| Better almost late, than actually late: Tote Bag Entry |
[Apr. 19th, 2008|08:24 pm] |
It isn't so embarrassing, but these are my friends and me as college freshmen trying to can-can. Which only seems to work if there isn't an 8 inch difference in height between some the can-can-ees. You can't see it, but there are tons of hot guys and football quarterbacks and stalkers off on the sides just dying to get our attention because they fell in love with us the first second they saw us. I pixeled their faces to protect the innocent.
( How Sweet Valley helped me deal ) |
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| SVH #120: In Love With The Enemy |
[Mar. 31st, 2008|08:19 pm] |
SVH #120: In Love With The Enemy
This is book #1 in the Betrayal Miniseries. This is where it all begins, folks, right here.
The images tell you what is going to happen in this book. Surfing and rumbles in front overturned trash cans. But really, do people surf in bikinis? I would think that would be the fastest way to end up flashing the rest of the beach.
Edited to add: This "miniseries" takes place right after the one where Liz and Jessica went off to college for a week and almost decided to stay forever and ever. Jessica vowed eternal love to Ken after cheating on him with another pretend college student. Just wanted to make that clear.
( On with our fateful tale! ) |
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| Sweet Valley High #59 In Love Again |
[Mar. 23rd, 2008|12:48 pm] |
In Love Again
In honor of Easter (for those of you who celebrate it), a book about love abandoned, love found, love lost, and love found again. Twoo Wuv. This book details the Return of Todd. The Return of the New, Richer, Snobbier, Better-Looking Todd to be exact. So in between your day of barbecuing chocolate rabbits and microwaving peeps, take a breather to read about the love that never dies--except when it does.
Cover: 
I hate to say it, but Todd looks pretty cute in that picture. Even with his 80s hair, he holds up pretty well. Maybe a little doofusy, but not bad overall. And I know Liz’s hair is supposed to be gorgeous blonde, but it looks green in my copy. And she is supposed to be a size six? Totally looks like an 8 in that picture. ;)
( Teen angst, ahoy! )
# of parties: 1
# of dances: 0
# of days/weeks elapsed: 20 days (Started on a Monday, ended on a Saturday)
# of cheating cheaters: 0
# of times Todd punches someone/someone gets pushed in a pool: 0 |
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| Sweet Valley High #53 Second Chance |
[Mar. 22nd, 2008|08:10 pm] |
Ah, the gifts my insomnia bequeaths on you lot. Yes, another recap! I started this book at 2:30 AM and finished it at 3:20 AM. So 50 minutes of pure, delightful reading. This is another Bruce + Girl-of-the-week ones. I just did one of those so I am totally ready for another!
Here’s the cover: 
It wonders if a normal life will make Kristin Thompson happy. Since we haven’t heard of Kristin until this point, I am guessing that very few of us can answer that question.
( On to the recap! )
# of days/weeks elapsed: 23 days (Started on a Monday, ended on a Wednesday)
So that was that. I have another one I'll post tomorrow as a special Easter present. No, no bunnies in it, but twoo wuv regained. It is totally heartwarming and mushy, I promise. |
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| Sweet Valley High #47 Troublemaker |
[Mar. 16th, 2008|07:20 pm] |
Interesting note: The title is Troublemaker but there is also a Sweet Valley Senior Year book called Troublemaker. #34 in that series if you were interested. Guess the person who makes sure titles aren't reused was on vacation.
The cover is of Josh, Julie, and Bruce. And if you were wondering which ones were which, Julie is the petite redhead girl, Josh is the guy in the pullover staring angstily at…Bruce? Bruce is the one wearing Mr. Roger’s cardigan with his snootily arched eyebrows and prissy lips.
( Where Phi Epsilon's pledge pranks are not nearly as homoerotic as you'd expect )
# of days/weeks elapsed: 9+ days (Started on a Monday, ended on a Wednesday, + the time from rehearsals to performance, where I am from, usually at least 2 months, in SV, likely two days.) |
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| Sweet Valley High Super Edition (#4?) Malibu Summer |
[Mar. 10th, 2008|09:49 pm] |
Because I can't let you all think I have more of a life than ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) loubeelou, I present: Sweet Valley High Super Edition: Malibu Summer
This is the summer when Todd is away in Vermont and Jeffrey hasn’t appeared on the scene. It is the summer between the twin’s junior year and their junior year. Maybe Sweet Valley Time is like hammerspace, you can pull summer out when you want it and put it away when done.
Cover: 
Jessica is obviously the one in the teeny-weeny pink bikini and Liz is in a matronly striped one-piece. As a kid, I gotta say that I always thought the twins had crap hair. It is so mullet-looking.
( For a Super Edition, it wasn’t all that super. No X-Ray vision anyway. )
Only 181 pages, that is considered “Super”? Or was it “Super” because it was one of the summer/holiday books and outside the normal timeline? Eh, who cares, not enough Lila in the book and the whole situation was so contrived. Which makes it par for the course.
( ETA: By popular request, THE SONG ) |
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| Sweet Valley Junior High #9: Too Popular |
[Mar. 5th, 2008|09:33 pm] |
Jessica learns that sometimes being neutral is worse than doing something you don't really like.
Cover: Eh, couldn't find it in a decent sized picture of the cover but it is Jessica(?) and a guy (Damon?) under an umbrella. In a scene that never happened in the book.
( Read more... ) |
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| Sweet Valley Junior High #7: How to Ruin a Friendship |
[Mar. 2nd, 2008|11:14 pm] |
I am not sure how I feel about the constant switching of narrator POV. Smacks of authorial laziness to my way of thinking. But in its honor, I present my review. I am changing narrator POV because it is a stylistic choice and edgy. I don't think it works but eh, it was an experiment.
( Where Salvador makes a muck of everything ) |
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| Sweet Valley University #2 Love, Lies, and Jessica Wakefield |
[Mar. 1st, 2008|04:53 pm] |
This story might benefit from the A plot, B plot, C plot format to keep it all straight but there are so many plots and a lot of them intertwine. And I am recapping as I read. So we’ll just plow straight through.
Cover:  or 
( Liz and Jess are both trainwrecks )
And I just got back from the used bookstore and got a metric butt-load of Sweet Valley Junior High and Senior Year and a few SVH books. So watch out for Sweet Valley Overload in the coming days. :) |
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| Sweet Valley High #119 Jessica’s Older Guy: College Party Miniseries Book 3 |
[Feb. 28th, 2008|11:00 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | billie the girl, cheating cheaters, college party mini, dance!, doormat syndrome, oh hi steven, party!, recapper: rhitroadkill, scheming jessica, svu, sweet valley high | ] |
This one took forever to recap. It was torture to read this book.
Quick Summary: Jess is dating a college guy and Liz is going to be a college gal.
Cover: 
( Yet another one where Liz attempts to leave home. And FAILS. ) |
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| Sweet Valley Twins #24: Jumping to Conclusions |
[Feb. 24th, 2008|10:42 pm] |
I keep picking the ones with the marital troubles or supposed marital troubles, and this is no exception.
Cover: 
I am not going to say anything about that cover except that it actually happens in the book.
( insert catchy one-liner here ) |
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| Sweet Valley Twins #29 Jessica and the Brat Attack |
[Feb. 23rd, 2008|10:05 pm] |
Short Summary: Jessica takes up babysitting.
Cover:
I used to wear my hair in a side-pony tail like that. And Jessica has the same little fly-aways I had too. We are twins!
Long Summary:
( A completely non-predictable plot follows. Honest. )
I got this at the used bookstore today. I also got:
SVT 24: Jumping to Conclusions
SVT 39: Jessica and the Money Mix-Up
SVH 119: Jessica's Older Guy
SVH 120: In Love With the Enemy
SVU 2: Love, Lies, and Jessica Wakefield
SVU 17: Deadly Attraction
SVU Secret Love Diaries: Sam (book 62?)
SVU Secret Love Diaries: Chloe (book 63?)
So be prepared for more recaps! w00t! |
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| SWeet Valley High #69 Friend Against Friend |
[Feb. 20th, 2008|10:07 pm] |
At last, book number sixty-nine! And while you’d think it might be about something racy, it is actually about something race-y. Okay, that was an awful pun. But this is a SERIOUS book as evidenced by the dark, moody blue of the cover. The other covers are usually pastels but this one is dark and serious to show us how dark and serious the book is. Thus, the cover:
and it features Neil and Andy and it looks like Neil is feeling up Andy’s man boob. The caption reads: What is happening between Neil and Andy? I think we all can see what is happening as one feels up the other, they grasp hands and stare moodily into each other’s eyes. Andy apparently shares Liz’s taste in shirts while Neil goes for jean jackets. Hawt. Oh, and this book is only 138 pages long rather than the usual 150-154ish, so despite its race-y topic, the ghostwriter must’ve had trouble finding enough to say. Probably not enough opportunities for Jess to scheme or Liz to cry.
( Buckle your seatbelts kids, this one is going to get hairy...and deep. Very deep. And poignant. )
Also, please remember to write your essays to be the next reader of the month! The rules state that you have to be between 6 and 16 years of age. 6 year-olds are reading these books??? Oh, whew, the contest includes Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley Kids. Your essay must be no more than 150 words and Bantam reserves the right to edit it for length or readability.
( Here's my essay ) |
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| Sweet Valley High #66 Who's To Blame? |
[Feb. 18th, 2008|09:54 pm] |
Hope I am not overloading with the recaps. I have one more to go (#69 hoot hoot! and then I am out of the ones I picked up at the used book store. :( Oh, well, I'll just have to get more!) Oh, and I added a "Dance!" tag so whenever a book I am recapping has a dance, I'll use that. And whenever there is a Party! I'll use a Party! tag. So we can see just how many dances and parties there are!
The cover tells us all we need to know:
If you can't read it, it says "Elizabeth is running away!" and she has a little backpack over her shoulder. Can't hold many underoos in that. She is also wiping a tear from her eyes and wearing an ugly over-sized striped shirt and has a white barrette. My cover also has a purple star on it that exhorts you to "BE THE NEXT SWEET VALLEY READER OF THE MONTH!" and the sad thing is, if I had been reading these books at the time of this contest, I probably would've entered. Oh, you know you would've too, admit it. More on this subject at the end.
( The Wakefield Family Ship is Sinking ) |
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| Sweet Valley High #38 Leaving Home |
[Feb. 17th, 2008|07:23 pm] |
The cover is Liz sitting at her typewriter, staring dreamily at a poster of Switzerland (a chalet on a lake if you were interested) while Jess looks schemeingly on from the doorway.
I just made up the word schemeingly. Please use it frequently so it’ll be added to the dictionary. The really short recap: Liz wants to go to Switzerland for senior year. Jess and the crew are all “Why are you so anxious to get away from us?” Liz is then all “Lalalala, I can’t hear you over the sound of my own awesomeness.” Winston wins the lottery…or does he?
( The recap where we learn I simply cannot be brief ) |
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| SVH #23 Say Goodbye |
[Feb. 12th, 2008|07:34 pm] |
In honor of the coming National Singles Awareness Day, a story about loss and devastation. No, no one is dying in this book, Todd is leaving! What will Liz do? (well, cry looking at the cover)
 (or if that one dies here.) This review is pretty long but bear with me--there is a surprise at the end!
( Life as she knows it is about to end for Saint Elizabeth ) |
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| SVH #27 Lovestruck |
[Feb. 10th, 2008|12:21 am] |
My first recap, hope I'm doing this right!
The first interesting thing about this book is that I purchased it at a used book store but it still has the original purchase receipt stuck in it. It was bought at a Waldenbooks at 12:10 on February 12, 1986 and cost $2.69 with tax. The original owner paid $2.70 and recieved $.01 in change. It was the only book purchased and seems to come from Connecticut where tax is/was 7.5%. There’s the background info. Here’s the cover. Ken is so hot—and angsty.
( The recap! ) |
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and the back where Lacey's eyes look FREAKY: 
contemplative
