Synopsis:
Jessica and Lila are hanging out in Jessica’s room when they hear fighting coming from Liz’s bedroom. Todd is pissed because Liz went to a movie with Jeffrey. He breaks up with her. That night, Jessica gets home from a party at Amy’s house, and Todd calls to ask if Liz was at the party with Jeffrey. Jessica says they were both there but they weren’t together. Todd wants to come over and talk, so Jessica changes into a sexy nightgown and opens her window. When Todd gets there, he asks Jessica if she remembers what they had “before.” He is not referring to the time he and Jessica fooled around after Sam died, nor is he referring to the time they made out before Todd started dating Liz. This is apparently a whole different thing. Todd says he’s free now and wants a second chance. Jessica thinks reading her diary from those days will help her figure out what to do:
#42: Caught in the Middle – Jessica plans a surprise party for Lila. She also gets a just-saying-hello letter from Todd in Vermont. She teases Liz about it.
#43: Hard Choices – Jessica writes back to Todd and the Wakefields make a documentary.
#44: Pretenses – Jessica tells us about how Steve and Cara almost break up. Todd writes back to Jessica.
#45: Family Secrets – Cousin Kelly comes to town and is a total weirdo.
#46: Decisions – Blah, blah, blah, Robin and George have a fight. Jessica is in love with Alexander Kane. One day, she walks in on Liz looking at old pictures of Todd.
#47: Troublemaker – Jessica is a success in a school play. While telling us about Bruce Patman and Julie Porter, Jessica gives us a very strange version of her “first – and last – date” with Bruce. She says they drove around in a limo while he talked about himself and she got mad when he called another girl from the car phone. No mention of sexy times at the lake or Jessica turning into a love zombie. Whatever. Todd and Jessica are still writing to each other.
#48: Slam Book Fever – Jessica falls in love with A.J. Morgan and writes to Todd for advice.
#49: Playing for Keeps – Jessica almost loses A.J. because she’s an idiot. Todd and Jessica start getting more and more personal in their letters to each other.
#50: Out of Reach – Jessica is totally in love with A.J., but she’s starting to develop feelings for Todd and can’t wait to get his letters.
#51: Against the Odds – Jessica writes to Todd to tell him about being grounded for charging nine hundred dollars to her mother’s credit card.
#52: White Lies – Todd sends Jessica a mix tape.
#53: Last Chance – Todd calls Jessica and says he wants to come to Sweet Valley and see her in secret. Jessica has dreams about Todd sneaking into her room at night and doing “intensely romantic” things with her.
#54: Two-Boy Weekend – Jessica breaks up with A.J. after cheating on him with Psycho Chris. Todd buys a plane ticket.
#55: Perfect Shot – Todd and Jessica meet at Secca Lake and make out. Jessica is sure she’s really in love this time, but after a couple days, they both realize Liz would be really hurt if she knew.
#56: Lost at Sea – Jessica thinks about kissing Winston while they’re shipwrecked, but a helicopter shows up before she can do it.
Back in the present, Jessica finishes reading her diary and realizes Todd is much better suited to Liz.
Oh god, can you imagine Todd’s mix-tape? I wonder if it was romantic or poppy, or was Todd trying to be deep and it was all prog rock?
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Shannon Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I’m going to guess Todd tried to be deep and failed miserably.
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#56: Lost at Sea – Jessica thinks about kissing Winston while they’re shipwrecked, but a helicopter shows up before she can do it. Jessica realizes Todd is better….
Better than what! The picture covers up the rest of this sentence/paragraph. It’s probably just my screen so someone please tell me – better than what.
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Shannon Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Ha ha, sorry about that, how strange! It doesn’t look like that on my screen.
Back in the present, Jessica finishes reading her diary and realizes Todd is much better suited to Liz.
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So…it’s basically a CLIP SHOW IN BOOK FORM?!?!
Ann M. and Scholastic, you suck at a lot of things but at least you never put out a best of the BSC and expected us to shell out 3.50 for it.
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Shannon Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
So true. It is like a clip show, except with a few deleted scenes thrown in just for fun.
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I hate Jessica.
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Shannon Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Me too. So much.
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Wow, no code of honor in the Wakefield house. I knew even in middle school to never date your friends ex, much less your sister’s!
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Shannon Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Yeah, they are really bad at being good sisters to each other.
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So did Jessica run home every single day to get the mail? Wouldn’t Liz be doing that, hopeing to get a letter from Todd? They confuse me! lol
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Sadako Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
And no, “WTF is Todd writing to YOU?!” reaction from Liz?
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Shannon Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 9:30 am
She did actually rush to get the mail every day. And yeah, Liz is just like, “Oh, Todd wrote you a letter. That’s weird. But how nice of him.”
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I’m not sure what’s weirder Todd writing Jessica or Jessica writing Todd?
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Shannon Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I think the weirdest part is that Jessica is writing, period.
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Hey Shannon, got a question: I was reading part 1 of the John Marin arc and Jessica said quote: Claire Middleton tried out for QB on the Sweet Valley High School football team, but was named 2nd string.
However, Claire won the game and assumption was she was the starting QB…did Ken have some sort of miracle healing, or did Claire did injured in a game? The ghostwriters dont’ do a good job remembering things.
Sorry this was off subject.
On subject:
That’s kind of weird that in book 55 it seems, Todd flies in to Sweet Valley to see Jessica, and in book 57, Todd says nothing about seeing Jessica, but tells Liz in a letter he broke up with Suzanne Devlin. Then in book 56, Jessica thought nothing of Todd?
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Shannon Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Yeah, she made second string. I don’t remember her winning a game.
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Shannon Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Scratch that, I just read my own recap. Ken’s vision still wasn’t awesome in that game, so he had the coach take him out and put Claire in.
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Ha! Liz and Todd can’t even stay together in somebody else’s diary edition. That is SO LAME.
Funny, I don’t remember Todd and Jess writing so many letters and pining over each other quite as much as they seem to. Oh wait, that’s because they didn’t and the entire premise of this book is based on bullshit. Of course. Pardon my ignorance.
Ps I have a bit of a girl crush on Jessica in that pic of her looking smug in a bikini. (From Two-Boy Weekend?) I can’t help it. She’s cute as hell.
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Shannon Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 9:26 am
That is one of her better covers.
I hate the diaries for that very reason. None of this ever happened.
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