A Night to Remember

Sweet Valley High Magna Editions #3

by Francine Pascal (Creator)

After tonight, nothing will ever be the same in Sweet Valley...

Identical twins, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield have worked together to creature the most perfect prom Sweet Valley has ever seen - but when a jealous conflict turns deadly, the twins' lives are changed forever!

Since the death of his girlfriend, Regina Morrow, wealthy Bruce Patman has kept his heart closed to love. Then a mysterious girl steps into his life, and Bruce must decide if it's worth the pain to love again.

When Lila Fowler thinks her guidance counselor is interested in more than her schoolwork, she puts his career and his reputation on the line.

Will the truth come out before disaster strikes and changes the lives of everyone in Sweet Valley forever?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Teen, Thriller, Collections, Young Adult Romance

345 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeah i read it... what of it?! to explain: Entertainment Weekly did a piece on snarky blogs dedicated to the fabulous yet literary challenged books of our (1980s) youth. While perusing the blogs, I was overcome with nostalgia for my girls in Sweet Valley. These books were like crack to a young gay growing up in the very un-fabulous town of Paducah, KY. My nostalgia led me to ebay which in turn yielded a small stack of Sweet Valley books that excited me as if I were 12 all over again. I tore through this "magna edition" in less than two days. IT WAS SO AWFUL AND AMAZING. It was everything I had hoped for. It was astonishingly bad. Plot holes, atrocious dialogue, ridiculous circumstances, and characters so crazy they bordered on maniacal. I had long stopped reading these books by the time this exemplary mini-series was introduced. I literally can't wait to tear through the next 4 books and reach the sure-to-be epic conclusion in The Evil Twin. I am truly ashamed of myself and yet so excited to be in the throes of Sweet Valley all over again.

[kylajaclyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only one star because of how completely fucking horrid, stupid and sociopathic BOTH girls (but especially Jessica) act just to become fucking PROM QUEEN. No, that's not a joke. It's painful to read about these girls acting like such twits. And, of course, the finale: Jessica spikes her sister's drink (again, this is ONLY to win Prom Queen) which causes Liz to get horribly drunk (from one cup of a drink mixed with vodka, mind you) and not realize it, therefore leading Liz to drive Jessica's boyfriend, Sam, home in the Jeep. Being that no one can love Jessica and make it out alive, Sam perishes in the car wreck that he and Elizabeth have, which we find out in the next book. That would all be horrible enough - if Jessica doesn't summarily dismiss her actions in the next book and COMPLETELY BLAME LIZ for killing her boyfriend, despite JESS being the one who got her drunk.

If you are doing a report on sociopaths and their behavior, this book is an incredibly good study for that. Reading SVH, SVU and all the other spin-off when I was younger I didn't realize how horrid both girls act in almost every situation. Make no mistake, Jessica does highly questionable (to everybody else) stuff in every single book. But this takes the cake. This series basically promotes acting like you have no moral values or codes whatsoever.

And, unfortunately, the books are horridly, wretchedly addictive.

[EuroHackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This year, Marian and I decided to prolong our annual nostalgia re-readathon beyond Halloween. We chose to re-read The Evil Twin storyline from SVH, also known as THE GREATEST MINISERIES OF ALL TIME (TGMOAT). This is the arc that bridged the gap between classic SVH canon (books #1-94) and the two-to-six book self-contained mini arcs hereafter, to the end of the original series.

I remember very vividly reading this miniseries when it was originally released in 1993, and just how crazy it was. This was no ordinary (albeit escapist) storyline in SVH. This was the jump-the-shark, bat-shit, bananapants crazy arc that left behind any idea of innocence or realism in the Sweet Valley universe. So much happens during TGMOAT, and it all starts here: Magna Edition #3, a double-length book that sets up all the storylines. Let's touch on the subplots first:

(1) School Rivalry between SVH and Big Mesa: Big Mesa has traditionally been SVH's biggest rival, and here things are cranking up to 11. The Big Mesa kids raid a SVH beach party at the beginning of the book; their school paper is trashing The Oracle on the regular; they have major competitions coming up in all sports (tennis, track, and basketball); the Big Mesa students cover the SVH student parking lot in shaving cream one random afternoon. Tensions are building, kids are getting excited, and each sports competition just ratchets everything up, climaxing at the big basketball game the night before the Jungle Prom.

Bruce Patman is at the center of the maelstrom, leading his buddies from the disbanded Club X (SVH #86) in various mischief, as well as the big bout at the end. Bruce is incredibly on edge for no discernable reason, but a brief run-in with his late girlfriend's brother at the marina apparently re-opens a gaping wound. We're supposed to believe that Bruce's emotions have been bottling up since her death back in the 40s, and is only now manifesting? Uh, okay. Tragically Dead Regina! (JUSTICE FOR REGINA!)

(2) Lila's ongoing trauma from attempted rape: This is a storyline that has been ongoing since #90, the infamous Don't Go Home With John. I think John Pfeiffer is the only character that has ever truly been ostracized from the canon. Is he ever seen again after #90? I don't think so. Anyway, Lila is still going to counseling at Project Youth and hiding her trauma from her friends and family. One day she runs into her counselor, Nathan, at the beach while she's there with Jessica. Jessica points out that Nathan is very cute, and suddenly Lila starts to notice him as a man in addition to being a preternaturally calm counselor who usually irritates her. Lila's spirits lift as she begins to look forward to her sessions with Nathan, but things escalate during the riot after the Jungle Prom, and Lila ends up accusing Nathan of trying to assault her. He did no such thing, but the police on the scene don't know that, so they put him in handcuffs and take him to the police station, with Lila going to make a formal complaint against him.

The main plot is, of course, the Jungle Prom/War Between the Twins. Liz and Jess are joking around at the beginning of the book about Tarzan, and Liz throws out the idea of having a jungle-themed dance at school, sponsored by the local Environmental Alert organization. Jess jumps on board the idea of a school dance, and the two of them hint at it during the aforementioned beach party. Liz also has a moment of regression to #63 The New Elizabeth when she decides that she's tired of alternatively worrying about her twin and being in Jessica's shadow, so she decides to start asserting herself, starting with planning the Jungle Prom.

She gets permission from Chrome Dome to hold the dance in two weeks(!), and the Environmental Alert organization is beyond on board with sponsoring the thing. They even come up with a lavish gift: an all-expenses paid trip to Brazil, and a year-long ambassadorship with Environmental Alert for the girl named Prom Queen. (Why only prom queen? Because EA quite conveniently just brought a high school aged boy on board from a different school, and are now looking to compliment it with a girl). Both Liz and Jess are excited about the prize, and both get stuck in to win that Prom Queen crown. Jessica is natural PQ material, but The New Elizabeth decides that she, too, is worthy of the crown and the prize.

Liz ends up organizing the whole prom by herself (with her loyal Prom Committee - Jessica is the co-chair, but only attends 1 meeting the entire two weeks). Jessica gets a fair amount of attention, too, especially as the rivalry between SVH and Big Mesa heats up. As head cheerleader, she's in the middle of it all - and so is Todd, Liz's boyfriend, the basketball superhero who wins the game on the last shot the night before the prom.

Todd is a shoo-in for King, and who better to accompany him as his Queen than his actual girlfriend? Jessica's jealousy starts to skyrocket, especially as momentum picks up for her sister. Jess starts ignoring her boyfriend (and even denigrating him, which was hard to read!), refuses to speak to her sister, and is making all attempts to win that crown and that trip to Brazil. She really gets nasty during the dance - after abandoning Sam at the door, she schmoozes with her schoolmates and accepts a cup of liquor from a Big Mesa attendee, which she pours into LIz's cup of island punch. She watches Liz take a couple of sips, but leaves before she sees Liz pour half of it into Sam's empty cup.

Soon Liz and Sam are making a spectacle of themselves on the dance floor, and everyone around them realizes that they're roaring drunk. (What was that liquor, anyway, 125 proof Everclear or something??) Todd is up on stage handling his Prom King duties, so he can't get near them, and Jessica is raging at Liz for hanging around her man. (Why Jess? You're the one who practically dumped him at the door!). Jessica also feels guilty, because she's the one who spiked the punch, and its obvious Sam and Liz have no idea why they're suddenly so giggly.

Liz's behavior means that of course Jessica is crowned Prom Queen. She doesn't feel the rush of glory and triumph, however, especially when she learns that Liz dropped out of the race at the last minute. That's when all hell breaks loose.

There's a heated debate about whether or not to allow Big Mesa kids to attend the Jungle Prom, thanks to the rivalry. Some kids date Big Mesa students (like Enid), so they'd be stuck in the middle. Jessica proposes to make the dance SVH-only, even though her own boyfriend attends a different school, but she's unanimously voted down by the entire student body. So, of course some Big Mesa students buy tickets and show up. They're allowed in, but then more of them start coming, looking for trouble. The boys at the dance decide to fight, sending a contingent to the football field to beat each other senseless (the SVH crowd is lead by Bruce). The girls are also getting catty, and students start to leave the gym in droves.

Liz and Sam are among them. They head to the Jeep and take off, with Jess and Todd trying to follow them. Jessica won't fess up to what she did, but she knows Liz shouldn't be driving and is desperate to stop her before something terrible happens.

Which, of course, it does: two minutes from the school, Todd and Jessica pull up to a crash site already swarming with emergency personnel. The Jeep has flipped over, and the police are talking about how no one could survive such a scene. As the book closes, Jessica is wading into the fray, wailing for her sister and her boyfriend. A night to remember, indeed.

I really enjoyed this re-read. I'd forgotten quite a few things (the trip to Brazil, the school rivalry), so that was fun to re-discover. I also enjoyed the throwbacks into classic canon. Besides those storylines already mentioned (#63, #86, #90), we get some ultra-rare cameos from former Wakefield boyfriends: Jeffrey French has a scene in the Oracle office, when Liz anonymously receives copies of the Big Mesa school paper and reads the trashy articles out loud; AJ Morgan plays a pivotal role during the big basketball game before the prom. I'd definitely forgotten those appearances!

Speaking of appearances: Sam and Jessica started dating in SVH #80, but I don't believe he ever graced a book cover. So the picture on the stepback of this book has always been my mental image of him. It was a bit jarring to read about his "blond curls" (which put me in mind of NSYNC-era Justin Timberlake, *shudder*). Sam was definitely one of the best Jessica boyfriends in the series (he's in my top two, along with her first serious boyfriend, AJ Morgan), and the way she ends up treating him here is absolutely atrocious. Her last thoughts of him (before and during the dance) are snide and angry. Of course she didn't know what was going to happen (though if she'd been reading along with us, she would've seen that incredibly obvious foreshadowing looming like a black cloud over everything), but still. She didn't deserve him by the end, and it really saddened me to see that.

As much as I love the Evil Twin arc, I hate that it starts with Sam's death. He deserved better, and even preteen me thirty years ago felt this way. So the tagline for TGMOAT? JUSTICE FOR SAM!

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a shame that the book that began the start of the best arc in SVH history [as well as the beginning of the end for the series, even if we didn't know it at the time, not to mention the shift from stand alones to mini series arcs] has such a god awful picture of Jessica.

Anyway, I remember finishing the book after 10pm and standing there, shocked at the ending. Granted, I was much younger, but still. While the series had killed off Regina prior to this, I could not fathom the idea of life without Sam. You knew Liz would live, but some part of me hoped she wouldn't. Sadistic.

And in a lot of ways, I still view this book with awe. While I'm not a huge fan of most of the arcs that follow, ANTR set up my favorite of all the stories in SVH. I thought Liz and Jessica's fight was stupid, but kind of in character for them, but the stakes were raised and a price was paid.

It wasn't until later that I realized Liz and Sam were the lightest of lightweight drinkers if half a plastic cup of spiked punch shared between the two could render them so completely drunk.


-------
2023 rereadalong thoughts:
And here's my longwinded ramble!
A Night to Remember certainly lives up to its title. It's been *checks* 30 years (holy shit) and certain things about the book still stand out in my memory as clear as day. The feud between the twins over something so absolutely trivial. Lila's lingering trauma courtesy of John. Bruce being his absolute worst self. Sam. Jessica spiking her sister's drink and Liz sharing that same drink with Sam. Sam.

Then there are the things time has wiped or worn away. How the feud started with Elizabeth realizing that maybe she's a little over protective and that perhaps being a little more assertive wouldn't be the worst thing ever... and then spirals rapidly out of control because the twins fixate like nobody's business.

Todd being presented as this shining beacon of a perfect boyfriend to the degree that for all fandom likes to mock Liz as Saint Elizabeth, this book has definitely leaned into the Saint Todd side of things. Perhaps to make up for his cover art. Sue, Wilkins. Sue. But anytime he's on page there's at least one reminder of what a good, kind, thoughtful and attentive boyfriend and friend he is.

Bruce is an incredible asshole this book, but it's presented as his guilt and sorrow over Regina's death having festered into something dark and ugly, looking desperately for an outlet. And it makes sense that an exceptionally spoiled rich white boy is gonna go looking for trouble in an effort to feel something, anything again. I liked his moments around Nicholas and how we ever so briefly see Bruce realize on some level what a garbage bag of a human being he's become. I fucking hate his reaction to seeing Pamela for the first time though.
Someone even more beautiful and rare.
Well, Regina's fucking dead, Bruce, so I'd say she's pretty fucking rare. You asshole, I hope that concussion you're bound to experience helps shake a few things loose in your head because at this point I'm rooting for Big Mesa. This on top of his intentionally goading Lila about John? Yeah. I'm rooting for the skull stomp.

May I say that my absolute hatred of SVH!Amy Sutton feels even more justified each time I re-read any of these books? She's well into her Project Youth arc and her reaction to Lila's date rape near miss is to wonder when Lila's going to just get over it? Fuck you, Amy. Jessica's only marginally better but I'm saving my annoyance with her for later in the book.

I do wonder why Lila was paired up with Nathan as her counselor in the first place given how jittery she is around pretty much every guy... until Jessica comments on how cute Nathan is. Words. I do not have them. Trauma does weird things, I guess.

It's been thirty years and I still do not understand why or how this was a prom and not just a school dance. I mean, I know it was so they could push the whole prom queen angle, but Prom is kind of a singular event each year. You don't traditionally have more than one per school year (at your own school, anyway), do you?

When I first started this re-read, I thought that oh, hey, the prom queen fight actually makes some sense, given Liz wanting to spread her selfish wings and the whole trip to Brazil as a prize... but it very quickly turns over the top even in the book. I will say I don't really remember younger!me thinking it was quite as dumb as any version of me who read it after knowing how it ends though, so at least on first read it probably hit just the right note of drama.
But damn, the book really did have both twins get more than a little paranoid, huh? Jessica definitely comes off the worst here, given how the book ends (Sam!) but even before taking that into consideration, she's a raging bitch for about half the book. There's a brief moment in time where she's just the right amount of self absorbed... and then it goes to hell. Basically the last third of the book has Jessica in the wrong at EVERY turn. It's exceptionally painful to read, knowing what's coming right at us.
Sam.

...there's a damn good reason no one noticed the Margo switches right off the bat, huh? Liz being such an absolute nightmare makes some of Margo's later slip-ups seem like nothing in comparison. Liz going in on Enid over Hugh at the basketball game is so far beyond what Liz is normally like, even on her worst days. :/ What's even worse is there are momentary glimpses of my favorite Liz: the first few books of the series Liz. She who is popular but not Jessica levels of popular. A little snarky but not cruel, a little in awe of managing to get Todd as her boyfriend, content to move in her own very small circle with Enid and company... and then she goes all in on Prom Queen and again, it all goes to hell. Well, that and everyone going on and on and on about how she'd be the perfect Prom Queen.

Gonna assume Liz has never been drunk or had much more than like, wine here and there given how she immediately gets plastered and doesn't even realize it. I'm a little surprised Sam didn't notice the punch being spiked, even after all these years. I'd forgotten how bad I felt for Todd when he sees Sam and Liz together... but that's nothing compared to how sad I feel watching/reading Sam really let loose and knowing this is the last we get of him. (We're not thinking about the Diaries, okay?)

Oh, Sam. I'm glad you had fun with Liz but I'm sorry your last week or so with Jessica was filled with Prom Queen drama. Prior to all that kicking into high gear, Sam and Jessica reminded me why he's the best of her boyfriends. He gets that she's shallow at times but knows that's not all she is. The chemistry for them is off the charts... to the point that I do wonder if that's part of why he got offed. You get an anti-drunk driving/anti drinking PSA and don't have to worry about how to break up Jessica and Sam without going over old territory because if you keep them together, they're gonna wind up having sex and we can't have that!

Eh, probably not, but lemme have my conspiracy theories.

I'd forgotten how little we see of the other Wakefield family members, which is a bit odd given we usually get their bewilderment when the twins are at each other's throats. I guess the next five and a half books will make up for that though. That said, oh, how I cringed during the picture taking scene. The agony!

Now. Who do we think Jessica voted for for Prom King?

[Christie Maliyackel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m back home in Cincinnati so of course I had to raid my childhood bookshelf. These are truly the gifts that keep on giving - they never get old!

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kicking off the 'Evil Twin saga' with Jessica & Elizabeth being absolutely bat-shit crazy over the idea of being crowned prom queen. It's completely in character for Jessica who has proven over the entire series multiple times that she is Chaotic Neutral and will do whatever she wants, whenever she wants. I'd be inclined to call her chaotic evil but she generally doesn't try to kill people and shows actual remorse when people get hurt. It doesn't stick around for the next book usually but it does exist. Plus we have a real evil character coming into the series soon so...chaotic neutral it is.

It's cheap fun, the sisters are ridiculous as usual but the real tragedy of this book is poor Sam. Poor, poor Sam. The best of Jessica's boyfriends (actually best of either twin's boyfriends tbh. Fuck you Todd & Jeffery) did not deserve to go out like that. I'd mark that as a spoiler but the book was published in 1993 and it's Sweet Valley. Soap opera style plots are expected.

I think it would have been way more interesting if he had survived, perhaps injured or in a coma because that still would have given Jessica & Elizabeth motivation not to talk to each other aka furthering the evil twin plot without losing the best side character of the series. Plus, imagine how much fun it would have been to have him dramatically recover near the end of the evil twin saga.

Alas, the ghostwriters probably killed him off just for the excuse of having Jessica date around without it being cheating.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember buying this as a kid and loving it but I have no real memory of what happened

[Alexandra Iley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did I just read?! 😂
This was my favorite book at 11 years old. I am so lucky I didn’t grow up to be a sociopath.
5 stars for this amazingly ridiculous trip down memory lane!

[Jesska · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this SVH escapist trash more please

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you look up 'psychopath' in the dictionary, if there isn't a picture of Jessica Wakefield front and centre, it's wrong, and you should buy another, because Ms Jessica is straight-up, no-word-of-a-lie screwed in the head, and this book proves that. Beyond a reasonable doubt.

She's also delicious fun.

A Night to Remember is one of the Sweet Valley's with those gorgeous pull-open covers that I used to love so much as a teen. Jessica and Elizabeth were just SO glam and so blonde, and they were always doing these unbelievably evil things without getting in much trouble for it. Well, at least Jessica was. Elizabeth was off being supercilious and annoying somewhere. Probably with Todd.

I will never forgive the writers of this book for killing off Sam, who truly was Jessica's greatest boyfriend and who didn't deserve to be caught up in the twins' machinations. When I first read this, I was devastated. But then, I also didn't realize it was odd to get hammered off maybe 1/2 cup of vodka spiked punch, so I suppose my mental acuity wasn't quite there yet.

All in all, a very perfect Sweet Valley tale, with enough Evil!Jessica to make for a wildly maddening and entertaining novel.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, the prelude to the Evil Twin saga! Jungle Prom! Vindictive Jess! Drunk Liz! Everyone is terrible, and wonderful. All hail Lila, our flat-faced queen (if you know, you know)!

Lila's story is handled well, which is a relief. There were so many ways the ghostwriter could have messed up writing about post-sexual assault trauma, but they did a good job. Amy and Jess, on the other hand, mostly just wish Lila wasn't being such a drag - John assaulted her WEEKS ago, just get over it, GOSH. Yeah, I spent the whole book wanting to set Amy and Jess on fire (and calling them names that I won't repeat here - you'll have to read my full recap for that).

The whole Reefer Madness-inspired prom scenes with Liz and Sam are just *chef's kiss* These SVH kids really know how to get down after half a cup of spiked punch! Well, until they decide to drive home. 😬

Read my full recap at https://ogwnostalgia.wordpress.com/20...

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book over ten years ago and STILL haven't ever read 'The Morning After'! I could never find it in any used book stores, and didn't have the means I do now of finding it on the internet... so I gave up.
Let's just say I was a very angry preteen when I got to the end and still at the age of 22 have never found out what happened. I think if I read it now I won't be able to stomach the cheesy melodrama, but hey, I've got to at least finish it, right?

[Ashley Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt so dirty after reading this one.

I loved it.

[Felicia Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series still!

[Dove Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Stick with SVH” they said. “Jessica’s not a monster, she’s a lolz hot mess!” they said.

After recapping all of Sweet Valley Twins, including every single offshoot and special edition, including The Unicorn Club, I finally bailed out of High about 30 books in. I could no longer take the level of toxicity Jessica generated. She wasn’t a hot funny mess who occasionally went too far – like she was in Twins – she was a nasty piece of work who routinely hospitalised her victims by bullying them to breaking point.

And when I quit, readers kept telling me to stick with it. That it would get fun. And yes, I do recall from my youth the Tofu-Glo debacle. But unfortunately, I picked up this book.

Here is where we’re at:

Jessica and Elizabeth both decide to run for Prom Queen, and Jessica’s overwhelming entitlement turns a fun feud into assault and manslaughter.

Bruce is all broken because the one girl he loved (incidentally, the girl he dropped because his feeble male ego couldn’t handle being so “beta” as to enjoy being around a girl) is dead, so he is just loving the hell out of emotionally abusing Andrea Slade. I don’t care. I wish he died too. Hateful asshat.

Lila is processing her trauma from Don’t Go Home with John, and is the only interesting plot in the book. By the way, Bruce – absolute charmer – threatens Lila with SA out of pure spite. Seriously, why do people ship Bruce/Lila. She is sass in heels and the one saving grace of this entire series, and he is a vicious nasty bully who likes breaking women, physically and emotionally. He doesn’t deserve to be the one who cleans up her vomit, let alone be near her.

High points: Lila being both believable in her trauma and still sassy. The way the twins can just demand a prom and get one. The incomprehensible maths that led a charity to fund an all-expenses paid trip to a 5 star resort in Brazil as a prize for donating the profits of prom tickets sales to their charity – I do maths for a living. Everyone would have been financially better off if the charity did nothing and the school kept its own money. Drunk!Liz is the greatest thing. She is right in the perfect point where she’s giddy and charming, a bit dim, and will probably cry over how nice your hair looks. The drunk scenes are charming.

Low points: Todd picking that particular prom night to decide not to respond to a boy talking to “his” woman with TODD-SMASH. When a major player has to be out of character to make the plot work, you need to re-write the plot, not the character. Every moment inside Bruce’s foul brain. I hate him, I don’t care about his issues, and no amount of trauma can justify hurting women. The Big Mesa/Sweet Valley rivalry. It might be very accurate, for all I know, but if a neighbouring school threatened to burn my school to the ground, I’d draw them a map so they could get out safely after doing such a kindness. I would not want to rip their heads off. But I’m British, so school spirit isn’t a thing that exists in my world.

Anyway, this book was high drama, very repeat, but now I’m committed to reading the next four books to find out exactly how it unfolds, although I am aware.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The marketing of SVH must have really ramped up in 1993, as this book is a "Magna Edition" that apparently must be read after book #94 to actually make book 95 make sense. I haf never read it before, and was entertained by the main plot about Elizabeth and Jessica duking it out for the Jungle Prom Queen title and prizes. Sidebar- after 2 recent books focused almost entirely, and 100% badly, on race relations, mayne having a dance called a Jungle Prom isn't the best idea? But I digress- At any rate, Elizabeth does all thw work for a dance and Jessica does none, but Liz is tired of always putting her twin before herself and when the title of prom queen comes with a trip to Brazil and an student ambassadorship to some environmental organization, she decides she wants that jungle flower crown. The middle of the book is largely about Lila being messed up about John Pfeiffer still and some kind of definite transference issues with her too young and too hot counselor. Because this is SVH, let's assume this will end badly. And finally there were strange parts about some dark-haired chick named Margo who is mean to first graders and in foster care somewhere (don't remember where, but believe she was planning a bus trip to Cleveland-- the anti-sweet-valley). The ending of the book goes crazy, with booze and dancing and Jessica being psycho, so...I don't even know if I liked this so much as I was kind of intrigued? Moving on to this "story arc" set of books, wondering if that terrible tv show ruined Sweet Valley forever.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically, Liz and Jess decide to throw this jungle prom and both girls are desperate to be prom queen. While on the campaign trail both girls get super mad at each other and get into a massive fight. At the prom, Jess gets so jealous of Liz she spikes her drink which Liz shares with Jess’ boyfriend Sam. Liz and Sam drive home completely wasted before Jess can stop them and at the end of the book is alluded that both are dead. Obviously this isn’t true because Liz can never die. B-plots include Lila falling for her counsellor then accusing him of attacking her, a massive rivalry between Big Mesa and Sweet Valley High over who is the best high school in Southern California and Bruce Pathan dealing with his unresolved feelings surrounding Regina’s death. Honestly this book wasn’t that great because both twins SUCKED but Jess has to be the worst twin because she literally spikes her sister.

[EL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely deranged. I loved it.

Can we talk about how Elizabeth has some kind of weird personality twist in this book and only this book? I've been (re)reading the entire series (in order this time) and there is no other where she decides to just be more Jessica with no apparent catalyst. The whole way through I wondered why the Big Mesa rivalry was so heavily pushed, and for quite a small pay off (I guess quite a big plot point tbf).

Lila disappointed me in this with her accusations towards Nathan but given her story so far, her actions kind of do make sense.

I knew what was going to happen at the end because I read this only after getting past the first chapter of book #95 and wondering wtf I had missed. Looking forward to getting back on track - hopefully Ned gets to represent Elizabeth in court and she gets life imprisonment (lol I know this won't happen).

Anyway, 5 stars and thoroughly recommend reading the entire series in order.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did not need to be 300+ pages though my 10 year old self would’ve ate this up. I always loved the “big book” magna editions as a kid. I’ve never read the lead up miniseries to Evil Twin before so I’m trying to do that this year.

80% of the book is just prom planning and then we finally get to the Jungle Prom where bad decisions are made. I forgot how much of a sociopath Jessica is. Elizabeth acts like Jessica in this book.

The Lila and Bruce chapters were just so boring and probably only there to pad the page count. Lila has a crush on her counselor and the whole thing was just so ugh…not what I should’ve been reading as a kid.

[Carla Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would have been better if they’d connected Elizabeth’s third diary in so it meshed together. And if they’d actually had Elizabeth’s POV leading up the accident to explain where her and Sam were going and why. I kind of thought reading this would give me answers but I kind of know as much as I did before reading the Magna edition. Still, it was a pretty good read and Sam woodruff was always my favourite and twenty years later I’m still just as devastated by his death. Can’t help but wonder if Jess would have stayed with Sam and never been interested in Todd in Confidential, too.

[VPLC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this because it was an old book of my mom's that I had just found in our old cabinets. When I showed it to her, she immediately freaked out and told me how she religiously read those series of books during her teenage years. It was very sentimental to her, and also to me to have read it too!

I would rate the story a 3.7/5 because there were parts of it where I found some things a bit annoying and cringe. 😅 Nonetheless, the story was great! It was the usual high school teen drama stories. Also, it was quite cliffhanger at the end which made me want to read the next book after it already.

[Wysteria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I loved these books in elementary and middle school. Why? They’re full of bad teen drama and everything always ends up okay. Pretty sure this is where my love of bad teen tv shows started. Anyway, 3.5 stars rounded down. Jessica is terrible. Elizabeth is just as bad. Everyone else is talking NPC’s and it all ends with the big night at the Prom.

[Bethany Mead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing beats the Wakefield twins fighting to win a competition…this time Prom Queen! Lots of drama and a very crazy ending to tee up the next few books. There are some disturbing things that are going on with Lila, and could be triggering to anyone who’s has been a victim of assault. Some of it feels very blasé and it shows how differently these issues were addressed 20-30 years ago… 😔

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this a nostalgia rating because I am rereading this story arc from my sister's old SVH books. I remember it so well that it clearly made an impression. No idea what I would think if I read it for the first time now.

[Jen (NerdifiedJen)]

Re-reading the drama-filled “evil twin” arc for a special project, to be announced soon!

[gem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this mini series so much!

[Vicki Gooderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both Jessica and Elizabeth are sociopaths but this is such nonsense I loved it. Like a bad soap in a really good way.

[Heather King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating based on nostalgia only 😂 Goodness, this hits different now!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is time! I am ready to reread the best SVH saga ever!!

[Pages · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well- as an adult it’s very different to when i read it as a mere child. Spoilers alert.... for further spoilery information.
Were the twins always so mean?? Talk about selfish. And what’s with the sixteen year olds having so much freedom? They ‘act’ like twenty something’s but we are reminded over and over again that they are sixteen. Actually, being the prude that I’m becoming with age- feel quite uncomfortable with all the hot and steamy kisses and bodies melting into one another! They’re sixteen for heaven’s sake? Okay- so maybe the clothing is different in LA than it is in rainy England but again- prude me- feels uncomfortable with the constant description of the skimpy garments they wear. And lightweight Elizabeth got drunk on err half a glass of vodka?? Bizarrely though- no one questioned her behaviour with Sam?? Huh? Why not?
It’s a big book so lots to read and I can understand a young person reading this book in the early 90s and thinking wow- they’re so grownup and gorgeous- this book didn’t have the same effect as reading it now. Though, it was nice to revisit my youth.
They are addictive yes- and now I’m so horror struck- I have to read the rest ;o)