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Pen Pals #18
Double Date
Back for a new school year, the girls from Suite 3-D stumble upon the empty country mansion of a movie star and decide to use it as a dating hang-out
122 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 30, 2016
I loved this series when I was young - can't remember the age that I was - perhaps 11-13. I just know I loved these books!
February 28, 2025
Double Date (Pen Pals)
Lisa is back at Alma Stephens. For a while when her parents divorced, she went to boarding school. It’s a little different this year. She’s got a single room. Shannon’s new roommate is a eccentric girl named Max (and we can see right off she’s a little jealous). But what stayed the same is Rob (and he’s already written her). Shannon still writes Mars, Amy ‘s penpal is a guy named Niko, and Max has a penpal. But Palmer doesn’t have one.
Lisa turns down the welcome back tea and says she wants to decorate and write Rob. The next day Lisa starts bitching about not seeing Rob because of football practice and Alma’s strict rules. Palmer bitches about not having a pen-pal and finding one in time for an Ardsley dance marathon in a month. Then she sees a picture of Greg Proudfoot (sounds like a Care bear Cousin) in the Ardsley Lion (see) on the football team and makes him her new conquest.
Lisa tells Palmer she’s gonna plan to ask Rob on a date. Palmer suggest Lulu’s, says she’s coming with, and then suggests she ask Rob about Greg. Rob tells Lisa yes and that Greg was confused by the request.
Max tells Paul she doesn’t know if she should switch suites to make Shannon happy because she prob wants Lisa as a suitemate. Holbrook (a nerdy boy Parmer meet at camp) asks her to the dance and offers to “help her” (do) her homework. She turns down both requests but tells him to look into Greg.
Niko says he’ll be in town and he and Amy agree to meet at Lulu’s and so do Shannon and Mars. But, Max is the only one who gets to spend time with her Pen Pal. Mars doesn’t come and Rob is surrounded by the football team and barely gets a word in with Lisa before they’re rushing him out the door to practice. She blows up at the others about Max, goes back to the dorm, and writes Rob a pissed off letter.
Shannon calls Lisa out the next day on what a bitch she’s being to her and Max. Then she shows her a letter from Mars that explains why he wasn’t there (knee injury) and how upset Rob is because he’s in love with her and thinks she wants to break up. Shannon makes Lisa agree to be nicer to Max and she speaks to her on the way out. Max asks Shannon if she wants her to move out, but she says that’s ok. One day all of them will share a room she thinks.
Palmer tells Lisa Holbrook found out the 411 on Greg. He sounds incredibly boring but Palmer as we all know is a gold digger (and he’s from oil). She asks Lisa to ask Rob to talk her up to this guy. Rob mentions her and he’s like “Uh WHO?” Rob forgives Lisa, apologizes, and then tells her he can’t wait to see her at his football game but this isn’t enough for her. So she tricks the Pen Pals to ride to Ardsley.
Palmer can’t let it go that this guy doesn’t give a ish about her. Only when they get there the team is at another school. So, they decide to go on an “adventure” They end up at the mansion of this “friend” of Palmer’s named Ursula’s but she’s out of the country so they just decide to “borrow” her swimming pool. Shouldn’t rich people have better security than this? They hang out there till it gets and Shannon realizes they didn’t get the book Maggie wanted and they told her they were going to the library.
There’s a Book Discussion coming up on the day Rob wants another date with Lisa. Shannon, Amy, and Max are gonna invite their penpals. But Lisa and Palmer plan a secret date at Ursula’s house. Palmer gets a bs letter just basically says let me just say hi to this girl so she’ll stop sweating me and Rob will quit mentioning her. But because of Lisa blowing off school and breaking the dress code Maggie won’t give her permission to go “to the drug store and the art museum”.
Lisa and Palmer go anyway, but find out the pool is covered. Rob and Proudfoot remove it. Lisa and Rob do there thing and Greg gets intimate with the food. The girls find out from the guys about the secret party. Then Greg has to use it and actually goes in the house. Greg makes a mess in the house and they try to clean it up.
Palmer confesses she doesn’t really know Ursula her mom does. It’s getting late and they tell the boys to leave but a storm has arrived and blown their picnic all over the yard. They all get grounded for a month when Dan and Maggie catch them all off campus when Shannon, Max, and Amy go to get Lisa and Palmer. And then they’re all pissed at Lisa and Palmer. Maggie stops by and Lisa is about to confess but she goes into labor. She also is about to confess to Dan after the baby (Cami) is born but Max steps in and says they’re sorry and won’t do it again and Dan lets them off the hook.
Rating: 3
HORRIBLE! I *KNEW* I was gonna hate this because I knew where this was going from the very beginning. Lisa is in heat over Rob through this whole book. I mean you’d think they were having sex and she hadn’t gotten any in 6 months or something. Sometimes I tend to forget how it is at that time in life when you’re a teenager and your in love and you think the whole wide world revolves around that special someone. But Lisa annoyed me highly. I was thinking what in the world happened to Lisa to make her this sorry shell of co-dependance on Rob’s existence.
Palmer really didn’t surprise me because the whole point of Palmer is to be a “nice” gold digger. I was surprised tho that she did say she’d go with Holbrook if she could. That was VERY out of character for her. But then when I think about it. No! Not really. She just probably wanted to go with him for some shallow reason like she could *dare* be seen at the dance without a date,
It's PAINFUL to read YA novels where girls chase a guy that’s clear to everyone BUT then the guy isn’t feeling them. And not only that has the personality of a brick. This guy reminded me very much of Robert Patterson. I just KEEP waiting and waiting for the alarm to go off at Ursula's house or the Care Person call the cops and they break in with guns pointed yelling FREEZE! That would have made this book SO much more interesting! As the part of them breaking in was slightly the only amusing part of it. But they should have actually had them get in trouble. While I like Cami for a name and it reminds me of Twitches, even the new baby part just didn’t do anything for me. I’m glad I’m a fast reader and got through with this one quickly!
Lisa is back at Alma Stephens. For a while when her parents divorced, she went to boarding school. It’s a little different this year. She’s got a single room. Shannon’s new roommate is a eccentric girl named Max (and we can see right off she’s a little jealous). But what stayed the same is Rob (and he’s already written her). Shannon still writes Mars, Amy ‘s penpal is a guy named Niko, and Max has a penpal. But Palmer doesn’t have one.
Lisa turns down the welcome back tea and says she wants to decorate and write Rob. The next day Lisa starts bitching about not seeing Rob because of football practice and Alma’s strict rules. Palmer bitches about not having a pen-pal and finding one in time for an Ardsley dance marathon in a month. Then she sees a picture of Greg Proudfoot (sounds like a Care bear Cousin) in the Ardsley Lion (see) on the football team and makes him her new conquest.
Lisa tells Palmer she’s gonna plan to ask Rob on a date. Palmer suggest Lulu’s, says she’s coming with, and then suggests she ask Rob about Greg. Rob tells Lisa yes and that Greg was confused by the request.
Max tells Paul she doesn’t know if she should switch suites to make Shannon happy because she prob wants Lisa as a suitemate. Holbrook (a nerdy boy Parmer meet at camp) asks her to the dance and offers to “help her” (do) her homework. She turns down both requests but tells him to look into Greg.
Niko says he’ll be in town and he and Amy agree to meet at Lulu’s and so do Shannon and Mars. But, Max is the only one who gets to spend time with her Pen Pal. Mars doesn’t come and Rob is surrounded by the football team and barely gets a word in with Lisa before they’re rushing him out the door to practice. She blows up at the others about Max, goes back to the dorm, and writes Rob a pissed off letter.
Shannon calls Lisa out the next day on what a bitch she’s being to her and Max. Then she shows her a letter from Mars that explains why he wasn’t there (knee injury) and how upset Rob is because he’s in love with her and thinks she wants to break up. Shannon makes Lisa agree to be nicer to Max and she speaks to her on the way out. Max asks Shannon if she wants her to move out, but she says that’s ok. One day all of them will share a room she thinks.
Palmer tells Lisa Holbrook found out the 411 on Greg. He sounds incredibly boring but Palmer as we all know is a gold digger (and he’s from oil). She asks Lisa to ask Rob to talk her up to this guy. Rob mentions her and he’s like “Uh WHO?” Rob forgives Lisa, apologizes, and then tells her he can’t wait to see her at his football game but this isn’t enough for her. So she tricks the Pen Pals to ride to Ardsley.
Palmer can’t let it go that this guy doesn’t give a ish about her. Only when they get there the team is at another school. So, they decide to go on an “adventure” They end up at the mansion of this “friend” of Palmer’s named Ursula’s but she’s out of the country so they just decide to “borrow” her swimming pool. Shouldn’t rich people have better security than this? They hang out there till it gets and Shannon realizes they didn’t get the book Maggie wanted and they told her they were going to the library.
There’s a Book Discussion coming up on the day Rob wants another date with Lisa. Shannon, Amy, and Max are gonna invite their penpals. But Lisa and Palmer plan a secret date at Ursula’s house. Palmer gets a bs letter just basically says let me just say hi to this girl so she’ll stop sweating me and Rob will quit mentioning her. But because of Lisa blowing off school and breaking the dress code Maggie won’t give her permission to go “to the drug store and the art museum”.
Lisa and Palmer go anyway, but find out the pool is covered. Rob and Proudfoot remove it. Lisa and Rob do there thing and Greg gets intimate with the food. The girls find out from the guys about the secret party. Then Greg has to use it and actually goes in the house. Greg makes a mess in the house and they try to clean it up.
Palmer confesses she doesn’t really know Ursula her mom does. It’s getting late and they tell the boys to leave but a storm has arrived and blown their picnic all over the yard. They all get grounded for a month when Dan and Maggie catch them all off campus when Shannon, Max, and Amy go to get Lisa and Palmer. And then they’re all pissed at Lisa and Palmer. Maggie stops by and Lisa is about to confess but she goes into labor. She also is about to confess to Dan after the baby (Cami) is born but Max steps in and says they’re sorry and won’t do it again and Dan lets them off the hook.
Rating: 3
HORRIBLE! I *KNEW* I was gonna hate this because I knew where this was going from the very beginning. Lisa is in heat over Rob through this whole book. I mean you’d think they were having sex and she hadn’t gotten any in 6 months or something. Sometimes I tend to forget how it is at that time in life when you’re a teenager and your in love and you think the whole wide world revolves around that special someone. But Lisa annoyed me highly. I was thinking what in the world happened to Lisa to make her this sorry shell of co-dependance on Rob’s existence.
Palmer really didn’t surprise me because the whole point of Palmer is to be a “nice” gold digger. I was surprised tho that she did say she’d go with Holbrook if she could. That was VERY out of character for her. But then when I think about it. No! Not really. She just probably wanted to go with him for some shallow reason like she could *dare* be seen at the dance without a date,
It's PAINFUL to read YA novels where girls chase a guy that’s clear to everyone BUT then the guy isn’t feeling them. And not only that has the personality of a brick. This guy reminded me very much of Robert Patterson. I just KEEP waiting and waiting for the alarm to go off at Ursula's house or the Care Person call the cops and they break in with guns pointed yelling FREEZE! That would have made this book SO much more interesting! As the part of them breaking in was slightly the only amusing part of it. But they should have actually had them get in trouble. While I like Cami for a name and it reminds me of Twitches, even the new baby part just didn’t do anything for me. I’m glad I’m a fast reader and got through with this one quickly!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2021
The rift between Lisa and Max was portrayed perfectly. There is bound to be misgivings in their situation and I think the author did an excellent job in describing it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews