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\\#107 Jessica's Secret Love;
Janitor Two: Hi. Janitor Two: Hello. You get to open with a summary. Janitor One: #107 Jessica's Secret Love. Jessica falls in love with an engaged man after getting hit in the head with a Frisbee: Lila makes off with hunky artist: and Liz finds empowerment through self-help books. Throw in some bribery, scheming, and lots of teen angst, and we have the makings of a classic. Janitor Two: Very pretty. Janitor One: So, shall we begin discussing characters? Janitor Two: Sure. Janitor One: We have Jessica, Liz, Lila, Robby, Sue, and don't forget Jeremy! Janitor Two: Yay for Jeremy! So, let's save Jessie and Jeremy for last since they're our star couple. Janitor One: OK. Janitor Two: Liz? Janitor One: I was going to suggest her as well. Janitor Two: Cool. I have one thing to say: "You go girl! Get on wit' yo bad self!" Janitor One: Hehehe. Janitor Two: Hehe. Janitor One: So Liz, shaken up from falling in love with a serial killer and once again cheating on Todd in England, is doubting her instincts and turns to self-help women's lib books for consolation. I particularly like her and her rebel yell. Janitor Two: I don't know why, but she seemed like a public service announcement to me. She kept popping up, spouting random things. Like, "Don't go after engaged guys," "You have poor self esteem," and "Don't drink milk from the carton." Janitor One: Yeah. Comic relief, I guess. Janitor Two: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Janitor One: What? Janitor Two: That was me freeing myself from the oppressions of this man-run world. I feel so liberated. Just call me She-Who-Types-a-Lot. Janitor One: Hehe. Janitor Two: Hehe. Janitor One: The therapy group was pretty funny. Janitor Two: I loved that scene. Janitor One: Me, too. Runs-Like-the-Wind. Janitor Two: A lot of corny Native-American-wannabe names, but hey, what do you expect? Janitor One: A lot of housewives, I bet. Janitor Two: yeah. Janitor One: They've seen Dances With Wolves a few too many times. Janitor Two: Hehe. Yeah. But, on her character..... I think Liz did an all right job. She didn't have a real plot line without Todd in the picture, so they had to include her in there somewhere, and, for the crap they handed her for dialogue, she pulled out without being too annoying. Janitor One: Yeah. I can also sympathize with her playing the go-between with Sue and Jessica. Janitor Two: Yeah. That would not be a fun thing to have to do. Janitor One: No, and she's really got no way out of it, unlike how she usually makes things worse for herself on purpose. Janitor Two: So the Annoy-O-Meter tips at a small 1 for this book, I think. And the one is only for the retarded name she picked for herself. Janitor One: Yes. Janitor Two: On to Lila? Janitor One: Yep. Lila meets her dream boy in Robby, the hunky artist from the beach who's incredibly rich and is everything she ever wanted and they fall in love. Then she finds out he's not rich and dumps him until Jess pushes them back together at the end. Lila has finally gotten herself a real boyfriend. Janitor Two: Yeah. I'm impressed. Janitor One: I always liked Robby. I really like the two of them together. Until Robby completely disappeared... Who knows what happened to him. But anyways. Janitor Two: She does have her annoying moments, but I think it's more the author finally keeping her in character. Normally, when you see Lila, she either has a walk-on with no development, or you delve into what's underneath the outward, rich exterior. This is one of the few times we really get to see Lila being Lila. Janitor One: Yeah. And I was happy she finally met a nice guy. She's always stuck on the sidelines to Jessica. Janitor Two: Yeah. I like the scene in the Dairi Burger where Liz and Jess are the ones stuck without dates and Lila and Sue get to play the happy people. It was funny. Janitor One: Hehe. Yeah. And Liz and Jess are like, "Here we are, the beautiful Wakefield twins, stuck as fifth wheels." Janitor Two: Yeah. So, Lila did good in this book. Anything else for Lila? Janitor One: Nope. Janitor Two: Coolies. Janitor One: How much of this series do you remember? Of the five books. Did you read any of them? Janitor Two: Not really. I skimmed some of them, but in all, I didn't get into them. So don't ruin it for me. Janitor One: OK. I'll just say #110 Death Threat has one of Lila's greatest moments in it. Janitor Two: Cool. So, on to Robby. Janitor One: I like Robby. He's a sincerely nice guy. Janitor Two: Yeah. Janitor One: He's good for Lila Janitor Two: I don't think there's much to say about him. He's just the token nice guy who, I'm assuming, comes in to play a more major role later in the miniseries. Or is he just there to give Lila something to do? Janitor One: He plays the role of Jeremy's friend. Janitor Two: Cool. Janitor One: Yeah. So onto Sue. Janitor Two: Sue. Janitor One: Well, I'd really like Sue if I didn't know what's really going on. Janitor Two: I'm waiting for her to break down and confess that she was forced to work at that Nature Project place as community service for getting caught littering, or something.... Janitor One: Hehehehehe! She's a sweet and unassuming girl. Dot, dot, dot. Janitor Two: Yeah. Right. And we aren't to discuss her any more before I read the next book because I want to be surprised...though SV foreshadowing is often more of baseball bat to the head than a gently leading literary device.... Janitor One: Hehehehe. So, on to Jeremy. Handsome, blond, Adonis Jeremy Janitor Two: Our lovely man. Janitor One: Well, our Jerem's a good actor. Janitor Two: I like him. He's real. And he has morals. Are you about to spoil the miniseries for me? Janitor One: No. I say no more. I did like him in the book though. Janitor Two: I liked him too. So, all we're saying is Jeremy seems like a decent guy. End of story. Janitor One: Yes. I'm sorry. Janitor Two: It's OK. On to Jessica. Janitor One: Jessica is real in this book. She met a hot guy, they shared a moment, she can't get him out of her head. Janitor Two: Yep. That does happen. *nods sadly* Janitor One: Then she finds out he's engaged to their houseguest, and does have the decency not to do anything in front of Sue, which is saying a lot for her. Janitor Two: Yes. Much higher standards of conduct than her usual. Janitor One: Her little schemes to get him alone with her are childish and really show her for the sixteen-year-old teenage girl she is. Janitor Two: Yep. Love the Miller's Point thing. That was...brilliant. Genius worthy of the name Jessica Wakefield. Janitor One: Hehe. Janitor Two: Hehe. Janitor One: One of her better plans. Janitor Two: Yeah. Janitor One: The best laid plans of mice and men.... I also liked the awkward moment where she had him try on the tux and she ran upstairs and squeezed into Sue's wedding dress and then ripped the zipper taking it off. That was funny Janitor Two: Yeah. I thought it was so funny that the dress was too small for her. Now that is real. Janitor One: Yeah. Janitor Two: OK. Done with characters. Let's discuss our favorite parts. You go first. ^_^ Janitor One: OK. My favorite part of the whole book is dinner at the Carousel. That was...perfect. Janitor Two: Oh, and for his part, Bruce was a significant supporting actor, and I think he did marvelously. Janitor One: I love how she called up a bunch of guys and got turned down, even by Winston. And it was funny how she would rather try to make Jeremy jealous with Winston then with Bruce. Janitor Two: Hehehe. I like how they were snapping at each other but still going through the motions of being all couply. Janitor One: Yeah. That was pure Bruce and Jessica right there. Janitor Two: I love the chemistry between the two of them. Janitor One: Hehe. Yeah. They share some of the greatest moments in the whole series. Janitor Two: Yeah. Janitor One: They remind me of Sydney and Michael from Melrose Place. Janitor Two: Hehehehehehehe! Yeah, really. Janitor One: Now you. Janitor Two: Favorite part.... Janitor One: Dun, dun, DUN! Janitor Two: I think it would have to be the therapy group. Janitor One: Hehe. Janitor Two: But there's one line Jess has that I love. *climbing up on my soap box* Janitor One: Hehe. Janitor Two: Sorry, but I have to rant about feminism for a minute since it's such a huge thread through this book. Feminism is suppose to be about giving woman a sense of worth, no matter what they chose to do. It's not about women being better than men. It's about them being true to what they want despite outside pressure, and that includes from pushy feminist who think everyone needs to where combat boots and not shave their legs. That group leader in the book got on my very last nerve. Janitor One: Hehehe. Feminism is a double-edged sword. Janitor Two: And my favorite quote is from Jessica: "Well, I think my true womanly self happens to care about what boys think." Janitor One: Hehe. Pure Jessica. Janitor Two: Yes. And that is my rant on feminism, which has sent its own movement back much more than a sexist man ever could. *steps off soap box* Janitor One: Hehehe. My favorite quote is Bruce to Jessica: "Just quite looking at me as though I'm a fly and you're a large-mouth bass." Janitor Two: Hehe. I like that one, too. So, yeah. Plot and plot flow. I think the story flowed well. Janitor One: I do, too. Janitor Two: I was a little annoyed by the scene at the beginning with Jess and Jeremy, though. It seemed to happen too quickly. One kiss and suddenly she's forgotten all about Sam? A bit unrealistic, in my opinion. Janitor One: Typical Jessica though. Janitor Two: Yeah. Janitor One: If it was Liz, I would agree it was unrealistic. But being that it's Jessica, it works. Janitor Two: Yeah. We love Jessie and her wily ways... Janitor One: Hehe. Sure. Yeah. Janitor Two: I will give the author credit. One thing Sweet Valley writers are very bad at is introducing new, short-term characters. The person who wrote this book did well bringing Sue and Jeremy into it, I think. Janitor One: This book was very well-written for an SV book. The characters are more three dimensional than normal. And though we never get to see things from Sue and Jeremy's point of view, they quickly become well-established, well-rounded characters. Janitor Two: The style actually reminds me a lot of A Stranger in the House. Makes me wonder if the same person did this. Janitor One: Could be. They weren't too far apart. I also like Sue's passion about nature couple with her liking for material objects. that is real. Janitor Two: Yeah. That is very real and interesting. Janitor One: And how Jess and Liz keep thinking she's too immature to get married. Janitor Two: It's a nice red herring, I think. At least, I believe it's a red herring. (Don't correct me.) Janitor One: I won't. Janitor Two: For a few scenes, I was pretty well convinced Sue was going after poor, trusting Jeremy for his money. That line will just have to play out. Janitor One: I plead the fifth. Janitor Two: Hehe. It's kinda fun when one of us knows something the other doesn't. Mixes up the mood of the conversation. Janitor One: Yeah, it does. It is kind of funny. Janitor Two: Now, the plot itself. I like it. It's not very likely, but I could happen. And it's done well. What interests me about it the most is, it doesn't feel like a romance when you read it, but the plot is pure Fabio-lounging-on-a-beach. Janitor One: It really is. I think it's because there's so much humor in it. It doesn't seem that way. Janitor Two: Yeah, maybe. There's just enough humor to tone down the fluff, but not enough to make you really focus on it. Nice balance. Any other plot/writing points? Janitor One: Not particularly. Done? Janitor Two: Yes. Let's wrap it up. I'm going to give it 4 Todd heads. Janitor One: I give it five Bruce heads. There's honestly nothing in this book I don't like. Janitor Two: Coolies. Now we're done. Janitor One: Next up: Left at the Alter! Gee, I wonder what's going to happen at Jeremy and Sue's wedding... Janitor Two: Hehehe. |
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