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Sweet Valley High #117
Jessica the Genius
Everyone knows that Jessica Wakefield lives for sun, fun, and guys. So how did she manage an almost perfect score on her SATs? There's a rumor going around Sweet Valley High that Jessica cheated. Will acing her college boards mean acceptance at the university of her dreams—or will it ruin her chances forever?
Todd Wilkins is driving Elizabeth Wakefield crazy. Now that college basketball scouts are showering Elizabeth's boyfriend with flattery and attention, he thinks he's hot stuff. He even tells Elizabeth she's lucky to have him! When Todd's head gets too big to fit through Wakefields from door, will Elizabeth send him walking?
Todd Wilkins is driving Elizabeth Wakefield crazy. Now that college basketball scouts are showering Elizabeth's boyfriend with flattery and attention, he thinks he's hot stuff. He even tells Elizabeth she's lucky to have him! When Todd's head gets too big to fit through Wakefields from door, will Elizabeth send him walking?
197 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
21 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,851 followersFrancine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 19, 2013
When I first saw the title of the book, my immediate thought was that the title was unfinished. Jessica the Genius... what? ...Manipulator? ...Bully? ...Sociopath?? Alas, no, it's just Jessica the Genius. Period. How disappointing... just when I thought the ghostwriters might finally be catching on!! So here it is, my review of #117, Jessica the Genius. Period.
Again, apologies it took so long to finish. As with ALVH, there really is no excuse... especially when it comes to SVH and I could have finished it in a day. But honestly, you know every book is going to wrap up all happy like. So what's the point??
Anyway, I had the good heart to give this book three stars because no one was acting like their true selves (except maybe Todd), and thus they didn't annoy me as they usually do.
The basic gist is this: SAT time is here, and Liz is freaking out while Jess is not, natch. (I don't understand... they've been juniors at SVH for at least the entire length of a general high school career by now, haven't they taken the SATs like 50 times already??) ... Anyway, because Jess is perfect, she breezes into the SATs late, not having studied at all, while Liz is extremely frustrated and without sleep.
The scores come back and Jess isn't sure what her score means, but she's pretty sure the high numbers mean something good (and she's a genius? really? really?!)... she also opens up Lizzie's (or maybe Liz opens her own, I don't remember) and sees that her numbers are fairly low. Jess's initial reaction is to play it low-key, because she doesn't want to ruin her wet 'n wild 'n carefree reputation. Because who actually wants guys to know you have a brain, right?? So she lies to her boyfriend, Ken, about her scores and tries to deflect any conversation about it. She thinks she has finally put all the nonsense behind her when she is called to the principal's office and informed that the school board believes she cheated on the SATs and she is going to have to retake the SATs.
Liz and Jess fight for a hot minute (because Liz is so freaked about her own future) until they bond over their boyfriends both being dirks (more on that in a minute). They actually say a lot of really nice stuff to each other, which almost makes up for the pointless and completely agonizing nightmare that was A Night to Remember. Note that I said almost. So since Liz scored low the first time around, she decides to retake the SATs with Jess, and this is when the personality shifts start to occur (and we see that both characters would be much more likable if they didn't both act so fucking one dimensional all the time and try to stifle each other when either one branches out). Liz decides she doesn't give two flying fucks about studying, since it clearly did her no good the first time around. She goes to the beach, to the mall, to the movies and actually takes the barrettes out of her hair and raids Jessica's closet. Jess, meanwhile, is awaft in misery studying and cramming and even invites Winston over to help. He tells her it's best not to burn herself out, but she doesn't listen.
The twins retake the test the next morning and, of course, this time Jess does poorly and Liz does great. However, this is all the proof the school board needs that Jessica cheated. Mr. Cooper suspends her from school and kicks her off the cheerleading squad. Jessica spends about four or five pages eating bowl after bowl of ice cream. I am aware that there are plenty of people who can eat horrible foods and not gain too many pounds, but this still makes Jessica a skinny-fat, and that gives me satisfaction. Seriously, when are those girls ever at the gym? Granted, she's on the cheerleading squad, but that's all the exercise she gets. We know she's not burning any calories from sex.
Anyway, Liz is predictably outraged by Jess's situation and decides to hold a mock trial for her. She draws up a summons or something and marches into Chrome Dome's office to let him know that she is holding a trial for Jessica - and if they win Jess has to be reinstated in school. It's a lot of blah di blah until the pages of the trial, which don't last very long (hmmm, short trials in SVH... where have we seen this before??). The twins win, of course, after Liz makes a rousing speech about how no one accused her of cheating at her second go of it when she scored high. It is interesting that at one point (I don't remember exact wording) but someone says something about Jess being bullied or some such and all I could think was, oh, like all the times she bullied others??
The book ends with Jess & Liz headed to SVU. I don't have 'College Weekend', but I do have 'Jessica's Older Guy', the last in the series. Despite how completely amazing Ken is in this book, Jessica sees fit to cheat on him two books later (and a couple more books after that with Christian Gorman). What a despicable fuck she is. Honestly. This book might be worth it if everyone actually learned something. But, of course, no one does. In fact, the last paragraph has Jessica happy that they will be missing school to go to SVU, when merely a few pages before she thought about how she might actually put some effort into things. *smh*
The subplot is just mopey Liz and dildo (Skins!) Todd ... Liz is crushed by her original SAT scores and Todd doesn't give a shit because every basketball coach in the country wants to suck his dick. I don't know why they are in a hurry, honestly, because everyone knows that Todd (and the rest of SVH) will still be in the 11th grade forever. He's not even in Senior Year yet, man! Give him a break. Anyway, there is an awesome part where Liz grows a huge pair and kicks Todd out of her car. Unfortunately, they get back together when Todd's ego takes a huge beating. Honestly, this book is all about egos taking hit after hit. What a place SVH is, full of people with over-inflated self-esteem. Imagine that.
So the moral here is, kids, that if you are a dumb blonde, you're not really a dumb blonde, you're just misunderstood. So go ahead, slack off for those SATs you have to take next week. After all, if Jessica Wakefield can pass them cold, you sure as hell can.
Again, apologies it took so long to finish. As with ALVH, there really is no excuse... especially when it comes to SVH and I could have finished it in a day. But honestly, you know every book is going to wrap up all happy like. So what's the point??
Anyway, I had the good heart to give this book three stars because no one was acting like their true selves (except maybe Todd), and thus they didn't annoy me as they usually do.
The basic gist is this: SAT time is here, and Liz is freaking out while Jess is not, natch. (I don't understand... they've been juniors at SVH for at least the entire length of a general high school career by now, haven't they taken the SATs like 50 times already??) ... Anyway, because Jess is perfect, she breezes into the SATs late, not having studied at all, while Liz is extremely frustrated and without sleep.
The scores come back and Jess isn't sure what her score means, but she's pretty sure the high numbers mean something good (and she's a genius? really? really?!)... she also opens up Lizzie's (or maybe Liz opens her own, I don't remember) and sees that her numbers are fairly low. Jess's initial reaction is to play it low-key, because she doesn't want to ruin her wet 'n wild 'n carefree reputation. Because who actually wants guys to know you have a brain, right?? So she lies to her boyfriend, Ken, about her scores and tries to deflect any conversation about it. She thinks she has finally put all the nonsense behind her when she is called to the principal's office and informed that the school board believes she cheated on the SATs and she is going to have to retake the SATs.
Liz and Jess fight for a hot minute (because Liz is so freaked about her own future) until they bond over their boyfriends both being dirks (more on that in a minute). They actually say a lot of really nice stuff to each other, which almost makes up for the pointless and completely agonizing nightmare that was A Night to Remember. Note that I said almost. So since Liz scored low the first time around, she decides to retake the SATs with Jess, and this is when the personality shifts start to occur (and we see that both characters would be much more likable if they didn't both act so fucking one dimensional all the time and try to stifle each other when either one branches out). Liz decides she doesn't give two flying fucks about studying, since it clearly did her no good the first time around. She goes to the beach, to the mall, to the movies and actually takes the barrettes out of her hair and raids Jessica's closet. Jess, meanwhile, is awaft in misery studying and cramming and even invites Winston over to help. He tells her it's best not to burn herself out, but she doesn't listen.
The twins retake the test the next morning and, of course, this time Jess does poorly and Liz does great. However, this is all the proof the school board needs that Jessica cheated. Mr. Cooper suspends her from school and kicks her off the cheerleading squad. Jessica spends about four or five pages eating bowl after bowl of ice cream. I am aware that there are plenty of people who can eat horrible foods and not gain too many pounds, but this still makes Jessica a skinny-fat, and that gives me satisfaction. Seriously, when are those girls ever at the gym? Granted, she's on the cheerleading squad, but that's all the exercise she gets. We know she's not burning any calories from sex.
Anyway, Liz is predictably outraged by Jess's situation and decides to hold a mock trial for her. She draws up a summons or something and marches into Chrome Dome's office to let him know that she is holding a trial for Jessica - and if they win Jess has to be reinstated in school. It's a lot of blah di blah until the pages of the trial, which don't last very long (hmmm, short trials in SVH... where have we seen this before??). The twins win, of course, after Liz makes a rousing speech about how no one accused her of cheating at her second go of it when she scored high. It is interesting that at one point (I don't remember exact wording) but someone says something about Jess being bullied or some such and all I could think was, oh, like all the times she bullied others??
The book ends with Jess & Liz headed to SVU. I don't have 'College Weekend', but I do have 'Jessica's Older Guy', the last in the series. Despite how completely amazing Ken is in this book, Jessica sees fit to cheat on him two books later (and a couple more books after that with Christian Gorman). What a despicable fuck she is. Honestly. This book might be worth it if everyone actually learned something. But, of course, no one does. In fact, the last paragraph has Jessica happy that they will be missing school to go to SVU, when merely a few pages before she thought about how she might actually put some effort into things. *smh*
The subplot is just mopey Liz and dildo (Skins!) Todd ... Liz is crushed by her original SAT scores and Todd doesn't give a shit because every basketball coach in the country wants to suck his dick. I don't know why they are in a hurry, honestly, because everyone knows that Todd (and the rest of SVH) will still be in the 11th grade forever. He's not even in Senior Year yet, man! Give him a break. Anyway, there is an awesome part where Liz grows a huge pair and kicks Todd out of her car. Unfortunately, they get back together when Todd's ego takes a huge beating. Honestly, this book is all about egos taking hit after hit. What a place SVH is, full of people with over-inflated self-esteem. Imagine that.
So the moral here is, kids, that if you are a dumb blonde, you're not really a dumb blonde, you're just misunderstood. So go ahead, slack off for those SATs you have to take next week. After all, if Jessica Wakefield can pass them cold, you sure as hell can.
April 3, 2012
There's a lesson here somewhere but ghost writers don't really seem to bother because everyone knows the formula.
As the title says, apparently Jessica is deemed to be a genius since she aced her SATs, while Liz performed miserably. She gets punished by Chrome Dome and the entire Sweet Valley community for how dare she appropriate something that's Lizzie's seemingly proprietary domain? Everything turns out well in the end since Liz held a short mini trial for her twin's sake, complete with a rousing speech. Cue audience clapping please.
Oh and that detestable boyfriend since birth of Elizabeth's thought he's such a hotshot basketball player and even mentions to his girlfriend how lucky she is to snag him. But did Liz learn her lesson? Most certainly not.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title Jessica the Genius (Sweet Valley High, #117)
Author Francine Pascal
Reviewed By Purplycookie
As the title says, apparently Jessica is deemed to be a genius since she aced her SATs, while Liz performed miserably. She gets punished by Chrome Dome and the entire Sweet Valley community for how dare she appropriate something that's Lizzie's seemingly proprietary domain? Everything turns out well in the end since Liz held a short mini trial for her twin's sake, complete with a rousing speech. Cue audience clapping please.
Oh and that detestable boyfriend since birth of Elizabeth's thought he's such a hotshot basketball player and even mentions to his girlfriend how lucky she is to snag him. But did Liz learn her lesson? Most certainly not.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title Jessica the Genius (Sweet Valley High, #117)
Author Francine Pascal
Reviewed By Purplycookie
March 3, 2019
I really enjoyed this book and I couldn't help but feel a wee bit sorry for Jessica - just because she did well in her test, it's automatically assumed she cheated! That aside, I'm pretty sure that if she'd rocked up that late to a test in my school, she wouldn't have been allowed to take it!!
It's obviously different in Sweet Valley High - or is it just because she's Jessica Wakefield??!!??
It's obviously different in Sweet Valley High - or is it just because she's Jessica Wakefield??!!??
June 10, 2020
I had completely forgotten how much I loved this book! I actually remember thinking about it on the morning of my own SATs, as embarrassing as that is.
Also, Lila is AWESOME in this book. She is the only person to instantly believe Jessica, and stands by her throughout the entire ordeal. Sometimes their friendship is really inspiring.... (and other times, not so much.)
This is also one of those books that makes me wonder how on earth I thought Elizabeth and Todd had such a great relationship as a kid. Either she’s constantly cheating on him and/or he’s acting like an insensitive clod, and it’s scary that I thought they were so perfect once upon a time. In this book he’s a massive jerk, and it was a bit satisfying to see him get knocked down a peg or two at the end.
Also, Lila is AWESOME in this book. She is the only person to instantly believe Jessica, and stands by her throughout the entire ordeal. Sometimes their friendship is really inspiring.... (and other times, not so much.)
This is also one of those books that makes me wonder how on earth I thought Elizabeth and Todd had such a great relationship as a kid. Either she’s constantly cheating on him and/or he’s acting like an insensitive clod, and it’s scary that I thought they were so perfect once upon a time. In this book he’s a massive jerk, and it was a bit satisfying to see him get knocked down a peg or two at the end.
April 20, 2023
Am I supposed to buy that Jessica was done kind of genius?? All throughout the series we never read about her studying and doing homework and she got by with passable grades that keeps her on the cheerleading squad. Now we're supposed to believe that deep down she's really smart and Liz was the dumb one?? Liz also overreacted. Just because you scored low doesn't mean her life was over. Which ghost writer wrote this crap? I reckon the STATS people got their test score mixed up.
January 24, 2026
3.5 stars rounded up.
I read this for a book prompt for a book that starts with the letter J.
I read these books in my teen years but had never read this one.
Jessica unexpectedly gets top scores on her SAT's and is accused of cheating. I lt also explores the other people's reactions to their own scores. a little cheesy and cliche to start out with but the book picked up and it explored how we tend to judge others. I am glad I took a break from the yuck in the world and read this.
I read this for a book prompt for a book that starts with the letter J.
I read these books in my teen years but had never read this one.
Jessica unexpectedly gets top scores on her SAT's and is accused of cheating. I lt also explores the other people's reactions to their own scores. a little cheesy and cliche to start out with but the book picked up and it explored how we tend to judge others. I am glad I took a break from the yuck in the world and read this.
November 16, 2021
Jess somehow scores amazingly on her SAT's- despite not having studied, unlike Liz who does surprisingly badly. After rumours abound that Jess has cheated, she ploughs her resit, while Liz aces hers. When Jess is suspended from school for *cheating*, Liz holds a mock trial to prove her innocence
April 18, 2018
A great start to a new mini-series.
September 17, 2018
This brought back so many memories of when I first read this in 7th grade!
January 10, 2019
Reading this book changed the way I handled school stuffs... for maybe about a week. xD
And then I was back to my old cramming ways. ♥
And then I was back to my old cramming ways. ♥
June 25, 2025
Some character growth for Jessica, very nice
January 4, 2013
Poor Jess! Just because she's not into studying doesn't mean she had to go through all that...and honestly Elizabeth, you're not perfect. There was no reason for you to be like that to Jessica.
June 21, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
July 17, 2016
Ah,'95! Sweet Valley was as cool as ever,but began to lose its touch,esp. with the TV show.
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May 5, 2010F PAS svh
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews