The Secret of Fantasy Forest

Sweet Valley Kids #67

by Francine Pascal, Molly Mia Stewart, Ying-Hwa Hu (Illustrator)

Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield can't wait to visit Fantasy Forest. As soon as they arrive, they meet Billy. He knows all the secret hiding places in the park. He even knows how to make the ferris wheel stop! But Billy won't tell the twins anything about himself. Is he hiding something, or is he just very shy?

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Francine 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.

Reviews

[Tara Calaby]

The 'secret' in the title is pretty easy to guess if you're reading this as an adult, but I'm sure it's not so obvious if you're six years old. The Wakefields (and Steven's friend Joe) go to the Fantasy Forest amusement park, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Disney parks. The queues are out of hand, so it's a stoke of luck when the twins meet a boy who has special red passes that get him right to the front of every queue. But Liz notices that a man is following Billy around...

This is a fun fantasy fulfilment plot. Who wouldn't like to go to the front of every queue at a theme park? The twins are as meddlesome as always, but their hearts are in the right place and Jess is rewarded in the end for giving up her chance to see the Princess Pageant in order to "save" Billy.

[patricia clare]

READ WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY BETWEEN AGES 6-10.
REVIEW INTENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING:
1. For parents looking for something to give their elementary grade kids
2. For myself to look back to if I will ever be in need of Sweet Valley recommendations for kids these days who might choose a book over their Ipads or who knows, my future kid might be a reader too
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This is a theme park story wherein the adventurous twins befriends a boy who's their age who seems to know the park grounds like the back of his hand. Soon, they discovered why and saw that the life they are envious of may not be so fun after all.

[Ruvi Perera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Twins go to an amusement park and finds a boy who has special access to all the stuff in their agenda.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wakefield’s (plus Bob) are finally at Walt Disney World! Oops, I mean Fantasy Forest (check out the familiar spots)! Finally, some book consistency! Anyway, almost immediately the boys and girls are fighting over which rides to go on, and instead of one parent going with each, Alice and Ned let them GO OFF ON THEIR OWN. My jaw actually dropped 😲 Anyway, pretty soon after, the twins meet Billy, who hands them red passes that get them through all the back entrances, no waiting time and free food! But Liz is nervous accepting the passes, and when she spots a muscle man following Billy, worries he stole them. Billy gets them in and out of trouble with those passes, everyone knows his name, and the twins love hanging out with him. But when Billy agrees to sneak off with them to watch the Princess Pageant, they’re suddenly being chased by the mysterious man! They elude him and go to the show, where he escorts Billy out. Billy’s been kidnapped! 🤨 The twins follow them into the Enchanted Castle, and discover Billy in his bedroom - his parents own Fantasy Forest and Butch is his bodyguard (didn’t see that coming). Nosey Liz helps Billy out by telling his parents he’s too old for a babysitter and getting Butch a new job managing a ride line (that Steven and bob spent all day in) and they all eat lasagne in the castle. Oh and Jess gets her own private Princess Pageant, huzzah!
My rating - 6/10 - A kid who lives in a WDW knockoff?! Sign me up! I hope Jess and Billy get married one day!

[Sheila Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember the cover just not the story.