Sweet Valley High #66: Who’s to Blame?

Time elapsed in this book: 3 weeks

Length of their junior year: 4 years, 7 months

Jessica’s love interest: Charlie Ryan

Entertainment rating: 5/10

I was never a big fan of this three-party storyline about Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield having relationship problems, nor was I a big fan anytime Sweet Valley tried to tackle “issues” in the series. In this case, we all knew they’d get back together and also, who cares about the parents in these books? Get us back to the twins and friends! This particular book also featured way too much of Liz being super mopey and self-righteous (I guess that’s standard for her).

The book opens with Mr. Wakefield moving out. Liz looks at her dad and thinks, “Young and handsome. Think of all the women who are going to want to date him once they know he and Mom have separated!” Uh, sure, a totally normal thing to think about your dad….

Liz thinks it’s her fault that her parents have separated because she’s the one who gave her mom’s office the phone number of where they were staying in Tahoe and because of course the world must revolve around one of the Wakefield twins. She pulls away from Todd because she feels guilty but finally confesses to Enid, who tells Liz it isn’t her fault. But then Mrs. Wakefield mentions that she wishes she hadn’t taken that call while in Tahoe and Liz thinks it’s her fault again.

The phone bill for Jessica’s calls to the teen party hotline comes in. It’s $375. Jess tries to guilt trip her mom by saying she called so much because she was upset about their home life, but Mrs. Wakefield tells Jess she needs to pay this back. Jess goes to her dad and tells him she’s being punished harshly, so Mr. Wakefield says he’ll call her mom and fix things. When he calls, though, Mrs. Wakefield is pissed that he’s questioning her parenting. I am so shocked his interference didn’t work!

Jess calls Charlie, the dude she met on the party line but hasn’t met in person. Pi Beta Alpha is putting on a dance in two weeks, and Jess is determined to bring Charlie as her date and prove to Amy and Lila that their relationship is real. She tells Charlie they need to meet so they agree to go rollerskating that weekend.

Liz is unenthused about going to the dance with Todd. She also blows off a date they made. He asks if she’s mad at him and she says no. He gets tickets for them to see one of her favorite singers but Liz says she doesn’t feel right leaving her mom home alone on a Friday night. Todd says they could invite her mom too but Liz says her mom wouldn’t enjoy it. Todd is confused about what’s going on (I don’t blame him). Liz decides there’s no such thing as a happy ending and that they may as well break up now since love doesn’t last. She’s taking away all the wrong messages from her parents. Poor Todd!

Jess goes to the roller rink to meet Charlie. A handsome boy gives her a rose and introduces himself as Charlie, although his voice is slightly different than it is on the phone. Their conversation doesn’t flow as well in person as it does on the phone and Jess can’t wait for the date to end.

Charlie calls Jess and raves about the date. She’s confused because she thought he also felt their lack of chemistry but chalks it up to first date nerves. Their conversation on the phone flows normally, so Jess agrees to a second date.

Liz tells Jess that she and Todd broke up. Jess is surprised but says Liz needs to play the field. Liz agrees and schedules multiple dates for the week. Enid asks what she’s doing and why she’s going out with Paul Jeffries, since he’s a womanizer who’s gone out with a dozen girls that month alone. Enid tells Liz that Todd really misses her, but Liz says she isn’t upset about their breakup. Later, Jess tells Liz that Amy wants to date Todd and Liz says sure.

Jess and Charlie’s second date is just as awkward. She doesn’t feel any kind of chemistry so she tells him they can still be friends and talk on the phone but that’s it.

Jess and Steven get into a fight about their parents. Jess thinks she’s the only one who’s been supporting their dad, Steven thinks Mr. Wakefield’s mayoral campaign is half-baked and he doesn’t have a chance of winning (I’m glad someone said this!). Liz shows up and Jess asks if she was out with another new guy because she’s been overdoing the whole playing the field bit. Steven tells them to stop acting like six year olds and actually help their mom out. Liz says she has been but both Steven and Jess think she’s being self-righteous. They tell her she’s the one to blame for their split since she gave out the phone number of their lodging in Tahoe. Liz bursts into tears.

Liz decides to leave Sweet Valley because everything is her fault. Talk about an overreaction and a cry for attention. She tells Enid she’ll go to Dallas where her cousin Jenny lives or to Michigan where her grandparents live. Enid is the voice of reason and says this is ridiculous, then offers to let Liz stay with her. Liz agrees this would be a lot easier. I can’t believe how annoying Liz is in this book! Liz writes her family a letter and says she’s staying with a friend for a while but doesn’t name the friend, as if they’ll never guess it’s Enid.

Jess calls the party line and hears a familiar female voice on there. She asks if Sara (oh hey, my name in a SVH book!) has heard from Charlie recently. Sara says yes, she heard all about their date and there’s something Jess should know: the guy she met wasn’t Charlie. The real Charlie didn’t think Jess would find him attractive so he had a friend pretend to be him.

All the Wakefields are shocked when they get Liz’s note. Mrs. Wakefield tries calling Enid’s house, but Liz took the phone off the hook so they’d get a busy signal. She’s so annoying. The next morning, Mrs. Wakefield gets in touch and Liz is “surprised” she’s already found her. Yes, because running away to your best friend’s house is so hard to figure out. When Liz gets home, everyone (including Mr. Wakefield) tells her their split wasn’t her fault. Liz finally accepts this.

Jess dresses up as Liz and apologizes to Todd for breaking up with him. Todd says he wants to get back together with Liz more than anything. The real Liz overhears this and is happy, so Jess tells Todd she’ll be right back and then swaps places with Liz so the real Liz and Todd can reunite. Nothing like a twin switch to solve a simple problem that could have been solved if Liz and Todd had just talked to each other!

Jess calls Charlie and says she knows she didn’t meet the real him. Charlie admits it and says she met his friend Brook Atkins. Jess tells Charlie that he and Brook should both come to the PBA dance with Jess and her friend Amy. Charlie agrees. Jess is happy because she figures Charlie and Brook will both spend the whole night flirting with Jess while ignoring Amy, which will teach Amy a lesson!

When they finally meet in person, Jess decides that Charlie isn’t handsome but he is appealing and has a winning personality. The more time she spends with him, the more attractive he seems. Unfortunately, both Charlie and Brook seem to be flirting more with Amy than with Jess. Her scheme has backfired! Jess decides she’s done with men.

Up next: will Mr. Wakefield become mayor??