Phase 2: The Collection Process

Awhile after I posited the question of what Jessica Wakefield would do, I was at my friend's house. We were vaguely discussing our "bucket" lists and she said she didn't have one because she was afraid she'd die when she completed her list. A thought came to me and as I am known to do, I said the thought out loud as soon as it came to mind. I wonder how long it would take me to read the entire series of Sweet Valley High books.

Unlike many of my thoughts that are fleeting, this one stuck. I never know which ones will and it seemed easy enough to let this one slide. What is the motivation behind reading all 144 books? Nothing other than the satisfaction of having done it. There are other things on my "buck" list, but right now, this is the one I'm working on.

Where to start, where to start. I only ever owned a handful of SVH books myself. When I started reading them in 5th grade, my friend would borrow them from her sister and then make me swear that I'd be done with it by the next day, which I usually was. Whatever really happened to them, I don't know. I'm assuming they've gotten donated, passed on to somebody else eager to know what to expect from their teenage years, which according to life in Sweet Valley is either nothing much or too much to be believed.

I started my quest by soliciting my cousin on Facebook, who had a large number of them. She said she thought she had given them to me. She'd only handed down her SVH knock-offs. I further implored my other Facebook friends, but to no real avail. I am trying to do this as grassroots as possible, making this a (relatively) low budget venture. So far I've kept my costs low, using credit at a used book store and so far purchasing only 2 from Amazon at a penny a piece. I'm scoping a few auctions of ebay but haven't placed any bids yet. I'm still hoping that I will score the mother load at a thrift store but haven't yet. I have a friend and her mom on a diligent quest too; my friend's mom is a devout bargain hunter and I have the upmost faith in her abilities.

This is what I so far:

1. Double Love

9. Racing Hearts

19. Showdown

25. Nowhere to Run

26. Hostage!

28. Alone in the Crowd

83. Second Chance

96. The Arrest

(Un-numbered) The Boyfriend War

I thought I had probably read a good number of these, easily into the 90's but I don't remember anything about an arrest, so I obviously haven't read as many as I thought I had.

I have to admit to cheating a little though. My goal was to read them all, in order. While waiting for books 1 and 2 to arrive, I read Alone in the Crowd and Hostage. I remembered both books but not the orders they came in, I thought the series waited awhile before anyone got kidnapped but they seem to jump right in to the shenanigans.

Hostage! is a tale of vengence. Regina Morrow is kidnapped and held hostage in her own home. Her parents are being held elsewhere, while her brother is in San Francisco (apparently the kidnappers forgot about him). Elizabeth noticed things were astray at the Morrow estate and then took it upon herself to figure out what was going on. She enlists the help of Jessica, Bruce Patman and Regina's brother Nicholas. Their skills involve sticking a letter inside a teen magazine for Regina and Regina tossing a compact with a letter in out her window. Elizabeth and Nicholas head in one direction, Jessica and Bruce in another and foil the kidnappers plan. And in the end, everyone eats pizza together.

In Alone in the Crowd, Lynn Henry writes a song about a boy (Guy Chesney from the rock band The Droids) and submits her song for a song writing contest, sponsored by non other than The Droids. Lynn, being nothing if not a scholar of Sweet Valley High, submits her song anonymously. Guy becomes fixated on the song and its singer, attributing his admiration of the mystery song writer to his admiration for Linda Ronstadt. Oh yes, Linda Ronstadt.

Guy confesses his feelings Elizabeth "Liz" Wakefield and she, the supposed keeper of the secrets at SVH, reveals enough information for Guy to figure it out but little enough for Elizabeth to not feel guilty about. After all, she is helping "a friend find the love he's been looking for his whole life." All 16 years of it apparently. Want to guess what happens next? Everybody loves happily ever after.

Tonight, I am going to start where it all started. Book 1, Double Love. I'd feel bad about starting out of order, but I distinctly remember starting out reading them out of order until my friend started loaning them to me in order. So far, so good. I'm optimistic that just like in Sweet Valley, all will prevail in the end and I will be successful in my quest.

Follow my adventures as I follow the adventures of my old school favorites!