Sweet Valley High #114: “V” for Victory
Read the rest of this miniseries: Part one, part two.
The Moral of the Story: You can totally win the cheerleading competition if you make sure the better squad gets disqualified.
The Big Deal: National cheerleading competition
Synopsis:
The cheerleaders win the state championships, but Jessica is all pissed off when Heather makes a speech and acts like it’s her squad. Liz is still cheerleading even though the only reason she joined the squad was so Jessica wouldn’t tell Todd about her and Ken and, well, now that cat’s out of the bag. After Heather’s speech, Jessica runs off to cry about it, and the other cheerleaders lift Liz up in victory, thinking she’s Jessica. Jessica cries about it some more.
Liz tries to apologize to Jessica and explain the whole Ken situation, but Jessica is convinced that Liz was trying to steal her boyfriend to get back at her for blackmailing her. She tries to talk to Todd, too, but he’s not interested in making up. When the cheerleaders get on their bus to head up to Yosemite for the national competition, both Ken and Todd are all sad. Todd realizes he really does love Liz, but now he’s messed everything up. He bumps into Ken and they start shoving each other. From the sidelines, Bruce tells them the Wakefields aren’t worth fighting over, so Todd and Ken join forces and tackle Bruce. After a talking-to from Chrome Dome, Todd and Ken make up. They decide to drive up to Yosemite and get their twins back. They take Winston with them.
At the cheerleading compound, The Sweet Valley squad is assigned to share a cabin with the Alabama squad. Southern stereotypes ensue. When Heather’s old squad from Reno shows up, Heather gets all freaked out. In her bed, she finds a newspaper clipping detailing the circumstances under which she was kicked off her old squad. There is also a note from Marissa James, the Reno squad’s current captain, telling Heather to meet her outside. The next day, Heather messes up in all the routines and it’s obvious to me that Marissa is blackmailing her into losing.
The stupid boys get to the compound but can’t get in because there are no boys allowed. Let’s just forget about the fact that lots of cheerleading squads have boys on them, and also that friends and family members generally come to these things to watch. Whatever. The boys start heading back home, but then have a great idea. They’re going to dress as girls. Guys, the girls will be back on Monday. Just hang on.
I hate this.
Jessica is sick of Heather screwing everything up, so she decides to kick her off the squad. They end up having an argument, of course, and Heather tells Jessica the whole story about how she cheated on a math exam and got kicked off her old squad, and now Marissa James is blackmailing her. Heather confesses to the whole squad, and they all decide Marissa James is the devil and they’re going to beat her stupid squad. The SVH squad tries to leave their cabin for the next morning’s competitions, but Marissa has locked the door from the outside and sealed all the windows shut. Todd, Ken and Winston are worried when the girls don’t show up before the competition starts, so they go off looking for them and find the cabin. They open the door and all the girls make fun of their horrible disguises.
Later that day, the sight of the boys in their cheerleading uniforms is too much for the twins and they start laughing so hard they have to hold on to each other to keep from falling over. (I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard that I’ve fallen down. It sounds like fun.) Just like that, the twins are friends again and they decide to play a joke on the boys. Before their final performance, the twins run on stage and call Todd, Ken and Winston to the floor to do a routine. The boys, of course, suck at it. When they start sliding all over the floor, the girls realize the Reno squad must have done something. They tell the referee what they think, and the Reno squad admits to pouring baby oil all over the floor. In the end, the Reno squad is disqualified and the Sweet Valley squad comes in second place. Then the twins make up with their boyfriends and everyone is happy. Hooray!
Quotes:
Elizabeth gritted her teeth…She felt like screaming out for everyone to hear: “If you weren’t blackmailing me, I wouldn’t come near your stupid squad!” But of course Elizabeth couldn’t say anything. Jessica had her over a barrel.
Liz, honey. Todd already knows about you and Ken. It’s the reason you’re broken up right now. Nothing will change if you quit the squad.
He had forgiven Elizabeth when she’d had a fling with Luke the summer she was in London. Of course, he’d had a little fling of his own. But this was different.
Oh, you guys. Just break up already.
Suddenly a face popped out the door. “Well, hi, y’all!” exclaimed a big freckle-faced southern girl, waving as the Sweet Valley High cheerleaders approached their cabin.
“C’mon in!” said another friendly-looking girl, propping the door of the cabin wide open. “We’ve been waitin’ for you to arrive. Kept wonderin’ where the girls from California were! I’m Wilhemina, and this is Peggy May.”
Of course you are.
“If Ken can’t distinguish me from my sister, then he must not really love me.”
Do I have to define the word “identical” for you?
The Cover: Ooh, sparkly! It’s funny, of all the numerous descriptions in the book about the uniforms, I don’t think any of them looked like that.
Tags: Cheerleading, Liz-Todd Jealousy
October 16th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Ken and Todd teaming up on Bruce for his words was the gayest thing ever.
And I used to read Sweet Valley Twins. Wasn’t Ken smart? I know he was short, but I could have sworn he was smart….
I still don’t like Heather. First her name would be HEATHER. I bet the author saw the movie Heathers. And then get blackmailed because she cheated? Hello! You’re at a new school, I guess she was afraid she would seem less awesome.
Back to Jess and Ken, I’m not feeling them as a couple. Not after Sam. Like going from Brad Pitt to Vince Vaughn.
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Lori Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Maybe her name should have been Veronica.
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Darren Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 3:19 am
How about Veronica Brooks? Man, somebody should’ve whacked the author one and said put in Veronica Brooks, the girl that stole things from the Unicorns and dated Steven briefly? Having Veronica Brooks and Jessica go at it would’ve been so much fun!
I’m writing my own Sweet Valley, which is highly MA, but the cheering girls I have are:
Jessica Wakefield
Mandy Miller
Melissa McCormick
Jean West
Sandra Bacon
Cara Walker
2 Japanese girls named Usagi and Makoto
2 sisters named Laurie and Judi
Robin Robertson, the twins’ cousin that lives in the revamped neighborhood
Maria Santelli
Betsy Martin
Then when Tricia passes on and Betsy winds up moving, Amy Sutton then takes over.
I may put in Robin Wilson, but she takes an illegal supplement that made her lose the weight so she’s thus banned for the school’s zero tolerence program she violates.
Just thought I’d add some more rambling chatter. But my version of Sweet valley has been going along great as I have 4 chapters already!
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miyuu Reply:
February 5th, 2012 at 3:55 am
Omigosh Darren. You’re a lover of both SVH and Sailor Moon. Gotcha there. It made me laugh. when I’ve read this. But hey, Same here. haha.
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Sandy, I can’t remember, but I think Ken was smart at one point. I guess too much Wakefield makeout time really messes with the brain.
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October 16th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
“If Ken can’t distinguish me from my sister, then he must not really love me.”
Yes, please tell her what identical means.
Though on the plus side it means Jessica and Elizabeth can take turns double teaming him and he won’t be any the wiser.
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:34 am
True story!
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October 16th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Is Ken still blind in this book? That’s the only explanation.
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Ha ha, that made me laugh.
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October 16th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
God, this one sounds unbearable. I don’t how you plod through these.
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Darren Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 3:22 am
Nay, this book was great to me. It was funny that Liz and Ken have an affair that nobody bothered to mention or how it occured. It’s great how Todd, then Jessica didn’t know a thing about it. It was Liz’s own carelessness and jealousy that exposed her because she couldn’t be happy for her sister dating Ken. Who was Liz to call ken a duplicate of Jeremy? I thought Jeremy at first was Dana larson’s brother for he’s the type of jerk to do something like this after badmouthing Sally his own cousin! Having LIz the cheerleader was fantastic! She had spirit in the picture of 113.
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Sandy Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 9:58 am
I liked this book as well. So much cheesy drama, this has become my guilty pleasure.
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:36 am
The worst part was the boys pretending to be girls. It actually wasn’t that bad until that point.
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October 16th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I hope the girls figure out this identical stuff before they get married and accidently sleep with each other’s husbands.
Bruce had the best line of the book.
So Liz cheats on him again and Todd blew it again. How does that work?
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:26 am
You know they’re going to share their husbands just like they share their boyfriends. Ew.
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DarfurHerald Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
That night that Jess needs a little lovin’ from Liz’s husband, he’d be none the wiser.
Until the kid came! I have the feeling that the Wakefields would be the type of family who disapproved of contraception/birth control in marriage. But, it would be easy to switch Jess for Liz, and then it would look like Liz was preggo, and the bastard kid would be born and Jess and Liz would switch again, with Liz as surrogate. And the bastard kid would look so much like his/her aunt Liz, he/she wouldn’t know s/he’s a bastard….
I need to get a life.
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October 17th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Second place is such a ripoff. The Reno school should have been disqualified from the event altogether! That was something on Todd vs. Ken, the boys almost fighting and beating up Bruce was fun. When do we start the Where’s HElen Bradley campaign? How can you put her in 112 and not mention her again? Duh!
Ken is not blind for he’s the QB. I guess Claire got hurt in a game maybe, like suffered the Alex Smith shoulder injury and Ken took over. The school was playing against El Carro apparantely, must’ve been a championship state game because a cheering competition does take place somewhere in January I assume?
Man, Liz and Todd break up more times then Kevin and Winnie did, sheesh!
That’s something how Liz wantes Todd back and Todd blows her off big time, then tortures himself thinking about what Liz and Ken were doing! Man, that line in the book of
‘
Todd had to stop torturing himself like this:
I still get a big laugh out of it!
I’ve been ordering some of my favorite Sweet valley books. I can’t wait to turn this into a big story.
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October 17th, 2009 at 6:16 am
I think my favourite thing about this whole book was that Bruce & Co. told the organisation that they were a cheerleading squad from Sasketchewan — as in, Canada. What Canadians would be doing at an American national cheerleading championship is beyond me. These boys are literally the DUMBEST on earth.
Reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Bart pretends to have to go to an American grammar rodeo in Toronto, and Lisa’s like, “because why would THEY host OUR grammar rodeo?” What morons. (Except Bruce. I’m pretty sure it was Todd’s idea.)
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Wow, you know, I never even thought about that, ha.
Bruce wasn’t there, just Ken, Todd and Winston. I don’t think Bruce would EVER dress up like a girl, no matter what the situation.
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Lorelai Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Bruce has way too many awesome points for that.
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Sandy Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Yes, he does Loralai. Yes. He. Does.
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October 17th, 2009 at 11:06 am
It pains me to say this, but Bruce is right.
Ugh, Southern stereotypes. I want to punch this ghost writer in the face.
I’m soooo glad I stopped reading SVH before all this. It’s so horrible and I truly feel for you, Shannon, I do.
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Thanks, Lindsay, lol.
The stereotypes were pretty bad here.
Bruce is totally right. He’s the only person in town who doesn’t worship the Wakefield twins. For that, he has a special place in my heart. However, for being an attempted rapist, he also has my undying hatred.
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Lorelai Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 10:20 am
It is a little strange that Bruce can be so appealing, when at the same time he woos women using paper cups and wine/tries to date-rape them/cheats on them. Maybe it’s just me.
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October 17th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
I have NEVER heard of the name Wilhemina before…
and why didn’t she just say Peggy Sue?
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Shannon Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I bet the GW thought about Peggy Sue and then thought, “Oh no, that sounds too stereotypical.” I think the GWs are idiots.
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October 18th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I am totally with Bruce- the Wakefield girls are soo not worth fighting over!
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