SVH #138: What Jessica Wants...
Or, the One In Which Devon Finally Arrives at SVH. I used to be a Devon fan, but having re-read this, I found him highly irritating. I still think his character does a U-turn from Earthquake onwards, but that doesn’t stop him being manipulative and plain stalkerish in this book. Both Jessica and Elizabeth also showcase the most annoying sides of their personalities here. In fact, the person who comes out best (while being the most badly treated) is… Todd!
Cover comments: I’m presuming the US cover shows Devon and Jessica, as the girl looks flirty and the boy annoyed. Needless to say, this scene does not occur in the book. The hideous UK cover, which I own, shows pictures of a motorcycle, a chemistry set, and a moon necklace in the circles; the first two are obvious, but the necklace is completely irrelevant - I’m thinking they just couldn’t find a clipart photo of a ring quickly enough. Fail, ghostartists, fail!
We begin as Devon Whitelaw pulls his ‘Harley-Davidson Sportster’ into the parking lot of SVH. I don’t know anything about motorcycles, but I have been hearing a great deal about them lately as my dad has been trying to renovate his old BMA (one of the ancient massive ones, it’s like sitting on a rectangular box) and has so far spent about £3000 for it to go about 20 miles before dying again. Meanwhile, we have a broken video player and only own about 3 DVDs for the DVD player, so I feel the money could have been better spent elsewhere. Hence, I have a materialistic grudge against Devon from his very first appearance here. Just to let you know :)
We are told that Devon is now living with his old childhood nanny (see these recaps for details of his heartrending search for family) and has come to register for classes at SVH. Last week, he spotted a ‘beautiful blonde girl’ at a football game, and has decided she is his soulmate and he must hunt her down. (Stalker.) Lo and behold, as he enters SVH he bumps straight into… Winston, who drops his belongings all over the floor. How disappointing!
As Devon comes out of the school we switch to Jessica’s PoV; he thinks she’s Elizabeth and so stares at her; Jessica’s thoughts are, hilariously: ‘Naturally… What man has ever been able to resist me?’ We then have a token nod to continuity as Jessica clocks his bike: ‘Jessica recalled the tragedies her family had suffered because of motorcycles.’ One dead cousin and critically injured sister down - but following true sociopathic logic, ‘she had since come to the conclusion that if handled properly, a motorcycle could be as safe as a car.’ Devon also clocks Jessica, who is wearing ‘a simple, pale blue tank dress’ with narrow shoulder straps and a knee-length, flared hemline, apparently. Because of his mind-reading superpowers, from his earlier glimpse of Elizabeth at the football game, ‘He could tell she was intelligent… and kind and caring as well.’
Jessica tells Lila about her encounter with the new guy and they head off shopping. Sweet Valley continues with its excellent record of sympathetic and realistic depictions of teenagers in trauma when Lila’s recent difficulties (being targeted and framed by an arsonist who turned out to be her attempted rapist) are described thusly (though this is from Jessica’s point of view, so perhaps the writers are just being subtle): ‘It was nice to have Lila back. Recently her exquisite mansion had burned down, and for a couple of weeks after the fire Lila had been rather depressed and rather, well, boring.’ We are told that the renovations have already been done. Quick work!
We next get a scene of Elizabeth and Todd enjoying a romantic dinner at the Wakefield house. This is to show how perfect their relationship was. Jessica runs in and tells them excitedly about Devon. Jessica exits and Elizabeth and Todd have another romantic exchange because they are the Perfect Couple. (I may not have pointed this out, but Elizabeth and Todd’s relationship is just perfect.)
School! Devon goes to chemistry class and is thrilled to have Elizabeth assigned as his lab partner, especially as, when they shake hands, they feel an electric shock of love ™ run between them. Elizabeth is wearing ‘a simple short-sleeve light blue sweater with a V neck and pearl buttons down the front’ and ‘crisp white linen pants and white leather sandals.’ Lots of outfit descriptions in this book. Devon thinks it is ‘a perfect ensemble.’ I’m so relieved that Elizabeth’s wardrobe has your approval, Devon. Think of the cost otherwise! Devon continues with his lecture by informing us that ‘he had never been a fan of girls who dressed in outfits that were too flashy or revealing.’
Devon and Elizabeth are supposed to be testing acids and bases. I did this aged 13 in Year Nine (eighth grade, roughly) so it seems a little backwards for ‘AP chemistry’, though I don’t really know how the US syllabus compares. Devon shows off by completing the assignment in a minute; ‘The liquid in the various tubes ranged from a dark red to a light orange-pink’ (so the test thingys were all acids? Good work teacher!) and then impresses Elizabeth by mixing her favourite colour and her eye colour. This Is Not Chemistry. It Does Not Demonstrate His Intelligence. It’s just mixing colours!! Grrrr! Hilariously, Devon then takes quarter of an hour to explain his magical colour-mixing game to Elizabeth: ‘In fifteen minutes with Devon she felt that she had learned more than she ever could from Mr Russo.’ Like the fact that red, yellow and blue are primary colours? I’m not sure Mr Russo would have felt the need to mention it…
Devon bumps into Jessica at lunch and is confused until Elizabeth turns up as well. Devon shows no interest in Jess, but she decides he’s just ‘playing it cool.’ Devon goes home and chats to Nan, his old nurse, about his day and the amazingness of Elizabeth. He tells Nan she has a twin sister, but that he’s already decided that Elizabeth is the one for him (even though he’s only spoken to Jess for five seconds! Judgemental much?) ‘Elizabeth just seems… deeper than Jessica.’ Nan approves utterly of Devon’s statements (I can see why he chose to live with her): ‘"It sounds like you’ve really thought this through," she said, "and from what you’ve told me, I’d say Elizabeth sounds more like the girl for you, too… When you get to know her better, I definitely want to meet her."’ I love the way Devon and Nan just assume that Elizabeth is (a)unattached and (b) will obviously want to date Devon, as soon as she knows him better. This whole conversation is quite weird.
In a moment of IRONY (pay attention, we’re recapping a SV book, this is a rare occurrence!) we swap directly from Devon thinking that Elizabeth is ‘definitely something special’ to Todd telling his parents ‘She’s just so important to me.’ He tells them that the one-year anniversary of Elizabeth’s first article being published in the Oracle is coming up, and he wants to do something special to celebrate it. Awww. He decides to prepare a meal, but also to buy her a special gift. Meanwhile, Liz and Jess chat about Devon, Jess declares her intentions of pursuing him, and Liz tries to pretend she doesn’t feel jealous.
School again! Maria questions Liz about ‘the new guy’ and Liz is evasive. Then Devon makes a rather dramatic entrance:
"Hey, Liz!" Devon walked by on his way into the classroom, flashing her his heart-stopping grin. Maria’s jaw dropped open.
Was that him?" she hissed. For some reason Elizabeth couldn’t find her voice. She just nodded.
"Transfer me to chemistry," Maria said, peeking into the room. She turned back around and looked at Elizabeth with an almost sympathetic expression. "Good luck," she said. For goodness’ sake. As he can also read minds, I’m thinking he must sparkle, too.
I would also like to note this: ‘[Maria] patted Elizabeth’s arm before walking away.’ Ha, St. Liz on the receiving end for once! I would love it if this were the cover picture.
Elizabeth goes into chem class and Devon announces he has another chemical ‘surprise’ for her. He has created invisible ink and challenges her to mix up the correct solution to reveal what he’s written on a piece of paper. THIS CAN BE DONE WITH LEMON JUICE. It qualifies as ‘chemistry’ even less than the previous mixing colours trick! Anyway, instead of simply heating the paper, which is what I would have done (at age seven) Elizabeth spends the entire class period working out the correct solution to reveal Devon’s note. She finds he has written a note asking her out on a date, so she tells him she’s sorry, but she already has a long-term boyfriend. Devon graciously accepts this state of affairs and he and Elizabeth remain good friends. IF ONLY. In the next scene, a paragraph later, Devon is already trying to ‘figure out a way to win Elizabeth’s heart.’
Jessica unsurprisingly turns up wearing this classic ensemble: ‘a lime-coloured tank top over a slim-fitting miniskirt of the same colour. Her square-heeled sandals had matching lime-coloured patent leather straps, and they made her long legs look even longer. She wore a brightly coloured beaded necklace and matching earrings that complemented the outfit.’
Gorgeous Jessica (admire my mad Paint skillz!):
Sorry about the eyes, they look a bit Village of the Damned/Midwich Cuckoos. Anyways, Devon thinks she looks ‘attractive, but she was too trendy for his taste.’ Lila is with Jessica and Devon observes that Lila is wearing ‘an ivory silk top and coordinating skirt’ (what is with matching your skirt to your top??). Devon really notices women’s clothes a ridiculous amount in this book, and in great detail (cf description of LizJess’s tank dress, above). This is very odd. However, he does prefer Lila to green Jess (ooh maybe the green is symbolic of her jealousy? How subtle ghostwriter!), so that’s a point for him.
It is revealed that Devon and Jessica are actually soulmates: ‘Sometimes Devon was surprised by how well he could lie and how easily he could manipulate people. It concerned him a little at times, but he had to admit, it came in handy.’ He refuses all Jess’s offers of tours of the town again. I wish Jess would figure out he’s not interested in her and stop embarrassing herself like this… Devon thinks that however keen she is, he would never take advantage of her. How Noble of him.
Jess moans to Liz about Devon’s unresponsiveness. Liz suggests Devon might think Jessica already has a boyfriend, to which Jess replies ‘That’s true… Of course he would assume someone like me is already attached.’ Ha. Jess convinces Liz to put in a good word for her with Devon in chemistry class.
Todd catches Jess in the parking lot before school (she’s waiting for Devon) to make arrangements for Elizabeth’s anniversary surprise; he wants her to get Elizabeth to the beach at the right time and to help him choose a special present for her. Todd is surprisingly awesome in this scene (despite the fact he is apparently wearing a ‘white T-shirt and green fleece vest’) he’s being a sweet boyfriend to Elizabeth, and he gets in some good shots against Jessica; when he finds out that Jess is still pursuing Devon, his reaction is: "You mean you haven’t been out on a date yet?" Todd asked, feigning shock. "It’s been five whole days since you first saw him, Jess! Are you losing your touch?" Also, when Devon finally turns up and Jess frantically tells Todd to go away "I don’t need him seeing me with other guys. He might think you’re my boyfriend or something," Todd finds this extremely amusing and puts an arm around her shoulders: "Oh, come on Jess," he whined, pretending to be hurt. "I thought we were buddies. Don’t you want to introduce me to your new friend?" He then refuses to leave till she has promised to do everything he wants. Go Todd!
Elizabeth is in chem class again and has forgotten her books and pen (not Liz!). Devon is highly irritating: "OK, Liz. Focus. You’re gonna have to calm down before your head explodes." I think this is supposed to show him being manly and comforting, but I see it as somewhat patronising. Elizabeth, however, feels ‘an intense blush rise from her toes all the way to her scalp.’ Devon has made her paper flowers this class. Lovely, but (wait for it)… It’s Not Chemistry! Perhaps the joke is that D & E don’t do any chemistry in school because the chemistry between them is enough? No, I refuse to give the ghostwriter that much credit. Elizabeth makes a bad attempt to say nice things about Jess to Devon, but everything she says just reveals how much she and Devon have in common, like their shared love of old movies. She compares him to Todd who seems to be ‘just like all the other guys - always off shooting hoops or watching sports on TV.’
This is another moment of IRONY because we flip to a scene of Todd, struggling to prepare a raspberry-chocolate truffle cake for Elizabeth. Awwww. Predictably he’s doing it very badly and has to ring Enid for help after making a complete mess of the kitchen. I will leave you to ponder this bit of dialogue for yourselves:
"Oh, my gosh," [Enid, having just arrived] said, wide-eyed. "What happened in here?"
"I happened," Todd answered sheepishly.
After this illuminating explanation, Enid discovers that Todd has put one centimetre of sugar in the cake (misreading the ‘c’ for cup, hee) and proceeds to revamp his whole menu to make it easier for him to cook. Meanwhile, while studying Shakespeare, Elizabeth considers her relationship with Todd and the fact that he had her favourite sonnet (no. 18, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day’. Obviously. There are just a few other sonnets, can’t the ghostwriters ever think of anything different???) printed on a bookmark for her. She feels guilty and rings him. Todd seems preoccupied because he is cooking her fabulous surprise meal. Liz suggests they do something on Friday night but he’s evasive: "My parents have it in their heads that we don’t spend enough time together as a family anymore, so they made me promise I’d spend Friday night at home with them."
Liz is shocked! ‘That doesn’t sound like Mr and Mrs Wilkins at all, she thought. But then, why on earth woukd Todd make up something like that?’ Yes, I suppose such an expression of parental affection is surprising in Sweet Valley! I’m sure the Wakefields would never behave this way!
The next day, Jessica goes to new extremes in her attempt to make Devon notice her. This scene is just embarrassing:
‘She smoothed her black leather miniskirt and adjusted the collar on her matching leather jacket… Jessica marched confidently over to Devon and his bike, put one high-heeled boot up on a foot peg, and struck her most seductive pose… "This is a Sportster 1200 XLH, isn’t it?" Jessica asked in a sultry voice.’
Devon unsurprisingly is not impressed by this attempt and simply tells her she has a piece of raisin stuck in her teeth… However, Jess STILL won’t give up and, later that day, invites Devon to a party at Bruce’s house on Friday night, when he’s already fixed up a study date with Elizabeth.
Jessica and Todd go shopping for Elizabeth’s present and Todd picks out ‘a sterling silver ring that was shaped like two tiny pencils coming together. In the centre, where the points met, there was a small diamond of about a quarter carat.’ Wow! Todd, I really wouldn’t bother!
On their ‘study date’, Devon puts on a show of home-made fireworks for Elizabeth (I will grudgingly award him ‘chemistry’ points for this, although it would have been much more amusing if he’d blown them both up as would most likely have happened in real life. Then Jess’s declaration to Todd at the end of the book, which is actually "Your beloved, loyal Elizabeth is at this very moment in the field behind the high school, joined at the lip with Devon Whitelaw!" could’ve been changed to "blown into pieces with Devon Whitelaw!" which I like a lot better. But anyway…) Devon is stalkerish and irritating with such classic lines as "Admit it. You feel the connection between us just as much as I do," and "You belong with me, Elizabeth. I knew it the first moment I saw you." Elizabeth thinks, ‘She knew she had a tough decision ahead of her.’ No, you don’t Liz. You never make decisions. You just cheat!
Devon stands Jess up at Bruce’s party and angers her, but I really have no sympathy for her (or Devon, or Liz…) by this point. They are all idiots. I may as well lay my cards on the table and say Todd is by far my favourite character in this book. Poor guy! Elizabeth is at least experiencing a moment of guilt when she gets home and finds a picture of her and Todd going to their first formal dance together. ‘His large brown eyes stared up at her. He looked so sweet, so loyal. So trusting.’
‘How can I possibly hurt him? she thought.’
[NB for US readers: RSPCA = Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals!]
Devon has told Elizabeth that he will meet her at the Box Tree Café tomorrow night, so she tells Jessica to go instead, without informing Jessica that Devon expects to see Elizabeth. How is this a solution to anything, Liz??
Jess turns up wearing ‘a snug-fitting black minidress with thin shoulder straps.’ Devon, thinking she’s Liz, is pleased to see her, but she soon works out what’s going on. She decides to imitate Liz. Meanwhile, Liz goes over to visit Todd. Todd seems rather reluctant to see her (as he is in the middle of arranging stuff for her surprise) and Liz feels ‘a wave of insecurity’ sweeping over her. Overreacting much? She is also disappointed when Todd wants to see an action film. How many times can you really watch Casablanca?
Devon and Jess’s date is going badly and Devon twigs there’s been a twin switch after Jessica makes the first move and starts ‘kissing him forcefully.’ As we know, any expression of desire is always the first indication that said twin is not Liz. Jess and Devon argue and Jess storms off declaring that Liz would never give Todd up for Devon, so he’s wasting his time. However, when Liz comes back Jess fabulously pretends that she and Devon had a fantastic time on their date: ‘"We took a long stroll down the beach. The stars were out, and the moon was full… it was so romantic. We held hands and talked, and then we kissed passionately on the seashore, with the sound of waves crashing in the background." Jessica closed her eyes, pretending to relive the moment.’ I have no idea why Liz believes that Devon was so easily fooled/content with the other twin, but she does.
Todd sets up for Elizabeth’s anniversary surprise on the beach (he’s even brought a hot plate down so he can melt the cheese on the focaccia at just the right time. Awww again (though he still can’t pronounce focaccia…)) He also has candlesticks, flowers and a tape of Elizabeth’s favourite music that he’s compiled. Meanwhile, Elizabeth unhappily goes to the field behind the high school to mope over her loss of Devon. We then get this stalkerish quote:
‘Then suddenly she heard a twig snap behind her.
Elizabeth knew she was no longer alone.'
End of chapter!
Jessica is waiting by Elizabeth’s locker to take her to Todd’s picnic, but Elizabeth is late. Obviously, Devon has found her in the field, and is angry at her about the twin switch trick. Elizabeth tries to explain herself but starts crying. Devon hugs her and they passionately kiss. Jess turns up, sees them, and runs down to the beach to tell Todd, which is the occasion for the immortal line I quoted up above: "Your beloved, loyal Elizabeth…" etc etc. The book cliffhangerly ends here! Oh, apart from the tie-in: ‘Thrown into a jealous rage, Todd just wants to make Devon Whitelaw go away. But Devon isn’t about to give up his new love without a fight. (Toddpunch!) How far will Todd and Devon go to win Elizabeth’s heart? Find out in Sweet Valley High #139, Elizabeth is Mine.’* (In which we learn to resist the objectification of women?)
*(This fabulous book has already been half recapped by
ignitedstars, I’m sure you’ll be excited to know! If I can get hold of a copy of it and the last in the miniseries, Please Forgive Me, I’ll try to finish this arc - how could I resist more creepy Devon?)