Sweet Valley Twins Super Edition #10: The Year Without Christmas

[daniellafromage]

Here we go: possibly the most metatextual Sweet Valley book of all time, wherein Jessica has to live the holiday season over and over again. We've all seen the film Groundhog Day, right, where Bill Murray lives the same day on a loop? Well, this book is exactly like that. Except with Jessica Wakefield instead of Bill Murray. And it's set on

Comments

[dirtywingsgirl]

Lol!! I fucking love you. Your first para had me laughing so hard. You are so right about the metatext...it's so appropriate for a Sweet Valley book to have magically recurring holidays in it. Maybe they're hinting that this happens often, or something.

I hate when they throw token characters in just so they can make a story/example of them. Like this 'Mike Mc Clusky'.

:| What's a family newsletter? I'm guessing it's what I think it is, but I've never heard of one before. I want a family newsletter.

And ooh, I love the basketball/Honeybees book! Can't wait for your recap of it. That book was possibly as close to feminism as SVT gets.

BAHAHAHA! Teen Girl Squad Unicorns!! But who would be 'the ugly one'? (Janet, I hope) I can totes imagine the Unicorns talking in those TGS voices...

This next part is scandalous, though: remember the dress Jessica bought which Janet mocked? Well, Janet went back and bought it for herself, and she's wearing it now!
Um, that's fucking horrible! Jessica considers these people her friends?

[daniellafromage]

I think family newsletters are mostly an American thing: a family sends out newsletters to rarely-seen friends and family members which recap everything that's happened to them in the past year ("Bob graduated college! The baby was born! Mary-Sue exploded!"). I've never received one, though, so I could well be wrong!

I assumed Ellen would be The Ugly One - not because she is especially ugly, but because The Ugly One is always desperate for the cooler girls to like her, and they shamelessly reject her all the time. Going by physical appearances, though, Janet certainly isn't the prettiest Unicorn...

Um, that's fucking horrible! Jessica considers these people her friends?
I know, right? That's part of my problem with Christmas Eve v.6: Jessica has to give up a dress she was perfectly entitled to have in the first place? And Janet gets to wear it, even though she was prepared to lie and scheme in order to convince Jessica that it was ugly? What the hell kind of "moral" is that?

[roseability_]

My parents write a long letter and stick it in the christmas card. it's hilariously one-sided. Stuff like "Our daughter graduated university! Our other daughter is starting! Our son is well."

[ultimate_cin]

I read "Mike McClusky" and for some reason my brain inserted "Mike McAllery" and thought "Jessica met the guy she marries in college when she was in middle school??" She must have a thing for Irish guys named Mike...

[daniellafromage]

I thought that as well at first! I couldn't think of a good way to segue it into the recap, though.

[roseability_]

Me too! Then I googled Mike McClusky to check, and the sixth entry was THIS RECAP.

[daniellafromage]

Internet celebrity: I have achieved it at last! Or as soon as can convince everyone to google "Mike McClusky", anyway.

[daniellafromage]

she's a ginger too-no wonder she has to keep putting people down.

Hey, now. :(

[zippyladoodles]

Heh that's not very fair :-(!

[scarlettfish]

I rolled my eyes far more at Liz donating her Christmas present to charity than Jessica not donating her present. What twelve-year old kid gets $50 and donates it to charity? I mean, sure, donating to charity is wonderful, but most 12-year-olds aren't exactly in the mental place to consider the disadvantaged before themselves when it comes to Christmas presents.

I love Jessica, too. That's right, haters. I said it.

[daniellafromage]

I admit it: I was feeling sensitive when I was writing the ending because I'd just blown the equivalent of fifty dollars on new hair straighteners. But I'm still right, damnit! Jessica shouldn't be made to feel ashamed!

[zippyladoodles]

My hair straighteners cost me £65. They are brilliant but I cried when I parted with the money, lol!

[daniellafromage]

Ooh, which ones did you get? I got Remington Nano Gold Wet2Straight Wide Straightener from Amazon, but I have no idea how good they are! I got them mainly because they had entirely positive reviews and were only £25!

[anonymous]

Fun recap. I have a question. How many Christmas books do the twins have?

[zippyladoodles]

Erm, OK, there's the Magical Christmas. This one. A Christmas without Elizabeth. The Christmas Ghost. The Carnival Ghost. BIG for Christmas. Erm, Holiday Mischief. Thats seven. Have I missed any??

[daniellafromage]

Too many! If we're including The Unicorns Go Hawaiian, which is set literally the day after Christmas, Jessica should be at least nineteen by the time this book rolls around!

[zippyladoodles]

Well, also if we are including SVK, SVH and SVU as well as Unicorns and the other spin offs...well, I'm not even going to begin trying to count!!