Sweet Valley Junior High #11 Got a Problem?
Sweet Valley Junior High #11 Got a Problem?
This story focuses on Lacey mostly. And I am kinda sympathetic toward her too. Amazing!
The cover:
and the back where Lacey's eyes look FREAKY:
The book starts off with Lacey babysitting her younger sister. Her stepmother, Victoria, comes home and tells Lacey to get dressed for dinner. The house is all decorated in blacks and whites and Victoria isn’t the most sympathetic character. They are going to Vito’s for a family dinner which immediately puts Lacey on the defensive; Victoria hates “low-rent” places like Vito’s so something must be up. Lacey’s dad comes home and we learn that he is total milquetoast. The family goes to the restaurant and Victoria’s face scrunches up in disgust at the place. They sit down and Lacey makes sure to order the greasiest, most disgusting thing on the menu. Victoria is upset because she knows that her daughter Penelope will want some of it too. Mr. Frells and Victoria break the news-Victoria is pregnant, isn’t that great?! Lacey runs to the bathroom to throw up. All she can think about is how she’ll have to be a slave to the new baby in addition to Penelope until she leaves for college. The last time Victoria was pregnant, Lacey had to be her personal slave and when Victoria decided that she could only eat brown or green things during the pregnancy, she made the entire family do the same.
The Wakefield family is having dinner at Vito’s too but Jessica is on cloud 9 by her self. Turns out Damon kissed her and they are now going out. Damon likes Jessica but realizes he doesn’t really know anything about her and wants to know more.
Lacey and family finally get home and Lacey heads off to her room to ponder her new craptastic situation. She decides to call Kristin but Kristin isn’t in. She is on a study date with Brian. So she calls Gel, her boyfriend, and tells him the news. He is significantly unhelpful. Lacey decides she just needs to get out and leaves the house. She heads to the local drugstore and checks to see if they have any new, cool lipsticks. They have one that is purple with sparkles and Lacey likes it. But she has left her money at home. No problem, home problems troubling you? Just turn into a shoplifter! So that’s what she does, she just takes the lipstick. She wears it the next day and lays a guilt trip on Kristin for not being there when she called. Kristin is really confused by Lacey’s behavior.
Later that day at a school assembly, Kristin, who is also class president, announces that they are looking for a vice president. If anyone wants to be VP, all they have to do is write a short letter stating why they want the job, and they’ll pick the best. Bethel kinda wants to be the VP since she lost out as P, but she just can’t write a letter begging Kristin to be VP because she can’t stand Kristin. Bethel can’t understand how Jessica can be friends with her either. After school Lacey and Kristin make up and the two head to the drugstore to look at makeup. Kristin isn’t so sure that she wants to look for makeup but since Lacey is so insistent, she goes along. For a moment it seems like Lacey is going to tell Kristin about her home problems but then she gets weird again. She asks Kristin if there are any nail polishes she likes and then they can go get pizza. Kristin points out one that she kinda likes and Lacey demonstrates her new shoplifting skillz. Kristin is not impressed and leaves.
Over to Damon. He has to go to the dentist and they need a babysitter for his sisters. His mom asks if he can think of anyone and since his mind is consumed by Jessica, he suggests her. He calls Jess and asks her if she wants to baby-sit and then they can hang out for the rest of the day. Jess is more than willing to baby-sit for an hour or two to get the chance to hang out with Damon. Jessica is very happy her little romance is moving forward.
Lacey is still having home problems. She takes the long way home from school and when she gets there, Victoria complains of feeling ill and wants Lacey to watch Penelope. I am with Lacey on this one-the woman was just fine the day before but now that she has announced her pregnancy, she is suddenly unable to care for her child? Lacey lies and says she can’t because she has a date. Victoria angrily tells her that her family is more important. Lacey observes that for a woman so ill, she sure has a lot of energy to yell. I’m with you Lacey, I’m with you. Lacey storms out as her dad arrives. He yells at her to come back but she ignores him. She knows he won’t follow her and he doesn’t. Lacey heads to Gel’s house. He is playing video games with a friend. She sits and watches for a while, but gets bored. She asks for a cigarette and Gel gives her money to go to the store and get some. Because they totally sell cigarettes to 13 year olds. Instead of going to the store, Lacey heads to Kristin’s house and crashes Kristin’s movie date with Brian. They were watching Jane Eyre. For English class. Riiight. We also learn that Kristin’s mom was a model and freaks out when she gains a pound and has put Kristin on diets to get her thinner. Kristin isn’t thin and figures she won’t ever be thin and is okay with it. That is almost a useful message to the reading audience. It of course doesn’t make up for the million mentions of the Wakefield’s “perfect size 6 figures” but it is a start. Anyway, Lacey arrives, ignores Brian and bugs Kristin. She pays for the pizza with Gel’s money and when Kristin and Brian start having fun, she gets upset and leaves in a huff. They don’t go after her.
At school the next day, Jessica and Damon make plans with Lacey and Brian to double date after the dentist and babysitting. Damon is a little wary because he’d like to have some time alone with Jessica to talk and find out more about her, but he agrees anyway. Jessica shows some compassion by trying to pick something that is affordable and fun because she figures he doesn’t have much free cash.
Lacey, meanwhile is feeling left out. She doesn’t like Jessica, she is jealous of Brian taking her best friend, and her boyfriend doesn’t even go to the school. She decides to get Kristin back by making her feel guilty. Her plan works and the two go to the mall to spend some time together. Lacey takes the opportunity to shoplift a CD. Kristin is fed up with her felonious friend and storms off. Lacey wanders home. She sees Gel and talks to him but he is no help. She heads to her house and finds it full of her parents’ friends. It is Victoria’s birthday and Lacey was supposed to be home right after school. Oops. Lacey doesn’t have a present but really doesn’t care. Her father, who is completely lame and clueless (more so than Ned and Alice and that’s saying something), grounds her for a month for being late. Which is way harsh, IMO. But then he wouldn’t be a clueless dad who is under the thumb of the wicked stepmother who we love to hate.
On Saturday, Jessica baby-sits Damon’s little sisters. She actually plays with them and changes a diaper and cleans the place up. Damon goes off to the dentist and gets a filling. He comes back with a mouth full of Novocain and drool. Sexy. They go on their date with Brian and Kristin to a pool café, and Damon communicates by writing on a pad Jessica gives him once she realizes his dilemma. Brian and Jessica say a few slightly mean things about Lacey and the way she’s been treating Kristin but they feel bad about saying it. Damon thinks Jessica is awesome because she was okay with a date who couldn’t talk and drooled a bit, she drank lemonade and was good at pool and baby-sitting.
The next morning, Lacey wakes up to find a note from her stepmother. The family (sans Lacey) went to brunch at a restaurant a few towns over-it is the only place close enough that is worthy of Victoria’s standards. They’ll be back eventually and Lacey is still grounded. She is supposed to take the time alone to think about her actions and her role in the family. I gotta say, if I were treated like shit the way Lacey is, even if I were a little shit the way Lacey is, the family would be returning to a house of embers because I’d be retaliating. With fire. Lacey decides to not bother with the whole “grounded” thing and calls Kristin up. Kristin has made plans to go to the mall with Jessica but invites Lacey along. Lacey does her best to exclude Jessica but Kristin won’t let her. Lacey picks a fight first with Jess then with Kristin and storms off. Jessica is glad to see her go but knows that Kristin is upset. She tells Kristin to go after Lacey because they are friends. It was pretty unselfish of Jessica to do that. I wonder why the ghostwriters are writing Jessica as a real person in this series rather than her usual sociopathic self. It keeps throwing me for a loop. Anyway, Kristin goes to find Lacey at an accessories store. Lacey sees a bracelet that would be perfect for Victoria and might help get her ungrounded. It is 20 dollars but that is no problem because she is going to steal it. Kristin and Lacey have an argument that is interrupted by a store manager. Who heard the plans to steal the bracelet. He hauls Lacey off to wait for her parents to come get her. Two hours later, her dad finally shows up to take her home. They aren’t going to press charges which is good because she actually never stole anything. Lacey is now grounded for two months. And she gets to watch Penelope while her dad and Victoria go to a party that night. And that’s the end of the “talking to.” No attempt to find out why she is acting out, no attempt to figure out what is going on in her head. Yep, fire is the answer.
Meanwhile, the B plot lumbers forward. Kristin has been getting letters from some girl who wants to be class vice-president because she knows all the gossip, another girl who wants to be VP but doesn’t know the reason why and can’t even spell Kristin’s name, from the school bullies who will make sure everyone does what Kristin wants, and from Ronald Rheese, Jessica’s locker mate who wants a high-speed train to the high school and an air and space museum and has a 20 page memo detailing his ideas. Finally, Kristin gets a letter from Bethel which states that she has a lot of ideas and wants to make things better for the class. Also, she and Kristin are opposites and will help balance each other out. I think we all know that Bethel gets the job.
Kristin heads to Lacey’s house after Brian calls and tells her that she should go find out what is wrong. He doesn’t like Lacey that much but Kristin and Lacey are best friends and he isn’t going to come between them. Victoria answers the door and tells Kristin that Lacey is grounded for quite a long time. As the oldest she is expected to set a good example for Penelope and the new baby. Kristin is all, New baby?? and now knows why Lacey has been so awful lately. Victoria mentions how happy everyone is in a particularly clueless moment and Kristin feels awful because she hasn’t been there for Lacey. Which is a bit dumb. Lacey had multiple opportunities to tell Kristin what was wrong, she just kept avoiding the subject by shoplifting. But the next day at school, Kristin apologizes to Lacey for not being there for her and Lacey feels a lot better knowing that she still has her best friend even if her family sucks monkey balls.
Last minute advert: If you are one of the first 750 readers who log into www.sweetvalley.com/christina, you could win a Christina Aguilera CD with her hit song “Genie in a Bottle.” Go log on now!
Some Sweet Valley bookkeeping:
So here’s how the families break down (as far as I can tell)
Kristin: Lives with former-supermodel mom who puts her on grapefruit diets to get her thin. No mention of father
Lacey: Lives with father and stepmother and stepsister. Comes across very “Sarah from Labyrinth” but without the Muppets.
Damon: Lives with mother and two sisters in trailer. No mention of father.
Salvador: Lives with grandmother
Anna: Lives with mother and father and ghost of dead brother.
Brian: no mention yet
Bethel McCoy: Mom, dad, sister
Jessica and Elizabeth: Mother, father, brother, dog, perfect family.
In conclusion, if you want a complete family, you had better be a Wakefield or a McCoy. But really, I am so confused by the characterizations of the twins in these books. Were the ghostwriters not given the standard SV-bible wherein we learn that Elizabeth is the quiet, responsible, saintly one and Jessica is the outgoing, hell-raising, trouble-making one? Because the girls in these books might be named Jessica and Elizabeth, but they bear no resemblance to the Wakefields we love to mock. Who are these people (Margo and Nora??!!) and what have they done to our Liz and Jess? Oh, and except for one tiny little scene at the beginning of the book, Elizabeth is neither mentioned nor seen. Perfect.
This story focuses on Lacey mostly. And I am kinda sympathetic toward her too. Amazing!
The cover:
and the back where Lacey's eyes look FREAKY:
The book starts off with Lacey babysitting her younger sister. Her stepmother, Victoria, comes home and tells Lacey to get dressed for dinner. The house is all decorated in blacks and whites and Victoria isn’t the most sympathetic character. They are going to Vito’s for a family dinner which immediately puts Lacey on the defensive; Victoria hates “low-rent” places like Vito’s so something must be up. Lacey’s dad comes home and we learn that he is total milquetoast. The family goes to the restaurant and Victoria’s face scrunches up in disgust at the place. They sit down and Lacey makes sure to order the greasiest, most disgusting thing on the menu. Victoria is upset because she knows that her daughter Penelope will want some of it too. Mr. Frells and Victoria break the news-Victoria is pregnant, isn’t that great?! Lacey runs to the bathroom to throw up. All she can think about is how she’ll have to be a slave to the new baby in addition to Penelope until she leaves for college. The last time Victoria was pregnant, Lacey had to be her personal slave and when Victoria decided that she could only eat brown or green things during the pregnancy, she made the entire family do the same.
The Wakefield family is having dinner at Vito’s too but Jessica is on cloud 9 by her self. Turns out Damon kissed her and they are now going out. Damon likes Jessica but realizes he doesn’t really know anything about her and wants to know more.
Lacey and family finally get home and Lacey heads off to her room to ponder her new craptastic situation. She decides to call Kristin but Kristin isn’t in. She is on a study date with Brian. So she calls Gel, her boyfriend, and tells him the news. He is significantly unhelpful. Lacey decides she just needs to get out and leaves the house. She heads to the local drugstore and checks to see if they have any new, cool lipsticks. They have one that is purple with sparkles and Lacey likes it. But she has left her money at home. No problem, home problems troubling you? Just turn into a shoplifter! So that’s what she does, she just takes the lipstick. She wears it the next day and lays a guilt trip on Kristin for not being there when she called. Kristin is really confused by Lacey’s behavior.
Later that day at a school assembly, Kristin, who is also class president, announces that they are looking for a vice president. If anyone wants to be VP, all they have to do is write a short letter stating why they want the job, and they’ll pick the best. Bethel kinda wants to be the VP since she lost out as P, but she just can’t write a letter begging Kristin to be VP because she can’t stand Kristin. Bethel can’t understand how Jessica can be friends with her either. After school Lacey and Kristin make up and the two head to the drugstore to look at makeup. Kristin isn’t so sure that she wants to look for makeup but since Lacey is so insistent, she goes along. For a moment it seems like Lacey is going to tell Kristin about her home problems but then she gets weird again. She asks Kristin if there are any nail polishes she likes and then they can go get pizza. Kristin points out one that she kinda likes and Lacey demonstrates her new shoplifting skillz. Kristin is not impressed and leaves.
Over to Damon. He has to go to the dentist and they need a babysitter for his sisters. His mom asks if he can think of anyone and since his mind is consumed by Jessica, he suggests her. He calls Jess and asks her if she wants to baby-sit and then they can hang out for the rest of the day. Jess is more than willing to baby-sit for an hour or two to get the chance to hang out with Damon. Jessica is very happy her little romance is moving forward.
Lacey is still having home problems. She takes the long way home from school and when she gets there, Victoria complains of feeling ill and wants Lacey to watch Penelope. I am with Lacey on this one-the woman was just fine the day before but now that she has announced her pregnancy, she is suddenly unable to care for her child? Lacey lies and says she can’t because she has a date. Victoria angrily tells her that her family is more important. Lacey observes that for a woman so ill, she sure has a lot of energy to yell. I’m with you Lacey, I’m with you. Lacey storms out as her dad arrives. He yells at her to come back but she ignores him. She knows he won’t follow her and he doesn’t. Lacey heads to Gel’s house. He is playing video games with a friend. She sits and watches for a while, but gets bored. She asks for a cigarette and Gel gives her money to go to the store and get some. Because they totally sell cigarettes to 13 year olds. Instead of going to the store, Lacey heads to Kristin’s house and crashes Kristin’s movie date with Brian. They were watching Jane Eyre. For English class. Riiight. We also learn that Kristin’s mom was a model and freaks out when she gains a pound and has put Kristin on diets to get her thinner. Kristin isn’t thin and figures she won’t ever be thin and is okay with it. That is almost a useful message to the reading audience. It of course doesn’t make up for the million mentions of the Wakefield’s “perfect size 6 figures” but it is a start. Anyway, Lacey arrives, ignores Brian and bugs Kristin. She pays for the pizza with Gel’s money and when Kristin and Brian start having fun, she gets upset and leaves in a huff. They don’t go after her.
At school the next day, Jessica and Damon make plans with Lacey and Brian to double date after the dentist and babysitting. Damon is a little wary because he’d like to have some time alone with Jessica to talk and find out more about her, but he agrees anyway. Jessica shows some compassion by trying to pick something that is affordable and fun because she figures he doesn’t have much free cash.
Lacey, meanwhile is feeling left out. She doesn’t like Jessica, she is jealous of Brian taking her best friend, and her boyfriend doesn’t even go to the school. She decides to get Kristin back by making her feel guilty. Her plan works and the two go to the mall to spend some time together. Lacey takes the opportunity to shoplift a CD. Kristin is fed up with her felonious friend and storms off. Lacey wanders home. She sees Gel and talks to him but he is no help. She heads to her house and finds it full of her parents’ friends. It is Victoria’s birthday and Lacey was supposed to be home right after school. Oops. Lacey doesn’t have a present but really doesn’t care. Her father, who is completely lame and clueless (more so than Ned and Alice and that’s saying something), grounds her for a month for being late. Which is way harsh, IMO. But then he wouldn’t be a clueless dad who is under the thumb of the wicked stepmother who we love to hate.
On Saturday, Jessica baby-sits Damon’s little sisters. She actually plays with them and changes a diaper and cleans the place up. Damon goes off to the dentist and gets a filling. He comes back with a mouth full of Novocain and drool. Sexy. They go on their date with Brian and Kristin to a pool café, and Damon communicates by writing on a pad Jessica gives him once she realizes his dilemma. Brian and Jessica say a few slightly mean things about Lacey and the way she’s been treating Kristin but they feel bad about saying it. Damon thinks Jessica is awesome because she was okay with a date who couldn’t talk and drooled a bit, she drank lemonade and was good at pool and baby-sitting.
The next morning, Lacey wakes up to find a note from her stepmother. The family (sans Lacey) went to brunch at a restaurant a few towns over-it is the only place close enough that is worthy of Victoria’s standards. They’ll be back eventually and Lacey is still grounded. She is supposed to take the time alone to think about her actions and her role in the family. I gotta say, if I were treated like shit the way Lacey is, even if I were a little shit the way Lacey is, the family would be returning to a house of embers because I’d be retaliating. With fire. Lacey decides to not bother with the whole “grounded” thing and calls Kristin up. Kristin has made plans to go to the mall with Jessica but invites Lacey along. Lacey does her best to exclude Jessica but Kristin won’t let her. Lacey picks a fight first with Jess then with Kristin and storms off. Jessica is glad to see her go but knows that Kristin is upset. She tells Kristin to go after Lacey because they are friends. It was pretty unselfish of Jessica to do that. I wonder why the ghostwriters are writing Jessica as a real person in this series rather than her usual sociopathic self. It keeps throwing me for a loop. Anyway, Kristin goes to find Lacey at an accessories store. Lacey sees a bracelet that would be perfect for Victoria and might help get her ungrounded. It is 20 dollars but that is no problem because she is going to steal it. Kristin and Lacey have an argument that is interrupted by a store manager. Who heard the plans to steal the bracelet. He hauls Lacey off to wait for her parents to come get her. Two hours later, her dad finally shows up to take her home. They aren’t going to press charges which is good because she actually never stole anything. Lacey is now grounded for two months. And she gets to watch Penelope while her dad and Victoria go to a party that night. And that’s the end of the “talking to.” No attempt to find out why she is acting out, no attempt to figure out what is going on in her head. Yep, fire is the answer.
Meanwhile, the B plot lumbers forward. Kristin has been getting letters from some girl who wants to be class vice-president because she knows all the gossip, another girl who wants to be VP but doesn’t know the reason why and can’t even spell Kristin’s name, from the school bullies who will make sure everyone does what Kristin wants, and from Ronald Rheese, Jessica’s locker mate who wants a high-speed train to the high school and an air and space museum and has a 20 page memo detailing his ideas. Finally, Kristin gets a letter from Bethel which states that she has a lot of ideas and wants to make things better for the class. Also, she and Kristin are opposites and will help balance each other out. I think we all know that Bethel gets the job.
Kristin heads to Lacey’s house after Brian calls and tells her that she should go find out what is wrong. He doesn’t like Lacey that much but Kristin and Lacey are best friends and he isn’t going to come between them. Victoria answers the door and tells Kristin that Lacey is grounded for quite a long time. As the oldest she is expected to set a good example for Penelope and the new baby. Kristin is all, New baby?? and now knows why Lacey has been so awful lately. Victoria mentions how happy everyone is in a particularly clueless moment and Kristin feels awful because she hasn’t been there for Lacey. Which is a bit dumb. Lacey had multiple opportunities to tell Kristin what was wrong, she just kept avoiding the subject by shoplifting. But the next day at school, Kristin apologizes to Lacey for not being there for her and Lacey feels a lot better knowing that she still has her best friend even if her family sucks monkey balls.
Last minute advert: If you are one of the first 750 readers who log into www.sweetvalley.com/christina, you could win a Christina Aguilera CD with her hit song “Genie in a Bottle.” Go log on now!
Some Sweet Valley bookkeeping:
So here’s how the families break down (as far as I can tell)
Kristin: Lives with former-supermodel mom who puts her on grapefruit diets to get her thin. No mention of father
Lacey: Lives with father and stepmother and stepsister. Comes across very “Sarah from Labyrinth” but without the Muppets.
Damon: Lives with mother and two sisters in trailer. No mention of father.
Salvador: Lives with grandmother
Anna: Lives with mother and father and ghost of dead brother.
Brian: no mention yet
Bethel McCoy: Mom, dad, sister
Jessica and Elizabeth: Mother, father, brother, dog, perfect family.
In conclusion, if you want a complete family, you had better be a Wakefield or a McCoy. But really, I am so confused by the characterizations of the twins in these books. Were the ghostwriters not given the standard SV-bible wherein we learn that Elizabeth is the quiet, responsible, saintly one and Jessica is the outgoing, hell-raising, trouble-making one? Because the girls in these books might be named Jessica and Elizabeth, but they bear no resemblance to the Wakefields we love to mock. Who are these people (Margo and Nora??!!) and what have they done to our Liz and Jess? Oh, and except for one tiny little scene at the beginning of the book, Elizabeth is neither mentioned nor seen. Perfect.