Time elapsed in this book: 2 weeks
Length of their junior year: 1 year, 11 months, 2 weeks
Jessica’s love interest: Jeffrey French, albeit very briefly
Entertainment rating: 7/10
The main plot in here is all Jessica and all great! I vividly remember this storyline from when I read it as a kid, with Jess not wanting to look like a twin anymore and changing her look to be dramatically different and then trying to launch a modeling career based on this new look and christening herself Jessa Fields. The subplot in here is about Liz, and I had completely forgotten about it, perhaps intentionally. It is less great.
The cover: YES. Jess looks devious, dramatic, and glamorous, and Liz looks surprised or dismayed to see Jessica with a look of her own! I love the way the twins are so different on this cover! Liz looks like the sheltered, strait-laced teen that she is, and Jess looks like a high powered business woman you’d see at a swanky hotel bar. Not sure who I’d give the edge to in terms of how beautiful they are, since they’re both of course gorgeous, but Jessica’s outfit is 100 times better than Liz’s.
We start with Liz writing in her journal about her new romance with Jeffrey and how her feelings for him get stronger every day. She eventually puts the journal down to eat dinner with her family, and Mr. Wakefield makes a tired joke about how Liz and Jess are carbon copies. Jess tells her dad she hates it when he calls them that and he says, “I’ve offended Twin Number Two.” Jess is even less amused about that. I don’t blame her. He sucks at both jokes and at reading the room.
Jess goes out with Cara and Lila and rants about how she doesn’t have her own identity. They aren’t as sympathetic as Jess had hoped. It gets worse the next day when Jess wears a dress to school that she borrowed from Liz, and everyone thinks she is Liz. Even Jeffrey and Lila mix her up. Jess is furious, especially with Lila, who points out that Jess is wearing Liz’s dress so of course people think she’s Liz!
That weekend, Jess goes over to Lila’s house. Jess says she needs a makeover and Lila agrees to help. They dye Jessica’s hair black, use makeup to make her look more sophisticated, and Jess even borrows some of Lila’s new clothes that her dad bought her in Paris! Jess tries on a new accent for good measure, and Lila asks what’s wrong with her voice. Jess adjusts her accent and makes a hasty exit. She goes back to her house and the rest of her family are shocked to see the transformation! Liz bursts into tears when she sees that Jess looks different!
On Monday, Jess is pleased with the reaction others have to her new look! Her teachers don’t recognize her, her friends are amazed by the clothes and impressed that her parents let her change her look like this! The only person who’s upset about it is Liz, who tells Enid that she feels like Jess doesn’t want to be a twin anymore. I mean, duh, she’s flat out stated that she wants her own identity. But Liz is busy making this situation all about her. Jeffrey mentions to Liz that he likes Jessica’s new look and that it makes it easy to tell the twins apart. Liz ignores everything else he says and focuses on how the part about him liking Jessica’s new look. She decides that Jeffrey must like Jessica’s new look more than he likes Liz’s current (Jessica’s old) look. Liz wants to burst into tears because clearly this means Jeffrey doesn’t love her anymore.
In the Oracle office, Liz writes in her journal about how Jess now looks like a stranger and how Jeffrey loves it. Penny bursts into the room, so Liz quickly shoves her journal aside. Liz does some work for the paper and leave the newspaper office before realizing she forgot her journal behind. She goes back to collect her journal… but it’s gone!
Liz tells Mr. Collins about her missing journal, and he says there’s nowhere it could have disappeared to but that they can put up an ad on the bulletin board. I love the idea of this: “Missing: Elizabeth Wakefield’s private journal.” Good way to get a lot of people interested in finding it… and reading it! Although from having seen snippets of her entries in this book, I can confirm that they’re not especially interesting. However, they probably are a fair representation of your average angsty teen diary by someone who fancies themselves a writer.
Jess is basking in more adoration of her new look by fellow classmates and decides that she needs to further her look by going on a diet (this is short-lived), perhaps giving up cheerleading and tanning because they don’t go with her new image (also short-lived), and getting into modeling. She goes to a talent agency and is told that while she’s too short for most modeling, there is a job that she might be right for. She just needs some photos taken and then she can potential make five hundred dollars for six hours of modeling work at a store. I love how easy it is. No need to prove she can walk a runway or demonstrate any experience with anything. She’s excited by the idea of making this much money and reinvents herself as Jessa Fields!
Liz gripes to Enid about her journal being missing and then gets to the real root of her unhappiness: she thinks Jeffrey likes Jessica’s new look too much. Enid suggests that Liz talk to Jeffrey about it. A reasonable suggestion. Liz is too embarrassed to address this directly with him.
Liz tries to avoid Jeffrey at school the next day, but he tracks her down and asks if his cousin can join them at the Ramsbury Fair, which Liz had invited him to go to with her family. Liz says that she doesn’t know if she wants to go anymore because Jess thinks she’s too grown up for it so maybe it won’t be any fun without Jess. Jeffrey looks at her strangely and says okay, they don’t have to go. Liz accuses him of only not wanting to go when he found out that Jess wouldn’t be there. Jeffrey responds sarcastically and says right, all their decisions should be determined by the whims of Jessica. Liz turns red and tells him she knows what’s really going on (does she?) and that they may as well not go to the movies that night too since Jessica won’t be joining them then either. Jeffrey gets annoyed and says that if Liz doesn’t want to go out with him anymore, she should just tell him. Liz gets mad and tells him there’s no way she’s going out with him that night now! Then she runs away.
That night, while Jess gets ready to go to the Beach Disco with Lila, Liz whines about not having plans. Jess asks what happened to her plans with Jeffrey, and Liz tells her that Jeffrey is too interested in Jessica’s new look and not interested enough in Liz! Jess relays this info to Lila later that night, saying that it sounds like maybe a good time for Lila to make another pass at Jeffrey. Lila says she’s not about to start that up again since he wasn’t interested the first time and that she has her eye on another guy. That’s some self-respect! Or just an indication of a short attention span. Lila tells Jess that Jess is the one who should go after Jeffrey, since he likes her new look. Jess thinks about it and decides it’s not the worst idea in the world to get to know Jeffrey better, especially if Liz is done with him. Classic Jess!!!
Monday at lunch, Jess approaches Jeffrey, who looks miserable. Jess tells him that she thinks it’s time for them to get to know each other better. Jeffrey is agreeable but relatively ambivalent and asks if Liz has said anything about him because she’s been acting weird. Jess tells him this is all part of the magic when someone else comes along. Jeffrey says he doesn’t want anyone else, he wants Liz! Jess realizes that Jeffrey is 100% not interested in her and doesn’t understand why Liz thought he was. Whoops! But she hasn’t fully made a fool of herself yet, so she tells Jeffrey that she needs to meet up with Lila and then ducks out of there before embarrassing herself any further. I love this scene!!!
On the way home from school, Jess stops off at the modeling agency to seal the deal about the fashion show. Liz grudgingly joins her, since they’re carpooling. Jess is told her image isn’t what they’re looking for. The agent then spots Liz and says her look is exactly what they want! Jess tries to tell them they’re identical twins, but the adults don’t believe it and say they look nothing alike. They tell Liz to think about the offer and that if she wants it, the modeling gig is all hers! I remember this scene so vividly from when I read it as a kid. Nothing says “the Wakefields are classic beauties” like a modeling scout wanting their original look over a created one! Of course, Liz isn’t interested because she’s too good for modeling.
That night, Penny drops by the Wakefield’s house and tells Jess, who answers the door, that she somehow accidentally scooped up Liz’s journal when she was collecting stuff in the Oracle office. Penny doesn’t say whether or not she read any of it. Any normal teen would have, but she’s a teen in Sweet Valley, so perhaps we’re supposed to believe she didn’t read anything at all. Jess says she’ll return it to Liz. Before she does, Jess opens it (who didn’t see this coming?!?) and reads a passage about how Liz thinks Jessica’s new look is fantastic but that she misses having an identical twin. Jess tears up and then returns the book to Liz. She tells Liz that Jeffrey misses her and that he is for sure not interested in Jessica. Liz is relieved to have her journal back and to hear that Jeffrey still loves her, so she writes a long entry about how she can’t believe she almost lost him over this bout of insecurity!
Liz finds Jeffrey at school and apologizes for her behavior. Jeffrey explains to his moronic girlfriend that the only reason he liked Jessica’s new look is that it made it super easy to tell the twins apart.
But – uh oh! Jess spent all night washing the black dye out of her hair and now is back to looking like her regular self! This is to both make her twin happy and to hopefully land that modeling gig.
Jeffrey tells Liz that now that she has her journal back, she should let him read some of the juicy entries she’s written about him! I don’t think he realizes how dull her entries are (sample entry from her musings about loving him at the beginning of the book: “It gets stronger every day. The funny thing is that I feel so much more alive-so much more myself. How can that be? Jeffrey is fascinating to be with. He knows so much, and he cares so much. The combination seems just right to me.”). Liz tells him she’ll agree only if he starts a journal and lets her read his own entries. Jeffrey says he doesn’t really need to read it and that they just need to promise to always be this close. Liz promises. They seal this promise with a long, lingering kiss. It’s not on par with one of her makeout sessions with Todd, but I’ll take it.
Jess goes back to the modeling agency with her blonde look and they hire her! Then they realize she actually is an identical twin so they offer to let Liz also participate in the modeling gig and they can split the five hundred dollars. Liz agrees, and Jess is inexplicably excited to share the stage and the money with her twin.
Up next: Dana Larson’s cousin Sally moves to Sweet Valley!