Time elapsed in this book: 2 weeks
Length of their junior year: 3 years, 5 months, 3 weeks
Jessica’s love interest: Kurt Campbell
Entertainment rating: 6/10
This cover does not sell me on the book. Something about Shelley’s stance isn’t quite right. And Jim is rocking denim on denim while looking like he’s pushing 40.
We open with the news of an upcoming photography contest. The winner gets a video camera and their photo published in the Sweet Valley News! Jeffrey plans to enter.
In other news, a new ballroom dance studio is opening in Sweet Valley. To drum up business, the owner, Patrick McLean, is offering free ballroom dance lessons in the SVH gym! Jess says half the guys in Sweet Valley can’t dance to normal music. I guess she’d know, since she’s gone to dances with all of them. Jess agrees to go to the lessons and starts dreaming about dancing with Kurt Campbell, a senior football player she likes.
The SVH girls’ basketball team is going to the playoffs against Emerson High (who?? This is not one of their usual rivals), so the cheerleaders are working hard on their routines. Amy says she doesn’t think playing sports is very feminine (what?) but Jess says she’s happy the girls’ team is doing so well, since the boys’ basketball team didn’t even make the playoffs that year. I guess after Todd left, the team lacked star power.
Shelley is the star of the basketball team but she’s too distracted to think about basketball. Her best friend, Cathy Ulrich, teases her about being in love with Greg Hilliard, Shelley’s neighbor and childhood friend. Greg recently broke up with his girlfriend, so Shelley hopes to swoop in. Greg hasn’t shown interest yet, and Shelley figures it’s because she’s too tall.
There’s a decent turnout at the first ballroom dance class. Jess is astounded to see “the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life” introduce himself as the instructor. Patrick McLean is a total hunk! He’s about to graduate from UCLA and open his dance studio. He asks Shelley to help him demonstrate the first move. Amy says she needs one-on-one help, so Patrick demos the move with her too. Not to be outdone, Jess asks for a demo. Patrick frowns and says usually people catch on quickly.
Shelley sees Greg at the dance lesson with his ex-girlfriend, Carol Stern. Shelley’s paired up with a guy who introduces himself as Jim Roberts and says he’s seen her play basketball. After the class, Shelley walks home with Greg and asks what’s going on with Carol. He says they’re just friends now. Shelley asks if Greg wants to go to the Varsity Club’s upcoming dance with her. Greg laughs and says they’d look ridiculous because she’s taller than he is. Shelley’s mortified.
Shelley decides to go to the dance with Cathy, whose boyfriend goes to UCLA (apparently the only university around, aside from Sweet Valley University) and won’t be in town. She’s distracted by lingering embarrassment and plays poorly at the next basketball game. Afterward, Jim asks her on a date. Seeing Greg nearby and wanting to make him jealous, Shelley agrees. She ends up having a good time.
Jim uses the SVH darkroom at the same time as Jeffrey to develop some photos he took at the basketball game. Jeffrey is impressed and tells Jim he should enter the photography contest.
Shelley and Jim go out again. He takes her to Miller’s Point and she admires the view of the city while he admires the view of her. He starts taking photos, and Shelley gets mad. She says she doesn’t like her photo taken and that he should never show them to anyone. Later, she tells Cathy that she likes hanging out with Jim but isn’t sure if she likes him because he’s not Greg (a plus, if you ask me).
News spreads that the ballroom dance class is “being taught by one of the sexiest men anyone had ever seen.” More than 50 girls show up for the second lesson, including Lila, who loudly announces that they weren’t lying about the instructor being gorgeous. Patrick asks Jess to help him demo the first move. Jess is delighted, but it goes poorly and she keeps stepping on his feet.
Shelley leads the basketball team to victory in their next game. Jim takes her out to celebrate afterward, and she discovers that they’re exactly the same height. They kiss “with an intensity that neither had ever known.” Swoonworthy writing!
Jim enters a photo of Shelley in the photography contest, hoping that if he wins, she’ll see how beautiful she is. Shelley finds out and is furious. She chews Jim out for having the nerve to share photos of her. She then rants to Cathy about Jim’s betrayal. Cathy says she thinks Shelley has a problem with her self-image. Shelley realizes she should apologize to Jim for overreacting, even though she’s still unhappy he submitted a photo of her.
Shelley calls Jim, who says he already talked to Mr. Collins and withdrew his submission. Shelley decides to take matters into her own hands and goes to Mr. Collins house to ask him to re-enter Jim’s photo in the contest. Mr. Collins agrees. Shelley whines to Cathy about how Jim doesn’t want to talk to her. Cathy reasonably says that perhaps Jim thinks Shelley is still mad at him.
Jim’s photo wins first place! Jeffrey wins second. Jim is confused until Mr. Collins explains. Jim finds Shelley and asks why she changed her mind; she says she realizes she was being a poor sport. They don’t seem to have the right words to communicate what they’re feeling.
Jess and Amy make a bet about who can get Patrick to dance with them first at the Varsity Club dance. The loser has to pay for the winner’s new dress. I don’t know why Patrick will be there, but there’s a rich history of non-high school students going to SVH dances, so whatever.
Jim’s photo appears on the front page of the Sweet Valley News! Jess and friends think Shelley looks gorgeous. Cathy tells Shelley how beautiful the photo is. Shelley says she hasn’t seen it and doesn’t plan to. But when Cathy gets up from the table, Shelley sneaks a peek…. and is amazed at how gorgeous she looks! Shelley can’t believe it! She is beautiful!
Shelley is distracted at the game that night since she hasn’t talked to Jim yet. The teams are tied. Then Shelley spots Jim in the crowd and sends him a message apologizing and asking him to the dance that night. Jim reads the message and grins. Shelley knows it’ll all be fine. She starts playing well and (as expected) Sweet Valley High wins! Someone from the Sweet Valley News asks if they can get a photo of her (shouldn’t they have snapped a photo during the game, capturing the action??), and Shelley says she’d prefer Jim to take it. Greg shows up and tells Shelley they should go to the dance together. Realizing that he’s only asking because Shelley is now a star, she says she already has a date.
Jess buys a new dress for the dance in anticipation of Amy paying for it. She gets to the dance… and Amy shows up wearing the exact same dress! A white limousine pulls up. It’s Patrick! I don’t know what college student shows up for a high school dance in a limo, but I love it. And he’s not alone! A gorgeous girl, wearing a real diamond necklace and looking a few years older than Patrick, is with him!
After an hour or so of dancing, the Varsity Club hands out awards. Shelley’s named the first Varsity Club Athlete of the Year, which comes with a $5000 college scholarship!
Dancing begins again, and Patrick announces that there will be a dance contest. The winners get a free set of lessons at the new studio. The field is narrowed down to four couples: Carol and Greg, Jessica and Kurt, Amy and Bruce, and Shelley and Jim. Naturally, Shelley and Jim are crowned the winners!
Up next: a class field trip to an island doesn’t go as planned!