SVK 59, Jessica + Jessica = Trouble
In which we learn that anyone called Jessica is a scheming schemer.
It’s not particularly snarkable, so this recap is a tad on the boring side. Ah well.
Cover! Jessica Farrell looks pretty cute, and the cover has perfect continuity with the illustrations in the book. Normal Jessica, however, looks creepy as. She looks like the girl in that episode of Are You Afraid of The Dark who turned into a doll. But... angrier. And the shadow behind her looks like Bloody Mary is lurking beneath the surface, preparing to leap out of the blackboard.
Maybe it's a third Jessica. Maybe if you say Bloody Jessica three times in front of a blackboard... MAYBE IT'S SEVEN-YEAR-OLD MARGO. Bloody Margo has a nice ring to it.
Chapter 1
Jessica tells us about the brand new Student of the Week program. On Friday morning, the class all writes about someone in the class who did something awesome, and then the person who wrote it and the person it’s about get their photos on the notice board. Last week, the inaugural student of the week was (can you guess? No really, can you?) Elizabeth (NO WAY OMG) for giving Eva a shoulder pat about her injured father.
Ellen’s in a bad mood at lunch because her cousin Jessica Farrell is coming to stay for a week (and coming to school) and Ellen hates her. Jessica doesn’t really care how Ellen feels until she realises that if she cheers Ellen up, Ellen might write about her on Friday! So they ditch Lila to play jump rope (Jessica reasons that it doesn’t matter, Lila can’t write about her this week because she wrote about her last week and writing about the same person twice in a row is against the rules. Oh, Jessica).
The play double dutch with Elizabeth, Amy and Eva. Jess rocks, and Eva declares she’ll write about Jessica’s skillz for stuent of the week. Elizabeth falls and blames her shoes.
Chapter 2
Jessica Farrell arrives the next day, and Jess totally loves her. Mrs Otis shunts Lila to the back row next to Jim Sturbridge (a boy, ew!) to make room for Jessica Farrell. Lila and Ellen (especially Ellen) don’t like that Jessica and Jessica are getting along so well. Jessica Farrell asks if Jess and her friends fight much, and Jess mentions Lila once getting really mad because Jess discovered a secret about her. Jessica Farrell pushes Jess to tell her the secret and Jess whispers something mysterious in her ear...
...and at this point I wonder if Jess knows that Lila’s Secret is anathema.
Chapter 3
Jess tells Jessica Farrell about student of the week, and about Elizabeth’s shoulder pat (and apparently Eva’s dad’s injury was a secret at the time). They join Elizabeth and some others for more double dutch. Elizabeth falls again.
Chapter 4
Spelling test! Jess apparently has mad skillz, and desperately hopes she might get an A+ so someone will write about her for student of the week. After they’re marked, Mrs Otis calls out the kids with full marks to come out the front for a gold star. But! When Mrs Otis says "Jessica" she totally waits for Jess to go proudly to the front of the room and reach for her star before clarifying which Jessica it was. Everyone laughs, Jessica Farrell gloats, Jessica Wakefield sulks, Margo leaps out of the backboard and snatches Elizabeth away.
Not really.
Chapter 5
Jess and Lila have a fight on the playground, Lila storms off. Jessica Farrell goes after her, Jess hangs out with Ellen and discovers that Jessica Farrell took something Jess said about Ellen earlier slightly out of context and told Ellen, but Ellen isn’t mad. She’s used to Jessica Farrell and her wily ways.
Jess looks for Jessica Farrell and Lila, and finds them having a good old laugh at Jess’s expense… something about thinking Caroline was a witch one Halloween? I assume it’s in #33 Caroline’s Halloween Spell, but I never read that one. Lila is steamed that Jess told Jessica Farrell her secret… that she sleeps with a baby blanket. Phew, I say. Even the ghostwriter apparently thinks the bedwetting is anathema. I guess it did happen 53 books ago.
Chapter 6
Mrs Otis allows a major classroom shuffle to accommodate Jessica Farrell’s whim to sit next to Eva. Seriously, she gets kids to move. What kind of standard are you setting, woman? Allow this and you’ll get kids demanding to sit next to their new best friend every ten minutes! Jess frets about Jessica Farrell and Eva having fun all morning… she better still nominate her for student of the week! It unfolds that Eva is mad at Jess for telling Jessica Farrell about her dad.
The book is implied that Jess is totally innocent here, but seriously. She did spill a bunch of secrets.
Chapter 7
Jess spends lunch with Ellen admits she was right all along about Jessica Farrell. They despair over how mean she is to them and decide to confront her. Jessica Farrell tells them to leave her alone or she’ll tell ALL the secrets they told her, and then they won’t have any friends left at all! Cackle!
Chapter 8
Double Dutch time again. Elizabeth falls again. Elizabeth blames her shoes again. She decides to try jumping barefoot, which works brilliantly until she steps on glass and cries. Jess runs for Mrs Otis, but before she can make it back another teacher is carrying Elizabeth inside. Elizabeth cries "wait, I want Jessica!" and Jessica Farrell’s all "coming!" and accompanies Elizabeth to the nurse. Jess is livid.
Jess worries about Elizabeth, but she comes back to the classroom all fine and wanting to nominate Jessica Farrell for student of the week for being so nice. Jess not happy!
Chapter 9
Ellen has mysteriously acquired an older sister called Debbie in this book. What happened to whatshisface? Mark? Ellen’s brother, he’s nine or so in SVT.
Ellen gets the bus to Casa Wakefield with Jess, but Elizabeth is missing from the bus. Jess, Ellen and Steven worry that she’s missing and kidnapped and tear home from the bus stop to tell Alice (lolz) but it turns out she went to the Ritemans’ with that damn Jessica Farrell.
Chapter 10
Liz comes home and Jess confronts her as to why she went somewhere Jess wasn’t invited to. Liz claims Jessica Farrell said she did invite Jess, but Jess didn’t want to come. Liz believes Jessica Farrell, not Wakefield. Aghast, Jess calls Ellen to conspire to unmask Jessica Farrell.
Chapter 11
The plan unfolds: Jess suggests dressing alike to Liz, who agrees. Upon arrival in the classroom, Ellen lures Liz away to see her new book about horses and Jess sits with Jessica Farrell and pretends to be Liz. Jess (pretending to be Liz) leaves to talk to Mrs Otis. Liz (who Jessica Farrell assumes is Jess) joins Jessica Farrell, who immediately reminds her to get lost and leave her alone or she’ll spill all the secrets she knows. Liz is all "huh? What? I’m Elizabeth!" Jessica Farrell’s scheming ways are revealed for the whole class to see!
Jessica Farrell cries about how she had to make everyone hate Jess and Ellen so they’d like her. "Um, you don’t need to do that," says everyone. "Oh," says Jessica Farrell. She apologises and promises to stop lying. Everyone forgives Jess for telling their various secrets.
Chapter 12
Jessica Farrell has become nice, and Jess writes about her for student of the week because she learnt how to be herself and not lie. It’s the winning essay, and Jessica gets her picture on the notice board after all!
Jessica Farrell goes home, never to be heard from again, and the characters segue into discussing the circus in preparation for The Amazing Jessica.
It’s not particularly snarkable, so this recap is a tad on the boring side. Ah well.
Cover! Jessica Farrell looks pretty cute, and the cover has perfect continuity with the illustrations in the book. Normal Jessica, however, looks creepy as. She looks like the girl in that episode of Are You Afraid of The Dark who turned into a doll. But... angrier. And the shadow behind her looks like Bloody Mary is lurking beneath the surface, preparing to leap out of the blackboard.
Maybe it's a third Jessica. Maybe if you say Bloody Jessica three times in front of a blackboard... MAYBE IT'S SEVEN-YEAR-OLD MARGO. Bloody Margo has a nice ring to it.
Chapter 1
Jessica tells us about the brand new Student of the Week program. On Friday morning, the class all writes about someone in the class who did something awesome, and then the person who wrote it and the person it’s about get their photos on the notice board. Last week, the inaugural student of the week was (can you guess? No really, can you?) Elizabeth (NO WAY OMG) for giving Eva a shoulder pat about her injured father.
Ellen’s in a bad mood at lunch because her cousin Jessica Farrell is coming to stay for a week (and coming to school) and Ellen hates her. Jessica doesn’t really care how Ellen feels until she realises that if she cheers Ellen up, Ellen might write about her on Friday! So they ditch Lila to play jump rope (Jessica reasons that it doesn’t matter, Lila can’t write about her this week because she wrote about her last week and writing about the same person twice in a row is against the rules. Oh, Jessica).
The play double dutch with Elizabeth, Amy and Eva. Jess rocks, and Eva declares she’ll write about Jessica’s skillz for stuent of the week. Elizabeth falls and blames her shoes.
Chapter 2
Jessica Farrell arrives the next day, and Jess totally loves her. Mrs Otis shunts Lila to the back row next to Jim Sturbridge (a boy, ew!) to make room for Jessica Farrell. Lila and Ellen (especially Ellen) don’t like that Jessica and Jessica are getting along so well. Jessica Farrell asks if Jess and her friends fight much, and Jess mentions Lila once getting really mad because Jess discovered a secret about her. Jessica Farrell pushes Jess to tell her the secret and Jess whispers something mysterious in her ear...
...and at this point I wonder if Jess knows that Lila’s Secret is anathema.
Chapter 3
Jess tells Jessica Farrell about student of the week, and about Elizabeth’s shoulder pat (and apparently Eva’s dad’s injury was a secret at the time). They join Elizabeth and some others for more double dutch. Elizabeth falls again.
Chapter 4
Spelling test! Jess apparently has mad skillz, and desperately hopes she might get an A+ so someone will write about her for student of the week. After they’re marked, Mrs Otis calls out the kids with full marks to come out the front for a gold star. But! When Mrs Otis says "Jessica" she totally waits for Jess to go proudly to the front of the room and reach for her star before clarifying which Jessica it was. Everyone laughs, Jessica Farrell gloats, Jessica Wakefield sulks, Margo leaps out of the backboard and snatches Elizabeth away.
Not really.
Chapter 5
Jess and Lila have a fight on the playground, Lila storms off. Jessica Farrell goes after her, Jess hangs out with Ellen and discovers that Jessica Farrell took something Jess said about Ellen earlier slightly out of context and told Ellen, but Ellen isn’t mad. She’s used to Jessica Farrell and her wily ways.
Jess looks for Jessica Farrell and Lila, and finds them having a good old laugh at Jess’s expense… something about thinking Caroline was a witch one Halloween? I assume it’s in #33 Caroline’s Halloween Spell, but I never read that one. Lila is steamed that Jess told Jessica Farrell her secret… that she sleeps with a baby blanket. Phew, I say. Even the ghostwriter apparently thinks the bedwetting is anathema. I guess it did happen 53 books ago.
Chapter 6
Mrs Otis allows a major classroom shuffle to accommodate Jessica Farrell’s whim to sit next to Eva. Seriously, she gets kids to move. What kind of standard are you setting, woman? Allow this and you’ll get kids demanding to sit next to their new best friend every ten minutes! Jess frets about Jessica Farrell and Eva having fun all morning… she better still nominate her for student of the week! It unfolds that Eva is mad at Jess for telling Jessica Farrell about her dad.
The book is implied that Jess is totally innocent here, but seriously. She did spill a bunch of secrets.
Chapter 7
Jess spends lunch with Ellen admits she was right all along about Jessica Farrell. They despair over how mean she is to them and decide to confront her. Jessica Farrell tells them to leave her alone or she’ll tell ALL the secrets they told her, and then they won’t have any friends left at all! Cackle!
Chapter 8
Double Dutch time again. Elizabeth falls again. Elizabeth blames her shoes again. She decides to try jumping barefoot, which works brilliantly until she steps on glass and cries. Jess runs for Mrs Otis, but before she can make it back another teacher is carrying Elizabeth inside. Elizabeth cries "wait, I want Jessica!" and Jessica Farrell’s all "coming!" and accompanies Elizabeth to the nurse. Jess is livid.
Jess worries about Elizabeth, but she comes back to the classroom all fine and wanting to nominate Jessica Farrell for student of the week for being so nice. Jess not happy!
Chapter 9
Ellen has mysteriously acquired an older sister called Debbie in this book. What happened to whatshisface? Mark? Ellen’s brother, he’s nine or so in SVT.
Ellen gets the bus to Casa Wakefield with Jess, but Elizabeth is missing from the bus. Jess, Ellen and Steven worry that she’s missing and kidnapped and tear home from the bus stop to tell Alice (lolz) but it turns out she went to the Ritemans’ with that damn Jessica Farrell.
Chapter 10
Liz comes home and Jess confronts her as to why she went somewhere Jess wasn’t invited to. Liz claims Jessica Farrell said she did invite Jess, but Jess didn’t want to come. Liz believes Jessica Farrell, not Wakefield. Aghast, Jess calls Ellen to conspire to unmask Jessica Farrell.
Chapter 11
The plan unfolds: Jess suggests dressing alike to Liz, who agrees. Upon arrival in the classroom, Ellen lures Liz away to see her new book about horses and Jess sits with Jessica Farrell and pretends to be Liz. Jess (pretending to be Liz) leaves to talk to Mrs Otis. Liz (who Jessica Farrell assumes is Jess) joins Jessica Farrell, who immediately reminds her to get lost and leave her alone or she’ll spill all the secrets she knows. Liz is all "huh? What? I’m Elizabeth!" Jessica Farrell’s scheming ways are revealed for the whole class to see!
Jessica Farrell cries about how she had to make everyone hate Jess and Ellen so they’d like her. "Um, you don’t need to do that," says everyone. "Oh," says Jessica Farrell. She apologises and promises to stop lying. Everyone forgives Jess for telling their various secrets.
Chapter 12
Jessica Farrell has become nice, and Jess writes about her for student of the week because she learnt how to be herself and not lie. It’s the winning essay, and Jessica gets her picture on the notice board after all!
Jessica Farrell goes home, never to be heard from again, and the characters segue into discussing the circus in preparation for The Amazing Jessica.