Sweet Valley High (The Book Series): Season 4 (Part 5) Twin Switches, Dating Services and Near-Death Experiences

Warning: The following episodes contain ridiculous twin switches, false identities, two near-death experiences, and a family suddenly divided as its foundation crumbles…

Remember, I warned you! 😛

The Perfect Size Six (Continued)

Episode 73 – “Who’s Who?”: Jessica is bored with her love life and signs up for an online matchmaking service that specializes in teens. But instead of being honest on the application, she makes up two opposite personalities: cultured, sophisticated and classy Daniella Fromage and wild, crazy rocker chick Magenta Galaxy. She goes on dates as both girls, having borrowed clothes and “studying” to play each part. Pierre is dating Daniella and Brett is dating Magenta. Pierre is worldly and handsome, everything Jessica wants while Brett is a bad rocker dude, sexy and dangerous. Elizabeth tells Jessica she’s nuts and Jessica tells Elizabeth that she’s boring. Elizabeth takes this to heart and gets a perm. She promises herself to be less predictable. Jessica finds herself in a bind when she is double-booked with both guys and she can’t get in touch with either of them to cancel. She convinces Elizabeth to help by posing as one girl and Jessica will go as the other. They’ll switch places every fifteen minutes since Elizabeth won’t have any frame of reference for the guys or Jessica’s past dates with them. It becomes obvious to Elizabeth that both boys are complete phonies. Elizabeth can’t take it anymore and tells Pierre he is a liar (and a bad one at that) and just doesn’t want to be around Brett. Jessica is steamed and unable to salvage either date. The next day Elizabeth feels guilty and invites both boys over as a surprise for Jessica, so she can see if either is worth keeping. But they show up at the same time, just as Jessica gets home. Before Jessica can figure out what to do, Dana Larson and Suzanne Hanlon drop by to pick up their clothes and jewelry they let Jessica borrow for her ruse. It turns out both boys were lying, just like Jessica was, in hopes of dating someone different. Brett is cultured and Pierre is into music and the guys hit it off with Dana and Suzanne.

Online Dating

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Sweet Valley High (The Book Series): Season 4 (Part 4) The BEST Episode Of The Season!

I know this is a longer post, but the first episode of the post is the BEST book of the season, you don’t want to miss it! 😉

The Perfect Size Six (Continued)

Episode 71 – “Super Star: Lila’s Story”: Lila Fowler’s father is dating a woman named Joan Borden, and Lila isn’t happy about it. Lila goes to a concert with Jessica, Elizabeth and a bunch of their friends and during intermission Lila bumps into the most gorgeous guy she has ever seen. She is sure that she’s in love! Jessica tells Lila his name is Evan Armstrong and he is going with one of their classmates named Sonia. But Sonia has the hots for Bruce Patman, so Lila asks Bruce if he will pursue Sonia so that Evan will be free to pursue her. Bruce agrees, but only if Lila owes him a favor later. Lila’s father is getting really serious with Joan, and Lila can’t get out of meeting Joan or her daughter Jacqueline any longer. When she meets them Lila thinks Joan is phony and she’s suspicious of her. If Joan wasn’t well off herself, Lila would swear she was a fortune hunter. Jacqueline seems so mousy and super sweet it makes Lila sick. Bruce manages to get Sonia away from Evan and Lila moves in on him. Evan is really into racing and Lila goes to the track to watch him race. At first he keeps bringing up Sonia but after some time he realizes he likes Lila and breaks it off with Sonia. Sonia is still having fun with Bruce. Evan wants to participate in an upcoming race but there is an entry fee of $500. Lila offers him the money, and he is insistent that it doesn’t feel right. But Lila sees this as her chance to make sure she and Evan are a solid couple, because he would never leave her after she gave him that kind of money. Evan finally relents, but only if she’ll let him pay her back as soon as he gets his paycheck in a few weeks. The Bordens keep visiting Fowler Crest, until Mr. Fowler suggests they just stay there for awhile and stop commuting, making them semi-permanent guests. Jacqueline seems to worship Lila and Lila’s father forces her to introduce Jacqueline to all of her friends. Everyone loves Jacqueline and Lila is annoyed because she feels Jacqueline has taken her father’s affection from her, and now she is hording in on Lila’s friends too. Joan keeps buying things for the house and she orders a chair in her suite to be repaired and then says she completely forgot to bring enough cash to pay for it. Lila realizes that Joan and Jacqueline are completely freeloading, never offering to take Lila or her father out, never paying their own way, etc. The money Lila gave to Evan came out of the petty cash her father kept in a hiding place for groceries, gas and other incidentals. She decides to try to get rid of the Bordens, by planting the key to where the petty cash was kept in Jacqueline’s coat pocket and putting a necklace Jacqueline really admired under her pillow. When Lila tells her father it has gone missing, everyone searches for it. Lila wants to check Jacqueline’s room, which upsets everyone. But the necklace isn’t there! Jacqueline suggests they look in Lila’s room and the necklace is back, while the key to the petty cash has also been returned. The next night Jessica asks Lila why she and Evan didn’t join them at this great show. Jessica left a message with Jacqueline. Lila confronts Jacqueline and Jacqueline says she took the message and put it on Lila’s desk and then tells her the house may be haunted since things keep disappearing and reappearing. Bruce calls in his favor and wants Lila to get Evan to drop out of the same race that she let him borrow money for. Mr. Fowler and Joan go away to Hawaii for a few days and Jacqueline shows her true colors. She takes all of Lila’s best clothes, orders Lila around and even takes Lila’s car without permission. She taunts Lila, saying if Lila says anything to her father, he’ll just think she is jealous of sweet, kind Jacqueline. When Mr. Fowler and Joan get back they announce that they are engaged! Lila doesn’t know what to do, but the next morning she decides to act like Jacqueline and tells everyone how happy she is for her father and Joan and wants to throw them an engagement party. It is going to be the same night as Evan’s race. Lila has told Evan about her problems at home, so she mentions the engagement party and tells him how she doesn’t know if she’ll get through it without him. Then she tells him when it is and acts like she completely forgot it was the same night as the race. She tells Evan not to worry about her, but he decides to bag the race and go to the party with her. Right before the party, Lila goes up the back stairs to avoid all the craziness of the caterers getting ready for the affair and as she passes the guest suites she hears Joan and Jacqueline talking. It turns out Joan is a fortune hunter and they’re poor. She plans on marrying Mr. Fowler than divorcing him and getting alimony. They say other nasty things and Lila is furious. Later, she lets Jacqueline know she overheard her and her mother and she knows the truth about them, but Jacqueline points out that no one will believe her. Lila tries to tell her father what she overheard, but Mr. Fowler is furious with Lila, thinking she is just trying to sabotage his relationship. At the party Evan disappears and seems to spend most of his time with Jacqueline, making Lila even more upset. The wedding is going to take place in three weeks. Lila tries to figure out how to expose Joan and her daughter before it’s too late, but she keeps up her “sweet” act. The night before the wedding, Evan comes by and Lila is busy. When she goes in the house she sees him kissing Jacqueline and they keep talking about how to “handle” Lila and how he is going to keep pretending he likes her until after the wedding. Then Evan hits Jacqueline up for some money, and talks about how Lila never supported him or his racing. Lila realizes Evan was just using her like Joan is using her father. The next morning, Lila gets an idea and sticks some microphones in the sunroom where she, Jacqueline and Joan will be waiting to walk down the aisle before the wedding. Then Lila tells Joan that Jacqueline told her everything. Joan is pissed and accuses Jacqueline of exposing them, and they bicker about who wants Mr. Fowler’s money more, and how stupid the other one is to blow it right before the wedding. All of the guests outside, as well as the minister and Mr. Fowler, can hear everything. The girls take their cue to go on and Lila is smiling as many guests stand up and all of them look at Joan and Jacqueline with horror and contempt. When they reach the altar, Mr. Fowler tells them the jig is up. He tells Joan and Jacqueline to get lost and never contact him again. Then he tells his guests since they’re there, they might as well party in Lila’s honor for exposing everything. Evan approaches Lila, not knowing she knows the truth, and Lila tells her father how Jacqueline took the missing $500 and gave it to Evan so he could race. Then she gives her father Evan’s I.O.U. and says how much Evan wants to pay it back as soon as possible. Evan is stuck, and Lila ignores him. Bruce Patman introduces Lila to his very handsome friend, Toby. Toby was the reason Bruce wanted Evan out of the race, because he bet on Toby, and since Evan dropped out, Toby won. Toby is really grateful and he and Lila dance. Evan approaches Lila later, and asks her if she is going to punish him for “one mistake” and she says, “Yep.” He asks her who she has been dancing with and she tells Evan that he’s the guy who won the race since Evan dropped out, and then Lila thanks Even. Letting Evan think it was she who was using him the whole time and not the other way around.

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Confessions Of A Bookaholic – Guilty Pleasures Edition #75 – Sweet Valley High #68 – The Love Bet

Everyone’s favorite scheming twin is at it again. Whoa, wait a second. This scheme is all Elizabeth. Goody-goody Elizabeth Wakefield is being sneaky, and playing with people’s lives just like Jessica usually does. And Jessica isn’t a fan. All right, my interested is piqued. Onward! 😉

“The Love Bet”

svh_the_love_bet

Sweet Valley Scale: 4 out of 5 Twins

Dana Larson is fed up with love. She tells everyone that she prefers spending her time singing with her band, The Droids, and writing music instead of wasting her time on dates. Aaron Dallas is fed up with love too. He insists that soccer is much more important to him than girls. But Elizabeth Wakefield has a plan to make Dana and Aaron fall in love… with each other! Elizabeth’s boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, reluctantly agrees to help, but he bets Elizabeth that she won’t succeed. After all, Dana is a rock singer Aaron is a total jock – they have nothing in common. Everything Dana likes, Aaron hates and vice versa! Elizabeth thinks she’s creating the match of the decade, but Todd thinks she’s headed for a matchmaking disaster. Who will be right and win this love bet?

Dana Larson is fed up with love. So fed up, she actually writes an impromptu song about it at a party Patty Gilbert is having and performs it for everyone after making her declarations. Aaron Dallas is also fed up with love. At first I was like, “OMG what about Heather!” And then I realized I read way too much Sweet Valley High if this was my kneejerk reaction. Heather was Aaron’s serious girlfriend for awhile, and I quite liked her. She had been with him through so much… But she wasn’t killed off, and didn’t get with someone else and Aaron didn’t suddenly get stupid and dump her – she moved away. So I don’t have to be angry at the ghostwriter for the circumstances of their relationship ending. (Again, I obviously read way too much Sweet Valley High!)

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Sorry For My Deafness

Every now and then I feel self-conscious about my deafness. That is the right word, I cannot hear the majority of pitches or sounds – I am deaf to them. But I am not deaf to everything… I have to have high-powered hearing aids (the big guns, where there are only a limited amount of options for this severity/type of hearing loss) and I read lips. With both of these I might still only get 60% of something if it’s in a small, quiet space, one on one with the speaker. This means socializing, going out, meeting new people – forget it. Luckily, I’m an introvert, because if I was an extrovert I’m sure I would have already gone insane.

When I do meet new people, however, I always worry about how I’ll be perceived. Will they think I’m stupid? Or snobby? Maybe super reserved or just shy? For all of my worries, however, the worst I have had happen is someone thinking these things and not telling me. But then, is it really a loss? No, I don’t think so. And people who are told I’m deaf, they kind of get it or at least they get it enough to understand I’m not being rude or cagey, and I’m not necessarily an airhead. I just can’t hear. But for the first time ever, I ran into a situation where someone actually wanted me to sit there and apologize for my deafness because the sound coming from my hearing aids really put her out.

What follows is a conversation from the best of my tired and shocked memory. What I said, and what I wish I said! And what she said, the person who was so offended by my lack of hearing.

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My Virgin AWP Experience

I can’t believe it’s been (more than) a week since AWP ended. I admit AWP got off to a rough start for me (you can see what I mean here) but after the initial shocks and adjustments my experience at AWP was pretty okay. In fact, I would venture to say it was more than just okay.

I am still exhausted though. I mean it was roughly 5:30am to 1:30am for days. I went to four to six panels each day, alumni breakfasts and social events, caucus meetings, while trying to juggle my husband’s friends and plans (it was his first visit back to Minneapolis since he moved away in 2011). The book fair was great and so large it was hard not to get turned around and a little lost, at least once. I joked that my husband was acting like my agent, because whenever he came across a publication asking for submissions he got information and talked me up, whether I was with him or not (and when I was with him, it wasn’t like I could hear what he said, so not a big difference). Roy (my husband) even won something for me, which was awesome and also hilarious. He had me open something with a message saying I won. I thought it was a joke – and so did he! He figured everyone got the same message but it turns out there were only eight winners out of thousands. That’s pretty cool.

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