Double Love
Do you have sparkling blue-green eyes that are the colour of the Pacific Ocean? Do you have hair like spun gold? Are you tanned, energetic and a perfect size 6? Neither are we. Join us, Karyn and Anna, as we head back to the sensational1980s book series and explore the strange and terrifying world of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, one Sweet Valley High book at a time.
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43: SECRET ADMIRER
Penny Ayala is feeling left out. She's smart and cool but she gets shy around boys and never had a boyfriend, which as you can imagine makes socialising difficult in the bizarre world of Sweet Valley. The solution? Challenging the weird heteronormative...
51 min
177
42: LEAVING HOME
Oh god. It's the one where Elizabeth becomes obsessed with Switzerland. And we mean seriously, unhealthily obsessed - like, she literally talks about nothing else throughout this book. She's so focused on forcing her friends to look at library books ab...
68 min
178
41: RUMOURS
You can go your own way, but do listen to this episode, in which we discuss the best Sweet Valley book to share a name with a classic Fleetwood Mac album. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, but do think about Susan Stewart, the mysterious beauty who i...
41 min
179
40: LAST CHANCE
Move over, Nicholas Morrow and Emily Meyer's dad - there's a new contender for the crown of Worst Man in Sweet Valley! And that man is Peter de Haven, self-obsessed blowhard and supposed science genius. He's the inexplicable object of former high schoo...
73 min
180
39: OUT OF CONTROL
We thought we knew just how annoying Elizabeth Wakefield was, but it turns out we hadn't seen the true depths of her awfulness until this book, where we see Liz at her most judgemental AND hypocritcal. Luckily a hero comes along, with the strength to c...
58 min
181
38: FORBIDDEN LOVE
OMG you guys, Maria and Michael are engaged! You know, Maria who's just been a background player for the last 37 books and Michael who has never been mentioned before at all? Yeah, we can't say we were too excited either, but everyone in Sweet Valley i...
43 min
182
37: STARTING OVER
Oh, Dana. Dana, Dana, Dana. We had such high hopes for you in this book, the first to feature our favourite classic-movie-loving, outrageous-fashion-wearing rock goddess in a starring role. And yet you let us down! Because when your poor cousin Sally m...
60 min
183
36: THE NEW JESSICA
You may think you are ready for the outfits in this book, but believe us, you are not. Yes, it's time to meet the New Jessica, or should we say Jessa Fields, as Jessica has a makeover and adopts a whole new persona to go with her glamorous new "Europea...
67 min
184
35: THE FOWLERS OF SWEET VALLEY
It's finally here - the story of the many flat-faced bitches who made Lila Fowler the glorious diva we know and love! History experts look away now, as we head back to the French Revolution to meet Lila's aristocratic French ancestors and wonder why th...
62 min
185
34: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2018
It's the most wonderful time of the year in the most wonderful place on earth (at least that's what all the locals think)! But Liz's dreams of a perfect Christmas - including a visit from Todd - are shattered when Suzanne Devlin, last seen wreaking hav...
80 min
186
33: TAKING SIDES
It's Wakefield versus Wakefield when the twins become rival matchmakers in a book that turned out to be WAY more entertaining than we expected. Will Liz be able to unite Enid with hunky (but increasingly problematic) new boy Jeffrey French or will Jess...
65 min
187
32: JEALOUS LIES
Sandy Bacon is jealous of her perfect best friend Jean, and not just because Jean has a name that doesn't sound like a disaster at a beach picnic. Will Sandra successfully sabotage Jean's attempts to join Sweet Valley's stupid sorority? Meanwhile Steve...
46 min
188
31: BITTER RIVALS
The classic sitcom was wrong - three's definitely not company, as poor old Enid finds out when Elizabeth's childhood best friend Amy Sutton moves back to town. Meanwhile Jessica uses her new agony aunt powers for evil, Lila displays a frankly worrying ...
69 min
189
30: ALONE IN THE CROWD
It's finally here - the greatest ever title and the best ever cover in the Sweet Valley canon. This books has got Elizabeth at her most patronising. It's got musical loner Lynne Henry writing a masterpiece and embracing the jumpsuit life. It's got Guy ...
80 min
190
29: LOVESTRUCK
Will Suzanne succeed in changing Ken? He likes pizza and rock and roll, she likes fancy food and classic music, and according to the rigid rules of Sweet Valley you can't possibly like both, so you know things are going to go wrong. Especially when the...
74 min
191
28: HOSTAGE!
It's another exclamation mark title! You know what means - drama, excitement and batshit insanity. And Hostage! doesn't disappoint, as Regina is kidnapped, her parents are held captive in the most casual kidnapper's lair ever, and Bruce, Nicholas and t...
62 min
192
27: NOWHERE TO RUN
Move over Nicholas Morrow - Emily's dad Ron has taken your throne as the Worst Man in Sweet Valley. He's married to Evil Karen (not to be confused with our Good Karyn) and they're making poor Emily's life a misery. Meanwhile Liz discovers her true call...
74 min
193
26: MEMORIES
It's episode 26 but book 24 so prepare for us to get increasingly confused at the beginning of each ep from now on. This week it's all about Steven, who suddenly fancies Cara now that she's all miserable. Ugh. But will Betsy let him move on? Spoiler al...
63 min
194
25: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!
Can you believe it's been a whole year since we took to the podcasting airwaves? It's been a wild ride, full of onion dip, outrage and of course lots of Old Timey Gangster talk. In this special birthday episode, we discuss what we and you, our listener...
51 min
195
24: SAY GOODBYE
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone - Todd is leaving Sweet Valley! Liz is a mess (understandably, in fairness), Nicholas is even creepier than usual (which is saying something) and Jess embarks on one of her best ever schemes, attempting to fix...
68 min
196
23: TOO MUCH IN LOVE
Following the last episode's bombshell revelation that we were feeling sorry for Jessica, we have another shock for you all this week: it took 22 books to get here, but we're finally reached a Sweet Valley tale with a genuinely healthy message. AND it ...
52 min
197
22: RUNAWAY
Something very peculiar happens in this episode. Something that disturbs us both. We actually - can it be true? - FEEL SORRY FOR JESSICA. Poor old Jess (I can't believe I'm typing these words) feels so underappreciated by her awful family that she fall...
57 min
198
21: CRASH LANDING!
It's been a while since our last episode because we were off, you know, changing Ireland for the better. But now we're back, back, BACK, and we've got another title with an exclamation mark! That can only mean one thing: DRAMA. And boy, does this episo...
63 min
199
20: SHOWDOWN
If you met a random construction worker who wore deck shoes, would you assume he was secretly a prince? No, you wouldn't, because you don't live in Sweet Valley, where everyone is a deluded fantasist! This week we grab our popcorn and enjoy the extreme...
70 min
200
19: HEAD OVER HEELS
**EPISODE 19: HEAD OVER HEELS**
Jump into 1BRUCE1 and fasten your seatbelts because it's going to be a bumpy ride through this bona fide Sweet Valley masterpiece! We've got Bruce and Regina in melodramatic love, a ridiculous carnival run by children, ...
69 min