The Truth About Ryan

Sweet Valley University #31

by Francine Pascal (Creator)

Hot men and cool waves...is it more than a summer fling?

Ryan Taylor has gone back to his dangerous old habits.  Can Elizabeth Wakefield help him out before he's kicked off the Sweet Valley lifeguard squad for good?

Jessica Wakefield has sacrificed so much this summer.  In order to lure Ben Mercer away from brainy Priya Rahman, she's been hitting the books when she should have been hitting the beach.  But how someone new is tempting Jessica...someone forbidden.  Will Jessica give up her studies--and Ben--for a risky summer fling?

Life with surfer Stu Kirkwood is pure bliss--that's what Nina Harper thinks.  But will a woman from his past make her think again?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Chick Lit

231 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 1997

About the author

Francine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.

Reviews

[kylajaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liz can't leave well enough alone. Though she's never had much success getting through to moody Ryan, she's still convinced she must be the one to save him. Especially now that he's started drinking. Again. But drunk Ryan wants someone fun in his life. Someone... not Liz. And Jessica is only too happy to rekindle her crush on Ryan from the previous summer. The fact that Ryan only wants Jess when he's drunk should tell her something, but I guess she'll find out in the next book which is, thank God, the last and final book of the Lifeguard series.

Quotes:

Liz: Winston, that's not true at all. I was attracted to Ryan because he was... 'Mysterious and brooding,' she realized.

God, Liz is thick.

"Liz shrugged. As much as she felt for Nina, she couldn't let herself get too worked up about her troubles - not with Ryan turning into a total stranger before her eyes."

Liz is a cunt.

Jess: Before long I'll break my ninth-grade record- no dates in almost a month!

I guess this is why we never read about the twins in 9th grade.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The truth about Ryan is that he sucks. I can't believe I thought this brooding idiot was good for Elizabeth as a kid.

I am no longer sad that this was the only one in the second trilogy I could get from ILL.

[E.H. Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this next summer volume of Sweet Valley University, we’re treated to more of the same. Jessica is still enduring terrible, mean treatment from her ex-boyfriend Ben and his new girlfriend. Elizabeth is still bending over backwards to understand and help her alcoholic boyfriend Ryan. Both girls are accepting such terrible treatment, and I can only hope they’re cautionary tales for the readers, rather than role models. Blaming your girlfriend for your choice to go off the wagon is not okay, when all she did was not show up to a dinner date because her car broke down. Belittling and bullying your ex-girlfriend alongside your current one is not okay. Both girls deserve better treatment, and it’s enormously sad that they don’t see it. Keep reading for more Sweet Valley, and since I’ve seen these girls through thick and thin, I know things will get better.

http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/svu-31...

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

SWEET VALLEY UNIVERSITY
Written by Francine Pascal
General Review for series as I cannot remember each novel.

I read Sweet Valley University when I was in junior high school to high school. While there is sexual content it is very mild (not explicit) compared to teen books today. If you like the Sweet Valley High you will love this series as it continues with the twins' story as they attend University and are away from their parents. I am not sure how they would relate to teens today as this was before cell phones were common and social media. They are fun teen romances with "real-life" situation. I did not complete the series as I started to save for school so I wasn't able to collect them any further (they are out of print). I still have the books I bought and may try to read one again (I did reread the series a few times).

[Sheila Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember the cover just not the story.