Get Real (Sweet Valley Jr. High(TM)) - Softcover

Pascal, Francine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553486039 ISBN 13: 9780553486032

Publisher: Sweet Valley, 1999

Synopsis

Watch out Sweet Valley Jr.  High--here come the Wakefields!

Elizabeth thought switching to a new school would be horrible.  How could she have known that she'd make incredibly cool friends right away? Or that she's meet a really cute guy? Jr. High is terrific!

Jessica thought a new school would mean new friends and new boys.  Not quite.  Everyone at Sweet Valley Jr.  High is so unfriendly she had to eat lunch with her dorky locker partner.  Jr. High is the worst!

About this title

Reviews

Grade 6-8?A change in district zoning means good-bye Sweet Valley Middle School and hello Sweet Valley Junior High for eighth-grade twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. Jessica, one of the coolest girls at SVMS, is now relegated to the rank of the uncool at SVJH! Worrywart Elizabeth finds that her fears about not fitting in at SVJH are completely mistaken! Episodes involving love, envy, fear, embarrassment, shopping, and pizza propel the protagonists through their scary first few weeks at their new school. Capitalizing on the popular teen-soap genre, this book has humorous moments, fast switches in narrative voices, and fun characters. Pascal leads readers through angst-infused junior-high life. The book has that quick-read quality sought after by many busy preteens. Fans of the "Sweet Valley" series will be pleased that the author has kept that series' spirit, yet rung in some new changes.?Lisa Denton, J. S. Russell JHS, Lawrenceville, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Can there really be room on the shelves for yet another series starring the omnipresent twins who already appear in Sweet Valley Kids, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High and Sweet Valley University? Offering readers more than just a special introductory price, this inaugural volume certainly makes a good case for the Sweet Valley Jr. High series. The plot's realistic situations and on-target dialogue make the updated Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield seem genuinely credible late-'90s teens (except for their physical perfection, which hasn't changed a smidge in 15 years). The first-person narrative switches back and forth between the sisters, with an occasional chapter offering the voice of Anna or Salvador, fellow eighth-graders Elizabeth meets after the town's redistricting lands the Wakefields, alone of all their friends, at the junior high rather than the middle school. Elizabeth, the sweet-natured twin, has a much smoother transition to the new school setting than flighty Jessica, who misses the popularity she enjoyed at their former school. Though the action here is minimal?Elizabeth inadvertently threatens the close rapport between her two new pals and Jessica senses that her best friend, Lila, has replaced her?the girls' likable voices and lifelike predicaments will win over a new generation of middle-grade readers. Ages 8-12. (Jan.) FYI: The publisher is cross-promoting the series with the band 'N SYNC through a sweepstakes detailed inside the book. The second episode, One 2 Many, is due in February and comes with a free audiocassette.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth

My gym locker happened to be right next to Anna Wang's, which made sense alphabetically.  As we stood by our lockers, waiting for Miss Scarlett to pass out our uniforms, I wanted to say something to Anna, but I couldn't think of anything witty.  Still, it seemed silly not to talk to her--she was in all of my classes and she knew Salvador.  Besides, I was sick of not having anybody to talk to.  So far nobody had been mean to me, but I was starting to feel as if I were invisible, drifting silently from class to class.  I'd lucked out and eaten lunch with Susie Williams--another displaced SVMSer--but I hadn't seen Jessica all day.

I was desperately trying to think of something interesting to say to Anna when Miss Scarlett turned to me.  "What size are you?"

"Um, medium, I guess," I said.

Miss Scarlett tossed me a blue uniform.

"Anna?" she asked.

"Small," Anna said.

"These are yours to keep," Miss Scarlett said.  "Please inform your parents that they will receive a bill for them in the coming weeks.  You will each get two uniforms to last you the whole marking period, so you'll need to take them home and wash them after each class."

The uniform was a hideous, navy blue polyester.  I don't know why Miss Scarlett was even asking people what size they thought they were because the uniforms only come in gigantic or newborn.  Mine was of the gigantic variety.

With a sigh I changed into my uniform, then turned to Anna.  She had one of the newborn sizes--her top was skintight.

We looked at each other and shrugged.  I smiled, but before I could see if Anna would smile back, Miss Scarlett clapped.

"Okay, girls," she said.  "Let's get a move on.  Come on out and line up on the bench."

We trooped out of the locker room and sat along a wooden bench that ran the length of the gym.

"All right," Miss Scarlett said.  "First of all, I'd like to go over a few basic hygiene matters.  Locker rooms are the perfect environment for many fungi and viruses--" She broke off suddenly, frowning.  "Anna Wang, where is your sports bra?"

Oh.  My.

I can't even describe how horrible that moment was.  All the guys instantly leaned forward and stared at Anna's chest, which was only too clearly outlined in the navy blue polyester.  I wanted to kill Miss Scarlett, and this wasn't even happening to me.

Anna crossed her arms over her chest.  "I dropped it."

All the guys were grinning except Salvador, who was glaring at Miss Scarlett.  Even the girls were elbowing each other and smiling.

"You dropped your bra?" Miss Scarlett asked.

"Yes," Anna said.  Her face was red, but her voice was firm.  "In a puddle of water on the locker-room floor.  You--you always say we shouldn't wear wet underwear."

Miss Scarlett looked absurdly pleased.  "That's very true, Anna.  Nothing is a better breeding ground for bacteria than wet underwear.  But you simply can't attend gym class without a sports bra, because you are--"

I didn't know exactly what Miss Scarlett was going to say, but I guessed it would be something like "developing breasts," and if she said that, then all the whispers and giggles would erupt into laughter.  It was all so awful.  Anna cringed.  I was amazed that she didn't start crying.

"I have an extra sports bra in my locker," I said suddenly.  The words just came out on their own.  "Anna can borrow it."

Anna gave me a quick look.

"Excellent," Miss Scarlett said.  "Because a girl like Anna--"

"Miss Scarlett!" Salvador said urgently.  "My toes itch!"

The color drained from Miss Scarlett's face.  "Socks off, everyone!" she snapped.  "I'm going to have to inspect feet.  I might have known you'd show up with athlete's foot on the very first day of school, Salvador."

Everyone sighed and began untying their shoes.

"Should I take Anna back to my locker?" I asked.

"Oh yes, please," Miss Scarlett said distractedly.

I stood up and walked back into the locker room with Anna following.

"Thanks," she said softly as soon as we were out of earshot.

"It's no problem." I shook my head.  Just thinking about the whole scene again made me a little nauseated and light-headed.  I could only imagine how Anna was feeling.

Anna sighed.  "I guess you know I didn't really drop my bra."

"Well, I don't really have an extra one in my locker," I confessed.

I tried to imagine what we were going to tell Miss Scarlett when we walked back out without a bra.  I couldn't.  And I wasn't about to let Anna get humiliated again.  I took a breath and said, "You know, we--we could buy you a bra."

She looked at me.

"We could go shopping," I explained.

Anna smiled a little.  "Right now?"

"Sure," I told her, as if it were no big deal.  "We could skip class.  It's last period anyway, and Miss Scarlett won't notice.  She's too busy checking feet." Even if she does notice, I thought, I don't care. And I really didn't--I was furious with Miss Scarlett at that moment.

Still, I don't know where that idea came from because I have never skipped class in my entire life.  I've never skipped a pep rally, or an assembly, or a recess, even.

But Anna just said, "Okay.  Let's go."

Edition details

• Publisher: Sweet Valley
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0553486039
• ISBN 13: 9780553486032
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160