Sweet Valley Twins #22, Out of Place
This is my first attempt at Sweet Valley snark. I hope it passes the time! Apologies for the length! For some reason, I LOVED this one as a child, even though I found Ginny Lu Culpepper to be a huge dork, even back then.
I don't have a scanner, so you'll have to imagine the cover, but picture a purple book with two girls and a horse on it. They're all standing around in a stable. One of the girls is wearing a frilly dress, her red hair in braids; she's holding a carrot out to the horse (who doesn't seem very interested) and grinning at the other girl. The other girl has long blonde hair and is smiling back. She's Elizabeth, of course, and she's going to help the redheaded girl fit in! Because if Elizabeth can't do it, then no one can.
So the book starts out with the twins about to start class at Sweet Valley Middle School. Elizabeth isn't happy when Ellen Riteman starts badmouthing their science teacher, Ms. Waldron. Ellen's all mad because Ms. Waldron gave her a bad grade on a test. Also, for reasons never explained, Ms. Waldron's niece is coming to live in Sweet Valley; and Ellen's already passed the girl off as a hillbilly because her name is Ginny Lu Culpepper (gee, I wonder why Ellen thinks she's a hillbilly?) and she's from some place called Stony Gap, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Jessica is freaking out because she lent her father's best metal tennis racket to Janet Howell, whose stupid brother ran it over with a lawn mower. Now Jessica has only two weeks to earn enough money to replace Ned's racket! Oh, no!! Will she earn the money in time?
Later that day, in Ms. Arnette's class, the Hairnet is interrupted by a twangy voice calling "YOO HOO!" It's Ginny Lu Culpepper -- or, in Ellen's words, "It's her! The hillbilly!" Ginny Lu, who's not stereotypical at ALL, is wearing an old-fashioned dress with "thick green knee socks" and "worn brown boots." Her hair, of course, is in braids. Ms. Arnette starts lecturing her ("Now see her, young lady, this is a classroom!") and Ginny Lu is all, "Well heck, I know that! I'm looking for my aunt, Barbara Waldron!" Apparently Ginny Lu came in to town early and decided to meet her aunt at the school (how did she know where it was?) While they're talking, mean Ellen gets up from her seat under the guise of sharpening her pencil, but instead she does a "bucktoothed" impression of Ginny Lu behind the girl's back. The whole class starts laughing. Naturally, since Ginny Lu is from the South, in Sweet Valley world this means she's stupid and lacks social skills. So she tells Ellen in a loud whisper that she thinks the class is laughing at Ellen because her slip is showing. This only makes Ellen hate Ginny Lu even more! Ms. Arnette hates Ginny Lu, too, and orders her to the principal's office to get the mess with her aunt straightened out.
Speaking of Ms. Waldron, we soon find ourselves at the Valley Mall, where Ms. Waldron and Ginny Lu are trying to find the "perfect outfit" to help Ginny Lu fit in in Sweet Valley (is she going to wear it every day?). Ginny Lu acts like she's never been inside a mall before; she's amazed and enthralled by all the pretty mirrors! Then Ginny Lu and her aunt just happen to run into Ellen Riteman! Ellen volunteers to help Ginny Lu find the perfect outfit, and dumb Ms. Waldron lets Ginny Lu go off with Ellen into Valley Fashions. There, Ellen leads Ginny Lu to the "closeouts" rack and starts to load her down with ugly clothes; Lila comes along about then, and offers her "help." They set Ginny Lu up with her perfect outfit, which consists of a pair of leopard-spotted tights, an orange miniskirt, a three-sizes-too-big sweater, a scarf, legwarmers, snakeskin-pattern tennis shoes, and dangly earrings shaped like a bunch of bananas. Hot! Ginny Lu, who has an IQ of 10, barely questions the clothes (she thinks Lila and Ellen are her new friends); she just puts the outfit on and steps out of the dressing room, all "How do I look?" Suddenly, Lila and Ellen are nowhere in sight -- but Ms. Waldron is back, with a saleswoman, and they are appalled! "Oh, how dreadful!" says the saleswoman, "Is your niece colorblind?" Ms. Waldron snaps back that, no, Ginny Lu is not colorblind, "She's just ... she's new is town." Ms. Waldron gently informs Ginny Lu that Lila and Ellen played a joke on her. At first, Ginny Lu protests this ("They're my new friends!") but when Ellen and Lila and some random Unicorns start laughing and pointing from the store window, Ginny Lu realizes that they're making fun of her. She leaves the store proudly, head held high, but her spirit has officially been broken. Poor, trusting Ginny Lu.
The next day, in Ms. Arnette's class, the Hairnet tells her class about the upcoming Arts and Crafts fair at SVMS. Ginny Lu says out loud that she would like to enter, and Ellen and some other kids make fun of her some more. Not only that -- when Ginny Lu finally tells Ellen to shut up, Ms. Arnette (who seems oblivious to Ellen's taunts) hears Ginny Lu and yells at her! At lunchtime, it only gets worse. Bruce Patman throws paper airplanes at Ginny Lu and the other kids laugh at her, causing her to run out of the cafeteria and go hide in the bathroom (Elizabeth and her friends watch with sympathy).
Ginny Lu, in the bathroom, wonders why the other kids hate her (according to her, it's because she's ugly, she doesn't dress right, and her hair is awful!) She hears some other girls coming, so she ducks into a stall, where she hears some familiar voices -- what do you know, it's the Unicorns, and they're making fun of Ginny Lu. She wants to "leap out and scream at them all" (ha!) but she remains in the stall until they leave. But she decides that she doesn't want to go back to class -- so she cuts school, and literally runs away. Ginny Lu runs and runs, scarcely noticing when the the modest homes turn into mansions, and the mansions turn into country roads! (I loved this scene as a child!) Eventually, Ginny Lu runs right into Carson Stables! She's positively delighted (she lets out a "hoot") and trespasses right over to the horses, where she greets each and every one of them until she comes to the last stall, which holds a "beautiful white Arabian mare" (named Snow White). Ginny Lu doesn't just greet this horse ... she falls in love with it.
But back to Elizabeth -- she does still need to save the day. Elizabeth has a riding lesson at Carson Stables that afternoon. Just like Ginny Lu, she greets all of the horses, until she comes to the white mare's stall. Ginny Lu is still inside there, singing a lullaby. Elizabeth introduces herself and they chat about horses. For some reason, Ginny Lu is carrying a carved doll in her pocket, and Elizabeth notices it and compliments it. Ginny Lu shyly admits that she made it herself, and she gives it to Elizabeth. Elizabeth is noticing a whole new side to the redheaded girl from Tennessee! They chat some more, and Ginny Lu wonders out loud who the beautiful white horse belongs to. As if on cue, a voice screeches "GET AWAY FROM MY HORSE THIS INSTANT!" What a coincidence -- Snow White belongs to Ellen Riteman!!!
Despite this stroke of bad luck, now that Ginny Lu has Elizabeth Wakefield on her side, she's not going to let Ellen scare her. Even after Ellen puts up a "Private Property" sign, Ginny Lu still keeps coming back to Carson Stables with Elizabeth. At one point, Ellen challenges Ginny Lu to ride her dad's wild-tempered Mustang. (Ellen and her friends chant "Scaredy cat, scaredy cat, Ginny Lu's a scaredy cat" -- which made me think of that Little House episode where Nellie and Willie chant "Laura smells like a dirty horse!") Ginny Lu won't put up with THAT, and she gets on the horse. But Ellen has messed with the saddle, and Ginny Lu falls off the horse!! Fortunately, she isn't hurt ... just her pride. ("My pride and my tailbone," Ginny Lu mumbles 'gruffly', as Elizabeth helps her up.)
If you're wondering where Jessica is during all of this, she's still trying to earn money for Ned Wakefield's tennis racket, and therefore too busy to make fun of Ginny Lu. Jessica finds the perfect money-making opportunity after overhearing her mother Alice compliment that doll that Ginny Lu gave Elizabeth. In case you didn't know, Alice works part-time for an interior design firm. Alice finds the doll and proclaims doll-carving to be a "lost art" and says she knows of many clients who are collectors and will pay big money! Even though Jessica hasn't even MET Ginny Lu, as far as we know (they barely interact in this book) she decides that she can be Ginny Lu's agent and sell the dolls. Money-making problem solved!
In the meantime, Elizabeth has convinced Ginny Lu to enter the Arts and Crafts fair. When the day of the fair arrives (only about a week after Ms. Arnette announced it) Liz takes a look around at the other entries and is excited to see that Ginny Lu's booth is the best one there! Ginny Lu's booth has a Stony Gap theme -- she's decorated it with her "mama's" quilts and preserves (and an oak butter churn from her BFF, Alice). There's also a mountain jig playing, and of course Ginny Lu's showing off her carved dolls and toys. Jerry MacAllister comes over and watches Ginny Lu carve something called a "gee haw whimmy diddle." Jerry laughs, but this time he's laughing with Ginny Lu, not at her. Because now all the other kids are discovering a whole new side to the redheaded girl from Tennessee! She carves toys!!
The judges approach; everything is looking good for Ginny Lu. But soon ... disaster strikes.
Ginny Lu's crowning touch for her display is a spirited poem about a boy and his fiddling father. So Ginny Lu recites the poem, her voice growing faster and faster "like a fiddle." The judges smile and tap their feet to the rhythm. Yeehaw! Ellen and her friends are there, too, and they laugh at the chorus to Ginny Lu's poem (And as that bow sawed back and forth, the coonhounds bayed and bayed!) But Ginny Lu hardly lets it sway her -- she bravely keeps reciting ... until she reaches the last verse ...
In the last verse, the boy's daddy has died, and Ginny Lu tells us how the boy took the blue ribbon and laid it on "his daddy's fresh-dug grave." Then Ginny Lu looks grimly at Ellen before preparing to recite the final chorus (is she asking to be made fun of?) Alas, Ginny Lu never says the final line about the coonhounds. Because Ellen and her friends shout it for her ... mockingly!! GASP! Then ... the entire audience gets the idea to shout in unison, "AND THE COONHOUNDS BAYED AND BAYED!"
Mortified, Ginny Lu decides this is the last straw, and she runs out of the gymnasium (or wherever the fair was being held) all "Let me out of here!" She runs back to her aunt's house and decides to go back to Stony Gap (again, why was she even in Sweet Valley in the first place?) She leaves a note for Ms. Waldron about "placing last" and making a laughingstock of their family at the fair. She decides to make one last stop at Carson Stables to visit Snow White before she flees to Stony Gap.
Oh yeah ... did I mention Snow White was pregnant? Well, when Ginny Lu gets to the stables, she finds that guy Ted (from First Place) there with Snow White, who's given birth to a premature foal. Of course, Ginny Lu is the only person who Snow White trusts. As Ginny Lu tries to persuade the baby horse to join its mother, Elizabeth and Ms. Waldron show up. There's some horse drama (will the foal die?) ... then Jessica and Ellen show up ... and finally, after Ellen sees how good Ginny Lu is with her horse, she makes amends with the redheaded girl from Tennessee. She even lets Ginny Lu name the foal (who won't die after all)! Ginny Lu calls it Sooner, for some stupid reason. Ginny Lu wants to sit down because so many good things are happening at once! Jessica adds to the good vibes by telling Ginny Lu that she won the Arts and Crafts fair; she was also able to sell Ginny Lu's dolls to some store (because 12 year olds always do such things) and Ginny Lu all agrees to pay Jessica a 10-percent "agent's" fee. Everything ends on a happy note for Ginny Lu, who decides to stay in Sweet Valley instead of running away to Stony Gap.
Of course, we never see or hear from her again after this book.
I don't have a scanner, so you'll have to imagine the cover, but picture a purple book with two girls and a horse on it. They're all standing around in a stable. One of the girls is wearing a frilly dress, her red hair in braids; she's holding a carrot out to the horse (who doesn't seem very interested) and grinning at the other girl. The other girl has long blonde hair and is smiling back. She's Elizabeth, of course, and she's going to help the redheaded girl fit in! Because if Elizabeth can't do it, then no one can.
So the book starts out with the twins about to start class at Sweet Valley Middle School. Elizabeth isn't happy when Ellen Riteman starts badmouthing their science teacher, Ms. Waldron. Ellen's all mad because Ms. Waldron gave her a bad grade on a test. Also, for reasons never explained, Ms. Waldron's niece is coming to live in Sweet Valley; and Ellen's already passed the girl off as a hillbilly because her name is Ginny Lu Culpepper (gee, I wonder why Ellen thinks she's a hillbilly?) and she's from some place called Stony Gap, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Jessica is freaking out because she lent her father's best metal tennis racket to Janet Howell, whose stupid brother ran it over with a lawn mower. Now Jessica has only two weeks to earn enough money to replace Ned's racket! Oh, no!! Will she earn the money in time?
Later that day, in Ms. Arnette's class, the Hairnet is interrupted by a twangy voice calling "YOO HOO!" It's Ginny Lu Culpepper -- or, in Ellen's words, "It's her! The hillbilly!" Ginny Lu, who's not stereotypical at ALL, is wearing an old-fashioned dress with "thick green knee socks" and "worn brown boots." Her hair, of course, is in braids. Ms. Arnette starts lecturing her ("Now see her, young lady, this is a classroom!") and Ginny Lu is all, "Well heck, I know that! I'm looking for my aunt, Barbara Waldron!" Apparently Ginny Lu came in to town early and decided to meet her aunt at the school (how did she know where it was?) While they're talking, mean Ellen gets up from her seat under the guise of sharpening her pencil, but instead she does a "bucktoothed" impression of Ginny Lu behind the girl's back. The whole class starts laughing. Naturally, since Ginny Lu is from the South, in Sweet Valley world this means she's stupid and lacks social skills. So she tells Ellen in a loud whisper that she thinks the class is laughing at Ellen because her slip is showing. This only makes Ellen hate Ginny Lu even more! Ms. Arnette hates Ginny Lu, too, and orders her to the principal's office to get the mess with her aunt straightened out.
Speaking of Ms. Waldron, we soon find ourselves at the Valley Mall, where Ms. Waldron and Ginny Lu are trying to find the "perfect outfit" to help Ginny Lu fit in in Sweet Valley (is she going to wear it every day?). Ginny Lu acts like she's never been inside a mall before; she's amazed and enthralled by all the pretty mirrors! Then Ginny Lu and her aunt just happen to run into Ellen Riteman! Ellen volunteers to help Ginny Lu find the perfect outfit, and dumb Ms. Waldron lets Ginny Lu go off with Ellen into Valley Fashions. There, Ellen leads Ginny Lu to the "closeouts" rack and starts to load her down with ugly clothes; Lila comes along about then, and offers her "help." They set Ginny Lu up with her perfect outfit, which consists of a pair of leopard-spotted tights, an orange miniskirt, a three-sizes-too-big sweater, a scarf, legwarmers, snakeskin-pattern tennis shoes, and dangly earrings shaped like a bunch of bananas. Hot! Ginny Lu, who has an IQ of 10, barely questions the clothes (she thinks Lila and Ellen are her new friends); she just puts the outfit on and steps out of the dressing room, all "How do I look?" Suddenly, Lila and Ellen are nowhere in sight -- but Ms. Waldron is back, with a saleswoman, and they are appalled! "Oh, how dreadful!" says the saleswoman, "Is your niece colorblind?" Ms. Waldron snaps back that, no, Ginny Lu is not colorblind, "She's just ... she's new is town." Ms. Waldron gently informs Ginny Lu that Lila and Ellen played a joke on her. At first, Ginny Lu protests this ("They're my new friends!") but when Ellen and Lila and some random Unicorns start laughing and pointing from the store window, Ginny Lu realizes that they're making fun of her. She leaves the store proudly, head held high, but her spirit has officially been broken. Poor, trusting Ginny Lu.
The next day, in Ms. Arnette's class, the Hairnet tells her class about the upcoming Arts and Crafts fair at SVMS. Ginny Lu says out loud that she would like to enter, and Ellen and some other kids make fun of her some more. Not only that -- when Ginny Lu finally tells Ellen to shut up, Ms. Arnette (who seems oblivious to Ellen's taunts) hears Ginny Lu and yells at her! At lunchtime, it only gets worse. Bruce Patman throws paper airplanes at Ginny Lu and the other kids laugh at her, causing her to run out of the cafeteria and go hide in the bathroom (Elizabeth and her friends watch with sympathy).
Ginny Lu, in the bathroom, wonders why the other kids hate her (according to her, it's because she's ugly, she doesn't dress right, and her hair is awful!) She hears some other girls coming, so she ducks into a stall, where she hears some familiar voices -- what do you know, it's the Unicorns, and they're making fun of Ginny Lu. She wants to "leap out and scream at them all" (ha!) but she remains in the stall until they leave. But she decides that she doesn't want to go back to class -- so she cuts school, and literally runs away. Ginny Lu runs and runs, scarcely noticing when the the modest homes turn into mansions, and the mansions turn into country roads! (I loved this scene as a child!) Eventually, Ginny Lu runs right into Carson Stables! She's positively delighted (she lets out a "hoot") and trespasses right over to the horses, where she greets each and every one of them until she comes to the last stall, which holds a "beautiful white Arabian mare" (named Snow White). Ginny Lu doesn't just greet this horse ... she falls in love with it.
But back to Elizabeth -- she does still need to save the day. Elizabeth has a riding lesson at Carson Stables that afternoon. Just like Ginny Lu, she greets all of the horses, until she comes to the white mare's stall. Ginny Lu is still inside there, singing a lullaby. Elizabeth introduces herself and they chat about horses. For some reason, Ginny Lu is carrying a carved doll in her pocket, and Elizabeth notices it and compliments it. Ginny Lu shyly admits that she made it herself, and she gives it to Elizabeth. Elizabeth is noticing a whole new side to the redheaded girl from Tennessee! They chat some more, and Ginny Lu wonders out loud who the beautiful white horse belongs to. As if on cue, a voice screeches "GET AWAY FROM MY HORSE THIS INSTANT!" What a coincidence -- Snow White belongs to Ellen Riteman!!!
Despite this stroke of bad luck, now that Ginny Lu has Elizabeth Wakefield on her side, she's not going to let Ellen scare her. Even after Ellen puts up a "Private Property" sign, Ginny Lu still keeps coming back to Carson Stables with Elizabeth. At one point, Ellen challenges Ginny Lu to ride her dad's wild-tempered Mustang. (Ellen and her friends chant "Scaredy cat, scaredy cat, Ginny Lu's a scaredy cat" -- which made me think of that Little House episode where Nellie and Willie chant "Laura smells like a dirty horse!") Ginny Lu won't put up with THAT, and she gets on the horse. But Ellen has messed with the saddle, and Ginny Lu falls off the horse!! Fortunately, she isn't hurt ... just her pride. ("My pride and my tailbone," Ginny Lu mumbles 'gruffly', as Elizabeth helps her up.)
If you're wondering where Jessica is during all of this, she's still trying to earn money for Ned Wakefield's tennis racket, and therefore too busy to make fun of Ginny Lu. Jessica finds the perfect money-making opportunity after overhearing her mother Alice compliment that doll that Ginny Lu gave Elizabeth. In case you didn't know, Alice works part-time for an interior design firm. Alice finds the doll and proclaims doll-carving to be a "lost art" and says she knows of many clients who are collectors and will pay big money! Even though Jessica hasn't even MET Ginny Lu, as far as we know (they barely interact in this book) she decides that she can be Ginny Lu's agent and sell the dolls. Money-making problem solved!
In the meantime, Elizabeth has convinced Ginny Lu to enter the Arts and Crafts fair. When the day of the fair arrives (only about a week after Ms. Arnette announced it) Liz takes a look around at the other entries and is excited to see that Ginny Lu's booth is the best one there! Ginny Lu's booth has a Stony Gap theme -- she's decorated it with her "mama's" quilts and preserves (and an oak butter churn from her BFF, Alice). There's also a mountain jig playing, and of course Ginny Lu's showing off her carved dolls and toys. Jerry MacAllister comes over and watches Ginny Lu carve something called a "gee haw whimmy diddle." Jerry laughs, but this time he's laughing with Ginny Lu, not at her. Because now all the other kids are discovering a whole new side to the redheaded girl from Tennessee! She carves toys!!
The judges approach; everything is looking good for Ginny Lu. But soon ... disaster strikes.
Ginny Lu's crowning touch for her display is a spirited poem about a boy and his fiddling father. So Ginny Lu recites the poem, her voice growing faster and faster "like a fiddle." The judges smile and tap their feet to the rhythm. Yeehaw! Ellen and her friends are there, too, and they laugh at the chorus to Ginny Lu's poem (And as that bow sawed back and forth, the coonhounds bayed and bayed!) But Ginny Lu hardly lets it sway her -- she bravely keeps reciting ... until she reaches the last verse ...
In the last verse, the boy's daddy has died, and Ginny Lu tells us how the boy took the blue ribbon and laid it on "his daddy's fresh-dug grave." Then Ginny Lu looks grimly at Ellen before preparing to recite the final chorus (is she asking to be made fun of?) Alas, Ginny Lu never says the final line about the coonhounds. Because Ellen and her friends shout it for her ... mockingly!! GASP! Then ... the entire audience gets the idea to shout in unison, "AND THE COONHOUNDS BAYED AND BAYED!"
Mortified, Ginny Lu decides this is the last straw, and she runs out of the gymnasium (or wherever the fair was being held) all "Let me out of here!" She runs back to her aunt's house and decides to go back to Stony Gap (again, why was she even in Sweet Valley in the first place?) She leaves a note for Ms. Waldron about "placing last" and making a laughingstock of their family at the fair. She decides to make one last stop at Carson Stables to visit Snow White before she flees to Stony Gap.
Oh yeah ... did I mention Snow White was pregnant? Well, when Ginny Lu gets to the stables, she finds that guy Ted (from First Place) there with Snow White, who's given birth to a premature foal. Of course, Ginny Lu is the only person who Snow White trusts. As Ginny Lu tries to persuade the baby horse to join its mother, Elizabeth and Ms. Waldron show up. There's some horse drama (will the foal die?) ... then Jessica and Ellen show up ... and finally, after Ellen sees how good Ginny Lu is with her horse, she makes amends with the redheaded girl from Tennessee. She even lets Ginny Lu name the foal (who won't die after all)! Ginny Lu calls it Sooner, for some stupid reason. Ginny Lu wants to sit down because so many good things are happening at once! Jessica adds to the good vibes by telling Ginny Lu that she won the Arts and Crafts fair; she was also able to sell Ginny Lu's dolls to some store (because 12 year olds always do such things) and Ginny Lu all agrees to pay Jessica a 10-percent "agent's" fee. Everything ends on a happy note for Ginny Lu, who decides to stay in Sweet Valley instead of running away to Stony Gap.
Of course, we never see or hear from her again after this book.