Time elapsed in this book: 2 weeks
Length of their junior year: 1 year, 5 months, 3 weeks
Jessica’s love interest: Winston Egbert
Entertainment rating: 7/10
Let’s talk about the cover of this book first. Steven is looking morose, but Cara’s there to cheer him up with a hand on his chest! I always thought the look on Cara’s face on this cover was kind of off. It almost looks like she’s curling up her lip or something. Not one of the better covers for sure, but it’s indicative of a book starring Steven. While the main plot in here is fine, I continue to not particularly care about plots involving Steven, especially about his love life. Give me more twins and their adventures! Especially if those adventures involve romantic scenes between Liz and Todd or if they involve a rivalry between Jessica and Lila! The subplot in here, though, is pretty good: Liz chases a guy who looks like Todd all over town. I remember enjoying that subplot even as a kid.
The book opens where the last book ended. An angsty Steven returns from Lila’s party and slams the door to his bedroom. He’d had a good time at the party dancing with Cara until Betsy, Tricia’s sister, noticed them and accused Steven of betraying Tricia’s memory. Steven took off after that and now that he’s home, he vows to never betray Tricia’s memory again.
Liz, on the other hand, had a blissful time at the party because Todd had returned to town for the weekend! Swoon. The next morning, she’s still all smiles. Over breakfast (while Steven’s still in his room), Jess dishes to her parents about the scene Betsy made at the party and calls her trashy. I have to agree with her here; Betsy had no business making Steven feel bad.
The doorbell rings. It’s Betsy! Steven comes downstairs and says he called her so they could hang out and that he’ll be back later. After he leaves, Jess invites Liz to play volleyball that afternoon to practice for their charity game against Big Mesa the next weekend, but Liz says she has plans to spend the day with Todd before he flies home the next morning. I’m not sure what kind of “charity” event this is or what they’re raising money for or how they’re raising it, but okay. Liz is more worried about the dance that will follow the volleyball game (maybe that’s what they’re raising money to fund?), since it’s her first big school event without Todd. We get this incredible statement:
Dates weren’t an absolute necessity, so Elizabeth wondered if she should make the effort to get one.
What a crock!! Since when are dates not an absolute necessity in Sweet Valley?? These teens even have dates when they go to parties.
Steven and Betsy go to a park. Betsy says maybe she was too harsh on Steven (you think?) but Steven says no, she was right, Cara should never take Tricia’s place. Betsy agrees and says that Tricia can only live on if they remember her.
The next day at home, Jess overhears her mom talking to Winston Egbert’s mom about how Mrs. Egbert’s brother is a movie director and will be in town soon! Jess is excited and thinks this might be her big break. She decides to get closer with Winston so she can meet his uncle.
Liz goes dress shopping with Enid and tells her how perfect the day with Todd was. I’m so disappointed we didn’t get any specifics about their day and even more disappointed that I didn’t get to read their romantic scenes together before he left Sweet Valley once more. Alas. Suddenly Liz is distracted by a guy in the mall who looks like Todd! Liz goes tearing after him but he disappears and Liz thinks maybe she imagined it.
Monday morning, Steven says he needs make a call and then he’ll head back to college. Jess says she hopes he’s calling Cara to apologize after embarrassing her at the party. Steven says Cara wasn’t his date so it wasn’t a big deal. Jess says she hopes Cara feels the same way. I love the way Jess is standing up for her friend here because Steven was rude. After Jess leaves, Steven calls Betsy and says he’ll be back the following weekend for the charity volleyball game and dance and that he hopes they can get together again. He tells himself that Betsy is his strongest link to Tricia so he needs her!
In English class, everyone picks an author to write a paper about. Mr. Collins says that if someone chooses the same author, you can work together. Lila mouths Hemingway to Jess, but Jess ignores her and when Winston picks Fitzgerald, Jess says she wants Fitzgerald too. Lila is stunned but Jess doesn’t bother explaining herself. After class, Jess suggests to Winston that she go over to his house straightaway to begin research. Winston says they’re having guests so the house might be in disarray, but Jess is not deterred. After all, that’s the whole reason she’s working with Winston: his uncle!
That evening, Cara calls Jess and they talk for a bit about Steven’s rudeness at Lila’s party. Cara is much more charitable to Steven than I’d be, and definitely more charitable than Jess is. After they hang up, Todd calls for Liz. They talk about how much they miss each other. Todd tells her it’s okay if she goes to the charity dance with someone else. Then he mentions that some girl named Gina invited him to a party at her family’s cabins in the mountains. I’m pretty sure this is where younger me got all my ideas of what Vermont was like: Todd’s generic descriptions of living there. Liz feels jealous but doesn’t know how to express this. Once they hang up, Liz bursts into tears because she misses him so much!
A few days later, Jess approaches Winston and asks how he feels about taking “a terrific aqua-eyed blond” to the dance. Winston says he’d thought of that! Jess perks up, but then Winston explains that he figured Liz would be lonely without Todd, so he invited Liz to the dance but she said no. Jess is mortified that Winston didn’t realize she was talking about herself, so she acts as if she was thinking about Liz too to save face. I loved this scene!!
In The Oracle office, Liz sees a photo of the Big Mesa volleyball team. One of the players looks like Todd! She finds his name: Michael Sellers.
Steven shows up at home. Mr. Wakefield tells Steven that his best friend in college died in a car accident so he knows what Steven’s going through (yeah, that’s the same) but that he moved forward and even named Steven after his friend, so Steven should move forward too. Jess then suggests to Steven that he go out with Cara to focus on something other than Tricia. Steven gets mad and says he’s going out to dinner with Betsy. Jess says it sounds like a lot of fun to keep mourning Tricia with Betsy. Steven gets mad and leaves. Liz gets mad at Jess and tells her that Steven’s too smart to get involved with a snob like Cara. Liz is so judgmental, and thankfully Jess calls her out on it. Liz says people don’t change overnight and that Jess should butt out of trying to help Steven. Obviously, Liz only approves of herself butting into other peoples lives!
The day of the charity volleyball game arrives. Liz and Jess are on the SVH team along with Bruce, Lila, Ken Matthews, and John Pfeifer. The match begins. Liz is so distracted by Michael Sellers, who’s on the Big Mesa team, that she misses easy shots. The rest of the team tries to cover for her, but SVH still loses the first game. She’s just as bad in the second game, but SVH squeaks out a win. Before the third game, which will determine the winner, Ken asks what’s wrong with Liz, since usually she’s so good. Liz says she doesn’t know, but Jess calls her out and says, “It’s that guy who looks like Todd, isn’t it?” Liz turns red. NAILED IT. They play the third game and Liz pulls herself together. To no one’s surprise, SVH wins the game and the match!
Afterward, a voice asks Liz what time he should expect her for the dance. She turns around and there’s Michael Sellers, with the same coffee-colored eyes as Todd! He noticed her too! They decide to meet at the Caravan, where the dance will be held.
The twins go home to change and find Artie Western there, talking to Steven. Artie’s a senior and apparently an old friend of Steven’s since grade school. Artie convinces Steven that he should come out to the dance too, so the two guys and the twins all pile into Artie’s car and drive to the Caravan together. The Droids are playing, of course, and Steven taps his foot to the beat, glad that Artie convinced him to come out. He spots Cara and goes up to her. She asks how he’s doing. Steven suddenly remembers how much pain his conversation with Cara the previous weekend had caused when Betsy found out, so he responds very coldly. What a dud. Then he spots Betsy! He greets Betsy warmly and takes off without another word to Cara. To say he’s rude is an understatement. Why would Cara be interested in this mess?! Artie appears and asks Cara to dance, saving her from further humiliation.
Liz, meanwhile, is dancing with Michael. He reminds her so much of Todd that she almost feels like she’s back in Todd’s arms. This seems healthy. They take a break to get food, and Michael makes a snide remark about the buffet there. He then starts boasting about how he’s on the Big Mesa football team and how he’s going to get a sports car. Liz is underwhelmed. As am I. Winston appears and asks Liz to dance, but Michael suddenly gets possessive and says she’s with him. Liz tells him that’s rude and leaves to dance with Winston. She asks Winston if he thinks Michael looks like Todd, and Winston says maybe a little but that Michael is a jerk. Liz agrees.
Michael finds Jess and starts dancing with her. Jess quickly gets bored of his football monologue, so when Winston appears, she leaves Michael for Winston. Michael wonders why both twins left him for Winston and what Winston has that he doesn’t!
Artie calls Steven the next day and says he plans to ask Cara out on a date. Steven’s miserable because he’s attracted to Cara but doesn’t feel like he can act on it without being unfaithful to Tricia. He and the twins order a pizza for dinner and Steven mopes about how Artie’s going to ask Cara out. Jess says Artie isn’t Cara’s type. Liz gets mad at Jess for trying to set Cara up with Steven again and says she’s pulled too many nasty stunts for Liz to ever trust her. Jess points out that Liz forgave Betsy for everything she’s done in the past so why is she being all high and mighty when it comes to Cara? Liz tells Jess to stop playing matchmaker. Steven gets mad and tells them both to shut up. He says Jess shouldn’t play matchmaker without asking what he wants and that Liz is indeed too judgmental and there’s no excuse for her “misguided ideas about Cara.” Liz turns red. I am SO HAPPY to see someone call Liz out for her usual BS!
Steven decides to call Cara, even though he thinks she might be out with Artie. To his surprise, she’s home. She turned Artie down! He asks if she wants to get together the next day. Cara says sure and invites him to a “splash party” at Bruce’s. I’m not sure what a splash party entails. Is it like a pool party? No additional information is given. Steven says he’d rather be alone with her and suggests a picnic in the park. Cara agrees and says she’ll pack food. They end up taking their picnic to the zoo and having a nice time.
On Monday, Jess tries to get info out of Cara about the date, but Cara is coy and says that if Steven wanted them to know, he’d have shared. Liz decides that this means Cara has indeed changed so she approaches Cara and apologizes for having talking about her behind her back and says she wants them to be friends. Cara is way nicer than I’d have been and says she’d like that.
After school, Jess goes to Winston’s house to work on their project. He says his uncle Marty and his wife arrived the night before. Mrs. Egbert and Winston leave to pick up food for a party. Jess says that’s fine, she’ll just stay at the house and get started on the project. As soon as they leave, she finds Uncle Marty and introduces herself. She tells him she’s interested in his work and wants to talk more about it. He is surprised but says sure, he’ll show her a recent project of his next time she’s there.
Wednesday is Cara’s birthday, so Steven asks if she wants to get dinner with him. She agrees and makes reservations for them at the Valley Inn, thinking he might be happier going somewhere slightly out of town where no one will see them. Somehow she’s okay with this, but I’m embarrassed for her. He picks her up and gives her a gift, a new book by a mystery author she likes. They head out and Cara tells him where she made reservations. Steven panics because the Valley Inn is where he and Tricia had gone before she got sick! But he doesn’t want to ruin the evening, so he doesn’t say anything.
Dinner goes well. They talk about school and compare notes about Mrs. Ray, the Spanish teacher Cara has now and Steven had when he was at SVH. It’s interesting to learn that anyone in these books is taking Spanish since I thought they all took French. There’s a live band at the restaurant, so they get up to dance and then the band launches into the song Always. Steven freaks out because this was Tricia’s favorite song! Cara asks what’s wrong, but Steven can’t find the words. He throws some money at her for dinner and then takes off, abandoning her at the restaurant. Cara has to call a taxi for a ride home. I would call Steven a hot mess, but there’s nothing “hot” about him (despite him being a Wakefield); he’s just a mess.
When Cara gets home, the phone rings. It’s Steven, calling to apologize for leaving her at the restaurant. He tells her why he left and asks how he can make this up to her. Cara tells him she can’t compete with a ghost, nor does she want to. Steven agrees that he’s not free to date anyone. What an awful birthday.
Saturday, Jess calls Winston to see when they can get together. Winston says the morning isn’t good since he and his mom are about to head out and his uncle will be the only one home. Jess says she’ll stop by anyway in case he has good materials she can reference. When she gets there, Marty gives Jess a giant binder. She excitedly thinks this must be the script of his next movie! But when she opens it, she discovers it’s a report titled “Strategies for Waste Disposal in Los Angeles County.” He says he’s a civil engineer and that he’s sure she’ll find this career rewarding. Jess is mortified but doesn’t know how to get out of it. Eventually, Winston comes home and mentions that it’s too bad Jess couldn’t meet Marty’s brother, who’s a movie director. He was supposed to visit too but had to cancel at the last minute. Jess tells Winston she’s feeling sick and heads home.
Liz decides to meddle in Steven’s life. What else is new. She drives to Betsy’s house and talks to Betsy about what’s going on. She tells Betsy that when Tricia found out she was sick, she wanted to break up with Steven so he could move on with his life. Liz says this is clear evidence that Tricia would want Steven to date someone else! Liz says it’s up to Betsy to make Steven believe that he can move on without betraying Tricia’s memory. Betsy is convinced and says she knows just what to do.
Steven and Cara both receive notes to meet a friend under the SVH clock at 7pm. Both show up and are shocked to see the other there. Teddy Collins, Mr. Collins’ son, rides by. The ghostwriter calls Teddy an “old buddy” of Steven’s, which makes absolutely no sense since Teddy is six years old, but okay. I guess it tracks, since Steven has so far exclusively dated high school students (Tricia was a senior; Cara was a junior) and his “good friend” Artie is still in high school too, so why not have an “old buddy” who’s 6? Anyway, Teddy gives them each a small package. The one for Cara contains a drawing of Steven; the one for Steven contains a drawing of Cara. Only Betsy could have done such beautiful art! There’s a note from Betsy too, saying she realized that Steven should look toward the future, not the past, and that he should shower Cara with the same kindness and affection that he gave to Tricia. Steven is touched and asks if Cara still wants him because he wants her. She says yes and they kiss. It’s a touching moment but also, I’m disappointed by how quickly she forgave all his bad behavior that demonstrated he’s in no place for a relationship.
Next up: Emily Mayer’s stepmother wants to send her to boarding school!