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Sweet Valley Twins #21
Left Behind
When Sarah's father has to go to Texas on business, he leaves her in the care of Annie, his fiance, never dreaming that Annie would leave Sarah alone most of the week
104 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1988
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About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,844 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 29, 2014
Synopsis: Basically this is Cinderella told Sweet Valley style. Sarah Thomas's mom is dead, and her dad is too engrossed in his new, awful, fianceé to care about her. To catalog this woman's cruelness:
-She makes Sarah clean up her mess of dishes in the kitchen.
-She is rude and sarcastic to Sarah.
-As soon as Sarah's dad leaves on business, Annie leaves too.
-When she calls to check on Sarah, Sarah claims that's she scared, and Annie calls her a baby.
-While Sarah is in the hospital, Annie re-emerges and Mr. Thomas learns that her claims of caring for a sick relative were fake.
What does Sarah do about all of this? Nothing. She has the opportunity to tell her dad, her Aunt Lillian, the school nurse, and Elizabeth, and she tells none of those people. She reasons that Annie told her not to, so she must keep her promise. Yet she is scared out of her wits, and one night when she goes downstairs to investigate a loud bang, she falls and hits her head on the banister, breaking bones in her foot on the way down. Sooo... Wakefields to the rescue. Liz is coming over to pick her up for a sleepover, and she notices Sarah's crumpled frame through the dark window. Mr. Wakefield breaks the glass and helps Liz shimmy through the opening, and they all call 911 and Sarah's dad who, frankly, should really read up on his SO's before he leaves them to watch his only daughter. In the end Sarah STILL hasn't learned her lesson about speaking up when Aunt Lillian wants to take her from her dad. Liz has to convince her that she caused all this drama by keeping her mouth shut (sound familiar, Liz?), and so Sarah finally agrees to speak her mind. She is left with her father, and god help her if he ever meets another young woman in stilettos.
Wakefield Subplot: Jessica is getting a ton of attention from Janet. She invites her over and suggests the theme for their upcoming dance be a luau. Janet wants to hold it at the Wakefield house. Then she suspiciously starts asking all sorts of questions about Steven. Jessica brushes them off, because she is an idiot. Then Jessica invites Janet instead of Lila roller skating, and she begins to feel "mature" and "sophisticated" hanging around Janet so much. Steven and Liz think it's all gone to Jessica's head. Her response is typical sociopath: "They're just jealous." But when Jessica finds out Janet IS using her to get to Steven, she's furious, and they have a blow-out fight in the Wakefield home where Jessica threatens to resign. She makes up with Lila the next day, but she's still worried Janet will make her follow through. Janet doesn't, and she's actually happy to stick with Jessica's plan for a luau. She tells Jess that Steven is still invited, however, if he wants to come. The Unicorns decide to allow Sarah Thomas to attend, making her the guest of honor. They think what happened to her is exciting. They need many, many, many years of therapy.
Alternate Title: "Cinderella, Part 2"
Tagline: "How can Sarah win back her father's attention?" (By speaking the fuck up, which she doesn't do).
On a Scale of 1-10, How Annoying is Elizabeth? 0
On a Scale of 1-10, How Sociopathic is Jessica? 2
The Big Deal: Unicorn luau party
Lingering Questions: How the hell did Mr. Thomas ever get involved with someone like Annie?
Cover: This actually happens! Sarah cuddles up with an old stuffed bear and a lion. She looks 9, though, and not 12.
Quotes from the Book: "Elizabeth watched Annie stamp her feet. She sounded just like Jessica having a tantrum." (Yes, Jessica will grow up to be Annie Jo Mapleton. Except that Francine made grown Jess devoted to Todd and their son, Jake. YEAH. RIGHT. That girl is full of too much drama to be a good mother. We all know she'd be Annie Jo, and I'm sick of Francine bowing at Jessica's manicured feet. Also, Francine hates women named Annie. I'm still not over "Wrong Kind of Girl").
Moral of the Story: If your fiancée throws tantrums in the style of Jessica Wakefield, it's probably best you don't leave your daughter alone with her.
Final Rating: One star. Annie Jo Mapleton for the FAIL.
-She makes Sarah clean up her mess of dishes in the kitchen.
-She is rude and sarcastic to Sarah.
-As soon as Sarah's dad leaves on business, Annie leaves too.
-When she calls to check on Sarah, Sarah claims that's she scared, and Annie calls her a baby.
-While Sarah is in the hospital, Annie re-emerges and Mr. Thomas learns that her claims of caring for a sick relative were fake.
What does Sarah do about all of this? Nothing. She has the opportunity to tell her dad, her Aunt Lillian, the school nurse, and Elizabeth, and she tells none of those people. She reasons that Annie told her not to, so she must keep her promise. Yet she is scared out of her wits, and one night when she goes downstairs to investigate a loud bang, she falls and hits her head on the banister, breaking bones in her foot on the way down. Sooo... Wakefields to the rescue. Liz is coming over to pick her up for a sleepover, and she notices Sarah's crumpled frame through the dark window. Mr. Wakefield breaks the glass and helps Liz shimmy through the opening, and they all call 911 and Sarah's dad who, frankly, should really read up on his SO's before he leaves them to watch his only daughter. In the end Sarah STILL hasn't learned her lesson about speaking up when Aunt Lillian wants to take her from her dad. Liz has to convince her that she caused all this drama by keeping her mouth shut (sound familiar, Liz?), and so Sarah finally agrees to speak her mind. She is left with her father, and god help her if he ever meets another young woman in stilettos.
Wakefield Subplot: Jessica is getting a ton of attention from Janet. She invites her over and suggests the theme for their upcoming dance be a luau. Janet wants to hold it at the Wakefield house. Then she suspiciously starts asking all sorts of questions about Steven. Jessica brushes them off, because she is an idiot. Then Jessica invites Janet instead of Lila roller skating, and she begins to feel "mature" and "sophisticated" hanging around Janet so much. Steven and Liz think it's all gone to Jessica's head. Her response is typical sociopath: "They're just jealous." But when Jessica finds out Janet IS using her to get to Steven, she's furious, and they have a blow-out fight in the Wakefield home where Jessica threatens to resign. She makes up with Lila the next day, but she's still worried Janet will make her follow through. Janet doesn't, and she's actually happy to stick with Jessica's plan for a luau. She tells Jess that Steven is still invited, however, if he wants to come. The Unicorns decide to allow Sarah Thomas to attend, making her the guest of honor. They think what happened to her is exciting. They need many, many, many years of therapy.
Alternate Title: "Cinderella, Part 2"
Tagline: "How can Sarah win back her father's attention?" (By speaking the fuck up, which she doesn't do).
On a Scale of 1-10, How Annoying is Elizabeth? 0
On a Scale of 1-10, How Sociopathic is Jessica? 2
The Big Deal: Unicorn luau party
Lingering Questions: How the hell did Mr. Thomas ever get involved with someone like Annie?
Cover: This actually happens! Sarah cuddles up with an old stuffed bear and a lion. She looks 9, though, and not 12.
Quotes from the Book: "Elizabeth watched Annie stamp her feet. She sounded just like Jessica having a tantrum." (Yes, Jessica will grow up to be Annie Jo Mapleton. Except that Francine made grown Jess devoted to Todd and their son, Jake. YEAH. RIGHT. That girl is full of too much drama to be a good mother. We all know she'd be Annie Jo, and I'm sick of Francine bowing at Jessica's manicured feet. Also, Francine hates women named Annie. I'm still not over "Wrong Kind of Girl").
Moral of the Story: If your fiancée throws tantrums in the style of Jessica Wakefield, it's probably best you don't leave your daughter alone with her.
Final Rating: One star. Annie Jo Mapleton for the FAIL.
February 15, 2022
Left Behind
Elizabeth meets up with Sarah and Amy after school. Elizabeth and Amy are excited because this issue of the Sixers is a success. They all start talking about a up-coming history project and decide the topic should be the California gold rush. Sarah makes a comment about how she doesn’t like the weekend but won’t say anymore. She invites them to stay over her house Friday. Jessica comes up and she’s excited because the Sixer’s had an article about the Unicorns and she told Janet it was her idea. So now Janet’s coming over to put her in charge of yet another party. So Janet comes by and immediately we see that she doesn’t give a damn about anything but Steven. But Jessica thinks she’s impressed with her Haywain party ideas. She even says she’ll throw it at her house. Her parents say Elizabeth can invite some friends too. this doesn’t make Jessica happy because she just wants it to be a Unicorn party (which is DUMB considering if it’s just them that would make it a Unicorn MEETING). Janet supposedly doesn’t eat pork, but this doesn’t stop her from accepting when Mrs. Wakefield invites her to dinner for pork chops. Jessica quickly reminds her of this. (Jessica is SO THICK).
On Saturday, Mrs. Wakefield is taking the twins skating and says they can each invite a friend. Jessica invites Janet because Lila is busy. Elizabeth invites Amy but Amy can’t go and Julie is out of town. So she invites Sarah. At the rink, Janet is disappointed that Steven didn’t come and acts like a brat (by not wanting to skate). Sarah breaks down and reveals that her father is getting married to his girlfriend Annie. Annie is only nice to her when she’s around her father. The rest of the time she’s on her case. They use to be ok in the beginning but lately, it’s gotten worse. Sarah is afraid to tell her father because she thinks he won’t believe her because he’ll think she’s jealous of the attention he gives Annie. Sarah gets home and Annie is just laying around polishing her nails and reading magazines. The kitchen is a mess and she sends Annie to clean it (her nails are wet). Then she starts bitching about Mr. Thomas, but Sarah thinks but you don’t mind spending his money (Annie has on new clothes and jewelry). Mr. Thomas comes home and says he’ll be out of town for a week and Sarah will have to stay with Annie.
At school, Lila gets jealous that Jessica took Janet skating. She accuses Jessica of trying to impress her cousin by sucking up to her. It’s definitely true but Jessica thinks what’s the big deal. Before Sarah’s Dad is even down the street, another man calls for Annie. Then she’s out the door claiming “her sister is sick” and she’ll be gone until tomorrow night. Sarah spends a restless night that night at home by herself. Her aunt Lilian calls and her Dad but because Annie told her not to say anything she makes up a story that she’s “in the shower” and she’s helping her cook. Elizabeth notices how out of it Sarah looks the next day. Sarah tells her she has a headache. Elizabeth suggest she got to the nurse. Sarah’s tempted but thinks they’ll call her house so she just sticks it out. Elizabeth tries to talk to Jessica about Sarah but she starts talking about Janet again. Steven and Elizabeth both accuse her of being boring and she accuses Elizabeth of being jealous. She then storms out to go see Janet. Surprise! Surprise! Janet's house doesn’t look like it’s being painted, but she still says she can’t have company. She then invites herself over to Jessica’s house. But this time she lucks up and Steven is there. However, he’s not as thick as Jessica and peeps Janet’s game real quick and gets the hell out of there turning down her invite for the party. Jessica catches on and gets mad. They argue. Jessica threatens to re-sign from the Unicorns. Janet says fine. They won’t fall apart without out her like she says they will. She then thinks about calling Lila but then remembers she’s not good with her either. Annie doesn’t come home that night.
The next day is more of the same for Sarah. She can barely stay awake because she’s had trouble sleeping the night before. She wants to tell Elizabeth what’s going on but she can’t. Jessica sits with Amy and Elizabeth and worries that she’ll really have to quite the Unicorns. Aunt Lilian calls again and Sarah makes up an excuse why her father isn’t there. Then Annie calls and tells her she won’t be back until Saturday. Sarah tells Annie she’s scared but Annie just tells her to grow up and get over it. She remembers she told Elizabeth and Amy they could spend the night over Friday to work on the history project so she calls Elizabeth and tells her she can’t have them over. Elizabeth tells her she can spend the night over her house instead. Sarah jumps at this because she won’t have to spend the night in the house by herself Friday.
Jessica and Lila make up. Jessica and Janet make up. All the Unicorns love Jessica’s idea for the lua. Sarah looks worse and worse and is snappish with Amy and Elizabeth. On Friday, Sarah waits for Elizabeth to pick her up. She puts her books on the table and then goes to her room to pack her bags. She hears a loud noise and thinks someone’s in the house (but it’s just the books have fallen off the table). When she goes downstairs she trips up on the stairs and rolls down the stairs. She can’t get to the phone so she just lays there. But I guess she passes out. By the time Elizabeth, Amy, and Mr. Wakefield get to her house no one answers the door. Liz peeps through the door and they see her on the ground so they have to break a window to get in. They call the ambulance and Mr. Wakefield calls Mr.Thomas’s company and finds out he’s in Texas. The company will get in touch with him. They all then go to the hospital to see if Sarah will be ok. Her Dad shows up and is surprised to find Annie didn’t stay with her. Sarah has some cuts, bruises, and she broke her foot. Her Dad calls Annie’s house and her sister says she hasn’t been there in a week. She also doesn’t have a baby sister. Annie is the youngest. Annie says that maybe she shouldn’t be with Mr. Thomas because he doesn’t love her and he agrees. Aunt Lillian is mad and thinks Sarah should live with her, but Elizabeth gets Sarah to actually open her mouth and tell her she’d rather stay with the Dad. Elizabeth invites Sarah to the Unicorn’s party as the guest of honor (they all wanna know what happened).
My Thoughts: I guess I just didn’t relate to this book because I have never minded staying by myself. Then you’d think Sarah would have been thrilled to have Annie gone since she complained that while she was there all she did was criticize her. I kinda had to roll my eyes at how overly dramatic it got at the end. I was once by myself and tripped down some steps (slightly stumbled) and I did hurt my ankle, but I didn’t ROLL down the steps. I even had a relative recently who did ROLL down six steps but it was because it was RAINING and the steps were slippery and the railing was broken. (He delivers packages). Did you notice how there was no REASON Sarah rolled down the steps? The books feel off the TABLE! Was there something else ON the steps that the book forgot to mention? Was it dak? Did she miss one of the steps and lose her balance? Her just falling down a set of steps really didn’t make any sense. Could there have been a RUG at the top of the landing that maybe she was running to see what caused the noise and she tripped up over the rug? I just don’t know. Janet should be glad she dodged a bullet getting Steven’s attention because as we all know later he marries but turns out to be gay. Definitely, I thought when I previously reviewed this book and this time was when Annie got called out. I only wish Mr. Thompson would have dug a little bit further and went to his house and traced the number back and saw that another man had called his house and then took back all the stuff he’d bought Annie and threw all her stuff out on the lawn. I mean HEY if we’re gonna be dramatic, why not go all the way with it?
Rating: 5 VERY LACKLUSTER! Other than the fall that happened for no reason. Even the “breakup” wasn’t that good.
Elizabeth meets up with Sarah and Amy after school. Elizabeth and Amy are excited because this issue of the Sixers is a success. They all start talking about a up-coming history project and decide the topic should be the California gold rush. Sarah makes a comment about how she doesn’t like the weekend but won’t say anymore. She invites them to stay over her house Friday. Jessica comes up and she’s excited because the Sixer’s had an article about the Unicorns and she told Janet it was her idea. So now Janet’s coming over to put her in charge of yet another party. So Janet comes by and immediately we see that she doesn’t give a damn about anything but Steven. But Jessica thinks she’s impressed with her Haywain party ideas. She even says she’ll throw it at her house. Her parents say Elizabeth can invite some friends too. this doesn’t make Jessica happy because she just wants it to be a Unicorn party (which is DUMB considering if it’s just them that would make it a Unicorn MEETING). Janet supposedly doesn’t eat pork, but this doesn’t stop her from accepting when Mrs. Wakefield invites her to dinner for pork chops. Jessica quickly reminds her of this. (Jessica is SO THICK).
On Saturday, Mrs. Wakefield is taking the twins skating and says they can each invite a friend. Jessica invites Janet because Lila is busy. Elizabeth invites Amy but Amy can’t go and Julie is out of town. So she invites Sarah. At the rink, Janet is disappointed that Steven didn’t come and acts like a brat (by not wanting to skate). Sarah breaks down and reveals that her father is getting married to his girlfriend Annie. Annie is only nice to her when she’s around her father. The rest of the time she’s on her case. They use to be ok in the beginning but lately, it’s gotten worse. Sarah is afraid to tell her father because she thinks he won’t believe her because he’ll think she’s jealous of the attention he gives Annie. Sarah gets home and Annie is just laying around polishing her nails and reading magazines. The kitchen is a mess and she sends Annie to clean it (her nails are wet). Then she starts bitching about Mr. Thomas, but Sarah thinks but you don’t mind spending his money (Annie has on new clothes and jewelry). Mr. Thomas comes home and says he’ll be out of town for a week and Sarah will have to stay with Annie.
At school, Lila gets jealous that Jessica took Janet skating. She accuses Jessica of trying to impress her cousin by sucking up to her. It’s definitely true but Jessica thinks what’s the big deal. Before Sarah’s Dad is even down the street, another man calls for Annie. Then she’s out the door claiming “her sister is sick” and she’ll be gone until tomorrow night. Sarah spends a restless night that night at home by herself. Her aunt Lilian calls and her Dad but because Annie told her not to say anything she makes up a story that she’s “in the shower” and she’s helping her cook. Elizabeth notices how out of it Sarah looks the next day. Sarah tells her she has a headache. Elizabeth suggest she got to the nurse. Sarah’s tempted but thinks they’ll call her house so she just sticks it out. Elizabeth tries to talk to Jessica about Sarah but she starts talking about Janet again. Steven and Elizabeth both accuse her of being boring and she accuses Elizabeth of being jealous. She then storms out to go see Janet. Surprise! Surprise! Janet's house doesn’t look like it’s being painted, but she still says she can’t have company. She then invites herself over to Jessica’s house. But this time she lucks up and Steven is there. However, he’s not as thick as Jessica and peeps Janet’s game real quick and gets the hell out of there turning down her invite for the party. Jessica catches on and gets mad. They argue. Jessica threatens to re-sign from the Unicorns. Janet says fine. They won’t fall apart without out her like she says they will. She then thinks about calling Lila but then remembers she’s not good with her either. Annie doesn’t come home that night.
The next day is more of the same for Sarah. She can barely stay awake because she’s had trouble sleeping the night before. She wants to tell Elizabeth what’s going on but she can’t. Jessica sits with Amy and Elizabeth and worries that she’ll really have to quite the Unicorns. Aunt Lilian calls again and Sarah makes up an excuse why her father isn’t there. Then Annie calls and tells her she won’t be back until Saturday. Sarah tells Annie she’s scared but Annie just tells her to grow up and get over it. She remembers she told Elizabeth and Amy they could spend the night over Friday to work on the history project so she calls Elizabeth and tells her she can’t have them over. Elizabeth tells her she can spend the night over her house instead. Sarah jumps at this because she won’t have to spend the night in the house by herself Friday.
Jessica and Lila make up. Jessica and Janet make up. All the Unicorns love Jessica’s idea for the lua. Sarah looks worse and worse and is snappish with Amy and Elizabeth. On Friday, Sarah waits for Elizabeth to pick her up. She puts her books on the table and then goes to her room to pack her bags. She hears a loud noise and thinks someone’s in the house (but it’s just the books have fallen off the table). When she goes downstairs she trips up on the stairs and rolls down the stairs. She can’t get to the phone so she just lays there. But I guess she passes out. By the time Elizabeth, Amy, and Mr. Wakefield get to her house no one answers the door. Liz peeps through the door and they see her on the ground so they have to break a window to get in. They call the ambulance and Mr. Wakefield calls Mr.Thomas’s company and finds out he’s in Texas. The company will get in touch with him. They all then go to the hospital to see if Sarah will be ok. Her Dad shows up and is surprised to find Annie didn’t stay with her. Sarah has some cuts, bruises, and she broke her foot. Her Dad calls Annie’s house and her sister says she hasn’t been there in a week. She also doesn’t have a baby sister. Annie is the youngest. Annie says that maybe she shouldn’t be with Mr. Thomas because he doesn’t love her and he agrees. Aunt Lillian is mad and thinks Sarah should live with her, but Elizabeth gets Sarah to actually open her mouth and tell her she’d rather stay with the Dad. Elizabeth invites Sarah to the Unicorn’s party as the guest of honor (they all wanna know what happened).
My Thoughts: I guess I just didn’t relate to this book because I have never minded staying by myself. Then you’d think Sarah would have been thrilled to have Annie gone since she complained that while she was there all she did was criticize her. I kinda had to roll my eyes at how overly dramatic it got at the end. I was once by myself and tripped down some steps (slightly stumbled) and I did hurt my ankle, but I didn’t ROLL down the steps. I even had a relative recently who did ROLL down six steps but it was because it was RAINING and the steps were slippery and the railing was broken. (He delivers packages). Did you notice how there was no REASON Sarah rolled down the steps? The books feel off the TABLE! Was there something else ON the steps that the book forgot to mention? Was it dak? Did she miss one of the steps and lose her balance? Her just falling down a set of steps really didn’t make any sense. Could there have been a RUG at the top of the landing that maybe she was running to see what caused the noise and she tripped up over the rug? I just don’t know. Janet should be glad she dodged a bullet getting Steven’s attention because as we all know later he marries but turns out to be gay. Definitely, I thought when I previously reviewed this book and this time was when Annie got called out. I only wish Mr. Thompson would have dug a little bit further and went to his house and traced the number back and saw that another man had called his house and then took back all the stuff he’d bought Annie and threw all her stuff out on the lawn. I mean HEY if we’re gonna be dramatic, why not go all the way with it?
Rating: 5 VERY LACKLUSTER! Other than the fall that happened for no reason. Even the “breakup” wasn’t that good.
December 30, 2018
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this one and read it in pretty much one sitting.
Sarah Thomas (yet another character introduced that we will quickly forget about (ala Nora and Sophia Rizzo?) is neglected by her father and has to put up with his bimbo psychopath (older version of Jess) girlfriend Annie.
This is not an over exaggeration. Annie really is the worst human being I have read about in SVT so far (and that is saying something!) Who the fuck leaves a 12 year old girl on their own for a week? Her father has to rival that of the Wakefield's in the stupidity department.
Liz and Amy were decent people in this book and Jess was her usual psychotic self, though a rather tame version compared to usual standards. The side plot where Janet had a crush on Steven and he completely blew her off was hilarious. I totally want a book from Steven's POV, please!!
I am also disappointed I didn't read about the long awaited Luau!!
Great parenting example #4449 regarding the wakefields: "As long as you and Elizabeth do your share of the preparations," Mr Wakefield added. "It shouldn't fall on your mother's shoulders, you know."
"You could hardly have a party at home and not invite your own sister," Mr Wakefield said. UMMM HOW IS THAT FAIR??? Not only was this party NOT Liz's idea, but she has to prepare for it just because she HAS to be invited? Bullshit. lol.
Also, I had to slide in a quote regarding the fucked up relationship between Jess and Liz:
Elizabeth didn't know whether to be angry or amused. It was just like Jessica not to consider her feelings. But she could never stay annoyed at her twin for long UGHHHH.
I enjoyed this one and read it in pretty much one sitting.
Sarah Thomas (yet another character introduced that we will quickly forget about (ala Nora and Sophia Rizzo?) is neglected by her father and has to put up with his bimbo psychopath (older version of Jess) girlfriend Annie.
This is not an over exaggeration. Annie really is the worst human being I have read about in SVT so far (and that is saying something!) Who the fuck leaves a 12 year old girl on their own for a week? Her father has to rival that of the Wakefield's in the stupidity department.
Liz and Amy were decent people in this book and Jess was her usual psychotic self, though a rather tame version compared to usual standards. The side plot where Janet had a crush on Steven and he completely blew her off was hilarious. I totally want a book from Steven's POV, please!!
I am also disappointed I didn't read about the long awaited Luau!!
Great parenting example #4449 regarding the wakefields: "As long as you and Elizabeth do your share of the preparations," Mr Wakefield added. "It shouldn't fall on your mother's shoulders, you know."
"You could hardly have a party at home and not invite your own sister," Mr Wakefield said. UMMM HOW IS THAT FAIR??? Not only was this party NOT Liz's idea, but she has to prepare for it just because she HAS to be invited? Bullshit. lol.
Also, I had to slide in a quote regarding the fucked up relationship between Jess and Liz:
Elizabeth didn't know whether to be angry or amused. It was just like Jessica not to consider her feelings. But she could never stay annoyed at her twin for long UGHHHH.
Read
December 17, 2025New character that's never been introduced before, Sarah Thomas, hates weekends. Amy and Elizabeth can't understand why. Sarah's dad has a new girlfriend, Annie, and she and Sarah don't get on. When Mr Thomas has to leave town for a week, he assumes Annie will stay and look after Sarah. In Annie's defence here, he absolutely didn't even ask her first, which is wild behaviour, but still. Annie decides to leave Sarah by herself ... for a week! Sarah doesn't tell her dad, anyone at school, or her Aunt Lillian, who calls every day to check on her. On Friday night, Sarah has agreed to go round the Wakefield's for a sleepover, which she's looking forward to as she's not slept a wink all week. Unfortunately, she falls down the stairs and breaks her foot. Lucky for her, Saint Elizabeth is on the case, and when she doesn't answer her door, Mr W breaks a window and Saint Elizabeth finds Sarah unconscious at the foot of the stairs. Mr W calls an ambulance, no insurance is mentioned, and he then calls Sarah's dad's work to speak to a security officer. The next day, Mr Thomas turns up at the hospital and is utterly confused; where is Annie? He calls Annie only to find out she's been lying to him. He doesn't call the police and nobody mentions social services. But everything works out as he dumps Annie.
Side plot: Jessica is planning a luau and Janet Howell makes excuses to come to Casa Wakefield to discuss the party AKA flirt with Steven. Jessica is so narcissistic that she doesn't even realise what's happening, despite Janet mentioning Steven every other word.
Side plot: Jessica is planning a luau and Janet Howell makes excuses to come to Casa Wakefield to discuss the party AKA flirt with Steven. Jessica is so narcissistic that she doesn't even realise what's happening, despite Janet mentioning Steven every other word.
November 3, 2023
I liked this book, but felt so sorry for Sarah. Her dad is dating this girl Annie and she was abusive and neglectful towards Sarah when he was out of town. Elizabeth rescued her after she fainted and got injured while home alone, and the dad left Annie after this, though she didn’t know how to tell him before that Annie wasn’t good to her
March 17, 2018
This is another one that sticks out to me, as it deals with child neglect.
September 5, 2019
I hope ilike it
February 10, 2022
Isn't Annie also the name of the lady that kidnapped Mary Wallace? Clearly, Francine Pascal has something against people named Annie....
August 11, 2025
Loved It
July 4, 2024
Sweet Valley Twins 20 - Left Behind
Liz and Amy are working with Sarah Thomas on a history project, and Sarah weirdly hates weekends. They agree to study the gold rush and meet next week, and Sarah rushes off. Meanwhile, Jess has Janet over and she immediately asks if Steven is home. Hmm. As they plan a unicorn Hawaiian themed party, Janet asks about Steven six more times and Jess still doesn’t catch on. Meanwhile, Liz starts to uncover the Sarah mystery, and it’s a suspected abusive stepmother. Then we meet Annie and she’s covered in jewels and is lazy, so yep. Then Sarah gets stuck with evil Annie for a whole week while her father goes away… except she immediately gets called away to look after her sick sister, and Sarah gets left alone. I’m thinking Annie is an escort, but I’m sure the book will gloss over that 😒 Any way Sarah barely sleeps because she’s so scared alone in the house. Meanwhile Janet is so obvious with Steven even Jess catches on and they have a big fight. Annie calls Sarah finally and apparently she was orphaned younger than 12 and had to raise her siblings on her own?? Mmmkay. So she thinks Sarah is a baby. On the final day alone, while waiting for Liz to pick her up for a sleepover, Sarah falls down the stairs. Ned, Liz and Amy spot Sarah at the bottom of the stairs and break in, call an ambulance and they all go to the hospital. Ned tracks down her Dad and he shows up the next morning. Sarah is still unconscious, and Liz tells her Dad Annie wasn’t there when they found her, so he calls her family but turns out, Annie is the youngest. Then she shows up full of excuses but Sarah’s dad shuts her down. Then Sarah’s aunt shows up (her mom’s sister) and demands custody of Sarah. But it turns into nothing and we don’t even get to see the party.
My rating - 3/10 - a pretty weak storyline all around with no satisfactory resolutions at all, boo…
#sweetvalley #sweetvalleykids #sweetvalleytwins #unicornclub #sweetvalleyjnrhigh #sweetvalleyhigh #sweetvalleysenioryear #sweetvalleyuniversity #sweetvalleyseries #bookreview
Liz and Amy are working with Sarah Thomas on a history project, and Sarah weirdly hates weekends. They agree to study the gold rush and meet next week, and Sarah rushes off. Meanwhile, Jess has Janet over and she immediately asks if Steven is home. Hmm. As they plan a unicorn Hawaiian themed party, Janet asks about Steven six more times and Jess still doesn’t catch on. Meanwhile, Liz starts to uncover the Sarah mystery, and it’s a suspected abusive stepmother. Then we meet Annie and she’s covered in jewels and is lazy, so yep. Then Sarah gets stuck with evil Annie for a whole week while her father goes away… except she immediately gets called away to look after her sick sister, and Sarah gets left alone. I’m thinking Annie is an escort, but I’m sure the book will gloss over that 😒 Any way Sarah barely sleeps because she’s so scared alone in the house. Meanwhile Janet is so obvious with Steven even Jess catches on and they have a big fight. Annie calls Sarah finally and apparently she was orphaned younger than 12 and had to raise her siblings on her own?? Mmmkay. So she thinks Sarah is a baby. On the final day alone, while waiting for Liz to pick her up for a sleepover, Sarah falls down the stairs. Ned, Liz and Amy spot Sarah at the bottom of the stairs and break in, call an ambulance and they all go to the hospital. Ned tracks down her Dad and he shows up the next morning. Sarah is still unconscious, and Liz tells her Dad Annie wasn’t there when they found her, so he calls her family but turns out, Annie is the youngest. Then she shows up full of excuses but Sarah’s dad shuts her down. Then Sarah’s aunt shows up (her mom’s sister) and demands custody of Sarah. But it turns into nothing and we don’t even get to see the party.
My rating - 3/10 - a pretty weak storyline all around with no satisfactory resolutions at all, boo…
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2019
RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)
I picked up one of the Sweet Valley Twins novel at the library (before my strict read in order only rule) and fell in love with the California twins and their friends and family. I had just started reading thicker chapter books, and joining the library summer reading club, I went through these books pretty quick. I was excited that I could read and really fell in love with books and reading. I believe I was about 7-9 when I read these books so it was exciting to read about 12 year old popular preteens. I could relate to both Elizabeth and Jessica, and really could not pick which twin I liked better. I would not finish this series as I would quickly move on to Sweet Valley High (Double Love). These are very tame books, and any age could read them. First crushes and bullying were the big issues that I can remember. This is very Full House (TV series) kind of books.
***This is a series review***
(Review Not on Blog)
I picked up one of the Sweet Valley Twins novel at the library (before my strict read in order only rule) and fell in love with the California twins and their friends and family. I had just started reading thicker chapter books, and joining the library summer reading club, I went through these books pretty quick. I was excited that I could read and really fell in love with books and reading. I believe I was about 7-9 when I read these books so it was exciting to read about 12 year old popular preteens. I could relate to both Elizabeth and Jessica, and really could not pick which twin I liked better. I would not finish this series as I would quickly move on to Sweet Valley High (Double Love). These are very tame books, and any age could read them. First crushes and bullying were the big issues that I can remember. This is very Full House (TV series) kind of books.
***This is a series review***
June 12, 2014
This is an amzing book that personally I learned a lot from, one of the things that I learned is that it is not good to hide secrets from everyone. You must tell the ones you mostly trust because they might help. It is about Sarah who has trouble at home, her friends try to find out what is happening but no words come out from Sarah's mouth. I recommend this book 100% for 4th to 5th graders. It is an easy book with 104 pages.
Read
January 11, 2023The front cover makes this look like the 'left behind' refers to a girl who isn't growing up as quickly as the other kids. Instead it's about a horrible step-mother-to-be and a really dim father who is presumably blinded by the fact that he's dating someone who's "pretty young".
Also, I only just realised that Steven is three years older than the twins in SVT, instead of the two in SVH.
Also, I only just realised that Steven is three years older than the twins in SVT, instead of the two in SVH.
Read
June 4, 2009JEAR3-Pas
May 6, 2021
Loved these books as a child
June 22, 2013
love all of the sweet valley high books when I was kid.
January 17, 2014
Read my review and more at :
http://babysittinginsweetvalley.blogs...
http://babysittinginsweetvalley.blogs...
August 1, 2017
In this one, Sarah's dad has a fiancée that could on the real be charged with child neglect and endangerment, and Elizabeth Wakefield remains the only semi-decent person in Sweet Valley
June 24, 2014
It was very sad.
March 21, 2010
Totally awesome!
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