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Sweet Valley Kids #13
Starring Winston Egbert
Jessica to the Rescue
Jessica Wakefield can't wait to audition for the Thanksgiving play at school. She hopes to get a big part. But it's Winston Egbert who gets the starring role, and all he does is brag about how well he'll do.
On opening night Winston is in for a big surprise. He may have the starring role, but it's Jessica saves the day. When the play is over, Winston and Jessica share the spotlight!
Jessica Wakefield can't wait to audition for the Thanksgiving play at school. She hopes to get a big part. But it's Winston Egbert who gets the starring role, and all he does is brag about how well he'll do.
On opening night Winston is in for a big surprise. He may have the starring role, but it's Jessica saves the day. When the play is over, Winston and Jessica share the spotlight!
74 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1990
2 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,140 books1,851 followersFrancine 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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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 15, 2022
I mean, you can tell by the cover that this one is going to be a stinker.
The classic 80s/90s elementary school trope of putting on a Thanksgiving play with lots of little white kids dressed up as Native Americans and doing culturally offensive dancing and making stereotypical "indian" sounds.
Messy. A product of its time. They try to salvage it with a lot of "indians saved the pilgrims! They were amazing!" but it doesn't hold up, even without all the cultural context.
The classic 80s/90s elementary school trope of putting on a Thanksgiving play with lots of little white kids dressed up as Native Americans and doing culturally offensive dancing and making stereotypical "indian" sounds.
Messy. A product of its time. They try to salvage it with a lot of "indians saved the pilgrims! They were amazing!" but it doesn't hold up, even without all the cultural context.
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June 8, 2024Staring Winston Egbert
The girls are jumping rope. Winston wants to jup rope with but they don’t let him because they think he’s a clown. Todd says maybe he’ll get a jump rope for Christmas. He says it’s not even Thanksgiving. Eva’s never heard of Thanksgiving so they all have to explain the meaning of it to her. Then they start talking about the Thanksgiving play coming up. Jessica wants the biggest part but then so does Winston. Lila thinks it’ll be interesting if they both get parts. Jessica doesn’t think Winston will get a part at all because he’s goofy.
Mrs. Otis shows the class slides of Pilgrim village which has been reconstructed. They’re all surprised that it’s so small. She then gives them a little history about the Pilgrims and Indians. Liz thinks about how hard it must have been to be a Pilgrim. Jessica asks are there any parts for Indian princesses and the teacher says no but there will be parts for Indian boys and girls. Jessica tells herself the lead part is hers!
When the auditions begin the teacher says they need help with backstage stuff so Liz goes to take part of that. Jessica Jessica is up first and she does a modern dance routine. She then recites a poem. Both teachers compliment her on the great job she did. Lila does the Night Before Christmas. Amy does handstands and cartwheels and Eva sings a song. Winston does his audition and he does a spoof making fun of how hard the Pilgrims had it. Jessica just knows he blew it and the teachers would be angry.
Jessica gets the part of one of the Indians. She’ll be the leader of the Indian dance. Winston will be the Indian chef. Jessica is disappointed. Eva is a Indian and Amy will be the turkey. Todd and Ken will also be Pilgrims. Winston starts hopping around and doing a (rain dance?). Winston wants to do a good job so he asks Liz to help him learn his lines. Jessica gets mad at Liz for this and Liz knows there’s nothing she can do to make Jessica feel better (tho she tries by trying o convince her the dance will be fun and she’ll get to wear a beautiful costume).
Jessica wants a solo but Mrs. Joshnson (whose over the play won’t give her one). Winston tho has a solo part but he has a lot of lines. Jessica goes over to talk to Liz but Winston tells her to get back with the other Indians. He then goes to study his lines. Jessica says Winston can’t boss her around. The girls don’t like how bossy Winston is either. (The girls doing the Indian dance). Lila says rehearsals are boring and she doesn’t know why she even tried out. Jessic tho (despire her complaining) is glad she has a part and is in the play.
The next day Mrs. Otis brings in Indian food which turns out to be She brings parched corn, salted fish, wild ric, squah, and onions. Lila says she doesn’t even eat onions at home. Winston tells her she’s a Indian so she has to eat it. Lila tells her he can’t tell her what to do. Noone thinks much of the food. Well other than Winston. Liz can’t wait until the play is over so Winston can stop being bossy and they’ll all be friends again.
Mrs. Wakefield makes Jessica’s costume. Jessica wants an elaborate cape but her mother says they don’t have enough feathers. Her mother says her costume will look great after she swes on the beads and fringe. Two days to the play, Winston calls out to Jessica and asks why she isn’t with the othr Indians. She then starts to imitate Winston’s lines. This makes Winston mad. He tells her to go practice her dance and continues to imiate (and embrass) him. Winston doesn’t think it’s funny and stomps away. Lila says he’s going to tell on her but Jessica doesn’t care. Liz thinks she went to far by making fun of his ears. Jessica promises she won’t tease him anymore if he stops bossying her around (tho t felt good to be the cetner of attention).
The night of the play comes. Jessica does her intro and then the girls do their dance. Winston takes the stage, but then opens his mouth and nothing comes out. Jessica feeds Winston his lines (line by line). The rest of the play goes off without a hitch. Winston does his lines perfectly afterwards and everyone cheers. Her teacher tells her parents Jessica saved the show. Liz and Jess exchange a look because they know what being star of the show mean.
All the Wakefields prepare the meal and then they all have dinner. Before they do they all take turns saying what they’re thankful for. Thw twins are thankful for each other. Steven is thankful for getting on the junior basketball team. Alice is thankful for her kids. The grandparens are thankful for spending time with the people they love. Mr. Wakefield is thankful they’re all healthy and happy. Mrs. Wakefild gets a call from Mr. Devito who says they just had a baby girl and invites them to come see her when they get home. Her name is Jenny.
My Thoughts
See stuff like this is EXACTLY why what happened to Winston happened to him in the end. Tho yeah he DID kind of let his ego run away with him just a little bit. I didn’t really a whole lot of thoughts about this one. Although it was good to see what in this series Jessica doesn’t always get everything she wants. She didn’t win a prize in the last book either. NICE! I think tho that I like this version of Jessica a little bit better than twins or high. She *did* help Winston and not just try to push him to the side and take over his lines. I REALLY expected her to do that.
Rating: 5
The girls are jumping rope. Winston wants to jup rope with but they don’t let him because they think he’s a clown. Todd says maybe he’ll get a jump rope for Christmas. He says it’s not even Thanksgiving. Eva’s never heard of Thanksgiving so they all have to explain the meaning of it to her. Then they start talking about the Thanksgiving play coming up. Jessica wants the biggest part but then so does Winston. Lila thinks it’ll be interesting if they both get parts. Jessica doesn’t think Winston will get a part at all because he’s goofy.
Mrs. Otis shows the class slides of Pilgrim village which has been reconstructed. They’re all surprised that it’s so small. She then gives them a little history about the Pilgrims and Indians. Liz thinks about how hard it must have been to be a Pilgrim. Jessica asks are there any parts for Indian princesses and the teacher says no but there will be parts for Indian boys and girls. Jessica tells herself the lead part is hers!
When the auditions begin the teacher says they need help with backstage stuff so Liz goes to take part of that. Jessica Jessica is up first and she does a modern dance routine. She then recites a poem. Both teachers compliment her on the great job she did. Lila does the Night Before Christmas. Amy does handstands and cartwheels and Eva sings a song. Winston does his audition and he does a spoof making fun of how hard the Pilgrims had it. Jessica just knows he blew it and the teachers would be angry.
Jessica gets the part of one of the Indians. She’ll be the leader of the Indian dance. Winston will be the Indian chef. Jessica is disappointed. Eva is a Indian and Amy will be the turkey. Todd and Ken will also be Pilgrims. Winston starts hopping around and doing a (rain dance?). Winston wants to do a good job so he asks Liz to help him learn his lines. Jessica gets mad at Liz for this and Liz knows there’s nothing she can do to make Jessica feel better (tho she tries by trying o convince her the dance will be fun and she’ll get to wear a beautiful costume).
Jessica wants a solo but Mrs. Joshnson (whose over the play won’t give her one). Winston tho has a solo part but he has a lot of lines. Jessica goes over to talk to Liz but Winston tells her to get back with the other Indians. He then goes to study his lines. Jessica says Winston can’t boss her around. The girls don’t like how bossy Winston is either. (The girls doing the Indian dance). Lila says rehearsals are boring and she doesn’t know why she even tried out. Jessic tho (despire her complaining) is glad she has a part and is in the play.
The next day Mrs. Otis brings in Indian food which turns out to be She brings parched corn, salted fish, wild ric, squah, and onions. Lila says she doesn’t even eat onions at home. Winston tells her she’s a Indian so she has to eat it. Lila tells her he can’t tell her what to do. Noone thinks much of the food. Well other than Winston. Liz can’t wait until the play is over so Winston can stop being bossy and they’ll all be friends again.
Mrs. Wakefield makes Jessica’s costume. Jessica wants an elaborate cape but her mother says they don’t have enough feathers. Her mother says her costume will look great after she swes on the beads and fringe. Two days to the play, Winston calls out to Jessica and asks why she isn’t with the othr Indians. She then starts to imitate Winston’s lines. This makes Winston mad. He tells her to go practice her dance and continues to imiate (and embrass) him. Winston doesn’t think it’s funny and stomps away. Lila says he’s going to tell on her but Jessica doesn’t care. Liz thinks she went to far by making fun of his ears. Jessica promises she won’t tease him anymore if he stops bossying her around (tho t felt good to be the cetner of attention).
The night of the play comes. Jessica does her intro and then the girls do their dance. Winston takes the stage, but then opens his mouth and nothing comes out. Jessica feeds Winston his lines (line by line). The rest of the play goes off without a hitch. Winston does his lines perfectly afterwards and everyone cheers. Her teacher tells her parents Jessica saved the show. Liz and Jess exchange a look because they know what being star of the show mean.
All the Wakefields prepare the meal and then they all have dinner. Before they do they all take turns saying what they’re thankful for. Thw twins are thankful for each other. Steven is thankful for getting on the junior basketball team. Alice is thankful for her kids. The grandparens are thankful for spending time with the people they love. Mr. Wakefield is thankful they’re all healthy and happy. Mrs. Wakefild gets a call from Mr. Devito who says they just had a baby girl and invites them to come see her when they get home. Her name is Jenny.
My Thoughts
See stuff like this is EXACTLY why what happened to Winston happened to him in the end. Tho yeah he DID kind of let his ego run away with him just a little bit. I didn’t really a whole lot of thoughts about this one. Although it was good to see what in this series Jessica doesn’t always get everything she wants. She didn’t win a prize in the last book either. NICE! I think tho that I like this version of Jessica a little bit better than twins or high. She *did* help Winston and not just try to push him to the side and take over his lines. I REALLY expected her to do that.
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2024
Yikes.
November 3, 2021
Esa chica Jessica no aprende, todos los libros se burla de alguien. Prefiero a Elizabeth.
January 23, 2025
It was a bit annoying but an okay book
November 25, 2025
The plot is fairly simple in this one; mostly the kiddos are just getting ready to put on a school play about Thanksgiving. True, it was written a long time ago so it didn’t age well.
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March 29, 2023Every year, Sweet Valley Elementary School puts on a Thanksgiving play. This year, it’s the turn of the first, second and third grades, and Jessica, Elizabeth and their friends are excited that they’ll get to take part. At the park with the other second-graders, Winston declares that he’s going to be the star of the play. Jessica is horrified, because Winston is the class clown, and the play is a serious thing.
Auditions are held, and Jessica does a dance and recites a poem, while Winston does a humorous version of the head Pilgrim’s speech. Elizabeth opts to remain backstage, volunteering to paint the set. When the parts are announced, Jessica is horrified to learn that Winston will be playing the Indian Chief, while she will only be the leader of the Indian dance. (From what you can tell, it sounds like there weren’t any decent female parts anyway, unless you count Amy’s role as a turkey.)
This was a gentle kind of drama after the bullying nastiness of Crybaby Lois. It wasn’t the most exciting book in the series, but it was nice to have Jessica save the day for a change, instead of Elizabeth.
Auditions are held, and Jessica does a dance and recites a poem, while Winston does a humorous version of the head Pilgrim’s speech. Elizabeth opts to remain backstage, volunteering to paint the set. When the parts are announced, Jessica is horrified to learn that Winston will be playing the Indian Chief, while she will only be the leader of the Indian dance. (From what you can tell, it sounds like there weren’t any decent female parts anyway, unless you count Amy’s role as a turkey.)
This was a gentle kind of drama after the bullying nastiness of Crybaby Lois. It wasn’t the most exciting book in the series, but it was nice to have Jessica save the day for a change, instead of Elizabeth.
December 6, 2021
The twins school is putting on a Thanksgiving play, and Jessica wants the lead - but because she’s a girl she doesn’t get it. Okay so the lead is an Indian Chief but still. Winston does, and he gets super annoying and bossy because of it. Jessica imitates him and everyone laughs, and Jessica realises she loves being the centre of attention 💁🏼♀️ When the big night comes, Winston gets stage fright and Jess helps him out and saves the day!
My rating - 3/10 - The cover gave away the twist 😂.
My rating - 3/10 - The cover gave away the twist 😂.
April 29, 2009
I know these books weren't exactly fabulous to start with, but this was definitely one of the lesser ones.
July 26, 2012
I like how Jessica comes to Winston's rescue, even after making fun of him for getting lead role.
Read
November 15, 2012Winston sounds gross !! :(
June 22, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
October 2, 2016
Two words:Classic Winston.
April 14, 2012
A good little story. Grade 4.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews