Sweet Valley High #5: All Night Long

Front Cover: Is Jessica as grown-up as she thinks she is?

Back Cover: Has Jessica gone too far?

Elizabeth Wakefield knows her beautiful twin can handle almost any guy - most boys are just no match for Jessica's seductive charms. But Scott Daniels, Jessica's latest love, is more of a man than a boy, much older and much more experenced than anyone Jessica's ever dated.

 When Jessica sneaks off to a college beach party with Scott, Elizabeth's afraid of what could happen. And when her twin isn't back by morning, Elizabeth's fear turns to alarm. Where's Jessica? Why has she stayed out all night long?

I'm pretty sure I've never read this one before. Not much about it stuck out or seemed particularly deja-vu.

So this one had a really short time line: only a week. It started on a Sunday and was over on the following Saturday. Not that that's really relevant to anything, but I just thought it was neat.

This book was also over way too fast. Like, Jessica pretty much figured out that Scott was no good almost immediately. The bulk of the novel was then Elizabeth trying to cover for Jess, as Jess waited things out and made her way back home. Then there was some aftermath on that.

What pissed me off most about this book was Jessica and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is such an enabler and a pushover. She shouldn't constantly cover for Jess, and then take her bullshit. Elizabeth is way too nice and trusting when it comes to her sister, and it pisses me off that she's the only one who doesn't see that Jess basically just uses her, would never do the same for her, and it essentially just a selfish bitch. It's so frustrating hearing Todd and Enid try to set Elizabeth straight, only for her to be so blind.

Jessica of course, was a dumb selfish bitch as always. She could have maybe come off as merely immature, but her attitude about everything is the worst. She blames Elizabeth for her being in her predicament, all because Elizabeth should have apparently tried harder to talk her out of her bad behaviour. Then she gets pissed when Elizabeth ends up failing the test she wrote for her - the test that she should have failed anyways because she wasn't even around to write it! She doesn't even bother asking Elizabeth what's wrong or seeing what's going on in her life. Elizabeth has the worst fight and the worst guilt ever at Jess's doings, and Jess just doesn't even care enough to notice.

The subplot in this novel was the big surf competition that Bill Chase was competing in. This was such a tiny subplot. We don't even see Bill for most of it. People just talk about him and it.

My copy of the novel has extra stuff in the back, including character profiles on Bill and Lila Fowler. Bill's got an interesting backstory: his parents are divorced, his girlfriend was destroyed in a drunk driving accident, he hasn't been able to date since (although we're assured he'll get a new girlfriend soon, so I'm interested in seeing when that comes up and reading it) and he's just generally quiet and mysterious because of all the shit he's been through. Lila's backstory wasn't really anything I didn't already know. Although, I did get the fact that Lila's father isn't actually her father, and that it's an open secret in her family. Poor Lila. I'd be so afraid of not making him proud and him disowning me and forcing me to move away with my just-as-neglectful mother. At least in Sweet Valley, she's got her friends. I wonder if we'll hear or see more about Lila and her father and her paternity in the future. I'm thinking yes.

Hook: Will Todd's motorcycle drive them apart?

I'm guessing no. Elizabeth will finally tell him that her parents won't let her ride, but she'll also explain how it's because her cousin died riding one. Todd will be understanding. There will be some tension for awhile, but eventually Todd will get into an accident. He'll realize that a motorcycle is too dangerous and that Elizabeth is more important, and he'll put his bike away until he's older and they'll all live happily ever after haha