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Sweet Valley Twins #19
The Bully
A taste of his own medicine...
Dennis Cookman is the biggest bully at Sweet Valley Middle School. Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, along with the whole sixth grade, are trying to figure out what to do about him. When Dennis smashes Jimmy Underwood's bicycle, some of the kids feel he's gone too far.
Just because Dennis is bigger and older doesn't give him the right to pick on the sixth graders. Something has to be done to stop this bully once and for all! That's when Ken Matthews comes up with the perfect dare that will expose Dennis Cookman as the coward that he really is.
Dennis Cookman is the biggest bully at Sweet Valley Middle School. Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, along with the whole sixth grade, are trying to figure out what to do about him. When Dennis smashes Jimmy Underwood's bicycle, some of the kids feel he's gone too far.
Just because Dennis is bigger and older doesn't give him the right to pick on the sixth graders. Something has to be done to stop this bully once and for all! That's when Ken Matthews comes up with the perfect dare that will expose Dennis Cookman as the coward that he really is.
10 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1988
8 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,140 books1,850 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 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 8, 2018
Of course the middle school has a bully, and this one is a nasty one. Dennis picks on everyone indiscriminately to the point where they have to find a solution once and for all.
The hard part of this story is the deep truth - that telling an adult usually has bad consequences. This is a flaw in the system, and the adults needs to be aware of that. I had the exact same experience back in fifth grade. So the kids come up with their own plan to show him up for the coward that he is.
I like that the kid were kids - they didn't think through the consequences or the danger of this (people could have died - it happens every year in places where rain is somewhat uncommon). I like that they were all put in danger and learned something from it. But I also like that there were no easy answers. Having a girl sit with Dennis at lunch doesn't make him a nicer person automatically and it doesn't 'cure' the bullying. But it does give him something to think about. The downside of all this? What the kids are doing in the end, is bullying the bully until he cries 'uncle' and maybe learns something. But again...isn't this typically what kids do?
Honestly these books are reasonably well written, which is a constant surprise. I don't like the Liz and Jess dynamic most of the time, but seeing them interact with their peers is always good. And let's be honest, much as Liz makes bad choices in covering up for people - she's always true to her character parameters. This is just who she is at this age. Just as Jess is who she is. That just doesn't mean that either of them are necessarily people to admire or even like.
The hard part of this story is the deep truth - that telling an adult usually has bad consequences. This is a flaw in the system, and the adults needs to be aware of that. I had the exact same experience back in fifth grade. So the kids come up with their own plan to show him up for the coward that he is.
I like that the kid were kids - they didn't think through the consequences or the danger of this (people could have died - it happens every year in places where rain is somewhat uncommon). I like that they were all put in danger and learned something from it. But I also like that there were no easy answers. Having a girl sit with Dennis at lunch doesn't make him a nicer person automatically and it doesn't 'cure' the bullying. But it does give him something to think about. The downside of all this? What the kids are doing in the end, is bullying the bully until he cries 'uncle' and maybe learns something. But again...isn't this typically what kids do?
Honestly these books are reasonably well written, which is a constant surprise. I don't like the Liz and Jess dynamic most of the time, but seeing them interact with their peers is always good. And let's be honest, much as Liz makes bad choices in covering up for people - she's always true to her character parameters. This is just who she is at this age. Just as Jess is who she is. That just doesn't mean that either of them are necessarily people to admire or even like.
January 28, 2022
The Bully
The Unicorns discuss Grace Oliver joining the club. Jessica thinks they should go back to initiation tasks in case people seem to have forgotten they’re exclusive. Lila thinks this is a good idea. Ellen isn’t sure. Lately, they’ve just been voting on new members. Jessica comes up with the idea to have Grace stand up in Mr.Bowman’s class and recite a poem. (Which she does). Ken Matthews passes Elizabeth a note in class that says a bunch of the students are going to meet after school to discuss what to do about Dennis Cookman-the class bully. Elizabeth says she’ll be there. Dennis finds Lila after class and Jessica finds out that he’s been “borrowing” lunch money from her for some days. Jessica tries to stand up to him -to protect Lila-but out of fear backs down thinking he’ll punch her like he did Jimmy (the boy whose bike he stole). Jessica and Lila happily go to meet up with the others, in order to think of a good plan for revenge.
In art class, Dennis continues his reign of terror by wrecking Olivia Dodson and Sarah Thomas’s mural that they were going to enter in an art fair. The sixth graders hold an emergency meeting. As they approach the lot, Elizabeth and Amy say how much they hate the area. It’s near to what’s known as “Dead Man’s Cave” which some of the kids claim spooky stuff goes on around (and inside). Steven coming home from SVH sees the group and they tell him what’s been going on and show him Jimmy’s black eye. Steven looks at them like they’ve lost their minds and says they should tell someone. Jimmy thinks it’s a suicidal idea. Dennis will just black his other eye. But the others start to think Steven might be right.
The next day Elizabeth and Amy see Dennis “asking” for Jimmy’s calculator and they decide enough is enough. Taking Jimmy, Aaron, and Ken they go to Mr.Bowman. Mr. Bowman promises to have a “talk” with Dennis to straighten him out or else he’ll be set to another school. On the way to a game, after school, they all come across Dennis. Dennis starts a fight with Ken and Aaron. Then he threatens Jimmy. The group all decide that telling Mr.Bowman wasn’t smart and now they’re back to square one. Jessica, Ellen, and Lila discuss Grace at Ellen’s. She’s done the poem and asked for six students' homework papers. Jessica decides it’s not enough and decides her next pledge task will be harder. She’ll have to invite Dennis to have lunch with her. The next time the Fearless Five meet up, Aaron comes up with the idea that he’ll tell Dennis that he’s going to spend the night in the caves. Then Ken will say he’ll spend the night in the caves. This will make mess with Dennis’s ego and then he’ll feel the same fear that he’s been dishing out. Amy will hype the whole thing up and start it off. Only Aaron knows a secret passage in the caves. So he can easily slip out the back, go home, and show up the next morning. Grace gets her final task from the Unicorns and she’s horrified. There’s no way Dennis will have lunch with her. But Jessica tells her it’s only fair (they all went through it) and she has faith in her.
The plan goes like a charm. The next day at lunch Amy starts talking about how her cousin said she saw shadows around the cave. Aaron says it’s just a bunch of talk and then says he’ll spend the night in the cave. This gets Dennis’s attention and he beats that Aaron will chicken out. A bunch of the students say they’ll be there the next morning. Dennis included. Grace sees Dennis leave and tries to talk to him (to warm him up) but he bites her head off. So as luck would have it, she finds his baseball glove and goes to take it to his house. This warms him up slightly to her. Aaron comes out of the cave a hero. Ken then says he’ll spend the night in the cave. Dennis is skeptical and says he and Jimmy will stand guard to make sure Ken doesn’t leave. Ken completes the night. Now it’s Jimmy’s turn. Meanwhile, Elizabeth overhears Grace at her house crying to Jessica that her task is impossible. Elizabeth gets on her case afterward and Jessica starts to reconsider. It’s a good thing to because Grace attempts to ask Dennis to have lunch with her but he just brushes her off. The Unicorns come up to her and tell her that they’ve had a change of heart and all she has to do now is find purple sweaters for all of them (just find not buy). After that, tho Dennis does come over and sit with Grace at lunch. He’s curious as to why she wanted to sit with him and she tells him she was just curious about him. She tells him she wonders why he doesn’t sit with anyone and he says all the other kids are mean to him and pick on his size. Grace says NO. You are mean to *them*. Maybe if you weren’t they’d sit with you.
Jimmy “spends the night in the cave” with no problem. But now it’s Dennis's turn and all of sudden he’s got “a sore throat”. They aren’t buying it! Dennis sits by Grace again (Grace hoping this doesn’t happen too often) he’s looking for sympathy but she tells him that after all he’s done he needs to just face up to it and then apologize. He gets mad and walks away thinking she’d be the only one who understood (because her name is Grace?) Dennis does show up at the caves, but after he goes in a big storm comes. Aaron realizes the pipes will flood the cave. So they try to coax him out. At first, he resists thinking that they’re trying to trick him so they can call him a coward, but then Grace convinces him to come out. They all form a chain and are able to get him out of the cave. Dennis thanks them for saving his life and apologizes. After that, he doesn’t bully them anymore.
My Thought: I think they’re all crazy! If Dennis would have had any SENSE. This plan would have NEVER worked because throughout the night he would have been TALKING to Ken. Going “Are you still in there?” Then Ken would have had to give him some kind of response back. I’m not sure how he could have rigged a tape deck to answer back when prompted.
Then this was a DUMB plan from the jump! The plan was to scare Dennis to death so he’d know how it feels to be scared. Only there was NOTHING SCARY happening. Spending the night in a cave? You’d have what? Maybe some noises. Unless POSSIBLY the cave might have had snakes, rats, other wildlife in there. THAT would have scared the ish out of me. But then what? If there weren’t animals in the cave, it was just dark and damp. OOO SCARY (rolling my eyes). If they’d had any sense, they would have, I don’t know had a tape with scary noises, or had someone scream from inside the secret passage, or maybe put a fake mannequin in there to make it look like a body and have him trip over it. Or gotten one of the skeletons out of the science room took all the bones apart and piled them in a corner of the cave. Maybe took some red food dye and splattered it strategically here and there. Maybe had one of them wear all black and a mask and slip inside the cave and have a *fake* knife or weapon in its hands. Maybe they should have spread the story that someone from an asylum had escaped as an “added incentive” and *then* dared Dennis to spend the night in the cave.
Then Grace just doesn’t seem like a Unicorn to me. Most of the Unicorns are materialistic and self-centered. Grace was described as nice. I thought the Unicorns already filled that quota with Mary Wallace. That definitely won’t be good for their reputation if they let too many “nice girls” in. But I do think Grace should have ended up with Dennis. They don’t really date in this series ..well other than Jessica and Josh. But I just kept thinking Grace is EXACTLY what Dennis needs. She’s the kind of girl who even though she’s nice, she’s not afraid to tell you the truth. And she did blush when she gave Dennis the mitt back. She also cried and was inconsolable when she thought he was gonna die in the caves. I just wonder how the Unicorns would have felt if their initiation would have led to something more.
Rating: 5
The Unicorns discuss Grace Oliver joining the club. Jessica thinks they should go back to initiation tasks in case people seem to have forgotten they’re exclusive. Lila thinks this is a good idea. Ellen isn’t sure. Lately, they’ve just been voting on new members. Jessica comes up with the idea to have Grace stand up in Mr.Bowman’s class and recite a poem. (Which she does). Ken Matthews passes Elizabeth a note in class that says a bunch of the students are going to meet after school to discuss what to do about Dennis Cookman-the class bully. Elizabeth says she’ll be there. Dennis finds Lila after class and Jessica finds out that he’s been “borrowing” lunch money from her for some days. Jessica tries to stand up to him -to protect Lila-but out of fear backs down thinking he’ll punch her like he did Jimmy (the boy whose bike he stole). Jessica and Lila happily go to meet up with the others, in order to think of a good plan for revenge.
In art class, Dennis continues his reign of terror by wrecking Olivia Dodson and Sarah Thomas’s mural that they were going to enter in an art fair. The sixth graders hold an emergency meeting. As they approach the lot, Elizabeth and Amy say how much they hate the area. It’s near to what’s known as “Dead Man’s Cave” which some of the kids claim spooky stuff goes on around (and inside). Steven coming home from SVH sees the group and they tell him what’s been going on and show him Jimmy’s black eye. Steven looks at them like they’ve lost their minds and says they should tell someone. Jimmy thinks it’s a suicidal idea. Dennis will just black his other eye. But the others start to think Steven might be right.
The next day Elizabeth and Amy see Dennis “asking” for Jimmy’s calculator and they decide enough is enough. Taking Jimmy, Aaron, and Ken they go to Mr.Bowman. Mr. Bowman promises to have a “talk” with Dennis to straighten him out or else he’ll be set to another school. On the way to a game, after school, they all come across Dennis. Dennis starts a fight with Ken and Aaron. Then he threatens Jimmy. The group all decide that telling Mr.Bowman wasn’t smart and now they’re back to square one. Jessica, Ellen, and Lila discuss Grace at Ellen’s. She’s done the poem and asked for six students' homework papers. Jessica decides it’s not enough and decides her next pledge task will be harder. She’ll have to invite Dennis to have lunch with her. The next time the Fearless Five meet up, Aaron comes up with the idea that he’ll tell Dennis that he’s going to spend the night in the caves. Then Ken will say he’ll spend the night in the caves. This will make mess with Dennis’s ego and then he’ll feel the same fear that he’s been dishing out. Amy will hype the whole thing up and start it off. Only Aaron knows a secret passage in the caves. So he can easily slip out the back, go home, and show up the next morning. Grace gets her final task from the Unicorns and she’s horrified. There’s no way Dennis will have lunch with her. But Jessica tells her it’s only fair (they all went through it) and she has faith in her.
The plan goes like a charm. The next day at lunch Amy starts talking about how her cousin said she saw shadows around the cave. Aaron says it’s just a bunch of talk and then says he’ll spend the night in the cave. This gets Dennis’s attention and he beats that Aaron will chicken out. A bunch of the students say they’ll be there the next morning. Dennis included. Grace sees Dennis leave and tries to talk to him (to warm him up) but he bites her head off. So as luck would have it, she finds his baseball glove and goes to take it to his house. This warms him up slightly to her. Aaron comes out of the cave a hero. Ken then says he’ll spend the night in the cave. Dennis is skeptical and says he and Jimmy will stand guard to make sure Ken doesn’t leave. Ken completes the night. Now it’s Jimmy’s turn. Meanwhile, Elizabeth overhears Grace at her house crying to Jessica that her task is impossible. Elizabeth gets on her case afterward and Jessica starts to reconsider. It’s a good thing to because Grace attempts to ask Dennis to have lunch with her but he just brushes her off. The Unicorns come up to her and tell her that they’ve had a change of heart and all she has to do now is find purple sweaters for all of them (just find not buy). After that, tho Dennis does come over and sit with Grace at lunch. He’s curious as to why she wanted to sit with him and she tells him she was just curious about him. She tells him she wonders why he doesn’t sit with anyone and he says all the other kids are mean to him and pick on his size. Grace says NO. You are mean to *them*. Maybe if you weren’t they’d sit with you.
Jimmy “spends the night in the cave” with no problem. But now it’s Dennis's turn and all of sudden he’s got “a sore throat”. They aren’t buying it! Dennis sits by Grace again (Grace hoping this doesn’t happen too often) he’s looking for sympathy but she tells him that after all he’s done he needs to just face up to it and then apologize. He gets mad and walks away thinking she’d be the only one who understood (because her name is Grace?) Dennis does show up at the caves, but after he goes in a big storm comes. Aaron realizes the pipes will flood the cave. So they try to coax him out. At first, he resists thinking that they’re trying to trick him so they can call him a coward, but then Grace convinces him to come out. They all form a chain and are able to get him out of the cave. Dennis thanks them for saving his life and apologizes. After that, he doesn’t bully them anymore.
My Thought: I think they’re all crazy! If Dennis would have had any SENSE. This plan would have NEVER worked because throughout the night he would have been TALKING to Ken. Going “Are you still in there?” Then Ken would have had to give him some kind of response back. I’m not sure how he could have rigged a tape deck to answer back when prompted.
Then this was a DUMB plan from the jump! The plan was to scare Dennis to death so he’d know how it feels to be scared. Only there was NOTHING SCARY happening. Spending the night in a cave? You’d have what? Maybe some noises. Unless POSSIBLY the cave might have had snakes, rats, other wildlife in there. THAT would have scared the ish out of me. But then what? If there weren’t animals in the cave, it was just dark and damp. OOO SCARY (rolling my eyes). If they’d had any sense, they would have, I don’t know had a tape with scary noises, or had someone scream from inside the secret passage, or maybe put a fake mannequin in there to make it look like a body and have him trip over it. Or gotten one of the skeletons out of the science room took all the bones apart and piled them in a corner of the cave. Maybe took some red food dye and splattered it strategically here and there. Maybe had one of them wear all black and a mask and slip inside the cave and have a *fake* knife or weapon in its hands. Maybe they should have spread the story that someone from an asylum had escaped as an “added incentive” and *then* dared Dennis to spend the night in the cave.
Then Grace just doesn’t seem like a Unicorn to me. Most of the Unicorns are materialistic and self-centered. Grace was described as nice. I thought the Unicorns already filled that quota with Mary Wallace. That definitely won’t be good for their reputation if they let too many “nice girls” in. But I do think Grace should have ended up with Dennis. They don’t really date in this series ..well other than Jessica and Josh. But I just kept thinking Grace is EXACTLY what Dennis needs. She’s the kind of girl who even though she’s nice, she’s not afraid to tell you the truth. And she did blush when she gave Dennis the mitt back. She also cried and was inconsolable when she thought he was gonna die in the caves. I just wonder how the Unicorns would have felt if their initiation would have led to something more.
Rating: 5
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October 12, 2022In these days of better bullying awareness, I think this story would've played out in a whole other way. Especially the bit that's basically a warning to kids not to tell their parents or a teacher.
I wonder how many caves in fiction are called Dead Man's Cave? I feel like it's more than a few.
I wonder how many caves in fiction are called Dead Man's Cave? I feel like it's more than a few.
December 27, 2009
I LOOOOOVE this amazing book!!
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December 15, 2025Another one where Lois isn't mentioned! If these books weren't 40 odd years old I'd be crediting my own reviews for that, but I'm sure fat shaming of Lois will resume soon enough.
The Bully is another never before mentioned character, Dennis, who's in the year above our lads Eliabeth and Jessica. He's a little shit, taking Lila's money and beating up little Jimmy Underwood and breaking his glasses. Saint Elizabeth turns Supergrass and gets everyone (Amy, Aaron, Ken and Jimmy) to grass Dennis up to Mr Bowman. This goes as well as we all expected. The Supergrass Six decide to take matters into their own hands and trick Dennis into spending the night in Dead Man's Cave, a local spot renowned for being allegedly haunted. Aaron stays in there, Ken stays in there, Jimmy stays in there. Next up it's Dennis's turn. Nobody's told him that the other lads actually left after an hour through a hidden drainpipe escape route. Turns out it's dangerous af to stay in there during a storm as the drainpipe floods the cave. Cue a massive rescue mission with everyone on the class popping out in the middle of the storm to form a chain to rescue Dennis.
The side plot in this also deals with another bully: Jessica Wakefield. Jessica has decided that The Unicorns will now be setting initiation tasks for new members, despite The Unicorns deciding ages ago that this is a fucking stupid idea. Jessica gets propective new member, Grace Oliver, to do stupid stuff like recite a poem in Mr Bowman's class, borrow 6 people's homework, and ... befriend bully Dennis and have lunch with him. Spoiler: Grace is now a Unicorn.
The Bully is another never before mentioned character, Dennis, who's in the year above our lads Eliabeth and Jessica. He's a little shit, taking Lila's money and beating up little Jimmy Underwood and breaking his glasses. Saint Elizabeth turns Supergrass and gets everyone (Amy, Aaron, Ken and Jimmy) to grass Dennis up to Mr Bowman. This goes as well as we all expected. The Supergrass Six decide to take matters into their own hands and trick Dennis into spending the night in Dead Man's Cave, a local spot renowned for being allegedly haunted. Aaron stays in there, Ken stays in there, Jimmy stays in there. Next up it's Dennis's turn. Nobody's told him that the other lads actually left after an hour through a hidden drainpipe escape route. Turns out it's dangerous af to stay in there during a storm as the drainpipe floods the cave. Cue a massive rescue mission with everyone on the class popping out in the middle of the storm to form a chain to rescue Dennis.
The side plot in this also deals with another bully: Jessica Wakefield. Jessica has decided that The Unicorns will now be setting initiation tasks for new members, despite The Unicorns deciding ages ago that this is a fucking stupid idea. Jessica gets propective new member, Grace Oliver, to do stupid stuff like recite a poem in Mr Bowman's class, borrow 6 people's homework, and ... befriend bully Dennis and have lunch with him. Spoiler: Grace is now a Unicorn.
November 3, 2018
2.5 stars
Moral of the story: If you are being bullied by anyone, please DO NOT tell an adult. All it will do is make it worse and the only way to solve it is to stoop down to their level and try and terrify them to death by staying in a cave overnight in a storm.
I fail to see how they saved Dennis' life either. Ummm, the water was up to Grace's knees..... Dennis is supposedly massively tall.... yet he couldn't get out himself and everyone formed a 'chain' to get him out?? Seriously, that was stupid. lol
Liz was a bit of a bitch in this one too, chastising Jess for making Grace be nice to Dennis, when she was doing a pretty awful thing herself. Hmmm, maybe she will show some balls from now on??
This book is also another example of bad parenting by the Wakefields. They are no where to be seen in this book while their kids act like horrible people. Yay Wakefields!
Moral of the story: If you are being bullied by anyone, please DO NOT tell an adult. All it will do is make it worse and the only way to solve it is to stoop down to their level and try and terrify them to death by staying in a cave overnight in a storm.
I fail to see how they saved Dennis' life either. Ummm, the water was up to Grace's knees..... Dennis is supposedly massively tall.... yet he couldn't get out himself and everyone formed a 'chain' to get him out?? Seriously, that was stupid. lol
Liz was a bit of a bitch in this one too, chastising Jess for making Grace be nice to Dennis, when she was doing a pretty awful thing herself. Hmmm, maybe she will show some balls from now on??
This book is also another example of bad parenting by the Wakefields. They are no where to be seen in this book while their kids act like horrible people. Yay Wakefields!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2017
Who knew that a bully would stop his actions forever after spending just two minutes in a cave? Seems legit.
Also, where are everyone's parents in this book? Every kid is sneaking out on a school night to watch people sleep in caves, but their parents never notice? Oh Sweet Valley.
Also, where are everyone's parents in this book? Every kid is sneaking out on a school night to watch people sleep in caves, but their parents never notice? Oh Sweet Valley.
November 9, 2025
So…the moral of the story is…don’t tell an adult if you’re being physically assaulted at school?
June 2, 2023
Sweet Valley Twins 19 - The Bully
Dennis Cookman is a bully, and the kids at SVMS have decided to do something about it! He actually is pretty bad, so I’m not sure any Liz-tervention will redeem him this time. Steven convinces the kids to tell on Dennis, so they tell Mr Bowman. Dennis actually gave Jimmy a black eye, so this kid is full on. Once he knows they tattled, he beats up Ken and Aaron together. Instead of telling teachers it’s continuing, they think tattling was a bad idea 🙄 Meanwhile, Grace Oliver wants to join the Unicorns, and Jess is hazing her with initiation tasks. She decides Grace has to convince Dennis to eat lunch with her 😳 I didn’t see this one coming. Aaron, Ken, Jimmy, Liz and Amy decide to pressure Dennis into spending the night in Deadman’s Cave (haunted) with them, but they plan on leaving through a secret passageway. Meanwhile, Grace is making slow progress with getting Dennis to not be an asshole to her, but she thinks it’ll be impossible. At the cave, everyone watches Aaron go in, and waits for about an hour before leaving. They’ll come back at 7AM, so not sure why Aaron needs to slip out the passageway, but I guess that’ll come into play later. Everyone cheers on Aaron, and Ken volunteers to stay the next night. Dennis wants to guard the entrance this time, with Jimmy keeping him company. The next night is Jimmys turn, with Dennis promising to do the night after. Jimmy really has the short end of the stick here. Jessica has a change of heart with Grace (not sure why she’s in charge) and calls off the lunch. But Grace had already asked Dennis, and although he said no, he shows up! Initiation complete. Jimmy also pulls off his night, and suddenly Dennis has a sore throat and can’t do it. The kids bully him all day, and he gives in. The three boys plan on spending all night outside the cave too. Of course it starts to storm and the boys go in to tell Dennis to leave before the cave fills with water. Dennis doesn’t believe them, so his new bestie Grace goes in - and they all make it out just in time, the best of friends now. All is forgiven!
My rating - 3/10 - this was a bit pointlessly convoluted... I knew how it would end, but it got there slowly. Also, Saint Liz was not so saintly!
#sweetvalley #sweetvalleykids #sweetvalleytwins #unicornclub #sweetvalleyjnrhigh #sweetvalleyhigh #sweetvalleysenioryear #sweetvalleyuniversity #sweetvalleyseries #bookreview
Dennis Cookman is a bully, and the kids at SVMS have decided to do something about it! He actually is pretty bad, so I’m not sure any Liz-tervention will redeem him this time. Steven convinces the kids to tell on Dennis, so they tell Mr Bowman. Dennis actually gave Jimmy a black eye, so this kid is full on. Once he knows they tattled, he beats up Ken and Aaron together. Instead of telling teachers it’s continuing, they think tattling was a bad idea 🙄 Meanwhile, Grace Oliver wants to join the Unicorns, and Jess is hazing her with initiation tasks. She decides Grace has to convince Dennis to eat lunch with her 😳 I didn’t see this one coming. Aaron, Ken, Jimmy, Liz and Amy decide to pressure Dennis into spending the night in Deadman’s Cave (haunted) with them, but they plan on leaving through a secret passageway. Meanwhile, Grace is making slow progress with getting Dennis to not be an asshole to her, but she thinks it’ll be impossible. At the cave, everyone watches Aaron go in, and waits for about an hour before leaving. They’ll come back at 7AM, so not sure why Aaron needs to slip out the passageway, but I guess that’ll come into play later. Everyone cheers on Aaron, and Ken volunteers to stay the next night. Dennis wants to guard the entrance this time, with Jimmy keeping him company. The next night is Jimmys turn, with Dennis promising to do the night after. Jimmy really has the short end of the stick here. Jessica has a change of heart with Grace (not sure why she’s in charge) and calls off the lunch. But Grace had already asked Dennis, and although he said no, he shows up! Initiation complete. Jimmy also pulls off his night, and suddenly Dennis has a sore throat and can’t do it. The kids bully him all day, and he gives in. The three boys plan on spending all night outside the cave too. Of course it starts to storm and the boys go in to tell Dennis to leave before the cave fills with water. Dennis doesn’t believe them, so his new bestie Grace goes in - and they all make it out just in time, the best of friends now. All is forgiven!
My rating - 3/10 - this was a bit pointlessly convoluted... I knew how it would end, but it got there slowly. Also, Saint Liz was not so saintly!
#sweetvalley #sweetvalleykids #sweetvalleytwins #unicornclub #sweetvalleyjnrhigh #sweetvalleyhigh #sweetvalleysenioryear #sweetvalleyuniversity #sweetvalleyseries #bookreview
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2019
RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)
I picked up one of the Sweet Valley Twins novel at the library (before my strict read in order only rule) and fell in love with the California twins and their friends and family. I had just started reading thicker chapter books, and joining the library summer reading club, I went through these books pretty quick. I was excited that I could read and really fell in love with books and reading. I believe I was about 7-9 when I read these books so it was exciting to read about 12 year old popular preteens. I could relate to both Elizabeth and Jessica, and really could not pick which twin I liked better. I would not finish this series as I would quickly move on to Sweet Valley High (Double Love). These are very tame books, and any age could read them. First crushes and bullying were the big issues that I can remember. This is very Full House (TV series) kind of books.
***This is a series review***
(Review Not on Blog)
I picked up one of the Sweet Valley Twins novel at the library (before my strict read in order only rule) and fell in love with the California twins and their friends and family. I had just started reading thicker chapter books, and joining the library summer reading club, I went through these books pretty quick. I was excited that I could read and really fell in love with books and reading. I believe I was about 7-9 when I read these books so it was exciting to read about 12 year old popular preteens. I could relate to both Elizabeth and Jessica, and really could not pick which twin I liked better. I would not finish this series as I would quickly move on to Sweet Valley High (Double Love). These are very tame books, and any age could read them. First crushes and bullying were the big issues that I can remember. This is very Full House (TV series) kind of books.
***This is a series review***
April 29, 2009
"That's when Ken Matthews comes up with the perfect dare that will expose Dennis Cookman as the coward that he really is." - one of those OMG THEY'RE ALL SO CRUEL types of books... remarkably enjoyable ;)
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February 5, 2009JAR4-Pas
October 24, 2010
I really can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this series. Every twist, every turn, every adventure...
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August 29, 2011From "Books I have read this summer" list that I found at home in NJ.
May 6, 2021
Loved these books as a child
June 22, 2013
I can't remember what this book is about because it's been awhile since I read this book. but I do remember the cover of it.
August 6, 2015
In this one, everyone feels like the only way to deal with the school bully is to humiliate the hell out of him. Heartwarming
June 24, 2014
The story line is interesting.
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