Sweet Valley High
Sweet Valley High is a book series created by Francine Pascal, who presided over a team of ghostwriters for the duration of the series' creation in 1983. The series ended twenty years later with over 152 books to its name. Over the years, the books were written by many ghostwriters (including Emmy-award winning screenwriter Rodney Vaccaro), and revolved around the lives of teenagers Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, twins who live in fictitious Sweet Valley, California. The series quickly gained popularity and spawned several spin-off series. The last Sweet Valley book, Sweet 18 in the series Sweet Valley Senior Year, was published in January 2003. The books are generally classified as young adult or kids' fiction, although many of the series' loyal fans are now well into their thirties.
Structure of the books
Originally, the books centered solely on the lives of the Wakefield twins. As the series progressed, several books were dedicated to other supporting characters within the Sweet Valley universe, although every book contained at least a subplot pertaining to Jessica or Elizabeth.
After the Magna Edition The Evil Twin, which claimed the milestone 100th book, Sweet Valley High was reformatted to contain a succession of story arcs which usually took place over three books, e.g.: the Cheerleading Miniseries, which saw the Sweet Valley cheerleading squad compete in a national competition, contained Jessica Quits the Squad, The Pom Pom Wars and V For Victory.
In addition to the regular books, the series also contained several Mystery and Super editions. Most of these stories contained outside the Sweet Valley High mainframe, with the events contained within bearing little significance to the main books and storyline.
Main characters
Elizabeth Wakefield is the elder twin, having been born four minutes before Jessica. Elizabeth enjoys reading and writing, and hopes to become a journalist someday. She writes for the Sweet Valley High newspaper,
On the flip side, her twin Jessica Wakefield is flighty, flirtatious and frivolous. She is into cheerleading (she's captain of the Sweet Valley High cheerleading squad), boys, and fashion. Unlike her sister, Jessica is snobbish, conniving, and not above using underhanded schemes to get whatever it is she wants. She often gets herself into trouble, and she relies on Elizabeth to bail her out. Elizabeth loves Jessica dearly, and usually finds her antics amusing - even jokingly calling her "Hurricane Jessica." But sometimes Jessica goes too far, causing rifts in their relationship. They are described as having sun-kissed blonde hair, dazzling blue-green eyes, tiny dimples in their left cheek, musical voices, bubbly laughs, a satin smooth complexion, and a golden California tan. They also have matching lavaliries which they got when they were sixteen. They are easily the two most beautiful and popular girls at school.
Recurring characters
Ned and Alice Wakefield are the parents of eldest son Steven and identical twin daughters, Elizabeth and Jessica.
Ned Wakefield, a lawyer, and Alice Robertson, an interior designer, met while they were in college. Flower child Alice was engaged to conservative Henry Patman, Bruce Patman's father, at the time. After meeting Ned, she realized that she did not love Henry and broke off the engagement moments before the nuptials were to occur. The runaway bride ran to Ned's side and the two wed soon after. When the series began, they were said to have been married for twenty years, placing their marriage in 1963.
Their first child, Steven Wakefield, was named after Ned's late college best friend. Shortly after Steven's birth, Ned became a partner at his law firm. Two years later, Alice gave birth to twin daughters, Elizabeth and Jessica, who were named after Alice's ancestors, Elisabeth and Jessamyn. They were the third set of identical twin girls in her family in six generations.
Their children grew into spitting images of their parents. Blonde, youthful Alice is often mistaken for the twins' older sister.
Ned is a general practice lawyer and the head of a prominent firm in Sweet Valley. Alice works as an interior designer at one of Sweet Valley's major design firms. Although they are quite comfortable, they aren't fabulously wealthy and have no pretensions of becoming so. They are, however, close friends of heiress Lila Fowler's family, having gotten to know them better after the Fowlers housed the Wakefields after the massive earthquake that ripped apart Sweet Valley. Alice has two sisters: Nancy, who has two daughters named Robin and Stacey; and Laura, who also has a daughter named Kelly. Laura was divorced from Kelly's father, Greg Bates, who had a violent temper and lashed out at her. Ned's parents live in Michigan, and he has a half-brother named Louis.
- Steven Wakefield, the twins' older brother
- Todd Wilkins, Elizabeth's old boyfriend
- Enid Rollins, Elizabeth's best friend
- Lila Fowler, Jessica's best friend and arch-rival.
- Winston Egbert, the class clown, had a major crush on Jessica.
- Ken Matthews, the quarterback
- Caroline Pierce, the school gossip who reforms.
- Olivia Davidson, arts editor for The Oracle
- Penny Ayala, editor in chief of The Oracle
- Roger Barrett Patman, a poor student who turns out to be Bruce Patman's cousin
- Jeannie West, Sandra Bacon and Annie Whitman, members of the cheerleading squad
- Tom McKay, tennis star, Jeannie West's first boyfriend, eventually came out as gay to Elizabeth.
- Lois Waller, shy overweight student, daughter of school dietician
- Bruce Patman, a rich, handsome, selfish and extremely arrogant student. Great tennis player and doesn't like to lose. Bruce and Jessica used to date but it ended badly when she found out he was seeing someone else behind her back.
- Robin Wilson, overweight girl who later lost weight and became a cheerleading co-captain
- Aaron Dallas, a soccer player; friend of Jeffrey French.
- Roger Collins, school newspaper staff advisor and popular English teacher. He is described as a younger version of Robert Redford with strawberry blond hair, rugged jaw and twinkling blue eyes. He is friendly and a lot of students turn to him when they need help. In book #11 Too Good to be True he was accused by Suzanne Devlin of assault when he rejected her advances. He is divorced and has a young son called Teddy who lives with him.
- Nora Dalton, a popular French teacher who once dated Georger Fowler—Lila's father. Later on in the series it was hinted that there was a romance blooming between her and Roger Collins.
- Maria Santelli, a cheerleader, daughter of Sweet Valley's mayor and girlfriend of Winston
- The Droids, resident Sweet Valley band, consisting of Dana Larson (vocals), Guy Chesney (keyboards), Emily Mayer (drums), Max Dellon (lead guitar) and Dan Scott (bass guitar.)
- Bill Chase, a surfer
- DeeDee Gordon, Bill's artist girlfriend
- Rick Andover, the often drunk bad boy
- Kirk Anderson, a handsome jerk who was disliked by almost everyone
Other characters
- Cara Walker, a close friend of Jessica's and was for a time in the beginning of the series a gossip, then her parents split and separate her and her brother which served to mature her. Dated Jessica's brother for a time and then moved to London.
- Amy Sutton, Elizabeth's best friend in the Sweet Valley Twins books and then Jessica's best friend in Sweet Valley High
- Jeffrey French, Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend who disappeared from the series.
- Nicholas and Regina Morrow, wealthy but down to earth siblings. Regina is deaf, later dies. Nicholas once had romantic feelings toward Liz but nothing came of it as she had a steady boyfriend and they chose to remain friends. Liz helped Nicholas cope when his sister death.
- Sally Larson. Cousin of Dana Larson of the Droids, who comes to live with her family after growing up in foster homes.
- Susan Stewart, friend of the twins; a target of one of Lila Fowler's rumor spreading schemes, but was discovered to be the daughter of a movie director.
- Suzanne Devlin, falsely accused Roger Collins of assault in book #11 Too Good To Be True. Also seen in the non-continuity book, Special Christmas where it is discovered that she was misdiagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, when she merely had a case of mononucleosis.
- Heather Sanford, girlfriend of Aaron Dallas, a dress designer who becomes a friend of Elizabeth.
- Julie Porter , friend of Elizabeth in sixth grade, and to a lesser degree in her Junior year. A talented musician.
- Johanna Porter, Julie's older sister, also a friend of Elizabeth. At first thought to be slower, but her strengths were discovered to be in Math and Science. Unintentionally made an enemy of jealous Amy Sutton, when she was hanging out with Peter DeHaven.
- Peter DeHaven, One of the smartest boys in Sweet Valley High, who had been studying for awards and science, most of his life. Was involved with catty Amy Sutton; but went on a casual date with Johanna Porter; which angered her. He ran afoul of Elizabeth, who was Johanna's friend, for his cavalier treatment of her.
- Abbie Richardson, cartoonist for The Oracle (she draws the strip "Jenny"), former friend of Jessica and Lila; who became a friend of Elizabeth.
- Maria Slater, close friend of Elizabeth; former child star
- John Pfeifer, former sports editor for The Oracle, Jennifer's ex-boyfriend, and Lila's tormentor, later dies.
- Tricia Martin, Steven's ex-girlfriend and Betsy's sister, who died from leukemia
- Betsy Martin, Tricia's older sister, who was a drug addict; Elizabeth's friend and Jessica's nemesis.
- Courtney Thomas, A character in the Super edition, Perfect Summer. Courtney is the daughter of a family friend of Bruce Patman's, and is notoroiously hellish to her single parent father, Entertainment Agent, Steve Thomas, especially with her drug dealing boyfriend, Nolan. She joins the bicycle trip the Wakefield twins are on, and makes an enemy of both twins. Her nasty behavior was exposed by Elizabeth, (after she had a hand in setting a forest fire) and she is immediately sent to her aunt in New Mexico.
- Rene Glize, Elizabeth's friend from Cannes, France. At first hostile towards her and Jessica, due to their American heritage, he and Liz eventually become friends, and during her harrowing adventures in London, is shown to be her closest friend and confidante. Rene first appeared in the non-canonical book Spring Break, along with his mother, Avery and his sister, Ferney, but became part of canon whilst Liz and Jess were in London.
- AJ Morgan, Jessica's first serious boyfriend
- George Warren, Enid's, then Robin's, boyfriend
- Sam Woodruff, Jessica's boyfriend who died in a car crash while riding with Elizabeth
- Christian Gorman, Jessica's boyfriend who died in a fight between SVH and Palisades High.
- Ronnie Edwards, Enid's first boyfriend, a highly scheming and very selfish troublemaker who dies in the Sweet Valley Earthquake.
- Barry Rork, Amy's boyfriend who helps out at the teen helpline.
- Justin Belson, A boy who used to go out with Molly Hecht; He and Regina became friends, incurring Molly's jealousy and indirectly had a hand in her death.
- Molly Hecht, A reformed drug addict who used to be part of a bad crowd. She had held the party that Regina Morrow died at from doing cocaine. Her best friend was a girl named Jan Brown, who had a boyfriend named Jay Benson; and also knew a college aged drug dealer, Buzz Jackson, who had supplied the deadly cocaine.
- Scott Trost, Jean's boyfriend (character based upon the real-life person, Scott Trost, actor and author)
- Devon Whitelaw, Elizabeth's brief love interest
- Claire Middleton, female player on football team
- Pamela Robertson, Bruce's beautiful girlfriend
- Belinda Layton, a character from sweet valley twins who was the best female athlete in school
- Ellen Riteman, a character in the Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley Kids series, who was friends with Jessica. She never appeared in Sweet Valley High.
- Janet Howell, A popular and somewhat snobbish eighth grader in the Sweet Valley Twins series. She was Lila Fowler's cousin, and was the president of the popular girl's club, the Unicorn Club; at one point, she was friends with Lois Waller when they were younger, but that broke up when they arrived in Middle School. She was never seen in the Sweet Valley High series.
- Heather Mallone, Jessica's rival, co-captain to cheerleading squad, comes later in series
Spin-off series
Sweet Valley Kids
The twins as seven-year-old second graders at Sweet Valley Elementary School. The series included several Special Editions and "Super Snooper" mystery books.
Sweet Valley Twins
(Also known as Sweet Valley Twins and Friends)
The twins as twelve year old sixth-graders at Sweet Valley Middle School. This was the first spin-off to originate from SVH, and was written by ghost-writers, who wrote under the name of Jamie Suzanne.
Team Sweet Valley
This short series lasted for two books and follows the Wakefield twins in the sports teams they belong to. The first book was originally published in July 1996 with the "Team Sweet Valley" logo, but was republished in November 1996 as "a special Team Sweet Valley edition" that was part of Sweet Valley Twins.
The Unicorn Club
This series traces the members of the Unicorn Club in the Wakefields' seventh grade.
Sweet Valley Junior High
The twins as eighth graders. This series saw Jessica and Elizabeth attend a new school after the re-zoning of the Sweet Valley school area.
Sweet Valley Senior Year
Sweet Valley University
Elizabeth
Chronologically the final chapter in the series and the only spin-off that did not feature Jessica directly. Continues from the plot that occurred at the end of Sweet Valley University; Elizabeth flees to London, intending to continue her university studies but ends up working as a scullery maid for the royal Pennington family. The series contained six books.
Sweet Valley Confidential
This is another spin-off the Sweet Valley High Series. Author Francine Pascal is still writing the book, and it is set when the twins are 26 years old. Pascal has stated that "I can tell you that what you thought was going to happen to those people doesn't happen. Different things happen. Ten years, from 16 to adulthood, has made very different people. And I'm having kind of good time writing it, doing what I want to do with these people."[1]
TV show
A TV series based on Sweet Valley High ran for 88 episodes between 1994 and 1997. It starred real-life twins Brittany and Cynthia (formerly Doublemint Twin models) as Jessica and Elizabeth respectively. The twins also modeled for later editions of the book covers. The show ran for 4 seasons, and saw the introduction of new characters that were not in the Sweet Valley High books, including Reginald "Shred" Patman and Renata Vargas.
Sweet Valley High: the Musical
Francine Pascal is planning for the 'Sweet Valley High: the Musical', which she hopes to open in Los Angeles this fall. No other news yet about this musical.
Other products
Many tie in products were produced for this series (primarily the Sweet Valley High Run) including a series of puzzles, a board game, audio book versions of selected SVH books, commercially available VHS and DVDs of the SVH TV Series, a CD soundtrack for the TV show, dolls and doll clothing, a neon sign, at least one calendar (for the year 1989/90) and books that were not part of the series (including TV tie-in reprints, a trivia book, a behind-the-scenes book about the TV show, and a "Slam Book").
Criticisms
The Sweet Valley series has often been criticized for its unrealistic portrayal of teenagers (although this was somewhat rectified in the Senior Year series), and its outlandish plots, especially within the original Sweet Valley High series. Some exotic examples include:
- The twins battling a werewolf in London;
- Jessica falling in love with a vampire;
- The twins and friends being chased by escaped criminals in Death Valley;
- Margo, a psychotic young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to the twins, and later, her own twin sister Nora, attempting to murder Elizabeth in a diabolical scheme to 'replace' her;
- A former classmate of Alice Wakefield's luring them to a beauty spa with the intention of stealing Alice's face via a face transplant
- Elizabeth and a Parisian prince falling in love.
- Elizabeth and an English viscount falling in love.
- The twins and many of their classmates being unrealistically "beautiful" in a model-like way and never having acne, oiliness, pubertal awkwardness, bodily odors, or greasy hair the way most real-life teenagers have.
Pop culture references
- In The Simpsons episode, "Homer the Moe", after Homer tells his friends a bizarre story, Moe replies, "That is the stupidest story I ever heard, and I read the entire Sweet Valley High series". In the episode "Large Marge", Milhouse uses the title as an exclamation when he says: "Sweet Valley High! Krusty was a Batman villain?"
- Veronica Mars episode 1.14 Mars vs. Mars: After a student tells Veronica that their teacher seduced her, Veronica replies by saying, "Yeah, I have that same Sweet Valley High Book." (Suzanne Devlin)
- In the book Bounce, Evyn says in her Latin class that she has read all the Sweet Valley High books in reply to her teacher's vocalized fondness for Shakespeare. He also comments on the Sweet Valley series being "chick lit," a play off of "chick flick."
Books in the series
- Double Love - Elizabeth Wakefield really likes Todd Wilkins and he likes her but her twin sister Jessica wants Todd for herself.
- Secrets - Enid, Liz's best friend, has a secret that she is terrified of her boyfriend dumping her over. Jessica makes sure that is exactly what happens and Liz tries to put everything right.
- Playing With Fire - Jessica finally gets what she has wanted: Bruce Patman. Liz is concerned that Bruce is too fast and is worried that Jessica will get hurt as she is changing her whole personality and life to fit in with what Bruce wants.
- Power Play - Chubby Robin Wilson wants to join Pi Beta Alpha, Sweet Valley's snobby sorority. Liz nominates Robin for the sorority and Jessica is furious. Jessica does everything she can to keep Robin out and Liz does her best to make sure Robin is accepted by the sorority.
- All Night Long - Jessica starts dating Scott Daniels who is older than her and more experienced.
- Dangerous Love - Todd gets a motorcycle and Liz is forbidden by her parents to ride on it with Todd.
- Dear Sister - Liz wakes up from her coma and has turned into ... Jessica. She dumps Todd and starts flirting with the other boys like nobody's business. Jessica is not happy - she wants her old twin back.
- Heartbreaker - Jessica loves leading on Bill Chase, who once turned her down for a date. Bill's falling for her now, though, and doesn't notice Deedee Gordon has a major crush on him.
- Racing Hearts - Roger Barrett is a great runner, and when he wins a school competition Lila Fowler shows an interest.
- Wrong Kind of Girl - Annie Whitman wants to join the cheerleading sqaud, but Jessica doesn't want "easy" Annie anywhere the near the team as she feels Annie's reputation will affect the squad.
- Too Good To Be True - Suzanne Devlin has come to stay at the Wakefields' while Jessica goes to New York to stay with the Devlins. Suzanne manages to charm everybody, except Roger Collins, the English teacher. Suzanne tries to get his attention by hitting on him, when that doesn't work she falsely accuses him of assault.
- When Love Dies - Steven Wakefield's girlfriend Trica Martin dies of leukemia.
- Kidnapped! - Liz is helping out at the hospital when she is kidnapped by Carl.
- Deceptions - Jessica has fallen for Nicholas Morrow, but he has eyes for Liz!
- Promises - Betsy martin stays with the Wakefield family for a time, to Jessica's ire.
- Rags to Riches - Roger Barret is now a Patman. It turns out that Roger's mother was in love with Bruce Patman's uncle. When Roger's mother dies, Roger goes to live with the Patmans. On learning this, Jessica tries to split Roger and his girlfriend Olivia up, as she now wants Roger for herself.
- Love Letters - Gossipy Caroline Pearce wants to be accepted, so she invents some love letters to prove that she's got a boyfriend. Because having a boyfriend immediately makes someone popular. Problem is, the boyfriend doesn't exist.
- Head Over Heels - Bruce Patman and Regina Marrow fall in love. Regina is deaf and finds out that they have found a cure, but she will have to stay in Switzerland for a year. She is finally happy with her life in Sweet Valley; she has friends, a boyfriend, and is torn whether or not to leave so she can finally hear.
- Showdown - Jessica and Lila clash over the mysterious Jack.
- Crash Landing! - Enid and her boyfriend are involved in an accident. Enid becomes paralyzed, which makes it kind of hard for George to break up with her, which he's been planning to do.
- Runaway - Jessica is fed up with coming second to her twin and decides to run away with Nicky Shephard to San francisco.
- Too Much In Love Bill and DeeDee clash over her clinginess.
- Say Goodbye - Todd Wilkins is moving away from Sweet Valley and his girlfriend Liz finds it really hard to cope and say goodbye.
- Memories - Cara falls in love with Steven, Jess and Liz's brother, but Betsy Martin, his late girlfriend's sister, tries to sabotage it.
- Nowhere to Run - Emily Mayer is having major problems at home with her stepmom and her father is blaming her. Emily does everything she can to be helpful but nothing seems to make her stepmom happy. Emily turns to the Wakefields for help as she finds it increasingly hard to cope.
- Hostage! - Regina and her parents are held hostage; Liz, Nicholas and Bruce try to help rescue them.
- Lovestruck - Ken Matthews is in love with stuck-up, snobby Suzanne Hanlon and does everything he can to keep her happy, even if it means having to change his personality.
- Alone In the Crowd - Lynne is extremely shy and has no friends. But she is a talented songwriter. She enters a competition to write a song for the Droids and wins.
- Bitter Rivals - Liz's old best friend Amy Sutton moves back to Sweet Valley. Liz is psyched, but Amy and Enid, the current best friend, don't get along.
- Jealous Lies Sandra Bacon and Jeannie West's friendship is almost strained over Sandy being in Pi Beta Alpha, and Jeannie is not.
- Taking Sides - Lila and Enid are after the same guy, newcomer Jeffrey French. Jessica and Elizabeth become pimps for their respective friends.
- The New Jessica - Jessica decides to change her whole appearance and become more "sophisticated." Liz is very hurt and scared that she is going to lose her best friend.
- Starting Over Sally Larson, Dana's cousin, moves in with her and her family.
- Forbidden Love - Maria and Michael love each other, but their families are in a terrible fight. So they decide to get engaged.
- Out of Control Aaron Dallas has problems dealing with his parents divorce, and his anger alienates him from everyone in his life.
- Last Chance Amy Sutton falls for Peter DeHaven, and has to contend with her former friend, Julie's older sister, Johanna.
- Rumors Lila Fowler, out of jealousy, spreads a vindictive rumor about Susan Stewart.
- Leaving Home Elizabeth considers going to a writing school in Switzerland, and Jessica and Steven connive to keep her in California.
- Secret Admirer - Penny, editor of The Oracle, decides to put a personal ad in the paper. But the person who answers it turns out to be ...
- On the Edge - Bruce and Regina have been dating for a while and are happy, or at least that's what Regina thinks. Amy Sutton has other plans. Eventually Regina finds out about them and confronts her friend Liz who knew what was going on. Feeling rejected, she turns to a new crowd who are wild and into drugs.
- Outcast - Ever since Regina's death, people have been ignoring Molly Hecht as they blame her for what happened. Liz tries not to blame Molly for what happened but finds it hard. Eventually Liz and Molly's friend Justin try to help Molly from making a mistake.
- Caught in the Middle - Sandra Bacon is in love with Manuel Lopez but her parents are narrow-minded racists. When Manuel is accused of being at the scene of an incident, Sandra is reluctant to provide him with an alibi as it will mean her parents will find out about her and Manuel.
- Hard Choices Enid deals with the moving in of her grandmother.
- Pretenses Cara and Steven's relationship suffers through another unbelievable misunderstanding, and are introduced to Liz's new friend, Abbie Richardson, a former friend of Jessica's.
- Family Secrets Jess and Liz's cousin Kelly visits town and deals with the angst from her parents divorce.
- Decisions Robin Wilson's aunt offers to pay for her to attend college in New England. Robin is torn between being able to afford college and wanting to go to a school where she can also pursue her swimming and stay near Sweet Valley with George.
- Troublemaker Bruce Patman becomes his nasty self once again, and torments Josh Bowen, a Phi Epsilon pledge, and infuriates his friend, Julie Porter.
- Slam Book Fever - The slam book is introduced to Sweet Valley, and soon there's 137 different kinds of confusion as to who's dating whom. Liz is worried that boyfriend Jeffrey wants to go out with her friend Olivia Davidson.
- Playing for Keeps - Jessica must enter a fashion show to compete with a girl who threatens to steal boyfriend A.J. from her.
- Out of Reach - Jade Wu wants to dance, but her strict father disapproves.
- Against the Odds - Ronnie Edwards has a problem with gambling.
- White Lies John Pfeifer goes out with Jennifer Mitchell.
- Second Chance Tennis pro, Kristin Thompson, has a hard time dealing with her life choices.
- Two-Boy Weekend - Since boyfriend A.J. is out of town for the weekend, Jessica sees no problem with going out with handsome Chris. But never underestimate karma - Jessica has trouble shaking Chris off after A.J. comes back.
- Perfect Shot - Shelley Novak: great at basketball, but dating ... not so much. Her long-time crush hardly notices her. Maybe school photographer Jim Roberts will change her mind ...
- Lost at Sea - Jessica and Winston get stranded after a class trip.
- Teacher Crush - Olivia Davidson develops a crush on her art teacher Stuart Bachman.
- Broken Hearted Todd Wilkins returns from Vermont, and throws Liz's life into a tailspin.
- In Love Again Todd leaves his snotty private school, which Jessica insists on attending, and returns to SVH.
- That Fatal Night Ken Matthews is in an accident, and is dumped by shallow Amy Sutton; and finds a girlfriend in Terri Adams.
- Boy Trouble
- Who's Who?
- The New Elizabeth To shake off her stodgy image, Elizabeth decides to try surfing.
- The Ghost of Tricia Martin
- Trouble at Home - Alice & Ned Wakefield split up and Jessica thinks it is Liz's fault. A distraught Liz decides to move away from home, thinking if she is the cause of her parents split that they will get back together when she is gone.
- Who's to Blame? Liz is blamed for her parents trial separation, and she stays at her friend, Enid's.
- The Parent Plot Mr. Wakefield runs for mayor; and the twins scheme to get their parents back together.
- The Love Bet
- Friend Against Friend - Andy and Neil are best friends and are really close. Then Charlie Cashman, a racist bully, starts picking on Andy and making Andy's life uncomfortable because he is black. Andy starts pushing Neil out in an attempt to cope with this, then one night Neil betrays his friend in an shocking way.
- Ms. Quarterback - Claire Middleton becomes the star quarterback.
- Starring Jessica! - Jessica and Lila compete to appear on Eric Parker's TV talk show. Lila gets a helping hand from Bruce Patman who has his own score to settle with Jessica.
- Rock Star's Girl Andrea Slade hides the fact that her father, Jamie, is a rock star so people will like her for who she is. Of course, Lila and Jessica will stop at nothing to find out her connection to Jamie.
- Regina's Legacy - Liz gets Regina's old camera from Mrs. Marrow as a way of remembering her. She takes an incriminating photo and finds her life on the line.
- The Perfect Girl - Robin Wilson is scared that her boyfriend George Warren will leave her for Vicky. In a bid to hold on to him she starts to starve herself thinking that if she is slimmer he won't leave her.
- Amy's True Love Amy tries to fall for Tom McKay, who eventually comes out as gay, but she meets her true love in Tom's best friend, Barry Roark.
- Miss Teen Sweet Valley Liz and Jess clash over Miss Teen Sweet Valley.
- Cheating to Win Annie Whitman is worried about her boyfriend, Tony Esteban, especially when he begins to take steroids, so she works to break him of that habit.
- The Dating Game
- The Long-Lost Brother A friend of Elizabeth's brother comes home after being in Connecticut.
- The Girl They Both Loved - Two dirt bike racers just can't let the past stay in the past.
- Rosa's Lie - Rose, also known as Rosa, is hiding her Mexican heritage from everyone at school because she just moved there and wants to start clean. She thinks she could be anyone she wants to be.
- Kidnapped by the Cult - Jessica is having a tough time at home and at school. She gets taken in by a group of people, but by the time she realizes what they really are it might be too late.
- Steven's Bride - Cara Walker is moving to London, Stephen Wakefield is devastated, and in a bid to stay together they decide to get married.
- The Stolen Diary A guy Elizabeth goes on a date with, gets her diary and spreads a lot of rumors, but thanks to Jessica, Liz's good reputation is restored.
- Soap Star Jessica and Elizabeth get parts on a Soap opera and the soap's star attempts to break Jessica's heart, but she uses her character role to break up with him, and to exact revenge on him at the same time.
- Jessica Against Bruce - Bruce Patman decides things are a little too dull in Sweet Valley and starts a secret club called "Club X"; he thinks that only men should be in this club as all girls are weak. Jessica, infuriated by this chauvinsitic declaration, decides to prove that girls are just as tough if not tougher than boys. What follows is a series of dares and pranks throughout Sweet Valley and the school. These dares and pranks disrupt a visiting delegation of foreign teachers (which Liz is a student guide of), and earns the members of Club X, detention.
- My Best Friend's Boyfriend
- Love Letters for Sale
- Elizabeth Betrayed Someone plagairaizes Elizabeth's writings, and almost ruins her job at The Oracle and her friendship with Olivia, until the schemer confesses and Elizabeth gets her job back and her friendship with Olivia is stronger than ever.
- Don't Go Home With John Lila is almost raped by John Pfeifer; and he begins his scheme to torment her. After some help from a former girl he dated and almost raped, John is eventually shunned by everyone, even his former co-worker, Elizabeth, as he naturally deserves.
- In Love With a Prince - Dana, lead singer of the band The Droids, falls in love with Prince Albert, the twins' friend.
- She's Not What She Seems Jessica befriends sophomore, Paula Perrine, and Paula overtakes her by her own brand of stealthy conniving, but Jessica regains the upper hand over this latest adversary.
- Stepsisters - Annie Whitman's mom is getting remarried and Annie is thrilled. Not only does she get a new stepdad but she also gets a new stepsister. When she discovers that Cheryl is black, Annie invites all the Asian and black kids from school even though she doesn't know half of them in a well-meaning, but misguided, attempt to prove her open-mindedness.
- Are We In Love? - Cheryl and Steven Wakefield are really good friends, but in a series of misunderstandings they end up as a couple. A few people seem to have a problem with this relationship as Cheryl is black and Steven is white.
- The Morning After The aftermath of the tragic prom.
- The Arrest- Elizabeth is arrested for killing Jessica's boyfriend, Sam,in a drunk-driving accident, being charged for manslaughter. Meanwhile, Jessica steals Todd away from Elizabeth.
- The Verdict Elizabeth is acquitted of manslaughter.
- The Wedding Lila's parents get remarried.
- Beware the Baby-Sitter Margo is ever closer to Sweet Valley.
- The Evil Twin Margo arrives in Sweet Valley, attempting to take over Elizabeth's identity, but ends up dead, when she terrorizes her. This traumatic situation bonds Liz and Jess all over again.
- The Boyfriend War
- Almost Married
- Operation Love Match
- Love and Death in London Liz and Jessica are interns in London, and begin their most scary adventure to date
- A Date With a Werewolf
- Beware the Wolfman The London story is wrapped up, as Liz's friend Luke is discovered to be the werewolf; and she is destroyed by his death.
- Jessica's Secret Love Jessica falls in love with an older man; the trouble is the older guy, Jeremy, is the fiance of her houseguest.
- Left At the Altar Sue and Jeremy's beachfront marriage is demolished by Hurricane Jessica, who is in love with Jeremy .
- Double Crossed Jeremy cheats on his new finacee, Jessica, with his OLD fiancee, Sue!
- Death Threat Sue's life is on the line, and the twins smell a rat of who is behind the scheme.
- A Deadly Christmas Jeremy's scheme to steal Sue's fortune is exposed, and he is arrested.
- Jessica Quits the Squad Jessica finds herself in a rivalry with Heather Mallone, who becomes the new co-captain.
- The Pom-Pom Wars Jessica enlists her own cheerleading squad, which includes Elizabeth!
- "V" For Victory The two squads vie for victory.
- The Treasure of Death Valley
- Nightmare In Death Valley
- Jessica the Genius
- College Weekend
- Jessica's Older Guy
- In Love With the Enemy SVH and Palisades High's rivalry becomes a bitter feud as Jessica falls for a student at Palisades and betrays Ken Matthews in the process.
- The High School War Jessica and Christian aim to make their relationship work, in spite of the anger and animosity at both schools,
- A Kiss Before Dying The feud between Palisades and SVH reaches a deadly conclusion when Christian Gorman is accidentally killed, and Jessica wins the surfing contest.
- Elizabeth's Rival Elizabeth and Maria Slater are reunited, despite the scheming antics of Maria's current best friend.
- Meet Me at Midnight
- Camp Killer
- Tall, Dark and Deadly
- Dance of Death
- Kiss of a Killer
- Cover Girls The twins get internships at a fashion magazine. Jessica aims to become a supermodel while Elizabeth aims to learn about journalism.
- A Model Flirt Elizabeths new mentor at the fashion magazine steals her idea for a column and attempts to murder Elizabeth to keep her secret. Jessica gets closer to achieving her goal.
- Fashion Victim Elizabeth and Jessica team up to get their revenge
- Once Upon a Time Elizabeth and Jessica travel to France to be Au Pairs for a royal family. Elizabeth falls for Prince Laurent and Jessica falls for jewel thief Jacques.
- To Catch a Thief Elizabeth and Jessica are on the run after being falsely accused of stealing Antonia's diamond necklace.
- Happily Ever After Elizabeth's & Jessica's names are cleared. Prince Laurent refuses to marry Antonia and proposes to Elizabeth. She refuses and returns back to Sweet Valley where she reconciles with Todd. Jacques admits to the theft and is imprisoned. Prince Laurent helps him and his father to escape.
- Lila's New Flame Lila falls for the twins' brother Steven
- Too Hot to Handle
- Fight Fire With Fire
- What Jessica Wants...
- Elizabeth is Mine
- Please Forgive Me
- A Picture-Perfect Prom?
- The Big Night
- Party Weekend
Super Editions
- Perfect Summer the first Super Edition in the series, published in 1984.
- Special Christmas Suzanne Devlin returns to Sweet Valley, to a predictably chilly reception, until a strange announcement is revealed.
- Spring Break Jessica and Elizabeth goes to Cannes, and they enjoy their time in Europe.
- Malibu Summer Elizabeth, Lila and Jessica are au pairs in Malibu.
- Winter Carnival A winter celebration with all the SVH kids. Liz has some unnatural resentment towards Jessica and her flippant attitude, until she has a horrible nightmare when she dreams that Jessica is dead.
- Spring Fever Elizabeth and Jessica visit a town in the Midwest, and discovers that the charms of a midwestern community are just as good as their lives in California.
- Falling for Lucas
- Jessica Takes Manhattan
- Last Wish
- Mystery Date
- Earthquake An Earthquake rocks Sweet Valley, and the Wakefields move in with the Fowlers.
- Aftershock Olivia Davidson and some others are dead, and their lives were celebrated.
Super Thrillers
- Double Jeopardy
- On the Run
- No Place to Hide
- Deadly Summer
- Murder on the Line
- Beware the Wolfman
- A Deadly Christmas
- Murder In Paradise
- A Stranger In the House
- A Killer on Board
- "R" for Revenge
Super Stars
- Lila's Story Lila tries to stop her father's wedding to a golddigging woman and her equally scheming daughter.
- Bruce's Story Bruce and Roger are put into a competition, but their bond allows them to help each other out.
- Enid's Story Enid deals with her parents stormy relationship again, and almost falls back into the drug scene.
- Olivia's Story Olivia's cousin comes to town and almost turns Liv's world upside down.
- Todd's Story
Magna Editions
- The Wakefields of Sweet Valley The story of the twins' maternal relatives.
- The Wakefield Legacy: The Untold Story The twins' father's relatives stories are told.
- A Night to Remember
- The Evil Twin
- Elizabeth's Secret Diary
- Jessica's Secret Diary
- Return of the Evil Twin
- Elizabeth's Secret Diary Volume II
- Jessica's Secret Diary Volume II
- Elizabeth's Secret Diary Volume III
- Jessica's Secret Diary Volume III
- The Fowlers of Sweet Valley The story of the ancestors of Lila Fowler.
- The Patmans of Sweet Valley The story of Bruce and Roger Patman's ancestors.