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Sweet Valley High #32

The New Jessica

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Time for a change...

Jessica Wakefield is sick and tired of being an identical twin. Her parents make jokes about it, and recently people at school have been mistaking her for her sister, Elizabeth. So Jessica's determined to make sure no one mixes up her and her twin ever again; she's going to create a new Jessica!

She gets a complete makeover and dyes her hair black. Then she starts to wear outrageous clothes and read European magazines. Soon everyone at Sweet Valley High is talking about the new, sophisticated Jessica Wakefield.

But one person isn't thrilled with Jessica's transformation. Elizabeth feels as though she's lost her twin sister forever. Is the old Jessica gone for good?

136 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1986

67 people are currently reading
539 people want to read

About the author

Francine Pascal

1,139 books1,843 followers
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.

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5 stars
251 (18%)
4 stars
353 (26%)
3 stars
576 (42%)
2 stars
146 (10%)
1 star
27 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
Profile Image for Jessica.
9 reviews11 followers
September 13, 2007
thats right, bitches...don't hate...this series rules. sweet valley high is some good shit...reading these books won me the fifth grade read-a-thon. in this book jessica decides to die her hair and become a whore to make herself completely different from her twin sister, elizabeth. in the end she decides that being a twin is much more important than she EVER realized. groundbreaking.
Profile Image for Tiffany Spencer.
1,971 reviews19 followers
November 4, 2022
The New Jessica
: Introducing JESSA FIELDS! Jessica decides it's time for a change! She’s sick of everyone confusing her with Elizabeth. So one night she goes to sleep over with Lila and days later comes back home Jess Fields.

Jessa Fields talks with a slightly British accent wears expensive clothes from Paris and has sleek, black, hair. And she is the ISH all over the SVH hallways! Everyone is blown away by the transformation! And she is LOVING IT!

Even Jeffery French Elizabeth’s new boyfriend, who can’t stop raving about her. Only not everyone is happy about Jess’s new look. Elizabeth takes it personally and gets offended that her twin no longer wants to look like her. She feels like Jess is now a stranger. If Jefferey is so into Jess’s new look, it must mean he doesn’t like her old one.


Things got heated when Elizabeth no longer wants to go to a fair that she and her sister’s parents use to take them to when they were little because Jessica has decided its kid's stuff and she was much too sophisticated for that now.

The old Jessica Wakefield no longer even likes cheerleading. Jessa Fields is much more interested in Italian fashion magazines, ballet, and foreign films. Hmm! Maybe she and Suzanne should date. (Ken’s old girlfriend).

The new Jessa Fields is also into modeling. Dee-Dee Gordan piques her interest when she tells her she knows of a guy that would possibly be interested in taking her on as an agent (Mr. Avery). And sure, enough he’s blown away with her European looks and offers her the chance to put together a portfolio and an opportunity to audition to model in a Lizzette and Brown fashion show.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s journal goes missing and she’s frantic because she thinks someone will read all her juicy secrets (snorts). Now she and Jefferey are on the outs because she thinks he likes Jessica better. An opportunity Jessica is all too eager to swoop in on with NO hesitation whatsoever. Despite knowing how her sister feels about Jeffery. Only to learn (what we all know), that Jefferey has eyes for no one but Elizabeth.

Elizabeth isn’t the only one not crazy about Jessa Fields. The guy over the fashion show calls her look “too stylized”, but decides Elizabeth has the perfect natural look. Jess tries to convince him she looks just like Liz, but he won’t listen.

Penny finds Elizabeth’s diary (she’s picked it up at the Oracle and put it in storage with some other things) and returns it to Jessica (who of course reads it). When she finds out how hard Elizabeth took her new look that’s the end of Jessa Fields.

Despite not earlier telling Elizabeth the truth about Jeffrey she admits to her that he doesn’t want anyone else. Jeffery tells her that he was just relieved they didn’t look alike anymore because he doesn’t want anyone else to look like her.

They decide to go to the fair after all, but Jessica will be joining them. She’s had a change of heart after watching some old movies they’re parents put together of them over the years to send to their grandparents. (Good throwbacks to some of the earlier SVK and SVT books).

Jessica goes back to being a blond to fool them she's Elizabeth (who turned down modeling in the show). The real Elizabeth goes in disguise. But Mr. Avery tells her he knows it's really Jessica and invites her to be in the show too.

(The whole thing has a Sister Sister feel). Remember that episode? The next book is introduced Dana’s cousin will be coming to live with their family (Sally), and her brother isn’t happy about it.


My Thoughts:
This book gets an 8 for the clothes alone. These outfits... I gotta admit it Jessica SLAYED!


*A purple jumpsuit and lizard boots
*An olive-green leather skirt with a slit up the back, matching hose with a lacy pattern, three-inch heels. A silky oversize blouse and a green leather belt (I bet the blouse is olive too). The skirt I see as a pencil skirt
*A black silk jumpsuit and red high heeled boots. (I want her to pair this with a oversized red trench jacket). She also has on a red scarf.
*White, gauze, dress, and stripped boots.
*White, slim cut skirt, (several inches longer than she usually wore) White sweater with sequins on it. A white beret completed the look.
*Silky blue stockings (I see these as light blue). And a two-piece knit dress (borrowed from Lila).
*Black leather jeans (I’m seeing these as black leather pants)
*Sleek gray trousers and a cherry red blouse and a lightweight gray man’s tailored jacket.

*I kind of got this one confused because I thought it would end with the next book having the fashion show. Because I remembered another one where she was in a fashion show and perpetrated being Elizabeth because she was in love with a guy named AJ (Playing for Keeps). But the next book is starting over.

*Why would you take your diary to SCHOOL? First of all, a black and white composition notebook? Really. That is so BORING! This is an 80s series. I’ve had diaries from that time period that were so filled with fun designs and colors. I can see a purple one with yellow confetti I had with a lock in my head, as well as a flowered patchwork kind. I remember also one I had with colored pages. I know SV has a Hallmark store. But then I NEVER took my diaries to school. People in my high school STOLE. If Elizabeth would have put her diary down at my HS, it would have been GONE. I can remember a few things of mine that I took to school and never saw again. Then with it being a plain ol composition book just makes it easier to steal.

*Elizabeth is... I don’t know what’s happening with her lately. She spends over half this book upset about Jessica and mad at Jefferey. Now seeing that if I had a new boyfriend and he was going on and on about how great my sister looked, to me it would be a double blow, and I guess I do kinda understand why you don’t wanna hear your man showering some other woman with compliments if it’s not you. I do NOT understand why she was so ridiculous about Jessica new look. People get tired of looking the same ALL THE TIME! Women changeup. That’s what we do. Jessica just wanted to be individual. That I understood. Elizabeth took it WAAAAAAY to personally! She’s still your TWIN idiot. She just needs a little breathing space! And then I’m surprised Jessica went through all the trouble with the dye when she could have just gotten a wig (several). She could have had a new hairstyle for each outfit.

Rating: 8 I remember this one VERY WELL! Jessa Fields was fun to read about. The only thing I didn't like was in typical Jessica Wakefield fashion she decides to hop on the opportunity to get with her sister's boyfriend. Why wasn't Jessa Fields too "sophisticated" to decide she didn't do left overs?
Profile Image for Marian.
875 reviews25 followers
March 29, 2015
It tickles me that Jessica looked a lot like Nora/Margo well before they were even thought of.
Profile Image for Alex.
6,638 reviews1 follower
May 17, 2025
Re-read April 2025. Funnily enough, my review hasn't changed.

Original review 2/19/17:

I haven't been feeling too well lately, so time to re-read some classic SVH books!

This one is worth 4 stars just for the descriptions of Jessica's outfits alone. Yikes.
Profile Image for Michaela.
216 reviews2 followers
October 26, 2022
who does “Jessa fields” think she is lol
Profile Image for Susan.
2,037 reviews61 followers
May 19, 2019
Probably my favorite SVH cover, Jessica Wakefield dyes her hair black and pretends to have a European accent in order to distinguish herself from Elizabeth after an "identity crisis", spurred by being mistaken for her sister a few too many times. Lila, in a rare act of genuine generosity, gives Jess a whole new wardrobe that Mr. Fowler brought home from an overseas trip and the descriptions if the outfits tights and leather skirts alone made this book fun. Other things happen, but nothing that interesting. Three stars, 2 for the cover.
Profile Image for gem.
756 reviews21 followers
February 1, 2019
Jessica dies her hair black, wears some vampy makeup and is apparently unrecognisable by teachers and friends alike.
With the help of Lil A’s new Parisian wardrobe which she seems strangely willing to lend out, Jessica forged a new identity: Glamorous , “European looking” Jessa Fields.
It’s hilariously insane as per usual, and definitely one of my favourite of the series.
Listen to the Double Love podcast for their brilliant take on the book, it’s much better than the book itself!
Profile Image for anolinde.
869 reviews10 followers
June 30, 2018
More like 2.5.

Lol, I love how "European" basically means "Parisian." Jessica really is ridiculous.
Profile Image for Jane.
81 reviews2 followers
Read
June 14, 2013
SPOILERS!!!!!

I read this in June 2013. SPOILER - Two blonde twins Elizabeth and Jessica are juniors at Sweet Valley High. Jessica is annoyed with being one of a set of identical twins. She dyes her hair jet black and starts talking in a fake Frenchy accent and borrows stylish clothes from her rich GF Lila. She gets lots of attention at school. She decides she wants to be a model. She goes on an interview and the man tells her she is too short to be a fashion model. The other twin Elizabeth is sad because her sis has changed her looks so drastically. She has a crush on some new boy at school and is writing stuff about him in her journal. Then she loses the journal at the school newspaper office. She drives Jessica to a second meeting with the modeling agency men and when the man sees Elizabeth he likes her blonde looks better and asks her to be a runway model at a store at the mall. Jessica pretends to be Elizabeth so she can get the mall job which pays $600.00. She is busted by the man when her parents call her Jessica at the show. The man asks Elizabeth to also model and everyone likes the looks of the two blondes. A girl from school finds Elizabeth's journal because her and the English teacher have put up a lost poster. The girl has her mom drive her to Elizabeth's house and returns the journal and Elizabeth is relieved. She has some drama and misunderstandings with the boy and at the end they make up and go lay on the grass by a lake and kiss. A girl from school confides in Elizabeth that her cousin who has been bounced in and out of foster homes will be coming to live with her family. THE END It was a good book. I liked it very much.
Profile Image for Connie.
1,593 reviews25 followers
April 25, 2016
Source: I read this book online via Open Library.
Cost: Free

Title: The New Jessica
Series: Sweet Valley High #32
Author: Francine Pascal // Kate William
Overall Rating: 3 stars

Jess doesn't like being a twin. So she gets a super dramatic makeover and dyes her hair black, gasp. The beautiful sun kissed blonde is no longer! Until she goes back to blonde to steal a modelling job from Liz because she's a horrible person and wants to take the $600 that are actually her sisters. Liz also has a new crush that she describes so much in her diary, and gasp again, she loses her diary. How will she go on!

I actually really liked this one, but I can't break out of the cycle of cynicism that I've gotten myself into with this series. It's hard for me to believe that these were the cutting edge of YA in the 1980's. Is this what the 80's were like? I'm a late 90's kid so...
Profile Image for Lydia Rose.
179 reviews
April 13, 2018
It wasn't my favorite in the series, but it did have Jeffery in it instead of Todd, so that's a plus!

Jessica is sick of being confused for her twin. It seems whenever someone approaches her, they're really looking for Elizabeth! She's sick of it and decides to fix it. She dyes her hair, changes her clothing, and even starts talking differently. Elizabeth feels betrayed with her sister's new look, but Jessica loves it. She's getting so much attention and no one can confuse them now! It seems almost perfect and she even tries out for a modelling job... But it doesn't go quite as she hoped.
Profile Image for Hillary.
1,445 reviews22 followers
Read
February 8, 2015
I hate to get all serious on you here, but this one kind of bothered me. I don't have a sister, much less a twin, but I don't think even someone as shallow and one sided as Jessica could behave so hurtfuly to the person she is supposed to be closest to in the world. I know she is selfish and vain, but cruel is a bit harder to get behind. Not my favorite visit to Sweet Valley, even if the descriptions of Jessica's outfits were amazeballs.
648 reviews
December 19, 2024
I recall loving this one, as a kid...but it's one of the most ridiculous. Liz and Jeffrey...yuck! I swear all she ever does with any boyfriend is have random unnecessary fights and then make out.

I did love all of them flipping out at Jess taking the 'drastic' step of using hair dye - and Jess wearing a 'casual' outfit consisting of a black silk jumpsuit and 'lizard boots' (I don't think that means what it sounds like).

The Larson story thrown in at the end...who cares!?
Profile Image for Moppet.
87 reviews29 followers
January 7, 2010
I learned from this book what espresso coffee and Paris Match were. I had never heard of them before. Jessica's attempt to make herself over ends in failure, of course, because God forbid she should change or develop in any way - that would upset Liz - but her journey brought some sophistication into my own life. Thanks Jess!
Profile Image for Jessica.
103 reviews23 followers
September 7, 2007
Hello 4th grade! I read this series like a crazy person when I was younger. I loved the twins Elizabeth and Jessica. Boy that Jessica was a bad one...I am nothing like her. Haha Good books, completely clean and appropriate for younger readers.
Profile Image for Misa.
7 reviews
July 8, 2007
i know i've read some more of these books, particularly one from valentine's day where someone dies and one of the twin's life is in danger.... sound familiar??!!!
Profile Image for Jodie.
2,278 reviews
October 24, 2010
The teen angst, the love, the bitter rivals, the Wakefield brilliance continues....Whether fighting each other for popularity or being the best of friends, this was just great.
Profile Image for Joni (Jonez).
825 reviews23 followers
Read
May 1, 2017
I think I read this quite a few times too. LOL. Awww the memories.
Profile Image for Jessica.
2,514 reviews14 followers
February 15, 2018
This was one I'd never read before. So it was exciting to find it at a local book fair.
Still magical and still good stories.
Profile Image for Starry.
153 reviews3 followers
August 12, 2020
Jessica has an identity crisis because its not enough being the most incredibly gorgeous sparkly eyed blonde teenage girl in town if there is a mirror image of you standing right next to you... she might as well be living in Elizabeth's shadow for goodness sake. This can't go on... and nay it will not after Jessica dyes her hair black, starts wearing a shit tonne of eye makeup and clothes that are way too glamorous for a day at school and everyone loses their shit fawning over her new look. Nobody slaps her for affecting a British accent either they all just take that completely lying down. Meanwhile poor Liz feels hurt that her sister is rejecting their twindom and also suspects her new boyfriend Jeffrey prefers Jessica's new look to her own. Sigh.. trouble in paradise already?
Profile Image for Erin.
3,896 reviews466 followers
August 3, 2024
I am not an identical twin but Jessica and Elizabeth are and Jessica is tired of being confused with her serious sister. A makeover takes place and everyone's emotions are all over the place especially Elizabeth.

Lots of drama! Lots of teen angst. Somehow I think that Elizabeth's journal going missing and then returned to her might mean someone has copied the pages. We shall see!


Goodreads review published 03/08/24
Profile Image for Grace Lynch.
422 reviews16 followers
January 21, 2023
A walk down memory lane. Enjoyed this book once again. And didn’t remember it in full detail. Jessica wants her own identity, and transforms herself much to the chagrin of her twin. But this motivates Jessica to go after her dreams as well.
Profile Image for Tiffany Morris.
Author 37 books160 followers
Read
July 22, 2020
Elizabeth has a complete nervous breakdown when her sister *checks notes* dyes her hair, fakes a mid-Atlantic accent, and wears leather pants. Honestly, I loved this for Jessica.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews

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