Sweet Valley High Super Star: Bruce’s Story

Time elapsed in this book: 5 weeks

Length of their junior year: 4 years, 6 months, 1 week

Jessica’s love interest: None

Entertainment rating: 8/10

A Bruce-centric book! Francine Pascal knew what the readers wanted and delivered. Look at that face on the cover, casually tossing a leather jacket over his shoulder. He is definitely saying, “Heyyy girl.”

Grandfather Alexander Patman comes to visit! Bruce knows he can be overbearing but Roger’s never met him. At dinner, Grandfather Patman tells Roger what a great businessman Roger’s dad, Paul, was. Bruce is bored and wants them to move on to a better topic. “Like about me, Bruce thought.” Whoever the ghostwriter was NAILED Bruce’s internal dialogue. The conversation indeed moves on to Bruce but he’s not happy about this change because his grandfather asks him about his grades.

Grandfather Patman only wants grapefruit and coffee to be served for breakfast, after which he jogs two miles and lifts weights before reading about the stock market. He tells Bruce and Roger that his mottos are “Get rich and work hard” and then tells them that he doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him, which is also how he likes his companies run: no excess. Roger asks Bruce when this will ever end and Bruce says never.

On the way to school, Bruce sees Tracy Atkins and is immediately smitten. He wonders why he’s never noticed her before and then scrapes his car against something. That night at dinner, Roger makes a reference to Bruce’s car needing to go in the shop. Grandfather Patman lectures Bruce about needing to drive more carefully and how money doesn’t go on trees. Bruce is furious that Roger embarrassed him!

Mr. Collins holds an assembly and announces that the school is going to participate in the SAVE program, which a group of community leaders put together to raise money for the Nicholson School. Apparently the Nicholson School is for special needs kids and they need $10k or else they have to close. Obviously SVH students can help solve this problem! A student leader is selected from each grade: Dirk Pierce for the freshmen, Lisa DePaul (who’s apparently Roger’s close friend) for sophomores, Liz for juniors (duh), and Tracy Atkins for seniors. The bulk of the SVH student body doesn’t care about this, but because Tracy cares, Bruce decides he cares too.

Bruce talks to Tracy about the SAVE program and then invites her to his grandfather’s birthday party. She doesn’t seem especially excited but does show up. At the party, Bruce says he’d like to take her to a club in LA sometime and she says that’s not really her scene. Bruce is shocked and thinks she’s sending him mixed messages because she seems to like him yet isn’t jumping at the idea of going to a nightclub with him.

At the end of the party, Grandfather Patman tells Bruce and Roger he’s giving them each two thousand dollars in cash. Whoever turns that money into the most profit in four weeks (when their parents come home from a month-long trip to Japan) will inherit the family business when Mr. Patman (who will inherit it from Grandfather Patman) retires. Bruce can’t believe he has to compete with Roger for what he sees as his rightful inheritance. Grandfather Patman swears them to secrecy about the contest.

Almost immediately after this competition starts, Bruce gets into another fender bender on his way to buy concert tickets. He decides to pay cash to get his front fender repaired so he doesn’t have to admit causing another accident. Since his car is damaged, he then rides his bike over to Tracy’s (LOL, I am loving this mental image! I know he went on the summer bike trip with the twins in Perfect Summer, but I can’t imagine him riding a bike for transportation around town!). He hides his bike in the bushes then rings her doorbell to invite her to the concert. Tracy thanks him but says she has to babysit her brothers and can’t go. Bruce can’t believe he’s now stuck with expensive concert tickets he can’t even use!

Roger talks to Lisa’s dad, who works at an investment firm, and asks him how to buy stock. Mr. DePaul says that even though Roger’s a minor, he’s known Mr. Patman a long time so he’ll buy stock for him if Roger assures him that it’s his own money. Roger’s thrilled and picks a stock that Mr. DePaul thinks is risky.

Bruce gets together with buddies from the country club who he sometimes plays poker with. He suggests they up the ante to $10 instead of their usual $1. By the end of the night, he’s down $700.

Mr. DePaul tells Roger that his stock has doubled in a week and is now at $20/share. He suggests that Roger sell and then invest in a safer stock. Roger says no and figures it’ll go up more.

The SAVE committee plans an event called Harbor Days where people can sell stuff. Half the profit goes to SAVE and the other half can be kept by the vendor. Bruce wants to make money and tells Tracy he wants to participate. She’s happy he’s showing an interest in SAVE.

In what’s possibly the best scene of this book, Bruce tells Tracy that his plan is to sell the names and addresses of all the girls he’s gone out with. He says it’ll mint him a fortune. Tracy doesn’t think this sounds particularly tasteful or legal. Bruce is confused and then figures that Tracy must be jealous. He is so out of touch with reality and I LOVE it. Tracy suggests Bruce write The Bruce Patman Guide to Dating, which she thinks will sell well because of his reputation. Bruce loves the idea and asks for her help as a way to spend more time with her. I soooooo wish I could buy this and read it!

Roger gets a call from Mr. DePaul saying that his stock is now tanking. He sells all his shares but ends up losing $700. He decides to make money back at Harbor Days by custom painting hat visors.

Bruce hears about Roger’s plan and sabotages him by swapping out his paint for water soluble paint. He then pays a kid $10 to start a water balloon fight in front of Roger’s stand so it ruins his merchandise.

Bruce’s dating book is a hit! He sells it for the bargain price of $5 and makes $500 of profit. The only sample we get from the book:

What do you say to a girl you’ve just met who you want to go out with? A, You’re gorgeous. B, I drive a Porsche, want a ride? C, You’re in for the best time of your life now that you’ve met me. D, All of the above.

This is clearly A+ material, but what do you say if you don’t drive a Porsche?

Tracy is happy for Bruce’s success and kisses him. Bruce thinks it must be love.

The next weekend is another Harbor Days event. Bruce makes Tracy’s grandma’s recipe for peach raspberry ice cream and tells her that all profits will be donated to the Nicholson School. He asks Tracy what Roger’s plan is under the guise of wanting to ensure Roger’s booth is a success. Tracy tells him Roger’s going to sell photographs that Jim Roberts has taken.

Tracy finds out that the SAVE committee hasn’t received Bruce’s money yet and she’s confused. Lisa tells her that Roger thinks Bruce sabotaged his booth the past weekend. Tracy can’t believe it. She starts to think that maybe Bruce is only interested in her for his own reasons.

Bruce spies Roger going to the freezer…. but then leaves Bruce’s ice cream alone. Bruce thinks about messing with the photo paper that Roger bought for his booth and goes to where Roger has it stored…. but then leaves it alone.

Tracy, who followed Bruce, yells at him for being scummy. He says he didn’t sabotage Roger (this time) and then tells her about his grandfather’s contest. Tracy can’t believe Bruce and Roger are participating in such a dumb contest.

At Harbor Days, Bruce goes over to Roger’s booth and asks to buy a portrait. Roger says Bruce can have one if he gives Roger ice cream in exchange. They declare a truce!

The SAVE committee meets. They haven’t hit the money goal. But then! An anonymous envelope with nearly $1k in cash arrives. Then a second one! They’ve raised enough money for the Nicholson School to stay open!

Bruce goes to Tracy’s house to make things right with her. Tracy says that after seeing how Bruce treated Roger, she can’t go back to feeling the way she did about him but that they can be friends. Bruce agrees and invites her to a party at his mansion that weekend. He thinks staying friends with a girl he used to date is pretty cool.

At the party, Grandfather Patman makes a speech to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Patman home. He then tells the crowd about the contest between the boys for control of the Patman Corporation and asks the boys to present their earnings. Bruce suggests they do this in private but he says nonsense, the people watching are their community. Bruce and Roger both give him empty envelopes and say they donated all of their profit from Harbor Days to SAVE! Grandfather Patman says they’ve taught him that there are more ways to win than making money. Mr. Patman is moved and says the Patman Corporation will be the chief benefactor to the Nicholson School so it can stay open in the future.

Pretty sure we never hear about Tracy Atkins, Roger’s supposed bestie Lisa DePaul, or the Nicholson School ever again.