Little Sister

Sweet Dreams

by Yvonne Greene

Cindy is afraid her older sister will win out again when Christine is chosen to play the lead part in the school play opposite Cindy's boyfriend, Ron

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Young Adult Romance

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Paula Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cindy has turned 16, but she has nothing to celebrate! She's never even dated! And she's ugly and she's too tall, and her sister is better at everything than her! That all changes when she gets asked out on a date by Ron Peters, a popular boy in school who is also the lead in Romeo & Juliet, the school play. Cindy can't believe a guy like Ron would be into her, and her self-doubt causes her to act out in bizarre ways when her sister, Christine, lands the other lead as Juliet. Of course, this means that Ron is going to start dating Christine, doesn't it?

Not bad as far as early 80s teen quickie romances go. It's not really long enough to have much depth! But I had some serious concerns over Cindy and her behaviour. She has zero self-confidence. And someone needs to tell her that having a boyfriend is not the be-all and end-all of her existence! While they're at it, they should also tell her to stop jumping all aboard the assumption train. Sheesh! Having a boyfriend is so important to Cindy that the thought of Ron not calling her for days has her fainting in class. Yes, fainting! She's desperately in love with him after ONE DATE. If there ever was an example of a Fatal Attraction-psycho-in-training, that would be Cindy! Girl has got issues!

Of course it all ends well, though I was more troubled than I thought I would be by two sisters dating two brothers. It just doesn't feel right...

[Reading with Cats · Rating 2 out of 5]

This made me think of a quote from a young adult book that's stuck with me: "Boys get adventure, but girls just get boys." Poor Cindy just got a boy.

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis (taken from http://sweetdreamsseries.com):
Cindy feels she's going to be second-rate all her life. Her older sister Christine has the pretty face, the good body and gets all the cute boys. Cindy just can't win. Then in study hall Cindy meets Ron, an ex-basketball star who's the best actor in high school. He’s just been chosen to play Romeo in the big production of Romeo and Juliet. Cindy can't believe that Ron's really interested in her, Christine's little sister. But this time it seems she's Number One. Suddenly, Cindy's hopes for romance and happiness are crushed when Christine is chosen to play the role of Juliet. It seems that Cindy will lose again... unless she can prove to Ron that she's not second best after all.

[Kara Rutledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the Sweet Dreams Romance books growing up. However, I always had trouble finding them in book stores, especially the ilder books in the series. They seemed to be hugely popular in England; the airport bookstore had a ton of them! Anyways, I recently bought this book online from a used book store. It was a super cute book with not a lot of plot or character development. However, it did highlight how things seem to easily get twisted around with high schoolers.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll tell you what, my current kick of revisiting books from my tween years has been kind of a rude awakening. Take Little Sister, which I remember loving as a tween. It is more annoying than anything, with the protagonist hating on herself constantly, obsessing over a boy ad nauseum, and jumping to conclusions even when the truth is right in front of her. Plus, the very 80s obsession with weight is downright disturbing. I’ll give it a 2.5; the story and writing are pretty sub-par when compared by the Queen of 80s Teen Romances, Caroline B. Cooney.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually don't remember when I read this, but this was my favorite Sweet Dreams book. I re-read for the first time in two decades and it held up pretty well. The storyline is simplistic, but that's what I love about it. Brings me back to a time when I couldn't wait for a Friday night to go to Walden Books and buy a SD book then spend all weekend reading and re-reading the book. My best YA memories are these books and Sweet Valley High.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this 4 stars because it is a teen-read that I remembered enough of the book to be able to find it! I enjoyed reading about the sister who felt she didn't quite measure up to her older sibling. I myself have no sisters, so i liked reading about the feelings of rivalry and how I would deal with it if it were me. This is a book I would read again if I could find it!

[Esdibee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cindy is too angry and too pathetic whose defense mechanisms include deflecting all her problems onto Christine and crying in the corner. Ron is a never-there boyfriend. I almost wished this book had Christine as a protagonist because what she's doing is ten times more interesting than Cindy's angsting.

http://sweetdreamsbooks.blogspot.com/...

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really short read, just 145 pages and I read it in a couple hours. A little old fashioned and not a great book, but it was still fun to read.

[Kaitlyn Huffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I couldn't really relate much to it, because I am the oldest child in my family. It was well-written overall, though.

[Anabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spurred on by recently starting to read Paperback Crush, I have been reliving through it some of these teen romances I used to enjoy when I was a tween. This one somehow hit my permanent collection even though the rest went over the years. Not quite sure why, oversight, or maybe just liked the cover (I still like the covers on these, I have to admit, just so 80’s looking and remind me of the excitement of acquiring one). My mother really didn’t like me reading them (could never understand why) so they were always very cheap swap meet purchases when she wasn’t looking.
Have to admit, adult me can see exactly why. I’m not sure if it was every book in the series, I would really have to re read a few more, but wow, this protagonist, Cindy!
Talk about no personality, interests or anything exciting about her aside from mooning after Ron. And him! Calling her “my girl” on date one without even having the discussion with her about whether or not she wanted that and then being too “busy” to call her for a whole week.
I pretty much wanted to shake her through most of the book, which feels long at 145 pages. I’m trying to remember if I was that bad...pretty sure I still had interests and a life even if I was in “love” with a few guys I never or hardly spoke to at her age and younger. No, didn’t ring true at all, but I remember enjoying the book back in the day, so....

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Little Sister" by Yvonne Green is a pretty different book that came out of the Sweet Dreams series. This is because although it focuses on teenage romance, it also sheds light on another issue that occurs between teenagers; sibling rivalry. That's right. Cindy and Christine are sisters who find it hard to get along with each other, especially since Cindy feels inferior when compared to her older, and mature sister, Christine, who has no trouble being popular, and landing dates with guys. The crux of the plot is when Cindy feels jealous of Christine when she thinks that her own boyfriend, Ron, is more interested in her sister than herself. Although this sounds like a routine storyline, it is close to reality as there are a lot of sibling dynamics which involve insecurity and jealousy. I think this book was worth the read.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book after falling in love with the book PS I LOVE YOU in the same series. This book had nowhere near the charm of that one. Reflecting now, it had the charm one would expect out of a ya romance book of that time.

[Melona_slowreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uwu

[Marianinna · Rating 1 out of 5]

lo leí hace mucho y solo recuerdo que me aburrí

[Pete Payton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this at a book sale (see below). Can't remember much about it.