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Sweet Valley High #96
The Arrest
Will Elizabeth ever regain her self-respect?
Elizabeth Wakefield has been arrested—and her twin, Jessica, has finally stolen Elizabeth's boyfriend, Todd. The twins have drifted further apart than ever before—is there any hope of reunion now?
Nicholas Morrow agrees to appear on the host new dating show, Hunks. After two ridiculous dates, Nicholas is ready to give up on the idea of true love forever. But he still has one more date to go...
Lila Fowler's mother has returned to Sweet Valley just when her daughter needs her the most. But how can she explain why she abandoned Lila? Can Lila learn to love the woman who left her all those years ago?
... and Margo continues toward Sweet Valley—leaving a wake of destruction!
Book Two in this explosive six-part miniseries... Sweet Valley will never be the same!
Elizabeth Wakefield has been arrested—and her twin, Jessica, has finally stolen Elizabeth's boyfriend, Todd. The twins have drifted further apart than ever before—is there any hope of reunion now?
Nicholas Morrow agrees to appear on the host new dating show, Hunks. After two ridiculous dates, Nicholas is ready to give up on the idea of true love forever. But he still has one more date to go...
Lila Fowler's mother has returned to Sweet Valley just when her daughter needs her the most. But how can she explain why she abandoned Lila? Can Lila learn to love the woman who left her all those years ago?
... and Margo continues toward Sweet Valley—leaving a wake of destruction!
Book Two in this explosive six-part miniseries... Sweet Valley will never be the same!
219 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1993
29 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,844 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 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 10, 2024
Book two of this miniseries and chaos reigns, as per usual. (Spoiler alert, for anyone who still wants to read this decades-old soap opera.) Elizabeth is formally arrested for manslaughter and forced to spend the night in a cell with (gasp!) ladies of the night, though the book does not openly say as much, just makes it clear that they are evil sluts. (As usual, very in line with the tone of this series, which treats "evil slut" as redundant.) Her completely fucking inept lawyer-father weakly suggests that Elizabeth lawyer up with an actual defense lawyer, then lets her wave off the suggestion and has exactly no lawyerly advice to give. (I'm not sure what sort of lawyer Ned Wakefield is supposed to be, except apparently not a very competent one.)
Meanwhile. Jessica—who spiked Elizabeth's drink at the dance, which may or may not be the reason there was a car crash (with Elizabeth presumably, though not definitely, driving) and Jessica's boyfriend is now dead—is as sociopathic as ever:
Jessica turned to look at the door that led to the bathroom connecting her room with her sister's. Elizabeth had been arrested. Elizabeth was in jail. Even though Jessica had played that silly joke on Elizabeth and Sam, the accident obviously had had nothing to do with Jessica. It was all Elizabeth's fault. Jessica leaned against the window frame, a smile on her lips. It was a sad smile, but it was the first time she'd smiled since the accident, so she took it as a sign. A sign that if Elizabeth was punished for Sam's death, then Jessica really would start to feel better. (18)
Even if their father did clear Elizabeth, even if she didn't spend the rest of her life in jail where she belonged, Jessica had finally realized the one thing that would make her feel better. The one thing that would ease some of the pain caused by Sam's death. And that was revenge. (27)
O...kay. Yes. This is absolutely a normal and healthy thought process. Definitely. So Jessica goes off to try to steal Todd, who—complete moron that he is—still hasn't reached out to Elizabeth, and now convinces himself that spending lots of time with Elizabeth's twin, who is now throwing herself bodily at Todd, is a good way to reconnect with the girlfriend he's abandoned. And if that's not bad enough, he tries to comfort Jessica over the loss of her boyfriend: "I do know how you feel," Todd whispered. "I really do. I miss Liz so much, I feel like I'm losing my mind." (82)
Um...no? No. Sam died, Todd. That's why Jessica misses him. You miss Elizabeth because you abandoned her when she needed support, and you still haven't so much as picked up the phone to call her.
I can't even with Todd.
By way of B plots, we have 1) Bruce still pining over a girl he now thinks is a slutty slut and thus not worth his playboy time; 2) Lila's mother visiting for the first time since Lila was two because Lila is dealing with trauma; and 3) Nicholas Morrow trying to find a girlfriend and going on some completely irrational TV show as a result. Here's why Nicholas thinks he's a catch: He didn't drink, gamble, drive too fast... (22). Y'all, how many high schoolers do you know who are worried about whether or not their boyfriend is a gambler? I'm not saying there aren't any 16-year-old card sharks or slot machine fiends, but...surely not so many that that's a thing Nicholas thinks should set him apart? Oh, and when he takes one of the girls from the TV show out, they're forced to change their dinner plans: By the time they were seated at their table—not at the expensive French restaurant he had planned on, but at Bobo's Burger Barn, the only place that would allow Susan in in her flip-flops... (99). You mean to tell me that there is one place in town that will allow flip-flops? This seems...suspect.
Meanwhile, poor Lila—her mother is visiting from Paris, and Lila's friends are bored stiff at hearing Lila talk about it. And...as much as it sounds like she's a little one-note, of course it's all Lila can think about. This is the mother Lila has been thinking about for years, who as far as I can tell hasn't put in the slightest effort to keep in touch, and Lila is pinning all her hopes and dreams on her. It would be a very good time for her friends to actually support her, but...they're popular. Can't have any interests between clothes and boys, I guess. And clothes only count if the intent is to look good for boys, not for meeting one's estranged mother.
(Also, racism much? Collecting herself, Jessica put on her brightest cheerleader smile. "Of course," she said lightly. She took up a large forkful of salad. "And I think you're absolutely right. Mexican is too ethnic for someone from Paris. She'll be used to much more elegant food." (31))
Oh, and of course we have Margo, who is making her way across the country to California...and leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.
Meanwhile. Jessica—who spiked Elizabeth's drink at the dance, which may or may not be the reason there was a car crash (with Elizabeth presumably, though not definitely, driving) and Jessica's boyfriend is now dead—is as sociopathic as ever:
Jessica turned to look at the door that led to the bathroom connecting her room with her sister's. Elizabeth had been arrested. Elizabeth was in jail. Even though Jessica had played that silly joke on Elizabeth and Sam, the accident obviously had had nothing to do with Jessica. It was all Elizabeth's fault. Jessica leaned against the window frame, a smile on her lips. It was a sad smile, but it was the first time she'd smiled since the accident, so she took it as a sign. A sign that if Elizabeth was punished for Sam's death, then Jessica really would start to feel better. (18)
Even if their father did clear Elizabeth, even if she didn't spend the rest of her life in jail where she belonged, Jessica had finally realized the one thing that would make her feel better. The one thing that would ease some of the pain caused by Sam's death. And that was revenge. (27)
O...kay. Yes. This is absolutely a normal and healthy thought process. Definitely. So Jessica goes off to try to steal Todd, who—complete moron that he is—still hasn't reached out to Elizabeth, and now convinces himself that spending lots of time with Elizabeth's twin, who is now throwing herself bodily at Todd, is a good way to reconnect with the girlfriend he's abandoned. And if that's not bad enough, he tries to comfort Jessica over the loss of her boyfriend: "I do know how you feel," Todd whispered. "I really do. I miss Liz so much, I feel like I'm losing my mind." (82)
Um...no? No. Sam died, Todd. That's why Jessica misses him. You miss Elizabeth because you abandoned her when she needed support, and you still haven't so much as picked up the phone to call her.
I can't even with Todd.
By way of B plots, we have 1) Bruce still pining over a girl he now thinks is a slutty slut and thus not worth his playboy time; 2) Lila's mother visiting for the first time since Lila was two because Lila is dealing with trauma; and 3) Nicholas Morrow trying to find a girlfriend and going on some completely irrational TV show as a result. Here's why Nicholas thinks he's a catch: He didn't drink, gamble, drive too fast... (22). Y'all, how many high schoolers do you know who are worried about whether or not their boyfriend is a gambler? I'm not saying there aren't any 16-year-old card sharks or slot machine fiends, but...surely not so many that that's a thing Nicholas thinks should set him apart? Oh, and when he takes one of the girls from the TV show out, they're forced to change their dinner plans: By the time they were seated at their table—not at the expensive French restaurant he had planned on, but at Bobo's Burger Barn, the only place that would allow Susan in in her flip-flops... (99). You mean to tell me that there is one place in town that will allow flip-flops? This seems...suspect.
Meanwhile, poor Lila—her mother is visiting from Paris, and Lila's friends are bored stiff at hearing Lila talk about it. And...as much as it sounds like she's a little one-note, of course it's all Lila can think about. This is the mother Lila has been thinking about for years, who as far as I can tell hasn't put in the slightest effort to keep in touch, and Lila is pinning all her hopes and dreams on her. It would be a very good time for her friends to actually support her, but...they're popular. Can't have any interests between clothes and boys, I guess. And clothes only count if the intent is to look good for boys, not for meeting one's estranged mother.
(Also, racism much? Collecting herself, Jessica put on her brightest cheerleader smile. "Of course," she said lightly. She took up a large forkful of salad. "And I think you're absolutely right. Mexican is too ethnic for someone from Paris. She'll be used to much more elegant food." (31))
Oh, and of course we have Margo, who is making her way across the country to California...and leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.
November 22, 2023
Well, we have our first signs that the ghostie who wrote this book is not the same as the previous one. The timeline has magically constricted - instead of nearly a month passing at the start of this one, only a week has passed. In that time, not only has Sam been buried, the Jeep has also been repaired. Apparently after a total, it looks brand new. Er, yeah, okay then.
Let's run down the storylines, from lightest to darkest:
(1) Nicholas Morrow agrees to appear on HUNKS and has a predictably horrible time. Date #1 is a bike named Jakki who apparently has face tattoos and knows of a worse place around the Valley than Kelly's Roadhouse. Date #2 is the chronic giggler/childlike Susan, who dresses so casually that the only place the two can get in is Bobo's Burger Barn, which features tablecloths that can be colored. Nicholas isn't the only one who's shocked when Susan admits she already has a boyfriend (who *loves* Bobo's) and only did the show for fun. Date #3 is Ann, a pretty, sophisticated girl from nearby Shelter Cove. This time, it's Nicholas who messes up: showing up straight from an afternoon of yard work; forgetting his wallet so she has to pay for dinner; Ann changes the flat tire on his car on their way to the amusement park, where he ends up throwing up on her during the roller coaster ride. Remarkably, Ann found all of this incredibly romantic and agrees to a second date, after their humiliating return to the show to share how their dates went. Nicholas is so grateful that he kisses Ann live on air, and they all live happily ever after.
I wasn't too thrilled with Wacky Dating Hijinks, especially as the ghostie went out of their way to make Jakki and Susan especially awful, and Nicholas into a stick in the mud. The dude is gorgeous and rich; he's never going to have this much trouble dating, especially if he gets out of the high school dating pool and looks elsewhere. Jolly for him that he gets the happy ending here, but yeesh. This whole storyline was super cringey.
(2) Steven is super worried about his family and he can't stay away, even though he desperately needs to find a roommate to share the rent. He plays phone tag with a potential as he comes and goes from campus to home, but when he finally meets Bille Winkler, he's in for a surprise: Bille's a gorgeous girl!
(3) Bruce is finding himself unable to get over Pamela so easily, and he spends a LOT of time waffling with himself over the rumors of her reputation. We get Pamela's POV for the first time here, and learn that a jilted boy is responsible for trashing her reputation. She's never slept with anyone, but none of the guys at Big Mesa want to admit that they couldn't score with Easy Pammy, so the rumors and stories spin completely out of control. Pamela wants to tell Bruce the truth, because she has big news: she's managed to wrangle a transfer to Sweet Valley High, where she hopes to repair her social standing and start over. There are some nasty scenes at the Box Tree Cafe, however, and Pamela realizes that the rumors will follow her even out of Big Mesa, so maybe the transfer to SVH to be near Bruce isn't going to completely solve all of her problems.
(4) Lila is SO EXCITED to meet her mother that it's literally all she can talk about. She's driving her friends crazy, but she doesn't care: she's beyond ready for her own mother figure, and she's nervous/excited to finally see Grace after 14 years. The reunion at the Beverly Hills Hotel is more than she can ask for: Grace is beautiful, charming, and sophisticated, apparently an ash-blond version of Lila herself. All is going quite swimmingly until Grace's boyfriend Pierre announces himself to the world as "Grace's lover"! Lila and her father aren't the only ones who gagged at Pierre the Pill's crash landing. Why the hell did Grace bring him along if he's only going to be a drama queen? I don't care if she lives with him or not: they're not joined at the hip, she could've come alone.
Grace spends as much time soothing Pierre's perceived hurts as she does with Lila, which pisses Lila off and she turns her back on Grace. She doesn't realize until the end - when she hears her mother crying in the living room at Fowler Crest - that maybe the 14 year separation has hurt everyone involved, not just herself.
It's hard not to feel for Lila. She's getting what she wants - her mother - but discovering that there are always strings attached. The moments there are between Lila and Grace are lovely, and I'm looking forward to more mother-daughter bonding ♥
(5) Elizabeth is arrested and has to spend a night in jail, where she's taunted by her cell mates. She still can't remember anything about the night that Sam died; her memory is a black hole. Unfortunately, neither the police nor her high-powered attorney, Alan Rose, believe her; Mr Wakefield is so fed up with hotshot Rose that he vows to take up Liz's defense himself. I thought I remembered him defending her in court, becoming whatever type of lawyer the plot requires, no matter what his actual practice is. Steven is apparently lined up to help. If I was Liz, I'd be more than a little worried about two novices taking on criminal defense, but of course as the Good Twin, everything is going to work out for her. No matter that right now she is in the depth of depression and ostracizing herself from the world.
This has brought the family split that was hinted at before: everyone is giving Elizabeth support, which makes Jessica feel isolated and betrayed. Jess puts on a happy face and goes "back to normal" towards everyone except Todd, Liz's boyfriend. She's determined to make Liz pay for killing Sam, even if all she can do as revenge is take her own boyfriend away. Jess has some conflicting feelings about this; she doesn't actually like Todd, but she can make him feel sorry for her and hang around her, so she spends most of her time being weepy and dramatic to elicit his sympathy.
It's quite pleasantly more complex that it sounds. Todd is the only person who will actually talk about Sam to Jessica, and she needs that outlet; she's missing him so badly that she'll take anything she can get in that score, even if it means having dull as dishwater Todd offering her comfort. She plays up her isolation from her family as a means to get closer to him.
Todd, for his part, has some misguided notion that the only way he can get back to Liz is through Jessica. He hopes that by spending time with Jess, he can get close enough to Liz to actually speak to her again. Never mind the find that he's studiously avoided her since the prom; somehow Jessica's approach is what gives him hope that he can find his way back to Liz again. Okay, Todd, that makes no damn sense and you have only yourself to blame for hanging out with Jessica in public, where all your classmates can see (and gossip) about you.
(6) Margo's babysitting job in Cleveland is now for the less-than-wealthy Smith family, as opposed to the upper crust Rossis originally introduced in #95. Apparently Mrs Smith runs an antique shop and she's just taken in a cache of jewelry, which Margo intends to steal to fund the next phase of her trip. We get a bit more of Margo's backstory here; instead of pounding headaches and a raspy voice, she has a soothing inner voice that "guides" her. We see flashes of abuse from Margo's childhood: being locked in a closet and in a bathroom and crying to be let out. She has a "treasure box" that she keeps things in, including the jewels she steals from Mrs Smith. She drowns little Georgie in a lake after he gives up the key to the safe and takes off, careful to disguise herself as the news starts to make national headlines. She takes the bus to Houston, barely eating and growing more paranoid all the time. The motherly voice "guides" her to the Houston train station, where she sits for sixteen hours waiting for the next sign. She hears an announcement for a connecting train to LA, and meets a little old lady with a Sweet Valley newspaper in her bag. Margo spots the headline about Elizabeth's arrest and upcoming trial, and sees in the picture a blond version of herself. She kills the old lady in the train station bathroom for her money and her ticket, with her ultimate destination in mind: Sweet Valley.
It occurs to me as I read this that the reason that I likely forgot about the big Brazil trip prize for Prom Queen is that it's never mentioned again after A Night to Remember. I get that there's collective chaos and unreality settling in over Sweet Valley, but if Jessica had been forced to follow through with the trip and ambassadorship for Environmental Awareness, that would've been more than enough to keep her mind off her guilt for being the cause of Sam's death, and it would've given her something to insulate her from her feels of loss and betrayal when her parents and brother start rallying to Liz's defense. But nope, instead we have to let those dark feelings fester and Jessica turns her mind to revenge by pulling Todd away . The wedge has to be driven so completely between the twins to allow for the showdown with Margo in 3 books' time. It's a shame, really, that none of the ghosties were able to put a line under the whole Brazil trip aspect of A Night to Remember, instead letting that plot thread hang out there.
Let's run down the storylines, from lightest to darkest:
(1) Nicholas Morrow agrees to appear on HUNKS and has a predictably horrible time. Date #1 is a bike named Jakki who apparently has face tattoos and knows of a worse place around the Valley than Kelly's Roadhouse. Date #2 is the chronic giggler/childlike Susan, who dresses so casually that the only place the two can get in is Bobo's Burger Barn, which features tablecloths that can be colored. Nicholas isn't the only one who's shocked when Susan admits she already has a boyfriend (who *loves* Bobo's) and only did the show for fun. Date #3 is Ann, a pretty, sophisticated girl from nearby Shelter Cove. This time, it's Nicholas who messes up: showing up straight from an afternoon of yard work; forgetting his wallet so she has to pay for dinner; Ann changes the flat tire on his car on their way to the amusement park, where he ends up throwing up on her during the roller coaster ride. Remarkably, Ann found all of this incredibly romantic and agrees to a second date, after their humiliating return to the show to share how their dates went. Nicholas is so grateful that he kisses Ann live on air, and they all live happily ever after.
I wasn't too thrilled with Wacky Dating Hijinks, especially as the ghostie went out of their way to make Jakki and Susan especially awful, and Nicholas into a stick in the mud. The dude is gorgeous and rich; he's never going to have this much trouble dating, especially if he gets out of the high school dating pool and looks elsewhere. Jolly for him that he gets the happy ending here, but yeesh. This whole storyline was super cringey.
(2) Steven is super worried about his family and he can't stay away, even though he desperately needs to find a roommate to share the rent. He plays phone tag with a potential as he comes and goes from campus to home, but when he finally meets Bille Winkler, he's in for a surprise: Bille's a gorgeous girl!
(3) Bruce is finding himself unable to get over Pamela so easily, and he spends a LOT of time waffling with himself over the rumors of her reputation. We get Pamela's POV for the first time here, and learn that a jilted boy is responsible for trashing her reputation. She's never slept with anyone, but none of the guys at Big Mesa want to admit that they couldn't score with Easy Pammy, so the rumors and stories spin completely out of control. Pamela wants to tell Bruce the truth, because she has big news: she's managed to wrangle a transfer to Sweet Valley High, where she hopes to repair her social standing and start over. There are some nasty scenes at the Box Tree Cafe, however, and Pamela realizes that the rumors will follow her even out of Big Mesa, so maybe the transfer to SVH to be near Bruce isn't going to completely solve all of her problems.
(4) Lila is SO EXCITED to meet her mother that it's literally all she can talk about. She's driving her friends crazy, but she doesn't care: she's beyond ready for her own mother figure, and she's nervous/excited to finally see Grace after 14 years. The reunion at the Beverly Hills Hotel is more than she can ask for: Grace is beautiful, charming, and sophisticated, apparently an ash-blond version of Lila herself. All is going quite swimmingly until Grace's boyfriend Pierre announces himself to the world as "Grace's lover"! Lila and her father aren't the only ones who gagged at Pierre the Pill's crash landing. Why the hell did Grace bring him along if he's only going to be a drama queen? I don't care if she lives with him or not: they're not joined at the hip, she could've come alone.
Grace spends as much time soothing Pierre's perceived hurts as she does with Lila, which pisses Lila off and she turns her back on Grace. She doesn't realize until the end - when she hears her mother crying in the living room at Fowler Crest - that maybe the 14 year separation has hurt everyone involved, not just herself.
It's hard not to feel for Lila. She's getting what she wants - her mother - but discovering that there are always strings attached. The moments there are between Lila and Grace are lovely, and I'm looking forward to more mother-daughter bonding ♥
(5) Elizabeth is arrested and has to spend a night in jail, where she's taunted by her cell mates. She still can't remember anything about the night that Sam died; her memory is a black hole. Unfortunately, neither the police nor her high-powered attorney, Alan Rose, believe her; Mr Wakefield is so fed up with hotshot Rose that he vows to take up Liz's defense himself. I thought I remembered him defending her in court, becoming whatever type of lawyer the plot requires, no matter what his actual practice is. Steven is apparently lined up to help. If I was Liz, I'd be more than a little worried about two novices taking on criminal defense, but of course as the Good Twin, everything is going to work out for her. No matter that right now she is in the depth of depression and ostracizing herself from the world.
This has brought the family split that was hinted at before: everyone is giving Elizabeth support, which makes Jessica feel isolated and betrayed. Jess puts on a happy face and goes "back to normal" towards everyone except Todd, Liz's boyfriend. She's determined to make Liz pay for killing Sam, even if all she can do as revenge is take her own boyfriend away. Jess has some conflicting feelings about this; she doesn't actually like Todd, but she can make him feel sorry for her and hang around her, so she spends most of her time being weepy and dramatic to elicit his sympathy.
It's quite pleasantly more complex that it sounds. Todd is the only person who will actually talk about Sam to Jessica, and she needs that outlet; she's missing him so badly that she'll take anything she can get in that score, even if it means having dull as dishwater Todd offering her comfort. She plays up her isolation from her family as a means to get closer to him.
Todd, for his part, has some misguided notion that the only way he can get back to Liz is through Jessica. He hopes that by spending time with Jess, he can get close enough to Liz to actually speak to her again. Never mind the find that he's studiously avoided her since the prom; somehow Jessica's approach is what gives him hope that he can find his way back to Liz again. Okay, Todd, that makes no damn sense and you have only yourself to blame for hanging out with Jessica in public, where all your classmates can see (and gossip) about you.
(6) Margo's babysitting job in Cleveland is now for the less-than-wealthy Smith family, as opposed to the upper crust Rossis originally introduced in #95. Apparently Mrs Smith runs an antique shop and she's just taken in a cache of jewelry, which Margo intends to steal to fund the next phase of her trip. We get a bit more of Margo's backstory here; instead of pounding headaches and a raspy voice, she has a soothing inner voice that "guides" her. We see flashes of abuse from Margo's childhood: being locked in a closet and in a bathroom and crying to be let out. She has a "treasure box" that she keeps things in, including the jewels she steals from Mrs Smith. She drowns little Georgie in a lake after he gives up the key to the safe and takes off, careful to disguise herself as the news starts to make national headlines. She takes the bus to Houston, barely eating and growing more paranoid all the time. The motherly voice "guides" her to the Houston train station, where she sits for sixteen hours waiting for the next sign. She hears an announcement for a connecting train to LA, and meets a little old lady with a Sweet Valley newspaper in her bag. Margo spots the headline about Elizabeth's arrest and upcoming trial, and sees in the picture a blond version of herself. She kills the old lady in the train station bathroom for her money and her ticket, with her ultimate destination in mind: Sweet Valley.
It occurs to me as I read this that the reason that I likely forgot about the big Brazil trip prize for Prom Queen is that it's never mentioned again after A Night to Remember. I get that there's collective chaos and unreality settling in over Sweet Valley, but if Jessica had been forced to follow through with the trip and ambassadorship for Environmental Awareness, that would've been more than enough to keep her mind off her guilt for being the cause of Sam's death, and it would've given her something to insulate her from her feels of loss and betrayal when her parents and brother start rallying to Liz's defense. But nope, instead we have to let those dark feelings fester and Jessica turns her mind to revenge by pulling Todd away . The wedge has to be driven so completely between the twins to allow for the showdown with Margo in 3 books' time. It's a shame, really, that none of the ghosties were able to put a line under the whole Brazil trip aspect of A Night to Remember, instead letting that plot thread hang out there.
June 20, 2021
I am both irritated and intrigued by this "mini-series. Lots going on with not enough twins-- Elizabeth is still a depressing mess, who can't remember anything from the night of the car crash because she had a little bit of booze slipped in her punch. Jessica, rather than feeling guilty about being the one to spike her twin's drink and inadvertently cause the crash that killed Sam 2 books ago has decided its better to just hate her sister than blame herself at all, and so inexplicably decides to mack on Todd. Lila is meeting her absent mother. Random Margo is all about killing little kids and riding buses. Bruce is both nasty to and in love with the Big Mesa school tramp (who is really still a virgin, apparently), and Nicholas goes on a tv show that sends him on 3 blind dates. Am in this for the long haul, so... Onward.
August 14, 2014
The one in which Todd is an even bigger douchecanoe than normal...
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September 21, 2017no todd no!
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December 1, 2023It's amazing how quickly I'm gonna have to eat my words from the previous review. The Arrest feels very much like it was written by a different ghosty. My partner in crime mentioned Georgie's last name change and yet somehow that one passed me by entirely. Which is weird since Josh Smith takes a fairly big role later on in the arc.
Speaking of Georgie, was he named Georgie just for the nursery rhyme angle so Margo could twist the words? Was he, Francine?! I bet he was.
Soooooo... Jessica's going pretty full on psycho here. She's decided to make Elizabeth pay for killing Sam (...words, what are they and why do I not have them?) by stealing Todd even though this is one of the few times in the SVH canon that she has NO interest in Toddles at all. It would be funny how disinterested she is in this conquest if not for the reasoning behind it. Todd, for his part in all this, is a complete and utter dumbass. I get that Jessica's obviously grieving and you don't want to think the worst of her, but any idiot could tell the twins haven't been speaking and yet he's buying Jessica's stories about how she'll put in a good word for him and make sure that Liz knows there's nothing going on between them, no matter what the gossip mill says. Todd. Honey. Baby. Wake up. You're not nearly this dumb when it comes to Jessica normally.
I truly wish we'd begun the not quite pairing as revenge and then actually spelled it out that Jessica needed someone to talk to about Sam and Todd was really the only one who would. Which I don't think is true anyway, as I think Steven totally would talk about Sam if Jessica wasn't so busy pretending that it's an all or nothing game at home when it comes to which twin is suffering more... especially when Jessica knows damn well what happened to Elizabeth at the Prom. I think the puzzle pieces are all there and they're sort of interlocking but mostly it just reads as Jessica being lucky that Margo's out here straight up murdering and abusing children to make Jessica look infinitely better.
Btw, Margo's casual child abuse and murder is something I both forgot and remembered very vividly and I'm not sure how both can be true at the same time. I think I remember the child murder because it's very out of place in a SV book and the child abuse and the absolute delight she takes in inflicting the same pain she endured as a child is even *more* out of place in the Valley, but it's more easily glossed over when all you re-read is The Evil Twin. Georgie's murder, however, is the catalyst for later events so that's not easily forgotten.
The only reason I didn't roll my eyes out of my skull over the Jakki/Susan dating shenanigans for Nicholas was because it was 1993 and I expect nothing less from that time frame. Which is weird because it's not like SVH itself hasn't dealt with odd dating choices before but now is not the time for nuance or subverting expectations! Gonna say it right now, having people call Nicholas "Nick" weirds me out something fierce. I think younger!me was okay with it when it's Olivia doing so because I swear, I kept waiting for it to be Liv/Nicholas as endgame (uh, no, pre-teen!me, that's not gonna happen) and I'll still give her a pass because it's Olivia. But Nicholas being such an utter asshat in his own head towards every date was a series of choices that all should have been rethought. I get that the first two are such disasters so that the third can be a disaster in a different way but ugh, there was more than one occasion I found myself thinking, "Y'know, this is probably WHY you're single, Morrow. People expect Bruce to be an asshole but you're supposed to be better than that." I will allow every unkind thought he had about Susan (I'm gonna feel like an ass if that's not giggle factory's name) once it became clear that as annoying as her giggles were, anytime she actually spoke it was somehow WORSE. The ghosty, however, is gonna need to explain why this choice was made.
Speaking of Bruce... oh no, how dare THE Bruce Patman fall for a tramp. What will the people think and say? Oh dear. Luckily for him, turns out she's not a tramp! It's all just a case of one douchebag not being able to handle the blow to his ego and every other guy following suit so as not to be thought of as the one guy she wouldn't sleep with. I get that we had Easy Annie back in book 10 and thus we've already had that arc play out, but I still would've rather had Pamela be free to sleep with whomever she wanted and just decided to change her ways because that's what *she* wanted. Considering Bruce's reputation, he's got no room to talk shit about anyone's List (or lack thereof)... and yes, I know that's just the kind of guy most likely to take the biggest issue with the idea that his perfect angel wasn't pure as the driven snow. Gag. Ugh.
How on earth did I forget the actual cringe inducing WTF of Ned taking over ELizabeth's case? When even Steven's thinking his father's in over his head... I do love Ned trying to keep Steve away because Steve *IS* a hothead and could be a liability. Please see the first big arc or two over in SVU, which I'd forgotten launched at the same time as this arc. But then it's tempered with just how much Liz needed Steve around and how much he knew that. Good big brother Steve is one of my favorites. Judgemental asshole!Steve making mental cracks about Billie's friend's size is one of my least favorites though. Boo.
Also hilarious that Billie shows up here and yet on the billionth re-read of The Evil Twin, she and Steve seem like they've been together forever.
This might be one of Amy's better books, btw. She realizes she's out of her depth when it comes to Lila and her mother, and wishes that Jessica were around since Jess gets Lila in a way Amy doesn't... and yet Amy also seems to be genuinely worried about how high Lila's expectations are, given how as far as anyone knows, Grace Fowler ditched her kid 14 years ago and never looked back. Not sure what Amy's doing hanging out with Caroline out of school though, beyond making me whisper what the fuck.
Why the fuck did Grace bring her Eurotrash boyfriend with her to see her daughter for the first time in more than a decade, especially given the reason WHY Lila needs her now? There's no thought process where this looks good for Grace, mmkay? Lila needs your attention on her, Grace, not your drama whore of a boytoy.
Kinda love that Margo's voices provide a similar trick to the Wakefield twins' psychic powers, but also kinda hate it. You just can't win, ghosty.
Except when you can. It defies logic, but the chapter where every storyline in SV (sorry, Margo) seems to cross paths without anyone in the story fully realizing it? Loved it.
Speaking of Georgie, was he named Georgie just for the nursery rhyme angle so Margo could twist the words? Was he, Francine?! I bet he was.
Soooooo... Jessica's going pretty full on psycho here. She's decided to make Elizabeth pay for killing Sam (...words, what are they and why do I not have them?) by stealing Todd even though this is one of the few times in the SVH canon that she has NO interest in Toddles at all. It would be funny how disinterested she is in this conquest if not for the reasoning behind it. Todd, for his part in all this, is a complete and utter dumbass. I get that Jessica's obviously grieving and you don't want to think the worst of her, but any idiot could tell the twins haven't been speaking and yet he's buying Jessica's stories about how she'll put in a good word for him and make sure that Liz knows there's nothing going on between them, no matter what the gossip mill says. Todd. Honey. Baby. Wake up. You're not nearly this dumb when it comes to Jessica normally.
I truly wish we'd begun the not quite pairing as revenge and then actually spelled it out that Jessica needed someone to talk to about Sam and Todd was really the only one who would. Which I don't think is true anyway, as I think Steven totally would talk about Sam if Jessica wasn't so busy pretending that it's an all or nothing game at home when it comes to which twin is suffering more... especially when Jessica knows damn well what happened to Elizabeth at the Prom. I think the puzzle pieces are all there and they're sort of interlocking but mostly it just reads as Jessica being lucky that Margo's out here straight up murdering and abusing children to make Jessica look infinitely better.
Btw, Margo's casual child abuse and murder is something I both forgot and remembered very vividly and I'm not sure how both can be true at the same time. I think I remember the child murder because it's very out of place in a SV book and the child abuse and the absolute delight she takes in inflicting the same pain she endured as a child is even *more* out of place in the Valley, but it's more easily glossed over when all you re-read is The Evil Twin. Georgie's murder, however, is the catalyst for later events so that's not easily forgotten.
The only reason I didn't roll my eyes out of my skull over the Jakki/Susan dating shenanigans for Nicholas was because it was 1993 and I expect nothing less from that time frame. Which is weird because it's not like SVH itself hasn't dealt with odd dating choices before but now is not the time for nuance or subverting expectations! Gonna say it right now, having people call Nicholas "Nick" weirds me out something fierce. I think younger!me was okay with it when it's Olivia doing so because I swear, I kept waiting for it to be Liv/Nicholas as endgame (uh, no, pre-teen!me, that's not gonna happen) and I'll still give her a pass because it's Olivia. But Nicholas being such an utter asshat in his own head towards every date was a series of choices that all should have been rethought. I get that the first two are such disasters so that the third can be a disaster in a different way but ugh, there was more than one occasion I found myself thinking, "Y'know, this is probably WHY you're single, Morrow. People expect Bruce to be an asshole but you're supposed to be better than that." I will allow every unkind thought he had about Susan (I'm gonna feel like an ass if that's not giggle factory's name) once it became clear that as annoying as her giggles were, anytime she actually spoke it was somehow WORSE. The ghosty, however, is gonna need to explain why this choice was made.
Speaking of Bruce... oh no, how dare THE Bruce Patman fall for a tramp. What will the people think and say? Oh dear. Luckily for him, turns out she's not a tramp! It's all just a case of one douchebag not being able to handle the blow to his ego and every other guy following suit so as not to be thought of as the one guy she wouldn't sleep with. I get that we had Easy Annie back in book 10 and thus we've already had that arc play out, but I still would've rather had Pamela be free to sleep with whomever she wanted and just decided to change her ways because that's what *she* wanted. Considering Bruce's reputation, he's got no room to talk shit about anyone's List (or lack thereof)... and yes, I know that's just the kind of guy most likely to take the biggest issue with the idea that his perfect angel wasn't pure as the driven snow. Gag. Ugh.
How on earth did I forget the actual cringe inducing WTF of Ned taking over ELizabeth's case? When even Steven's thinking his father's in over his head... I do love Ned trying to keep Steve away because Steve *IS* a hothead and could be a liability. Please see the first big arc or two over in SVU, which I'd forgotten launched at the same time as this arc. But then it's tempered with just how much Liz needed Steve around and how much he knew that. Good big brother Steve is one of my favorites. Judgemental asshole!Steve making mental cracks about Billie's friend's size is one of my least favorites though. Boo.
Also hilarious that Billie shows up here and yet on the billionth re-read of The Evil Twin, she and Steve seem like they've been together forever.
This might be one of Amy's better books, btw. She realizes she's out of her depth when it comes to Lila and her mother, and wishes that Jessica were around since Jess gets Lila in a way Amy doesn't... and yet Amy also seems to be genuinely worried about how high Lila's expectations are, given how as far as anyone knows, Grace Fowler ditched her kid 14 years ago and never looked back. Not sure what Amy's doing hanging out with Caroline out of school though, beyond making me whisper what the fuck.
Why the fuck did Grace bring her Eurotrash boyfriend with her to see her daughter for the first time in more than a decade, especially given the reason WHY Lila needs her now? There's no thought process where this looks good for Grace, mmkay? Lila needs your attention on her, Grace, not your drama whore of a boytoy.
Kinda love that Margo's voices provide a similar trick to the Wakefield twins' psychic powers, but also kinda hate it. You just can't win, ghosty.
Except when you can. It defies logic, but the chapter where every storyline in SV (sorry, Margo) seems to cross paths without anyone in the story fully realizing it? Loved it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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April 17, 2025The Arrest
Elizabeth is in the interrogation room at the police station. She’s in a daze and the officer is asking her if she’s alright. Detective Marshall says he has to ask her a few more questions. Ned says he doesn’t think this is necessary, but Perez says a boy is dead. They have to take this seriously. Their only doing there jobs and since he’s a lawyer himself he should understand. He says he understands but there haven’t been any charges so she’s has no legal obligations to answer anything. Liz says tho she’ll answer what she can.
He says that in her original statement she says she doesn’t remember leaving the dance. Liz says she doesn’t remember. Detective Perez asks if she left because Jessica and her boyfriend were voted Prom King and Queen. Ned gets mad and says he has no right but Detective Marsh says they’re just trying to jog her memory of where she and Sam where going when they left the school. Liz says she just can’t remember. She heard a noise. Then she hit the breaks but that’s all she can remember. Perez says they’re going to have to charge her with involuntary man later.
Her father tells her not to worry. They’ll get her the best defense lawyers money can buy. It’s all a mistake. Then she escorted to a cell with two other women. One is a prostitute and the other looks like a homeless woman. Liz tries to ignore them but unfortunately they’re all up in her business and they just keep on talking.
Lila and Amy are picking out something for Lila to wear when her mother comes. Lila’s in much better spirits, She can’t stop talking about Grace and its getting on Amy’s nerves. Lila says she’s just on edge. Amy says it’s understandable. Amy realizes that Lila thinks seeing Grace will solve all her problems once and for all. Lila says she just wants to make the right impression. Amy says she’s probably just as nervous and *shes* probably going through her closet worrying about what she’ll wear. Lila says she doesn’t know how she’ll get through the next 6 days. Amy thinks you’ve got through the last 14 years.
Lila wonders if she should get Grace a present and then starts throwing out things. Amy says she thinks she should relax. It’ll take time for them to get to know each other. Lila says as soon as they see each other it will all fall in place. Then everything will be fine again. Amy tells her she should be careful. She doesn’t want to get hurt. Lila whirls on her and asks what she’s saying. Amy worries that Grace will take one look at Lila and wishes she would have stayed in France. Or Lila will wish she never came there.
Amy says she was just trying to help. Lila says she thought she’d be more understanding. The phone rings and it’s Grace. Amy worries that she’ll let her down before she even arrives, but Lila is all smiles. When she gets off the phone, Lila is teary eyed and says her mother just wanted her to know she couldn’t wait to see her. Amy puts her arounds around Lila and prays it’ll be ok, Steven waits for his dad to call and thinks how unfair it is. Steven flips through some college ads and finds a person named Billy looking for a roommate.
But then the phone rings and he knows it’s his father. He tells him there’s been a set-back. Liz is still in custody and she has to spend the night. Steven wants to rush right home, but his father tells him there’s nothing he can do. Basically, Jessica is happy Liz is being punished. Michelle has locked George in the closet and he’s pleading he can’t breathe and to let him out. Michelle tho keeps trying to think of a song she heard about leaving Ohio. Michelle yells at him to shut up or he’ll be sorry. He says he’s scared of the dark and he really can’t breathe. She continues to think about the song. That’s where she’ll go. That’s where she’ll find everything she’s ever wanted. It’s where her real family will be and her real life.
The voice told her she’d been taken by an evil witch. But Georgie didn’t tell her the ring she stole was fake and they didn’t keep cash in the house. She heard Mrs. Smith say there was so valuabe jewerly coming into her antique shop tho and as soon as she got her hands on it she could leave. Michelle’s patience is short and she lets George out and starts to kick him in the head. Then she makes him not to tell anyone and do whatever she asks him to do. He says yes. Just don’t lock him in the closet again. She thinks California here I come!
Nicholas wonders why he can’t find someone- I wonder this too ALL THE TIME!- He gets a letter that shocks him from HUNKS (a popular tv show that helps you find the girl of your dreams (snorts). No secret who turned in his name. He’ll give the producer a call. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Liz has been released and it’s her first day back at SVH. She’s meet with stony faces and silence. Enid tries to smile and her but she just turns and walks the other way. Things can never go back to being the same.
Jessica tells Amy she’s fine and has everything under control. She’ll pretend to be fun-loving Jessica again and not let anyone get to close to her so they won’t know the truth. She decides what will make her feel better is revenge-even if her dad says he can take care of the charges-.
Todd comes in and sits by someone else. Liz keeps telling herself he’ll call her but he hasn’t. But when he saw her he turned away and started talking to someone else. She hopes he’ll see her sitting alone and come over. She feels a hand on her shoulder but it’s not Todd. It’s Enid. Enid tells her she can’t avoid her. She’s her best friend. Liz sees herself in the paper (standing trial), drops it on the floor, blames Enid, and gets out of there.
Lila is at the lunch table going on and on about where she and Grace will be having dinner. She asks Jessica what she thinks but Jessica is bored with the whole conversation and thinking about Liz and her vengeance. She answers tho Mexican food is too ethnic. She’ll want something more elegant she suggest. She’s the one that stuck the paper in Enid’s bag for Liz to see. Meanwhile, Steven can’t focus on anything but his family. His father has told him his sister are doing as well as to be expected and his mother is telling him their fine. He makes a list of things he needs to do. Then he calls Billie’s number but they aren’t there so he leaves a message, describes the apartment, and tells him about the rent. He tells him to come over next Monday. He might be gone this weekend.
Margo has a dream she’s tied of in the closet and the voice in her head is taunting her. She’s begging to be let out and promising to be good but the voice keeps on laughing. It tells her she won’t sneak away again. It’s her real family. The door opens and there’s light. The voice asks what she thinks it’ll do to her. She wakes screaming. She tells herself she’s got to get out of there now. It tells her the brat knows where the keys to the safe are. It’s time for her to go!
Lila is still going on about how her mother can fly a plane. Jessica is thinking about the story she read in English class where the person had to wait 30 years to get their revenge. Then she sees Todd and thinks maybe she won’t have to wait that long. Meanwhile, Bruce is thinking about Pamela (even tho he doesn’t want to). A commercial reminds him of her. Then he starts to cry and yell at the tv (and hurls the remote). He gets a call from Pamela. She pleads with him to listen and says he changed her and how she opened him up to feel again. She says if what he said is true then he should give her another chance. He agrees to meet her at the Box Café.
Todd is trying to write his history paper, but he’s really thinking about Liz. He’s wondering why he’s shutting Liz out. Jessica calls Todd crying. She starts to vent to Todd about Sam and how her friends are just thinking about themselves. He tells her he’s here and he’s listening. She says she’s there by herself and she’s miserable. Todd, suggest they go see a movie and get a pizza afterward. So, they make plans to go out the next night. Jessica says it’s a date.
All these “dream girls” are wrong for Nick right off the bat. One of them looks goth. The second is laughing like a hyena. The third is shy and blushes when he looks at her. Jessica begs with Sam to forgive her. She’s not really interested in Todd. She just wants to take him away from Liz just like Liz took him away from her. Margo can’t find the key and George has locked himself in his room. She bribes him to come out with chocolate chip cookies and ice cream and a picnic. She promises she won’t hurt him again. She says they can have pbj sandwiches, and cheese crackers, and pretzels. When he comes out she grabs him by the and twist it until he shows her where the key is.
Jackie is late coming to pick up Nick for their date. She picks him up on her bike. While Steven is driving home and occupied of thoughts of his father trying to spare his feelings and what his father, mother, and sisters must be going through a girl also in in another world and steps in front of his car. He swerves on the breaks in time. (It’s Pamela).
She’s late meeting Bruce. She really needs to convince him it’s not what it looked like and she has some surprise news for him. Because of a boy named Jake Jacoby her life is all messed up. She thought they were in love but when she told him she didn’t want to sleep with him he never spoke to her again. Boys started asking her out but when she turned them down for sex they dropped her. The rumors still held that she was easy because to save face and they didn’t want to seem like the only one that didn’t get it they lied.
So, she went out with Jacob so he’d stop the rumors. He just laughs at this and tells her he’ll help her reputation alright. He’ll help RUIN IT! Todd wonders what the hell he’s doing going out with Jessica when it’s Liz he misses. He wonders if this can be a scheme of Jessica’s to get him back talking to Liz and if he’s doing the right thing. When he gets to the movie theatre he thinks it’s Liz for a minute, but it’s Jessica. He apologizes for being late.
Margo gets a bus ticket and decides to pawn Mrs. Smith’s jewelry when she gets to California. She has to keep a low profile. Georgie she took to Secca Lake and drowned him. Jackie takes Nicolas to Club Mud. It’s crowded and noisy. The band is screaming and look like they just got out of jail. She’s not conventional enough to let him pick her up but she’s not too conventional to let him pay for her beer. Then she leaves him to talk to her friends. She signs him up for ammeter mud wresting andNick calls Olivia and makes her come pick him up.
Bruce tells himself when he sees Pamela he’ll listen to her but he’ll tell her they aren’t meant to be together. When he sees her though he falls in love all over again. She’s about to tell him what happened but Jake shows up with his friends (all of them on the Big Mesa football team). They start to talk trash about Pamela and Bruce offers to take it outside. Pamela gets scared and tells him he can’t fight all three of them. Bruce wimps out and throws some money on the table -worrying that he’ll have to defend her forever and if that’s who she was then- and peaces out. Pamela slaps Jake and calls him a liar.
Steven isn’t impressed with his dad’s lawyer. He asks Liz’s the same questions and again she says she can’t remember anything. He notes the alcohol in her bloodstream and Steven gets mad and says Liz doesn’t drink. His lawyer suggest that she confess to being guilty. Lila’s mother her mother Grace (who says she wants to tell her everything even why she left) and her boyfriend Pierre.
Todd is uncomfortable during the movie. Jessica keeps moving closer to him and even tries to hold his hand. Todd offers to take her home, but she says it’s the first night she’s been out. Jessica suggests going for a walk on the beach. Amy and Caroline see them and Amy says it looks odd, but Caroline says they’re about as compatible as a mouse and a boa constrictor. Amy says she doesn’t like it. She has a strange feeling something’s wrong. Caroline says Todd’s just comforting her. Amy says it’s not Todd she’s worried about. Nick, Enid, and Hugh see them too and this makes Enid mad.
Jessica is noticing Todd is preoccupied but so is she with the one thing she can’t have (Sam). She’s seeing the last time they were there playing around. This isn’t the *exact* spot she told Todd use to be hers and Sam’s. It’s further up. Todd tries to give Jessica some comforting words. It takes her by surprise and she’s flooded with emotions and she starts to cry. She falls to the sand and he puts his arms around her. He tells her he understands. He misses Liz so much he’s losing his mind. He doesn’t understand at all but she tells him she knows he’d understand. He says he’s here now and she thinks that’s where you’ll stay.
Pamela vows to stay in her room the rest of her life. She thought she and Bruce could rise about the lies, but he’d believed Jake. He never loved her. She couldn’t tell him her news. She transferred to SVH. The driver lets Margo off in front of a split level house. Standing at the front of the house are her mother, father, and sister. They tell her they’ve been waiting for her. There’s a little boy that tells her wait for him. She tries to push him off but he’s too strong. The harder she hits him the harder he holds on. Margo yells let me off but the bus driver says too late.
Then she awakens and sees miles of highway. Grace comes in her room with coffee in the morning and tells her all about her life in Paris and then she asks about Lila’s life. Lila down plays it but Grace tells her she heard all about *that boy*. She’s about to tell her but Grace gets a call from Pierre and she rushes off to attend to him. She says they’ll continue their talk later. This makes Lila think Grace doesn’t really care about her. Lila tells her don’t worry about it. Then she starts to shake. Grace says I’m your mother. Lila says she hasn’t been her mother in 14 years. Grace says she can explain but Lila says save it and slams the bathroom door.
Todd tries to avoid Jessica (who the next day has called him twice) but thinking it couldn’t be her he answers the phone and its’ her. He tells her to meet him and they’ll go for a walk. Steven talks to Liz and reminds her what she told Rose that she saw light in her eyes. Maybe another car was coming toward her. Then Liz remembers it. She then sees Todd and Jessica coming over the hill holding hands. Nicolas gives to Suzzane’s for a date. Susan wears flip flops and he takes her to BoBo’s Burgers.
She’s actually into drawing on the tables with the crayons. He feels like stuffing the crayons in her mouth. Suzzane says she comes there with her boyfriend all the time. Before he leaves, Jessica tells Steven she’s fine, but the next moment she’s breaking down at Todd’s house. She tells him about Steven coming to see Liz. Amy tells Lila maybe she was a little hard on her mother, but Lila says she doesn’t think so. Liz and Enid sees Liz and Jess’s jeep in front of (Todd’s house when Enid isn’t paying attention to where she’s going and ends up there. Enid says he’s probably just helping her as a friend would.
Amy and Lila also pass Todd’s and Amy sees them in an embrace. Nicolas’s third dates goes well. He doesn’t dress up for it nor have a plan for it. The girl (Anne) is beautiful, smart, and funny Nick forgets his wallet and Ann has to pay. They get a flat tire and Ann has to change it. They go to a amusement park and he throws up. But she gives a glowing report of him on the show and asks if he’ll go out with her again but he has to let her pick the date. On the way home, Jessica puts on a sweater that’s Liz’s and Todd is confused. So, he pretends she’s Liz as she kisses him. Steven finds out Billie is a girl. An old lady has a newspaper with Liz on the front-but Margo thinks its her-. Margo goes into the bathroom and kills the woman.
Rating: 5 All I have to say is Jessica and Todd BELONG TOGETHER. No wonder they ended up married! I hate how this made Nick look so judgemental and unthoughtful. That's not the Nick I know and love but I hope it works out with him and Ann. And I hope it also works out with Lila and Grace. Tho I’m not crazy about her for leaving Lila.
Elizabeth is in the interrogation room at the police station. She’s in a daze and the officer is asking her if she’s alright. Detective Marshall says he has to ask her a few more questions. Ned says he doesn’t think this is necessary, but Perez says a boy is dead. They have to take this seriously. Their only doing there jobs and since he’s a lawyer himself he should understand. He says he understands but there haven’t been any charges so she’s has no legal obligations to answer anything. Liz says tho she’ll answer what she can.
He says that in her original statement she says she doesn’t remember leaving the dance. Liz says she doesn’t remember. Detective Perez asks if she left because Jessica and her boyfriend were voted Prom King and Queen. Ned gets mad and says he has no right but Detective Marsh says they’re just trying to jog her memory of where she and Sam where going when they left the school. Liz says she just can’t remember. She heard a noise. Then she hit the breaks but that’s all she can remember. Perez says they’re going to have to charge her with involuntary man later.
Her father tells her not to worry. They’ll get her the best defense lawyers money can buy. It’s all a mistake. Then she escorted to a cell with two other women. One is a prostitute and the other looks like a homeless woman. Liz tries to ignore them but unfortunately they’re all up in her business and they just keep on talking.
Lila and Amy are picking out something for Lila to wear when her mother comes. Lila’s in much better spirits, She can’t stop talking about Grace and its getting on Amy’s nerves. Lila says she’s just on edge. Amy says it’s understandable. Amy realizes that Lila thinks seeing Grace will solve all her problems once and for all. Lila says she just wants to make the right impression. Amy says she’s probably just as nervous and *shes* probably going through her closet worrying about what she’ll wear. Lila says she doesn’t know how she’ll get through the next 6 days. Amy thinks you’ve got through the last 14 years.
Lila wonders if she should get Grace a present and then starts throwing out things. Amy says she thinks she should relax. It’ll take time for them to get to know each other. Lila says as soon as they see each other it will all fall in place. Then everything will be fine again. Amy tells her she should be careful. She doesn’t want to get hurt. Lila whirls on her and asks what she’s saying. Amy worries that Grace will take one look at Lila and wishes she would have stayed in France. Or Lila will wish she never came there.
Amy says she was just trying to help. Lila says she thought she’d be more understanding. The phone rings and it’s Grace. Amy worries that she’ll let her down before she even arrives, but Lila is all smiles. When she gets off the phone, Lila is teary eyed and says her mother just wanted her to know she couldn’t wait to see her. Amy puts her arounds around Lila and prays it’ll be ok, Steven waits for his dad to call and thinks how unfair it is. Steven flips through some college ads and finds a person named Billy looking for a roommate.
But then the phone rings and he knows it’s his father. He tells him there’s been a set-back. Liz is still in custody and she has to spend the night. Steven wants to rush right home, but his father tells him there’s nothing he can do. Basically, Jessica is happy Liz is being punished. Michelle has locked George in the closet and he’s pleading he can’t breathe and to let him out. Michelle tho keeps trying to think of a song she heard about leaving Ohio. Michelle yells at him to shut up or he’ll be sorry. He says he’s scared of the dark and he really can’t breathe. She continues to think about the song. That’s where she’ll go. That’s where she’ll find everything she’s ever wanted. It’s where her real family will be and her real life.
The voice told her she’d been taken by an evil witch. But Georgie didn’t tell her the ring she stole was fake and they didn’t keep cash in the house. She heard Mrs. Smith say there was so valuabe jewerly coming into her antique shop tho and as soon as she got her hands on it she could leave. Michelle’s patience is short and she lets George out and starts to kick him in the head. Then she makes him not to tell anyone and do whatever she asks him to do. He says yes. Just don’t lock him in the closet again. She thinks California here I come!
Nicholas wonders why he can’t find someone- I wonder this too ALL THE TIME!- He gets a letter that shocks him from HUNKS (a popular tv show that helps you find the girl of your dreams (snorts). No secret who turned in his name. He’ll give the producer a call. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Liz has been released and it’s her first day back at SVH. She’s meet with stony faces and silence. Enid tries to smile and her but she just turns and walks the other way. Things can never go back to being the same.
Jessica tells Amy she’s fine and has everything under control. She’ll pretend to be fun-loving Jessica again and not let anyone get to close to her so they won’t know the truth. She decides what will make her feel better is revenge-even if her dad says he can take care of the charges-.
Todd comes in and sits by someone else. Liz keeps telling herself he’ll call her but he hasn’t. But when he saw her he turned away and started talking to someone else. She hopes he’ll see her sitting alone and come over. She feels a hand on her shoulder but it’s not Todd. It’s Enid. Enid tells her she can’t avoid her. She’s her best friend. Liz sees herself in the paper (standing trial), drops it on the floor, blames Enid, and gets out of there.
Lila is at the lunch table going on and on about where she and Grace will be having dinner. She asks Jessica what she thinks but Jessica is bored with the whole conversation and thinking about Liz and her vengeance. She answers tho Mexican food is too ethnic. She’ll want something more elegant she suggest. She’s the one that stuck the paper in Enid’s bag for Liz to see. Meanwhile, Steven can’t focus on anything but his family. His father has told him his sister are doing as well as to be expected and his mother is telling him their fine. He makes a list of things he needs to do. Then he calls Billie’s number but they aren’t there so he leaves a message, describes the apartment, and tells him about the rent. He tells him to come over next Monday. He might be gone this weekend.
Margo has a dream she’s tied of in the closet and the voice in her head is taunting her. She’s begging to be let out and promising to be good but the voice keeps on laughing. It tells her she won’t sneak away again. It’s her real family. The door opens and there’s light. The voice asks what she thinks it’ll do to her. She wakes screaming. She tells herself she’s got to get out of there now. It tells her the brat knows where the keys to the safe are. It’s time for her to go!
Lila is still going on about how her mother can fly a plane. Jessica is thinking about the story she read in English class where the person had to wait 30 years to get their revenge. Then she sees Todd and thinks maybe she won’t have to wait that long. Meanwhile, Bruce is thinking about Pamela (even tho he doesn’t want to). A commercial reminds him of her. Then he starts to cry and yell at the tv (and hurls the remote). He gets a call from Pamela. She pleads with him to listen and says he changed her and how she opened him up to feel again. She says if what he said is true then he should give her another chance. He agrees to meet her at the Box Café.
Todd is trying to write his history paper, but he’s really thinking about Liz. He’s wondering why he’s shutting Liz out. Jessica calls Todd crying. She starts to vent to Todd about Sam and how her friends are just thinking about themselves. He tells her he’s here and he’s listening. She says she’s there by herself and she’s miserable. Todd, suggest they go see a movie and get a pizza afterward. So, they make plans to go out the next night. Jessica says it’s a date.
All these “dream girls” are wrong for Nick right off the bat. One of them looks goth. The second is laughing like a hyena. The third is shy and blushes when he looks at her. Jessica begs with Sam to forgive her. She’s not really interested in Todd. She just wants to take him away from Liz just like Liz took him away from her. Margo can’t find the key and George has locked himself in his room. She bribes him to come out with chocolate chip cookies and ice cream and a picnic. She promises she won’t hurt him again. She says they can have pbj sandwiches, and cheese crackers, and pretzels. When he comes out she grabs him by the and twist it until he shows her where the key is.
Jackie is late coming to pick up Nick for their date. She picks him up on her bike. While Steven is driving home and occupied of thoughts of his father trying to spare his feelings and what his father, mother, and sisters must be going through a girl also in in another world and steps in front of his car. He swerves on the breaks in time. (It’s Pamela).
She’s late meeting Bruce. She really needs to convince him it’s not what it looked like and she has some surprise news for him. Because of a boy named Jake Jacoby her life is all messed up. She thought they were in love but when she told him she didn’t want to sleep with him he never spoke to her again. Boys started asking her out but when she turned them down for sex they dropped her. The rumors still held that she was easy because to save face and they didn’t want to seem like the only one that didn’t get it they lied.
So, she went out with Jacob so he’d stop the rumors. He just laughs at this and tells her he’ll help her reputation alright. He’ll help RUIN IT! Todd wonders what the hell he’s doing going out with Jessica when it’s Liz he misses. He wonders if this can be a scheme of Jessica’s to get him back talking to Liz and if he’s doing the right thing. When he gets to the movie theatre he thinks it’s Liz for a minute, but it’s Jessica. He apologizes for being late.
Margo gets a bus ticket and decides to pawn Mrs. Smith’s jewelry when she gets to California. She has to keep a low profile. Georgie she took to Secca Lake and drowned him. Jackie takes Nicolas to Club Mud. It’s crowded and noisy. The band is screaming and look like they just got out of jail. She’s not conventional enough to let him pick her up but she’s not too conventional to let him pay for her beer. Then she leaves him to talk to her friends. She signs him up for ammeter mud wresting andNick calls Olivia and makes her come pick him up.
Bruce tells himself when he sees Pamela he’ll listen to her but he’ll tell her they aren’t meant to be together. When he sees her though he falls in love all over again. She’s about to tell him what happened but Jake shows up with his friends (all of them on the Big Mesa football team). They start to talk trash about Pamela and Bruce offers to take it outside. Pamela gets scared and tells him he can’t fight all three of them. Bruce wimps out and throws some money on the table -worrying that he’ll have to defend her forever and if that’s who she was then- and peaces out. Pamela slaps Jake and calls him a liar.
Steven isn’t impressed with his dad’s lawyer. He asks Liz’s the same questions and again she says she can’t remember anything. He notes the alcohol in her bloodstream and Steven gets mad and says Liz doesn’t drink. His lawyer suggest that she confess to being guilty. Lila’s mother her mother Grace (who says she wants to tell her everything even why she left) and her boyfriend Pierre.
Todd is uncomfortable during the movie. Jessica keeps moving closer to him and even tries to hold his hand. Todd offers to take her home, but she says it’s the first night she’s been out. Jessica suggests going for a walk on the beach. Amy and Caroline see them and Amy says it looks odd, but Caroline says they’re about as compatible as a mouse and a boa constrictor. Amy says she doesn’t like it. She has a strange feeling something’s wrong. Caroline says Todd’s just comforting her. Amy says it’s not Todd she’s worried about. Nick, Enid, and Hugh see them too and this makes Enid mad.
Jessica is noticing Todd is preoccupied but so is she with the one thing she can’t have (Sam). She’s seeing the last time they were there playing around. This isn’t the *exact* spot she told Todd use to be hers and Sam’s. It’s further up. Todd tries to give Jessica some comforting words. It takes her by surprise and she’s flooded with emotions and she starts to cry. She falls to the sand and he puts his arms around her. He tells her he understands. He misses Liz so much he’s losing his mind. He doesn’t understand at all but she tells him she knows he’d understand. He says he’s here now and she thinks that’s where you’ll stay.
Pamela vows to stay in her room the rest of her life. She thought she and Bruce could rise about the lies, but he’d believed Jake. He never loved her. She couldn’t tell him her news. She transferred to SVH. The driver lets Margo off in front of a split level house. Standing at the front of the house are her mother, father, and sister. They tell her they’ve been waiting for her. There’s a little boy that tells her wait for him. She tries to push him off but he’s too strong. The harder she hits him the harder he holds on. Margo yells let me off but the bus driver says too late.
Then she awakens and sees miles of highway. Grace comes in her room with coffee in the morning and tells her all about her life in Paris and then she asks about Lila’s life. Lila down plays it but Grace tells her she heard all about *that boy*. She’s about to tell her but Grace gets a call from Pierre and she rushes off to attend to him. She says they’ll continue their talk later. This makes Lila think Grace doesn’t really care about her. Lila tells her don’t worry about it. Then she starts to shake. Grace says I’m your mother. Lila says she hasn’t been her mother in 14 years. Grace says she can explain but Lila says save it and slams the bathroom door.
Todd tries to avoid Jessica (who the next day has called him twice) but thinking it couldn’t be her he answers the phone and its’ her. He tells her to meet him and they’ll go for a walk. Steven talks to Liz and reminds her what she told Rose that she saw light in her eyes. Maybe another car was coming toward her. Then Liz remembers it. She then sees Todd and Jessica coming over the hill holding hands. Nicolas gives to Suzzane’s for a date. Susan wears flip flops and he takes her to BoBo’s Burgers.
She’s actually into drawing on the tables with the crayons. He feels like stuffing the crayons in her mouth. Suzzane says she comes there with her boyfriend all the time. Before he leaves, Jessica tells Steven she’s fine, but the next moment she’s breaking down at Todd’s house. She tells him about Steven coming to see Liz. Amy tells Lila maybe she was a little hard on her mother, but Lila says she doesn’t think so. Liz and Enid sees Liz and Jess’s jeep in front of (Todd’s house when Enid isn’t paying attention to where she’s going and ends up there. Enid says he’s probably just helping her as a friend would.
Amy and Lila also pass Todd’s and Amy sees them in an embrace. Nicolas’s third dates goes well. He doesn’t dress up for it nor have a plan for it. The girl (Anne) is beautiful, smart, and funny Nick forgets his wallet and Ann has to pay. They get a flat tire and Ann has to change it. They go to a amusement park and he throws up. But she gives a glowing report of him on the show and asks if he’ll go out with her again but he has to let her pick the date. On the way home, Jessica puts on a sweater that’s Liz’s and Todd is confused. So, he pretends she’s Liz as she kisses him. Steven finds out Billie is a girl. An old lady has a newspaper with Liz on the front-but Margo thinks its her-. Margo goes into the bathroom and kills the woman.
Rating: 5 All I have to say is Jessica and Todd BELONG TOGETHER. No wonder they ended up married! I hate how this made Nick look so judgemental and unthoughtful. That's not the Nick I know and love but I hope it works out with him and Ann. And I hope it also works out with Lila and Grace. Tho I’m not crazy about her for leaving Lila.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2010
man, this whole miniseries is just AWESOME
September 30, 2020
Eh. This one was ok, but it felt more like a filler book to move some plot points along. (Maybe because I am not remotely interested in Stephen or Nicholas/Olivia or really Todd for that matter.)
Also the Wakefield logic that Elizabeth will be found innocent because she is a good person is just so bizarre to me, especially since the dad is a lawyer (I think) and the brother wants to be one. They don't seem to be making the case that it was just an accident, but rather that even if she was driving and drunk, she is still not at fault.
I know she won't be convicted but I don't quite remember how this all resolves.
On to the next!
Also the Wakefield logic that Elizabeth will be found innocent because she is a good person is just so bizarre to me, especially since the dad is a lawyer (I think) and the brother wants to be one. They don't seem to be making the case that it was just an accident, but rather that even if she was driving and drunk, she is still not at fault.
I know she won't be convicted but I don't quite remember how this all resolves.
On to the next!
August 5, 2018
WELL. Bought this one at a thrift store for 20 cents. Having a midlife crisis and wondering what I’d missed (I was a Sweet Valley Twins reader, but skipped High and the other incarnations), seemed like a good idea. Good thing it was a quick read, because it wasn’t great. The characters are all terrible people and it was such a soap opera (not my thing). I am compelled to know what happens next — this was the second book in a six-part miniseries, apparently. But I think I’ll let Google help me learn their fates.
February 19, 2019
I much preferred the previous book "The Morning After" to this one. Some of the main characters are much more shallow and annoying. Margo's backstory is hinted at a bit more in this and I couldn't help but feel a tiny wee bit sorry for her yet I also wanted to boo her as well. Altogether though, this mini-series is shaping up nicely.
September 1, 2017
Another example of Ned & Alice Wakefield's lackluster parenting.
March 28, 2019
4.5 stars 🌟
May 8, 2023
I didn’t think Jessica could get any darker than in this book. I understand the circumstances are high. But geez.
January 9, 2012
Let the over-the-stop drama continue!
Elizabeth has been arrested for drunk driving, which led to the death in the crash of Jessica's boyfriend, Sam. You of course know that this was in no way directly Lizzie's fault. But of course her family stood by and let her be shamed in front of the entire community; with her mother refusing to even speak to her. I mean, c'mon, really? And no one even entertained the idea that Jessica indirectly caused her boyfriend's death? Oh wait, yes, because she has the "grieving widow" status therefore no one would dare point a finger at her.
Of course Jessica decides that since Elizabeth has taken away her boyfriend then by right she should then appropriate Todd for herself. Of course, Todd is just a toy in Jessica's fingers. He never did realize he's just being manipulated as always. Good to know that Elizabeth can depend on him during her time of real depression. Not.
Meanwhile Lila's dealing with the return of her mother, Grace. Our resident poor-little-rich-girl who has Mommy issues. Why did her mother leave when she was just 2 years old?
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: The Arrest (Sweet Valley High, #96)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
Elizabeth has been arrested for drunk driving, which led to the death in the crash of Jessica's boyfriend, Sam. You of course know that this was in no way directly Lizzie's fault. But of course her family stood by and let her be shamed in front of the entire community; with her mother refusing to even speak to her. I mean, c'mon, really? And no one even entertained the idea that Jessica indirectly caused her boyfriend's death? Oh wait, yes, because she has the "grieving widow" status therefore no one would dare point a finger at her.
Of course Jessica decides that since Elizabeth has taken away her boyfriend then by right she should then appropriate Todd for herself. Of course, Todd is just a toy in Jessica's fingers. He never did realize he's just being manipulated as always. Good to know that Elizabeth can depend on him during her time of real depression. Not.
Meanwhile Lila's dealing with the return of her mother, Grace. Our resident poor-little-rich-girl who has Mommy issues. Why did her mother leave when she was just 2 years old?
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: The Arrest (Sweet Valley High, #96)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
April 10, 2016
The second book in the six part mini series.
Much like the previous book in the series, this was filled with more of the same type of drama. It was nice to get a bit of Nicholas Morrow, that was a nice surprise, but a lot of the other characters continued to be in quite a dark place.
A little bit more of the events at the Jungle Prom were slowly being revealed, and Jessica continues to be quite unpleasant in her grief and Liz a bit of a wet mop. Not that either of those reactions are unexpected or out of place considering the situations these two are in.
Plenty of drama and more great reading in the world of Sweet Valley.
Much like the previous book in the series, this was filled with more of the same type of drama. It was nice to get a bit of Nicholas Morrow, that was a nice surprise, but a lot of the other characters continued to be in quite a dark place.
A little bit more of the events at the Jungle Prom were slowly being revealed, and Jessica continues to be quite unpleasant in her grief and Liz a bit of a wet mop. Not that either of those reactions are unexpected or out of place considering the situations these two are in.
Plenty of drama and more great reading in the world of Sweet Valley.
November 20, 2015
Can't believe Jessica was being such a bitch to her twin sister. Everything that happened to Elizabeth was Jessica fault, but she won't take the blame for her actions. Jessica was the one who spiked the punch at the jungle prom and blames her sister for killing her boyfriend, Sam. Elizabeth and Sam got drunk and had an accident.
Then Elizabeth's boyfriend, Todd was been such an ass and ends up spending time with Jessica. He also expect Elizabeth to called him instead of him approaching her and supporting her in her time of need.
Then Elizabeth's boyfriend, Todd was been such an ass and ends up spending time with Jessica. He also expect Elizabeth to called him instead of him approaching her and supporting her in her time of need.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2023
I will be rating all of these "Margo" books with 5 stars, not because of their literary merit but because they are ABSOLUTELY INSANE and amazing. These books started my love affair for Sweet Valley, and re-reading them while sick has been so much fun.
I think this is the book where the Rossi name suddenly becomes "Smith". I know continuity isn't SVH's strong point, but you'd think they could keep it together for two consecutive books!
I think this is the book where the Rossi name suddenly becomes "Smith". I know continuity isn't SVH's strong point, but you'd think they could keep it together for two consecutive books!
February 16, 2010
ternyata ceritanya nyambung.. and i couldn't find the other series.. oh well.. just have to be content with half a story xp
May 15, 2010
and the crazy continues... 3 more to go until the "evil" conclusion.
June 21, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
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