desertvixen | Sweet Valley High #5 and #6 Reissue (Reply)

So, I've been reviewing the reissues as they come out. Nothing great, but nothing too horrible either.

SVH #5: All Night Long (the one where Jessica sneaks off with the college junior)

The tone of this book was annoying. Of the reissues so far, this has been the least good. I don't really like anyone in it. The word "slut" gets thrown around a lot.

More specifically:

Jessica is a little sociopathic, but Liz has a passive-aggressive thing going on. The female characters are very catty and competitive.

Laughing that someone else used the term "sexy-librarian" in regard to Liz.

They seem to have changed the surfer dude's name from "Bill" to "Will" - probably because "Bill" does not exactly scream sexy surfer dude. It didn't in the 80s either.

Jessica has HUNDREDS of dollars of makeup in her bag? Seriously? I don't think I own hundreds of dollars of makeup.

Liz does have a fun time telling off Bruce Patman. Also, she appears to not write stories any more, for some reason. That was one of the things about Liz I always liked, that she was a writer for something besides the gossip page. She no longer seems to have the ambition to write for the town newspaper either. She should start a blog or something.

The last chapter seemed a little anti-climatic, just for setup.

SVH #6: Dangerous Love (Liz gets in a motorcycle accident riding with Todd)

This is one of the stronger ones, better all over. They didn't have to do much to change the storyline. And now we're all waiting until they get the next two.

More specifically:

The diner used to be the popular place, despite how unhealthy it was. Now, they give it sort of an Applebee's type SVH memorabilia interior.

The Wakefield cousin who dies in a crash is now Rex, not Roxy.

The cars continue to be updated, refs to Dodge Charger and Toyota Prius. Crunch McAllister (the drunk who causes Liz's accident) now drives a big SUV, not a van. Todd's bike is a Ducati. Ref to "Pimp My Ride".

Cara Walker used to be portrayed as a little nicer. It's hard to believe this girl goes on to date Steven. (I'm really waiting to see how that storyline goes.)

Enid's parents no longer seem to be divorced.

All the angst about riding with Todd - why doesn't Liz drive when they go some places?

Fries in truffle oil? (At the party)

Liz seems to want to ride the bike for Todd, more than she wants to just find out what it's like.

"We're not having sex, Todd, just riding the bike." by Liz, possibly one of the better lines of the series.

Ned Wakefield's reaction to Todd is nicely done.

Jessica has my respect for daring to wear white silk wide-leg pants.

I'm pretty sure they didn't refer to Jessica doing a rain dance in the nude in the originals.

DV