to the tree house and she wants to be alone. Jessica now gets the plan. She’s waiting by the tree house. Jessica tells them she can beat them to the basement. She says if she does will they admit she has magical powers? Liz is in the basement. For twenty minutes the twins play tag with the kids. Then Liz slips away. Susan asks if Jessica’s magic is good or bad. She says If they’ll be good, it’ll be good. Then they promise. She makes them use “their magic” to “Transform” the living room.
They do and they now look at her with fear and respect. They get the living room back to looking like it did. She also gets them to clean the rest of the house. When the Samsons come home they think it’s amazing that she watched all four kids. They all want her to come back. Susan says she deserves a tip and she earns 80.00 (ten more than she was supposed to be given originally). Later, Jessica tells her parents and Steven (who teases her) that the kids said she was the best babysitter she ever had. Liz comes home and asks how the rest of the day went after she left. Liz snaps on Jessica later for cutting her out of the story and tells her don’t ask her for her help next time. Later she apologizes and gives Liz half of the money. Amy asks later if Jessica will sit for the kids again and she says maybe sometimes but it’s too many of them. Amy says they’ll also have another mini-fair Monday because she missed out on the fair. Amy sounds mysterious. Liz just says it's just some of the sixth graders getting together. When Jessica gets there, they lead her behind a booth and they all throw water balloons at her (Lila, Ken, Winston, and Liz) all take turns. Jessica says they’ve had their fun and then they all go to to the beach. Later, Mrs. Samson calls and Jessica says she’ll let Liz do it. Liz says she’ll let Jessica do it because she did such a good job. They both agree that Amy will have to go back to being their babysitter.
My Thoughts
This book reminded e of a really bad experience I had. So, a friend of mine and I got a job at a place called Camp Birmingham. It wasn’t a camp like you’d think of pitching tents and roasting marshmallows. It was more like a day camp for kids divided into groups by age. There would be things like arts and crafts and physical activities and trips. Stuff like that. So not long after we were hired we found out they couldn’t pay us. She immediately left. For some stupid reason, I let my parent convince me to just volunteer. I remember one day there were two PAID counselors and both of them for some reason had to leave. (And when I think of this now I wonder). The group was five-year-olds and when I tell you them kids would NOT do a thing I said. The only way I got them under control is by drawing (which at the time I was very good at). To this day, (and after that) I have not watched a kid since. Those kids were HORRIBLE! Much like these kids and I decided right then and there watching kis was NOT in my future. I think that after this there was a relative that had a niece and a nephew and she wanted me to watch them and I told her “NOPE! I don’t watch kids” I think another relative of mine got mad at this. She might have got mad too, but I didn’t care. I think Jessica learned a real good lesson. Sometimes it’s not worth it even for the money. Some people just do not have that gift. If you do GREAT! If you don’t it’s best to just own it. I wonder if Jessica sits again after this book.
Rating: 6 I could COMPLETELY relate to this one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2013
Well, folks, here we are: my last book of 2013!
The sixth grade fair is coming up, and both twins are excited to be a part of it. Liz is just helping with posters, while Jessica wants to run a booth. Naturally, she won't take ANY booth. Jessica was made to be a fortune-teller (i.e. someone who spits out lies for a living - perfect!), and she wants the Wheel of Fortune booth (clever name, eh?). Unfortunately for Jessica, booth assignments are chosen randomly out of a hat. Caroline goes first and gets the Wheel of Fortune booth. Lila gets the bottle toss. Jessica draws third or fourth and ends up with the water balloon booth, the one notoriously known for being the worst booth in the fair. Being both mean and green, Jessica is a Wicked Witch who can't stand the thought of being drenched with water balloons all day (and she likes the beach why? oh, right, she doesn't swim, she just tans!). Meanwhile, Liz takes over a babysitting job of Amy's so that Amy can enjoy the fair. Mrs. Sampson's kids are known monsters, but Liz needs the money to buy birthday presents. While Liz is out and Jess is moping about the current state of her life, Mrs. Sampson calls to relay information about the baby-sitting gig. Jess writes down the particulars. But as soon as she hangs up she realizes that baby-sitting is the EASIEST gig in the world, and in order to beat Lila at life she will need that $70! So she calls Mrs. Sampson back and tells her that Liz is busy that day but that she is free. Now she has to find someone who doesn't melt under water to take her job at her booth.
Jessica not-so-innocently tells Julie Porter, the organizer of the fair, that Liz is free that day. Julie asks Liz to take over the booth at lunch, where there was no sign of Liz's backbone to be found. Liz goes to the fair but coos over the fact that Amy told her the Sampson kids are monsters. Liz manages to avoid getting wet the first half of the day. She even has fun! Jessica, meanwhile, calls Liz twice groveling for her help. Lila has brought her cordless phone to the fair as a convenient plot device, you see. Otherwise, Jessica would have to get herself out of her own mess. Liz gets bad at ducking halfway through the day and ends up soaked - only to realize that in the Sweet Valley heat, it doesn't feel so bad. Well!
Jessica meets the ruthless bitch named karma at the Sampson house. At first she just has two of the kids. Then the other two come home, and she ends up sitting for FOUR kids. They steal the key to the forbidden living room. They kick and fight each other. They watercolor the walls and break vases of flowers. Jessica corrals them all under the sprinklers outside only to have everyone complain that they are hungry. Jessica ruins lunch and has to soothe the youngest as he vomits into the toilet after eating too much ice cream. At this point, Jessica is ready to give up. But, she has a twin, so she doesn't have to! On the third try Liz realizes that with four kids home, Jessica isn't exaggerating her troubles (for once). She asks Jessica exactly what she is wearing and tells her that she will be over there as soon as she can.
Jessica wouldn't know a good idea if it punched her in the face, so obviously she has no idea what Liz is up to. Liz comes over and tells Jess that all she has to do is get everyone outside and then when they start misbehaving she has to threaten them that she is going inside. The only catch is that she has to yell where she is going loud enough for Liz to hear. Jess thinks Liz has gone off the deep end, but she does what she's told. Jess threatens the children and says she is going inside to the living room and that she wants to be left alone. The kids immediately try to beat her there, but they can't since Liz is already in the living room. She and Jessica keep up this charade for about twenty minutes until the kids believe that Jessica is a baby-sitter with magic powers (ha! ha!). Liz later sneaks off, and the rest of Jessica's day is a breeze. Only, she can't read her latest copy of Ingenue magazine because the littlest girl tore it up. *Snort* Jess uses her "magical" powers to make the kids clean up the house. When the Sampsons come home they give Jessica a $10 tip, making her haul $80 dollars for the day (what is it with these books and $80?). Jessica goes home to tan by the pool and crow about her awesomeness (oh, really, Peter Pan?). Oh, the cleverness of her! Of course Liz walks out on the patio to hear all this gloating and gets peeved at Jess all over again. This time, though, she gets even (and keeps $30 of Jessica's money). Lila, who was saddled with the balloon booth while Liz helped Jess, is especially eager for sweet revenge. They stage a mock fair the next day where they all try to hit Jessica with a water balloon. Only Liz succeeds.
I don't know what all the hullabaloo about hating water balloons in a naturally hot climate is about. Water balloons were one of my favorite things as a kid.
Alternate Title : "Jessica, the Middle-School Brat"
Tagline: "Jessica meets her match when she takes up baby-sitting!" (Except Jessica would never take up baby-sitting willingly, duh.)
On a Scale of 1-10, How Annoying is Elizabeth? 3
On a Scale of 1-10, How Sociopathic is Jessica? 8. She steals Liz's baby-sitting job, saddles Liz with the worst job at the fair, and takes all the credit with her family when it's Liz who saved the day.
The Big Deal: Sixth-Grade school fair
Lingering Questions: Yes, why are there no child psychiatrists around Sweet Valley to diagnose Jessica?
Cover: Good or Bad?: Jessica looks like the Cheshire Cat, and I think this was intentional.
Quotes from the Book: "Caroline crowded behind to get a look. 'She got the water-balloon throw!' she exclaimed. Jessica looked as if she had just found out the world was coming to an end."
Can you imagine if a real zombie ever approached her? In fact, I think it's the only creature never to be in the books. That could be why she was so unfazed when she made out with a vampire later on.
"What could she say? It was clear Jessica had maneuvered the whole thing so that she had no choice."
Wouldn't it be nice if the word "no" came hopping across the lunch table right about now?
"It was unbelievable peer pressure. You should've seen the looks that Ellen and Lila were giving me! I had to come up with someone!"
Imagine if she ever got offered heroin or molly…
"She'd brought a backpack stuffed with the latest issue of Ingenue magazine, a couple of paperbacks, and even some homework."
Jessica, reading books and doing homework? Not on your life.
"Maybe she should have let Elizabeth baby-sit after all. It had never occurred to Jessica that you could duck and avoid getting hit."
Wow.
"Jessica looked at the microwave and frowned. She couldn't remember now what Mrs. Sampson had said about it. Does she set it on high or low?"
I'm going to tell you what I tell my fiancé, Jessica: Always start low and work high.
"Susan wiped away the last tears. 'We promise,' she said, her eyes shining. 'We've never had a magic baby-sitter before.'"
Aw, this is so cute.
Moral of the Story: It's more of a conclusion than a moral: Jessica will melt like the witch she is if she gets pelted with more than one water balloon.
Final Rating: Two stars. Jessica makes me nauseous.
The sixth grade fair is coming up, and both twins are excited to be a part of it. Liz is just helping with posters, while Jessica wants to run a booth. Naturally, she won't take ANY booth. Jessica was made to be a fortune-teller (i.e. someone who spits out lies for a living - perfect!), and she wants the Wheel of Fortune booth (clever name, eh?). Unfortunately for Jessica, booth assignments are chosen randomly out of a hat. Caroline goes first and gets the Wheel of Fortune booth. Lila gets the bottle toss. Jessica draws third or fourth and ends up with the water balloon booth, the one notoriously known for being the worst booth in the fair. Being both mean and green, Jessica is a Wicked Witch who can't stand the thought of being drenched with water balloons all day (and she likes the beach why? oh, right, she doesn't swim, she just tans!). Meanwhile, Liz takes over a babysitting job of Amy's so that Amy can enjoy the fair. Mrs. Sampson's kids are known monsters, but Liz needs the money to buy birthday presents. While Liz is out and Jess is moping about the current state of her life, Mrs. Sampson calls to relay information about the baby-sitting gig. Jess writes down the particulars. But as soon as she hangs up she realizes that baby-sitting is the EASIEST gig in the world, and in order to beat Lila at life she will need that $70! So she calls Mrs. Sampson back and tells her that Liz is busy that day but that she is free. Now she has to find someone who doesn't melt under water to take her job at her booth.
Jessica not-so-innocently tells Julie Porter, the organizer of the fair, that Liz is free that day. Julie asks Liz to take over the booth at lunch, where there was no sign of Liz's backbone to be found. Liz goes to the fair but coos over the fact that Amy told her the Sampson kids are monsters. Liz manages to avoid getting wet the first half of the day. She even has fun! Jessica, meanwhile, calls Liz twice groveling for her help. Lila has brought her cordless phone to the fair as a convenient plot device, you see. Otherwise, Jessica would have to get herself out of her own mess. Liz gets bad at ducking halfway through the day and ends up soaked - only to realize that in the Sweet Valley heat, it doesn't feel so bad. Well!
Jessica meets the ruthless bitch named karma at the Sampson house. At first she just has two of the kids. Then the other two come home, and she ends up sitting for FOUR kids. They steal the key to the forbidden living room. They kick and fight each other. They watercolor the walls and break vases of flowers. Jessica corrals them all under the sprinklers outside only to have everyone complain that they are hungry. Jessica ruins lunch and has to soothe the youngest as he vomits into the toilet after eating too much ice cream. At this point, Jessica is ready to give up. But, she has a twin, so she doesn't have to! On the third try Liz realizes that with four kids home, Jessica isn't exaggerating her troubles (for once). She asks Jessica exactly what she is wearing and tells her that she will be over there as soon as she can.
Jessica wouldn't know a good idea if it punched her in the face, so obviously she has no idea what Liz is up to. Liz comes over and tells Jess that all she has to do is get everyone outside and then when they start misbehaving she has to threaten them that she is going inside. The only catch is that she has to yell where she is going loud enough for Liz to hear. Jess thinks Liz has gone off the deep end, but she does what she's told. Jess threatens the children and says she is going inside to the living room and that she wants to be left alone. The kids immediately try to beat her there, but they can't since Liz is already in the living room. She and Jessica keep up this charade for about twenty minutes until the kids believe that Jessica is a baby-sitter with magic powers (ha! ha!). Liz later sneaks off, and the rest of Jessica's day is a breeze. Only, she can't read her latest copy of Ingenue magazine because the littlest girl tore it up. *Snort* Jess uses her "magical" powers to make the kids clean up the house. When the Sampsons come home they give Jessica a $10 tip, making her haul $80 dollars for the day (what is it with these books and $80?). Jessica goes home to tan by the pool and crow about her awesomeness (oh, really, Peter Pan?). Oh, the cleverness of her! Of course Liz walks out on the patio to hear all this gloating and gets peeved at Jess all over again. This time, though, she gets even (and keeps $30 of Jessica's money). Lila, who was saddled with the balloon booth while Liz helped Jess, is especially eager for sweet revenge. They stage a mock fair the next day where they all try to hit Jessica with a water balloon. Only Liz succeeds.
I don't know what all the hullabaloo about hating water balloons in a naturally hot climate is about. Water balloons were one of my favorite things as a kid.
Alternate Title : "Jessica, the Middle-School Brat"
Tagline: "Jessica meets her match when she takes up baby-sitting!" (Except Jessica would never take up baby-sitting willingly, duh.)
On a Scale of 1-10, How Annoying is Elizabeth? 3
On a Scale of 1-10, How Sociopathic is Jessica? 8. She steals Liz's baby-sitting job, saddles Liz with the worst job at the fair, and takes all the credit with her family when it's Liz who saved the day.
The Big Deal: Sixth-Grade school fair
Lingering Questions: Yes, why are there no child psychiatrists around Sweet Valley to diagnose Jessica?
Cover: Good or Bad?: Jessica looks like the Cheshire Cat, and I think this was intentional.
Quotes from the Book: "Caroline crowded behind to get a look. 'She got the water-balloon throw!' she exclaimed. Jessica looked as if she had just found out the world was coming to an end."
Can you imagine if a real zombie ever approached her? In fact, I think it's the only creature never to be in the books. That could be why she was so unfazed when she made out with a vampire later on.
"What could she say? It was clear Jessica had maneuvered the whole thing so that she had no choice."
Wouldn't it be nice if the word "no" came hopping across the lunch table right about now?
"It was unbelievable peer pressure. You should've seen the looks that Ellen and Lila were giving me! I had to come up with someone!"
Imagine if she ever got offered heroin or molly…
"She'd brought a backpack stuffed with the latest issue of Ingenue magazine, a couple of paperbacks, and even some homework."
Jessica, reading books and doing homework? Not on your life.
"Maybe she should have let Elizabeth baby-sit after all. It had never occurred to Jessica that you could duck and avoid getting hit."
Wow.
"Jessica looked at the microwave and frowned. She couldn't remember now what Mrs. Sampson had said about it. Does she set it on high or low?"
I'm going to tell you what I tell my fiancé, Jessica: Always start low and work high.
"Susan wiped away the last tears. 'We promise,' she said, her eyes shining. 'We've never had a magic baby-sitter before.'"
Aw, this is so cute.
Moral of the Story: It's more of a conclusion than a moral: Jessica will melt like the witch she is if she gets pelted with more than one water balloon.
Final Rating: Two stars. Jessica makes me nauseous.
July 22, 2022
No tenía mucha esperanza en este libro y terminé igual. No hay ni inicio, problema y final. La historia es extremadamente plana y los personajes no tuvieron ni un poco de evolución. Jessica es una egoísta de primera con su gemela al principio y aún después de todo lo que le pasó, sigue sin ser una agradecida. La gemela (se me olvidó el nombre) es igual de tonta, se deja que la trate mal y no de defiende. Supongo que para niños está bien (aunque no te deja ninguna enseñanza) pero este libro definitivamente no fue para mi.
December 2, 2025
In order to get out of being assigned the water balloon throwing booth at the fair (and get her precious self wet!) Jess steals Liz's babysitting job and throws her in her place. She then has to deal with four nightmare children but of course, Liz comes to the rescue after vowing she would never let Jess get away with being a bitch again (even though she is a doormat every time.. haha)
It was an entertaining enough read, would be nice to see Jess suffer the consequences of her actions occasionally but hey, she did give Liz half the babysitting money (after a guilt trip lol).
It was an entertaining enough read, would be nice to see Jess suffer the consequences of her actions occasionally but hey, she did give Liz half the babysitting money (after a guilt trip lol).
August 4, 2017
Another cute one. And I laughed way too hard at "Do you have a microwave at home?" This was published in 1989, not 1969!
December 30, 2022
For sure the nostalgia got me on this one :).
January 16, 2026
Rereading books from childhood is so…odd.
Also, how many books did Francine pascal write!?????
Also, how many books did Francine pascal write!?????
June 9, 2020
Jessica and the Brat Attack (Sweet Valley Twins, #29) created by Francine Pascal is about Jessica Wakefield volunteering to work one of the booths at the middle school's sixth grade fair. When she doesn't get assigned to the booth she had hoped for, Jessica steals Elizabeth's baby-sitting job and volunteers her twin to work the booth at the fair.
The lesson kids can take away from this story is karma. Because Jessica was so underhanded in how she handled her situation, Jessica ended up in a worse scenario, and her classmates and sister ended up getting back at her. She should have just sucked it up and made the best of her original commitment. However, Jessica did end up learning that baby-sitting wasn't for her.
I absolutely loved the Sweet Valley Twins book series in elementary and middle school. And, I am in the process of rereading my way through my childhood. Although I know I read Jessica and the Brat Attack in middle school, I had no recollection of the story line when I reread it, so it was like I was reading it for the first time. It had a great lesson in the story, and that is what I love about the Sweet Valley Twins book series . . . the life lessons it gives kids without being overly in your face about. One can hope that if kids are still reading these books that they are learning from them and implementing the lessons in their own life.
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The lesson kids can take away from this story is karma. Because Jessica was so underhanded in how she handled her situation, Jessica ended up in a worse scenario, and her classmates and sister ended up getting back at her. She should have just sucked it up and made the best of her original commitment. However, Jessica did end up learning that baby-sitting wasn't for her.
I absolutely loved the Sweet Valley Twins book series in elementary and middle school. And, I am in the process of rereading my way through my childhood. Although I know I read Jessica and the Brat Attack in middle school, I had no recollection of the story line when I reread it, so it was like I was reading it for the first time. It had a great lesson in the story, and that is what I love about the Sweet Valley Twins book series . . . the life lessons it gives kids without being overly in your face about. One can hope that if kids are still reading these books that they are learning from them and implementing the lessons in their own life.
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January 18, 2021
In this one, Jessica forces Elizabeth to trade places with her and ends up in a worse spot than she was at to begin with. Wild! To our unsurprise, she ends up having to call Elizabeth for help, again! Elizabeth, when you about to stop putting up with Miss Jessica’s mess?
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February 5, 2009JAR4-Pas
July 3, 2010
I was a pretty good. I give it 3 stars
October 24, 2010
I enjoyed the stories in each of these books. The characters were always so vivid. I loved them.
May 6, 2021
Loved these books as a child
June 22, 2013
I remember the cover but just not the story.
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