Welcome to the season of Super Editions! That’s right the first six Super Editions of the series are all in this season, starting off with the season premiere and ending with the season finale. There isn’t going to be another Super Edition for another five seasons (106 episodes).
Since Sweet Valley High is pretty much a soap opera, I have broken up the books into seasons and in this special two-part post treat it like a TV show. In this post you will find “The Skinny (highlights from season 2), and the first part of “The Perfect Size 6” (each book/episode broken down into a single paragraph). Enjoy! 🙂
Sweet Valley High (The Book Series): Season 2 Skinny
This season of Sweet Valley High was just as dramatic as the first (and involved a lot of travel)! There was the: summer bike trip that included a forest fire, bear attack, and someone’s secret past is revealed (don’t forget the Hollywood mansion they stayed in for a night); the love of Elizabeth’s life (Todd Wilkins) moves to Vermont. An enemy from the twins’ past returns to Sweet Valley with a terminal illness, hoping to make things right, only to discover she really has Mono! Everyone’s second favorite family (the Morrows) are taken hostage by a crazy man and the twins and Bruce Patman face off with the bad guys to rescue them (yeah, I know…) Then the twins went to France and Jessica almost drowns. Elizabeth falls in love with a rock star who is hiding from a knife wielding maniac. A new boy (Jeffrey French) comes to town and everyone wants him, but he only has eyes for Elizabeth; they become an item. There are also plenty of ‘fakeovers’, jealous lies, wedding proposals, secret engagements, anger management issues, rumors, break-ups, make-ups, backstabbing, competing for someone’s affection and all of the other usual Sweet Valley High silliness that you can’t help but love (even if you feel a little guilty). 😉
The Season 2 “Perfect Size 6”
Episode 22 – “Perfect Summer”: The twins are off on a beautiful bicycle tour for the summer with several friends including Lila Fowler, Annie Whitman, Bruce Patman, Roger Patman, Olivia Davidson, Elizabeth’s boyfriend Todd Wilkins and their teachers Mr. Collins and Ms. Dalton (and a few others who really don’t matter). They stay at some guy’s mansion and he ropes them into taking his troubled daughter, Courtney, with them. At first she is a witch to everyone, but then comes up with a plan where she can go back home with Todd and convinces him she is a victim of an unstable father (just so she can return to her unstable boyfriend). Todd buys it and acts like an ass to Elizabeth. They break up (for like the twelfth time). Lila is terrible to Ms. Dalton because she is dating her father. Lila finds out the truth about Ms. Dalton before she came to Sweet Valley (her husband killed himself a few days after she left him, so of course in their world, she is responsible and needs to change her name). Everyone else is fighting (Mr. Collins is Ms. Dalton’s ex, Bruce is back to his asshat self, and Elizabeth and Todd are through). Meanwhile Jessica chases after this guy who is obviously not interested in her, but he gets bored and asks her to sneak away at night. She does, so of course she gets trapped in a cave by a bear. Can anyone find her in time and come to her rescue? Well, it would be easier to do, if they weren’t dealing with a forest fire Courtney started. Oopsie! This is the first Super Edition and as you can see; as far as episodes go they should be two-parters, because they are much more involved.
Episode 23 – “Too Much In Love”: DeeDee Gordon is so in love with her boyfriend Bill Chase that she gets super clingy and smothers him. After losing all sense of who she is, DeeDee goes too far and Bill dumps her because he doesn’t like how she is acting. DeeDee is distraught, but with the help of her best friend Patty Gilbert (who I am pretty sure is the first nonwhite kid we have seen at Sweet Valley High so far) and Elizabeth Wakefield, she finds herself again. Bill asks if she’ll take him back once she is over her crazy behavior and it is a happy (but more independent) ending for the two of them. Also, the Wakefields throw a party while their parents are out of town and it gets out of control, but they still don’t get caught.
Episode 24 – “Say Goodbye”: Elizabeth’s boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, and his family are moving to Vermont, leaving the couple devastated. After a drawn out goodbye, he leaves and they try to keep their romance alive despite the distance. This doesn’t work and Jessica tells Todd if he really care about Elizabeth he’ll let her go so instead of asking Elizabeth what she wants, he won’t return her calls or answer his phone. (Hey, he was never the brightest crayon in the box.) Nicholas Morrow moves in on Elizabeth, but she isn’t ready to be anything more than friends. Meanwhile, Jessica has taken a job at an online dating service to pay her parents back money she owes them. While working there, she keeps trying to set up her brother Steven, without his knowledge of him wanting to be set up. It might have gone better if she didn’t insist on setting him up with old divorcees though. I mean he is only eighteen.
Episode 25 – “Memories”: Steven Wakefield can’t get over his dead girlfriend Tricia Martin until he sees Cara Walker in a new way. Cara has changed since her parents’ divorce and the former gossip has become sensitive and mature. Tricia’s sister, Betsy, sees Steven with Cara and accuses him of forgetting Tricia. Steven, upset about what he should do, acts like a douche to Cara and ruins her birthday. Elizabeth thinks she keeps seeing Todd around town and turns out he has a lookalike who is a jackass. She realizes just because they look alike doesn’t mean they are alike (funny coming from a twin). Jessica chases after Winston’s uncle because he is a movie director, but this is a hilarious case of mistaken identity. Elizabeth talks to Betsy who feels bad for her outburst and sets Steven and Cara up, with her blessing, and the two of them make out.
Episode 26 – “Special Christmas”: Suzanne Devlin is back! Suzanne visits the Wakefields over Christmas break because she wants to apologize for how she acted last season (saying Mr. Collins tried to rape her, because he wouldn’t kiss her for example). Elizabeth, Jessica and Steven decide to be horrible to her in hopes she will go back to New York early. Lila tricks Cara into ruining Jessica’s chances for running for the Miss Christmastime pageant so Lila is crowned. Jessica in turn steals her gown right before the parade so she gets to reign as Miss Christmastime anyway and Lila is forced to dress as an elf and be on Santa’s float. Meanwhile, Jessica enlists some friends to send Suzanne horrible gifts so that she’ll leave. Suzanne is very sick, but keeping it a secret because she wants people to forgive her without feeling sorry for her. Elizabeth and Todd are awkward around each other and they both realize they are better off as friends. They break up. Jessica overhears Suzanne and Todd about hanging out two months ago and assumes they are cheating on Elizabeth. She pulls the ultimate prank on Suzanne and sends her on a wild goose chase. When Suzanne turns up missing, the twins’ parents tell them that Suzanne has MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and is terminally ill. They are worried because they just changed her medications and they can make her dizzy and faint. They find out she was in a terrible car accident. Jessica comes clean and everyone instantly forgives her. Suzanne is all right in the end and even better than before, since word comes back that while she had been treated for MS for several months it turns out she only has Mono. Merry Christmas everyone!
Episode 27 – “Nowhere To Run”: Emily Mayer is having a hard time at home. Her stepmother Karen treats her like crap and Emily can’t seem to do anything right. Karen threatens to send her off to boarding school if Emily does not give up music and be more like her (she is the drummer for The Droids). Emily does everything she is asked and Karen makes her babysit her infant daughter 24/7. When Emily has a bandmate over to look at some new equipment she got Karen comes home and screams at her, calling her a slut. But things really come to a head when Karen gives her infant daughter a toy and Emily tells her not to because the baby could choke on its small parts. So of course the baby chokes. Karen screams hysterically and Emily pushes her out of the way and saves her baby sister. When Emily’s father comes home he accuses her of trying to hurt Karen and her sister and kicks her out. Meanwhile, the twins’ grandparents are in town, visiting from Michigan. Their mother becomes clingy and insecure that she doesn’t spend enough time with her daughters. She feels better when the twins ask her to help them plan a party for their grandparents. Emily comes over when she is kicked out and Grandmother Wakefield tells her a story and basically says stepparents aren’t bad people or abusive – they’re just insecure and frazzled. Karen and Emily’s father come by to get Emily and all is well that ends well?
Episode 28 – “Hostage!”: Elizabeth is worried about her friend Regina Morrow, who is supposedly back in town (she was in Switzerland receiving miracle ear treatments). She goes to Regina’s house and is accosted by her ‘aunt’. She catches a glimpse of Regina, but the aunt makes Elizabeth leave. Elizabeth goes over to Bruce Patman’s house to ask him about Regina since they’re dating. He says Regina doesn’t have an aunt. They call the police, but are told to stop playing pranks (idiots). Bruce and Elizabeth team up with Jessica and Regina’s brother Nicholas in hopes of saving her. The Morrows have all been kidnapped (the parents being held somewhere else) by a former employee who was arrested for embezzlement five years ago. He is trying make off with some prototype in some sort of misguided revenge scheme. The four teenagers rescue everyone, but not before there are showdowns involving guns, runaway cars, flirtatious distractions and more. In true Sweet Valley style, the Morrows throw a party as soon as the police get the bad guys. (Hey, it has practically become a Sweet Valley High tradition.)
Episode 29 – “Lovestruck”: Ken Matthews is flunking English and asks Elizabeth to help him. She tutors him and gives him some of her short stories to look at to get an idea on how to write one. He has to write one and get a C or better if he wants to play in the big Centennial Day game and if he doesn’t Sweet Valley High will lose to their rival. The real problem, however, is Ken’s girlfriend Suzanne Hanlon. She is rich, snobby and doesn’t support the things that Ken likes. She keeps demanding Ken spend time with her so he doesn’t have time to work on his story. Instead, he hands in one of Elizabeth’s that he passes off as his own. His English teacher, Mr. Collins wants to publish it in the school newspaper because he loves it that much. Elizbaeth finds out what Ken did and tells him to make it right. Ken writes a real short story this time about a guy who felt pressure to look perfect for a girl he was in love with, so he plagiarizes a story (you already know the rest). He is caught, but because he came clean he is shown leniency. He gets a C on his confessional story and they win the game. Suzanne dumped Ken when his real story first came out, but after the game she comes crawling back and he tells her to take a hike. Jessica was supposed to organize the picnic after the game, but forgot about food so she makes everyone peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Episode 30 – “Spring Break”: The twins participate in a 10-day student exchange program over spring break. They’re off to France while the daughter of their host mother Ferney is staying with their family. Steven Wakefield falls madly in love with Ferney because she looks just like his dead girlfriend Tricia Martin, never mind that he is already dating and in love with Cara Walker – she’ll understand. Back in France, Ferney’s brother Rene is being a jackass to the twins and is very anti-American. The girls try their best to ignore him. Jessica meets a boy who she plans to use to get her into the hotspots in the area, and drops him when she realizes he is a dud. Elizabeth finds a lost dog and returns him to his owner, who turns out to be a countess and she sets Elizabeth up with her handsome grandson Jean-Claude. Jessica tells Elizabeth Jean-Claude stood her up and goes out with him instead, pretending to be Elizabeth. Elizabeth finds out Rene’s father (an American) ran out on him and his family when he was young so he hates all Americans. Jessica and Jean-Claude go sailing and are caught in a terrible storm. Elizabeth is worried about her sister and she and Rene find them in the water, trying not to drown. Rene rescues both of them. Elizabeth pretends to be Jessica because she can tell how much Jessica likes Jean-Claude. She comes clean with him anyway, and he still loves her. Rene apologizes for being such a creep to Elizabeth and they go out. Back in Sweet Valley, Steven apologizes to Cara who takes him back.
Episode 31 – “Alone In The Crowd”: Lynne Henry feels invisible. She has a crush on Guy Chesney who is a member of The Droids. The Droids put on a songwriting contest in hopes of finding a new hit song. Lynne enters the contest anonymously, her entry is called, ‘Outside, Looking In.’ Lynne’s entry is the clear winner and Guy is desperate to find the songwriter because he is in love with whoever it is. Lynne gets a fakeover (basically ditches her glasses, does her hair, make-up and gets new clothes and now she is gorgeous) and Elizabeth discovers that Lynne is the anonymous winner but is sworn to secrecy. Elizabeth accidentally gives Guy a clue and he runs with it. Lynne is discovered and she and Guy are Sweet Valley’s newest item. Also, Jessica has some crazy idea to raise money for the cheerleaders so they can get new uniforms. They will all rock in rocking chairs for several hours. But hey, it works.
Make sure you don’t miss the second half of this very special Sweet Valley High post. Find out what time means in Sweet Valley High and get the rest of the recaps (including three more Super Editions)! 🙂
-DMW
