What do you think?
Rate this book
Sweet Valley Twins Magna Editions #2
A Christmas Without Elizabeth
When the entire school thinks she has stolen the money raised for the Christmas party--money she has secretly given to a homeless family--Elizabeth wishes she has never been born, and a friendly Christmas angel gives her wish. Original.
249 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,149 books1,853 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 22, 2021
Yes, this is SVT's take on It's A Wonderful Life.
The book would have been more interesting if they had chosen Jessica to be the one to meet her guardian angel, but instead, we have already perfect Elizabeth realizing that all of the good deeds that she has done over the course of all the previous books have saved lives and changed Sweet Valley for the good.
Well, duh, of course.
The book would have been more interesting if they had chosen Jessica to be the one to meet her guardian angel, but instead, we have already perfect Elizabeth realizing that all of the good deeds that she has done over the course of all the previous books have saved lives and changed Sweet Valley for the good.
Well, duh, of course.
December 6, 2024
I decided to take a stroll down memory lane and whip out all of my Sweet Valley Christmas books. I haven't read this one in at least 10-15 years, but as a fan of the series, it is still very enjoyable. It takes a Sweet Valley spin on my absolute favorite Christmas movie, It's A Wonderful Life. What's not to love?
November 30, 2024
The perfect start to the holiday season.
December 9, 2008
I still think this is one of the best of the series! Christmasy and fun, but also has a message and is more in-depth than some of them. 5 stars compared to other SVT books.
December 27, 2024
My final Sweet Valley Twins Christmas book. Inspired by "It's a Wonderful Life", Elizabeth makes another plan for the holiday party money Jessica needs but ends up wishing she hadn't been born.
December 25, 2016
"The Whole Town Goes to Shit Without Liz, Obviously" :
Man, this was heavy. /
Existentially, that is. /
What a sad Christmas.
Quotes:
Jessica: "Rudolph, Prancer, Dancer... um, Blister, Goner, Cuba... you know. All those reindeer guys."
Lila: Trust me, the Roadrunner will get away in the end. He always gets away, and the coyote always gets squashed or blown up. That's the whole point.
Ellen: Great. Now you've ruined it for us.
"What kind of sister was she, anyway? A conniving, lying, manipulative one, her reflection answered. This was terrible. She was turning into Jessica."
(But she doesn't think these are bad qualities in Jessica!)
Laura: Personality Problems Profile. Elizabeth can be very self-critical. Occasionally she takes on more responsibility than is age-appropriate. She can be stubborn and exhibits a tendency toward self-righteousness."
(*snicker*)
Man, this was heavy. /
Existentially, that is. /
What a sad Christmas.
Quotes:
Jessica: "Rudolph, Prancer, Dancer... um, Blister, Goner, Cuba... you know. All those reindeer guys."
Lila: Trust me, the Roadrunner will get away in the end. He always gets away, and the coyote always gets squashed or blown up. That's the whole point.
Ellen: Great. Now you've ruined it for us.
"What kind of sister was she, anyway? A conniving, lying, manipulative one, her reflection answered. This was terrible. She was turning into Jessica."
(But she doesn't think these are bad qualities in Jessica!)
Laura: Personality Problems Profile. Elizabeth can be very self-critical. Occasionally she takes on more responsibility than is age-appropriate. She can be stubborn and exhibits a tendency toward self-righteousness."
(*snicker*)
December 24, 2021
I am so happy I finally got to read this! This book was impossible to find as a kid, and even more impossible as an adult. I finally tracked down a copy this summer, and have been saving it to read until December.
This was just as fun as I hoped it would be, even though it's obviously a rip-off of "It's A Wonderful Life". However, I am still a little confused on why the Unicorns would turn into chain-smoking Sharks just because Elizabeth didn't exist, but whatever.
This was just as fun as I hoped it would be, even though it's obviously a rip-off of "It's A Wonderful Life". However, I am still a little confused on why the Unicorns would turn into chain-smoking Sharks just because Elizabeth didn't exist, but whatever.
February 12, 2022
I remember how impactful the message behind this book was for me as a teenager. Opened my eyes to the false thinking that I didn’t matter, I didn’t make a difference.
Read
December 26, 2025Simultaneously the best and worst Sweet Valley Twins book ever to be written. Jessica is planning a Christmas party for the school and has raised almost $400. Elizabeth is the treasurer and currently volunteering at a homeless shelter (of course she is). She decides, in THE most unElizabeth way ever, to STEAL THE MONEY and give it to a homeless family as a deposit for their apartment. She then gets overridden with guilt and decides the whole of Sweet Valley would be best off without her and she should run away. At this point it goes slightly tits up as her Guardian Angel Laura turns up to show her what Sweet Valley would be like without her. Laura is my favourite character, after telling Elizabeth about herself and telling her she's a "goody goody" and self righteous. It's about time someone said it.
It turns out, without Elizabeth, the Wakefields would have divorced, Steven would have tattoos(!) and Jessica wouldn't be popular AT ALL. Even the Unicorns would be the Sharks (like the Pink Ladies with leather jackets). When the Sharks bully Jessica, it's more than Elizabeth can take and she stops being a ghost (!) and comes back to the middle school, where everyone has forgiven her for being a thief, the money has been given back, and Mr W has found a apartment for the homeless family. There's even a MERRY CHRISTMAS ELIZABETH! SWEET VALLEY LOVES YOU banner on the wall. That was the detail that made me sick tbh. If Jessica had stolen the money she would have been grounded!
It turns out, without Elizabeth, the Wakefields would have divorced, Steven would have tattoos(!) and Jessica wouldn't be popular AT ALL. Even the Unicorns would be the Sharks (like the Pink Ladies with leather jackets). When the Sharks bully Jessica, it's more than Elizabeth can take and she stops being a ghost (!) and comes back to the middle school, where everyone has forgiven her for being a thief, the money has been given back, and Mr W has found a apartment for the homeless family. There's even a MERRY CHRISTMAS ELIZABETH! SWEET VALLEY LOVES YOU banner on the wall. That was the detail that made me sick tbh. If Jessica had stolen the money she would have been grounded!
Read
March 18, 2023I cant rate SV bc the books were so much a part of my childhood and adolescence that its impossible for me to judge them in any way - the lens of memory warps all judgement! I picked this up yday at my parents house while my niece was playing on my phone and the one thing i noted is the characterization of elizabeth is so inconsistent across ghostwriters. Sometimes she’s really flat and dull and prissy, in others like this one she gets a more forgiving lens, where she’s good hearted and her mistakes arise from being really hard on herself and doing foolish things with good intentions. I think she’s also more likeable in the middle school books than in the college or high school ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2017
Sweet Valley gets a hit of 'It's a Wonderful Life' when Elizabeth wishes she'd never been born after giving away money for the school Christmas party. Elizabeth soon sees how different life would be without her... divorce, bullying and even death affecting her nearest and dearest.
A page-turner of a book - I enjoyed it reread as much as I enjoyed this first time around in the 90s.
A page-turner of a book - I enjoyed it reread as much as I enjoyed this first time around in the 90s.
February 20, 2020
One of my all time favorite adaptations of Dickens' Christmas story, or it's a wonderful Life, Elizabeth is guided through a world in which she never existed to see how integral she is after a screw-up makes her doubt her worth. It has stuck with me well into adulthood, which is really all you can ask of stories of youth.
February 21, 2019
I forgot how much I liked this book I couldn’t put it down it was really good
December 4, 2021
Sweet Valley does It’s a Wonderful Life.
December 27, 2024
Continuing my trip down memory lane.
May 11, 2025
Life can be awful. Unless you are thin and beautiful, then everything will work out great.
December 3, 2025
3.5 stars. Sweet Valley Twin’s take on It’s a Wonderful Life.
January 22, 2010
How I Came To Read This Book: I own all 3 SV Christmas magna editions. I have no idea how or why…my guess is Christmas.
The Plot: Elizabeth is keeping a major secret from everyone – she’s been helping out at a homeless shelter and has fallen hard for a sweet family who’s trying to make things work. Just as their dreams are about to come true as they move into a place of their own at last, they can’t get the money together in time to make it happen. So Elizabeth opts to give them the fundraising money her class was saving up for their big annual holiday dance (which Jessica is in charge of deciding the theme for). When the class finds out the money is missing, they’re furious, and Elizabeth runs away where she’s greeted by a mysterious, rebellious teen angel that shows Elizabeth just what the world would be like if she’d never existed (how very ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’). Elizabeth and her angel friend tour various SV plots of yesteryear, as well they make a pit stop at the very party Elizabeth ‘destroyed’. Will Elizabeth snap out of her funk? Will her classmates forgive her? Hm…
The Good & The Bad: The main problem with this book, and why I gave it a two-star rating, is unless you’ve read the rest of the SVT series, you won’t really care that much about the specific instances Elizabeth gets toured through. The general concept of how different our little archetypal characters would be had Elizabeth not existed is easy enough to follow, but the main chunk of the book just takes you back through all these other past plot lines and how those plots still would have happened – but without Elizabeth’s intervention they would have ended tragically! An unlikely case of the butterfly effect, but what can you do. This is also a great example of some of the critiques of Elizabeth – she’s done something pretty selfish and damaging, but it’s also kind of good. Where does one stand? One final reason for the docked stars is the fact the book centres on Elizabeth way too much – I like a balance in my books about twins thanks. It’s not a non-entertaining book or anything, it’s just lacking compared to the other two Magna Christmas editions.
The Bottom Line: The weakest of the Magna Xmas bunch, but still enjoyable. Unless you hate Elizabeth, then you’ll probably hope EVERY Christmas is without her.
Anything Memorable?: Nope.
50-Book Challenge?: Nope.
The Plot: Elizabeth is keeping a major secret from everyone – she’s been helping out at a homeless shelter and has fallen hard for a sweet family who’s trying to make things work. Just as their dreams are about to come true as they move into a place of their own at last, they can’t get the money together in time to make it happen. So Elizabeth opts to give them the fundraising money her class was saving up for their big annual holiday dance (which Jessica is in charge of deciding the theme for). When the class finds out the money is missing, they’re furious, and Elizabeth runs away where she’s greeted by a mysterious, rebellious teen angel that shows Elizabeth just what the world would be like if she’d never existed (how very ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’). Elizabeth and her angel friend tour various SV plots of yesteryear, as well they make a pit stop at the very party Elizabeth ‘destroyed’. Will Elizabeth snap out of her funk? Will her classmates forgive her? Hm…
The Good & The Bad: The main problem with this book, and why I gave it a two-star rating, is unless you’ve read the rest of the SVT series, you won’t really care that much about the specific instances Elizabeth gets toured through. The general concept of how different our little archetypal characters would be had Elizabeth not existed is easy enough to follow, but the main chunk of the book just takes you back through all these other past plot lines and how those plots still would have happened – but without Elizabeth’s intervention they would have ended tragically! An unlikely case of the butterfly effect, but what can you do. This is also a great example of some of the critiques of Elizabeth – she’s done something pretty selfish and damaging, but it’s also kind of good. Where does one stand? One final reason for the docked stars is the fact the book centres on Elizabeth way too much – I like a balance in my books about twins thanks. It’s not a non-entertaining book or anything, it’s just lacking compared to the other two Magna Christmas editions.
The Bottom Line: The weakest of the Magna Xmas bunch, but still enjoyable. Unless you hate Elizabeth, then you’ll probably hope EVERY Christmas is without her.
Anything Memorable?: Nope.
50-Book Challenge?: Nope.
February 6, 2021
Another quick (maybe an hour) nostalgic read from my tween years. It is a rip off of It's a Wonderful Life and other like stories, but fairly well written. As an adult I found some of Laura's heavenly instructors to be a bit silly (Sigmund Freud was a fairly committed atheist with a complicated relationship with organized religion, for example) and I found some of the situations to be very intense for 6th graders -- not that they don't happen in real life, but *dang*! But the point of the story is, as Sweet Valley books always are, sweet.
I will add that this book required a lot of SVT knowledge. The stories Elizabeth revisits are directly from the series and without some affection for the trials and tribulations of the twins I am not sure it is as heartwarming.
Good memories from childhood. It has held up well and wouldn't hesitate to hand this to a 6th grader in 2019.
Update 2/6/21: it took me awhile to finish my Christmas re-reading of this book. Lots of reasons for that, but one thing I noticed is just how dark the book had to become for the story to work. And I just don't think that is right. There is no earthly reason why the Unicorns would have become the Sharks without Elizabeth. The world didn't need to become so dark it made Elizabeth shiver in the fog (page 139) to tell the story. I found that irritating with this reading. Perhaps I finally stretched Christmas 2020 as far as it will go.
I will add that this book required a lot of SVT knowledge. The stories Elizabeth revisits are directly from the series and without some affection for the trials and tribulations of the twins I am not sure it is as heartwarming.
Good memories from childhood. It has held up well and wouldn't hesitate to hand this to a 6th grader in 2019.
Update 2/6/21: it took me awhile to finish my Christmas re-reading of this book. Lots of reasons for that, but one thing I noticed is just how dark the book had to become for the story to work. And I just don't think that is right. There is no earthly reason why the Unicorns would have become the Sharks without Elizabeth. The world didn't need to become so dark it made Elizabeth shiver in the fog (page 139) to tell the story. I found that irritating with this reading. Perhaps I finally stretched Christmas 2020 as far as it will go.
Read
December 21, 2013I wanted to re-read this as I haven't read it since I was a teenager. It was actually pretty extreme and hilarious how different Sweet Valley would be without Elizabeth.
Sweet Valley was my favourite series when I was a tween. I've definitely grown out of it but now and then, I like to revisit it.
Sweet Valley was my favourite series when I was a tween. I've definitely grown out of it but now and then, I like to revisit it.
May 8, 2009
Sweet Valley meets It's a Wonderful Life. Of course I loved it ;) And Jessica is an absolute loser nobody without Liz, LOL! Must have read this dozen of times when I was younger, and it's still one I'd read today.
March 7, 2021
Really interesting It's a wonderful life retelling! I don't really know that much the characters in this series, so I don't feel very upset by the changes related to Elizabeth's absence in life and overall it has a young and a bit shallow feel to it, but it's a good read all in all.
December 23, 2010
Without Elizabeth the Doormat to stomp all over, Jessica becomes a nerd and The Unicorns become a gang.
12-21-2009
12-21-2009
June 22, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
April 18, 2014
This book was so good
October 4, 2015
A childhood favorite :)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews