#13: Kidnapped!

Time elapsed in this book: 1 week

Length of their junior year: 10 months

Jessica’s love interest: Nicholas Morrow

Entertainment rating: 7/10

The title of this book has an exclamation point, so you know it’s going to be good. You also know it’s going to be good because the end of the last book noted that even though you’d have to wait an extra month for this book, it would be worth the wait (these used to be released monthly; apparently this was released after two months–how did readers survive?!?). And while this isn’t necessarily one of my favorite SVH books, either now or as a kid, it is still entertaining and, I agree, worth the wait.

The last book ended on the cliffhanger of Liz being kidnapped. This opens on a much more mild note: Jess is getting ready for a party. She asks Steven to help her with the zipper, then asks what he thinks of her in the dress. Steven says she’s a nine in it. Jess is offended because she knows she’s always a ten, and Steven knows it too. You know, normal conversations you have with your siblings. Jess says she wants to look perfect because she’s going to a party at the Morrow’s mansion. The Morrows just moved to town and have a daughter, Regina, who’s the twins’ age, plus an eighteen-year-old son, Nicholas. Jess hasn’t met either but says she has it on good authority that Nicholas is a hottie. Obviously. If you live in Sweet Valley (not to mention rich), you’re inevitably hot.

Steven leaves to spend time with Tricia. Jess still doesn’t approve of Tricia’s family, but Tricia is sick, so Jess asks how Tricia’s doing (tired but okay) and tells Steven to have fun. After he leaves, Jess sits around to wait for Liz to come home since they’d planned to go to the party together. Liz said she’d be home at eight, after working her candy striper shift at the hospital and then tutoring Max Dellon in English. Jess waits as long as she can; at ten minute before eight, she can’t wait any longer. She calls Cara and asks for a ride to the party, leaving behind a note on the kitchen counter for Liz.

Cara and Jess go to the Morrow’s mansion, speculating about how quickly Nicholas will inevitably fall in love with Jess. Cara says she hopes she can find someone who wants her, since the last time Cara tried dating someone, it was Steven and that was a disaster since he was still in love with Tricia. Jess says that Cara’s not allowed to feel sorry for herself and that maybe after Tricia dies, Jess can properly set them up. Cara is shocked and says that’s morbid. Jess says it’s not morbid, it’s life. I have no memory of this scene from when I was a kid but yikes. It’s hilarious but so dark.

There’s a red Ferrari in the Morrow’s driveway; Jess assumes it must belong to Nicholas and swoons a bit. Cara and Jess gawk at the place a bit more, which puts the Patman and Fowler mansions to shame. The Morrow parents leave to go to a party of their own (apparently leaving your kids at home to throw a party with new friends they’ve never met before is normal? How did I never pick up on this oddness as a kid?). A “small, elderly man in a butler’s uniform” who has a slight British accent greets them inside and takes their coats. Again, seemed totally normal and plausible when I was a kid.

Eventually, Cara and Jess make it to the den. Regina appears. Naturally, she’s gorgeous:

“She had long, wavy, black hair, a porcelain complexion, and dancing blue eyes. Her black silk jumpsuit fit her tall, statuesque body perfectly.”

It’s the same black hair/blue eye combo that Suzanne Devlin had. This combo is the best way to show off a unique beauty in Sweet Valley.

Regina greets them and stares at Cara when she talks. Jess tries to say something, but Regina completely ignores her and continues to talk to Cara. Eventually, Jess decides that Regina must be drunk since that’s the only explanation for why she’d ignore Jess. Jess taps Regina on the shoulder and asks where she is keeping the booze (does Jess want to drink??). Regina says there’s no booze because it’s not that kind of party. Now we’re getting into the dry Sweet Valley that I remember growing up with! Regina goes to the fridge for soda, then asks Jess if she said what type she wanted. Jess says she hadn’t said anything and Regina says, “I wasn’t sure, since I had my back turned to you. You see, I’m deaf.” She reads lips to communicate and wow is she ever amazing at it! They never would have known if she hadn’t said anything!

Side note: I recently read the book Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco about growing up deaf and would recommend it to anyone looking for a more realistic description of what being deaf is like. In it, he mentions that even the best lip readers only get something like 30% of what’s said, so it’s not really possible to just lip read. This blew my mind since my only previous reference for being deaf and lip reading was Regina Morrow and somehow I’d taken this as fact as a kid. The memoir also described how he went to a regular public school for one year and how difficult that was due to the place not being set up for anyone hearing-impaired. But of course this is Sweet Valley, and Regina is amazing at being deaf in addition to being beautiful, so not only does she manage to get along by lip reading alone (not a single mention of ASL to be found in this series!) but she’s the one who pushed to attend regular public school. Only in Sweet Valley.

Regina is so good-natured about her deafness that Jess is astounded. Then she asks if Nicholas is deaf too, since the thought horrifies her. He appears and confirms that no, he is not deaf but he is as hot as the rumors made him out to be. Black wavy hair, emerald green eyes (where do these amazing hair/eye combos come from?!?), a cleft chin… Jess thinks that he looks like “Adonis personified.” Jess and Nicholas make some small talk about their families. Nicholas is protective of Regina and is happy to see that Jess and Cara aren’t shying away from Regina despite her deafness. Jess says she’s the PBA president and can nominate Regina for membership (because yeah, obviously another pledge drive is needed soon!).

Finally, we cut to Liz’s perspective. She’s bound and gagged, unsure where she is or what’s going on. She vaguely remembers being at the parking lot at the hospital. Now she’s in a moving vehicle, perhaps a van. She tries to scream but passes out.

Max Dellon is waiting for Liz to arrive to tutor him. He’s trying to understand Othello and can’t make sense of it. I relate. Even as an adult, I still feel that way when trying to read anything Shakespeare. Max wants to be playing music with the Droids, but Mr. Collins had called his parents and warned them that if he didn’t improve, he was going to fail English. Mr. Dellon told Max that until he brings his English grade up, he can’t be in the Droids. A lot is riding on Liz showing up to help Max, but she’s not there! Max is frustrated and thinks this isn’t like her. At nine-forty, he decides to go to the hospital to look for her, just in case she’s had car trouble or something, and sneaks out.

Back at the party, Jess is thrilled about how it’s going with Nicholas. They’ve been chatting all night so far. When he briefly leaves, Caroline Pearce comes over to get the gossip directly from Jess. Jess is annoyed and redirects her to Winston, saying that Winston’s been checking Caroline out (a lie), which Caroline is thrilled to hear since apparently she has a crush on him, so she leaves. Nicholas returns and apologizes for being gone, saying he got into a conversation with Bruce Patman. Jess is confused, since Bruce is a senior and she thought only juniors had been invited to the party. I don’t know why no one Nicholas’ age was invited to the party, but obviously Bruce had nothing else going on since all he ever seems to do is hang out with juniors. Nicholas explains that he invited Bruce because he lives next door. Jess asks if Nicholas will race his Ferrari against Bruce’s Porsche. Nicholas says no, the Ferrari is his dad’s.

Todd approaches Jess and wants to know where Liz is, saying he’s getting worried. Out of the corner of her eye, Jess sees Lila, waiting for her to leave Nicholas’ side so she can pounce. Jess decides that this simply can’t happen. So she lies and tells Todd that Mr. Collins called Liz and asked her to babysit last minute and that Liz will be at the party soon.

We cut to Liz again. She’s terrified, gagged, blindfolded, and tied up, but she’s alive. Wherever she is smells like garbage and fried food. Finally, someone arrives. It’s Carl, the creepy orderly from the hospital! He says he’s sorry for scaring her but this was the only way he could think of to get her there. He promises not to hurt her. He removes the gag to make her more comfortable and Liz screams!

At the party, it’s been 30 minutes since Todd asked Jess where Liz was. He’s starting to get worried, so he calls Mr. Collins to speak to Liz. To his surprise, Mr. Collins picks up the phone! Mr. Collins says that he never asked Liz to babysit. Todd hangs up, angry at Jess. He finds Jess by the edge of the pool in her bikini, flirting with Nicholas, so he goes up to her and pushes her in the pool! A pool push seems to happen in so many SVH books, something I never picked up on as a kid. Always a good time! Jess is furious with Todd, but when Todd tells her it’s 9:30pm, her anger turns to worry and she calls home. Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield are there but Liz isn’t. Everyone is now worried. Jess says that she and Todd will drive up and down the streets to make sure Liz’s car didn’t break down on the way home. Oh, the pre-cell phone days when you couldn’t immediately get in touch with someone!

Back to Liz. Carl covers Liz’s mouth to muffle her screams. When she finally stops screaming, realizing it’s futile, he asks why she screamed, seeming confused. Liz says it’s because she’s frightened. Carl says he’s not going to hurt her and that eventually she’ll be grateful he took her there, since he’s going to be super nice to her. He tells her to start thinking of his house as her house too. Liz tries to escape by asking to use the bathroom, but the bathroom doesn’t have a window. Later, she tries to reason with him. She asks why he loves her and he says it’s because she’s so nice. Liz points out that if he doesn’t want to hurt her, he shouldn’t have tied her up. Eventually, she convinces him that she won’t run away if he unties her. He unties her and she immediately runs out the front door, only to discover another door that’s boarded up! Carl recaptures her and brings her inside to the sofa, furious about her attempted escape!

Jess and Todd make it home. They call Max Dellon’s house to ask if she might be there, but Max’s parents say Liz isn’t there and apparently neither is Max! The Wakefields call the police.

Max Dellon, who’s apparently more of a detective than anyone else in this town, is in the hospital parking lot. He finds Liz’s car and realizes her purse is in there, along with her keys and her sweater. These aren’t things she’d have usually left behind! Just then, a flashlight shines in his eyes. It’s the Sweet Valley police! Don’t get too excited, because this police force is as incompetent as they get. One officer asks Max what he’s doing, and Max says he’s looking in his friend’s car for clues about where she might have gone. How did the police know Max was in someone else’s car? I’m not really sure. Another officer approachers and tells Max that they’ve caught him red-handed! Max says it really is his friend’s car, and the cop assumes that a girl stood Max up so he’s getting back at her by stealing her car. How does this even make sense? Again, I’m not really sure. But it makes sense to the two policemen. One of them puts handcuffs on Max and tells him he’s under arrest.

The next morning, Liz wakes up and tries to comfort herself by remembering that Carl is scheduled to work, so if he misses work, someone’s bound to notice and maybe they’ll come to his house and find her! Carl defrosts frozen pancakes for breakfast, since he’d once overheard Liz mention how much she liked pancakes. After that, Carl says he has to head into work because if he doesn’t show up, someone will wonder where he is and they’re probably already out looking for Liz, so this is the safest plan.

We cut to Max. The officer taunted him about going to juvenile hall the entire ride to the police station (an adult, I am appalled by how unprofessional this all is!). At the station, the police grill him about what he was doing at Liz’s car. Four hours later, they release him, since they don’t have proof that he’d even broken into the car, as the keys were in the car and there’s no other evidence to the contrary. Which begs the question of why they thought it was the right move to arrest him in the first place, much less question him without a parent or lawyer present. But, you know. It’s Sweet Valley. Facts should not get in the way of a good story! His parents pick him up at the station and are not pleased.

A bunch of people show up at the Wakefield’s house to show their support. Enid, Penny, John Pfeifer, Olivia, and Mr. Collins are among them. Jess has shut herself in her bedroom. Nicholas shows up at her bedroom door, and Jess thinks it’s crazy because a day earlier, she’d have been thrilled to have Nicholas in her bedroom but now she is too worried to care. Jess tells him that it’s all her fault Liz is missing because she didn’t stick around to drive Liz to the party, and Nicholas tells her not to blame herself.

Carl returns from his shift and gives Liz a new blue cardigan. Liz is momentarily hopeful, thinking that the gift shop lady must have found it weird that he bought a woman’s sweater so maybe someone will rescue her! She tells him this (…why?) and he says he bought it at a nearby store, not the hospital. Liz is disappointed all over again. Carl says the hospital was crawling with cops asking if anyone had seen Liz and they believed him when he said no. He also tells her that they won’t be staying at this house for long because he knows of a great place far away, in the mountains, where she’d get lost if she tried to leave so he won’t even have to tie her up. He plans to quit his job and says they’ll leave tomorrow night!

Jess goes to school the next day. Everyone’s talking about Liz and debating what happened. Lila says she bets Max knows a lot more than he’s said, since they found him rummaging around Liz’s car (how does everyone know this?).

Speaking of Max, it’s his day to take the big English test on Othello. Mr. Collins tells him he can take it another day, but Max insists on taking it because he feels ready. The test ends up being easier than he expected, thanks to all his focusing on the book while waiting for Liz to show up! He passes the test all on his own!

Afterward, in the hallway, Todd decides to see if there’s any truth to the accusation that Max knows more than he’s letting on. He asks Max, who insists he never saw Liz, so Todd punches him! Way to “not be violent” Todd, as he claimed in a previous book. How did I not notice, and how was I not appalled by, Todd’s tendency to punch people when I read these as a kid? I think I was always too busy swooning over him and how “passionate” he was. As an adult, I’m incredibly turned off by his punch frequency. Anyway, Jess steps in and tells them to cut it out because she feels confident that Max had nothing to do with Liz’s disappearance. Jess, Todd, and Max all agree they want to find Liz, so Jess suggests they start looking at the scene of the crime: the hospital. I mean, yes, this is the obvious call, but how have they not been there yet?!? I would also ask, why would they expect to find something the cops couldn’t, since we know that the cops were at the hospital? But based on Max’s interactions with the Sweet Valley police in this book, I don’t have very high hopes for them being particularly good at their jobs.

While Liz scratches a second notch into her wooden chair to mark the second day of her captivity, Jess, Todd, and Max start to comb the hospital. None of them find anything, so Jess walks down a corridor, feeling dejected. But then Carl notices her! He doesn’t know Liz had a twin, so he thinks Jess is Liz! He rushes over to her and says he doesn’t know how she escaped but that he’s taking her back! Max sneaks up behind him and pins Carl to the floor using a hold he learned from wrestling! Max shouts for someone to call the police (apparently he still has confidence in their ability to do good work) while Jess pretends to be Liz to extract more information out of Carl, who babbles away about how they were planning to go to the mountains that night.

The real Liz is alone in Carl’s house when she hears a commotion outside. It’s people there to rescue her, led by the police and Jessica!! Liz is overjoyed to see that Jess has figured out where she is and thrilled to be rescued!

When Liz gets home, her mom asks what’s the first thing she wants to do. Liz says she wants to take a bubble bath, eat, and then plan the best party the town has ever seen! Trauma? What’s that? As a kid, I didn’t even consider the fact that such an ordeal with leave lasting trauma; I’m pretty sure I just nodded along and was like, yes, these seem like legitimate priorities. And in Sweet Valley, they are! Friday night, they host an amazing party! Max is back in the Droids now that he passed his test, so the Droids are playing at it too. All is well once more!

Coming up next: Nicholas Morrow falls for Liz.

Notes:

Steven’s height is specified in this book as 6’1″.

We find out that the Wakefield’s neighbors are the Beckwiths and the Kilgartens.

Another absolutely iconic cover from the series. I love Liz’s surprised look with her own hand raised while some disembodied hand reaches for her!