If you read my last blog post, you know that a friend and I are reading the Sweet Valley High books. Double Love, Book 1, was reviewed in this blog post. Today’s post is a Double Love Q&A.
Kristin from A Simply Enchanted Life and I have decided to not just review the books but to interview each other about the books. So today’s post is a Q&A session regarding how we felt about Double Love.
Go to Kristin’s website to see her answers to the same questions that I’ve answered below! THEN, feel free to answer them yourself in the comments if you’ve read it!
With that said, I’m ready to begin the Double Love Q&A!!
**BEWARE: SPOILERS**
Questions Regarding Double Love
1. Describe how you feel about Jessica’s and Elizabeth’s personalities.
In Double Love, Jessica was very spiteful, selfish, and continually lied to get what she wanted. Her character seemed to have little redeeming qualities. Her foolish decisions were ridiculous.
Elizabeth was a doormat. I have no other way to describe her. She let her sister bulldoze right over her. She might as well have said, “Jessica, please just run over me. I’m more attractive as a pancake anyway.” She was really annoying.
2. Jessica was pretty catty in Double Love. Name the scene that sticks out in your memory that showed this.
The one scene that stuck out to me as really devious and catty was when Todd Wilkins called to speak to Elizabeth, and Jessica decided to interfere. When Todd asked to talk to Liz, Jessica told him that Elizabeth was in the shower and that they had to hurry and leave. Obviously, that was a stretch of the truth. In another scene, Jessica led Todd to believe that Liz wouldn’t be interested in him, when in truth Liz really liked him.
3. “Within seconds, he had jumped into his Datsun and was speeding after them.” What vehicle would Todd’s current-day “Datsun” be, in your opinion?
via GIPHY
Todd’s Datsun was beat-up at the time, so I imagine it would’ve been fifteen years old or more. I think that in today’s world, Todd might drive a 1995 Honda Civic.
4. What one thing would you change about Double Love?
I would fix the POV issues. I would also make the characters a little more believable.
5. Rick Andover was a 17-year-old dropout who smoke, drank, and frequented a bar (i.e. no carding of minors?!). Did you find this a realistic possibility in 1984?
I was surprised that a bar would be so accepting of a 17-year-old, so no, I don’t think it was realistic possibility in 1984. Maybe if the author had written into the story a fake ID for Rick?
6. Two rich families were battling over purchasing the football field. If you had to choose: Are you on Team Fowler or Team Patman? Why?
Team Fowler at this point, because Bruce Patman seems a little over-the-top right now. Lila Fowler at this point seems tame. I might change my mind later.
7. Who was your favorite secondary character in Double Love? Explain why.
I really like Enid, Elizabeth’s best friend. She seems to have her head on her shoulders in Double Love. Hopefully Elizabeth will take some lessons. Ha!
8. What would your 12 year old self have rated this book?
I’m sure I’d have rated it 4 stars.
9. Would you want your 13 year old to read this?
I wouldn’t mind a teen child of mine reading it.
10. How do you think adolescents today would feel about this book?
I think that Double Love would be a bit of a history lesson. It would be an interesting look at a time period without cell phones, computers, or even cordless telephones!
11. What’s different about life in this story compared to today’s life? (i.e. social, technological advances)
Elizabeth does her newspaper column on a typewriter. That really stuck out to me, in addition to the things I outlined in #10.
12. Would you read this book again?
I think I would certainly read it again, but maybe in a decade or more.
Would you like to join us in delving into the Sweet Valley High books? We’d love to have you join in!
Join us for next week’s Throwback Books as we review the second book in the series–Secrets!
Beautiful and ruthless, Jessica Wakefield is determined to be chosen queen of the fall dance at Sweet Valley High. If she can win the contest, she’s sure to win Bruce Patman, the most sought after boy in school.
The only person standing in Jessica’s way is Enid Rollins. When Jessica discovers the truth about Enid’s past, she knows the crown is within her grasp. She doesn’t care that Enid is her twin sister Elizabeth’s best friend–or that revealing the secret may cost Enid both her reputation and the boy she loves.
Only Elizabeth can save Enid from Jessica’s vicious gossip–but can she stop her scheming twin in time?
10 years from now we are going to reread this book. We need to be through all of SVH and SVU by then. MMkay?