Time elapsed in this book: 2 weeks
Length of their junior year: 1 year, 9 months
Jessica’s love interest: Jay McGuire
Entertainment rating: 8/10
I was introduced to the world of Sweet Valley through the Sweet Valley Twins series, a spinoff of the Sweet Valley High books that took place when the twins were in 6th grade. In those, Jessica’s best friend was still Lila, but Liz’s best friend was a girl named Amy Sutton; Enid had not arrived in Sweet Valley yet. This book was published right around the same time that the first book in Sweet Valley Twins came out. You can definitely see the crossover angle at play in this book, which is about Amy (who apparently moved away at the end of 6th grade) moving back to Sweet Valley and how she fits (or doesn’t) in Liz’s life now. I imagine the thought was that readers would pick this book up, love it, and then want to dive into the new SVT spinoff series to see what Amy was like back in the day. For my own Sweet Valley journey, I started with the SVT books and grew up with Liz and Amy before discovering Sweet Valley High and wondering where Amy had gone. Obviously, when the SVH series first came out, no one even knew there was a best friend named Amy in Liz’s past. But with this book, they’ve now bridged the two series together, giving the Sweet Valley universe a small semblance of continuity! I love it!
The cover: Liz in a thoughtful pose, wearing her usual lavaliere (the locket Todd gave her, which she said she’d never take off, is nowhere in sight), with a look on her face that says she doesn’t know what to do about two friends fighting over her but she’s also not disappointed but the attention. She’s flanked by Amy on one side and Enid on the other, each giving Liz the side eye. Liz and Enid seem to be wearing matching beige pants with built-in belts, while Amy is wearing a boxy pink dress that you can probably find for a few dollars at your local thrift store these days but was (I assume) fashionable in 1986. I love these covers so much! This one gets an A from me.
We open in the Wakefield’s backyard, where Liz is rhapsodizing about how wonderful it is that Amy is moving back to Sweet Valley. Enid is a little quiet and unsure about this, worried that she’ll be replaced in Liz’s life, but Liz assures Enid she’ll love Amy because Amy is vivacious and bouncy. Jess says Liz makes Amy sound like a trampoline. Enid and Liz then talk about the trip they’ve been planning to Enid’s aunt’s ski cabin in Lake Tahoe. Liz asks if they can postpone for two weeks since Amy is about to arrive. Enid agrees and then feels obligated to say Amy can come too. Liz is overjoyed.
Jess and Cara start an advice column that will run in The Oracle, writing as “Miss Lovelorn.” Even Liz has to admit that Jess gives funny and good advice. Jess is happy about this success. She has a crush on a guy in her French class named Jay McGuire. The only problem is that Jay has a girlfriend, a senior named Denise Hadley. Jess starts scheming about how to use the column to her own advantage…
Saturday morning, Liz is about to head to the beach to meet Enid when she gets a call. It’s Amy! She’s in town already! Liz rushes over to Amy’s new house to greet her. Amy is a KNOCKOUT. She used to be skinny and athletic; now she’s tall and fashionable. They chat for a long time, and Amy mostly talks about all the hot guys she’s met. Liz invites Amy over to hang out more and spend the night. She suddenly remembers that she forgot to meet Enid at the beach. She tries to call Enid but no one picks up, so Liz figures she’ll talk to her later and hopes she’ll understand. Liz, Amy, and Jess stay up late pouring through old yearbooks and catching up on old times.
The next morning, Liz gets ahold of Enid and apologizes profusely before inviting her out to brunch, figuring it’ll be a good time to introduce Enid and Amy. Amy orders grapefruit and a black coffee, saying she “can’t bear to weigh a single ounce over 110 pounds.” Yikes to the messaging in here. Enid feels like a glutton for ordering a normal pancake breakfast, but then Liz orders the same thing as Enid so all is right again. They chit chat and all Amy can talk about is boys. Enid thinks Amy is vain and silly but doesn’t want to admit this, so she tells Liz that Amy seems nice. Liz is glad they’re getting along.
Meanwhile, Cara, Jess, and Lila are all excited about Amy’s return. Amy fits in well with them and is planning to try out for the cheer squad. Liz is surprised by this, but I don’t know why since Amy was on the cheer squad in middle school and has always enjoyed that. Lila tells Liz she can’t believe how much cooler Amy is now than she was in middle school.
The next issue of The Oracle comes out. In the Miss Lovelorn column, there’s a letter from a junior saying he feels like his girlfriend, who’s a senior, is too old for him; there’s also a letter from a senior saying her boyfriend is only a junior and she’s embarrassed by him. Everyone assumes the letters are from Jay and Denise. Jess says she doesn’t know who they’re from; her job is just to respond to letters they receive. I think we all know what’s really going on here… except Jay and Denise, anyway.
Liz watches Amy try out for the cheer squad and then meets Enid at the mall, where they pick out ski gloves. Liz had invited Amy to join, but she said she was busy and that Liz would be a “doll” to pick some up for her. She calls Liz a doll a lot in here. Liz agrees. She and Enid get matching navy gloves, and she picks out a bright red pair for Amy. Liz is excited about their ski trip and thinks that she’d be even more excited if it were just her and Enid going. She immediately feels guilty for thinking this.
Liz meets up with Amy at the Dairi Burger later that evening, and Amy says she needs to get home for a call with one of the guys she’s juggling. Liz is miffed but tries not to show it. She reminds Amy about the ski trip the following weekend. Amy is shocked and says she can’t possibly go that weekend because Lila is throwing a party for her cousin Christopher then! Liz tells Amy that Lila throws lots of parties, but Amy assures Liz that this party is different because she really wants to meet Christopher and thinks they’re destined to fall in love. Amy begs her to ask Enid to postpone the trip for another week and Liz agrees.
Liz asks Enid about postponing the ski trip again. Enid is hurt but agrees to do so if Liz promises that they actually will go that weekend no matter what, even if Amy can’t go. Liz agrees.
Jess saunters up to Jay McGuire. He’s a bit down due to having just broken up with Denise, but Jess doesn’t let that become her problem. More Big Jess Energy. She manages to finagle a date with Jay for Friday and hopes that it goes so well, she’ll then have him as a date to Lila’s party on Saturday.
For their date, Jay and Jess go to the Box Tree Cafe for dinner and then to a movie. Jess thinks it’s a decent date so far and wants to spend the rest of the date making out with him at Miller’s Point. She suggests they go there, but Jay says he’d rather go to the Beach Disco. Jess is appalled and tells him she’d rather be alone with him. Jay says he needs to get home early but he’ll go to Miller’s Point if that’s what she wants. I’m embarrassed for Jess; to her credit, she doesn’t embarrass easily! Once at Miller’s Point, Jay seems a bit out of sorts, so Jess asks if he’s thinking about Denise. Jay says sorry but yes, so Jess lies and says that Denise is already dating someone else. Jess figures that Jay and Denise are wrong for each other; she’s only telling a white lie to help them realize this! Jay can’t believe the news. Next thing you know, they’re making out! Jess thinks the evening has turned around quite nicely!
Saturday night is Lila’s costume party. Jess (dressed as Cleopatra) goes with Jay, who gets sullen when he sees Denise and her date there. Turns out it’s not a great idea to try dating a guy who’s not over his ex. Who’d have thought?! Jay leaves, and Jess is mortified.
Liz goes to the party dressed as a skier to show Enid how excited she is for their trip. Enid also shows up dressed as a skier! Lila (dressed as Princess Diana) introduces her cousin Christopher to everyone. Amy (dressed as a ballerina) is swooning because she’s seen photos and already know they’re destined to fall in love. But to everyone’s surprise, Christopher makes a beeline to Enid. Turns out, they know each other! He was her sailing instructor at camp! They start catching up.
Amy is furious about the turn of events. She tells Enid to stay away from Christopher and also to stay away from Liz because both of them belong to her! Enid says she’s not going to make a scene but that both Christopher and Liz can make their own decisions about who to spend time with. The night ends with both Amy and Enid mad at Liz.
The next day, Liz drives over to Enid’s house to apologize for everything that’s been going on. She admits to Enid that Amy isn’t the same person that she remembered from 6th grade. Liz says she is really looking forward to the ski trip with Enid. They’re both happy to have things good between them again. Liz later talks to Amy about the ski trip, and Amy acknowledges that she doesn’t want to go on a trip with Enid. Liz says she understands. She’s not mad at Amy but she also doesn’t respect or admire her anymore.
On Monday, Jess makes the horrifying discovery that since neither she nor Cara turned in a Miss Lovelorn column by the deadline, Liz grabbed two letters and wrote answers herself. One of the letters was from a junior missing his senior girlfriend; the other letter was from a senior missing her junior boyfriend. Jess knows this means Jay and Denise will get back together… and sure enough, they’re back together and happy. Jess brushes off this disappointment, as she always does. #BigJessEnergy
Next up: Sandra Bacon is reluctant to nominate her bestie Jean West for Pi Beta Alpha!