Sweet Valley Twins #55: Brooke and her Rock-Star Mom
I only own four Sweet Valley twins books, and two of them (the ones that seemed interesting) have already been recapped. So I never even bothered to reread them, preferring the oh-so-much-more sophisticated and slightly more grown-up world of Sweet Valley High. But then!
nellswellmentioned in her post about #54 that she really wanted to read #55. And that’s one of the few books that I have! So I figured I’d better take a crack at it.
Please, then, everyone, bear in mind that although I have been immersing myself in the world of Sweet Valley HIGH these past few months, this is the first time I’ve read a TWINS book since I was probably eleven years old. Oh, and is it ever a different world.
First things first: the cover. Brooke Dennis (some random chick I’ve never heard of before) (Oh, no, wait, she’s The New Girl) is sad that Lila and the Wakefield twins are wearing Coco Crazy shirts, while she’s stuck in some monstrosity that has no sleeves. Seriously, I don’t know if you guys can tell in the eensy picture, but there is no separation between the fabric section that her arm is in and the fabric section that goes down to her waist. Maybe she’s wearing a poncho? That’s even ickier than twelve-year-old Jessica’s mom jeans and cowboy boots.
The first chapter starts off with Jessica, Elizabeth and Brooke hanging out in Elizabeth’s room. Liz thinks that with her long wavy hair and fashionable clothing, Brooke looks like she should be on the cover of Teenager magazine. Oooh yes, Teenager. That was always my favourite. So many different styles of poncho to peruse! We learn that Brooke moved to Sweet Valley only a few months ago, and she was a bitch for a while, but then became friends with both twins, even though she turned down the fabulous life-altering opportunity to join the Unicorns. The girls talk about the wicked party at the Wakefield residence last weekend, and they can’t believe that Ned and Alice haven’t yet found out about it. The girls reminisce about May Brown, “a baby-sitter who seemed more like a tyrant. She made them eat things like broccoli casserole and go to bed at nine o’clock.” Nine o’clock on a school night for sixth-graders! That bitch! Elizabeth worries that her parents are going to find out about the party, but Jessica, in a way which I really think encapsulates her character says “You can worry if you want to. I’m not going to worry until I have to.” That’s our Jessica! Only in the sixth grade, but already a sociopath in the making.
Brooke wants Liz’s help to find a subject for her Meet the Stars article plot point for the Oracle Sixers. She doesn’t know which star she should write about. All the good ones are already taken. Jessica is writing about Johnny Buck. (Because apparently Jessica liked to write newspaper articles when she was twelve? Hmm, it appears to be so.) The girls are thinking when all of a sudden the brand-new song by Coco, the hot, new singer from France conveniently plays on the radio. The song is called “Chocolate Kisses for my Baby”. Nonetheless, the girls are enthralled by Coco’s musical stylings, and Brooke decides to write her article about her. And then Brooke has to leave, because she’s expecting a phone call from her mom. Her mom who lives in France. And is comin to visit. (Wink, wink. Plot point!)
Later on, the twins and Steven have some lying-to-their-parents hijinks. They realise that someone at their party wandered off with a full jar of pickles, and that they went through two full jars of mayonnaise making sandwiches for their guests. (Sandwich party? Man, they really are only twelve years old. Lame-o.) Jess tells Alice that the reason they’re out of food is that May was a compulsive eater. Alice seems to buy it. She then mentions that she ran into Caroline Pearce’s mother at the grocery store. The kids freak out, because the Pearces live only a few houses away, and they must have heard the music from the crazy party. And we all know that Caroline Pearce is the world’s biggest gossip, and gossiping is a trait that she inherited from her mother.
The next day at school, Elizabeth and Brooke are walking down the hall when they run into Trusty Boyfriend Todd and some random guy named Colin. They all talk about how they looooove Coco and they can’t wait until her album is released. Even though no one’s seen a picture of Coco, or read anything about her, she’s just got the best music ever! Oh, and apparently Coco’s other single is called “Hot Coco”. Brooke thinks that Random Colin is the cat’s meow, and she acts all shy around him.
Meanwhile, in Unicorn-land, Jess and Lila and some other chick named Ellen are also going on and on about Coco. They decide to start a fan club called Coco Crazy. Jessica is the president, of course. So she calls Coco’s record company out of the blue and asks for information on making a fan club. The lady she speaks to on the phone is happy to let Jess know that this is the first-ever Coco fan club in America! She sends Jess a bunch of promotional material and some shirts that say “Coco Crazy” on them. Hey! Just like on the cover! There’s even an autographed photo - “To Jessica, My Number One Fan, Love Coco”. In the picture, Coco is wearing a fringed jacket and bright red cowboy boots. Wait, I thought she was rock, not country? Jessica vows to find her cowboy boots from the back of her closet and dye them red to match.
Later on, Jess and Steven are watching TV when their mom comes in and asks them why there is a slice of bologna in one of her shoes. (!!!) (Although I love that she goes straight to Jessica.) Jess lies again and says that May was always trying to hide her compulsive sandwich-eating habit by going into Ned and Alice’s closet to eat where the kids couldn’t see her. Jess and Steven are worried that their mom is going to figure out about the party, so they distract her by running off to do chores. I don’t know. If I was Alice, I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that slice of bologna in shoe = tween party. I’d be more worried that my kids were doing the crack.
Jess hands out Coco Crazy shirts to Lila, Ellen, Liz and Brooke. They decide that to celebrate Coco’s upcoming video debut, they will wear their shirts everyday for the following week.
Brooke’s mom Constance, stepdad Bobby, and baby sister Sonya are in town from Paris for a visit. Brooke heads out to meet them at their hotel after school. She runs into Random Colin and they bond over divorced parent issues and their mutual love of Coco. Then Brooke gets to the hotel and has a happy reunion with her mom. Constance is surprised to see Brooke wearing her Coco Crazy t-shirt. Brooke meets her new baby sister for the first time, and everyone is all lovey and happy. Constance tells Brooke that she has two surprise announcements for her. First off, she’s moving back to California from France! Brooke is ecstatic. It’s her dream come true. The second surprise, while extremely obvious to us readers, is a big shock for Brooke… her mom is Coco! She’s an internationally famous rock star!
Man, how embarrassing would that have been for Brooke with that stupid t-shirt on when she found out?
Brooke only has about two minutes to dream of her fantabulous life as the child of an internationally famous rock star, when her mom’s agent, Evil Bernice, comes in to crush those dreams. You see, according to Evil Bernice, nobody likes to find out that rock stars have families. Especially twelve-year-old daughters, as that would make them seem... old. Rock stars sell more albums if they have “an aura of mystery”. So Brooke must keep the fact that she is Coco’s daughter a secret. Man, things sure have changed since - checks copyright date - 1992. Nowadays it’s all celebrity baby blog this and the Spears’ family drama of the day that. Anyway, Evil Bernice makes Brooke promise not to tell anyone about Coco’s true identity, not even her own father, which seems a bit excessive. And then Brooke and her family have a nice weekend chilling at the hotel, keeping a low profile, until Constance gets called away for a photo shoot or something.
Back at school Monday morning, Meddlesome Elizabeth notices that Brooke seems sad and tense and vows to find out what’s wrong. Oh, and then, “Jessica and the Unicorns were gathered around their usual table, which they called the Unicorner.” Unicorner?! Bwah! Lila announces that she is having a party at her house to watch the premiere of Coco’s new video that very afternoon. Brooke acts all defensive and says she can’t go.
At the party, everyone is having a great time. Jessica is in heaven. Everyone wants to join her fan club, and Aaron Dallas leant her his fringed jacket to wear so that she could match Coco. The video starts and everyone is amazed by Coco’s beauty and talent. Using the futuristic powers of her 1992 VCR, Lila has recorded the video so that they can all watch it again and again. Hurrah! But meanwhile, poor sad Brooke watches the video alone at her house, feeling miserable and alone because she can’t tell the truth to anyone about her mother. She tries calling her mom’s hotel room, but Bobby answers and tells her that Constance is away in LA doing promotional stuff with Evil Bernice. Brooke is sad, but Bobby asks her to come over the next day, because her mom will have the whole day off. Brooke is happy! I already see where this is going.
Bla, bla, Alice grows more suspicious about the mysterious lack of pickles in the house. Liz and Jess twitter. I yawn.
Brooke gets to the hotel to visit her mom the next day, and, no big surprise, her mom got called away. They won’t be able to get together again until Thursday, after her mom signs autographs at Sweet Valley Discs. That’s the name of their music store? Dude.
The Unicorns gossip and wonder why there isn’t any information about Coco out there. Caroline Pearce passes by and tells them that she heard Coco was dating Johnny Buck. (Some other made-up singer?) Brooke gets really pissy and yells that it isn’t true. The Unicorns all diss Brooke because she’s being mean. Brooke is sad. She hates keeping secrets.
On Wednesday afternoon, Jessica was sitting in the kitchen finishing off a brownie and a glass of milk when a woman from OmniArtists called. "Hello, Jessica," she said. "I wanted to tell you that Coco will be in Sweet Valley tomorrow to sign autographs at Sweet Valley Disks. She would like you to be there as her special guest. Will you be able to come?”
Arrrg! Last time I checked, THESE SORTS OF THINGS DO NOT HAPPEN TO TWELVE YEAR OLDS. You can all say “but it’s the magical town of Sweet Valley!” I, however, am still rolling my eyes at this setup. Elizabeth wonders why Coco would come and sign autographs in Podunk Sweet Valley. Jess, of course, is convinced that it’s because of her fan club. She calls all of her friends to share the good news. And then they bitch about how weird Brooke has been lately.
Everyone in the world goes to the signing except for Brooke and Liz. Brooke, because she’s emo, and Liz, because she’s meddlesome. Liz goes over to Brooke’s house to find out what is going on. When she’s there, Liz looks at Brooke’s poster of Coco and goes “hmm, you two sure look alike”. That’s all Brooke needs to open the floodgates and admit the truth to Elizabeth.
Jessica, meanwhile, is having a fabulous time at the autograph signing. She gets to stand beside Coco the whole time. The only trouble is that whenever Jessica tries to find out more about Coco, she only receives really vague answers to her questions. Jess has a thirst for knowledge! She wants to know more. She overhears Coco’s agent saying that they’d better get back to the Sweet Valley Plaza Hotel. Before she goes, Coco gives Jess front row tickets to her concert next week. A Coco concert? Yes, it’s true! “The Boys Next Door were scheduled to play in the arena, but they had to cancel and my agent arranged for me to fill in.” Eee! Jess can’t wait!
Cut to Jessica, acting oh-so-casual, walking into the Sweet Valley Plaza.
“I’d like Coco’s room number, please,” she said.
“Coco who?” the young woman behind the desk asked.
Jessica hesitated. “Uh... just Coco” she said.
*headdesk*
Luckily before Jessica can make more of a fool of herself, she sees Coco walking through the lobby. She watches her get into an elevator that goes up to the fifth floor, and then runs up the stairs. She spies on Coco and Evil Bernice as Coco complains that she’s tired of all the secrecy. Evil Bernice convinces her that she must keep it up for the good of her career. Then, Coco opens a hotel room door and a man with a baby is standing there. As Coco cuddles the baby, Jess is horrified to realise that her idol is a wife and mother!
Brooke heads up to her mom’s hotel room to meet her for supper. She passes Jessica Wakefield on the way down. They wave awkwardly at each other, but neither says a word. Brooke gets into the room. Constance announces to her family the news about her surprise first-ever US concert, and how it will entail lots of preparation and rehearsal. Brooke can’t believe it! Her mom flew down to California to see her daughter, but all she does is work instead! And now everyone at school will be constantly talking about the concert, which will make it even harder for Brooke to keep her secret. Brooke yells and yells and cries and cries. Then she runs off.
In the meantime, Jessica is feeling very awkward about the secret she has discovered. She doesn’t know what to do about it. So she tells Liz. Liz thinks that Jess is talking about Brooke, so she accidentally spills those beans. Way to go, Liz. So now both twins know the whole story. Liz makes Jess promise not to let anyone else know.
The next day, Brooke calls the Sweet Valley Tribune and tells them the whole truth.
Mrs. Wakefield tells Jessica that she was just talking with Mrs. Pearce, and now she has a few questions to ask her. Jess freaks out. Her mom’s found out about the party! Fortunately, Alice is interrupted by the phone. Jess runs upstairs and gathers up Liz and Steven to tell them that they’re busted. The three of them decide that the best course of action is to simply confess and ask for forgiveness. So they tell Alice what happened, and explain why there’s no more mayonnaise or pickles in the house. They ask if they will be punished. Alice says that she’ll have to discuss it with Ned. The kids sadly start walking away when Alice says “Oh, by the way, Jessica, Mrs. Pearce wanted me to talk to you about making signs for the neighbourhood garage sale. She said you did a wonderful job on ours.” It was all a misunderstanding! The kids confessed for no reason! Oh, lolz.
Brooke is starting to feel very guilty about leaking her mom’s secrets to the press. She’s worried that she’s jeopardizing her mom’s career. Gee, ya think maybe it was a bad idea now that it’s too late? Random Colin comes up to her and asks her out on a date... to the Coco concert. Brooke is devastated. The very first time a boy asks her out! And she has to say no! Woes.
And then all hell breaks loose as Caroline Pearce runs through the hallways yelling “Ellen Riteman said that she heard that Aaron Dallas said that he saw an article in the newspaper this morning that said that Coco is Brooke Dennis’ mother! Can you believe that?” Brooke is tortured as all day long people mob her with questions and asking for autographs and free concert tickets. The Unicorns act like her best friends and ask to be invited over to meet her mother.
At the end of the school day, Brooke and Liz are walking home together when a car pulls up with Evil Bernice inside. She yells at Brooke to get into the car. Once she in, she yells at Brooke for acting selfish and putting herself over her mom’s career. Uh, Evil Bernice? Brooke is only twelve years old. What do you expect? After their chat, Brooke of course feels even worse than before. She just wants to hide from all of the drama.
Later that night, Brooke’s dad, Mr. Dennis, appears at the Wakefield house. He wants to talk to Elizabeth, since she’s the last one to have seen Brooke. Brooke has gone missing! Liz tells him about the drama with Evil Bernice, but Mr. Dennis has already spoken to both her and Constance. He can’t find Brooke anywhere, so he decides to call the police. A little while later, Constance herself calls and talks to Elizabeth. She says that she’s so upset about Brooke’s disappearance that she’s cancelling her concert until Brooke is found. Liz tells the story to Jess, but Jess doesn’t seem too concerned about Brooke’s welfare.
The next morning, Liz is making pancakes for breakfast. Jess comes down from her room and asks her to make lots and lots, as she’s very hungry. All of a sudden, Jess sees an article in the paper on the counter about Brooke’s disappearance.
“Wait a minute!’ Jessica exclaimed. “Coco cancelled her concert! She can’t do that!”
Elizabeth turned around and stared at her sister. “I can’t believe you,” she said. “Brooke could be in serious trouble, her parents are worried sick, and all you can think about is the concert?”
Jessica stared at her feet. “I have front-row seats, Lizzie.”
See, in this instance, I, personally, would assume that this was part of Jess’ emerging sociopathic tendencies. And normally, I would be right. But in this book, apparently Jess isn’t quite so cold-hearted as usual. Liz knows that something is up and demands that Jess tell her everything she knows about Brooke’s whereabouts.
... Brooke is hiding in the Wakefields’ basement.
Apparently Jess saw Brooke at a bus stop the day before with a duffel bag and tears in her eyes. She convinced her to stay at the Wakefield house until she figured out where to go. The twins bring Brooke some pancakes and show her the newspaper article. Brooke can’t believe that such a fuss is being made about her. She thought that her mom would be super angry! Liz tells her about the phone call she had with Constance, and how she’s not mad, but rather very worried. So Brooke calls her mom who immediately rushes over to see her precious baby. Jess freaks because she doesn’t want Coco to see her in her pyjamas. Brooke and her mom have a heart-to-heart about bla, bla, Evil Bernice had no right to yell at Brooke, and Constance hated the lying too and was secretly relieved when everything got out into the open and yadda, yadda. They hug and make up.
The Coco concert is back on! Hurrah! The Coco Crazy fan club put on their matching shirts and get ready to go. “’Listen, girls.’ Mr. Wakefield said as the girls came down the stairs. ‘I want you to be careful. Stick together, and don’t get lost. I’m a little worried about the fact that you don’t have a parent chaperon tonight.’ ‘Sure we do, Dad,’ Jessica said. ‘Brooke’s mom will be there.’” *groan* Hi Ned! Thanks for the cameo! It’s always nice to see you attempting to parent!
The concert is super, of course. Brooke goes with Random Colin and they make lovey eyes at each other. As everyone is cheering, Coco pulls Brooke up onto the stage and introduces her daughter to the world. Yay! They are a happy family once more.
Oh yeah, Alice and Ned promised that they would discuss punishing their kids for the party. They have decided that since the kids were so honest in coming forward and telling the truth, that they won’t be punished at all. Huzzah! But, since they did such a great job cleaning the house after the party, they have to do it again before Aunt Helen comes to visit. Not so huzzah?