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Sweet Valley High #17
Love Letters
Make-believe romance...
Caroline Pearce has always been one of the least popular girls at Sweet Valley High. But when she invents a new out-of-town boyfriend, people finally start to pay attention to her. Brown-eyed, six foot Adam and his romantic love letters are the talk of the school.
Caroline has everyone fooled—even clever Jessica Wakefield. But what begins as a bid for love and attention quickly becomes the worst jam of Caroline's life, when her friends insist on meeting the boyfriend she's been bragging about. Can Caroline keep the truth a secret, or will her lies be her downfall?
Caroline Pearce has always been one of the least popular girls at Sweet Valley High. But when she invents a new out-of-town boyfriend, people finally start to pay attention to her. Brown-eyed, six foot Adam and his romantic love letters are the talk of the school.
Caroline has everyone fooled—even clever Jessica Wakefield. But what begins as a bid for love and attention quickly becomes the worst jam of Caroline's life, when her friends insist on meeting the boyfriend she's been bragging about. Can Caroline keep the truth a secret, or will her lies be her downfall?
150 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1985
56 people are currently reading
533 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,845 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 - 30 of 49 reviews
February 13, 2024
Maybe I'll never be as popular as the Wakefield twins or Lila Fowler, but I'm not going to be an outcast anymore. All that has changed now with Adam.
Okay, this just might be one of my favorite installments in the series. I enjoyed that Ned and Alice Wakefield had such an important role to play in this one.
Goodreads review published 13/02/24
Okay, this just might be one of my favorite installments in the series. I enjoyed that Ned and Alice Wakefield had such an important role to play in this one.
Goodreads review published 13/02/24
June 15, 2017
This was one of the first SVH books I ever read, and because of that I always had a soft spot for gossipy Caroline throughout the series. Upon re-reading this, though, she really is kind of awful.
February 22, 2008
The A Plot: Caroline Pearce has had enough of being unnoticed and unpopular, but instead of realizing her gossiping ways may have something to do with the latter, she concentrates on the former and invents an out-of-town boyfriend, Adam, who sends her romantic letters on a regular basis. Jessica catches on to the fact that something is wrong, when she recognizes parts of Adam's letters in the play Elizabeth is writing about Elizabeth and Robert Browning, and immediately jumps to the - this time correct - conclusion that he's made-up. Instead of just confronting Caroline about it, she decides to bring her down a notch by making Lila throw a party in Adam's honour. Caroline comes clean to Liz, who thinks that Jess is being too mean about the whole thing, and therefore gets Todd to find an Adam stand-in. This allows Caroline to save face, but she realizes she cannot live a lie any longer and confesses everything at the party anyway. The Adam-stand-in ends up being totally crazy about Caroline, so all's well that ends well - except for Jess who doesn't think Caroline got nearly as humiliated as she deserved. My, my, my, what a generous spirit that Jessica has.
The B Plot: Caroline happens to notice a photocopy of a letter in the Wakefield trash, and instead of doing the honest thing and just leaving it be, she reads it and then pockets it, figuring that "she doesn't look for gossip, it looks for her!" The letter is from Alice Wakefield to a company in San Fransisco, saying that she's considering their offer of a job there. Caroline assumes Jessica already knows they may be moving to SF and mentions it in front of her friends. Jessica doesn't want to give Caroline the satisfaction of seeing her shocked, so she plays along, only to freak out on her parents that evening. I actually kinda understand her here, it's a shitty situation. Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield admit that they're considering it, but they didn't want to tell the twins anything about it, until they'd decided. After discovering that throwing tantrums won't get them anywhere, Jessica and Elizabeth decide on a different plan of action - reminding their parents of all the wonderful things about Sweet Valley, while pointing out all the dangers of SF at the same time. As always they go totally overboard, but are totally clueless to the fact that their parents might suspect something was up. Fortunately their parents end up deciding not to take the job, so they all live happily in Sweet Valley ever after... at least until the next crisis.
The List
* At first I thought Adam's letters were totally unbelievable, and that it was even more unbelievable that Caroline would just show them to anybody if they'd been real and that her eagerness to share them would be my first clue that something was up. But then I thought back to when I was that age - I had a long-distance boyfriend, so our only regular means of communication was through email. Some of the things he wrote (which I thought soooooo romantic back then, and extremely tacky/sappy now) actually weren't all that different from the things Caroline had Adam write. And if I'd thought anybody was interested in reading his letters, I would gladly have let them. So I guess it's not too unlikely after all.
* When pressed for a photo of Adam, she finds one that shows his ARM and nothing else? How does she even THINK that will fool anybody?
* Accidentally seeing a letter in the trash is one thing, but by picking it up, reading it and then pocketting it, Caroline really crosses the line between being a gossip and being a borderline stalker.
* When Caroline presents the letter to Jessica, how come Jess doesn't call her out on where she got the letter from? If I were Caroline I would be too ashamed of having read the letter, let alone take it, to ever admit either! What did she think Jessica would say? "Oh, of course my Mom send's photocopies of all her correspondance to you. Why wouldn't she?" Sheesh!
* I wonder why Caroline never thought about saying that she and Adam had broken up after the party rather than admitting she'd been lying. Kudos to her for being honest, of course, but most 16-year-old girls I know/knew would have taken that way out instead.
* I actually think Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield were unreasonable to seriously consider a move to SF without mentioning it to the girls. After all, they are 16 and not 10. They're old enough and it's a big enough decision that they deserve to have some say in it.
* Apparently spamming people with ads is a good way of making them appreciate the good things about a place? Who knew?
* Oh, but really Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield decided quite quickly not to move, as it wouldn't be fair on the twins, but dear old dad decided not to tell them for a couple of days as a way of punishing them. Punishing them for what? Being teenagers who happen to like where they live, and not immediately being thrilled for their mother's sake that she got a great job offer that requires them to leave? Well, excuse me, I wouldn't have been all that thrilled either!
So what did we learn from this book? If you're being deceptive and setting yourself up for a fall, somebody will bail you out in the end, and if you then decide to be honest about it, you may even get a boyfriend for all your troubles! Oh, and The Twins(TM) can do anything they set their mind to.
The B Plot: Caroline happens to notice a photocopy of a letter in the Wakefield trash, and instead of doing the honest thing and just leaving it be, she reads it and then pockets it, figuring that "she doesn't look for gossip, it looks for her!" The letter is from Alice Wakefield to a company in San Fransisco, saying that she's considering their offer of a job there. Caroline assumes Jessica already knows they may be moving to SF and mentions it in front of her friends. Jessica doesn't want to give Caroline the satisfaction of seeing her shocked, so she plays along, only to freak out on her parents that evening. I actually kinda understand her here, it's a shitty situation. Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield admit that they're considering it, but they didn't want to tell the twins anything about it, until they'd decided. After discovering that throwing tantrums won't get them anywhere, Jessica and Elizabeth decide on a different plan of action - reminding their parents of all the wonderful things about Sweet Valley, while pointing out all the dangers of SF at the same time. As always they go totally overboard, but are totally clueless to the fact that their parents might suspect something was up. Fortunately their parents end up deciding not to take the job, so they all live happily in Sweet Valley ever after... at least until the next crisis.
The List
* At first I thought Adam's letters were totally unbelievable, and that it was even more unbelievable that Caroline would just show them to anybody if they'd been real and that her eagerness to share them would be my first clue that something was up. But then I thought back to when I was that age - I had a long-distance boyfriend, so our only regular means of communication was through email. Some of the things he wrote (which I thought soooooo romantic back then, and extremely tacky/sappy now) actually weren't all that different from the things Caroline had Adam write. And if I'd thought anybody was interested in reading his letters, I would gladly have let them. So I guess it's not too unlikely after all.
* When pressed for a photo of Adam, she finds one that shows his ARM and nothing else? How does she even THINK that will fool anybody?
* Accidentally seeing a letter in the trash is one thing, but by picking it up, reading it and then pocketting it, Caroline really crosses the line between being a gossip and being a borderline stalker.
* When Caroline presents the letter to Jessica, how come Jess doesn't call her out on where she got the letter from? If I were Caroline I would be too ashamed of having read the letter, let alone take it, to ever admit either! What did she think Jessica would say? "Oh, of course my Mom send's photocopies of all her correspondance to you. Why wouldn't she?" Sheesh!
* I wonder why Caroline never thought about saying that she and Adam had broken up after the party rather than admitting she'd been lying. Kudos to her for being honest, of course, but most 16-year-old girls I know/knew would have taken that way out instead.
* I actually think Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield were unreasonable to seriously consider a move to SF without mentioning it to the girls. After all, they are 16 and not 10. They're old enough and it's a big enough decision that they deserve to have some say in it.
* Apparently spamming people with ads is a good way of making them appreciate the good things about a place? Who knew?
* Oh, but really Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield decided quite quickly not to move, as it wouldn't be fair on the twins, but dear old dad decided not to tell them for a couple of days as a way of punishing them. Punishing them for what? Being teenagers who happen to like where they live, and not immediately being thrilled for their mother's sake that she got a great job offer that requires them to leave? Well, excuse me, I wouldn't have been all that thrilled either!
So what did we learn from this book? If you're being deceptive and setting yourself up for a fall, somebody will bail you out in the end, and if you then decide to be honest about it, you may even get a boyfriend for all your troubles! Oh, and The Twins(TM) can do anything they set their mind to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2011
In an attempt to impress Jessica and to fit in with her snobby clique, Caroline Pearce invents a boyfriend: perfect Adam. Yes, I do get that obvious reference to the first man created.
She wins an immediate boost, but further damages her self esteem and plays into the hands of the very girls she wants to impress. Since unfortunately, Jessica and Lila challenge her, and Caroline finds herself turning to Liz Wakefield for help.
Caroline seemed really vulnerable and lonely in this story line as opposed to the gossipy creature that she has always been portrayed as in the later books and even back in the Sweet Valley Twins series. I appreciate that the writer let us see this side of her for I never did like her one-dimensional self.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: Love Letters (Sweet Valley High, #17)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
She wins an immediate boost, but further damages her self esteem and plays into the hands of the very girls she wants to impress. Since unfortunately, Jessica and Lila challenge her, and Caroline finds herself turning to Liz Wakefield for help.
Caroline seemed really vulnerable and lonely in this story line as opposed to the gossipy creature that she has always been portrayed as in the later books and even back in the Sweet Valley Twins series. I appreciate that the writer let us see this side of her for I never did like her one-dimensional self.
More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie
Book Details:
Title: Love Letters (Sweet Valley High, #17)
Author: Francine Pascal
Reviewed By: Purplycookie
January 24, 2019
Caroline Pearce is annoying. But, she's lonely and socially awkward and that's what makes her annoying. Jessica isn't quite as big a psycho in this book.
November 23, 2025
This one was weird. Only because Caroline is almost as terrible as Jessica and yet she gets the happy ending.
We left off with Caroline hinting at a boyfriend or some letters and this book launches in with Caroline and her letters. Only because she's an idiot she simply copies letters from Robert Browning to Elizabeth Browning which just happens to coincide with Elizabeth writing a play about the Brownings. Of course this is found out and Jessica for the first time not being the worst and Lila have a bet that Adam, the mysterious boyfriend does or doesn't exist. Jessica thinks he's fake and she has to win always. Of course Lila and Jessica are both terrible people throughout.
Elizabeth comes to Caroline's rescue and comes up with a friend of Todd's to be Caroline's date.
The b plot involves nosy Caroline when she knocks a garbage can over and finds a letter from Alice Wakefield considering a job in San Francisco. The twins freak out and immediately fight with their parents and set out to make them want to stay in Sweet Valley. While this was annoying it was certainly age appropriate as most kids would act this way. We know they aren't moving, this series goes on for at least 100 plus more books not counting university and other series.
This was okay. Wish Caroline hadn't got a happy ending since she was as bad as Jessica at times but that's Sweet Valley for you.
We left off with Caroline hinting at a boyfriend or some letters and this book launches in with Caroline and her letters. Only because she's an idiot she simply copies letters from Robert Browning to Elizabeth Browning which just happens to coincide with Elizabeth writing a play about the Brownings. Of course this is found out and Jessica for the first time not being the worst and Lila have a bet that Adam, the mysterious boyfriend does or doesn't exist. Jessica thinks he's fake and she has to win always. Of course Lila and Jessica are both terrible people throughout.
Elizabeth comes to Caroline's rescue and comes up with a friend of Todd's to be Caroline's date.
The b plot involves nosy Caroline when she knocks a garbage can over and finds a letter from Alice Wakefield considering a job in San Francisco. The twins freak out and immediately fight with their parents and set out to make them want to stay in Sweet Valley. While this was annoying it was certainly age appropriate as most kids would act this way. We know they aren't moving, this series goes on for at least 100 plus more books not counting university and other series.
This was okay. Wish Caroline hadn't got a happy ending since she was as bad as Jessica at times but that's Sweet Valley for you.
November 30, 2017
Caroline Pearce is a girl known for being the school's worst gossip, but in this SVH, readers get to know her a little better. Apparently, she's just socially awkward as hell in addition to being lousy at keeping secrets. Oh, and in this book, she lies a lot about a made up boyfriend. Elizabeth, because she's saintlike, feels sorry for Caroline (perhaps also because she realized that someone besides herself in that vapid town knew who Robert Browning was), while Jessica, with her usual sociopathic zeal, is simply intent on "bringing her down". Subplot sucks- the twins' parents consider moving to San Francisco (as IF- the series isn't over- not a spoiler, just more than a two digit IQ), which throws everyone into a tizzy. For no reason. Because the Wakefields will never leave Sweet Valley- be real. A very typical SVH book, not the best, not the worst. Kind of a filler. Onto 18!
June 30, 2025
Caroline Pearce is the 80s catfish.
August 15, 2020
I know the word "triggered" can be overused and misused so I will say instead that this book unearthed a lot of bad memories for me. Caroline believes that if only she had a boyfriend, she would magically be seen and valued in the world of SVH. I get it! Even as a single gal in my 30s, it seems that being in a romantic relationship does grant you access to a certain societal realm and in the world of Sweet Valley High, it is magnified x10! She wants so desperately to fit in and resorts to 1. gossiping about her fellow classmates and 2. creating a make believe boyfriend, as her misguided way to do it.
Her scheme actually works for a while. Her classmates do seem to be more interested in her and especially the romantic letters that her "boyfriend" Adam writes her. But of course, Jessica gets skeptical and dedicates the rest of the book to setting up Caroline to be as humiliated as possible when the truth finally comes out. Classic Jessica.
To create a fake boyfriend took a lot of work back in those days! There were typewritten letters and fuzzy pictures taken from a school newspaper. All it would take now is a dummy google account and Facebook profile. So for that I applaud Caroline! She does emerge from this book seemingly changed which is not always the case for these characters. We will see what comes next for her! I would tell her to crank up, Scandal's "The Warrior" and dance her butt off!!
--
**Review Note - I have been re-reading the Sweet Valley High series one book at a time for my podcast, “Lessons From Sweet Valley.” The following is the unique SVH rating system that I use on goodreads for these books alone…
5 Stars - The book is worthy of being read outside of the series purely as an exemplary example of YA fiction.
4 Stars - The book contains an element, storyline or theme that sets it apart from your average SVH tome.
3 Stars - The book adequately meets the expectations of an SVH book as it exists in the Sweet Valley universe.
2 Stars - The book falls below the SVH standards in terms of subject matter, characters or overall story.
1 Star - Offensive by SVH standards! Any of those re-reading the series should skip entirely.
Her scheme actually works for a while. Her classmates do seem to be more interested in her and especially the romantic letters that her "boyfriend" Adam writes her. But of course, Jessica gets skeptical and dedicates the rest of the book to setting up Caroline to be as humiliated as possible when the truth finally comes out. Classic Jessica.
To create a fake boyfriend took a lot of work back in those days! There were typewritten letters and fuzzy pictures taken from a school newspaper. All it would take now is a dummy google account and Facebook profile. So for that I applaud Caroline! She does emerge from this book seemingly changed which is not always the case for these characters. We will see what comes next for her! I would tell her to crank up, Scandal's "The Warrior" and dance her butt off!!
--
**Review Note - I have been re-reading the Sweet Valley High series one book at a time for my podcast, “Lessons From Sweet Valley.” The following is the unique SVH rating system that I use on goodreads for these books alone…
5 Stars - The book is worthy of being read outside of the series purely as an exemplary example of YA fiction.
4 Stars - The book contains an element, storyline or theme that sets it apart from your average SVH tome.
3 Stars - The book adequately meets the expectations of an SVH book as it exists in the Sweet Valley universe.
2 Stars - The book falls below the SVH standards in terms of subject matter, characters or overall story.
1 Star - Offensive by SVH standards! Any of those re-reading the series should skip entirely.
March 29, 2016
Source: I read this book online via Open Library.
Cost: Free
Title: Love Letters
Series: Sweet Valley High #17
Author: Francine Pascal, Kate William
Overall Rating: 3 stars
Did we get a book without the stereotypical opening of the twins being perfect?! YEAH WE DID. *confetti*
So essentially what happens in this installment is that annoying Caroline makes up a boyfriend so everyone will love her but it backfires when they want to meet and all that jazz and it's a whole arc about loving yourself and realising who your true friends are.
Again, Jessica is self centred, again Liz has to be the nice one.
What I did like was the little bit about Todd being an actual nice guy at the end. We're getting some personality there! However, I remember reading Sweet Valley Twins as a kid and wasn't she one of Lila and Jessica's clique back then?
Oooooo discontinuity.
Cost: Free
Title: Love Letters
Series: Sweet Valley High #17
Author: Francine Pascal, Kate William
Overall Rating: 3 stars
Did we get a book without the stereotypical opening of the twins being perfect?! YEAH WE DID. *confetti*
So essentially what happens in this installment is that annoying Caroline makes up a boyfriend so everyone will love her but it backfires when they want to meet and all that jazz and it's a whole arc about loving yourself and realising who your true friends are.
Again, Jessica is self centred, again Liz has to be the nice one.
What I did like was the little bit about Todd being an actual nice guy at the end. We're getting some personality there! However, I remember reading Sweet Valley Twins as a kid and wasn't she one of Lila and Jessica's clique back then?
Oooooo discontinuity.
August 25, 2014
This was the very first book that set me on a tend of reading this series. I had to choose a book to read from a catalogue for ESL class and from the synopsis it seemed a pretty interesting tale. Little did I know, this would be my "gateway-drug" to Franchine Pascal's Sweet Valley High series.
June 17, 2016
Don't think I actually read this one back in the day!
August 9, 2023
This is the 17th book in the series.
Caroline Pearce has a reputation as a gossip. A truly major gossip. What the story indicates is that there is a reason, although not a great one, for her being that way and that she feels left out.
She has an older sister, Anita, who is in college and doesn't care for Caroline's gossiping.
Caroline takes a paper from the Wakefield's trash can and this sets up a major situation as it appears that the Wakefield's may move out of Sweet Valley, something which neither Elizabeth nor Jessica know.
Now we need to pause for a moment. Just what kind of person goes through someone else s garbage can? Really?
Anyhow, this leads to a lot of problems for the twins and their parents.
Caroline doesn't have a boyfriend and that's one thing that sets her apart from a lot of the other girls. So, if you don't have a real boyfriend, then why not just make up a boyfriend? Do that complete with a bunch of letters that are very romantic in nature although Caroline didn't write them, basically.
So who did?
That would be telling.
Anyhow, she seems to overlook the very high probability that someone sooner or later is going to want to meet her boyfriend. Who doesn't exist.
Fortunately this is one of the volumes where things do work out in the end. I do like the fact that the author tries to give Caroline a reason for the way she acts. It's not the best reason but at does explain why she does what she does.
I enjoyed the book.
Caroline Pearce has a reputation as a gossip. A truly major gossip. What the story indicates is that there is a reason, although not a great one, for her being that way and that she feels left out.
She has an older sister, Anita, who is in college and doesn't care for Caroline's gossiping.
Caroline takes a paper from the Wakefield's trash can and this sets up a major situation as it appears that the Wakefield's may move out of Sweet Valley, something which neither Elizabeth nor Jessica know.
Now we need to pause for a moment. Just what kind of person goes through someone else s garbage can? Really?
Anyhow, this leads to a lot of problems for the twins and their parents.
Caroline doesn't have a boyfriend and that's one thing that sets her apart from a lot of the other girls. So, if you don't have a real boyfriend, then why not just make up a boyfriend? Do that complete with a bunch of letters that are very romantic in nature although Caroline didn't write them, basically.
So who did?
That would be telling.
Anyhow, she seems to overlook the very high probability that someone sooner or later is going to want to meet her boyfriend. Who doesn't exist.
Fortunately this is one of the volumes where things do work out in the end. I do like the fact that the author tries to give Caroline a reason for the way she acts. It's not the best reason but at does explain why she does what she does.
I enjoyed the book.
December 19, 2024
It's odd to me how little people like this one. It might be the most sensible of all of them, so far, and it actually attempts to address real high school insecurities without reverting to totally unrealistic or undermining solutions (contrast with when Annie was cured of depression and suicidal behaviour by being given a spot on the cheer squad, or Robin being really fat and losing all the weight in a month and instantly being the world's greatest gymnast / dancer despite having no prior training).
I really felt for Caroline. It's hard being the one left out of the dating game, at that age. I like that although she seemed to get away with the lie, at the last moment she owned up to it and got a boyfriend due to being honest and sincere for a change. It's a good message, even if it's a little silly to suggest all your happiness depends on having a boyfriend at all. I can forgive the book for that message because, let's be honest here, so many teenage girls really do feel that way - at least, we all did in the 80s / 90s.
I really felt for Caroline. It's hard being the one left out of the dating game, at that age. I like that although she seemed to get away with the lie, at the last moment she owned up to it and got a boyfriend due to being honest and sincere for a change. It's a good message, even if it's a little silly to suggest all your happiness depends on having a boyfriend at all. I can forgive the book for that message because, let's be honest here, so many teenage girls really do feel that way - at least, we all did in the 80s / 90s.
March 29, 2023
Marina Orsini
A mí me gustó mucho el libro porque habla sobre un problema que todos tenemos en nuestra vida, la solitud. No juzgo a Carolina por escribir cartas a sí misma y fingir ser su novio porque comprendo lo que sentía. No es fácil convivir con personas que no quieren estar contigo. Carolina se sentía sola y no sabía cómo hacer amigos o interaccionar con las personas de su escuela. Muchas veces, las mentiras no son contadas para lastimar a las personas. Las mentiras son contadas para que personas como Carolina puedan sentirse amadas y tener la atención de sus compañeros. La niña solo quería pertenecer a su escuela y pueblo. Además, el libro habla sobre la necesidad que las personas tienen de chismear cuando ellas no saben cómo tener una conversación con los demás. Carolina hablaba de la vida de todas las personas, menos la suya, porque pensaba que era aburrida y a nadie le gustaría su personalidad.
A mí me gustó mucho el libro porque habla sobre un problema que todos tenemos en nuestra vida, la solitud. No juzgo a Carolina por escribir cartas a sí misma y fingir ser su novio porque comprendo lo que sentía. No es fácil convivir con personas que no quieren estar contigo. Carolina se sentía sola y no sabía cómo hacer amigos o interaccionar con las personas de su escuela. Muchas veces, las mentiras no son contadas para lastimar a las personas. Las mentiras son contadas para que personas como Carolina puedan sentirse amadas y tener la atención de sus compañeros. La niña solo quería pertenecer a su escuela y pueblo. Además, el libro habla sobre la necesidad que las personas tienen de chismear cuando ellas no saben cómo tener una conversación con los demás. Carolina hablaba de la vida de todas las personas, menos la suya, porque pensaba que era aburrida y a nadie le gustaría su personalidad.
August 19, 2019
Title: Love Letters
Author: Francine Pascal, Kate William
Series: Sweet Valley High, 17
Format: ebook
Length: N/A
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis: Caroline Pearce has always been one of the least popular girls at Sweet Valley High. But when she invents a new out-of-town boyfriend, people finally start to pay attention to her. Brown-eyed, six foot Adam and his romantic love letters are the talk of the school.
Caroline has everyone fooled even clever Jessica Wakefield. But what begins as a bid for love and attention quickly becomes the worst jam of Caroline's life, when her friends insist on meeting the boyfriend she's been bragging about. Can Caroline keep the truth a secret, or will her lies be her downfall?
Favourite character: Caroline?
Least favourite character: Jessica
Mini-review: I thought this was okay. Caroline Pearce, SVH's own personal gossip, creates a fake boyfriend via love letters and then is surprised when it all blows up in her face. Meanwhile Alice Wakefield considers a job in San Francisco. The twins are spoiled brats about it and refuse to let their mother do what she wants and as Ned says, "worked hard for" and scheme to keep their perfect lief and ruin their parents lives (shockingly, it's Elizabeth's idea). Tune in next time to find out what happens when Bruce Patman tries to seduce new girl Regina Morrow.
Fan Cast:
Elizabeth Wakefield/Jessica Wakefield - Lili Reinhart
Caroline Pearce - Shannon Purser
Lila Fowler - Danielle Campbell
Todd Wilkins - Blake Michael
Alice Wakefield - Laura Dern
Ned Wakefield - Patrick Warburton
Anita Pearce - Riley Keough
Cara Walker - Sofia Carson
Bill Chase - Dylan Playfair
DeeDee Gordon - Katherine Langford
Jerry Fisher - Israel Broussard
Bruce Patman - Gregg Sulkin
Regina Morrow - Zendaya
Annie Whitman - Bailee Madison
Author: Francine Pascal, Kate William
Series: Sweet Valley High, 17
Format: ebook
Length: N/A
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis: Caroline Pearce has always been one of the least popular girls at Sweet Valley High. But when she invents a new out-of-town boyfriend, people finally start to pay attention to her. Brown-eyed, six foot Adam and his romantic love letters are the talk of the school.
Caroline has everyone fooled even clever Jessica Wakefield. But what begins as a bid for love and attention quickly becomes the worst jam of Caroline's life, when her friends insist on meeting the boyfriend she's been bragging about. Can Caroline keep the truth a secret, or will her lies be her downfall?
Favourite character: Caroline?
Least favourite character: Jessica
Mini-review: I thought this was okay. Caroline Pearce, SVH's own personal gossip, creates a fake boyfriend via love letters and then is surprised when it all blows up in her face. Meanwhile Alice Wakefield considers a job in San Francisco. The twins are spoiled brats about it and refuse to let their mother do what she wants and as Ned says, "worked hard for" and scheme to keep their perfect lief and ruin their parents lives (shockingly, it's Elizabeth's idea). Tune in next time to find out what happens when Bruce Patman tries to seduce new girl Regina Morrow.
Fan Cast:
Elizabeth Wakefield/Jessica Wakefield - Lili Reinhart
Caroline Pearce - Shannon Purser
Lila Fowler - Danielle Campbell
Todd Wilkins - Blake Michael
Alice Wakefield - Laura Dern
Ned Wakefield - Patrick Warburton
Anita Pearce - Riley Keough
Cara Walker - Sofia Carson
Bill Chase - Dylan Playfair
DeeDee Gordon - Katherine Langford
Jerry Fisher - Israel Broussard
Bruce Patman - Gregg Sulkin
Regina Morrow - Zendaya
Annie Whitman - Bailee Madison
April 22, 2025
Cute, chaotic, and just the right amount of cringe
Caroline Pearce just want to be loved. She the person that you see coming and you groan because you know she’s about to gossip and drain you. She spins one little lie into a full-on fantasy boyfriend. It’s cringe, it’s dramatic and you know exactly how it’s gonna play out.
Watching Caroline try to keep up the charade had me stress-laughing, especially once Jessica and Lila caught wind and turned the pressure all the way up.
And Elizabeth, really, you know just coming to realize how deviant your sister is? smh come on.
Was the ending a little rushed? Yeah. But it stuck the landing with a cute redemption and just enough heart to make me root for Caroline
A fun ride through classic Sweet Valley chaos. Let the binge reading continue. Is there a new couple developing ? Is it genuine? On to the next book to find out.
Caroline Pearce just want to be loved. She the person that you see coming and you groan because you know she’s about to gossip and drain you. She spins one little lie into a full-on fantasy boyfriend. It’s cringe, it’s dramatic and you know exactly how it’s gonna play out.
Watching Caroline try to keep up the charade had me stress-laughing, especially once Jessica and Lila caught wind and turned the pressure all the way up.
And Elizabeth, really, you know just coming to realize how deviant your sister is? smh come on.
Was the ending a little rushed? Yeah. But it stuck the landing with a cute redemption and just enough heart to make me root for Caroline
A fun ride through classic Sweet Valley chaos. Let the binge reading continue. Is there a new couple developing ? Is it genuine? On to the next book to find out.
August 11, 2020
Caroline Pearce is lonely because nobody really likes her... newsflash, nobody trusts her because she perpetually gossips about people as a misguided way of getting attention. She becomes a big fat liar liar pants on fire by getting some attention via a fake boyfriend sending a shit tonne of romantic letters that are all plagiarised from poets. She reads these letters aloud to people... like a total little braggart which backfires because everyone insists on meeting him and she can't produce. Rather than let her take her medicine Liz decides to help bail her out because she is a bleeding heart and God bless her!
January 30, 2018
I don't think I ever actually read this when I was younger. It's okay. Fine. Whatever. Only in a place as ridiculous as Sweet Valley would Jessica and Elizabeth's plan to convince their parents not to move work. "Let's sign them up for flyers from local organizations! Then they'll realize how much there is to do in Sweet Valley compared with San Francisco!" said no one ever.
Shame, too, because by now their family would have been sitting on super valuable real estate and Alice probably would have had more clients for her interior design business than she could keep up with.
Shame, too, because by now their family would have been sitting on super valuable real estate and Alice probably would have had more clients for her interior design business than she could keep up with.
October 13, 2021
Gossip girl Caroline Pearce has created a very romantic fake boyfriend for herself , unfortunately Lila and Jess smell a rat when Jess realises that Adams letters are lifted from the letters of Robert Browning. The two girls plot to expose Caroline, but with the help of Liz, she manages to not only confess her lies, but comes out of it with a real boyfriend after all.
Also, Alice Wakefield has been offered a job in San Francisco and the twins will stop at nothing to keep the family in Sweet valley
Also, Alice Wakefield has been offered a job in San Francisco and the twins will stop at nothing to keep the family in Sweet valley
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2023
This is one of the books that focuses on an "unlikable" character and gives them some backstory to explain why they are the way they are. Caroline previously has just been the nosy gossip, but in this book we learn that she's dying to fit in and isn't quite sure why everyone reacts negatively to her. The fact that people frequently tell her to mind her own business SHOULD give her a clue. She thinks if she had a boyfriend she would fit in more, so she makes one up and begins writing herself romantic letters and reading them to people at school. Unfortunately, Lila and Jessica quickly figure out that something is off and are determined to take her down a notch.
Honestly, the pressure of trying to fit in at SVH would make almost anyone act weird (unless you're one of the Wakefield twins). Even being a huge gossip, Caroline is never as mean as Jessica is.
Honestly, the pressure of trying to fit in at SVH would make almost anyone act weird (unless you're one of the Wakefield twins). Even being a huge gossip, Caroline is never as mean as Jessica is.
August 6, 2025
Caroline is an insufferable gossip and compulsive talker who makes up an imaginary boyfriend to fit in and feel less lonely. I was both super annoyed and pitied her at the same time. On the flip side, Jessica and Lila are such quintessential mean girls who get off on the idea of humiliating Caroline at a party (planned to do specifically that). I swear, high school kids are the same everywhere, be it 1980 or 2025.
July 7, 2019
I actually don't remember this one. But overall, it was less cheesy than I was bracing myself for it to be!
October 4, 2024
Jessica was a bit mean.
Elizabeth was awesome.
And I am glad it all ended well for Caroline.
Elizabeth was awesome.
And I am glad it all ended well for Caroline.
November 29, 2024
Loved, loved, loved coming back to Sweet Valley. My one issue was the non-consensual kiss; it really rubbed me the wrong way.
May 16, 2025
Caroline=busy body ....At least she was honest. 3.5☆
May 22, 2024
A friend and I are informally rereading some books we read as children, and you could really make a long-form podcast about it from the vantage point of 2024 adults because, yikes.
March 29, 2018
Love Letters
PLOT: Caroline Pierce, SVH notorious gossip has a new love in her life, Adam. He's athletic. He's romantic. He writes her poetic love letters daily only he's a figment of Caroline's imagination and the creation of her typewriter. In order to fit in with the Sweet Valley social scene, she finds a book of poetry by a lesser known poet and voila. Instant boyfriend! And it works, even on her sister popular Anita Pierce. Whom Caroline envies. Everyone that is except Jessica Wakefield. After Caroline drops a bomb on her about her mother getting a new job offer and the threat of her family leaving Sweet Valley, Jessica decides to dig deeper into this new budding romance. Then with proof, she gets from hearing her sister Elizabeth using some of the same lines in Caroline's letters for a short story contest she can finally expose Caroline for the phony she is.
MY THOUGHTS: Okay so I get it. YES! It is HARD when everyone around you has a boyfriend and you don't. But how pathetic do you have to be to make one up? And then the lines Caroline gave Adam from that poetry book weren't ANYTHING a teenage guy would say. And then what pressure was Caroline really under to have a boyfriend from the people she was trying to impress? Elizabeth had Todd but in this book, it doesn't mention Jessica, Lila, or Anita having boyfriends. And those seemed to be the ones she was most interested in. Of course, there could be other girls in her sorority or high school that she sees on a day to day basis with boyfriends. And while this mental torture can be HELL, I didn't sense any pressure from anyone for her to go to this extreme. I really don't think Caroline's problem is she's not popular and accepted because she doesn't have a boyfriend. It's that she does things like go through the trash and open other people's mail. This girl I think she SERIOUSLY needs help. She doesn't spread these LIES to be vindictive. She does it because she's actually fooled her brain to think that she's being "helpful". And then she wonders why people don't want to be around her. I guess it was honorable at the end to have her be truthful but why give her an out. All of a sudden out of no freaking where there's this tall, handsome, dark-haired guy claiming his Adam that Elizabeth and Todd just so conveniently know just waiting to bail her out of her bs and then fall for her. YEEAH! I want you to try that in real life and lie to people about a fake imaginary guy your dating and see how magically quickly one just "appears" or you have friends who can produce one. Or maybe I just don't have the right kind of friends. As for Jessica's mom's move. It's equally unbelievable to think that she'd turn down something like this for her immense love of Sweet Valley and because of all the twins shenanigans. They would have been saying bye bye Sweet Valley. But I do think she should have at least told them. They're 16 years. What was she waiting for? And I really don't see why Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield were so in disbelief about how they acted. They acted just about the way you'd imagine any 16 year old to act if you told them they had to leave their friends and their boyfriend.
RATING: 5 Anti-climactic. Because 1) you already know the Wakefield's are NOT gonna move and 2) that there will mysteriously be an "Adam" dug up from somewhere at the last minute and that Caroline would tell the truth. Although if I was her I would have just let them believe the lie or before it got that far I would have had us "break up".
PLOT: Caroline Pierce, SVH notorious gossip has a new love in her life, Adam. He's athletic. He's romantic. He writes her poetic love letters daily only he's a figment of Caroline's imagination and the creation of her typewriter. In order to fit in with the Sweet Valley social scene, she finds a book of poetry by a lesser known poet and voila. Instant boyfriend! And it works, even on her sister popular Anita Pierce. Whom Caroline envies. Everyone that is except Jessica Wakefield. After Caroline drops a bomb on her about her mother getting a new job offer and the threat of her family leaving Sweet Valley, Jessica decides to dig deeper into this new budding romance. Then with proof, she gets from hearing her sister Elizabeth using some of the same lines in Caroline's letters for a short story contest she can finally expose Caroline for the phony she is.
MY THOUGHTS: Okay so I get it. YES! It is HARD when everyone around you has a boyfriend and you don't. But how pathetic do you have to be to make one up? And then the lines Caroline gave Adam from that poetry book weren't ANYTHING a teenage guy would say. And then what pressure was Caroline really under to have a boyfriend from the people she was trying to impress? Elizabeth had Todd but in this book, it doesn't mention Jessica, Lila, or Anita having boyfriends. And those seemed to be the ones she was most interested in. Of course, there could be other girls in her sorority or high school that she sees on a day to day basis with boyfriends. And while this mental torture can be HELL, I didn't sense any pressure from anyone for her to go to this extreme. I really don't think Caroline's problem is she's not popular and accepted because she doesn't have a boyfriend. It's that she does things like go through the trash and open other people's mail. This girl I think she SERIOUSLY needs help. She doesn't spread these LIES to be vindictive. She does it because she's actually fooled her brain to think that she's being "helpful". And then she wonders why people don't want to be around her. I guess it was honorable at the end to have her be truthful but why give her an out. All of a sudden out of no freaking where there's this tall, handsome, dark-haired guy claiming his Adam that Elizabeth and Todd just so conveniently know just waiting to bail her out of her bs and then fall for her. YEEAH! I want you to try that in real life and lie to people about a fake imaginary guy your dating and see how magically quickly one just "appears" or you have friends who can produce one. Or maybe I just don't have the right kind of friends. As for Jessica's mom's move. It's equally unbelievable to think that she'd turn down something like this for her immense love of Sweet Valley and because of all the twins shenanigans. They would have been saying bye bye Sweet Valley. But I do think she should have at least told them. They're 16 years. What was she waiting for? And I really don't see why Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield were so in disbelief about how they acted. They acted just about the way you'd imagine any 16 year old to act if you told them they had to leave their friends and their boyfriend.
RATING: 5 Anti-climactic. Because 1) you already know the Wakefield's are NOT gonna move and 2) that there will mysteriously be an "Adam" dug up from somewhere at the last minute and that Caroline would tell the truth. Although if I was her I would have just let them believe the lie or before it got that far I would have had us "break up".
February 24, 2024
A story from Caroline's perspective. It shows that her jealous streak is routed through insecurity. She's just looking for company and good friends, a bit of attention. But it doesn't make sense why she doesn't follow through on the lessons she learns at the end of this book in the next books in the series. At the backdrop Wakefields might shift out of Sweet Valley. The twins work hard to comvince their parents the other way.
Read
January 16, 2023No one likes Caroline Pearce. She's prim and prissy and spreads malicious gossip like it's the latest superflu. For some reason, she's in Pi Beta Alpha despite this. One can only assume that the members were too scared to blackball her for fear that she'd be passing on nasty rumours about them for the rest of their high school life.
Somehow, Caroline comes up with the perfect plan to garner a little more attention, both from the kids at school and from her sister, Anita, at home: she'll invent a fake boyfriend, 'Adam'. She's not completely stupid, so she pretends he's from a town some distance away. She's almost completely stupid, though, because she decides that the best way to make her faux beau seem realistic is to plagiarise the love letters that Robert Browning wrote to Elizabeth Barrett. Everyone knows that teenage boys write just like nineteenth century poets.
Amazingly, Caroline's plan works. The Pi Beta Alpha crew is all over her letters from 'Adam' and Anita arranges for her to have a complete makeover. Not only does she have a hair cut, but she also begins to wear clothing that doesn't cover every inch of her body. For a while, she gets to bask in her new-found popularity... but then she discovers that Elizabeth is writing a play about Browning for an upcoming play competition.
This is a particularly moralistic story, but at least the moral is quite a decent one for a change, instead of being all about telling pre-teens to go on unhealthy diets in order to be popular. It suffers greatly from being so Caroline-centric, however. Let's see just how long her vow to not gossip any more lasts...
Moral of the Story? If you want people to like you, invent a fake boyfriend don't spread malicious gossip about them.
[re-read - previously read twice, I think]
Somehow, Caroline comes up with the perfect plan to garner a little more attention, both from the kids at school and from her sister, Anita, at home: she'll invent a fake boyfriend, 'Adam'. She's not completely stupid, so she pretends he's from a town some distance away. She's almost completely stupid, though, because she decides that the best way to make her faux beau seem realistic is to plagiarise the love letters that Robert Browning wrote to Elizabeth Barrett. Everyone knows that teenage boys write just like nineteenth century poets.
Amazingly, Caroline's plan works. The Pi Beta Alpha crew is all over her letters from 'Adam' and Anita arranges for her to have a complete makeover. Not only does she have a hair cut, but she also begins to wear clothing that doesn't cover every inch of her body. For a while, she gets to bask in her new-found popularity... but then she discovers that Elizabeth is writing a play about Browning for an upcoming play competition.
This is a particularly moralistic story, but at least the moral is quite a decent one for a change, instead of being all about telling pre-teens to go on unhealthy diets in order to be popular. It suffers greatly from being so Caroline-centric, however. Let's see just how long her vow to not gossip any more lasts...
Moral of the Story? If you want people to like you, invent a fake boyfriend don't spread malicious gossip about them.
[re-read - previously read twice, I think]
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